For the first time, Wayne found himself expelled from the Headmaster's Office.
Facing his crushing defeat, the century-old Headmaster displayed rare discomposure.
It wasn't that Dumbledore couldn't accept losing—it was just that the manner of his defeat was too humiliating.
Here's a brief explanation of the card levelling system.
Much like Wayne's own system, the more duplicates of a card one obtains, the higher its level becomes.
Initial levels vary depending on the card's rarity.
The maximum level is fifteen. White cards start at level one, blue at three, purple at six, and gold cards begin at eight when first drawn.
Each level increases a skill's damage output, or for summon cards, boosts health and attack power.
Wayne's cards were all maxed out at the highest tier—level fifteen.
Dumbledore had only opened a dozen or so packs and hadn't even completed his collection. After landing his carefully crafted combo, Wayne barely lost a sliver of health, whereas a single Disarming Charm from Wayne nearly took Dumbledore's life.
How was one supposed to fight under such conditions?
For the first time, Dumbledore realised how utterly powerless it felt to be overwhelmed by sheer force.
Usually, he was the one doing the overwhelming.
...
After being kicked out, Wayne acted as if nothing had happened, chatting with the gargoyle for a while before heading to class.
Once the afternoon Herbology class ended, he went to set up more projection devices.
Every time he installed one, eager young wizards would rush over to try it, drawing crowds of onlookers.
In the Slytherin common room, Malfoy finally assembled a relatively cohesive deck after defeating several students in a row.
"Let's go."
After making final adjustments, Malfoy stood up immediately.
"Where to?" Goyle asked dimly.
"To find Potter, of course," Malfoy said, as if it were obvious. "I'm going to show him what true mastery of spells looks like."
"His previous wins against me were just luck and that monkey-like agility of his."
With resigned expressions, Goyle and Crabbe rose to follow him.
Drawing on years of experience tracking Harry down, Malfoy needed only to ask two or three people before confirming Harry's location—inside the Gryffindor common room.
Ten minutes later...
Harry, who was mid-battle with Neville, received a message from another young wizard.
"Harry, Malfoy's outside the portrait hole. He says he wants to challenge you."
Instantly, the common room buzzed with excitement.
"What kind of challenge? A duel or the game?"
"Probably the game?" the messenger replied uncertainly.
"Harry, will you accept?" Fred turned to Harry. "If you don't want to go, I can take your place."
"No need." Harry separated his game console from Neville's, causing the projection to vanish.
There was no way Harry would back down from a challenge from Malfoy. He strode out through the entrance, trailed by a large crowd.
Malfoy flinched at the sudden flood of people, blustering, "Potter, what's this about? I just wanted a game—are you planning to gang up on me?"
"They're just here to watch," Harry said calmly. "Where do you want to play? Here?"
Malfoy gave a light snort, whispered something to Crabbe, who then hurried downstairs. Only then did he reply, "Of course not. Since so many people want to see how you'll lose to me, we ought to find a proper duelling platform."
"The one in the entrance hall on the first floor."
Harry didn't object. As long as they weren't playing in the Slytherin common room, he didn't care where it was.
A crowd followed Malfoy to the first floor, where they saw Crabbe return with a group of Slytherin young wizards.
So he'd gone to gather reinforcements.
Faced with such numbers, Malfoy clearly felt that fighting alone would put him at a disadvantage in terms of morale.
Both sides slotted their game devices into the grooves, and a huge projection instantly appeared. Combined with the fierce glares they exchanged, it stirred excitement in many onlookers, as if this were a real duel.
"Potter, it's not too late to admit defeat now," Malfoy sneered. "I heard you only opened ten packs, didn't you?"
"I've opened a full thirty packs. It's only natural you can't beat me."
Harry shot back, "Even with basic cards, I could still crush you easily."
They simultaneously pressed the ready button. Once the countdown vanished, they both dashed backwards, each summoning their companion cards in perfect sync.
An absurd scene unfolded on the field.
Beside Harry's projection appeared the Malfoy trio, charging menacingly towards the opponent.
Meanwhile, beside Malfoy's projection stood a Harry, firmly shielding him from harm.
Both boys: "..."
"Pfft!" George couldn't hold back his laughter. "Sorry, but this... this is just too hilarious."
Then, the spectators erupted into uproarious laughter.
The outcome of the duel no longer mattered. Colin Creevey faithfully captured the moment with his camera.
...
In the following days, Hogwarts: Magic Awakened continued to soar in popularity, swiftly replacing traditional pastimes like Wizard's Chess and Exploding Snap to become the young wizards' favourite.
