[Received command, starting extraction]
[Congratulations, Host has obtained Plants vs. Zombies 95 Edition]
"???" Arthur stared in disbelief.
"System, why do all the games you give me have to come with some masochistic feature?!"
Of course, he remembered this version. Back in his previous life, he had played Plants vs. Zombies 95 Edition.
In this edition, the zombies' strength, spawning speed, and density were drastically increased. From the very start of the game, zombies would come in from the right, giving you no time to gather sunlight. Sure, some plants were buffed as well, but most of the time whether you could clear a level came down to pure luck, not skill.
Arthur began to suspect that maybe because Elden Ring had been going too smoothly for him lately, the system decided to make his gaming experience a little more "challenging."
"Wait! System, open up the Plants vs. Zombies game interface! Then bring up the command console!"
System: …I have a bad feeling about this.
"I remember this one—it should be Sukhbir."
As Arthur typed in the command string, the system's premonition came true.
The system felt utterly drained. Forget it. Let the host be happy. Might as well charge him symbolically for it.
[...Would you like to use one materialization chance to modify the game command?]
"Hehehe, I can't believe this really works! Use it!" Arthur grinned from ear to ear.
[Chance deducted. Command modification successful. Wishing Host an enjoyable game.]
Sukhbir—the cheat code of this game. With it enabled, sunlight and cooldowns were ignored, and even purple cards could be used directly.
Back in his previous life, when he reached the point where the game was no longer fun, he hadn't wanted to just quit halfway. So he'd gone online and discovered this command.
Though it had cost him a materialization chance, Arthur didn't feel the slightest regret. Once he merged the Elden Ring inventory with his system space, anything he wanted from the Elden Ring could be stored in his space directly, no more materialization required.
Hmm? Could it be that the system already foresaw this, which is why it keeps trying to trick me into wasting materialization chances?
"Forget it, whatever. It's been ages since I last played this game. Let's give it a go."
That one "quick go" turned into a whole night.
In the Lands Between, Melina waited at the Site of Grace as usual for Arthur to appear, intending to continue her quiet observation. But no matter how long she waited, he never showed up.
By the time dawn's first light broke, Arthur finally realized he had already completed more than half the first run.
Seeing that it was already morning, he decided there was no point sleeping anymore. He got up, washed, and went out to find breakfast.
Only then did he realize he had overestimated his sense of direction.
After wandering around staircases that went up and down for half an hour, and finally relying on the portraits along the corridors as guides, Arthur at last managed to find the dining hall.
At the Ravenclaw table, a few older girls were already eating.
At the Gryffindor table, however, only one familiar figure sat there.
Arthur went over and sat down beside her.
"Cousin? Am I dreaming? You're actually up this early?" Hermione was astonished.
She knew his habits too well—if nobody woke him, he could sleep until noon.
In truth, Arthur didn't need to sleep that long. Two to three hours of rest was enough to fully restore him.
The rest of the time, he spent in the Elden Ring performing good deeds—sending monsters back to the Erdtree.
Arthur's face went dark at her words, and he flicked her forehead with a knuckle.
"Ow!" Hermione yelped.
"Still think you're dreaming?"
"Nope, heehee." Hermione stuck out her tongue playfully.
Seeing she had stopped teasing, Arthur began eating his breakfast.
At Hogwarts, the meals were prepared by the house-elves in the kitchens and directly teleported to the dining hall. Unless there were special requests, everyone ate the same food.
Arthur recalled that the kitchen entrance was somewhere near the stairway leading to the Hufflepuff common room. He made a mental note to ask the house-elves later if they could make Chinese food. Breakfast without soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns just didn't feel right.
The two chatted while eating.
"Want to go to the library after breakfast?" Arthur suggested.
"Better not. I haven't finished the books you already gave me," Hermione said.
"Then let's walk around after eating, get more familiar with the place."
"Alright."
Hermione had intended to return to the common room and read, but since it was her cousin's first invitation, she nodded without thinking.
Soon, however, she realized something was wrong. After following him down the same corridor for the third time, Hermione couldn't help but ask:
"Cousin… you aren't lost, are you?"
