Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 49: Nargles
---Dudley 3 days Ago POV---
After leaving the infirmary, Dudley opened his game status panel.
"System, please show me my reward."
[Congratulations, host. You are the first person to defeat the most powerful wizard of this century.]
[You may choose 2 out of 5 rewards.]
[These rewards are copied from Albus Dumbledore's skill set.]
[1. Mind Arts]
[2. Alchemy]
[3. Dark Arts]
[4. Transfiguration]
[5. Memory + Duel Experience]
[Warning! You may experience love or bloodlust if you copy memories from a wizard.]
Dudley's eyes lit up as he looked at the reward options. Today, he had the chance to gain abilities beyond what existed in this universe, and this time was a direct copy of Dumbledore's skills.
But then his attention was drawn to the warning.
"System, about the memory... if the person was heartbroken and let's say I copied Severus Snape's memory, would I be heartbroken like him?" asked Dudley.
[Correct, host. It is not advisable to copy memories, even from very powerful wizards.]
[For example, Severus Snape or Voldemort.]
[You might fall in love with someone you've never met, or you could become a serial killer.]
Hearing this, Dudley hesitated. If he chose option 5, he'd inherit most of Dumbledore's skills but risk becoming an anxious old man. He still remembered the first time he received Dudley's original memories—how he suddenly loved Petunia and Vernon like his real parents. No way was he choosing option 5, even if the rewards were tempting.
"System, I choose rewards number 1 and number 2," said Dudley.
[As you wish. It will take approximately one minute to transfer all the data.]
[Transfer complete.]
He could feel it—the knowledge of alchemy flooding his mind, knowledge that only 100-year-old wizards possessed.
Then suddenly, he remembered something. Didn't he already have Gamer's Mind? Why did he need to copy Dumbledore's Mind Arts?
"System, can I reselect my rewards?" asked Dudley.
[I'm sorry, host. The rewards are non-refundable.]
[Please complete more hidden quests to earn more rewards.]
"Oh no!" Dudley groaned. If he'd chosen Dumbledore's Dark Arts mastery, he might have been on par with the Dark Lord. "Why did I choose this useless Mind Arts?"
He regretted his decision, realizing too late that Dumbledore's real strength lay in his mastery of Transfiguration and his knowledge of the Dark Arts.
---Grinding---
After gaining alchemy knowledge copied from Dumbledore, Dudley finally understood the difference between potions and alchemy.
In modern terms, potions were akin to pharmacy, where one studies to create medicine for patients. Alchemy, on the other hand, was closer to chemical engineering, something Dudley had studied before being thrown into the world of Harry Potter.
"System, can I get the same reward if I beat Dumbledore again using Gamer's Mind?" asked Dudley.
[Searching... Bug Detected... Fixing... Complete...]
[Host can no longer use Gamer's Mind to earn rewards from defeating Dumbledore.]
Dudley was dumbfounded. That meant earlier, he could've exploited the loophole to defeat Dumbledore using Gamer's Mind. But now that the system detected it, that opportunity was gone.
"Are you kidding me?" Dudley half-shouted in frustration.
[No, I am not kidding. The rewards from Dumbledore have been fixed, and you can no longer earn rewards through that method.]
"What? Don't tell me that if I defeat Snape or even Lucius, I won't get my rewards?" asked Dudley, concerned.
[Only Dumbledore's reward has been blocked because it was easy to trick him. You can still earn rewards from defeating Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape as many times as you can beat them.]
"I shouldn't have asked you about this," sighed Dudley. He now regretted bringing it up. If he could've just kept defeating Dumbledore for high-quality rewards, he would have. After all, Dumbledore was classified as a legendary wizard, and the rewards were top-tier.
"What if I defeat Dumbledore in a duel? Can I still get a reward?" asked Dudley.
[Yes, host. You can earn a reward after defeating Dumbledore in a duel. The only restriction is that you can't use Gamer's Mind to incapacitate him and gain rewards through that method.]
"Do you mean I can't use Gamer's Mind at all?" asked Dudley.
[Host can use Gamer's Mind to protect yourself, but if Albus Dumbledore attempts to read your mind and collapses as a result, your reward will be canceled.]
"Why? Just tell me why," Dudley demanded.
[Because the power of Gamer's Mind is too strong. Even if Merlin himself tried to read your mind, he would collapse. It wouldn't be fair to use the same trick twice.]
Dudley could only sigh. Now, he just had to focus on something else—grinding his levels and earning more rewards.
But first, he needed to head to the Room of Requirement, as there was still a Horcrux hidden there.
On his way to the seventh floor, he unexpectedly ran into someone—the most popular girl aside from Hermione.
Yes, it was Luna Lovegood, and she wasn't wearing any shoes.
"What are you doing here?" Dudley asked.
"Oh, hi! I know you," replied Luna with a smile.
"Uh, thanks. But why aren't you wearing shoes?" Dudley asked, puzzled.
"My shoes were stolen by Nargles and they put them over there," Luna said, pointing somewhere.
'Nargles? Well, this girl is something else... and probably the only one who might have Mage Sight,' Dudley thought.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You've met the only person who can almost see the whispers of magic.]
[Reward: +4 Sense]
Dudley was dumbfounded and wanted to ask the system something, but Luna interrupted him.
"Whoa! I've never seen this before. The Nargles are concentrated right in front of you, forming some kind of pages," Luna exclaimed.
"You... you can see this?" Dudley pointed toward the screen.
Luna nodded.
"Nargles usually disturb humans, but this is the first time I've seen them in such a concentrated form."
"Really?" Dudley said, then burst into laughter. "Hahahaha."
"Why are you laughing?" asked Luna, clueless.
"I can see Nargles too," Dudley replied with a grin.
Luna's eyes lit up and a big smile spread across her face. She asked excitedly, "I thought I was the only one who could see Nargles! This is serious—you need this."
Luna handed Dudley some sort of necklace.
"Huh? What's this?" Dudley asked.
"Nargles are afraid of this necklace, they scared to see something sharp. It'll help if you wear it—too many Nargles can affect your mind," Luna explained.
Author Notes - There are more than 20 advanced chapter on my patreon and if you want to sneak peek 5 advance chapter, you can read for free trial.
-patreon.com/zorojurown