Chapter 116: Limit, Amber, Clear Thoughts

Looking at the ocean-like spread of reward orbs before him, Ciel, who had remained calm during the hearing, felt waves of emotion surge through his heart. The issue of magical strength had troubled him for too long. For a long time, due to insufficient magical strength, Ciel's spell power had been greatly reduced. It wasn't until he gained the Underwater Enhancement ability that he temporarily resolved this urgent problem. But Underwater Enhancement's activation conditions were quite demanding. Ciel had to prepare in advance to trigger the enhancement. If he encountered any emergency without preparation, it would be too late. Temporary enhancement ultimately wasn't as convenient as permanently improving one's own magical strength. The latter would always be effective. And combining both, Ciel's magical strength could be raised even higher. Taking a light breath, the remaining unease and restlessness in Ciel's heart settled down. Previously, although Ciel had successfully resolved the hearing situation, even causing Umbridge, a prominent Ministry official from the original story, to lose her political life, and making Fudge suffer losses as well, he would probably receive considerable compensation from the Ministry and might even gain significant fame. If given a choice, Ciel would rather none of these things had happened. Merit and disaster always went hand in hand. He didn't seek merit, but he sought to avoid disaster. After all, with the planting system and Professor Sprout as support, Ciel only needed to develop peacefully to eventually reach the pinnacle of the wizarding world. There was no need to get involved in such situations for momentary satisfaction. The risks were too great, with endless consequences. But this matter involved Professor Sprout. No matter how much Ciel wanted to stay out of it, he couldn't let Professor Sprout be slandered, which led to his performance at the hearing. But the consequences would be long-lasting. Umbridge was vindictive and would probably hold this grudge, waiting for a chance to retaliate. Fudge was also no benevolent politician. Offending him would inevitably bring some difficulties. But now, with the Marguerites' maturation and seeing that dense field of reward orbs, all these worries dissipated from his mind. What was done was done. What he could do was continue improving himself tirelessly. Until, even if storms came, he would remain unmoved! Then Ciel had Liss take the exhausted Professor Sprout to rest well. After both Professor Sprout and Liss left, he took a deep breath. He stepped into the greenhouse, reached out, and touched the reward orbs. Instantly, the orbs surged into Ciel's body like tides and waves. [You have cultivated Marguerites to maturity.] [You gained reward: Magical Strength Enhancement (Black Iron Tier)] Accompanied by waterfall-like system notifications, Ciel's eyes widened. He seemed to hear the sound of surging waves. No, not seemed. There really was an ocean, a great wave, surging through his bloodstream. If Ciel's magic before was like a trickling stream, weak and always at risk of drying up, then now countless tributaries were flowing in. It was like a hundred rivers converging into the sea! Ciel had never experienced such a wonderful feeling, like a naturally weak, sickly person suddenly taking good medicine, with blood and energy surging skyward. A feeling of omnipotence stronger than when Underwater Enhancement activated surged through his heart. On the system panel, the previously dim, iron-lustrous Magical Strength Enhancement suddenly blazed with light. The iron luster went from dim to rich. Then bronze light emerged in just an instant. The bronze light became increasingly ancient and deep until brilliant silver radiance emerged. [Magical Strength Enhancement (Silver Tier)] advanced! And this was only after consuming a small portion of the reward orbs. There were still countless more reward orbs flowing into Ciel's body. The liberating feeling of breaking shackles spread throughout his body. Ciel's eyes showed anticipation. He wondered what tier Magical Strength Enhancement would reach after absorbing all these reward orbs. Based on this quantity, it might be possible to directly reach Platinum tier?! Ciel spread his arms, continuing to let the reward orbs flow into his body. But soon, his eyes showed uncertainty. The silver luster on Magical Strength Enhancement was indeed becoming more intense, but the speed was obviously much slower than before. Though Black Iron tier reward orbs would have greatly reduced effects when advancing Silver-tier abilities, the current reduction far exceeded Ciel's previous estimates by several times to ten times. After a moment, Ciel realized what was happening. This situation seems to have occurred with Magical Perception Enhancement as well. Previously, his magical perception had reached the limit of what could be trained through acquired effort. No matter how hard he tried, improvement was nearly impossible. Even the reward orbs from Goldfish Vines had greatly reduced effects. Ciel understood. "So the current situation is that my magical strength has also reached this body's theoretical limit. No matter what precious potions could increase magical strength, unless the body underwent dark magic transformation, there's no way to improve magical strength. Only system rewards, these incredible existences, can let me continue improving. But the effects will be greatly reduced compared to before." Looking at the suddenly slowed light spread on Magical Strength Enhancement, Ciel showed a bitter smile. It seemed like he should forget about advancing to Platinum tier as he had previously estimated. After this harvest, whether it could reach