Hogwarts Raven

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(Translater- Changing Language Proficiency to Language Mastery)

Time flies. 

When life is fulfilling, it seems to slip by in the blink of an eye. This was certainly true for Ian, who felt he had changed significantly in just a few days.

[Rune Mastery (Level 1): 3/100]

As the saying goes, hard work creates miracles. When Ian decided to pause his other training and focus solely on mastering runes, the combination of his natural talent and the system panel yielded remarkable results.

Of course, the rapid advancement of a skill that typically progressed slowly was also linked to his simultaneous improvement in [Language Mastery].

[Language Mastery (Level 5): 4/1600]

When this skill, which Ian had high hopes for, reached Level 5, an extraordinary trait emerged.

[Language Mastery Extraordinary Trait— Linguistic Comprehension: You will find it easier to learn unfamiliar scripts and languages.]

The description was simple, but the impact of this extraordinary trait was anything but weak.

While it didn't grant Ian the godlike communication abilities he had dreamed of, it did bestow upon him a new talent. His speed in learning runes increased significantly, and he also gained the unique ability to understand the languages of animals and magical creatures.

In his spare time, Ian began to learn the language of the sparrows outside. It was a feeling that could only be truly appreciated by someone who experienced it. 

By listening closely, he quickly learned to identify the various tones and subtle changes in syllables that the sparrows used to express joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. This was definitely a skill he hadn't possessed before acquiring the extraordinary trait.

"Perhaps if I train it to Level 10 and awaken a legendary trait, I might really gain the ability to communicate with all things," Ian mused, filled with hope for the legendary traits he had yet to encounter.

However, he also knew that his top priority was to complete the homework assigned by Professor Mara.

After all, he would be returning to the Twilight Zone in two days, and who knew what medieval punishment Professor Mara might impose if she was dissatisfied with his progress?

"Fortunately, my speed in learning runes has increased. By the time I return to the Twilight Zone, I should be able to interpret the magical script and learn the spell," Ian thought to himself.

[Rune Mastery] had successfully reached the beginner level.

This achievement granted Ian the basic ability to interpret simple runes. However, the interpretation was limited because the structure of magical scripts composed of runes was entirely different from most languages.

It wasn't like the vocabulary links in English or the character combinations in Chinese. After all, it served as both a language and a medium for communicating magic.

Simply recognizing and pronouncing all the runes didn't mean one could interpret the magic they carried. This complexity was likely the reason why learning it was exceptionally challenging.

Even with the same runic characters arranged in the same order, different connections between the characters could convey entirely different meanings.

If one didn't fully grasp the relationships between each character and rashly interpreted the magical script to cast a spell based on their assumptions, the most likely outcome for a wizard would be becoming a permanent resident of the Twilight Zone.

Hmm.

Or perhaps suffering lifelong disabilities, missing limbs, or something equally dire.

Regardless, Ian had no desire to experience such a fate. Because of this, he was extremely cautious when interpreting the "homework" left by Professor Mara.

This caution naturally slowed his progress.

At present, he had only managed to interpret most of the text on a piece of fabric.

[Adventus Timoris]

It was said that ancient wizards were particularly skilled at weaving curses with runes. Based on the magical script Ian had deciphered, the spell recorded on the fabric was clearly a curse-type spell.

Its principles even involved some mental implantation techniques. The general effect seemed to be to implant a hallucination in the target that induces fear.

Perhaps it could also implant other types of hallucinations... What intrigued Ian was that this spell wasn't obscure. It had once played a role in creating the famous magical creature known as the Boggart.

A magical creature capable of transforming at will, it would take on the form of whatever a person feared most.

Through Ian's research at the unnamed bookstore in the village, he learned that the creation of Boggarts originated from biological alchemy, and one of the runic scripts used in the process was this [Fear Curse].

This was a fascinating piece of trivia.

It also made Ian realize that as wizarding laws became more refined, the development of biological alchemy seemed to have stagnated, much like the research on genetics in the Muggle world.

"After all, it involves ethics and morality."

Ian wasn't particularly interested in biological alchemy. He mainly felt regret for the disappearance of spells like the [Fear Curse] that had faded alongside the decline of biological alchemy.

Of course, with Professor Mara, an ancient witch, as his teacher, Ian might be able to revive many lost spells. The question remained whether such "archaeological discoveries" would earn him any rewards.

Hmm.

Fame was secondary.

Money was what Ian needed most.

"I wonder if the money I have left is enough to buy potions books for Professor Mara." Ian was naturally concerned about finances. He hadn't forgotten what Professor Mara had mentioned earlier.

Whether for himself or for other reasons, Ian knew he had to take the matter of buying books seriously.

However, in the wizarding world, knowledge was exceptionally expensive.

The golden galleons left by Snape were still there, but they definitely wouldn't cover all the books related to potions. Perhaps buying some second-hand textbooks would be a reasonable compromise?

"Even though the books are second-hand, the knowledge remains the same."

With that thought, Ian tucked his money pouch into his pocket.

Carrying the three magical script books that were no longer useful to him, he quickly walked along the cobblestone street toward the unnamed bookstore behind Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

The simple storefront looked as it always did.

Inside the bookstore, shielded from the sun by a sunshade, there were still no customers in sight. Ian stepped inside, glancing around, but didn't see the old bookstore owner.

"What are you looking for?"

Suddenly, a young and curious voice broke the silence.

Startled, Ian quickly turned toward the source of the voice.

There, behind the counter used for registration and payments, sat a girl with a strikingly delicate face. A book rested on her knees, and beneath her platinum-blonde hair, a pair of heterochromatic eyes were fixed on Ian.

"I've seen you before."

This wasn't Ian's voice.

It was the girl speaking first, her tone filled with surprise.

The sunshade was half-drawn, and sunlight filtered through in scattered dots, illuminating her hair and making the already dazzling platinum-blonde shine even more brilliantly. But what stood out even more than her golden hair were her eyes.

One was blue, the other white.

A unique pair of heterochromatic eyes that one couldn't easily forget. At that moment, the white side seemed to be slowly rotating, though it might have been an illusion caused by the sunlight.

(End of Chapter)