Wade opened his eyes and stared quietly at the ceiling for quite a while before he finally managed to boot up properly.
"Great..."
That night's sleep had been incredibly satisfying, almost completely replenishing the energy he'd burned through over the past while.
Being young really was great. Magic was great.
If this were his pre-transmigration adult body, after working at such intensity, it would probably have taken him several days to recover.
But just as the refreshed Wade swung his legs out from under the covers, he immediately pulled them back in.
In winter, the inside and outside of the bed were two entirely different worlds.
Wade fished his beechwood wand from the bedside table and extended it out from beneath the covers.
A moment later, an orange-yellow flame drifted from the tip of the wand and hovered in midair.
The icy bedroom instantly became as warm as spring.
Dumbledore had been right. For heating, Gubraithian Fire was more than enough.
Fiendfyre was a bit too much. The temperature rose too fast, far too intensely.
If you didn't control it properly, it was easy to burn the whole place down.
As long as you could cast Gubraithian Fire, it was far easier to control than Fiendfyre.
Wade lay there and stretched, casually opening the system shop to take a look.
He'd gone to bed early last night and hadn't had time to check it.
But after just one glance, Wade sat straight up.
Setting aside the usual materials and rare magical plant seeds, the third item alone completely woke him up.
…
[Item Three: Cat-like Reflexes (Unlocked) 1000 Merit Points]
…
The description of the item was extremely simple and easy to understand.
[Cat-like Reflexes: Upon purchase, permanently and greatly enhances the host's reaction speed, making the host even faster than the most agile cat.]
For a moment, Wade wondered if the system shop was showing an error.
Such an important innate ability, and it was only selling for a thousand points?
Even at ten thousand, Wade would have considered it a bargain.
In this world, the deciding factors in a duel between wizards, aside from magical power and technique, also include reaction speed to a very large degree.
Drawing one's wand, casting speed, and even the speed at which one evades spells are all closely tied to reaction ability.
Back then, in Headmaster Dippet's battle with Grindelwald, Grindelwald's magical power was not necessarily stronger than Dippet's. Even with the Elder Wand's enhancement, it wouldn't have surpassed him by much.
After all, the older a wizard is, the more spells they master and more formidable they become, especially someone as frighteningly old as Headmaster Dippet.
Yet Headmaster Dippet still lost to Grindelwald.
Although he possessed considerable magical power and combat experience, his age was simply too great. Whether it was the reaction of his hands and feet or the speed of his thinking, he simply couldn't keep up with the much younger Grindelwald.
Coupled with the fact that he hadn't fought anyone in many years, once the fight truly began, Headmaster Dippet found it difficult to withstand Grindelwald's complex and bizarre spellcasting.
If Headmaster Dippet had been forty or fifty years younger, Grindelwald would never have been able to defeat him in such a short time.
This clearly showed just how important reaction speed was in wizarding combat.
Moreover, improving one's reaction ability through later training was extremely difficult.
As one aged, reaction speed would instead decline.
With such a talent that could directly enhance reaction ability, how could Wade possibly let it slip by?
"Purchase." Wade clicked without the slightest hesitation.
At the instant the purchase was completed, Wade felt a brief moment of dizziness, as if an illusion had flashed before his eyes.
It was as though time around him had slowed down. Even the snowflakes drifting past the window seemed to be falling much more slowly.
Everything before him felt like footage being played back at reduced speed.
However, the sensation lasted only an instant before vanishing completely.
As the world returned to normal, Wade felt an uncanny sense of disorientation, as if he had briefly stepped into another state of existence. It was an oddly wonderful feeling.
"Hah! Hahahaha! This is going to be fun~~!"
Wade immediately climbed out of bed. He needed to find a way to properly test his reaction speed.
…
Riddle Manor.
Tom somewhat regretfully dismissed his Patronus.
He really wanted to know what form his Patronus would eventually take, but it seemed that he couldn't find out just yet.
According to Dumbledore, aside from bloodline, a Patronus was also closely tied to a wizard's personality.
Even the subtlest psychological changes would be reflected by the Patronus Charm.
Dumbledore said that it was likely because Tom had undergone too many realizations recently and changed too quickly, leaving his state of mind extremely complex.
As a result, the Patronus Charm had yet to reflect his truest self.
"When you are finally able to truly understand your own heart, your Patronus will reveal itself."
Those were Dumbledore's exact words.
After Tom dismissed his Patronus, Dumbledore also told him about the basilisk.
Headmaster Dippet even specifically took out several books introducing basilisks and let Tom look through them.
He also explained in detail what the school hoped Tom would do.
"Alright, I'll open the door," Tom agreed without hesitation.
It was just opening a door. Moreover, with Dumbledore and the others present, there shouldn't be any real danger.
"Professor, the books say that a basilisk's eyes... are they really that deadly? That if you meet its gaze, you just die?"
"Yes.. Not just eye contact. Even seeing its eyes is fatal. Just like the Killing Curse... instant death," Dumbledore said gravely. "It is an extremely evil and extremely dangerous Dark creature. Even now, the only way people know what a basilisk's eyes look like is through the ghosts of those it has killed..."
As he spoke, Dumbledore flipped to an illustrated page and handed it to Tom.
It showed a pair of enormous amber-yellow pupils. Even as an illustration, it still made Tom's scalp prickle.
Thinking of what was written in Slytherin's manuscript, Tom finally understood why Slytherin had been so confident.
Why he believed that this sleeping creature, once awakened, would be enough to carry on his will.
If that thing got loose in the castle, it would be a massacre.
Just imagine it. Such a massive snake suddenly appearing. Before anyone realizes it's a basilisk, who could resist looking at it?
And once you look, you're basically dead...
Even Dumbledore himself, if caught off guard and meeting its gaze, would die on the spot.
"If we can't even look at it, then how are we supposed to deal with it?" Tom asked with a frown.
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