12 HP 5

"Hi, my name is Andrew Thompson, your new neighbor, a teacher, and a spare time acrobat." I introduce myself, offering a handshake while cracking a joke at my own expanse.

"Pff..." A cute snort leaves her impeccable nose and she shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you, Andrew, I'm Olivia, Olivia Lane." She gives my outfit a glance and follows up. "Going out to practice your acrobatics moves?"

"Yeah right." I say with a chuckle. "I'm heading out for a jog and to get something to eat. You know, work off the calories, just before I replenish them." I say half-serious.

"I get it, I get it." She nods sagely, then bursts out with another laugh and pats me on my arm. "Alright then, I wont to be in your way. Have a nice day and see you around, Andy." She says goodbye and heads towards her apartment, and for a moment, my gaze unintentionally drifts downwards, but I quickly catch myself and bid her farewell.

While on my way down the staircase, I give my new skill a quick glimpse, and I wasn't even surprised by it. The skill was a perfect ability for someone who wanted a huge flock of girls around him. For me, on the other hand, I might only get its uses here or there.

[Seduction LVL:1/100]

- While actively seducing a target, appear more visually and emotionally appealing to them.

- Chances of seducing a target, while actively trying, increased by 0.5%/LVL.

That encounter with Olive had thrown me out of my tact, and while jogging, thoughts of her kept popping up in my head. "The fuck is wrong with me?" I mutter under my breath. I knew I wasn't in love with her, I was sure of it, but something else was influencing my mind, and I wasn't sure what it was. "Perhaps I should focus on mastering Occlumency and Legilimency, to see if that sorts this shit out." I mutter to myself.

After finishing my evening run, I went to the Italian place Mrs. Mabel, well her son actually, recommended, and picked up some delicious-looking spaghetti. Back home, I sat down to eat and attempted to grasp the concepts of Occlumency and Legilimency, hoping to gain some clarity while enjoying my meal.

After reading through both of the books I had on the topic, I gained a vague understanding of both subjects. Occlumency, created a reinforced mind, accompanied by a mental shield, while Legilimency allowed a glimpse into the mind of another. Both magical skills heavily relied on mana, as Occlumency's mental shields were purely built out of it, while Legilimency used thin mental threads reinforced with mana to sift through someone's mind.

While I could extensively practice Occlumency within the safety of my home, attempting Legilimency was another thing altogether. Since the day had already ended, I had no intention of leaving the trunk, but tomorrow morning, I planned to venture out to try to read other people's thoughts. One thing however perplexed me, I didn't get any system notifications regarding the acquisition of Occlumency or Legilimency as a skill or spell.

Before returning to my studies on charms and transfiguration, I briefly looked into Obliviate, but the complexity of the spell was on a completely different level and left me feeling awkward and struggling to comprehend how it worked. I spent the rest of the night reading through both the Year One books on charms and transfiguration, and practicing all the spells they contained.

By the time I finishes both books, my reading skill leveled up two times, while both charms and transfiguration reached all the way to level ten. The knowledge about the topic and the accompanied practice made my skills level up pretty quickly. I telekinetically levitated the books to the side, and after a shower, I tucked myself in. Tomorrow I will be delving deep into the minds of others, so a good night's sleep was surely welcome.

Upon awakening early in the morning and having a bowl of cereal, I resolved myself to make my outing both enjoyable and productive by going shopping while attempting to practice Legilimency on people. I was prepared to experience a few awkward moments, as the ability required me to establish and maintain eye contact with people for a few moments.

My bright idea was to ride the bus to the shopping district, and while on it, attempt to read the thoughts of my fellow passengers. Fortunately, after a short wait, the symbol of Britain, a red double-decker bus arrived, to the nearby stop. I got in, paid the fare, and moved to the back. As the number of stops increased, so did the number of people on board.

Despite my attempts to read minds, I failed repeatedly, even though I was following the book to the letter. I was pretty sure I was doing everything correctly, well at least I was hoping so. After about fifteen awkward attempts at making eye contact with strangers, I finally had a partial success. However, it was only partial because my attempt somehow caused one person to become unconscious and foam at the mouth, forcing the bus to make an emergency stop. Needless to say, it was an eventful ride.

To avoid another mishap like the previous one, I continued my mind-probing experiments with a gentler approach. I reeled back on the amount of mana I was using while using the mind tendrils not as spears, but more like sewing needles, and gently tried to connect to the targeted mind. After about another twenty tries, while making the people around me turn visibly uneasy, my persistence paid off, and I succeeded in glimpsing the surface thoughts of a woman I had been observing.

Her thoughts revolved around the previous incident, and how creeped out she felt by someone who kept staring at her. I couldn't help but wonder who she was referring to. My wondering didn't last long, because a system notification pulled my attention.

[Skill: [Mind Arts] unlocked.]

[Mind Arts LVL:1/100]

- The user gains 1 Mind Tether/LVL.

- Increases the chance of entering the targets mental realm 1%/LVL.

