"Have you been reading your school books?" Filius asked, as he observed Michael, who was sitting on the ground next to the lake and meditating. He ignored the questioned and focused on his skill.
It's been a week since Michael arrived in this world and his Stats and Skills had improved…somewhat. Raising them turned out to be harder than what he imagined. On his second day, both Body and Mind had leveled up by one, but it's been slow since then.
[Michael Wynneiros
Body: 3
Mind: 5
Soul: 5]
[Skills:
Aura Manipulation(Apprentice)
Meditation(Apprentice)]
[Perks:
Magically Gifted]
Body and Mind had improved by one more, but that was it. He's been stuck since then. Meditation had leveled up to Apprentice and that had been the reason why his Mind even increased. There had been no improvements with Soul, however Michael found out a lot about his new Aura.
The first and most important thing was that prolonged usage didn't just drain his soul dry. Whenever Michael exhausted his Aura, it would simply disappear without any further side effects. Well, technically it didn't disappear and it was still there. He could even summon it again, but he had the feeling that that won't end up well for him.
Another thing Michael found out was that it was harder to manipulate. He couldn't just bring it out and surround only one part of his body with it. Whenever he used his Aura, it would shroud him entirely, which drained it faster than what he would've liked. However, there was a chance that was due to his low-leveled Aura Manipulation.
And the last thing Michael discovered so far was that he was… immune to physical damage while using Aura. He had tried hitting a wall to test out his physical capabilities while using it when he discovered that property of his Aura. It actually did increase his physical strength, which was good, but it wasn't by that much. The fact that his fist came out completely undamaged despite him hitting the wall with all his strength, truly surprised him. The only change he felt was a small drain on his Aura, which made him happy. Michael still wasn't sure if it could protect him from magical attacks since he didn't have the opportunity to test it out, but he would look into in the future.
Ever since he arrived in this world, Michael spent all of his nights meditating by staring at the moon and working on the basics for his Occlumency. Being half-human had its perks, especially when he was in a world where no one knew of his heritage. Meditation had leveled up to Apprentice, as it seemed to be considered a magical skill, which Magically Gifted helped with.
[Meditation(Apprentice): The act of calming and sharpening your mind. Prolonged use can increase your 'Mind' stat depending on the skill level.
The user restores small amount of energy per each Meditation session.]
The new added effect of the skill helped his muscles recover faster after training. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Michael was getting better at calming and clearing his thoughts and he felt he was close to learning the first stage of Occlumency. He wasn't sure, but he guessed he needed Meditation to reach Adept before that.
"Have you tried any of the spells yet?" Filius asked him shortly after. He's the one Michael had spent the most time with, not by his choice of course. He'd met with the other Professors, it was unavoidable since they lived in Hogwarts after all, but Filius kept bothering him, especially in the mornings when he trained.
It's not like the short Professor had anything better to do. Filius didn't need to prepare for the school year since he had years of experience already, most of the Professors did, except for the new ones. Plus, he was interested in Michael and watching the white-haired boy's progress intrigued him.
Just a week ago, Michael could only run no more than a few minutes before he broke down. Now, he could last for more than a dozen minutes, nearly reaching twenty. His scrawny body was starting to build up muscles. It wasn't very obvious at a first glance, only to those who paid attention.
"Most kids don't get to practice their magic outside of school." Filius continued. "Not by choice of course. It's due to the Trace applied to their wands."
Michael opened his eyes as that caught his interest. Filius smiled and explained further. "The Charm is applied on all wands purchased from Ollivander and tracks if someone under the age of seventeen casts spells. It breaks on its own when a wizards reaches that age. A very interesting piece of magic, but not without its faults."
Michael just stared at him with Filius doing the same. Both stayed quiet until he asked. "Which are?"
Filius smiled and continued. "Well, the Trace doesn't work all the time. That's just not possible since the Ministry would have a field day when young wizards and witches start practicing their spells at school."