Gold tier was questionable. Indeed, under Ciel's watch, even as reward orbs continuously flowed into his body, the light changes on Magical Strength Enhancement became increasingly slow. Until the last reward orb flowed in, only faint golden light appeared on it, just barely reaching the advancement threshold between Silver and Gold tiers. Ciel watched quietly, feeling somewhat unwilling and disappointed. Innate talent. Wanting to escape it. Difficult, difficult, difficult. But he closed his eyes, and after several deep breaths, he expelled all unwillingness and disappointment with one long exhale. "This improvement is already quite good. Combined with Underwater Enhancement, Magical Strength Enhancement can reach the Gold tier. Though not as expected, it's much stronger than before. That's enough. As for the continuing difficulty of improving magical strength..." Ciel's mind flashed with memories from his past life. In his past life, he wasn't someone with outstanding talent either. Just ordinary among the masses. The only things that could be called decent were his mindset and resilience. In high school, when he found mathematics really difficult, he calmly and patiently studied textbooks, understanding each theorem thoroughly. He practiced each problem type until he was completely familiar with it. Those problems requiring talent, the final challenging ones, he still couldn't solve. But he dared say he wouldn't lose points on the basics. The originally difficult barrier was overcome. When starting graduate research, it was also difficult at first. Confused like a headless fly. Weekly group meetings were the most difficult times. Being scolded harshly had happened. Finally staying up late reading literature, learning from senior lab mates' thinking. Shamelessly asking questions. When scolded by his advisor, he'd scratch his head and grin. After being scolded enough, gradually he stopped being scolded. The biggest hurdle might have been near graduate graduation. An experimental plot was completely ruined by pests. He got an extended graduation. The thought of jumping off a building truly lingered in Ciel's mind. For a time, he felt life was dark and hopeless, with no future. But half a year later, when a new experimental plot was planted, recalling this incident, the hatred was real. But this hurdle was also overcome. If not for crossing over to this life, Ciel should have graduated successfully and climbed life's next mountain. Recalling bits and pieces from his past life, Ciel's expression became increasingly calm. Looking at Magical Strength Enhancement stuck before Gold tier, his heart felt neither sorrow nor joy. These were mountains to climb and rivers to cross regardless. Sooner or later, as long as he kept climbing and crossing, he would eventually get through. Rather than lamenting before the mountain, it's better to strive to climb it. Ciel's expression became serious as he calculated. "From this experience, the difficulty of improving my magical strength will increase. If I can't solve my innate talent issue. Then I can only continue working with Marguerites. Either plant more Marguerites, expanding the cultivation area. But this is difficult. The Sprout family greenhouse is already fully utilized. Even expansion would consume enormous resources and time to make the greenhouse usable. As for Hogwarts experimental plots, even getting several new ones, the area is limited. Even filling them all with Marguerites wouldn't be much." Ciel pondered for a moment, his gaze finally falling on the field of Marguerites before him. "I can only improve the Marguerite varieties. This way, I can enhance the reward orb tiers from Marguerites. If I could change from Black Iron tier rewards to Bronze tier rewards. The reward effectiveness would be nearly ten times greater! Or even just improving to the slightly richer Black Iron tier, accumulated, would be a huge improvement. As for how to improve Marguerite varieties..." Ciel had two methods. One was agriculture's old method. Continuously selecting plants with relatively better traits. Artificial selection. Breeding generation after generation, accumulated, might yield new varieties completely different from the original plants. This was the methodical approach. There was also a more clever method. As Ciel mentioned when choosing to practice Levitation Charm at the hearing, he could use Levitation Charm to simulate space weightlessness, freeing plants from gravity. This might allow plants to develop better traits. This method had high potential but was unstable. It might not yield results. Even if it did, they might not be positive. After considering, Ciel decided to use both methods simultaneously. Traditional methods as primary, supplemented by Levitation Charm cultivation. With good luck, he might get better varieties in half a year. Even with bad luck, Ciel was confident he could use traditional methods to obtain Marguerite plants with 20-30% improved rewards within 2-3 years. His thoughts gradually clarified. What remained was execution. "There are still over two days until Christmas holidays end. I need to hurry and get the greenhouse settled before returning to school. But before that, I need to deal with someone..." Ciel's eyes suddenly flashed coldly. He hadn't forgotten. The hearing's cause was Rita Skeeter's distorted, slanderous report. Ciel wasn't particularly vengeful. But Rita Skeeter's actions had delayed his farming. And involved Professor Sprout. In his mind, she deserved punishment! Then Ciel headed toward the Sprout family collection room. When he first came to the family, Professor Sprout had shown him around. This contained several generations of the family's collected exotic plants. It represented the family's ancient heritage. As