43 Chapter 43
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Harry's Halloween started with glowing words floating in front of his eyes.
Quest [Trolling the Troll] will be in Progress within 4:57 Minutes
Find and kill the Mountain Troll ( )
Kill the Troll without direct attacks ( )
Save ? ( )
Save ? ( )
Complete all objectives without losing Health ( )
Reward:
Special Event [Instant Dungeon]
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
'Well…now this is a pleasant surprise.'
The smile—that was just beginning to grow—however, stilled as his eyes fell upon the 3rd and 4th objectives, his face morphing into a frown.
The excitement at the introduction of an entirely novel system reward was still brewing within his heart, but he felt a strange tightening in his chest as he briefly floated the idea of those question marks being replaced by 'Lily' and 'Rose'.
His eyes flickered to the side, glancing at the over-enthusiastic Midget chattering away like a machine with infinite battery—the tears of that day long forgotten.
'I'll have to keep an eye on those two.'
Still, that did not take away from the fact that something new was about to happen today; quite welcome after the irritating last week in Hogwarts.
They were sitting at the Great Hall—now reverted back to its original form—waiting for the teachers to start the feast.
Looking at his twin and her friends sitting at the Gryffindor table, his mind briefly reviewed the past few days since his now-infamous duel with Cedric Diggory.
His Diffindo had sent the boy into a fatal state that day—completely natural, considering the spell landed on the back of his head—requiring almost a week of stay in St. Mungo's before they felt confident of the boy's survival.
Well…his survival without losing any memories or becoming a retard at least.
When Diggory finally joined Hogwarts again, the boy had made sure to take the seat furthest away from Harry—even sitting at different tables as they were—something that was not missed by others, lending further credit to the rumors against him.
Rumors of him being some upcoming Dark Lord first came into being when a journalist named Rita Skeeter wrote an article about him titled 'Saviour or Murderer? A sight into the life of The-Boy-Who-Lived'. The article never managed to gain any solid traction due to it being removed and discontinued merely a day later—he suspected his parents' involvement, though Lily refused to say anything except stealing sloppy kisses on his cheeks—but the few copies that made their way to Hogwarts certainly succeeded in fueling these rumors.
Skeeter even tried to illegally interview all the Quarter finalists that had been present in the tent that day—no one knew how she cornered them—but received nothing except mum lips and vague praises thrown at Harry.
'Rita Skeeter.' He mulled the name over, before finally securing it in a special corner of his mind alongside Mariette Edgecombe.
It wasn't that the rumors shredded his hard-woven reputation or anything—far from it in fact, as his popularity seemed to have skyrocketed through the roof—but the constant pointing, whispering, and begging for autographs made him remember exactly why he'd been so frustrated in the first few days of Hogwarts.
And this time, it was worse. Much, much worse. He even paid his seven victims a visit to personally make sure no one babbled anything. They hadn't.
Not everything was bad, of course. He did not mind one bit the gazes of admiration—and 'subtle' giggling winks, which weren't all that subtle—that he received from the female senior students.
….But yes, everything else was simply irritating.
Apart from the students, the teachers of Hogwarts had their own opinions on the matter. He received a cold shoulder from the Head of Hufflepuff for the entire week, with her refusing to even look at his practical work, simply scribbling down on her register when his turn came.
Thankfully she was the only one who did not take his brutal victory well. Flitwick had been bubbling with excitement throughout the entire class as he described to everyone how swift and accurate Harry's casting was. McGonagall gave him a rare smile of congratulations, along with a warning to not duel his peers, and if he did, to do so with less...intensity.
Snape appeared neutral over the matter, more curious of Harry's recounting of the insight he'd gained on Occlumency that day.
Both the Lupins urged him to not feel 'guilty' about Cedric, saying accidents like such were bound to happen, though Remus was visibly flustered when he admitted perhaps he should've accepted the surrender instead of pushing the fight on.
The one person who surpassed all of Harry's expectations was his mother, being visibly unstable as she flickered from absolute rage at Diggory to becoming a tender coo-ing mess.
Thankfully, Rose was there to bear the brunt of it, but Harry hadn't escaped the hugs of doom either.
Not that he truly minded, however. Yes, the hugging got a little too intense for his liking sometimes—though his mother always respected his space—but it was much better than being followed around the entire day.
