Three days later, as expected, Dudley secured the top prize in the junior mathematics competition, with Hermione Granger coming in second. The rest of the bookish wizards and witches from Oxford Dragon School didn't even make it into the top ten.
The moment the results were announced, they all remembered the familiar fear of being utterly outmatched by Dudley. It was a bit too easy, really. Beating up on little kids just didn't have the same thrill anymore.
Dudley looked at the system's mission rewards, and a new one had appeared.
'First intimate contact with a little witch: Reward a single draw.'
This was the reward he got from that encounter with Hermione in the classroom. Combined with the one he earned from renovating Harry's room, Dudley had two draws he'd been saving up. A firm believer in luck, Dudley had been waiting for the right moment.
Today, he felt it was a particularly auspicious day. After a good bath and fresh clothes, he rubbed his hands together and began his first draw.
"I have a good feeling about this one. My luck is strong today. It's time."
The moment of destiny was at hand.
"I'm going for the 'Born Archmage' prize," he whispered, pressing the button on the slot machine. The first pull, of course, had to be a tool.
Almost instantly, the prize appeared. A simple silver spoon materialized in his hand.
"Congratulations! You've drawn the item 'Unbent Spoon.'"
There was no further description, no explanation. It was just a plain-looking spoon. Dudley stared at the spoon, and in the reflection on its smooth surface, he felt as though it were staring back at him.
The whole draw was a bit of a letdown. Dudley couldn't figure out what the spoon was for, but he wasn't about to give up on it.
"I'll figure it out later." He carefully tucked the spoon into his pocket. What if it was something amazing?
Since the first draw was a bit of a dud, by the law of averages, the second one was bound to be brilliant. So, Dudley started the draw again.
He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but the slot machine seemed to spin for an unusually long time. It finally started to slow down, and a giant red and white mech appeared on the screen.
It was an old classic from his childhood: Magical King.
"Domo Kosalam? Hallelujah Ya-ya?"
Two spells immediately popped into Dudley's head. Magical King was a show that involved magic, after all. The old lady in the show, for instance, was actually one of the three great mages of the Long-Eared Clan. Even though she often got into a lot of trouble, her backstory said she was incredibly powerful. The final boss of the series was another of the three great mages.
"Am I getting a giant mech? Am I going to pilot a mech at Hogwarts?" The thought was rather thrilling.
But, as he well knew, anything could happen until the very last second. Just like a boss's promise of a bonus, it was all just an illusion until the money was actually in your pocket.
The screen slid past the giant mech and stopped on a new prize: a small, yellow mouse.
It wasn't just any yellow mouse, but a creature who could use 100,000 volts of electricity and was famous everywhere.
"Pikachu?" Dudley said slowly.
The creature was from the series Pokémon, but the prize he won wasn't Pikachu itself. It wasn't even very related to him at all. It was his opponent from an old TV show, a fox with narrow eyes.
A quick animation played in Dudley's mind, a scene from the Pokémon anime, of the battle between Pikachu and the fox-like creature in the Goldenrod City Gym.
"Congratulations! You have drawn the Psychic-type skill, 'Meditate.'"
Meditate was a transformation skill in the world of Pokémon. It allowed the user to calm their mind and enhance their abilities, raising both their special attack and special defense. In that world, an attack was a physical one, and a special attack was an energy-based one. Defense and special defense were the same idea.
Wait... I don't think that fox could even learn Meditate...
Just as Dudley thought this, the animation changed. The creature began to glow, and in a flash, it evolved! It was a Kadabra, and a level 55 Kadabra could indeed learn Meditate.
Dudley just sighed.
Still, he decided to give it a try. He sat cross-legged and focused. His mind became as still as a calm lake. A tiny ripple appeared as if a single drop of water had disturbed the surface.
Ding!
A faint red glow, invisible to the naked eye, emanated from Dudley's body.
It was over.
Dudley didn't feel any different, aside from the stillness in his mind. He looked at his status panel. There was no change. His magical power was still a pathetic 0.8.
"I don't believe this," he grumbled, giving it another try. He kept meditating, strengthening his abilities two, three, and even up to six times, the maximum possible. The system notified him that no further meditation was possible, and he stopped.
This was exactly like the game. There was no way to strengthen his abilities infinitely. After all six boosts, his magic power was still 0.8.
"What a waste of time," he thought. But then, he noticed a new line of text had appeared just below his magic power.
'Magic Resistance: 6.'
Was this the result of the special defense boost? Even if it didn't increase his magic power, this was still a game-changing skill in its own way.
Dudley's eyes widened. His updated stats now read:
Name: Dudley Dursley
Race: Muggle (True)
Profession: Fake Magician, Ripple Master
Strength: 9
Agility: 6
Constitution: 15
Magic Power: 0.8
Magic Resistance: 6
Magic: None
Magic Tools: Unbent Spoon
Skills: Body Slam (LV5), Boxing (LV3), Language (LV2), Science and Mathematics (LV2), Biology (LV2), Crafts (LV1), Firearms (LV1), Archery (LV1)
Special: Ripple Master (LV1), Meditate (LV???)
Six hours later, the number next to Magic Resistance slowly faded from a 6 to a 1.
"So then the question is, where did the boost to my special attack go?" Dudley wondered, stroking his chin. No one could tell him the answer, so he would have to find it himself.
At that exact moment, over at Hogwarts, the lights in the Admissions Office, which had been off for hours, suddenly flickered to life.
On the desk, the magical quill that had been resting for the night suddenly stood on its own, as if sensing something. It was an ancient, magical quill said to have been created by the Hogwarts founders themselves. It was meant to record the names of every child with an innate magical talent.
It began to write another letter on a thick piece of parchment.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear...
Piles of letters sat next to the desk, all ready to be sent to the incoming first-years.