the family heir, Ciel could naturally access and use anything freely. Ciel remembered the family had collected an Amber Grass. "Amber Grass must be stored in specially made containers. In such containers, its life is nearly frozen. But once removed from the container, it will irreversibly move toward life's end in just 2-3 days. But during this time, Amber Grass emits a special magic power that has an irresistible attraction for insects, especially beetles. Once beetles approach, they're turned into an amber-preserved state by juice dripping from Amber Grass. After long ages, new Amber Grass slowly grows from these amber pieces. The cycle continues, over and over." Soon, Ciel found the Amber Grass in the collection room. Taking a light breath, he opened the container and removed the Amber Grass. The Amber Grass immediately emitted strange magical power. Ciel planted it in an open area outside the Sprout family home. This way, any insects approaching the Sprout family, especially beetles, would immediately be attracted to the Amber Grass. "But in this weather, where are there any insects?" Ciel's eyes flashed coldly. "Unless certain insects still harbor ill intentions. Then don't blame me." After planting the Amber Grass, Ciel returned to the greenhouse. He needed to hurry and complete the Marguerites' follow-up work. This related to his magical strength improvement for the next few years. While Ciel was busy in the greenhouse, Rita Skeeter looked at the Daily Prophet's extensive reports about the hearing, her face twisted with anger. She had originally dug up academic scandal material. She had hoped to be the focus of discussion for the next week. But now, everything was overshadowed by the hearing events, and no one cared about boring things like experimental plots and papers. Throughout the streets, everyone was discussing whether Umbridge really had an affair with Fudge. Some tabloids were already making up various stories. Though Rita Skeeter was also good at distorting facts, her abilities in this area weren't notable among reporters. Hearing coverage wasn't Rita Skeeter's strength. What really made her stand out was digging up various celebrity scandals. And this all depended on her being an illegal Animagus. She could transform into a beetle to sneak into celebrities' homes or eavesdrop at door cracks. At this time, Rita Skeeter's face was full of unwillingness, along with deep hatred for Ciel. If not for this young wizard's troublemaking at the hearing, how could her report be overshadowed? Then Rita Skeeter focused on Ciel's performance at the hearing. Her eyes flashed strangely. "How could a normal young wizard have such performance? This Ciel definitely has secrets. I heard rumors he might have half-giant blood. If I could dig this up, it might be another big story." Thinking this, her eyes lit up. She immediately headed toward the Sprout family home. Looking at the distant flickering lights, Rita Skeeter showed a proud expression. Most pure-blood families had protective measures. The Sprout family was no exception. Direct Apparition was impossible, and any intrusion would trigger warnings. But her Animagus ability wasn't within these protective measures' scope. After all, mastering it required not only talent but also timing and weather. Extraordinary luck was needed. Otherwise, if any day's weather was wrong, all efforts would be wasted. Few people in the wizarding world had such luck. Then Rita Skeeter's form flashed. She immediately transformed into a beetle and flew toward the Sprout family home. "Let me see what secrets this young wizard has..." This thought flashed through her mind. But the next second, a strange smell wafted over. The beetle that Rita Skeeter had become lost all other thoughts. Her only idea, an instinctual impulse, was to pursue this smell. She even completely lost the thought of returning to human form. With beating wings, she got closer and closer to the Amber Grass. The moment she landed on the Amber Grass, a thick drop of liquid filled with that strange magical power fell. Rita Skeeter was thus preserved in amber. Wrapped by this magical power, in beetle form she had no other thoughts. Thinking and consciousness were all frozen. She could never change back to human form. The next day at noon, Ciel came to check the Amber Grass, stepping through snow. Only then did he discover the amber covered by snow and the beetle inside. His expression showed no emotion. To prevent any accident from breaking the amber, Ciel found a complex underground cave system nearby. He dug a deep pit in the cave and threw the amber in. "Wait then. After hundreds or thousands of years, perhaps you can nourish a new Amber Grass. During this time, you have an incredibly long life. Even Voldemort dreams of this. You're getting quite a bargain." The next moment, Ciel walked out of the cave entrance. Waving his wand, a Soil-Loosening Charm immediately loosened the cave entrance soil, piling up the entire entrance. He waved his wand again. Under his transformed magical power, Levitation Charm activated. Stones flew over and piled on top. Only after ensuring no accident could free Rita Skeeter from this centuries-long imprisonment did Ciel turn to leave. At the same time, his heart felt refreshed. "Ah. In the cultivation novels from my past life. This would probably be called 'clear thoughts' or something." The next moment, Ciel's steps suddenly paused. On the system panel, the Levitation Charm, which was still one step away from Platinum tier, was completely covered by platinum radiance. At the same time, Levicorpus also burst with brilliant golden light. [Levitation Charm (Platinum Tier)]! [Levicorpus (Gold Tier)]! [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story!