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Looking at the destroyed chair, Burst stood frozen in place, his face blank with shock.
Erwin, however, sat back down as though he'd accomplished nothing more difficult than a first-year assignment.
The others remained immersed in the aftermath of the test, struggling to process what they'd just witnessed.
At first, they'd anticipated seeing a significant gap in skill.
But the outcome had been the complete opposite of their expectations.
This was Burst, one of Slytherin's most accomplished students in Transfiguration.
His family belonged to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, with generations of magical lineage behind them.
Moreover, the Burst bloodline provided inherent bonuses to Transfiguration magic itself.
Yet he'd just been defeated by a first-year who'd only been exposed to magic for two months?
The others present couldn't honestly claim their Transfiguration skills surpassed Burst's.
At most, they were equals.
Didn't this mean that this first-year's abilities already far exceeded everyone in the room?
Watching Burst still standing in the center of the space with that expression of utter shock, a strange melancholy settled over the group.
'Are we already relics of a bygone era?'
The thought was unacceptable.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
A burst of applause broke through the shocked silence, pulling everyone from their stunned contemplation.
Looking up, they saw it was Professor McGonagall.
"Very well done, Mr. Gaunt. I must say your Transfiguration skills far exceed my expectations."
Professor McGonagall looked at Erwin with undisguised admiration.
If it weren't for the fact that Hogwarts had no precedent for such transfers, and that Professor Flitwick would never willingly release a student, she absolutely would have pulled Erwin over to Gryffindor.
Thinking of this, she felt genuine regret.
Why had Erwin rejected Slytherin but not chosen Gryffindor?
Recalling the scene where he'd rescued Miss Granger, he was obviously a reckless little lion at heart.
But it was too late to change anything now.
Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Professor McGonagall refocused on the day's agenda.
"Very well, everyone. Since Mr. Gaunt has passed his assessment, let's move on to today's topic, the second principle of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration..."
The others set aside their shock and listened carefully to Professor McGonagall's explanation.
Erwin also paid close attention.
Although his Transfiguration level was already quite advanced, a professor's instruction could still provide him with valuable insights and strengthen his fundamentals.
Though what qualified as profound theory for these older students was, for Erwin, merely foundational knowledge.
****
Two weeks had passed since Erwin's first Transfiguration Club meeting, and Halloween was now only a week away.
Quidditch training had intensified considerably as the date of their first match drew closer.
Every evening, Erwin gave Cho a shoulder massage to ease her aching muscles and calm her nerves.
The poor girl was stretched thin between mounting homework and relentless practice sessions, and she'd taken to muttering Roger Davies's name like a curse each night before bed.
Erwin didn't mind in the slightest; in fact, he rather enjoyed their little routine.
The quiet evenings, the laughter that slipped between complaints, it had become his favorite part of the day.
However, tonight was different. Erwin hadn't gone to the pitch.
Today, he had declared, was an auspicious day for opening card packs.
Of course, that was something he'd entirely made up.
The real reason was simpler: after weeks of grinding through missions and challenges, he had finally saved up ten thousand gold coins. That, and the system had just updated with a Halloween special event.
A glowing prompt shimmered in his mind:
[Limited-Time Featured Card Pool: "'Unflinching' Severus Snape" — Available for 7 days.
The first gold card drawn from this pool is guaranteed to be "'Unflinching' Severus Snape."]
**
Name: 'Unflinching' Severus Snape
Quality: Gold
Potions Talent: 7 (Master)
Dark Arts Talent: 6 (Expert)
Defense Against the Dark Arts Talent: 5 (Outstanding)
Spells: [Omitted]
**
Looking at Snape's card statistics, Erwin felt a genuine twinge of envy.
Snape had been targeting him relentlessly in recent weeks, making Potions class feel more like a battlefield than a lesson.
Every time the rest of the kids in the class brewed something, Erwin's assignment was different from theirs and not in a good way.
When others made Cure for Boils, he was told to brew the Elixir to Induce Euphoria.
When others practiced the Swelling Solution, he was assigned Beauty Potions instead.
Each of these was a fourth-year recipe at minimum, formulas that required precision, patience, and ingredients most first-years couldn't even name.
At this rate, Snape would probably have him brewing Felix Felicis by next month. Maybe even earlier.
Erwin's current Potions knowledge simply couldn't keep pace with the professor's escalating demands.
That was why this card's appearance in the draw pool felt almost godly, perfect timing to solve his growing problem.
His Potions talent was already level five, impressive by any standard, but even a single increase might be enough to steady him against Snape's absurd challenges.
Gaining the card would raise him to a six. That can help him for a while against the professor.
And if the purple cards happened to grant additional Potions knowledge as well… all the better.
"System, use all ten thousand gold coins for card draws."
Erwin spoke clearly, excitement and tension mixing in his chest as he waited.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The rapid chiming of the draw notifications filled his mind like a flurry of bells. When the sounds finally ceased, he opened his eyes…
Three golden cards floated before him, gleaming softly in the air.
His mouth fell open in shock.