Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

While Ron and the others were talking, Mick listened and fell into deep thought.

Unlike the others, he did not actually enter the illusion Snape had created for them, because his mental world was not invaded by Snape at all.

From the very beginning, shortly after he entered a meditative state, he discovered that Snape's immense mental power was trying to influence them, constructing one terrifying illusion after another for them.

At that time, the system within his body detected this unfamiliar spiritual power and asked him if he wanted to block it.

He was still hesitant at the time because while the system was asking him to block, it also said that if he could accept this mental tempering, his mental strength would increase.

However, the illusion Snape created for them was too terrifying. Having had the experience before, he didn't want to go through it again. He was thinking about whether he could ask the system to reduce the intensity of the illusion, as long as his mental strength was slightly tempered.

After all, he wasn't a real genius; he was just an ordinary person who worked hard and diligently.

Just as he was hesitating, another voice suddenly rang in his mind.

The voice abruptly rose in his mind, unnoticed even by the system, and asked with a seductive tone:
"Do you want me to help you block this mental intrusion? I can also help you devour this mental energy and turn it into your own mental power."

Mikel asked cautiously, "Who are you? You're not the system, are you? What do you want from me?"

The voice said, "I've always been on you, but you've never noticed me. All I need is for you to take me out and air me out every fifteenth of the month."

In exchange for this, I can help you absorb the invading spiritual energy and convert it into your own.

Mikel asked, puzzled, "Are you lying to me about this request?"

The voice said meaningfully, "Devouring and transfer are among my most common abilities. As for whether I would deceive you, what benefit would I gain from it? There's nothing about you that I care about. I just want to ask you for a favor."

If you doubt me, you can always turn to another force within you. However, the more you use this force, the more you will have to pay back later. It's not as easy to get rid of as I am. Think it through carefully.

In that instant, Mikel had a sudden flash of inspiration and understood something, saying to himself:

"You're not here for me, you're here for another power within me, aren't you?"

He said this with absolute certainty.

The seductive voice in his mind didn't reappear, and Mikel became increasingly convinced that he had guessed correctly.

He already had some doubts about the system in his body, feeling that it was not as pure as before.

Previously, the system was more mechanical, but recently it seems to have become more flexible and has developed its own thoughts.

Not to mention it had crashed once before.

When he was completely unable to use the system and was utterly unable to resist the evil god's ravings, his body fell into a very bad state.

This matter has been on his mind ever since.

It was at that time that Mikel realized that without the system, even with his talent for potions and dark magic gained through consuming soul fragments, he couldn't accomplish anything.

As for the black magic learned through reading forbidden books, it will also produce a lot of evil god ramblings during use. The influence of those ramblings must be blocked before black magic can be successfully cast.

The ultimate magic that followed was far beyond his current level to unleash.

I might only have the chance to try the simplest one when I'm an adult.

At that moment, Mikel, for reasons unknown—perhaps not wanting to rely entirely on the system within him and put himself in a passive position, or perhaps wanting to see what abilities this suddenly appearing voice possessed—ignored the system's warnings and instead chose the voice.

With the help of that voice, he was not invaded by Snape's mental power; on the contrary, he devoured the mental power that Snape had invaded his mind.

The mental energy transformed into his own power at an incredibly fast pace, so fast that Mikel didn't even have time to react before he could feel his mind becoming broader and his will becoming stronger and more resolute.

Such an obvious change is hard to miss.

So after that, Mikel kept his eyes closed and in a daze, occasionally sneaking his eyes open to check on Ron and the others' expressions.

Upon discovering that they were all in great pain, he immediately used all his acting skills to portray a pained expression.

Whether Snape deliberately ignored him or his acting was superb, he managed to fool Snape and prevent him from noticing anything amiss.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief after leaving the Potions classroom.

Later, because I really wanted to know what Ron and Harry's illusions were like, I asked them.

Upon hearing their description, Mikel was momentarily unsure whether to feel fortunate or regretful.

Fortunately, he didn't encounter such a terrifying illusion. He regretted that the system reminded him that if he could overcome his fear and train, he could improve his mental strength.

Mikel suddenly realized that Ron and the others needed to undergo training to improve their mental strength.

But he bypassed this step and obtained mental power directly and for no reason. Could this also become a hidden danger?
In his previous life, he had read many fantasy novels, and the ability to gain without effort was always fraught with danger.

In that instant, a chill ran down his spine, and he was overcome with regret.

Why did he choose to believe that unfamiliar voice back then, even though he had been skeptical when he first started using the system...?

"Mikel, Mikel?"

Ron nudged him with his elbow. "What are you thinking about? I called you several times and you didn't answer. Why are you suddenly spacing out?"

Mikel snapped out of her daze and gave him a forced smile: "No, hearing your description reminded me of my hallucination, and it just felt terrifying."

I seem to have forgotten what I went through; I only remember it being incredibly terrifying, so terrifying that I don't want to recall it at all.

Ron looked at him with some sympathy: "You're so scared that you've lost your memory. It must have been terrifying. People only stop wanting to recall things when they're in a state of extreme terror."

Harry and Neville nodded in agreement, both looking at Mikey with sympathy.

Mikel's lips twitched slightly.

It has to be said that he really felt sorry for himself.

There are two forces within him. One is a force that he thought he was very familiar with, but it turns out that it would suddenly disappear at crucial moments.

Another force had been hidden within him all along, but he had never noticed it. It only appeared on its own initiative because it seemed to be interested in the system.

And what about him?
It appears to be the system's host, but it doesn't quite seem like a host.

Mikel always felt as if he was being controlled by an invisible force.

