Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

The moment Mikel arrived in this world, he looked back.

He remembered that Professor McGonagall followed him after he entered the library and kept gesturing for him to move forward.

But at that moment, there was no one behind him.

The surrounding area is a vast desert.

This scene alarmed Mikel, who knew that the advanced pollutant he had encountered could turn the surrounding area into a desert.

"According to the posts I saw on the forum, every wizard sees a different scene after entering the forbidden book area."

Some visitors have entered an underwater world, others a grassland, and still others seem to have stepped into a fairy tale.

The post also said that everything in the forbidden book section was made of books, so everything I saw was sand. Were those sand grains also made of individual forbidden books?

With that thought in mind, Mikel squatted down and scooped up some sand with his hands.

After observing carefully for a while, a thought arose in his mind:
Do you want to read this book?

Mikel immediately loosened the handful of sand, patted his legs to remove the dust.

According to Professor McGonagall's procedure, when he encounters something and feels a strong urge to read it, it proves that he is a good match for that book.

He observed this handful of fine sand for so long before he even had the thought of reading it, which shows that it wasn't suitable for him.

He continued walking and discovered that this desert region was indeed entirely sand, and it was quite rare to see even a few large rocks.

Mikel suddenly realized that the most precious things in desert regions are water and plants.

If he can find these two items, does it mean that the forbidden book that transforms into these two items is extremely powerful?
At least in this desert region, it is a very precious thing.

He searched for a while before the system's voice finally came to his mind.

[Host has entered the forbidden book area. Activate system detection?]

Mikel first asked, "Does enabling system detection consume a lot of experience points? What does it detect?"

Experience points are consumed based on the difficulty of the detection; the system detects where the banned books are suitable for you.

If it were me in the past, I would have activated the system detection without hesitation in order to maximize my profits.

He has more faith in the system, believing it can select the books that best suit him.

But ever since he realized how important experience points are, he's no longer so naive and has to rely on the system to filter everything.

Mikel had to grow up and make some subjective judgments.

Because of his previous usage, he couldn't accumulate experience points at all. If he encountered danger but didn't have enough experience points, he would really lose his life.

Mikel understood the progression of the original story; after the third year, the danger level increased day by day in the following years.

He has to prepare in advance.

Since he could sense whether a forbidden book was appropriate, Mikel refused the system's help.

[A slight influence of malevolent spiritual incantations has been detected in the surrounding area. Should we implement a shield?]

Mikel paused, taken aback.

He was just searching for forbidden books that suited him, and before he even started reading them, he was approached by the whispers of an evil god?
He pondered for a while, but still refused the system's help, and took out a "Leaf of Awakening" and put it in his mouth.

Almost instantly, he felt the changes in his body.

Not only did it invigorate my spirits, but it also allowed me to see clearer images.

Mikel became wary. He had only seen sand before. Could it be that he had been misled by the evil god's ramblings?

He thought for a moment and felt that using only one item of resistance was a bit too risky, so he took out the Radiant Candle as well.

The professor gave him another 10 candles before he entered the forbidden book area, as he hadn't used the 10 candles he had bought from Ron.

Walking through a vast desert with a lit candle in hand looks rather strange.

But since Mikel was the only person in the entire area, and no one else would see him, it didn't matter.

While Mikel was searching for a banned book that suited him.

Inside the library outside.

McGonagall and another unfamiliar professor circled the central crystal ball, occasionally waving their wands to observe the movements reflected in the crystal ball by Mikel.

Not all wizards who enter the forbidden area can track their whereabouts through the crystal ball; generally, only wizards with weaker abilities can do so.

Moreover, not every wizard can see it clearly.

Mag had previously examined Lin Xia with a crystal ball, and she had been shrouded in mystery from the very beginning.

She also checked Draco's.

At first, we could still find out his whereabouts in the restricted book area and know how safe he was, but soon it was shrouded in a fog.

McGonagall had a premonition that, perhaps soon, she would also be unable to track Mikel's whereabouts.

