"You have to pay to gain. Nothing comes out of thin air!" Brian muttered as he lay on the bed, trying to comfort his wounded heart.
Anxiety gnawed at him, keeping him tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The feeling of being exploited by the system was simply unbearable. He had no idea how long he struggled before a trace of drowsiness finally settled over him. But just as he was about to drift off, the system's solemn voice echoed in his mind, jolting him upright.
"Given that the host currently owes three upgrade points, and to prevent poor credit history, a temporary task is now issued to avoid default."
Temporary Task: Before school begins, the host must self-study coursework.
Pass: 1 upgrade point
Good: 2 upgrade points
Excellent: 3 upgrade points
[Borrow with caution. Overdue payments carry risk. To avoid a bad credit record, young man, study hard with your brilliant mind!]
A temporary task? Avoid negative records?
"System, show yourself! I promise I won't beat you to death! Did you set these rules? Overdue? I made a suggestion—a suggestion, do you hear me?" Brian shouted inwardly.
"After thorough analysis, this decision aligns with ensuring the safety of both the system and the host. Therefore, Occlumency will now be upgraded to Level 9," the system responded seriously.
Brian examined the advanced skills panel. His face twitched as if an invisible arrow had pierced his heart.
"Right… This kind of nonsense is very on-brand for a system."
He shrugged and started to lie back down, only to freeze mid-motion.
"System… I had just fallen asleep! Finally! Slept!!!"
The system, smugly, said nothing.
This summer was destined to be long and productive. With just one month remaining, Brian—soon to step into the Wizarding World and already burdened with a system loan—threw himself into studying the Hogwarts curriculum.
He began with History of Magic. Since he owed three upgrade points, it was the easiest course to "grind"—pure memorization. He poured nearly all his time into it, occasionally taking breaks by lying in bed and flipping through other books.
Are you kidding? You can't survive if you owe the system! Lose it, and you'll regret everything!
Magic, he discovered, is a precise and complete system, vastly different from anything in his previous life. Of course, History of Magic was the exception—straightforward memorization, much like classes in the non-magical world.
The book History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot was practically falling apart from overuse. Within two weeks, Brian had memorized bizarre historical details: the Goblin Rebellions, the origin of werewolves, the discovery of dragons… If he were to sit for the first-year exam today, he'd ace it with a perfect score.
After achieving an Excellent evaluation and clearing his upgrade point debt, Brian spent the final two weeks memorizing spells and practicing different casting methods.
With no professor to guide him, he relied on a painfully honest method: analyze, test, repeat. He cross-referenced spell motions, clarified pronunciations, and fine-tuned cadence until he successfully grasped the spells from his books.
This laid the groundwork for his ultimate goal: being a slacker at Hogwarts.
To slack off at Hogwarts, you can't be too good. Excellence draws attention. Just look at Harry Potter—a prime example. Every wizard in Britain knows his name, and every little thing he does sparks a storm of attention and pressure.
So Brian resolved to hide certain things, keeping some tricks up his sleeve.
But being too bad wasn't an option either—that would attract the professors' attention. And Hogwarts professors are notoriously dedicated. Over time, even the worst students gain a certain level of fame.
Truly, the art of slacking is more complex than magic itself. It requires strategy.
Maybe it was because his debts were cleared, or maybe because school hadn't started yet, but the system didn't issue any new tasks for the rest of the break. This freedom gave Brian time to read other books, like Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, which he had bought from Flourish and Blotts. It wasn't required reading for first-years.
The book delved into the development of magic from ancient to modern times, including speculations on its origins. It discussed the basics of magical power and talent, the nature and structure of spells, and laid out major theoretical frameworks.
These insights helped Brian deepen his understanding during his Charms practice. More importantly, the book challenged his earlier belief that incantations were the key to spellcasting.
It pointed out that wizards across different countries use different languages and gestures, yet spells still work.
The implication? There's a deeper mechanism behind magic. Unfortunately, the book only skimmed the surface, leaving Brian disappointed.
A large section of the book discussed three theories on magical talent.
The modern Wizarding World generally believes that magical talent is innate—only those born with it can use magic. Among them, pure-blood wizards supposedly have greater potential than mixed-bloods.
Voldemort, in his time, was a fervent believer in this idea. He tried to enforce a magical caste system, barring Muggle-borns from practicing magic. But his vision was ultimately crushed when he was defeated by a baby—Harry—and the Ministry of Magic resumed control.
Whether pure-bloods truly have more magical talent remains up for debate. History is filled with brilliant pure-bloods, but also with vanished bloodlines. Today, only twenty-eight families are still considered the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and even they may not be entirely pure anymore.
Brian skimmed through this part quickly. The theories on spellcasting were far more useful. After all, slacking off at Hogwarts meant steering clear of attention from those pure-blood elites.
And now, it was August 31st. Tomorrow, Brian would board the Hogwarts Express.
He took a deep breath and opened the long-neglected system panel to review his status.
Host: BrianPrimary Skills:
Lumos [Lv. 2]
Levitation Charm [Lv. 2]
Alohomora [Lv. 2]
Reparo [Lv. 3]
Densaugeo [Lv. 2]
Shrinking Charm [Lv. 3]
Intermediate Skills:
Expelliarmus [Lv. 1]
Impedimenta [Lv. 1]
Advanced Skills:
Occlumency [Lv. 9]
Courses:
Charms: First Year [Good]
History of Magic: First Year [Master]
Herbology: First Year [Unranked]
Astronomy: First Year [Unranked]
Defense Against the Dark Arts: First Year [Pass]
Transfiguration: First Year [Pass]
Potions: First Year [Good]
Upgrade Points: 0
Curiously, the system gave him a "Good" rating for Potions, even though he hadn't brewed a single one. Strange—but not worth stressing over.
More than half a month of hard work had taken its toll. Hugging his pillow, Brian quickly fell into a deep, well-earned sleep.
Moments later, the door creaked open just a sliver…
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