7 New Spells
After reading through the books and gaining the knowledge regarding spells, many new spells had already been unlocked for Pro. Pro was able to see them pop up in his magic skill details page.
[Level 1: Wand-Lighting Charm]
[Level 3: Mending Charm]
[Level 5: Locking Spell]
[Level 9: Unlocking Charm]
[Level 11: Levitation Charm]
[Level 13: ...]
Each of these spells have a magic level attached to them and these spells were under the normal spells section. There was three more sections for Transfiguration Spells, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Magic Equipment. These new sections slowly filled up as Pro accumulated more knowledge from the books. It was also one of the reasons that he diligently stuck to reading.
Although Pro didn't know if what the level requirement for a spell does, he did manage to guess that he should be able to cast a spell even if he doesn't meet the level requirements. He was pretty sure the system won't restrict him to always fail the spell just because his magic level was low.
With this thought, Pro swished his wand in preparation to cast his first spell. Although he could try some of the iconic spells such as the levitation charm, Pro decided to start with the easiest Wand-Lighting charm, at least according to the system.
"Lumos."
With a whisper, Pro followed the spell casting instructions in the book and imagined a light appearing on his wand. Pro only got a couple of fizzles on the first couple of tries, but he eventually successfully created a light at the tip of his wand after multiple tries.
Pro smiled happily as he observed the dim glow at the tip of his wand. He knew he had succeeded for sure when he saw the quest completion prompt pop up in his vision.
[Congratulations! You have completed First Spell Quest. You are awarded: 1 Quest Point, 100 Magic XP, Standard Spellbook Unlocked]
With the 100 XP award, Pro also got another level up notification, bringing his magic level up to 5. Closing the popups with a cheerful smile, Pro glanced down at the newly unlocked button on his interface, the Spellbook.
With a thought, Pro pulled up the Spellbook interface. At the moment, there was only two pages in the spellbook, one for Standard spells and one for transfiguration spells. Most of the icons in the spell pages were dark, but Pro noticed the lit-up icons for the Wand-Lighting Charm, Mending Charm, and Locking Spell!
With high anticipation, Pro dived in to test the new spellbook function. After a couple days of testing, Pro finally drew a conclusion regarding the function of his new spellbook and his magic casting.
First, even if the spell is not lit up in his spellbook, he is still able to cast it, but usually with high difficulty even with practice. Plus, even if he had never manually practiced a spell, he would still be able to cast it through the spellbook as long as it is unlocked. On the other hand, he still struggles with manually casting spells that were already lit up, but he will have an easier time casting the spell the more he practices.
Second, Pro discovered that the function of the spellbook was a powerful auxiliary for his spellcasting. By using the spellbook to cast his unlocked spells, he could easily cast his spells at their highest potential without the required wand motions when casting manually. He only needs to aim and cast instantly! Not only that, he could even cast the spells silently and without his wand! There's no need to expound on how powerful this is.
However, there are some limitations to this powerful auxillary function. The most obvious is that spells are locked by magic level. Besides the three standard spells, Pro also had the Defense Against Dark arts spells of level 2 Green Sparks and level 4 Red Sparks unlocked. There was also an overlap of the Wand-Lighting Charm at level 1. On the other hand, Pro didn't even have a single transfiguration spell unlock because the lowest level transfiguration spell of Match to Needle requires a magic level of 7.
The second limitation of the spellbook is that the spellbook page must be opened in order to cast the spell. Although isn't too much of a hassle to achieve, it will still take multiple thoughts to open so Pro can't instantly cast spells with a thought. Also, Pro needs to tap on the right spell icon with his thoughts in order to cast the spell. So memorizing each icon and their spells was another hassle he had to undertake.
The third limitation is the spellcast delay and the movement pause in between spells. Although this isn't too long, it can make a whole lot of difference during spell battles. With this restriction, spellcasting with the spellbook will require the user to be a stationary target for a short moment in order to cast the spell. This is certainly not practical in a battle where running and dodging is required.
The final limit that really made Pro sigh in regret is the spell fizz. That's right, the spells cast using the spellbook is affected by R*nescape's magic fizzing or failure system. Although the spell is perfect on a successful cast, there is also a high chance of the spell just failing to have any effect on the target. Imagine how awkward it would be if your spell shot and landed on your opponent, just to have it fizzle out with no effect.
Of course, this only applies to spell that need a target like the Mending Charm and Locking Spell. The Wand-Lighting Charm had no chance of failure which was a happy thing for Pro. However, the Lumos Charm was a continuous spell, and Pro was still not able to move until he deactivates the spell. So, it was not as practical as learning the spell manually, but it can still be used for stationary activities like reading at night or serving as a beacon.
Then, there's the normal restrictions that are applied due to equipment. According to the worn equipment interface, his wand actually gives him a +10 magic buff when equipped! Although the spell cast can be perfect without wand, casting magic without his wand was definitely weaker and it also has a higher chance of failing. On a side note, the Hogwarts robe and hat also gave a +1 magic buff each.
Limitations aside, the spellbook was still fairly useful. With no chance of failure, Pro can easily use the Lumos spell to grind XP for his magic level all night long by activating and deactivating it. He would do this until he falls asleep, after which would the system would automatically deactivate the spell for him.
Of course, Pro still practiced his spells manually without system assist because casting spells without system assist may be more practical in the long run. The system assist can be kept as a wandless magic trump card.
