[You completely processed one nettle at Apprentice standard, Proficiency +1]
[You completely processed one nettle at Apprentice standard, Proficiency +1]
[Herbology Recognition has been unlocked.]
[A new Herbology domain title has been unlocked, please check.]
[A wizard talent has been unlocked, please check.]
After spending two days, Shawn completed unlocking the Herbology title. He eagerly checked:
[Title: Herbology Intern]
[Slightly increases perception of plants, slightly enhances Herbology talent]
Increases perception of plants? Sounds pretty good. Shawn continued reading:
[Wizard Shawn, Herbology Talent: Green (Enhanced by Herbology Intern title, original talent was White) Note: Average wizard is Green.]
When it came to disappointing people, his talent never disappointed. All right. At least I can still change through grinding proficiency, Shawn thought.
Soon, Shawn experienced the benefits brought by the talent change. When identifying mature dried nettles, a peculiar intuition led him to select a freshly matured nettle. After soaking and processing, he achieved his first "Entry" level in the Herbology domain.
[You completely processed one nettle at Entry standard, Proficiency +3]
Indeed a world of talent in magic, Shawn thought. His impression of the magical world deepened.
"Excellent processing, Mr. Green. I'm giving Ravenclaw two points!" Professor Sprout walked over with slight surprise. "Everyone come over! Observe these processed nettles. Their stinging hairs and short soft hairs have disappeared. This is a characteristic that excellent nettle material should possess—Mr. Green, very fast progress."
Professor Sprout encouraged softly while everyone observed the nettles. Herbology class soon ended. When leaving the greenhouse, Shawn heard young wizards whispering.
"Who's that?"
"Shawn Green, haven't you heard of him?"
"Quite the opposite—I've heard about him until I'm tired of it. Supposedly he performed excellently in Charms and Transfiguration—is he from a wizarding family?"
"That's the scary part. Supposedly he's Muggle-born..."
When Shawn looked toward the sound, the two conversing young wizards blushed and hurried away.
"Shawn, looks like you're famous," Michael spoke with teasing.
"Shouldn't he be? I've never seen a wizard proficient in every subject... except Potions." Michael's teasing helplessly ended during Astronomy class.
"...Stairs, stairs, more stairs. Terry, do you see the end?" Michael panted. While talking with Terry, he deliberately glanced at Shawn. The young wizard's face remained pale.
"Supposedly the Astronomy Tower is the highest tower in all of Hogwarts... even higher than Ravenclaw Tower..." Michael shared his insider information while silently following half a step behind Shawn.
"...Is that so?" Anthony responded, then imperceptibly moved closer to Michael. The two flanked the pale-faced young wizard from left and right.
The witch teaching Astronomy was Professor Aurora Sinistra, a witch with a transcendent temperament. She taught young wizards to observe the night sky with telescopes, learning the names of different stars and planetary trajectories. The classroom she arranged had many instruments like orreries, moon charts, lunascopes, star charts, and telescopes. It looked like some kind of research institute.
The only difference from a research institute was that the night here was extremely beautiful, with various precise magical instruments quietly operating. Due to his familiarity with telescope operation principles, Shawn was quickly noticed by Professor Sinistra and was even allowed to use a large metal sphere to predict the trajectory of Jupiter's moon Io.
This made Terry extremely envious. The usually quiet him asked Shawn about the experience more than three times. Shawn described it to him in detail. His longing was evident. "Oh! Merlin's beard! That must be wonderful—that's a very rare magical lunascope..."
After Astronomy class, curfew time was approaching. Shawn, who had climbed two high towers consecutively, didn't look too good, but it didn't affect him organizing his Astronomy notes. If he remembered correctly, first-year students mainly studied star names and planetary motion trajectories. This wasn't difficult—just memorize them all. The only difficulty might be drawing trajectory charts, but this was also easy for Shawn.
Don't underestimate the power of compulsory education!
After organizing his notes, Shawn took out Potions and History of Magic books to read. Potion-brewing preparations were complete. Shawn tried to find some brewing techniques in these books. Although they only contained strict procedures and brief descriptions, Shawn could still get some vague instructions in subtle places:
[When making the Cure for Boils, you must stir twice counterclockwise, then three times clockwise. The force must be moderate...]
What was moderate force? Shawn found the answer in A History of Magic:
[A self-stirring cauldron is a cauldron enchanted to automatically stir potions. The stirring spoon often breaks up bubbles...]
Shawn guessed that breaking up bubbles was moderate force. Indeed, history was a good teacher—this hadn't changed even in the magical world.
Ravenclaw common room. It was always quiet here, but that didn't mean wizards would always study. In fact, young wizards at this age were always playful. After completing his History of Magic essay, Michael had already played wizard chess for an hour. Seeing Shawn still immersed in studying, he exchanged glances with Terry, who was observing various stones.
Then, taking advantage of Shawn changing books, he said, "Shawn, not to criticize, but I've never seen you doing anything else... A wizard's life can't only have studying, right? In Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic... Merlin's beard, who knows how far ahead you've studied? I'm saying, don't you find it boring?"
Shawn looked up. Boring? You... what are you saying? This is magic! With absurd immediate positive feedback, it basically got more interesting the more you studied, more motivating the more you learned. Moreover, for magic, as long as you put in enough effort, it could transform into directly usable power. This was visible, perceptible. Not to mention its practicality and versatile abilities—it was simply an idealistic miracle.
Soon, Shawn realized he might have overlooked one point—young wizards' magic was innate. Perhaps this was why young wizards didn't particularly treasure it. But for Shawn, he had once lain in an orphanage sickbed for three months. His heart had gradually numbed along with his body.
It was that owl that braved wind and snow to break into the room; it was Professor McGonagall who paid for his supplies, applied for his grant and scholarship, who gave him the ability to be filled with hope and passion for life again before he could move independently. Having experienced the mundane, Shawn always treasured magic, this miracle, even more. He enjoyed the feeling of miracles capable of changing the world being born from his hands. Not to mention the proficiency panel—once verified, always verified.
"Huh, Shawn, have you thought it through? Want to play wizard chess?" Michael watched Shawn put the book away and invited him enthusiastically.
"Sorry, I only want to study." Shawn shook his head and took out another book borrowed from the library, Advanced Potion-Making.