A habit his twin seemed to have adopted, as he found out in the entire following week. He'd often compared the Midget to the pup he'd lost so long ago…but never had the similarities been so stark before.
After the events of that evening, Rose got it in her mind to follow him around whenever she had the chance. Somehow, she even convinced Lily— who convinced the Headmistress—to look the other way whenever she and her group jumped to Gryffindor table.
So now Harry could be found in the constant company of a waddling Midget who loved to chatter his ears off.
Then she had the brilliant idea to form a silly study group which everyone around him was strangely excited about—even Ron whose interest in study only extended to keeping up with them and not falling behind.
And thus it was that Harry found an hour of his evening every day being spent with seven kids, the tallest of whom barely reached his nose.
There were two reasons he did not simply walk out on it; one, the teary-eyed sniveling look the Midget shot at him. And two, it turned out to be quite useful for his magical enlightenment.
The kids who came from pureblood families were exposed to magic on a daily basis. There were things and subjects they knew that Harry was unaware about, and he made sure to squeeze them for every drop of info.
He'd been pleasantly surprised at the revelation of other streams of magic; Runes and Arithmancy prime amongst them. He did know about the Care of Magical Creatures, but Runes was on an entirely different spectrum.
He was even more surprised that his Midget twin was aware of Ritualistic magic that he hadn't been privy to till then…
Now he knew, and he wondered when he would get enough time to properly explore these magics.
His attention was brought down to the present as the Halloween feast soon started, the fidgeting midget beside him tugging at his shirt.
"Where are Hermione and Andrea?" She asked, distressed. "It's been over an hour now."
Harry frowned as something clicked in his mind suddenly.
Save ? ( )
Save ? ( )
He hadn't paid much attention to their absence, having focused more on Rose and Lily…but they were the only two currently missing.
His theory was proven true when the professor for the Care of Magical Creatures suddenly came running into the hall, the stomping of his feet silencing the merrily chattering crowd of students.
"Headmistress!" The purple-robed man bellowed, his short wavy hair bouncing with his steps. "Troll! Troll in the dungeon! I was bringing them to protect You-Know-What! But one of them escaped…I-I don't know how…"
Quest [Trolling the Troll] in Progress!
Find and kill the Mountain Troll ( )
Kill the Troll without directly hurting it ( )
Save Andrea Black ( )
Save Hermione Granger ( )
Complete all objectives without losing Health ( )
Reward:
Special Event [Instant Dungeon]
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
Event Time: 30 Minutes
Harry stood up, Marauder's Map materializing in his hand.
"W-where are you going?" Neville squeaked out as the teachers ran damage control over the panicking crowd.
Ignoring the boy, he turned to Rose, whispering close to her ears. "Midget, I want you to create some distraction."
Her eyes shone brightly, and a determined glint spread through her face. "On it."
He was a little surprised when she didn't ask a single question further, simply getting out of her seat and running to the middle of the hall as the Headmistress commanded the panicking students to return back to their dorms.
"But our dorms are in the dungeons!" The midget bellowed, one hand rising up. "You want the troll to kill all of us Slytherins! I knew you hated us from the start!"
The image of her tiny figure standing straight, legs planted wide, and an accusing finger lifted at Headmistress McGonagall as she glowered in rage, would never fail to evoke choked laughter out of him.
There was a moment of silence in the hall as the teachers gaped down at the girl, with the sole exception of Lily whose eyes instantly flickered at his original position.
But Harry had already slipped towards the Great Hall's door by then, and the incredible noise of protest that suddenly erupted from the Slytherin house helped complete his escape from her searching gaze.
Thus, with the Marauder's Map in one hand, and Holly wand in another, Harry started his quest of troll hunting.
---------------------------
The easiest part was finding the monster; the Marauder's Map led him straight to Torog the Troll.
What most definitely wasn't easy was keeping his heart calm when his eyes finally took in the twelve foot tall lump of a monster—with skin a sickly dull granite grey shade—its every step sending vibrations through the ground.
Its body was large and rotund, like a thick glob of water, with a small bald head perched above wide shoulders, like a pebble sitting above a boulder.
It was easy to guess how the fat lump could be heavy enough to shake the earth. Had it not been as grotesque and disgusting as Harry felt it was, he would've found it comical truly, the sight of a fat boulder waddling around, supported by two stubby little legs, thick as a concrete slab.
