Don’t mention my name if you get beaten in the future

Harry was already envisioning the scene that would unfold after mastering powerful magic in his mind.

When Dudley provoked him, he would flash a faint smile as calm as Uncle Felix's.

Dudley would undoubtedly resort to direct confrontation. As per Dudley's habit, he would likely attempt to grab Harry's clothes and throw himself at him.

At that moment, Harry would calmly raise his hand, his fingers flickering slightly, and effortlessly hurl Dudley into the flowers before everyone at the school.

Then, straightening his clothes, Harry would say, "Don't dirty my..."

"What are you daydreaming about?" Felix's voice snapped Harry back to reality.

Startled, Harry felt a flush creeping up his face, and he coughed twice. "N-nothing," he stammered.

Felix couldn't help but chuckle, having already surmised what Harry was imagining. In fact, he could relate; he too entertained such whimsical thoughts as a child.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Felix said with a smile.

At the mention, Harry couldn't help but recall Felix's characteristic "do you want something to eat?" grin.

"First things first, we need to delve into the basics of magic. By the way, would you like a notebook?" 

"Yes!" Harry responded instinctively, not even bothering to sit down.

Felix rose from his seat and made his way to the basement. After a moment, he returned with a stack of yellow parchment, a pen, and several unfamiliar items, including a small wand.

It looked identical to the wands wielded by the wizards Harry had seen at Diagon Alley.

Felix placed the stack of parchment before Harry and handed him the pen.

"Do you use this for note-taking?" Harry asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Felix offered a mysterious smile. "This is the epitome of style. It exudes the craftsmanship of an ancient master."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Getting back to the point, let's not dilly-dally! After I explain, you can review my words and jot them down in your own words. Understand?"

Harry nodded eagerly, his heart brimming with anticipation for magic. "Got it."

"If you're delving into magic, one thing you can't bypass is magical energy," Felix began, adopting a storytelling posture on the sofa, reminiscent of an elderly sage imparting wisdom.

"Magic is an abstract concept, not a tangible energy. Think of it as the physical stamina needed to cast spells.

Just like physical stamina, magical energy is expended, replenished, and augmented. If the laws of the world are like strings, then a spell is the musical score, and magical energy is the plectrum that plucks the strings. Without magical energy, one cannot tap into the world's laws, and thus, cannot cast spells. Do you follow?"

"Understood," Harry replied, finding the concept rather straightforward.

Felix nodded, giving Harry time to take notes before continuing. "Now that we understand magical energy, let's discuss its utilization."

"Wands?" Harry inquired.

"Spot on!" Felix praised lightly. "Though, that terminology isn't entirely accurate. Nevertheless, wands are indeed the predominant tool for spellcasting among wizards nowadays."

With that, Felix laid out the items he had brought before Harry.

There was a withered black lizard trunk, a plump-looking pufferfish, a ring, and a wand.

Harry even observed Felix removing several rings from his fingers and producing the taller wand he had seen earlier from his sleeve.

"These are all instruments for harnessing magical energy. Collectively, we refer to them as spellcasters."

Felix then divided the items into two categories.

"You have magic within you, that much we're certain of, correct?"

"Yes," Harry affirmed. "But I... I can't sense it, let alone control it."

"That's perfectly normal. Most individuals struggle to control magic. In ancient times, spellcasters even viewed magic as a divine miracle and deemed themselves intermediaries between mortals and the gods," Felix explained.

"Does that mean there are truly gods in this world?"

"This world remains uncertain. However, I've encountered such beings before. I attempted to vanquish one, albeit unsuccessfully... No, don't interrupt!" Felix interjected abruptly.

"Apologies," Harry murmured, quickly averting his gaze and suppressing a smile, unwilling to meet Felix's eyes.

"The magical energy within most individuals is often in disarray. Consequently, throughout the annals of magical history, spellcasting implements have been categorized into two types."

As he spoke, Felix gestured towards the items on the left—a pair of rings, the small wand Harry recognized, along with bracelets, eye pendants, and similar items.

"These are guides. They serve to channel magical energy, allowing the caster to execute spells smoothly."

Then, he indicated the items on the other side, including a ring, bracelet, and the sizable wand Felix had worn previously.

"These are amplifiers. They augment the potency of a caster's spells, enabling greater efficacy with less effort."

Felix noticed Harry's keen interest in the guides. Harry, in turn, voiced his anticipation. "So, Uncle Felix, by using just a guide, even someone like me could successfully perform magic?"

Felix nodded. "Indeed. A guide aids the caster in directing magical energy accurately, facilitating spellcasting."

Having clarified this, Felix redirected the conversation. "Have you discerned the distinction between the guides and amplifiers on the table?"

Harry scrutinized the items, but discerning the difference proved elusive. They varied in form—wands, rings, bracelets, and even items resembling organic matter.

Each bore distinct artificial markings, devoid of any natural features...

After much deliberation, Harry ventured a somewhat tentative response.

Then he replied with some uncertainty: "These amplifiers belong to you, Uncle Felix, while the guides were just retrieved from the basement."

"Correct!" Felix affirmed, nodding approvingly at Harry's deduction. Then, with a solemn tone, he cautioned:

"Harry, it's imperative to understand that my words are not absolute truths. In the realm of magic, there's often more than one perspective. Whether it's my teachings or the knowledge found in books, always approach them with a critical mind."

"I understand," Harry nodded, taking Felix's words to heart.

When Harry nodded, Felix pushed away all the guides: "So what I want to say is that all wizards who use guides are rubbish!!"

"Huh?" Harry gasped on the spot.

Felix continued: "Don't worry about these guides. If you can't control the magic power by yourself, there is no way I will let you touch the caster."

Felix's words destroyed Harry's little thoughts just now. He looked bitter, but after a moment, he nodded firmly.

"I know, I will try my best!"

As he spoke, he wrote in his notes: "Wizards who can't cast spells on their own are trash!!"

Harry obviously listened to Felix's words and replaced "use a guide" with "cannot cast spells independently".

Felix looked at what Harry had written and showed a pleased expression.

This kid is so smart.

In fact, in his previous world, there was a detailed process for how wizard apprentices learned to control magic. But this world seems to have chosen another path.

A path that depends on the guide.

He had previously seized several wands from the Ministry of Magic for research, how should I put it...

These wands have very low amplification effect on the caster. The core part and the rune part are both designed to guide and stabilize the magic power in the wizard's body. As for the amplification effect, it all depends on the wood of the stick body.

For example, the warlike nature of aspen wood has a weak increase in some attack-type spells.

Another example is the toughness of cedar wood, which in the hands of a strong-willed person will increase his spellcasting efficiency.

But the amplification performance is quite average.

Of course, Felix is not looking down upon it. The formation of a world magic system must trace back its historical reasons and look at it from a macro perspective.

The magic wands in this world tend to be standard guides, so their wizard population must be much larger, and there will naturally be more mid-level experts. After all, everyone can cast spells and participate in magic research.

This has been confirmed by the "Compendium of Household Curses" and the fact that a gangster used an instant-death curse that touched his origin to mess with him.

If Felix's previous world was in a pyramid shape. Then the world tends to be olive-shaped.

Everyone has such a useful bootloader, so naturally there won't be too many low-level novices.

What he said just now... was just to give Harry some blood.

After all, he didn't want the person he brought out to be just the middle of the olive.

As for what Harry wrote in his note...

Felix stood up and patted Harry on the shoulder: "If you go to school and get beaten up in the future, remember not to mention my name."