"So it doesn't work during the school year?" Michael asked him.
"No exactly. It doesn't work when the wizard or witch is an area saturated by magic. Obviously, Hogwarts is one such place, but houses of witches and wizards that are guarded by wards also fall into that category. The Trace is mostly there to keep up the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, hiding our magical community from Muggles." Answered Filius.
"Doesn't that give a big advantage to those born in magical families?" Michael asked.
"That's another reason why it exists." Said Filius, not elaborating any further.
Michael shook his head. This reminded him of the relationship between nobles and commoners in Liorderat. One had all the privileges in the world and could get away with almost anything while the other was treated like slaves.
"And how will that Statute be kept when the demons invade?" Asked Michael. He was certain Filius was one of Dumbledore's trusted allies. Michael even suspected the short Professor was ordered to keep an eye on him with how much Filius stayed around him.
"How sure are you that will happen?" Replied Filius.
"Completely." Answered Michael with confidence.
"Why, if I may ask?" Questioned Filius.
"I'm assuming some demons are already on the planet." Michael replied in a moment. He'd thought it over in the past few days. At first, he believed Voldemort would be the one to summon them and open a portal for the demons to invade, but after mulling over Thirteen's words, he thought otherwise.
The overseer had been adamant that the invasion will happen in 7 years no matter what. But why? If Voldemort was the one that made a pact with them, shouldn't killing him and his followers, in case they knew as well, prevent that from happening? In that case, his mission would've been to kill the man and be done with it. However, his objective was to stop the invasion and destroy all portals. Obviously, there was more going on.
"What?" Exclaimed Filius, his eyes comically widening in shock. "How do you know that?"
"It's either that, or someone other than Tom had made a pact with them. I'm still willing to bet that at least one demon is somewhere on the planet." Michael said and added as he stood up. "I won't be training this hard otherwise." That wasn't the complete truth, but Filius didn't need to know that.
"What… can you tell us about the demons?" Asked Filius in a moment, walking after Michael, who was returning back to the castle.
"Physically and magically strong." Michael wasn't completely sure on that one, but he was guessing and using his experience from Liorderat. If he could sort out his memories and figure out what the Burning Legion was, he could answer this better.
"Also way more physically and magically resistant than most. Probably will sent a large legion of low-leveled demons with a strong commander to test out the waters. A much larger force will follow afterward." This is how it had happened in Liorderat and how it all began.
"What about weaknesses? And how do YOU plan on fighting them?" Filius asked. Obviously, Michael was preparing for them, but from the way he described them, demons sounded like they would destroy the wizards in a war. The goblins might stand a better chance, but convincing them to fight alongside wizards would be tedious.
"Weaknesses? Depends on the type of demon. Your best bet is to have a strong enchanted weapon and armor." Replied Michael before pausing. "As for how I plan on fighting them… it doesn't matter since you can't replicate it."
His Aura would be his strongest weapon, however the people of this world didn't have that option available to them. At least Michael didn't think so. He didn't even know how one was supposed to unlock his Aura in this Multiverse since it was different from the one he knew off.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Filius asked, feeling annoyed by how Michael had phrased that. They won't be able to replicate it? Unless it was some special bloodline, that shouldn't be a problem.
Michael was about to reply when he froze on the spot, looking in front of him with narrowed eyes.
[The people of this world CAN use Aura. Anyone with a soul can really. They are just no aware of it and don't know how to unlock it. You can unlock it for them when your Aura Manipulation reaches Adept and Soul 10. However, the process will be exhausting and will leave you drained for at least a day.]
Michael didn't need to be told who sent him that message. He wasn't sure why Thirteen told him that, but it almost seemed as if he was pushing him to do it. The question was, did he trust the overseer or not? Filius patiently waited for Michael, as he stood in place, deep in thought.