To add to its disgusting appearance, it was emanating the sharpest, most god awful stench; almost bringing tears to Harry's eyes as his above human sense of smell got a good and proper whiff. If all the human feces in the world was piled together, it may just come close to rivaling what Harry was smelling right now.
Yet, Harry couldn't find it in him to look down on the creature—figuratively, of course. For all his experience in killing, this was the first time he'd come face to face with a supernatural creature like this.
Feeling a little hesitation was natural.
But unwanted.
'Observe'
Torog the Troll
Age: 43
Level: 66
Reputation: Disliked
Affection: 35
Mana: 30/30
Health: 1580/1580
Stamina: 1200/1200
Stats
Strength: 170
Speed: 7
Dexterity: 5
Vitality: 158
Endurance: 120
Intelligence: 3
Wisdom: 2
'More than twice as strong as me...but ten times slower.'
It was quite surprising to realize that he was almost half as strong as this gigantic creature. Though it was just as unsurprising to know how ridiculously slow the creature was, compared to him.
The Troll bumbled towards the girl's bathroom, where Harry knew the subjects of his quest were hiding currently for whatever reason.
'Well…onto business then.'
[Gamer's Mind: Activated]
The intense sense of disgust and discomfort vanished away as the monster smashed the door apart with one mighty swing of its giant thorny club.
Stowing away the map, Harry advanced upon the troll from behind, his mind whirling through ideas.
'Indirect method to kill the Troll...'
His mind went through plans after plans, from levitating the monster's club and beating it with it to transfiguring the club into spikes and impaling it…but they were all dismissed as the most practical answer came to the fore of his mind, begging him to be used after such a long time of inactivity.
An absent part of his mind briefly wondered about the consequences of someone catching him using it, but according to the Marauder's Map no one except Snape was around to see him—and that man already knew more than enough to ruin Harry's future in Hogwarts.
Decision settled, his wand rose up to take aim in the same instance as two different screams erupted from the bathroom; one of sheer panic, and the other bellowing spells…also filled with sheer panic.
"Imperio." Harry intoned, barely needing to say the words before the spell snapped at his target, its thick magic resistant hide—that was eating Disarming charms from the other side like they were nothing—completely defenseless against an Unforgivable Curse targeting the mind, entering the head through its vulnerable eyes.
At once, the troll's body went taut, its lazy lumbering figure straightening up to attention as its simplistic mind lost its ownership.
'Get out of the room. Come to me...'
The troll moved instantly, doing a sharp U-turn and marching towards Harry with a straight spine, its incredible smell coming back in all its glory.
Once the troll was out of the bathroom—and out of the girls' sight—he shot a quick Alohomora to shut the door and issued his final command. 'Smash your head open with the club.'
It accepted without protests, not a moment of hesitation in its tiny brain. Harry was taught that a victim with stronger will than the caster could resist the spell—and having successfully done so himself, he knew it to be true—but the troll's will might as well be a drop of water fighting against the ocean for all the help it gave him.
And soon, a fierce match between Strength and Vitality ensued as the troll held up its club with both hands and brought it down on its own head. The single blow alone was enough to break its nose, its mind trying to slip out of his grasp and into the world of unconsciousness.
But Harry's hold upon him was supreme and he denied it the mercy of sleep. His command took priority before its state—physical or mental.
The pounding continued; again and again the club rose in the air and fell down upon its coconut shaped head with all its strength, soon changing its look from a spherical globe into a battered cardboard box.
The fifth hit managed to split open its brow and a stream of black ink trickled down his head. By the tenth, Harry could finally see some of the brownish brain matter through the fountain of black liquid cover.
The moment its health reached 0, Harry's hold upon the empty mind—now lacking any sort of will—slackened on its own, and the troll's dead body slumped down upon its back with a great rumbling thump.
Harry received no reprieve however, for its death seemed to be the trigger his system was waiting for. The entire world turned grey the next moment, freezing in time as twinkling words barred Harry's vision.
Quest [Trolling the Troll] completed!
Find and kill the Mountain Troll (X)
Kill the Troll without directly hurting it (X)
Save Andrea Black (X)
Save Hermione Granger (X)
Complete all objectives without losing Health (X)
Rewards:
Special Event [Instant Dungeon]
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
200 XP
Instant Dungeon [Troll Infestation]: Hogwarts has turned into a swamp filled with trolls. Clear the castle and protect its students!
