Chapter 50: The Magical World of Learning

[You have completely processed a nettle to apprentice standards; Proficiency +1]

[You have completely processed a nettle to apprentice standards; Proficiency +1]

……

[Herbology Knowledge unlocked]

[A new Herbology title has been unlocked; please view]

[A wizard talent has been unlocked; please view]

After spending two days,

Wizard Sean completed the unlocking of his Herbology title.

He couldn't wait to check:

[Title: Herbology Intern]

[Slightly increases perception of plants; slightly boosts Herbology talent]

Increased perception of plants?

That sounds not bad.

Wizard Sean continued reading downward:

[Wizard Wizard Sean, Herbology Talent: Green (boosted by Herbology Intern title; original talent was White). Note: Average wizards are Green]

When it came to disappointing people with his talent,

he never failed to disappoint.

Well,

at least I can still change it by grinding proficiency,

Wizard Sean thought.

Soon, Wizard Sean experienced the benefits brought by the change in talent.

When identifying mature dried nettles, a peculiar intuition led him to select a batch that had just matured;

after soaking and processing them, he earned his first "Entry-Level" achievement in the Herbology field:

[You have completely processed a nettle to entry-level standards; Proficiency +3]

It truly is a magical world of talents.

Wizard Sean's stereotypical impression of the magical world deepened once again.

"Excellent processing, Mr. Green; I shall award two points to Ravenclaw!"

Professor Sprout approached with slight surprise,

"Everyone, come over! Observe these processed nettles; their stinging hairs and short soft hairs have disappeared.

This is a characteristic that excellent nettle material should possess—

Mr. Green, you are improving very quickly."

Professor Sprout offered quiet encouragement as everyone observed the nettles.

Herbology class ended quickly; as they left the greenhouse,

Wizard Sean heard the young wizards whispering.

"Who is that?"

"Wizard Sean Green; haven't you heard of him?"

"On the contrary, I've heard so much I'm tired of it; it's said he performed excellently in both Charms and Transfiguration classes—is he from a wizarding family?"

"That's the most terrifying part; it's said he's a Muggle-born wizard..."

When Wizard Sean looked toward the sound, the two chatting young wizards blushed and hurried away.

"Wizard Sean, it seems you've become famous."

Michael spoke with ample teasing,

"And shouldn't you be? I've never seen a wizard so proficient in every aspect of magic... except Potions."

Michael's teasing came to a helpless end during Astronomy class.

"...Stairs, stairs, and more stairs; Terry, do you see the end?"

Michael panted, glancing specifically at Wizard Sean while talking to Terry;

the young wizard's face remained deathly pale.

"It's said the Astronomy Tower is the highest tower in all of Hogwarts... even higher than the Ravenclaw Tower..."

While sharing his rumors, Michael silently trailed half a step behind Wizard Sean.

"...Is that so?"

Anthony replied, then imperceptibly moved closer to Michael;

the two flanked the pale-faced young wizard, one on the left and one on the right.

The professor teaching Astronomy was Professor Aurora Sinistra, a witch possessing an ethereal temperament.

She taught the young wizards to observe the starry sky with telescopes, learning the names of different stars and the orbital trajectories of planets.

Her classroom was filled with numerous instruments such as moon globes, lunar charts, moon viewers, star charts, and telescopes;

it looked somewhat like a research institute,

the only difference being that the night scenery here was extremely beautiful, with various precise magical instruments operating silently.

Due to his familiarity with the operating principles of telescopes, Wizard Sean was quickly noticed by Professor Sinistra,

and was even permitted to use a large metal sphere to predict the trajectory of Io, the first moon of Jupiter.

This made Terry incredibly envious; usually a man of few words, he asked Wizard Sean about his experience no less than three times.

Wizard Sean described it in detail for him, his longing evident in his expression:

"Oh! Merlin! That must be wonderful; that is a very rare magical moon viewer..."

After Astronomy class ended,

it was nearly curfew time.

Having climbed two high towers in succession, Wizard Sean's complexion was not good, but this did not stop him from organizing his Astronomy notes.

If he remembered correctly, first-year young wizards mainly studied the names of stars and the orbital trajectories of planets.

This was not a difficult task; one only needed to memorize them all,

the only difficulty might be drawing the trajectory charts, but for Wizard Sean, this was also a breeze.

Do not underestimate the power of compulsory education!

After organizing his notes, Wizard Sean took out Potions and History of Magic books to read.

The preparatory work for brewing potions was already done; Wizard Sean attempted to find some brewing techniques in these books,

and although they contained only strict steps and brief descriptions,

Wizard Sean could still glean some vague explanations from the subtle details:

[When making Cure for Boils potion, one must stir two circles to the left, then three circles to the right; the force must be moderate...]

What exactly is moderate force?

Wizard Sean found the answer in "History of Magic":

[A Self-Stirring Cauldron is a cauldron enchanted to stir potions automatically; the stirring spoon often breaks the bubbles...]

Wizard Sean guessed that breaking the bubbles constituted a moderate amount of force.

Indeed, history is a good teacher, and this has not changed even in the magical world.

In the Ravenclaw Common Room.

It was always quiet here, but this did not mean the wizards were always studying;

in fact, young wizards of this age were always playful.

After finishing his History of Magic essay, Michael had already been playing Fifteen-Men's Morris for an hour.

Seeing Wizard Sean still immersed in learning, he exchanged a glance with Terry, who was examining various stones,

then, taking advantage of the gap while Wizard Sean switched books, he said:

"Wizard Sean, not to criticize, but I've never seen you doing anything else...

Can a wizard's life consist of nothing but studying?

You're in Charms class, Transfiguration class, History of Magic... Merlin, you've already gotten ahead by who knows how much?

I mean, don't you find it boring?"

Wizard Sean looked up;

Boring?

What... are you talking about?

This is magic!

It possesses absurdly immediate positive feedback; basically, the more you learn, the more interesting it becomes, and the more motivated you feel.

Moreover, for magic, as long as you exert enough effort, it can be transformed into power that can be used directly;

this is visible and perceptible.

Not to mention its practicality and versatile capabilities; it is simply an idealistic miracle.

Soon, Wizard Sean realized he seemed to have overlooked one point,

which was that the young wizards' magic was innate.

Perhaps this was the reason why the young wizards did not particularly cherish it.

But for Wizard Sean, he had once lain on a hospital bed in an orphanage for three months,

His heart had gradually gone numb, just like his body.

It was the owl that braved the wind and snow to burst into the room,