- Allows the viewing, editing, and copying of memories over to the user.

- Allows the implanting of suggestions, however, the other party may choose not to act on them.

- Forms a shield around the user's mind, protecting it from intruders.

- Forms a mental library, able to store and filter memories and knowledge, allowing instant access to any.

The combination of Legilimency and Occlumency gave birth to something powerful. It allowed me to penetrate the mind of a stranger without the need for eye contact and even gave me the ability to view, copy, and modify their memories. Probably the most underrated ability would be the implanting of suggestions. If I make someone susceptible to suggestions, for example, with [Seduction] or [Deception], it basically becomes a mind control ability.

Once the skill was unlocked, thanks to the system's guidance, my mind-reading process became more instinctual and effortless. I found that the thoughts of unsuspecting and mundane individuals were laid bare before me, as they had no mental defenses against my newfound ability.

The skill's mental shield not only blocked attempts to manipulate my mind but also fortified it. By forming a mental library, the skill retained all my memories and granted me instant access to them. Note that I couldn't learn something by merely glimpsing at it; reading and practicing were still necessary. Nonetheless, the skill's feature enabled me to recollect information permanently after a single exposure and learn within my own mind.

It was quite a hilarious experience to explore the secrets of others, and I even managed to convince a few people to get off the bus, by making them think they forgot to turn off the oven or the iron. I was thoroughly enjoying the use of this remarkable skill. While I was experimenting with the skill, its level kept increasing, and I found that I could connect with more and more people simultaneously. By the end of the bus ride, the skill level had reached twenty-one, making it my second-highest leveled skill. But I was not yet satisfied and knew that there was still more to explore.

After stepping off the bus, I stumbled upon a fine clothing store. With the help of the attendant and her unfiltered true thoughts, it was an easy process to find clothes that not only fit me but looked good on me. I knew I could just make her think that I'd already paid, but her pleasant demeanor and genuine cheerfulness, her unsaid compliments about my appearance, dissuaded me from stealing a few hundred pounds worth of clothing. I bid her farewell and after paying, I located an out-of-sight place and stored everything I bought inside of my inventory.

With shopping out of the way, I spent the rest of the day wandering the streets and focusing solely on leveling up my [Mind Arts] skill. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, my skill had reached level 51 and hit a wall in terms of progression. Although it was disappointing that reading the thoughts of everyday people no longer posed a challenge, there was no further room for improvement by only doing that. So without further ado, I went home and continued my studies.

A week went by, with mostly studying and light exercise. Most of my magical skills have both risen in levels and proficiency, performing charms and transfiguration at the year three students level was an easy feat for the current me. Additionally, my ability to manually manipulate mana has increased tremendously, allowing me to cast a few well-trained spells without the help of a wand or chant. While all of the physical activities started to pay off, my stamina had increased and I was starting to feel better in my shoes, however, for some reason, none of my stats have risen.

The most annoying part of the week, however, was that my neighbor, the attractive girl, kept popping up in my mind. Even with my mind shields active all the time, thoughts about her kept appearing randomly. Additionally, the fact that throughout the week, we kept accidentally running into each other didn't help even a bit. With each encounter, the time we spent talking increased, she laughed at my silly jokes, while I attentively listened to her stories, and the invisible force pushing me toward her only grew. For some reason, it felt like a higher power was responsible for all of this. I had no qualms with the girl, she was gorgeous, smart, and pretty fun to talk to, I was just pissed that something, that I had no control over, trying to influence me.

Ultimately I had enough, in the attempt of finding a reason for the connection I've felt towards her, I steeled my nerves and entered into her mind, read through her thoughts, and even explored most of her memories, gaining a good understanding of the girl and her situation, and ultimately dooming myself.

Olivia was mostly a typical Londoner, growing up as an only child in a loving but extremely strict family, resulting in her living a pretty sheltered life. In her early years, ballet was her passion, until her dance instructor changed to a man and she was forbidden to attend it. Instead of finding her a new instructor, her parents forced her to learn the piano, which she learned to despise. Her parents were strict and never allowed her to let loose, they had a fixation on the future and ignored the present, resulting in Olivia not experiencing a true childhood.

Recently, she lost her immediate family and was ignored by her extended relatives, and that whole experience didn't actually disturb her, as much as she thought it would. She was finally free, but still lived by the rules set up by her demised parents.

Despite having completed an economics course at a nearby academy and working in an accounting company, Olivia felt dissatisfied with her life. She yearned to travel and explore, free from the confines of a nine-to-five office job. Strikingly, her story resembled my own. We shared similar backstories, interests, and even some hobbies, both of us were introverts who preferred diving into a good book over attending a party.

She was a pretty timid and shy girl, but once she set her sight on something she wanted, she gave it her all to achieve it, and that's how I found out that I wasn't the only one always thinking about her. On our first meeting, surprisingly, I wasn't the only one awed by her. She experienced the same sensation, but the description of what she felt, sounded way better than mine. She held herself better than I did, but in the end, the moment our eyes met she thought our souls resonated with each other, and maybe there was a bit of truth in it.