Between classes, they could squeeze in a quick match before the professor arrived.
On free periods, they could use the projection equipment for duels brimming with ceremony and realism.
Even casual conversations shifted from Quidditch to team compositions and which spells were stronger. In no time, several distinct playstyles had emerged—summoner builds, aggressive spellcasting, low-cost rush tactics, and high-cost control decks.
Soon, anyone unfamiliar with these would stand out as an oddity among the young wizards.
The professors noticed this trend but mostly chose not to intervene.
At least they were discussing magic-related knowledge, which had its benefits.
In Herbology class, for instance, many suddenly demonstrated much better understanding of magical plants—since these appeared on spell cards, mastering them required learning their properties first.
A rather edutaining outcome.
Wayne also rolled out numerous incentives.
Every Monday, young wizards could claim a free ten-pack draw. Each point earned for their house could be exchanged for an additional card.
Winning houses in upcoming Quidditch matches would also receive bonus ten-packs.
Faced with such generosity, the young wizards were deeply moved, feeling Lawrence had truly outdone himself—further boosting game and card pack sales...
...
The Suitcase World.
Another weekend arrived, and the girls gathered together to help Wayne calculate his earnings over this period.
Nearly a month had passed since the game's release, and the sales of the game consoles were nearing saturation.
The sales of card packs remained steady, though far from the initial frenzy of queuing customers.
This was to be expected—after all, the player pool was limited. Many who wanted to buy card packs simply couldn't afford to keep spending, lest they run out of money for sweets.
Before long, Hermione and Penelope had finished compiling the data.
"A total of five hundred and twenty-three game consoles sold, and card pack sales amounting to two thousand two hundred Galleons... The vast majority of which came from Slytherin and Gryffindor..."
Hermione's face lit up with astonishment as she read out the figures.
"I never imagined everyone would spend so much on a game..."
"Is that a lot?" Astoria asked blankly. "It's still cheaper than a Firebolt."
"That's not how you should look at it," Cho said helplessly, glancing at the wealthy little girl.
Astoria had been sheltered too well, and her privileged upbringing left her with no real grasp of money.
Between the game consoles and card packs, the total was nearly four thousand Galleons.
Her father wouldn't even earn a thousand Galleons in a year, and even after his recent promotion, he only made seventy Galleons a month.
As for the Firebolt—aside from national teams and clubs, how many wizards would actually spend that much out of passion?
What would become of such an unworldly girl in the future?
But then again, with Wayne around, Astoria might end up even more protected. Cho chuckled to herself and ruffled the rich girl's silvery-white hair.
"What have the recent card pack sales been like?" Wayne asked.
Penelope skimmed the statistics. "Between ten and twenty Galleons a day, and it's been consistent for a week now."
"Then it'll probably stay around that range from now on," Wayne nodded.
As long as he occasionally released new cards to maintain sales, with the occasional spike, he could easily make five or six thousand Galleons a year.
Though the shopkeepers in Hogsmeade would likely be crying.
In the past, most of the students' pocket money had been spent there—even the younger ones could ask older students to bring things back for them.
But now, between the game and other products from Celia Shop, some stores might even go out of business in a few years.
Rent in Hogsmeade wasn't cheap.
Soon, Gardevoir finished preparing dinner and called everyone inside to eat.
This was something of a celebratory feast, marking the success of Wayne's game.
Among the girls, Astoria and Hermione were the most invested in the game.
The wealthy little girl simply loved playing—she alone had bought two hundred "648" card packs. Her skills were poor, but her deck was stacked, to the point where hardly anyone in Slytherin wanted to duel her anymore.
Hermione, on the other hand, enjoyed experimenting with different deck combinations in battles. Her favourite was the extreme burst build with dual Lightning Storms, as she had recently been studying Weather Charms.
Wayne had promised her that once she mastered Weather Charms, he would teach her an even more powerful Thunder spell.
...
After dinner, Wayne escorted the girls back to their common rooms before returning to the suitcase alone.
Nearly four thousand Galleons, converted, amounted to a whopping twenty thousand points. With such a fortune in hand, he couldn't resist the urge to splurge on a round of draws.
Two chances to hit gold meant he could obtain legendary-tier rewards once again.
The Holy Grail he'd acquired last time was indeed powerful—practically a universal wish-granting device—but its seal's release was still a long way off.
Wayne only hoped this legendary reward would be something immediately effective.