Reward: Emerald Sigils, System Shop Trial
Time limit: 1 hour
Note: Canceling it now will end the Special Event.
His lips curled up as he realized this indeed was something new. The amount of promotion this Emerald Sigil was receiving from the system meant it was bound to be something great. This event will let him discern the exact importance of the sigils in his near future.
With a light breath, Harry clicked on the Instant Dungeon and hit 'Yes' upon the prompted message, closing his eyes as the world blurred into misty darkness.
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The world recalibrated to his senses, and he could feel the air shifting with a subtle grace. It was a quiet change, most likely unnoticeable to most.
But to Harry, it breathed the air of familiarity. The slight heaviness, the sudden and utter silence, and the mild hostility…it was the clear characteristics of the Hufflepuff dungeon—only amped up to an even higher degree—than Harry had come to expect in recent days.
Opening his eyes, he quickly read the new text walls.
Special Event [Instant Dungeon] in Progress!
Clear the Instant Dungeon within half an hour ( )
Clear the Dungeon without directly damaging the enemies ( )
Save more than 85% of the listed students ( )
Save more than 95% of the listed students ( )
Don't lose any Health ( )
Note: All the occupants of Hogwarts are immobile and unconscious. All deaths will be reverted back on the clearance of the dungeon.
A timer started ticking down on his periphery; starting from a full hour. Along with it were two more bars, showing:
Time remaining: 29 Minutes
Students remaining: 500/500
Trolls remaining: 24/25
[Gamer's Mind: Activated]
With a grunt, Harry took off for the bathroom, implications of the new info hitting his mind instantly.
His quest was to save as many students as possible, while clearing the dungeon within an hour. And unless he wanted to fail the second objective, he will need to do so without directly causing the dungeon dwellers any damage.
'Some more Imperios then.' Harry concluded neutrally, his wand blasting open the bathroom door.
Hermione and Andrea were crouching at the mouth of the door—their bodies frozen stiff in the position they were in before the event's start—the former's mouth was open in a silent scream while the latter's head extended out to peek through the gap in the door.
"Leviosa." A quick swish of his wand and the two bodies rose in the air.
His plan was to quickly return back to the Great Hall and secure all the students inside—treating the Hall like a safe house. Its sole entrance made it much easier for Harry to keep the students alive. Once they were safely locked away inside, he could turn his attention to clearing the dungeon.
As he got back out of the bathroom—with two bodies floating behind—he noted the disappearance of the Troll's dead body. Sitting in its place was a blue crystalline orb glowing with faint luminescence; a unique symbol marked on its face with dark violet ink, looking like an interlocked 'G' with an inverted 'C'.
[Auto Loot Collection: Activated]
The blue orb leaped at him all of a sudden, disappearing in motes of light and being absorbed by something within him.
With a shake of his head, Harry continued forward, taking the upper stairs that would lead him out of the basement Hufflepuff floor, straight to the corridor that headed to the Great Hall.
When glancing up the stairs, however, he noticed the top to be slightly...preoccupied.
Two mountain trolls stood guard above the stairs, their clubs resting on their shoulders as they grunted at each other.
Aware of the ticking clock, he did not pause to form any plan, his wand simply aiming up in mid-run and shooting a quick Imperio at one of the trolls; taking active control of its mind.
'Get behind subtly and attack.'
Perhaps their meaning of subtle was different, for the enthralled troll leaped at its admittedly unsuspecting partner, its' club racing through the air as it fell upon the coconut head.
A guttural roar of pain and rage leaped out of the startled troll, its hand clutching its bleeding scalp tenderly, while the other instinctively came to guard as the club once again made a comeback.
Harry slipped past the tussling trolls unnoticed, his two loads of luggage floating beside him—voicing no complaints.
His mastery over the Imperius curse wasn't enough to take active control of multiple minds at once. What he could do however, was to give basic orders to up to two minds without the spell coming undone.
It had only been when the Curse reached Lvl 40 that he became capable of choosing between constantly controlling a mind or simply giving individual orders and being done. Even more fun was the fact that he could now decide the timing of the Curse setting off, what its limits should be, and how much freedom he wished to let his targets have over themselves...
