At first, Ryan felt a little disappointed with the spoils he had obtained. But after thinking about it, he relaxed. It's like how a can of Coke, which costs five dollars outside, can be sold for thirty in a five-star hotel. At least the items he'd acquired came from the Emerald Dream—they sounded cool no matter what.
At that moment, the senior who had led him over also seemed a bit embarrassed by the quality of the loot, so he pointed something out. "Actually, these things have another use. The Keporas in the school like them a lot. If you give them a little, they'll leave you alone for a while. If you give them a lot at once, they might even reward you with some strange gifts they've found in the forest outside the school. Occasionally, those gifts can be quite rare or unusual."
This sounded much better—killing monsters for a chance to win prizes. It had the unmistakable flavor of a Chinese mobile game, but it made sense in context.
Soon, Ryan and the senior went their separate ways. Ryan had already learned everything he needed to hunt in this area, and moving as a pair would only reduce efficiency.
After parting ways, Ryan finally had the chance to slowly test out the power of his newly learned thunder magic. After collecting a bag of blood beads, he finally understood why thunder magic had disappeared in Uncle Jiu's world.
Thunder magic was undoubtedly powerful—arguably more powerful in combat than the life magic and natural magic Ryan had learned before. But the problem was that its strength came at a cost: extremely high energy consumption. In a world rich in magical energy, such as the Harry Potter universe, thunder magic could draw from the power of nature, making its energy requirements manageable.
However, in a world experiencing the end of the magic era—where spells had to rely entirely on the caster's own energy—thunder magic became inefficient. Its cultivation was essentially regressive in that context. Naturally, such a costly and inefficient method would fade away.
Moreover, thunder magic had another unique requirement: alignment with the "righteousness of heaven and earth." This meant that if the caster infused the spell with "merit," the spell's power would double—and it could even distinguish between friend and foe.
Earlier, Ryan had cast a spell called "Four Directions Wind and Thunder" and infused it with merit. The result was a thunderstorm-like burst that wiped out surrounding Death Shadows. Not only did the attack range expand by 50%, but it also didn't harm a single blade of grass or leaf within the radius. When he had used thunder magic without merit earlier, there was always collateral damage—trees and grass caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, because thunder and lightning were still considered part of nature's power, he wasn't kicked out of the Emerald Dream after that accidental destruction.
Merit, it turned out, was essential to thunder magic. But in Uncle Jiu's world, merit was incredibly scarce—barely enough to sustain one's own practice. No one could afford to use it as a disposable resource. Unlike Ryan, who had saved multiple worlds and accumulated vast amounts of merit, most practitioners could only dream of such luxury. And advancing thunder magic required even more merit than other methods. So, while it was accepted as the most powerful offensive magic, its high cost made it impractical for most.
After clearing out all the Death Shadows in his assigned area—small, since he was still a novice—Ryan found a tree, climbed up, and sat quietly, observing others who still had monsters to deal with. He used static induction to monitor his surroundings while reflecting on his growing powers.
At this stage, Ryan possessed a wide array of abilities. There was the Nordic wizard's life magic inheritance from Iceland, natural magic learned in the Emerald Dream, Taoist and thunder magic from his uncle, and various other combat-related skills he had collected.
Any of these paths, if pursued seriously, could eventually take him beyond the level of even Dumbledore or Voldemort. In a sense, Ryan was incredibly fortunate. While other Muggle-born wizards struggled to find ways to advance, Ryan had four clear roads leading straight to the pinnacle of magical power.
In particular, he felt that the complete rune knowledge from the Nordic magical heritage might be even more comprehensive than what most pure-blood families had. With such a solid foundation, it felt like the deeper mysteries of magic had opened themselves to him. After all, both Dumbledore and Voldemort had gained their strength through extensive study of magical runes—building upon the foundations left by their predecessors.
Still, Ryan faced one major challenge: a serious lack of time and magical accumulation. Just having a direct path to the top didn't mean you'd already arrived. Cultivating these powerful methods required immense time and energy. Even a genius like Voldemort had needed decades of experimentation—using all sorts of risky methods—to get where he was.
Ryan had only been learning magic for a little over two years. And he was practicing types of magic like life, nature, and Taoist magic—each known for strong foundations but notoriously slow progress.
That said, these slow methods were perfect for someone like Ryan, who often had to figure things out on his own. Even if he made mistakes, the consequences weren't too severe. However, this approach also meant that Ryan's overall magical level was only comparable to that of an average Hogwarts graduate—even with all his resources and talent.
Of course, this was just an average. His combat level was likely much higher, while his skills in other magical disciplines were lagging behind.
It was this relative strength that gave him the confidence to co-found a reading club with Hermione. In the wizarding world, individual power could often decide everything. For example, after Voldemort's resurrection in Year Four, the Ministry and Hogwarts continued operating as usual. But when Dumbledore died in Year Six, the Ministry quickly fell, and Hogwarts came under Voldemort's control.
Later, when Voldemort was killed by Harry during the final battle, the Death Eaters scattered like frightened birds—even though they still held considerable magical power and influence.
So even though Ryan was still considered weak by the standards of the magical elite, he was already one of the top three students in the third year. Not that this was saying much—like bragging about being the toughest kid in kindergarten. But it still meant something.
This strength gave Ryan the confidence to believe his reading club could truly make an impact. Without strength, any ambition—no matter how noble—would just be a joke, something even your closest friends would mock. Just like how Hermione's ideas were dismissed and ridiculed when she lacked the power to back them up.
As Ryan sat there lost in thought, a green spark exploded in the distant sky. It was a signal—the tiankeng had been completely cleared, and the team leader was calling everyone to regroup at the entrance.
Ryan quickly jumped down from the tree and dashed toward the tiankeng's entrance.
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