Opening the system interface, Wayne didn't proceed directly to the draw. Instead, he first checked the completion panel.
[Congratulations, Host, for completing the major event—'The God of Pocket Money'.]
[For a period in the future, young wizards of Hogwarts will experience the terror of having their wallets dominated by the Host.]
[Completion: Exceeds Expectations (E).]
Truth be told, Wayne wasn't entirely satisfied with this completion rating, but there wasn't much more he could do. Given the current scale of Celia Shop, it already managed to siphon off roughly half the students' pocket money—that was pretty much the limit. After all, he couldn't possibly take over every aspect of the young wizards' daily necessities, could he?
Opening the reward package, Wayne gained another two thousand points and a brand-new skill.
[Frenzied Taunt: Agitates the target's emotions, causing them to develop negative feelings towards the Host and prioritise the Host as their primary attack target. Duration depends on magical power output.]
It counted as a control skill, though it sounded rather punchable...
Wayne absorbed the skill and, after some contemplation, quickly grasped its essence. It was quite simple to use.
Then he began drawing cards.
Without wasting time, he went straight for a hundred consecutive draws.
Cards glowing in various colours flew out one by one, each punctured by Wayne's touch.
Fiendfyre, Protego Diabolica, Cruciatus Curse, Stone Sentinel Summoning, Aqua Shield...
Wayne's gaze finally settled on the sole talent among them.
[Resolve Talent – Detonation: Your spells can trigger more intense shockwaves and explosions, with increased potency for fire-based magic.]
After reading the effect, Wayne strongly suspected Seamus possessed a similar talent, perhaps even more potent.
After all, this was the fierce individual who could turn a simple Levitation Charm into a Blasting Curse.
He didn't immediately test the Detonation talent's effects. This was his own territory, and repairs would be needed if things got damaged. Better to try it in the Forbidden Forest another day.
Next, Wayne discovered an entirely new spell.
[Finewine Charm: Transforms ordinary alcohol into more fragrant and mellow fine wine.]
This incantation wasn't classified as a Transfiguration or Conversion Charm, but rather an Illusion Charm designed to deceive taste and smell.
Still, it was sufficient. Who cared what the drink tasted like after swallowing?
Finally, Wayne popped the golden card.
[Talent – Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed: The host can recognise and transform any item they touch into a weapon with special properties for use.]
[Note: The weapon's maximum potency is determined by magical power expenditure, with quality capped at Epic grade.]
This talent...
Wayne slowly furrowed his brow.
From the system's description alone, Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed was an immensely powerful and versatile talent. Whatever weapon he held—even a lamppost—could exhibit extraordinary power.
But he was a wizard. What could he possibly wield besides a wand?
Hmm?
An idea struck Wayne. He retrieved Gryffindor's sword and gripped it, activating the talent.
The sword trembled slightly, as if humming. Wayne felt an immediate connection, as though the blade had become an extension of his arm, achieving perfect harmony between man and weapon.
Yet there was no sign of enhancement.
The talent's effect had already manifested, meaning Gryffindor's sword was inherently a legendary artefact that couldn't be enhanced—only his compatibility with it could improve.
Come to think of it, with this talent, could he snatch another's wand and wield it more proficiently than its original owner?
A blatant act of cuckoldry...
A bold thought suddenly occurred to Wayne.
If he seized the Elder Wand, would he become its true master?
But the notion vanished as quickly as it came. The Elder Wand was too sinister. Even if he could manage it, he had no desire to keep such an ill-omened object nearby.
Setting the sword aside, Wayne picked up his own wand.
As a vast surge of magical power flowed into it, his 'old friend' underwent a startling transformation, the shaft emitting a faint glow.
The magic within Wayne resonated with it, boiling in response!
The distinction between purple and Epic quality was stark. Previously, his wand had merely been a tool to ease spellcasting and improve magical control.
But now, the wand had become his ally, capable of understanding his intentions and providing timely amplification or weakening as needed. Its endurance had also greatly improved, eliminating worries about it being unable to withstand his excessive magical power.
Only then did Wayne confirm that drawing "Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed" was far from a loss—it could be considered an absolute steal.
The rewards from this draw were all excellent. With eager anticipation, Wayne initiated another hundred-draw.
But luck is always conserved. The second hundred-draw yielded only duplicate spell cards among the purples, not a single talent among them.
Facing the last remaining diamond-coloured card, Wayne had no choice but to tap it, praying for something valuable to emerge.
Crystalline fragments dissolved into his brow as a vast and complex stream of information flooded his mind.
Another inheritance? And...