Seeing that [Magic Perception Enhancement] had successfully advanced to the silver level, Char could hardly contain his joy. He had thought it might take another three to five days—maybe even harvesting a few pots of goldfish spider plants as rewards—before he could achieve this breakthrough. But by entering the flow state, he had managed to make the leap in a single night.
Even the silver luster on the panel didn't look like the faint glow of a newly promoted ability. It was strong and steady, as if it had already grown within the silver level, saving Char at least a week or two of effort.
Now, Char noticed the changes that came with [Magic Perception Enhancement] reaching silver. Magic had never felt so close to him before—almost as if he could reach out and touch it. With just a thought, it seemed he could control his magic power at will.
He took a deep breath, excitement bubbling inside him. A wild idea crossed his mind: "Let there be light."
The magic power inside him stirred, but nothing happened. He was still far from being able to cast spells without a wand or incantation.
Char shook his head, smiling at his own overeagerness. "Of course, silver-level magical perception isn't enough to let me cast spells with just my thoughts. It's just that the improvement is so dramatic, it feels that way."
Still, a spark of hope remained. If [Magic Perception Enhancement] continued to advance, perhaps that day would come. For now, he was content with the progress he had made.
Char's eyes drifted to the golden light on his system panel. It was coming from the Fluorescent Spell, which had been stuck between silver and gold for so long. Logically, after harvesting the last batch of glow mushrooms, his proficiency should have been enough for the spell to reach gold level. But his magical perception had held him back—until now.
With the qualitative leap in his perception, both the Lumos charm and its variant, the Frequency Light Spell, had naturally advanced to gold level, surpassing even his loosening and pruning spells.
Char's excitement grew. Both his magical perception and his Lumos charm had undergone a qualitative change. Now, he should be able to meet the magical lighting requirements for the piranha algae. But this wasn't the place to experiment.
He took a deep breath, calming his excitement, and turned his attention to Hermione, who was standing nearby.
Hermione looked at him, her expression a mix of concern and hesitation. Finally, she spoke up. "Char, are you sure you don't need me to take you to the infirmary? You stayed up all night, but you're so excited and smiling. That's not how people usually act after being up all night. Are you under too much pressure, or are you too anxious? Or… are you sure you're not hallucinating? Can you really tell the difference between reality and illusion?"
Char was momentarily taken aback, then laughed, waving his hands. "I can tell the difference, I promise. I don't have any mental problems, Hermione. I just thought of something happy, that's all."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, all right then."
As Char watched her, he noticed something was off. Hermione's eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying. It was only half past six in the morning, and most students were still asleep. Even Hermione, diligent as she was, wouldn't be in the classroom this early unless something was wrong.
Char frowned. "Hermione, you don't look well. What happened?"
At his question, Hermione's eyes grew redder. Maybe because she had confided in Char before, she found herself pouring out her troubles again.
After the Lumos final test, Hermione's situation in Gryffindor had quickly returned to what it was before—if not worse. "I still don't understand," she said, her voice trembling. "If they had just started working hard earlier, Gryffindor's results wouldn't have been so poor. We got the least bonus points among the four houses! But they didn't seem to care at all. I tried to get them to review and prepare for the next test, to form a study group so we could earn more points. But no one listened to me except Neville. They only think of me when they need to copy homework. This time, when I refused, it was like I'd done something wrong."
Hermione's voice broke as she continued. "And Ron Weasley… he said I helped Hufflepuff before the Lumos final and called me a traitor to Gryffindor…"
She wiped away the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Forget all that. But yesterday, I heard Harry and Ron talking in the fourth-floor corridor. I haven't told you yet, but during the last midnight duel, we found a three-headed dog guarding something behind a trapdoor. Harry and Ron have been suspicious ever since. I think they're planning to sneak out at night to investigate. If they get caught, Gryffindor will have no chance at the House Cup. So I told them they should focus more on their studies instead of worrying about the three-headed dog. Ron just gave me a dirty look and called me an eavesdropper."
Hermione couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "I don't think I'm suited for Gryffindor…"
Char listened, his heart aching for her. It was hard for a top student with a strong sense of responsibility to be surrounded by classmates who didn't share her dedication. No wonder she was so upset.
He spoke gently. "No, Hermione, I think you're a true Gryffindor. Taking risks and sneaking around at night—that's just surface-level bravery. Real courage is standing up for what you believe in, even when it's hard. You're doing what you think is right, and that's what matters. You haven't done anything wrong—it's them."
Hermione looked up, surprised. The gloom on her face seemed to lift a little. "Thank you, Char. I do feel a bit better. You're right. I won't give in to their ideas."
Char smiled. "Of course, if you ever need a break, you're always welcome in Hufflepuff. The little badgers are always ready to learn from Miss Know-It-All. We'll even have black tea and desserts ready for you."
Hermione laughed, her mood visibly improved. After a while, seeing that she was truly feeling better, Char said goodbye. He placed the processed materials under the podium and turned to leave.
As he walked, his mind returned to what Hermione had said. "Just like in the original story, Harry and his friends found the three-headed dog behind the trapdoor on the fourth floor…"
Char narrowed his eyes. If Harry and the others had already encountered the three-headed dog, then the plot to protect the Philosopher's Stone was already unfolding. Maybe, in addition to preparing to obtain fire dragon blood, he could also find a way to collect some blood from the three-headed dog. Given its size, just a little blood would be enough to fill several buckets—more than enough to cultivate blood emeralds.
It never hurt to be prepared for both possibilities.
But after a moment, Char's thoughts shifted. Compared to fire dragon blood and the blood of the three-headed dog, those plans could wait. What he cared about most right now was the piranha algae experiment right in front of him.
He didn't know if his idea would really work, but with no classes in the morning, he had plenty of time to find out.
With anticipation in his heart, Char walked toward the greenhouse.