— — — — — —
[Host has discovered the Room of Requirement.]
[50 Achievement Points awarded.]
"Fifty points?" Tom raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
Normally, when he wandered into other classrooms at night, he'd only get two points at most. The Trophy Room gave a bit more—maybe five.
But the Room of Requirement? That was ten times as much.
In an instant, his point stash shot past the 300 mark.
"Looks like special locations give way more points than I thought… Professor's offices, secret passages, maybe even… Dumbledore's office," he mused, mentally planning his next targets.
Then he focused.
"Now."
"Let's start with the basics."
With a flick of his wand, Tom aimed at a wooden training dummy and sent out a flash of red light.
"Confringo!"
The Blasting Curse hit dead-on. The dummy exploded on impact, reduced to splinters that scattered across the room.
Tom didn't even flinch. Calmly, he turned to the next dummy.
The raw power of that spell was already far beyond what most adult wizards could manage. But Tom was no ordinary student—his magical growth was off the charts for his age, and with Andros's teachings and his natural talent, he had developed a deep understanding of blasting spells.
That attack just now? He was holding back.
Still, power alone wasn't everything. Accuracy and casting speed mattered too. No point in nuking a target if you couldn't hit it in the first place.
Colorful lights filled the room as spell after spell flew.
Stupefy. Petrificus Totalus. Depulso. Ventus.
Even the most basic spells packed a punch in Tom's hands.
Following Andros's advice, he tried to ingrain the feeling of casting into his body—like training muscle memory with magic.
Before long, the dozens of dummies were nothing but rubble.
Then, a surge of magic swept the room.
The destroyed dummies began to reassemble themselves, snapping together piece by piece. In less than thirty seconds, they were fully restored—only now, they started moving.
"Moving targets?" Tom muttered, raising an eyebrow.
He was beginning to see the Room of Requirement in a whole new light. Not only did it provide training dummies, but it also scaled up the difficulty. Honestly, this was already more useful than any Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
After a short break, the next phase of training began.
The dummies moved at about the speed of an adult running at full tilt. Still, Tom was managing a solid 90% hit rate.
People always said magic was a matter of willpower, but that didn't mean just thinking about hitting a target would make it happen. Timing and prediction still mattered—a lot.
Fifteen minutes later, another full round of dummies lay in pieces.
But when they rebuilt again, this time their speed doubled—now they moved like professional sprinters. On top of that, each dummy had a floating sign above its head, numbered from one to thirty.
"...You want me to hit them in order?"
The difficulty just shot through the roof.
Not only were the dummies moving way too fast, but they also overlapped and weaved around each other. Straight-line spells wouldn't cut it anymore—he'd have to curve his attacks and hit from weird angles.
And that? That was above his pay grade right now.
Time to cheat a little.
"Andros, I'm handing it over to you."
Tom activated a special ability: Embodied Learning.
[Embodied Learning: The tutor can temporarily cast spells through the host's body to increase teaching effectiveness. Time limit: 5 minutes.]
[Note: Duration can be increased by 10 seconds per additional point of tutor approval. Cooldown: 24 hours. (Host can cancel at any time to regain full control.)]
For the first time, Tom let Andros take full control of his body.
A burst of laughter—deep, hearty, and totally out of place—echoed from Tom's mouth.
"Hahaha! Does this count as being alive again? Ah, the feeling of flesh and blood… how I've missed it!"
"You've got seven minutes. Less talking, more teaching," Tom cut in.
Andros's approval rating was currently at 62, which gave them just over seven minutes together—five minutes base, with ten extra seconds for every point above 50.
What Tom felt now was… weird, to say the least.
It was like his body had instincts of its own. He could still think freely, but his limbs moved on their own. And yet, he could feel everything—the force, the flow, the feedback.
Now he understood why it was called Embodied Learning.
"Watch closely. Feel it. Memorize it."
Andros quickly shook off his initial excitement and got down to business.
Tom's eyes sharpened, a glint of deadly focus flickering within.
"Stupefy!"
Whoosh—!
A streak of white light arced through the air like a graceful ribbon and hit dummy #8, which had been hiding behind three others. This time, it didn't just break apart—it disintegrated into dust.
"Confringo!"
"Partis Temporus!"
"Ventus Tria!"
Andros chanted spell after spell at lightning speed. Sure, he could've cast them silently and instantly, but this was a demonstration for Tom, so he called them out loud.
What floored Tom was the fact that all three spells launched simultaneously—each from a different angle—nailing targets #9, #10, and #11… in perfect sequence.
"Tom, remember this feeling. Let your heart guide your actions. Your wand isn't a weapon—it's an extension of your intent, your focus. The more natural it becomes, the more freely you'll be able to cast."
While casting, Andros managed to sneak in pointers. Combined with the feedback Tom's body was giving him, it was like downloading years of combat experience in real time.
But that still wasn't enough.
Tom kicked things up another notch and activated Turbo Mode.
The world around him—and more importantly, Andros's casting—slowed to a crawl. In this hyper-focused state, even the tiniest details stood out.
Every flick of the wrist, every shift in stance, was crystal clear. And he had time to study and commit it all to memory.
In less than thirty seconds, Andros wiped out 22 dummies.
Before the room had a chance to reset them, Andros waved his wand and restored the dummies himself—jumping straight into the next round.
In just seven minutes, he cleared eleven full rounds of enemies.
That wasn't his limit—it was Tom's. Even with amazing potential and talent, Tom was still a first-year. When it came to raw magic reserves, age and maturity still played a big role.
Of course, talent trumps age in the long run. A 100-year-old with B-tier talent would still lose to a fresh graduate with SS-tier magical talent.
When the seven minutes were up, Andros returned to his mental realm, and Tom regained control of his body.
A wave of exhaustion hit him like a truck—he nearly collapsed on the spot.
He managed to stay upright, wobbling slightly, then lifted his wand again.
Embodied Learning might've ended, but Turbo was still active.
He wasn't about to waste a single second of it.
.
.
.