Chapter 13: Divine Skill Meditation and the Unbent Spoon
Three days later, as expected, Dudley once again claimed the championship title of the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, with Hermione taking second place.
The remaining so-called geniuses of Oxford Dragon Primary did not even make it into the top ten.
At the moment the results were announced, they were reminded once again of the fear of being dominated by Dudley.
Too weak. Crushing little kids like this was no challenge at all.
Looking at the system's reward prompt, Dudley fell silent.
[First intimate encounter with the little witch: reward, one lottery draw.]
This was the reward given after his classroom encounter with Hermione. Just like the draw he earned for helping Harry renovate the shack, Dudley had never used it.
A deep believer in luck, Dudley felt his fortune had been poor at the time and had deliberately saved them.
Today, he considered it an auspicious day. After bathing and changing clothes as usual, he rubbed his hands together and started the lottery.
"I have a feeling my luck is strong today. Time to make it count."
The moment of destiny had arrived.
"Let's pull a natural-born Archmage."
With that mindset, Dudley pressed the slot machine button. The first roll, of course, was for items.
Almost instantly, the result appeared.
A silver spoon appeared in Dudley's hand.
[Congratulations, you have drawn the item: Unbent Spoon.]
No description, no explanation—just an ordinary spoon at first glance.
Dudley stared at it. In the smooth surface of the spoon, he almost felt as if it were staring back at him.
The lottery process was so perfunctory that no animation was even given. Dudley had no idea what this thing was supposed to be.
"I'll figure it out later." With that thought, he carefully tucked the spoon into his pocket.
What if it turned out to be something valuable?
If the first roll was unlucky, then by the law of balance, the second was bound to be good.
Thus, Dudley pulled again.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but this time the slot machine seemed to spin unusually long.
After what felt like ages, the reels slowed.
On the screen appeared a massive red-and-white mecha.
A childhood memory—Light Energy Hero (Madö King Granzort).
"Domokosalam? Hariru kyuukyuu hayaaya?"
Two incantations popped into Dudley's mind.
In fact, that series did involve magic. For example, the old woman in the protagonist group was secretly one of the Long-Ear Tribe's Three Great Magicians, V-Mei. Though she often suffered defeats in the plot, in the setting she was immensely powerful.
Another of the Three Great Magicians was none other than the final boss, Aguraman.
"You're giving me a Light Energy Hero?"
"Am I supposed to pilot a mecha at Hogwarts?"
The thought was oddly appealing.
But until the last second, anything could change. Just like a promised bonus at work—it was nothing more than a pie in the sky until the money hit your pocket.
The screen shifted, sliding past the Light Energy Hero column and stopping on the next.
The image of a yellow rodent appeared before Dudley.
This was no ordinary rodent but one capable of unleashing Thunderbolt, a creature nearly everyone recognized.
"Pika God?" Dudley murmured.
From the Pokémon series—Pikachu.
But the draw was not Pikachu itself, nor even directly related to him. Instead, it was his opponent: a yellow fox with narrowed eyes.
A short CG played before Dudley, showing the Goldenrod Gym battle from the original series—Pikachu versus Abra.
[Congratulations, you have drawn the Psychic-type skill: Meditation.]
Meditation, a status move in Pokémon, calms the mind and strengthens inner power. Its effect: raising Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage each.
In Pokémon, Attack referred to physical strength, while Special Attack meant energy-based techniques. Defense and Special Defense followed the same principle.
But… Abra wasn't supposed to learn Meditation, was it?
Just as Dudley was wondering about this, the scene shifted again. Abra's body suddenly burst into dazzling light as it evolved into Kadabra.
Kadabra could learn Meditation at Level Fifty-Five.
Dudley: …
"Let's test the skill effects first."
He sat cross-legged. His heart instantly became calm, like the surface of still water. A single drop fell upon it, rippling outward in faint waves.
Ding.
A faint, invisible red glow radiated from Dudley's body.
When it ended, aside from feeling calmer inside, Dudley noticed no difference. He quickly checked his status panel.
No change. His pitiful mana value still read zero point eight.
"Hmph, I don't believe it."
Excited now, Dudley immediately performed Meditation again.
Two-stage boost. Three-stage boost. All the way up to six stages. Finally, the system prompted that further Meditation would have no effect, and Dudley stopped.
Just as in the games, it could not be stacked indefinitely. Each stat could only rise by six stages.
After six boosts, Dudley's mana still read zero point eight.
"A waste of time."
So he thought—until he noticed a new line below his mana value.
[Magic Resistance: Six]
"Could this be the effect of Special Defense?"
Though it could not raise his mana, in some sense this was a divine skill.
Dudley's eyes lit up.
At this moment, his status panel read:
[Name: Dudley Dursley]
[Race: Muggle (True)]
[Profession: Magician (False), Ripple User]
[Strength: Nine]
[Agility: Six]
[Constitution: Fifteen]
[Mana: Zero point eight]
[Magic Resistance: Six]
[Magic: None]
[Mystic Code: Unbent Spoon]
[Skills: Iron Mountain Lean (Level Five), Boxing (Level Three), Language (Level Two), Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry (Level Two), Biology (Level Two), Handcraft (Level One), Firearms (Level One), Archery (Level One)]
[Special: Ripple User (Level One), Meditation (Level ???)]
Six hours later, the six under Magic Resistance gradually faded to one.
"So the question is—where did the Special Attack boost go?" Dudley rubbed his chin in thought. But there was no one to answer him. He would have to find out himself.
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts—
In the admissions office, long darkened lamps suddenly lit again.
On the desk, a quill that had long since lain still suddenly sprang upright, as though sensing something.
This was no ordinary quill. Said to be over a thousand years old, dating back to Hogwarts' founding and crafted by the Four Founders themselves, it recorded the names of children born with magical talent.
Now, upon thick parchment, it wrote another letter.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class; Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear—
Beside the desk, a cabinet overflowed with letters. These were the admissions letters destined to be sent to next year's students.
Hey readers! If you're eager to dive into advanced chapters, consider joining our Patreon. By joining, you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead and enjoy 8 new chapters per week. Plus, we have 8 more exciting fics with the same chapter release rate, giving you a total of 64 chapters per week! Join now and keep the adventure going!
Patreon: https://patreon.com/anish_44