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"Hiss…"
Seeing the system panel, Sharl couldn't help but gasp.
The improvement was nothing short of astonishing.
The Soil Loosening Spell, which had previously been some distance from the Gold Level, was now radiating with golden light. The brilliance almost completely obscured the text—just a bit more, and it would break through into the Gold Level entirely.
If Sharl had practiced it himself, it would've taken nearly a month to reach this level.
Yet, this was just the beginning.
The improvement of Lumos was even more impressive. Lumos, which had already been advancing within the Gold Tier for some time, now glowed so brightly that faint hints of platinum light shimmered along the edges. It had clearly reached the threshold for Platinum Level!
Of course, moving from this threshold to full Platinum Level would likely take more effort than everything before combined. But even so, the progress had far exceeded Sharl's expectations.
At this rate, by the next time he harvested Luminous Mushrooms, Lumos would almost certainly advance—becoming Sharl's first spell to reach Platinum.
In addition, there was a faint platinum glimmer beginning to show in the name of the Pruning Charm. However, since Sharl hadn't yet found a magical plant suitable for deepening his understanding of pruning magic, this spell's advancement would certainly lag behind Lumos.
Fortunately, there was still Sectumsempra—his "accelerator."
Its progress was undeniably faster than the rest. Although Sharl's current magical strength still wasn't enough to cast this dangerous Dark Arts spell for real, on the system panel, its rating had quietly transformed from solid Bronze to a semi-transparent, semi-solid [Sectumsempra (Bronze Level)].
And then there was Incarcerous.
Its transformation had been the most dramatic. Perhaps it was because the section of Snape's notes that Sharl had read contained a thorough analysis of the spell's mechanics. Either way, his mastery of Incarcerous had leapt from Bronze to Silver overnight.
Because Incarcerous was so closely related to the Levitation Charm, he even gained a new [Levitation Charm (Bronze Level)] in the process.
Looking at his almost completely revamped panel, Sharl was overwhelmed by emotion.
"If I were practicing all this on my own," he thought aloud, "I'd need at least two months of hard work."
"But now, just by drawing insights from Snape's notes, I've made this kind of progress."
"If I could fully understand the entirety of Snape's work, it might not save me ten years—but five? Easily."
"Unfortunately, this is all I can comprehend for now."
"To continue exploring this treasure trove, I'll need to improve my theoretical foundation."
A smile tugged at the corners of Sharl's lips. It carried a touch of envy, but even more—respect.
He thought again of the academic giants from his previous life.
"There's a saying I heard once," he recalled. "The greatest value of a mediocre scholar's lifetime of research may be to save a genius a single afternoon."
"And a genius's afternoon of work might be something an ordinary person couldn't match in a lifetime."
"Turns out, that applies just as much in the magical world."
Still, Sharl had never expected to be a peerless genius—either in his past life or this one.
To him, obtaining Snape's notes and avoiding countless detours was already more than enough. How could he feel jealous?
Carefully tucking away the Mixed-Blood Prince's annotated textbook, Sharl made his way to today's Charms class.
Despite the rapid gains from the notes, Sharl could sense there were still parts he hadn't fully grasped. On the system panel, even as spell ratings soared and shimmered, some of them looked… hazy. Unstable.
In his experience, this meant the understanding was not yet solid. The progress was real, but the foundation needed to be reinforced.
Fortunately, that wasn't a major issue. All it required was time—time to absorb, practice, and consolidate the insights he'd gained.
And in the magical world, what better way to solidify understanding than to consult a master?
"Hogwarts' teaching staff is truly top-tier," Sharl thought. "Extravagantly good."
"It's just that… most Professors have to consider the entire class, so they only teach the fundamentals."
"They're forced to spend so much time reviewing old content that it dulls the overall teaching effect."
"But if they could share the full scope of their magical knowledge—"
"Well, just look at Voldemort."
"He even managed to coax Professor Slughorn into revealing how to create multiple Horcruxes!"
Sharl's eyes sparkled with anticipation. He was practically itching to find Professor Flitwick and bombard him with questions in class.
But just as he turned a corner in the corridor, a strange feeling struck him.
The students he passed—regardless of their year—all looked at him oddly.
Some had eyes wide with fear. Others glanced at him as if he were… something unnatural.
Sharl frowned.
Then he ran into a group of first-year Hufflepuffs, their faces red with indignation.
Hannah Abbott, who had been cheerfully dressed as a rabbit yesterday, now looked like she was ready to bite someone.
But upon seeing Sharl, the Hufflepuffs quickly forced themselves to act normal.
Of course, Sharl saw through it instantly.
"What happened?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. "Did something spread after yesterday's Troll incident?"
He could understand if the details had gotten out—Trolls weren't exactly subtle—but what was with the fearful looks?
The Hufflepuffs exchanged nervous glances. Clearly, they were worried about something.
After a few seconds, Hannah stepped forward.
"Sharl, um… if I tell you, please don't get upset. And don't be sad either."
"They're just rumors, that's all. And we don't care—we'll always be your friends."
Now Sharl was even more confused.
Then Hannah took a deep breath and finally said it:
"There's a rumor going around. We don't know where it came from…"
"But people are saying… that you're a half-Giant."
Sharl blinked, and then the realization hit him.
So that was it.
No wonder the other students were looking at him strangely.
They thought he was a half-Giant.
Honestly, it explained everything.
In the wizarding world, half-Giants were far from accepted. In fact, they were the subject of harsh prejudice and countless rumors.
Discrimination was rampant.
Just look at Hagrid. When Tom Riddle unleashed the Basilisk and killed Myrtle, he framed Hagrid—purely because of his half-Giant heritage. Had it been anyone else, even a Muggle-born, the school probably wouldn't have expelled them so quickly.
Even Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons Headmistress, refused to publicly admit she was half-Giant. That alone said everything.
So, yes—it made perfect sense that people were staring at Sharl like he was dangerous or unnatural.
As for the source of the rumor?
Sharl didn't even need to think.
He turned his head slightly—and sure enough, Malfoy was a short distance away, whispering and laughing with Crabbe and Goyle.
Without warning, Sharl gave a casual wave of his hand.
Malfoy let out a surprised yelp as an invisible force pulled him forward. He sprawled face-first onto the floor.
Sharl approached, standing tall over him.
"Tell me," he said coldly. "This rumor that I'm a half-Giant—you started it, didn't you?"
Still dazed, Malfoy blurted out without thinking, "How did you know?!"
Sharl sneered.
"Of course I knew."
"A father knows his son best."
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