The most striking information I've learned about her, however, was the fact that she was a virgin and that her sexual fantasies revolved around some pretty intriguing plays. Yeah, delving deep into the subconscious of people can be quite enlightening. The prim and proper girl, hid some pretty hard masochistic tendencies, probably the result of her strict childhood. She spent quite a few nights getting over her pent-up stress fantasizing about me, while a lot of her thoughts revolved around me tying, choking, or straight-up spanking her, and I couldn't say I disliked the idea.

Ironically, my exploration of Olivia's memories and thoughts proved counterproductive, as I found myself increasingly drawn to her. Another week had gone by and I couldn't carry on like this, I couldn't keep my attention focused on my studies, and it was going on my nerves, I had two options. Getting rid of the cause of the disturbance, or embracing it. Considering the fondness, I had developed for the charming lady, I opted for the latter. I made the tough decision to face the issue head-on, and without waiting for another chance encounter, I gathered the courage and knocked on her apartment door.

"Coming!" Her angelic voice sounded from the other side of the door before she fumbled with the locking mechanism and opened the door ajar. "Andrew!" She noticed me standing there and exclaimed eagerly while opening the door wider. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She says tilting her body to the side and smiling.

"Hey Olive. I'll be totally honest with you. I can't get you out of my mind. If you're available this weekend, I'd like to invite you out on a date with the intent to get to know you better." I express my interest in inviting her on a date, while at the same time, unceremoniously probing her mind. The calm and collected façade she had, hid her true thoughts perfectly, she was happy, excited, and while at the same time freaking out and already formulating plans on what to wear.

"That sounds amazing!" She finally answers and instantly berates herself in her mind for the choice of her words and tone. 'What the fuck Olivia, calm the fuck down! Damn it, Andy, why does my heart pound so hard whenever I see you!' She thought.

I had to fight off the urge to chuckle, and while earning myself a new skill, with the calmest tone that I could muster I asked. "The weather forecast for Saturday was pretty good, so how does 4 in the evening sound?" A scream resounds in her mind, almost kicking me out of it. She rapidly nods and we agree that I'll come over knocking on Saturday when the time was right.

Arriving back to my apartment I let out a huge sigh, even after knowing she was not only interested but also a bit obsessed with me, I was still afraid of a rejection. Now that the huge stone was off my chest I calmed down quite a bit. I knew that even if she rejected me, I could just modify her memories and make her mine forever, but I didn't see a challenge in that or actually felt the need for that. Yeah, the girl had a few issues, but so did I, and I'm pretty sure mine were a lot worse than hers. The system notification blinking to the side of my vision pulled my attention and notified me of a new class and skill acquisition.

[Skill: [Acting] unlocked.]

[Class: [Actor] unlocked.]

[Acting LVL:1/100]

- Increases acting talent by 2.5%/LVL

With my mind now at ease, it allowed my attention to be fully placed on magic. What remained from the interesting subjects were only the sixth and seventh-year books from charms and transfiguration, and after finishing those, I had a plan on looking through the other school subjects, the additional books I bought and finally to attempt figure out how the spell creation aspect of wizarding magic worked.

With my plan for the rest of the week set, I once again immersed myself in the wonders of magic, while at the same time extensively practicing every wand movement and chant for an extended period of time. With the help of my [Reading] skill and my current gasp of wizarding magic, it took me the remaining four and a half days, before Saturday, to finish the remaining four books, and that's when I realized my main problem with wizarding magic. My main issue with it was how specific and sometimes situational it was. The way some of the spells were created, didn't allow them a lot of flexibility.

For example, the Riddikulus spell. It allows the caster to banish Boggarts while turning them into something ridiculous. Like okay... Why would I need to learn that spell for? The only usage the spell could have, was when someone attempted to capture a Boggart alive. Which, truth be said, I honestly didn't know if it was a genuine concern and a frequent task, but I was certain the Defense of Against Dark Arts books will answer my question. Still, the wizarding logic sometimes made no sense. They often created spells, that had no real purpose except for a single instance.

Disregarding all the unnecessary spells I've learned, the knowledge and the wand practice was welcome. That practice not only allowed me to me refine my mana manipulation but also to notice a few similarities with the mana movements while spellcasting. Depending on what the spell effects were, and how it manifested, the mana in my body reacted differently and took different paths, but always exited through my hands or wand. I was pretty sure this had to do with some aspect of spell creation, affinity, or something else, but as I still didn't delve into that topic, I ignored my discoveries, at least for now.

My magical repertoire during these three weeks has grown tremendously, and now consisted of quite a few defensive and offensive spells, and was accompanied by a random assortment of spells that I'll probably never use. With all of that, I was ready to visit Knockturn Alley, to acquire some spells and ritual magic of the dark variety, but I first had a date to prepare.