7 Have I Suddenly Become Dull?
The tranquility of the library made Evan immensely grateful to Madam Pince, the librarian; the rule against loud noises was indeed a necessity.
As a fundamental text on Transfiguration, "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" wasn't particularly difficult, but the voluminous pages were certainly not something to be conquered in a brief sitting.
An hour whizzed by, and Evan had only managed to get through just over a third of the book. After some consideration, he continued reading, and another hour and a half passed before he finished.
After more than two hours of continuous reading, Evan felt his head swimming with information.
The archaic language filled with mystical and seemingly nonsensical terms, typical of these ancient magical tomes, didn't sit well with someone accustomed to modern literature like Evan.
"Perhaps this is what it means to be a wizard..." Evan mused, thinking that this esoteric approach might just be where a wizard's talent lies.
At any rate, it was beyond his comprehension!
[Ding! After a period of focused reading, you find "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" dry and difficult to grasp, barely enhancing your proficiency in the Transfiguration spell.
Note: "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" reading progress: 27%.]
The system notification in Evan's mind was unexpected, as he hadn't triggered a similar alert while reading textbooks during classes.
Was it necessary to finish the book?
Evan suddenly realized the difference: he had never actually completed any magical book before. That must be the key.
With this new thought, Evan turned his criticism towards the system's notifications, which seemed no different from a game log.
After finishing the book, Evan felt that while there were parts he didn't understand, it wasn't fair to say it was dry and difficult to grasp, was it?
A reading progress of 27% made sense to Evan.
Anyone who has read a book knows that finishing it doesn't mean you can remember and apply all its contents flawlessly; otherwise, wouldn't everyone score perfectly on exams?
"Let's see how impressive this so-called Study Prodigy Experience Card really is," Evan murmured to himself before redeeming the card for a hundred points.
[Remaining time: 00:59:59...]
Instantly, Evan felt as if something in his brain had exploded. The knowledge he had recently acquired seemed to gush forth, rapidly categorizing and summarizing itself in under half a minute. His thoughts became clearer...
It was like upgrading from an old, sluggish computer to the latest high-speed model.
A minute later, Evan opened his eyes, which he had closed tight, and gently touched the cover of "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration." Although he hadn't opened it yet, the content he had read earlier resurfaced in his mind.
The once obscure and verbose words and sentences suddenly seemed to take on a new meaning when combined with the context.
As a foundational book for teaching young wizards at Hogwarts, "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" must have undergone several revisions to be concise and clear... at least for wizards.
When Evan revisited the pages, he realized he had a general understanding of the content; all that was left was to reread the parts he had skipped over because they hadn't made sense before.
Page three, chapter two... Page seven, chapter thirteen...
Evan's hands flew through "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," and the progress indicator in his mind rapidly increased...
In just twenty minutes, Evan had re-read the entire book.
[Ding! After a period of focused reading, you find "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" straightforward and unchallenging, greatly enhancing your proficiency in the Transfiguration spell.
Current reading progress of "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration": 100%!
Reading reward: Five Academic Points.]
[Transfiguration has reached Level 1, current proficiency (12/200), reward of five Academic Points.]
As Evan closed the book, two notifications sounded in his mind.
It's worth mentioning that Evan felt no different when his Transfiguration spell leveled up—there was no golden glow of upgrade effects nor any other noticeable enhancement.
But having understood the principles of the Transfiguration spell, Evan felt that casting it was no longer a challenge. At least turning a match into a silver needle seemed easy now, even with his less-than-brilliant wand. At most, the effect might be somewhat weaker.
This was in line with Evan's earlier guess: proficiency increases didn't directly enhance his power; they were more like a representation of his capability in terms of proficiency.
With about thirty-seven minutes left on the Study Prodigy Experience Card, Evan didn't pause but sprinted to the shelves and grabbed the nearest book, "Fundamentals of Basic Spell Principles Detailed Analysis," to start reading.
At first touch, Evan felt the book was heftier than he had anticipated, filled with analyses of common spell incantations and theories on the composition of magic.
This type of purely theoretical book would usually bore Evan, but this time he was engrossed. Even the system notifications that chimed in his mind didn't distract him from immersing himself in the ocean of knowledge.
However, in the midst of his reading, Evan's expression suddenly shifted. His once-clear mind felt as if it had been shrouded in fog, and the flood of thoughts was abruptly cut off.
It was like being interrupted mid-stream and having to hold back forcibly.
Have I suddenly become dull?
Evan looked at the book on spell theory, momentarily struggling to adjust to the change in his intellect.
It took him a moment to realize what had happened. He tapped his slightly dizzy head and saw that the remaining thirty minutes of the Study Prodigy Experience Card had passed.
Looking at the half-unread book in his hands, Evan reopened it unwillingly, but the other half now seemed as complex and challenging as ever. The efficiency of his reading had dropped dramatically, a hard pill to swallow for someone who had just experienced the boost of study prodigy mode.
After a few more pages, Evan sighed and put the book down.
Having experienced an hour of study prodigy mode, Evan had gained a profound understanding of the power of this exchange.
It wasn't just about increasing study speed by a few times; it was a comprehensive boost to understanding and cognitive abilities, turning a struggling student into a study prodigy or even a genius!
The acquisition of knowledge almost eliminated the problem of incomprehension; all one had to do was learn!
