Chapter 4: Fusion of Abilities

The small room, no more than ten square meters, was where Eisen resided. Near the bed, there was only an old table, with a candle lit at each corner, providing enough illumination for the entire space. Although the room appeared somewhat dilapidated, its cleanliness and comfort exceeded Eisen's expectations. Given the unkempt appearance of the wizards in the Leaky Cauldron's main hall, he hadn't anticipated the upstairs rooms to be so decent.

After placing all his belongings on the table, Eisen once again grasped his wand. In an instant, the character panel before him underwent the same transformation as before.

"Extraordinary Ability Discovered – Excellent Spellcasting Ability. Consume a Miracle Ability to replicate?"

Eyeing the pop-up, Eisen took a deep breath and clicked 'Yes' with his mind.

Subsequently, he felt no abnormalities from the wand in his hand, but the pop-up had vanished. The character panel then changed slightly:

Character: Eisen Turner

Extraordinary Talent: Magic (Activated)

Magic: 10 (Increases by 10 points daily)

Extraordinary Ability: 1 Excellent Spellcasting Ability (Unfused)

(Note: Fusing this ability will increase compatibility by 20%)

Miracle Ability: None (Gain 1 per year automatically)

The changes to the character panel surprised Eisen. Evidently, the Miracle Ability had been used to replicate the wand's Spellcasting Ability, turning it into an Extraordinary Ability – albeit an unfused one.

The mention of increased compatibility puzzled Eisen. Could fusing the ability further enhance the compatibility between him and his wand? Regardless, an increase in compatibility was undoubtedly beneficial, as it would allow Eisen to cast spells more smoothly and with greater potency.

However, the concept of 'fusion' remained unclear to him.

As Eisen's mind focused on the unfused Spellcasting Ability, a new pop-up appeared: "Please select a body part to fuse the Spellcasting Ability."

Below were several options with percentages: Arm (70%), Finger (95%), Leg (60%), and Toe (80%).

Eisen pondered the implications. Perhaps fusing the ability would not merely increase his compatibility with the wand but grant that body part the ability to cast spells without a wand, with the compatibility boost being a secondary effect?

Excitement surged within Eisen at the prospect. In the Harry Potter world, wizards heavily relied on wands, rendering them defenseless if disarmed by the Disarming Charm, even for powerful figures like Dumbledore and Voldemort.

Although they could perform non-verbal and wandless magic, a wizard with a wand held a significant advantage over one without. Thus, wands played a crucial role in this world.

If the fusion ability functioned as Eisen envisioned, wands would no longer be a limitation for him.

After composing himself, Eisen selected 'Finger' for fusion, as it held the highest compatibility percentage of 95%.

Upon making his choice, a tingling sensation coursed through his ten fingers for two minutes before dissipating. At that moment, Eisen felt as though his fingers had acquired the properties of a wand, capable of substituting its functions entirely. Glancing at the character panel, the Extraordinary Ability section had indeed changed:

Extraordinary Ability: Excellent Spellcasting Ability (Compatibility 115%) (Fused)

However, the term 'Excellent' remained ambiguous to Eisen.

Nevertheless, with this ability, Eisen could perform wandless magic for any spell in the future, though he would continue using his wand for discretion, as he preferred a low-profile approach.

Currently, Eisen could not discern the difference between using a wand and his fingers, as his magic was still limited to 10 points, and he didn't know any spells yet. Therefore, his next goal was to self-study some spells to appear more like a wizard, lest he risk exposure while roaming Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron.

Additionally, Eisen wondered about the strength of his 10 magic points compared to first-year students like Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. In the original work, a wizard's magic level was a vague concept, with no specific ranks or levels mentioned. It was only stated that a young wizard's magic would grow alongside their age until adulthood.

Unexpectedly, the Gamer's Hand had quantified Eisen's magic level, placing him at a mere 10 points, likely lower than that of a young wizard, as his magic had only recently been activated.

Assessing magic strength proved challenging, as the ability to cast a particular spell seemed to be an imprecise measure in the original work.

Take the Shield Charm, a defensive spell. While Harry Potter had learned and cast it in his fourth year, likely due to his protagonist status, the spell possessed a certain difficulty. Fred and George Weasley had mentioned that even some adult employees at the Ministry of Magic might struggle to cast it successfully.

Gilderoy Lockhart, despite being a fraud and a Ravenclaw graduate, could not perform the Shield Charm.

Therefore, Eisen could use spells like this to gauge his own magic level.

With the current date being July 1990, the new students' enrollment at Hogwarts was fast approaching, though the iconic trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron would not join for another year.

In other words, Eisen had over a year to study before the main storyline unfolded.

Logically, Eisen had already missed the opportunity for enrollment, and distancing himself from the Hogwarts vortex would be the wisest course of action to avoid Voldemort's threat.

However, many of the books required for Hogwarts' curriculum, such as the Disillusionment Charm and Apparition – spatial magic Eisen was keen to learn – were unavailable at Flourish and Blotts. Moreover, the Hogwarts library held immense allure for Eisen.

Therefore, the best option for Eisen was to apply for a teaching position at Hogwarts before Voldemort's resurrection, allowing him to study while remaining relatively safe. If he could withdraw after Voldemort's return, he would retreat to a secure location. Otherwise, he would dedicate the following years to becoming formidable enough to face Voldemort, a feat he believed achievable with the Gamer's Hand.

However, Eisen's current abilities fell short of the requirements for a Hogwarts professorship. Consequently, he planned to spend the next year intensively studying to surpass Lockhart's level, as even that fraud had secured a teaching position.

The specific subject he would apply for remained to be carefully considered.

(End of Chapter)