101: Level 4 Alchemy and Hermione's Invitation

Inside the Johnny Silverhand's Speciality Shop, there was a room dedicated to John's alchemy work.

 "Yes! Alchemy has finally been upgraded." John shouted with satisfaction.

With the successful creation of the "Heart of Silence," John had finally advanced to Level 4 in alchemy.

He placed the necklace he was holding down on the table. This obsidian-like necklace was part of the Silverhand Johnny's "of" series.

The "Heart of Silence" had the effect of blocking any surrounding detection while also ensuring that no internal sounds could be transmitted outside.

During the last raid on the Shafiq Manor, they had relied on each person wearing a "Heart of Silence."

However, this item had a downside: after being used, the pendant on it needed to be replaced.

The pendant was a very simplified version of a magical residue stone, a defective product John had created based on the handwritten notes of Nicolas Flamel.

Its only function was to store and release magic. The true "Heart of Silence" was actually in the chain itself.

"Level 3 alchemy was too low to create a Philosopher's Stone. Now I should be able to upgrade to a higher version."

John had long since memorized Nicolas Flamel's knowledge in his head. These things were quite complicated, but as he continued to digest them, his alchemy skills would also improve.

Aside from this knowledge, Nicolas Flamel had donated all his other belongings.

Not only did this allow John to avoid the prying eyes of those with ulterior motives, but it also mainly ensured that John wouldn't become obsessed with Flamel's legacy.

It had to be said that Nicolas Flamel was a good teacher. As his successor, John naturally intended to create a new Philosopher's Stone on his own.

After some tinkering, a pale purple, pigeon-egg-sized stone appeared in John's hand.

This was a so-called "magic stone"—though it couldn't be used to brew the Elixir of Life like the true Philosopher's Stone, it could still perform some of the same functions.

"I'll call it the Magic Crystal," John decided.

Holding the Magic Crystal in one hand, John placed his other hand on a spoon. Under his focused gaze, the spoon gradually transformed into gold.

In less than ten seconds, the spoon in John's hand had turned into solid gold.

It was real gold.

John sliced the spoon open; the golden spoon was almost indistinguishable from genuine gold.

Opening his palm, he noticed that the color of the Magic Crystal had dimmed slightly. He estimated that about a tenth of its power had been consumed.

"If it were a real Philosopher's Stone, this amount of power would be negligible. Looks like there's still room for improvement."

John put the Magic Crystal away and casually tossed the golden spoon into a drawer.

He considered using some points to immediately upgrade his alchemy skills again, but after thinking it over, he decided to hold off for now.

Acting too hastily might lead to instability, so he resolved not to upgrade until he had solidified his current skills.

After leaving the cauldron room, John called over Tommy to give him some instructions. He then used the Disillusionment Charm to leave the Johnny Silverhand's shop.

The Wick family had been staying in London for nearly a week.

At first, old man Watson Wick and Mr. Granger played golf, but as they chatted, their friendship quickly warmed up.

It even reached the point where Mr. Granger and Watson both made some shocking revelations.

Yes, you read that right—shocking revelations.

This incident actually began on the third day.

Watson and Mr. Granger were enjoying some drinks and the river breeze, living quite comfortably.

Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Wick were baking together and getting along very well.

But then, something dramatic happened.

A young woman, whom they had briefly met at the clinic earlier, reappeared and ran into the two old men.

The two old men, having had a few drinks, couldn't resist and accepted the young woman's invitation for another drink.

Barely three minutes after they had settled onto the bar stools, Mrs. Wick and Mrs. Granger stormed in.

It's said that the scene was extremely frightening—Watson almost lost the ceramic teeth he had just gotten fixed.

To ensure his friend wouldn't get into trouble, Watson bravely took full responsibility, claiming that the young woman was there to see him.

He fucked up..

This made Mrs. Wick furious, smiling as she prepared to enforce the family rules.

Seeing Watson's loyalty, Mr. Granger and he exchanged a deep, meaningful look, and it was as if they could hear that classic line:

"We may not have been born on the same day, but let us die on the same day."

The theme song played:

"In this bow, joyous encounters with kindred spirits, the peach blossoms smile upon the sacrificial altar..."

And so... Mr. Granger also decided to make his shocking revelation.

He confessed about the young woman pursuing him and how she had repeatedly come to the clinic, which sent Mrs. Granger into a rampage.