Even though she deduced that Mikel's special ability to resist the whispers of evil gods would allow him to search more effectively in the forbidden book section.

However, some outstanding wizards are so powerful that even in their weakest period, they cannot be detected by others.

In addition, there is also the reason that the area with banned books is quite special.

The forbidden book area is located in another dimension, filled with the ravings of evil gods, but because of the rich magical energy, magic can connect to this space.

This requires using the unique power of the crystal ball to intercept the wizard's aura in a form that is half prophecy and half bondage, and then observe it.

Extradimensional space inherently possesses a high degree of uncertainty.

If the space is unstable, the connection with the crystal ball will be severed.

Another professor said, "The area where this outstanding student arrived is quite rare. It's a desert-type alternate dimension where it's not easy to find banned books, and there aren't many banned books in there."

Banned books can take any form, but the more vibrant and diverse the map, the more banned books it can accommodate.

But what about the desert?

When people mention the desert, they only think of a barren wasteland.

It's impossible that all that sand was formed from banned books.

If a single grain of sand represents a banned book, how many banned books would it take to fill this area?

It is obvious that most of the sand is just plain sand, and only a small portion of it is transformed from forbidden books.

A thoughtful look flashed across McGonagall's eyes: "He survived for many days in the territory of advanced infected creatures. I suspect he has a strong ability to block out the ravages of evil gods."

It's very likely that this is why he was ostracized by some of the forbidden books, ultimately leading him to the desert region.

Another professor suddenly realized and said with certainty, "Yes, that's possible."

His voice grew increasingly agitated.

“Wizards who are too resistant to the ravings of evil gods will also be rejected by forbidden books. Some forbidden books have undergone some changes because they have been entangled with the ravings of evil gods for a long time.”

This is why the standards for reading forbidden books are raised every year, and why young wizards are increasingly susceptible to being infected by the ravings of evil gods while reading forbidden books.

The professor added, "I originally thought this outstanding student was mediocre. The forbidden book area will randomly match the map based on the wizard's aptitude when entering."

I was just wondering how mediocre one's qualifications must be to be matched with a desert region.

Now that you put it that way, I understand. It's not that he's mediocre; quite the opposite, he's exceptionally talented!

A faint smile played at the corners of Professor McGonagall's lips.

Mikel didn't stand out from the beginning; he only emerged as a dark horse in his third year, as if he had unleashed his potential.

Such students may not seem as talented as Lin Xia, but Lin Xia's kind of genius is one in a million, and not every wizard can emulate it. Mikel's genius, however, is different.

She could see a clear trajectory of growth in him.

McGonagall had a plan: when the new semester started, she wanted to invite Mikel to give a speech.

Talk about how you learned magic, how you became interested in magic, how you explored your potential, how you could better interact with magic, and how you could become friends with it.

Suddenly, a flash of green appeared in the crystal ball.

McGonagall and the other professor straightened up and watched intently.

"Banned books are coming!"

Mikel here.

He felt as if he had been walking for a long time, but he could never get out of the desert.

With yellow sand swirling in the air and a monotonous, unchanging landscape, Mikel felt he would have lost his way in the desert if he hadn't been able to see the clear footprints behind him.

In this special space, he forgot about time and ignored his physical condition, walking forward tirelessly.

Suddenly, he saw a green cactus and stopped abruptly.

A yearning welled up within him, as if it were constantly repeating:

"That's it, that's it!"

Mikel hesitated for a moment, suppressing his excitement, and decided to search again.

Getting into the restricted book zone isn't easy; there aren't any slots available every month.

Even if there are available spots, entry must go through multiple layers of approval.

If you enter too frequently, the Ministry of Magic may consider you to be corrupted by the ravings of evil gods and will conduct numerous checks and audits.

Other wizards were happy to enter the forbidden book zone and learn magic that suited them without paying any price.

But Mikel is different.

He wanted to maximize his profits.

Instead of looking for magic that suits you, go find the most powerful magic.

He might not be able to learn the most powerful magic, but he has a system within him.

With the system in place, there's no need to worry about not being able to learn.

