Ivan: You Call This Hardworking?

Ivan, of course, could tell what Nicolas Flamel was referring to, so he shook his head and explained vaguely, "I was just lucky. I might not have won against Lord Voldemort if I'd had to try again."

"So you defeated the man? All the rumours about the wizarding world are true?" asked Nicolas Flamel, bewildered.

"Didn't you already confirm that?" Yvonne asked. If Nicolas Flamel couldn't be certain, why would he congratulate her in a letter?

Nicolas Flamel smiled but did not reply.

He had learned of Ivan's victory over Lord Voldemort a week ago, although he could not believe it when he first heard the news.

If it weren't for the few clear photographs and the fact that the message was from Dumbledore's Phoenix, Nick Flamel would have suspected that someone was trying to fool him.

After all, he had spent more than a month with Ivan the previous year, and had tested Ivan's skills in magic, and although he was far superior to the average adult wizard, there was still a noticeable gap between him and the undulating earth demon.

Logically speaking, no matter how talented a person was, it was impossible for them to improve so much in a year.

However, all the information gathered later proved that this matter was true, so he sent a letter to confirm it…

"I can't believe how fast you've progressed, defeating the infamous Lord Voldemort in the span of a year… perhaps with your talents, you could have done what the book says you could," said Nicolas Flamel, looking wistfully at the New Age Declaration in his hand.

Hearing Nicolas Flamel's words, Yvonne realised that the Master Alchemist had been dubious, and that he had sent the letter to test her.

In a way, he had just confessed.

Ivan was frustrated. He did not want too many people to know that he had defeated Voldemort, as he could not explain how he had done it.

Therefore, before Nick Flamel could ask any more questions, Yvonne changed the subject.

"By the way, Teacher, I forgot to tell you that I've successfully completed the test you gave me last time."

As he spoke, Ivan took out a grey lump of metal from the pocket of his wizarding robes and placed it on the table. It was about half the size of his palm and strangely shaped, like a badge.

It was, in fact, a badge, but it was made in such a hurry that there was no time for detailed carving.

Fortunately, Nicolas Flamel did not have any flaws in his unexpected views. When he saw the badge, he made a noise of surprise and picked it up to examine it.

"You seem to have mastered the guiding spell I taught you," said Nicolas Flamel, confirming this with a few glances.

At the same time, it was also likely that Ivan had gathered some sort of anger within the badge, which would cause an explosion if a little bit of magic was injected into it, activated, and thrown out.

However, if he remembered correctly, his mission for Ivan should be to fix a crescent moon pendant. Why did it become this metal lump?

Nicolas Flamel looked at Ivan strangely.

"I gave it away after I fixed it, so I couldn't ask for it back," Yvonne said sheepishly, thinking of the other day.

Nicolas Flamel nodded, but did not pursue the matter. What he really wanted to test was Ivan's mastery of channeling magic, as the badge had proven.

"So do I pass the test and become your disciple now?" Ivan asked quickly.

"Of course," said Nicolas Flamel. "Don't you always call me teacher?"

Ivan was overjoyed. Although Nicolas Flamel had taught him a lot about alchemy, there was a barrier between them, as they had not confirmed their relationship.

He never dared to take the initiative to ask about some of the more advanced matters of alchemy, for fear of upsetting the Master Alchemist.

"Now that you're my disciple, I'll assign you some heavy homework duties from tomorrow onwards. You'd better be prepared," Nicolas Flamel said sternly as he wiped the smile off his face. He then took a parchment from his drawer and placed it on the table.

Yvonne looked at it and saw it was a schedule.

According to this, he had to wake up at 6:30 every morning, study alchemy with Nicolas Flamel from 7:00 to 12:00 p.m., practise making magic props from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., then read until 10:00 p.m. after dinner…

It is worth noting that there is one day off in a week.

"Sir, isn't this schedule a little too easy…" Ivan said cautiously after reading it.

"How can it not be? You only have a month and a half in all, but you have a lot to learn…" Nicolas Flamel replied with a straight face.

When he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Ivan seemed to have said that… the homework task was too easy?

Nicolas Flamel wondered if he had misheard.

He did not mishear, however, as the schedule was too leisurely for Ivan.

After several modifications to her body, Ivan found that his physical fitness and adaptability were far superior to that of a normal human being, allowing him to perform ultra-high-intensity learning.

For example, after Alicia faked her death, he studied potions without sleep for three or four days in an attempt to improve his Polyjuice Potion.

The situation did not look any better to Ivan than it had then, and the pressure of Lord Voldemort weighed heavily on his mind.

Nobody knew how long such a deterrent would last, so Ivan was desperate to improve his skills.

This was also the reason why he kept trying to drag the Dark Wizards to Knockturn Alley as sparring partners, even though it would leave him with a bad reputation.

However, after many intense battles, it became more and more difficult to break through the bottleneck, so Ivan had to resort to alchemy.

After all, relying on external objects to improve one's strength was always the fastest way. The improved wands, protective rings, and rings of magic that he had previously created had helped him a lot.

However, as Ivan grew stronger and stronger, some of these techniques could not keep up with his combat ability, so learning more advanced alchemy knowledge became inevitable.

Thus, under Nicolas Flamel's astonished gaze, Ivan resolutely stated that he did not need a holiday, nor did he need time off. He could devote himself to his studies and leave two or three hours of sleep a day…