The two wives teamed up to deliver a mixed doubles beating, which extended John's stay in London to seven days.

Don't get the wrong idea—it wasn't that the wives were too brutal, but that the two old men got hit by a car while trying to escape.

Fortunately, it was only a toy car, but because of this, the two brothers couldn't keep their balance, fell off the steps, and ended up hugging each other as they were sent to the hospital for a few days.

After their hospital stay, the two wives finally calmed down.

Neither of them had any desire to be mischievous, not even the nerve.

The young woman had took advantage of the chaos to escape, and the matter turned into a headless case.

...

Returning to his father's apartment, this was the accommodation in the London's continental the company had assigned to him.

'Don't be fooled by how unserious Dad seems—he's still an elite, after all.'

As soon as John entered the apartment, he saw his dad leaning on a crutch, struggling to open the fridge to get a beer.

"Dad, if you want to settle down here, you can do it without involving me."

Casually taking away the beer his dad had struggled to grab, John left Watson wailing behind him, his back turned indifferently.

Watson was full of resentment because, after some liquid courage from the beer, he had become a prime candidate for special monitoring.

"If you don't behave, I'll have André come take care of you."

Those were Mrs. Wick's exact words, and André was one of John's uncles.

Watson had once witnessed André break a poplar tree with his bare hands. He's an extremely tough person and was the one who suggested taking John into the mountains for hunting in the first place.

With no beer to drink, Watson was left bored. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Watson thought it might be his good friend Granger visiting. When he opened the door, it was indeed a Granger—but it was young Granger.

"Hello, Mr. Wick, I'm here to see John."

Hermione, for once, didn't have a book with her and had changed into casual clothes.

"John, of course~ He's over there."

Watson said with deep meaning, leaving Hermione a bit puzzled.

When John learned that Hermione was looking for him, he came out as well.

"John, do you want to go out together?" 

Hermione invited John, which was the first time she had asked a fellow wizard to go out.

John thought about it.

"Sure."

Since he didn't have anything else to do, he decided to accept.

He initially thought they would go to a place like Diagon Alley, but surprisingly, they ended up at a park.

No magic, no wizards.

This kind of park made John feel a bit dazed, as if it had been a long time since he had been to such a place.

He casually plucked a blade of grass, put it in his mouth, and sucked on it, tasting the slight bitterness of the greenery. John looked curiously at Hermione, who was standing beside him, and asked, "You seem to know this place well."

"This was the place I used to come to the most. You know, I wasn't very popular."

When she said this, Hermione tried to act like she didn't care, but there was a hint of sadness in her tone.

In response, John had a look of sudden realization. After all, she was the "know-it-all" girl; even Harry and Ron didn't like Hermione when they first met her.

Come to think of it, John was Hermione's first friend at Hogwarts, so Hermione always had a special feeling toward John.

That feeling wasn't love—it was care.

Just like when Harry was suspicious of John, Hermione would stand up for John and even get upset with Harry.

She didn't want her friend to be seen as a criminal, and John didn't let her down.

When they reached a swing set, Hermione sat on one and was about to ask John to push her, but then she saw that John had already jumped onto another swing.

Seeing him having so much fun, Hermione was speechless.

After thinking for a long time, Hermione couldn't help but ask, "John, why... were you willing to be my friend?"

The first time they met, the situation wasn't exactly friendly.

John swung high into the air and, hearing her question, casually said, "Friendship is based on feelings, isn't it?"

Hermione felt a bit frustrated.

Feelings?

'Is that why you said I have big teeth?'

Actually, Hermione had been feeling a bit down lately because she felt she hadn't been able to help Harry much.

Ron could fly a car to rescue Harry from the Dursleys, but she felt like she couldn't do anything.

Noticing her gloominess, John got off his swing and said seriously, "Hermione, you need to recognize your own value. You have a heart that's honest and brave, and you also have, um, endless wisdom..."

"Ehm* Friendship is about our hearts being connected, not about the life-or-death things we do for each other."

Hearing John's earnest words, Hermione felt relieved.

She gratefully said, "Thank you, John."

Looking up, she saw John already by the ice cream truck at the side of the road.

After hearing her, he turned around with a creamy ice cream in his hand and asked what flavor she wanted.

Hermione replied, "...I want strawberry."

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