At noon, Wayne had a simple lunch. Instead of continuing his magical studies, he went straight to bed.
After a whole night of excitement and spending the morning wandering around outside, he was already quite tired.
This nap was especially sweet, and when he woke up, the wall clock showed it was past five o'clock.
Somewhat noisy sounds came from downstairs, and Wayne, curious, walked out of his bedroom still in his pajamas.
The two maids and the chef in his household were all highly paid and well-mannered—never before had they caused such a ruckus.
"Young Master Wayne!"
Seeing him come downstairs, one of the maids hurried over, her face slightly alarmed.
"What is it, Linda?"
"Just now, several owls suddenly flew in and dropped these things in the living room. Then they circled around for a bit before flying off."
Linda still looked shaken as she spoke. Owls were nocturnal creatures and rarely seen during the day, let alone acting like this.
On the carpet in the drawing room, several large parcels lay untouched, still wrapped.
Wayne understood immediately—these were the items he had purchased earlier from Diagon Alley, delivered by the shops.
As for why the owls lingered for a while before leaving—typically, once the delivery was made, the recipient was expected to offer some food to help the owls regain their strength.
This was Wayne's first time, and clearly, he had forgotten that part.
However—
He glanced at Linda, the other maid Elena, and the chef Bruce.
From now on, he would be studying magic frequently at home, which was bound to cause some commotion. Having them around might not be convenient.
And when he left for Hogwarts, it would be even more so—he would spend more time at school than at home each year.
He was considering whether or not to dismiss them.
Then again, it wouldn't really be a dismissal. The Lawrence family had numerous businesses, and if they were willing, Wayne could offer them a new position with the same or even better pay.
"Alright, maybe it's some kind of new tech or something. I bought all these myself," Wayne casually made up an excuse to brush it off.
"Linda, Elena, move the items to the study. Bruce, what's for dinner?"
"How about steak, Young Master Wayne?"
"Add a serving of grilled ribs too."
"Yes, sir."
After dinner, Wayne went to the study and began unpacking the parcels.
He set aside the things he wouldn't need for now and placed the first-year textbooks on the desk. Then, picking up Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, he began reading.
Spells were the foundation of everything. Strictly speaking, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, even Dark Arts themselves, were all based on spellcasting.
As long as he learned spells well, it would actually help greatly with other subjects too.
With a casual flick of his hand, the cup on the desk shattered instantly.
Wayne took out his wand. Following the book's instructions, he focused his mind, raised his wrist slightly, then pressed it downward in a fixed rhythm, chanting the incantation.
"Reparo!"
As if time had reversed, all the fragments flew back to their original places, and the cracks vanished.
"That was pretty easy."
Wayne muttered to himself.
He didn't realize that his spellcasting aptitude had already reached SS-. There were hardly any people in history with a higher score than that. If learning a simple Repair Charm still proved difficult for him…
Then other wizards might as well become Squibs.
At the same time, Wayne also noticed that when holding his wand and following the instructions from the book—
His focus and willpower aligned effortlessly. There was none of that vague, strenuous feeling most people experienced when trying to cast spells.
No wonder that without a wand, most wizards weren't much different from Squibs.
For the next hour, Wayne read while practicing spells, and very quickly, he mastered several basic ones:
Lumos (Lighting Charm)
Scourgify (Cleaning Charm)
Wingardium Leviosa (Levitation Charm)
Alohomora (Unlocking Charm)
Not only did he master them—he was also able to simplify certain parts of their casting process.
For example, with the Levitation Charm, the rhythm of chanting was extremely important. If the timing was off, the spell would either fail or be incomplete.
What does "incomplete" mean?
Like when you want to levitate a pen one meter high, but it only floats half a meter and moves in an uncontrolled direction.
All those spells had been introduced.
But all Wayne needed to do was clearly and completely pronounce them—even his wand gestures could be a little sloppy—and he could still successfully cast them.
Two words to describe it:
Utterly terrifying!
"System, are there levels for spell proficiency?" Wayne suddenly asked in his mind.
[Spell proficiency is divided into: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master.]
[The host can improve proficiency through practice and comprehension, or by drawing the same spell multiple times through the card system, stacking proficiency.]
"Is there a panel to view my spell proficiencies?"
A light screen appeared before Wayne's eyes. After taking a glance, he saw that the spells he had just learned had already reached the Intermediate level.
That lifted Wayne's mood quite a bit.
The greatest benefit of the panel was that it gave him a clear understanding of his current state and allowed him to see the progress from his efforts.
Sometimes it's not that people don't want to work hard—it's just that they don't see any results from their efforts.
Without consistent positive feedback, it's hard to stay motivated for long.
But right now, Wayne was brimming with energy.
In just one night, he had learned all the spells required for first-year students—and all of them were at the Intermediate level.
For the next few days, Wayne didn't go out at all.
Aside from going downstairs for meals, he spent all his time in the bedroom and study, constantly studying magic.
With a powerful magical talent and a photographic memory from his memory palace technique, Wayne 's learning speed was astonishing.
Not only had he mastered all the first-year material, but he also breezed through The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3, along with everything before it—learning a vast amount of commonly used spells.
If Professor McGonagall knew how fast he was progressing, she'd probably be so shocked she'd lose her hat.
To learn up to third-year level material in just a few days? By the end of first year, could he just take the N.E.W.T.s alongside seventh years?
Time flew by, and soon it was August.
London's weather had become even hotter and stuffier. The endless cicada cries made everyone more irritable. But it didn't bother Wayne—his room was already under a Silencing Charm.
Snap!
He shut The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and stretched lazily.
Walking to the window, he drew back the curtains. The piercing sunlight streamed in, making him squint instinctively.
"I'm honestly sick of reading. How about a walk through Diagon Alley again?"
Last time, Professor McGonagall was with him, so there were many things he couldn't conveniently buy.
This time, though, he could splurge to his heart's content.
Author's Note (translated):
A quick word on talent ratings: The system I've set up is loosely based on rankings from the official site and famous wizards from the lore. For example, I've placed the Three Brothers (from the Deathly Hallows) at SSS-tier—which might not be 100% rigorous.
But talent evaluation isn't a precise mathematical system. It's more of a general concept. The key metric is combat ability.
So subjects like Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and raw magical power weigh heavily in the evaluation.
It's understandable if some readers disagree—I'll try my best to make the rankings as reasonable as possible. At the very least, I'll provide clear logic, so things don't feel too forced.