Green plants in the desert are precious, but finding an oasis is even more precious.

"Huh, he gave up on this cactus? Did he find something else that's more suitable for him?"

Another professor shook his head and said, "They're still too young and don't know how to make choices."

"The desert is so barren that it's not easy to find any green plants. If he gives up on this plant now, he may not find it again next time."

Furthermore, the desert terrain makes it difficult to orient oneself, so even if he returned to search, he probably wouldn't find it. His footprints in the desert would soon be covered by sand and dust.

Professor McGonagall stared intently at the images displayed in the crystal ball, her face solemn.

After feeling he had given up on the cactus, Mikel searched for a long time in the forbidden book section.

Suddenly, at one point, he felt the temperature around him drop.

Mikel wondered, "Is it going to rain?"

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he knew something was wrong.

Wait, it's raining in the desert?
No, no, it's extremely rare for rain to fall in the desert.

The reason he sensed a change in the surrounding temperature was likely because there was a hidden stream of water nearby!
Mikel quickened his pace and soon a village appeared before him.

"My God!"

Outside, the professor, who was seeing the images inside the crystal ball, let out a gasp of amazement.

"This is an oasis? He actually found an oasis! No wonder he's an outstanding student at the school, I knew he could attract even more powerful forbidden books!"

"There are more forbidden books to choose from in the oasis. I wonder if this oasis is the center of the map. Perhaps he can find the most powerful forbidden book in this area and bring a long-lost magic to Hogwarts!"

Compared to the professor's excitement, McGonagall appeared quite calm.

Mikel has managed to live under the noses of advanced pollutants for so long without being detected; he must be incredibly lucky and capable.

Even if you're matched with a desert map, finding an oasis is to be expected.

As they got closer to the oasis, the images reflected in the crystal ball became increasingly blurry.

After Mikel entered the oasis, a flash of blue light appeared before the two professors' eyes.

The next second, the crystal ball was shrouded in a mist.

They lost track of Mikel.

Another professor exclaimed excitedly, "That blue light must be water, right? He found a water source in the desert and created a forbidden book that transforms into water—that's incredibly powerful!"

"Unfortunately, we can't see his whereabouts, so we don't know which item he will choose."

Professor McGonagall smiled and said, "No matter what he chooses, as long as he finds the oasis, we know his harvest will be good. It's clear that not choosing that cactus was actually the best decision."

Another professor nodded eagerly, "Yes, yes, yes!"

It's as if they've already swallowed what they said before.

In the restricted book area.

After entering the oasis, Mikel was bombarded by a wave of evil god's ramblings.

He looked at everything in the oasis and found it all very tempting.

They fluttered and swayed in front of him, trying to attract his attention.

The elixir of clarity in his mouth seemed to have lost its effect.

Mikel realized his thoughts were becoming confused, so he quickly took a few more leaves of clarity.

Upon entering the oasis, he did not immediately seek out his favorite things to read, but instead took stock of the remaining supplies.

He has already spent two Radiant Candles and two Leaves of Awakening, and he has just taken three more.

Professor McGonagall only gave him 10 Leaves of Awakening, meaning he had already used 5 before finding the Forbidden Book.

Mikel frowned as he saw the supplies being depleted.

"Did the school really prepare more supplies for me than for ordinary outstanding students? If they really did, then at my current rate of consumption, wouldn't I be far less well-off than ordinary outstanding students?"

It's important to know that these supplies were used when reading banned books.

He hadn't even read the banned books yet, and half of the supplies had already been used up.

[The concentration of demonic incantations in the surrounding area has increased. Should we enable censorship?]

The system's voice rang in his mind again.

Mikel stared at the radiant candle burning before him and asked, "With the help of the radiant candle, I can block out some of the evil god's ravings. The system will handle the rest. Does that mean it won't consume a lot of experience points?"

[The Radiant Candles are effective; the system will work in conjunction with the Radiant Candles to block the evil god's ravings, significantly reducing experience point consumption.]

Mikel didn't hesitate any longer and immediately activated the shield. (End of Chapter)