'Fighting the demons on my own… how doable is that? If I grow strong enough, I could do it easily enough. But my objective is to stop invasion entirely and destroy their portals. If enough of the demons arrive on Earth, they would be able to create even more portals. I will need allies for that.'
"I suppose there is a way." Said Michael after thinking it over. His purple shroud with black strips surrounded him, startling the short Professor in the process.
"This is Aura. Anyone with a soul can use this power. I'm unsure how one is supposed to unlock in naturally, but I will be able to do it in the future." Explained Michael. He'd rather not tell them it was the manifestation of one's soul as that won't give him a good image with how his looked.
"Incredible." Filius said, stepping closer and taking a good look at it. His short hand reached out, trying to touch his shroud, but it just passed through it.
"What does it do?" Asked Filius.
"Protects you from physical harm when activated. I'm unsure about if it does the same from magic since I haven't tested it out. It also gives a boost to your physical capabilities." Explained Michael. "Those with a good enough control can also develop special abilities." He decided to add that as well.
"Like a bloodlines? Truly incredible." Said Filius with glowing eyes. "And you said you will be able to unlock the Aura of other people in the future?"
"I will, but it will be… tiresome. I will be left exhausted for at least a day." Informed Michael and added. "And I won't be doing it for free."
"And what would ask for?" Filius asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Training and equipment." Replied Michael. "I want to be trained in whatever branch of magic I request and supplied with whatever equipment I request."
"You will be attending the best magical school in the world. There is no better magical education than here." Started Filius, but Michael waved him off.
"Yes, and I will be taught alongside however many other students. I want one on one teaching." Michael said. He had that Magically Gifted perk, so he might as well take advantage of it. As much as he didn't want to admit, magic was a very useful tool with a lot of potential. If he wanted to accomplish his own goal, he needed to use every advantage he could grab.
"This… I can't make such a promise. I won't mind helping you myself, but there is only so much I can teach you." Replied Filius. He quite liked how motivated Michael was and how much he worked to improve himself.
"Speak with the Headmaster if you need. I will be in my room." Said Michael before entering his current abode. He took a big risk of revealing his Aura to them. Hopefully, it will pay off, else he just gave that information away for free. At least, they won't be able to unlock their Auras without him. Nor do they know its full capabilities.
'Thirteen also seemed to be pushing me to reveal it. I didn't even know he can message me like that. I don't know what the overseer is playing at, but… I don't think he will try to fuck me over when he still needs my help. At least not this early on.' Thought Michael.
Thinking it over any further was pointless since he already did it. Michael grabbed one of his school books for the year, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, deciding to distract himself with it. 'Might as well start working on magic. I've avoided it long enough.'
The book started off with some basic introduction, explaining how important wand movements and proper intonation were for casting spells. It was definitely much more different from the spell casters in Liorderat. Their way involved much more studying and understanding how magic worked.
After going through the introduction, Michael got to the first and most basic spell in the book, Wand-Lighting Charm. It simply illuminated the tip of his wand and was mostly used by wizards to see in the dark, something he had no problem with. Either way, it was a good place for him to start.
Grabbing his wand with his left hand, Michael swirled it around in practice. The first few attempts were a bit awkward, as he was at most used to wield a shield with his left hand, as rare as it was. Nevertheless, he quickly got the hang of it. Feeling confident, he did the correct hand movement and intoned. "Lumos."
Michael felt a kind of energy come out of his body and flow into the wand. He focused on it and studied it carefully. Compared to his Aura, which felt sturdy and hard to manipulate, magic felt more flexible and fluid.
A bright, white-bluish light lit up at the top of his wand, confirming the successful cast of his first spell. The text that appeared afterward, seemed to agree with that as well.
[New Skill Acquired: Spell Casting(Novice)]
[Spell Casting(Novice): The ability to manipulate magical energy, both internal and external, to cast spells. At current level, spells cost 2x magical energy to be cast.
Spell Casting speed and damage depend on the Mind Stat.]