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Ding.
[Congratulations to the host. Through your own efforts, you have completed 100 consecutive draws. The system will be upgraded.]
[The system is being upgraded... Upgrade complete.]
[The content of this upgrade includes the introduction of diamond-level cards.]
Listening to the notifications echoing in his mind, Erwin grew curious.
The system had actually upgraded itself, and there was now an additional diamond-level card tier.
He examined the basic information about diamond cards more carefully.
Diamond-level cards: There is a certain probability (1%) of drawing a card that exceeds the limits of the current magical world. The basic reward is a Talent-Breaking Card.
*Talent-Breaking Card: Unconditionally increases one talent level by one point. Upper limit is 9.*
Note: Diamond-level cards have no guaranteed pity protection.
After reading through everything, Erwin understood the implications.
Diamond cards would allow him to transcend the limitations of contemporary magic.
With enough diamond-level cards, no matter how unlucky he became, he could draw several basic talent cards and maximize all his abilities.
At that point, with full-level talents firing on all cylinders, he might even go through the world's limits and reach another plane of existence entirely.
But these possibilities remained far beyond his current reach.
Setting aside the question of power for now, he'd just spent every gold coin he possessed.
He would need to save for at least three more months before attempting another pull.
This time, he'd managed to accumulate 10,000 gold coins in two months only because he'd just entered the magical world, and doing anything casually had triggered achievement rewards.
In the future, achievement tasks would undoubtedly become increasingly difficult, and his main source of gold coins would be daily tasks.
Erwin thought it over for a while and concluded that the system upgrade had no immediate effect on him whatsoever.
****
Thursday arrived, the last day of October. Tonight would be Halloween.
In the afternoon, first-year students from three houses attended Charms class together.
"Today, we continue learning the Levitation Charm."
Standing atop his customary pile of books, Professor Flitwick explained the day's lesson plan.
The young wizards seated before him appeared somewhat distracted, their minds already drifting toward the evening's feast.
Erwin sat in his usual corner seat by the window, gazing outside with obvious boredom.
After all, the class content held little meaning for him now; it could only be described as completely useless.
Professor Flitwick clearly perceived the students' restlessness.
So he stopped his lecture and instructed the young wizards to pair up and practice the Levitation Charm together.
He called Erwin over and asked him to patrol the classroom alongside him, correcting the other students' mistakes.
Hermione had originally been sitting next to Erwin, but when the professor pulled him away, she had no choice but to pair with Ron, who was working alone.
Ron clutched the worn wand his brother had passed down to him, pointing it at the feather on the table and shouting.
"Wingardim Leviosa."
While shouting, both arms waved constantly through the air, as if this frantic motion would somehow increase his chances of success.
Hermione finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You're doing it wrong. It should sound like this."
Hermione pointed out Ron's mistake without hesitation, then used the correct pronunciation and gestures to successfully levitate the feather.
From across the room, Professor Flitwick spotted the achievement and grew tremendously excited.
"Well done, Miss Granger."
After witnessing Hermione's success, Ron's expression turned ugly.
He snapped at her irritably.
"Yeah. You're so brilliant, no wonder Snape calls you a know-it-all."
Harry saw the exchange and opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
The little witch's eyes instantly filled with tears at Ron's harsh words.
Ignoring Ron completely, she found an empty table in the corner and began practicing alone.
This scene, however, went unnoticed by Erwin, who was busy correcting Parvati Patil's wand movement at the other end of the classroom.
****
After class ended, Erwin made his way to the Great Hall.
The entire space had been decorated quite differently from usual.
A thousand bats fluttered along the walls and ceiling.
Countless pumpkin lanterns floated through the air, the candles flickering inside them creating a pleasantly eerie atmosphere.
Erwin sat down beside Cho and was just about to begin eating when suddenly, Professor Quirrell burst through the entrance.
He ran toward Professor Dumbledore in several quick strides, his breathing labored and uneven.
"Troll… in the dungeons… thought you ought to know"
After delivering his message, he collapsed in a dramatic faint.
Erwin's expression shifted when he heard Quirrell's words.
He remembered this scene vividly.
'This is the plot where Hermione encounters the troll.'
Although in the original timeline, Harry and Ron had successfully rescued her, this was the real world.
If they arrived even one step too late, Hermione would be in genuine danger.
Thinking of this, Erwin couldn't sit still.
He turned hurriedly to Cho.
"In a moment, follow everyone else. Don't run off anywhere. I suddenly remembered something urgent I need to handle. Don't worry about me."
After speaking, Erwin rushed toward the side door.
Cho watched him leave with obvious concern, but she knew Erwin was measured and wouldn't act recklessly, so she simply nodded her understanding.
On the raised platform, Dumbledore's voice rang out across the hall, instructing the prefects to escort students from their respective houses back to their dormitories.
By this time, Erwin had already reached the second floor and was approaching the girls' bathroom.
He could already detect the faint stench characteristic of trolls drifting through the corridor.