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Three days later, without any surprise whatsoever, the title of Junior Mathematics Olympiad Champion once again fell into Dudley's hands.
Hermione took second place.
The remaining prodigies from Oxford Dragon Primary School didn't even make it into the top ten.
At the moment the results were announced, they were all reminded once again of the fear—the terror—of having once been completely dominated by Dudley.
Too weak.
Beating kids at this level didn't offer even the slightest challenge.
As Dudley looked at the reward notification displayed by the system, he fell silent.
"First intimate interaction with a young witch detected.
Reward: One lottery draw."
This reward had been granted after his encounter with Hermione in the classroom—just like the lottery chance he had received for helping Harry renovate the small room. Dudley hadn't used either of them yet.
A firm believer in metaphysical luck theories, Dudley felt that his fortune hadn't been great back then, so he'd decided to save them.
But today…
Today felt different.
After taking a shower and changing clothes as usual, Dudley rubbed his hands together and activated the draw.
"I've got a good feeling about today. My luck should be high. Time to gamble."
The moment that would decide fate had arrived.
"Come on… give me an innate Archmage talent already."
With that thought, Dudley pressed the slot machine button. Naturally, the first draw was an item.
Almost the instant the draw began, the result appeared.
A silver spoon materialized in Dudley's hand.
"Congratulations! You have obtained the item:
The Spoon That Refuses to Bend."
No description.
No explanation.
It looked… completely ordinary.
Dudley stared at it. In the faint reflection of the polished metal, he had the strange sensation that the spoon was staring back at him.
The draw process itself was absurdly lazy—there wasn't even an animation. Dudley had absolutely no idea what this thing was supposed to do.
"I'll deal with this later."
With that thought, he carefully slipped the spoon into his pocket.
Who knew? Maybe it was actually something good.
The first draw had been a total disaster.
According to the law of conservation of luck, the second one had to be decent.
Without hesitation, Dudley activated the lottery again.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but this time the slot machine seemed to spin for much longer.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the reels finally began to slow.
On the screen appeared a massive blue-and-white mecha.
A masterpiece of childhood memories—Mashin Hero Wataru (The Light Warrior).
This series involved real magic. Among the protagonists was an old woman whose true identity was V-Mai, one of the Three Great Mages of the Long-Eared Race. Although she often suffered losses in the story, her canonical strength was absurd.
Another of the Three Great Mages was none other than the final boss of the series—Yaguraman.
"Wait… am I getting a Light Warrior?"
"Me piloting a mecha at Hogwarts?"
Thinking about it…
that actually sounded ridiculously cool.
But until the very last second, anything could still happen.
It was like a boss promising a bonus—until the money hit your account, it was just hot air.
Sure enough, the prize frame suddenly slid downward, skipping to the next option.
And stopped.
In front of Dudley appeared the image of a yellow mouse.
But this wasn't just any mouse.
This was a creature capable of using Thunder Shock, famous worldwide.
"The lightning rat?" Dudley muttered.
The Pokémon franchise—Pikachu.
But the thing he'd drawn wasn't Pikachu.
It wasn't even directly related to him.
It was his opponent:
a yellow fox with half-closed eyes.
A CG animation appeared before Dudley.
The scene was from the original Pokémon series—the Saffron City Gym Battle: Pikachu vs. Abra.
"Congratulations! You have acquired the Psychic-type skill: Meditation."
Meditation—a status technique in Pokémon. By calming the mind, it strengthens the user's abilities, increasing Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage.
In Pokémon, Attack refers to physical damage, while Special Attack covers energy-based attacks. The same distinction applies to Defense and Special Defense.
But…
Abra doesn't learn Meditation, does it?
The moment this doubt formed, the scene changed.
Abra erupted in light and evolved into Kadabra.
Kadabra learns Meditation at level 55.
Dudley: …
"Let's test it."
He sat down cross-legged. Gradually, his mind calmed, like the surface of a still lake. A single drop fell… sending out faint ripples.
Ding.
A faint red aura—imperceptible to the naked eye—began to surround him.
And then it ended.
Aside from a sense of mental clarity, Dudley felt no difference. He opened his status panel.
Nothing had changed.
Still the same miserable 0.8 mana.
"Oh yeah? I don't buy that."
Energized, Dudley began meditating again.
Two layers of enhancement.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Only when the system notified him that further meditation would have no effect did he stop.
Exactly like in the game—each stat could only be enhanced up to six times.
After six layers, his mana was still 0.8.
"What a waste of time."
Just as Dudley thought that, he noticed a new line beneath the mana value.
Magical Resistance: 6
"So this is the Special Defense bonus?"
Even without increasing mana, this was still an absurdly powerful technique.
Dudley's eyes lit up.
His current stats were now:
Name: Dudley Dursley
Race: Muggle (True)
Profession: Mage (False), Hamon Energy User
Strength: 9
Agility: 6
Constitution: 15
Mana: 0.8
Magical Resistance: 6
Magic: None
Magical Equipment: Spoon That Refuses to Bend
Skills:
Iron Mountain Impact (Lv. 5),
Boxing (Lv. 3),
Language (Lv. 2),
Mathematics, Physics & Chemistry (Lv. 2),
Physiology (Lv. 2),
Handicrafts (Lv. 1),
Firearms (Lv. 1),
Archery (Lv. 1).
Special:
Hamon Energy (Lv. 1),
Meditation (Lv. ???).
Six hours later, the Magical Resistance value slowly dropped from 6 to 1.
"Then the question is… where did the Special Attack bonus go?"
Dudley scratched his chin thoughtfully. Unfortunately, no one could answer him.
He would have to find out on his own.
...
Hogwarts
Shortly after Dudley reached six layers of enhancement—
The long-darkened Hogwarts Admissions Office suddenly lit up.
On the desk, a quill that had long since stopped writing rose upright on its own, as if it had sensed something.
It was an ancient magical quill, over a thousand years old, crafted by the Four Founders themselves. Its purpose was to record the names of children born with magical talent.
The quill began to write a new letter on the thick parchment.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class; Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear—
Beside the desk, stacks of letters were piled neatly.
All of them were admission letters…
for next year's Hogwarts students.
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