"Lost? Of course not! I just haven't memorized all the castle routes yet!" Arthur loudly denied.
"Right, right, you're not lost. Anyway, I need to go back to the common room to grab my textbooks for class. Could you walk me there, cousin?" Hermione said smoothly, humoring him.
"Well what are we waiting for, let's go! Don't be late! The first period is with our Head of House—we can't give her a bad impression." Arthur spun around and strode off.
"Cousin! The common room's the other way!" Hermione called as he walked further and further away.
In that instant, Arthur wished he could die from embarrassment.
Hermione, however, found it rather endearing—her genius cousin being a hopeless directionless fool was a surprisingly cute contrast.
When they reached the classroom, Hermione spotted a cute tabby cat on the lectern and nearly went to pet it.
Arthur quickly stopped her, whispering, "Remember when I taught you about Animagi in Transfiguration?"
"You mean… this cat is a transformed person?" Hermione recalled his earlier lesson.
"Exactly. Look at the markings around its eyes—who does it remind you of?" he prompted.
"Professor McGonagall! Oh my gosh, thank goodness you stopped me." Hermione gasped.
The two bowed politely, and the cat gave them a nod.
As more students filed in, Harry and Ron were still nowhere to be seen. Hermione grew concerned about the two boys she'd just met yesterday.
Arthur noticed as well, and asked their dormmate, Seamus, "Seamus, Harry and Ron didn't oversleep, did they?"
Seamus shook his head. "I called them when I woke up, and they said they'd come. But whether they actually got up later, I don't know."
Arthur guessed the two would be late again, just like in the original story.
Class time came, but still no Harry or Ron. Professor McGonagall didn't reveal herself, simply waiting silently.
Five minutes in, the two finally rushed into the room. Ron was even relieved to see no professor there—until the tabby cat leapt from the desk and transformed into McGonagall.
After a stern scolding, she let them sit and began the lesson.
"Transfiguration was originally created by wizards to make life more convenient. Over time, wizards perfected it and summarized what we now call Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration."
"In short, while magic can transform or conjure many things, there are five principal exceptions you must remember."
"First: food cannot be conjured out of thin air…"
Although Arthur was already adept at Transfiguration and pretended to be attentive, in reality his mind was busy directing plants to fight zombies.
Only when the little witch beside him asked for help did he finally pull his focus back.
"Cousin, I can already turn a matchstick into a needle, but why is it still wooden?" Hermione frowned.
"Imagination and belief, Hermione. Magic is a very idealistic thing. Your imagination must be vivid, the image you construct in your mind must be detailed, and you must firmly believe you can achieve it."
"Think carefully about a needle—its shape, color, and material—then wave your wand without hesitation."
Following his guidance, Hermione tried again, and this time the wooden needle instantly turned to iron.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall happened to pass by. Seeing Hermione succeed, she promptly awarded Gryffindor five points.
"Mr. Arthur, I overheard your explanation just now. You've captured the essence of Transfiguration theory very well. Could you show us your own spell?"
At her words, Arthur flicked his wand. The matchstick turned into a needle, and on it he even carved an Eastern dragon.
"Splendid Transfiguration, Mr. Arthur! Five points to Gryffindor," McGonagall said, unable to hide her delight.
Because Snape favored Slytherin and awarded them points daily, Slytherin had been House Cup champion for several years running.
She had thought about awarding more points to her own house, but her little lions always found new ways to land themselves in trouble—whatever points she gave, she had to deduct more later.
Now, with two outstanding students to earn steady points, she finally saw a glimmer of hope for winning the Cup.
If Arthur knew what she was thinking, he would have told her not to get her hopes up. With Harry around, whatever points they earned might not even cover what Snape would dock.
Hermione kept practicing her Transfiguration, and the needles in her hand gradually gained finer details.
Arthur, meanwhile, went back to his game.
McGonagall noticed his vacant stare but didn't interfere. After all, he already understood all the content of the lesson. What he chose to do was up to him—geniuses were always afforded a few privileges.