Before Char's eyes, a reward appeared on the Devil's Snare—one with a characteristic he'd never seen before.
[Cultivate the Devil's Snare to maturity and you will get rewards:]
[Number of chained control spells +1 (Silver Level)]
Char stared at the words "Number of Chains +1," a guess instantly forming in his mind. In his past life, he remembered a game set in the wizarding world where spells, even the most forbidden ones, could chain from one target to the next like lightning. Could this be the same principle?
His breathing quickened. If so, this was an extraordinary reward.
Currently, his only binding spell was the Full Body-Bind Curse. It was effective in one-on-one duels, especially with his ability to cast wandlessly and nonverbally, but it was inefficient in a chaotic brawl against multiple opponents. He'd learned that the hard way during his fight with the poachers.
But if that spell could chain… hitting one enemy would trigger a second binding on another. He could instantly control two foes at once! It was a complete game-changer. If he'd had that ability before, Hagrid might never have been knocked out; they could have disabled the poachers in seconds.
And this was just the silver-level reward, offering a single chain. What if he could raise its level further? To epic, or even legendary? He imagined a battlefield where a single spell from him could ensnare every enemy in sight. The thought alone made his expression burn with excitement. Used correctly, this would be a devastating trump card.
Based on this reward alone, Char was already leaning toward cultivating the Devil's Snare first. But then he saw the plant's second reward, and he frowned. It was another new reward type—a double-edged sword with both a benefit and a drawback.
It was called [Fire-Fearing Skin].
Char figured this reward stemmed directly from the Devil's Snare's own nature. The plant was terrified of fire but was otherwise incredibly resilient, resistant to cuts and blows. Once you were caught in its grip, panic was your worst enemy. If you couldn't summon fire or bright light, even a half-giant like Hagrid would struggle to break free.
This gave Char pause. Stronger defense was always useful. His physique was already exceptionally tough; with another layer of defense, physical attacks would pose almost no threat to him, aside from his low magic resistance.
But gaining a crippling weakness to fire in exchange? Just as he was weighing the trade-off, a realization struck him, and his eyes lit up. He remembered the legendary-level heat resistance he'd acquired before school started.
"My heat tolerance is legendary," he realized. "My fire resistance is practically maxed out. Could the negative effect of this 'fire-fearing' skin even touch my legendary ability? It would probably be completely neutralized. That would leave me with only the positive effects—all the defense, with none of the weakness!"
In that instant, all his doubts vanished. The decision was made. He would start with the Devil's Snare.
With newfound purpose, Char threw on his clothes, strode out of the bathroom, and headed back toward the greenhouse. The house-elf, Liz, who was happily fluffing his pillows, saw him leaving again.
"Young Master!" she called out, surprised. "You're not going to sleep? You haven't slept for three days!"
Char walked on, his pace quick with excitement. "It's only been three days," he called back. "No time for sleep. There's too much work to do to be sleeping at my age!"
Liz stared after his retreating back, her large eyes suddenly welling with tears.
"So lucky!" she sobbed quietly. "How could Liz be so lucky to serve such a noble and hardworking young master? If the young master doesn't sleep, then Liz won't sleep either! Liz must clean the house ten more times!"
While the house-elf was overcome with emotion, Char was already back in the greenhouse. He carefully took out the Devil's Snare root Professor Sprout had sent him, but he didn't rush to begin.
Snape's lessons in Potions had become second nature to him. Before any experiment, in any subject, the first step was never to rush in with fancy techniques, but to observe—to understand the object of your work in minute detail. Char focused, carefully sensing the small root in front of him. A hint of surprise touched his face. This plant truly had almost no weaknesses besides its fear of fire; no wonder it had been chosen to guard the Philosopher's Stone. Even as a tiny root, he could feel its unusual magic and powerful vitality. Professor Sprout had given him a particularly high-quality specimen, which meant his chances of successful cultivation would be much higher.
As he observed, he recalled the key cultivation points from her letter. The plant was called Devil's Snare, not Devil's Ivy, for a reason. Each root was covered in special magic nodes. Using the Pruning Charm on these nodes would cause branches to sprout, and those branches would have their own nodes, continuing to grow until a dense, mature Devil's Snare was formed. The largest one ever recorded covered nearly two acres.
Cutting these nodes was the key. Precision was everything. Missing even one, or making an imperfect cut, would impact the final quality. And Professor Sprout had emphasized one point with three underlines: "The Devil's Snare is very, very, very resistant to the Pruning Curse. You must have a high level of proficiency to succeed."
Char reviewed the information, then looked at the root. His own Pruning Charm was nearly platinum level; that wasn't low. He decided to give it a try. The root was covered in nodes; a failed attempt or two wouldn't ruin the entire project.
He carefully placed the unsealed root in a dark corner of the greenhouse, where it immediately became more active, its magic pulsing stronger. With his enhanced perception, Char locked onto a magic node almost instantly and flicked his wand.
A sharp, invisible force shot out—the Pruning Charm. It struck the root.
But the next moment, Char's expression shifted. The spell, which had never failed him before, was useless against the Devil's Snare. It didn't even make a proper cut, just a barely visible scratch. The whole time, it felt like he was trying to carve thick leather with a dull knife. A second later, the scratch healed itself, and the magic node vanished.
He took a deep breath. No wonder she'd emphasized it so strongly.
"It's not my spell proficiency," Char murmured to himself. "The main issue is my raw magic power. My Pruning Spell is too weak. It's like an old martial arts master with superb technique but no strength left to deliver a lethal blow."
But Char wasn't without a solution. Without hesitation, he found a bucket of water and plunged his head into it. His water-holding ability activated instantly, and he felt his magic swell, a feeling of omnipotence washing over him.
The next moment, he waved his wand again. Another Pruning Charm, supercharged with his enhanced magic, struck a new node.
This time, the feeling of cutting into tough leather returned, but now, he was holding a sharpened blade instead of a dull one.
Puff!
A mark, much deeper than before, appeared on the root. But as Char felt the fluctuation of magic, he shook his head in disappointment.
"Still a failure. The cut wasn't neat enough. Not sharp enough, not fast enough."
He quickly regained his composure. After all, this was a sub-project of the legendary Whomping Willow. It was unrealistic to expect it to be easy, even with his improved abilities.
"But I'm not far off," Char estimated silently. "If I can get my Pruning Spell to platinum level and combine it with my water-holding ability, I should have a good chance of success. Still, even a fifty percent success rate would result in a horribly low-quality Devil's Snare. It's better to wait."
He decided on a new course of action. "I'll start cultivating the Devil's Snare after I harvest this batch of Margaret and upgrade my magic power. That should be achievable before the Christmas holiday is over."
A spark of anticipation lit his eyes. For now, the Devil's Snare was on hold, and the Margaret just needed time. For a moment, it seemed he was at a standstill, with nothing to do but drill his spells.
"Oh, right," he remembered. "Professor Snape's advice on my practical training. I understand what he meant, but I'm still far from mastering the key points. If I can improve my practical skills over the holiday, I'll be much better prepared if Quirrell tries anything else."
He frowned in thought. "But where can I find a suitable opponent for actual combat practice here at home?"
His gaze drifted through the greenhouse glass and landed on the house-elf, Liz, who was still busy inside the house.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
He recalled the incredible magic house-elves possessed. They could cast spells without wands or incantations and could bypass nearly any wizarding blockade at will. Most wizards were no match for them; even Voldemort had paid the price for underestimating a house-elf.
Wasn't this the perfect training partner?
With that thought, Char immediately called out to Liz. As she looked at him with a surprised expression, he said seriously, "Liz, I need your help. I want you to help me practice!"