With the hardcore grind for XP, Pro barely managed to raise his magic skill up to level 8 by the end of August, unlocking the Match to Needle transfiguration spell and the level 6 Wand-Extinguishing Charm under Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hunter also went up to level 6 and farming finally went up to level 2 through reading.
Finally approaching September 1st, Pro had to stop his XP grind and focus on packing up for school. With mommy Beatrice fussing over him, Pro didn't have too much to do himself, but he still had to spend time to accompany his mother and to organize his personal inventory.
Leaving the Muggle banknotes in his inventory, Pro replaced the Muggle coins for the three wizarding world denominations of Galleon, Sickels, and Knuts. To compress space, Pro also exchanged his 5 Euro banknotes for 10 Euro ones with his parents.
This left him with a stack of 82 ten euro banknotes in his inventory. There were now a neat 10 galleons, 25 sickels, and 25 knuts stored in his inventory. Mommy Beatrice magically managed to find a kitchen knife that had been missing for years because Pro switched it out with his woodcutting axe secretly. His bow and a stack of 10 blunt, training arrows were also stored into his inventory.
The spare t-Shirt and jeans were still sitting in the inventory, and Pro also planned to stash one of his Hogwarts black work robe once he gets on the train. This will bring his total occupied inventory slots up to 10.
September quietly arrived, but Pro woke up to the bustling noise of his mother frantically scampering about downstairs. He was the one going to school, but his mother was more worried than him.
Getting up like usual, Pro went through his morning routine. After going downstairs and greeting his calm father whose scorching eyes were lingering on the beauty bumbling around, Pro ate his breakfast under his mother's constant care and supervision. He felt like all the work he had done to shape his responsible, mature image had disappeared, and he went back to being a child in his mother's eyes again.
Time ticked away and it didn't take long for the family of three to head to the King's Cross train station a bit earlier than the required time. With his father wheeling a cart with his trunk and other items on top, Pro was ushered into the station by his worried mother who was constantly nagging him non-stop. Although it was a bit annoying, Pro still listened carefully because it was a testimonial of his mother's love to him.
Passing many Muggles who gave the cart a funny look due to his owl, Nightwing, sitting in his cage, the family of three finally arrived between platforms nine and ten.
Checking his surroundings carefully to avoid the notice of normal people, daddy Joseph then happily said with a chuckle, "Alright, daddy will go through first. Then, mommy will take lil Pro through."
With that said, daddy Joseph then shoved the cart and marched towards the wall between platforms nine and ten as if he was aiming to crash into it. Then, Pro watched as his father disappeared through the wall as expected.
"Alright Pro, it's our turn. Don't be afraid darling, mommy will be here with you," mommy Beatrice comforted as she led Pro towards the wall.
Of course Pro wasn't afraid, but even if he said he wasn't, he knew his mother won't be letting go of his hands. The duo quickly approached the wall and in the blink of an eye, Pro found himself in a platform sparsely packed with people. His father was standing nearby with a smile while examining the scarlet steam engine with a look of nostalgia.
Glancing at the nearby archway with the label of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Pro smiled with a bit of excitement before he was tugged along by mommy Beatrice.
The family strolled down the platform and easily found an empty compartment on the carriage. Mommy Beatrice then stopped Pro once more and began to nag him once more while daddy Joseph helped him move his stuff into the carriage.
Most of what she said was repeats by now, and it didn't take long for the excited daddy Joseph to interrupt her, "Now, now baby. We shouldn't delay our lil Pro any longer. Lil Pro will have to learn to be independent sooner or later, so we should let him go. Perhaps he can make some new friends before the train leaves."
Hearing her husband's reminder, mommy Beatrice finally broke down and began to sob lightly as she hugged Pro while smooching him from time to time. Fortunately, there weren't too many people at this time or else there would have been a crowd gathering to watch the melodramatic goodbye scene.
After almost ten minutes of goodbyes, mommy Beatrice finally released Pro under the comfort of daddy Joseph. Hugging the beauty burying her face in his chest with one arm, daddy Joseph chuckled happily as he ruffled Pro's hair with his other hand.
"Go on now lil Pro. Remember to write back to us with Nightwing. Lil Pro doesn't have to worry, daddy will take good care of mommy. Daddy will send Hoots over if there is any good news. Remember this lil Pro, a thick skin is the solution to a lady's shield!"
Pro's mouth twitched as he looked at his father's shameless face. He then turned around without saying a word and entered his compartment on the carriage. Sitting in his seat and glancing out the window, Pro watched his father wave at him.
Mommy Beatrice also turned around with red eyes as she waved goodbye. Then, daddy Joseph pulled the reluctant mommy Beatrice out of the platform. Although they could stay to watch him go, mommy Beatrice firmly decided to leave early because she was afraid that she would chase after the train if she stayed. Of course, daddy Joseph may have other plans in place to comfort mommy Beatrice.
After changing to the Hogwarts robe, Pro plopped himself down on the seat of his compartment. Sitting in his compartment all alone, Pro was a bit nervous yet he also felt a hint of excitement. As more and more individuals filed into the platform, Pro glanced out the window with a hint of anticipation.
Will he be meeting the iconic characters of the Harry Potter verse soon? Will he perhaps end up sitting with them? Or will he just meet unknown side characters? What will his future hold?