The Imperius Curse was truly becoming one of the most versatile assets in his pocket—or well, in his wand—and Harry intended to use it to its full potential today.
His plan solidifying, he quickly gave the enslaved Troll a simple command; to keep fighting other trolls, and let go of its mind.
Hopefully the creature's magic resistance wouldn't factor in here, and its dumb mind was weak enough to not resist the utter bliss it must be under right now.
His job done, Harry continued forward.
But when he finally reached the closed doors of the Great Hall—his cargo floating beside him—he found another pack of trolls, a trio this time, trying to break inside..
Yet still, without breaking his stride, he carefully traced his wand through the air and launched a Bombarda beside one of the trolls. The booming sound and erupting waves of flames managed to catch their attention, and the three turned around as one.
"Imperio." He whispered towards the one at the very back, imprinting in its mind the command to start attacking its companions.
The troll complied, roaring out a battle cry and charging forth, its club waving high in the air.
Uncaring of the ensuing brutality, Harry shot a quick Alohomora at the doors and slipped inside the Great Hall, where the rest of the students and teachers were standing still; frozen and immobile. The Slytherins were all standing up in protest he could see, angry faces shooting accusing glares at the Headmistress.
Leading them all was the frozen body of his tiny twin, a barely suppressed smirk still shining on her face and a finger still pointing at the teachers accusingly.
He quickly dumped the two bodies inside, taking stock of Lily's immobile body that was just a few feet away from the doors, a panicked urgency in her gaze.
He placed her body beside Rose as well—in case the door was blasted open—and ventured back out of the Great Hall, closing it shut with Colloportus.
Then, he started hunting.
His recently enslaved troll was down on the ground, being beaten black and blue by its two companions.
Harry quickly took active control of its simplistic mind, guiding it according to his will.
The enthralled troll stopped thrashing and—heeding his command instantly—rolled away from its assailants, avoiding the next series of clubbing that fell upon the marble floor—sending deep cracks upon the surface.
The enraged trolls gave chase after their former companion, roaring their throats out and brandishing their clubs.
A lightning-quick plan formed within his mind and Harry swished his wand, intoning: "Periculum!"
Red sparks shot out of his wand, hitting the two bumbling trolls on the nose—not causing any damage, but successfully gaining their attention.
Both gave a confused 'Huh?' before turning to him. "Huh."
Another series of sparks made them flinch back, shaking their heads in anger and bewilderment.
That gave enough time for his troll to push itself up its feet.
'Engage one of them.' Harry commanded, shooting another red flare of sparks underneath the right one's nose before taking off.
As predicted, both the trolls gave an enraged howl and started bumbling after him, every step shooting a loud echoing thump upon the ground. Before the second one could follow more than a few steps, however, it was tackled by his troll, successfully dividing the two.
Harry slowed himself to a comfortable saunter, letting the troll keep up as he made his way back to the underground Hufflepuff stairs, hoping his other Imperius'd troll had won its earlier fight.
Unfortunately, when they reached the place—the troll a couple of paces behind him—all he could find was his slave's downed body being clobbered to death.
How the hell did it go from splitting its enemy's head open to lying on the ground, dead, was anyone's guess.
But the sight before him was clear as the victorious troll stamped its stubby foot upon the dead troll's chest, giving a roar of victory.
Trolls remaining: 23/25
Then its lazy sunken eyes turned to them. "Huh?"
Some form of intelligence glinted in its coconut head and it gave another ear-splitting roar.
Harry didn't stop his momentum as it waved its club in the air, simply sauntering past it like it were an annoying insect and climbing down the stairs again.
His searching eyes fell upon the two glowing torches stuck on either side of the corridor. 'Perfect.'
A wave of his wand and the two torches dislodged themselves. Another wave of his wand and the live torches transfigured into rectangular bars, with razor-sharp spikes—three inches long and burning with fire—jutting out of them.
When both the trolls started waddling down the stairs after him, he cast a carefully pronounced Glisseo, turning the stairs into a smooth slide.
With two bewildered 'Huh?'s, both the trolls lost their balance and slid to the ground face first—their heads meeting the bars of fiery spikes that accurately positioned themselves.
Gravity did the rest of the work and the spikes impaled their faces with a sickening sizzle, bringing upon them a quick but messy death.
Trolls remaining: 20/25
A second later, it updated again.
Trolls remaining: 19/25
'The other fighting couple died as well?' He quirked his eyebrows, realization dawning in his eyes.
Quickly removing the Marauder's Map, he confirmed his conclusion, noticing the names in front of the Great Hall having disappeared.
'Well, that's taken care of then.'
Giving a pleased hum, his eyes tracked the next target; Ogar the Troll.
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The next twenty minutes passed in a blur of grinding for Harry. After killing his eighth troll with a rather clever—in his opinion—Obscuro charm; blocking his target's vision with a blindfold, who then proceeded to panic and fall down the gaping hole of the Great Staircase—straight from the seventh floor to the first—he realized he truly didn't face any threats from these trolls.
Even if he went ahead and tickled a troll's armpit—if he ever became numb to their awful smell—while standing still in front of its four other companions, he would still be fast enough to dance away in slow motion from the five clubs heading his way.
Their speed was simply too low for them to stand any chance against him. Halfway through his troll murder spree, he dropped his Gamer's Mind and simply enjoyed the killings.
With the company of his two oppressed bodyguards—Harry stayed far away to avoid the smell—no troll managed to put up any sort of challenge.
Floor by floor, Harry cleared them away, before finally just sitting back and enjoying the show as his two bodyguards—the last remaining ones—fought to death for the honor of being killed by him…indirectly, of course.
Morty the Troll soon managed to choke the life out of Ekon the Troll, before voluntarily laying its head down on the ground and waiting for the massive boulder—that he transfigured—to fall down on its face again and again until its death.
With a great popping stretch, Harry let his body relax, taking a seat at a nearby window sill to look through his totally hard-earned rewards.
Special Event [Instant Dungeon] Completed!
Clear the Instant Dungeon within half an hour (X)
Clear the Dungeon without directly damaging the enemies (X)
Save more than 85% of the listed students (X)
Save more than 95% of the listed students (X)
Don't lose any Health (X)
Reward:
50 Emerald Sigils
2 Levels
[Initiating System Shop…]
Harry perked up as a series of new messages popped up in front of him.
[Temporary access granted: System Shop]
Suddenly an entirely new window overtook his vision, obscuring the level up notifications behind it.
He tried to open up the notifications again but nothing happened. Even pressing the close button gave no response.
[Welcome to System Shop]
Frowning, Harry realized he was pretty much stuck here. And the only way forward was to go through whatever the system wished to show him.
'Well then...proceed.'
A new window with 6 tabs opened in front of him the next instance.
Equipment
Skills
Perks
Gambler's Luck
Information
World-Hopping
All the tabs except Gambler's Luck were greyed out to him.
'It's a trial version…of course.'
He simply memorized the other tabs, deciding to ponder upon them in further detail when he got the chance, before clicking on the only available option.
Five colorful banners erupted from all sides of him before coalescing together at the front to form yet another window of tabs, marked with alphabetical ranks: S, A, B, C, D
Once again, the only option available to him was 'S', with its price tag the exact amount that he'd just received as his reward: 50 Emerald Sigils.
He knew he had no choice but to choose it, yet his attention was taken by the small 'Details' button in the corner.
Clicking upon it revealed to him wonders that evaporated his growing discomfort away and made his heartbeat increase dramatically.
'Reality Manipulation', 'Staff of Merlin', 'Time Manipulation', 'Darkness Control', 'Telekinesis'…
The names of skills, abilities, items, and potions went on and on and on, all glowing with a golden glow associated with Rank-S. He didn't know what most of them were capable of doing, but he knew his lethality would increase dramatically if he received even a single top-tier ability.
Heart beating with a newfound excitement, Harry backed to the banner tab and quickly purchased the Rank-S banner for 50 Emerald Sigils.
Books, weapons, and potions swirled around him rapidly, like a tornado of treasures too valuable to touch. Finally, one book came flying out of the pile, quickly getting absorbed within him.
The next instance the world changed to normal—dumping him back in the dungeon—as he lost the privilege of the System shop.
He didn't care, his attention already on his status.
Harry Potter
Age: 11
Race: Wizard
Level: 59 (4620/4700)
Mana: 629/1210
Health: 760/760
Stamina: 560/710
Stats
Strength: 60 (15)
Speed: 62 (15)
Dexterity: 62 (15)
Vitality: 61 (15)
Endurance: 56 (15)
Intelligence: 106 (15)
Wisdom: 95 (15)
Points: 54
Harry ignored the level-ups, eyes searching for the new Skill, or Perk…before he found it. And his world slowly started dying.
Mutation: Pheromone Manipulation (Lvl 1)
And as he read through its description, looked through its potential—confirming his suspicion—he felt pieces of his soul breaking up and abandoning him.
"Why…" He whispered, closing his eyes. "Why…what did I ever do to you?"
All his hard work—shut up!—all his time and sweat—that he couldn't produce—every drop of his struggle…all for a skill that offered no help to his survival!?
Why!? Why couldn't he get one of those top-tier stuff!? Time manipulations, Reality Manipulation, Darkness Manipulation….
What the fuck was he supposed to do with Pheromone Manipulation!?
'Seduce girls and learn female anatomy…'
And what would that do for his survival!? Nothing!
Huffing, Harry reopened his tab, deciding to get some perks of his own choice, instead of relying on the stupid system.
He quickly put 5 points in Wisdom for an easy Perk gain, before scanning his stats to prioritize between Speed and Dexterity—arguably his two most important stats behind Int.
Finally, he chose the former and dumped 38 stats into it, hitting another century.
[Wisdom Threshold reached (100): Perk Unlocked]-
Choose one of the three options presented:
Work Smarter, Not Harder: Enables the user to come up with wiser plans in a short period of time.
:2 points to Intelligence per level
Magic Resistance I: User shall gain increased resistance against Magic.
:1 Lvl to Magical Resistance, 1 point to Int and Wis per level.
Magic Recovery: Allows User to recover 5 Mana per hour for every stat in Wisdom.
:1 point to Wis and Int per level.
Grinning slightly, Harry selected the last perk without hesitation. The first one was currently unneeded he felt—for he hadn't yet faced any situation which left him unable to quickly form a plan. The second one was still being experimented on, and he felt he was close to getting his third level in it.
The natural, and most rewarding choice, was Magic Recovery.
[Speed Threshold reached (100): Perk Unlocked]-
Choose one of the three options presented:
Body Flicker (Active): User can burst out in explosive speed to cover a short distance, leaving flickers of his images behind to confuse the opponents. Speed increased by 35% every flicker.
Skill duration: Instant
Skill cooldown: 4.5 seconds
Sprinter (1/10): When sprinting, User's movement speed increased by 25%.
Skill duration: 5 seconds
Skill cooldown: 1 minute
Explosive Dash (Active): User can burst out in explosive speed to cover a short distance. Speed increased by 50% every dash.
Skill duration: Instant
Skill cooldown: 5 seconds
Note: One Dash is equal to User's two strides.
After over five minutes of careful consideration, Harry dismissed the last two, though not without feeling a bout of sorrow. But the first option was simply too interesting not to choose. It could add a new, unique layer to his fast-paced style which might be exactly what he needed as of now.
Still, watching the other two disappear did not fail to twinge his heart a little.
But his gains were definitely more than the losses…except in that stupid Gambler's Luck—which he wasn't willing to think about yet.
To erase the twinge of hurt, he simply opened his system and took solace in his growing list of perks. In this one week alone, he'd managed to earn 4 perks in total; two here and now, and two on that very eventful dueling day.
Prodigy: User will have prodigious talent in any one skill set. (Will replace the Perk 'Savant')
:2x Experience gain to all the skills in a skillset of User's selection, 2 points to Int and Wis per level
And:
Stamina Freak: User's Stamina consumption shall be decreased by 50%
'Ahh…wonderful.'
His heart finally calm and satisfied, Harry exited the dungeon room happier than he'd entered.
When he came back to the real—unpaused—world, he found himself standing exactly where he'd last been, beside the dead Troll's leaking head. Just, there was no sign of the troll anywhere, and his former-luggage—now awakened—quickly scrambled out of the bathroom, looking this way and that.
"Where's the monster?" Andrea whispered, both the girls behaving all hush-hush, paranoid about a monster long gone to dust.
Harry laughed.
Over the next few days, both will keep needling him for the reason behind his laughter—apparently they'd never seen him laugh before—and the exact events of the day.
But never would they manage to get it out of his mouth—though both suspected he had something to do with the troll's disappearance—and thus, simply remained grateful for the mystery that was Halloween.