Despite the terrifying illusion they experienced the previous night, Harry and the others felt quite refreshed when they woke up the next day. They had no classes in the morning, but a Transfiguration class in the afternoon, so they decided to go to the classroom early to practice their Transfiguration.

During pre-class practice, Ron was surprised to find that he seemed to be more proficient at manipulating Transfiguration.

Last week, he tried very hard to turn the teapot into a tortoise shell, but the shape and patterns of the teapot always appeared.

But this time, he successfully transformed the teapot into a tortoise shell—a complete and flawless shell.

As for the turtle's head and tail, those are still a bit difficult for him; he needs to think about them more carefully.

Ron happily shared his discovery with his friends.

"I think my transformation technique has improved. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but this time it went very smoothly, as if I encountered no obstacles. I'm sure that soon I'll be able to turn a teapot into a turtle!"

However, it wasn't just Ron who benefited; Harry and Neville also felt their Transfiguration skills had improved.

Harry's execution was faster and more precise.

Neville's progress, however, is somewhat exaggerated.

Last week he couldn't even conjure a turtle shell; his Transfiguration is even worse than Ron's.

This week, he was able to turn a teapot into a strangely shaped turtle!
Although the turtle is a bit ugly, with a particularly large head and a particularly small tail, it has all the features of a turtle and you can't see the texture of the stone.

Anyway, it's still a tortoise!
Even if it's ugly, it's still better than Ron and Harry not being able to even transform into the shape of a turtle.

Ron and Harry watched this scene in astonishment.

After a while, Ron came to his senses and patted Neville on the shoulder forcefully, asking curiously, "Did you suddenly have some inspiration? Or was your potential unleashed?"

How come you've turned into a tortoise this time? You were even worse than me last week!

Neville shook his head, equally shocked.

"I don't know either. I just used the same method as before to perform the Transfiguration spell. This time it went very smoothly without making a single mistake, and then it appeared."

In the past, I always made mistakes in the details during the process, but this time I avoided all of them. Could it be that I succeeded because I didn't make any mistakes?

"No, it's because your mental strength has improved, making you more familiar with the mistakes, so you subconsciously avoid them when you use it."

Lin Xia, Hermione, and Draco walked over, and Hermione spoke frankly.

Ron muttered, "How do you know it's because your mental strength has improved? Harry and I have also improved, does that mean our mental strength has improved too?"

Hermione proudly raised her head: "Yes, all of our mental strength has improved. Not just you, but also mine, Draco's, and Lin Xia's mental strength has improved."

She then changed the subject, saying, "While you were still fast asleep in the morning, I couldn't wake you up even with 10 carrier birds, so I went to the lab on my own."

Draco and Lin Xia have already been conducting experiments in the lab, and they both feel that their mental strength has improved. I also noticed this during my own experiments.

Today's experiment went even more smoothly than usual. Upon closer observation, I realized that I had avoided many mistakes and prevented repeating them. This is also a sign of improved mental fortitude.

Ron scoffed, "To put it bluntly, this is something you observed, not the truth."

Hermione was about to say something when a serious and solemn voice suddenly rang in their ears.

“Your mental strength has indeed improved. Snape used a bottle of advanced hallucinogen last night when he was teaching you Occlumency.”

Everyone looked up and saw Professor McGonagall walking briskly towards them, carrying with her the fragrance of the earth and grass outside.

McGonagall said with a serious expression, "Some adult wizards will adopt extreme training methods in order to temper their mental power."

One method involves using advanced hallucinogens as an aid to experience terrifying hallucinations, thereby stimulating the growth of mental power in the brain.

This training method is extremely rigorous, so the wizarding world has explicitly prohibited wizards from using this method to temper their mental power, and related tempering methods are not available on the market.

Even so, many wizards still train this way in secret. I learned yesterday that Snape used this method on you, and I warned him that he wouldn't use this method to train you again.

Ron said in a low voice, "Professor, since this method can improve mental strength, and we've already tried it once and found it quite acceptable, perhaps we can continue training with it?"

McGonagall gave him a cold look: "That's because you only used the lightest dose. This method is most effective the first time you train, and the effect will weaken with each subsequent training session, but the dose must be heavier each time."

"By then, your mental strength probably won't have increased much before you're overwhelmed by the high-level hallucinogen. Ron, don't underestimate the power of each bottle of high-level potion; used properly, it can kill a dozen adult wizards."

Ron didn't dare to speak this time.

Soon, the school bell rang, and the little wizards rushed in, crowding the classroom.

Professor McGonagall, true to form, transformed herself into a cat and sat on the podium.

Lin Xia noticed that the students who came in one after another were acting strangely. They exchanged information with expressions of surprise and uncertainty, shaking their heads from time to time and making expressions of disagreement and uncertainty.

Using the Extrasensory Charm, she immediately heard what they were discussing.

"What happened a few days ago was just a test of a level-based mini-game, did you know that?"

"I know, my roommate was unconscious for two whole days and only woke up today."

"As soon as he woke up, he told me that this learning game was unplayable. It was very difficult to even get into the game. He felt very dizzy. It didn't seem to be designed for students. It felt like he was playing some kind of difficult shaking game."

"My roommate survived the first wave of dizziness and said it was amazing, a revolutionary invention. Unfortunately, he clicked on the knowledge puzzle game and experienced a second wave of dizziness, which he couldn't handle."

"It seems like no one around me can withstand the second wave."

"It's said that only upperclassmen could handle it, and then tests were conducted. The game has a very good reputation among upperclassmen."

"So it was developed for upperclassmen. Why give so many slots to lowerclassmen? They didn't even get to experience it. What a pity."

"Yeah, I felt dizzy as soon as I entered. This game is so picky! Is it only for eugenics who can use this game to study?"

"Does this kind of test even qualify as a test?"

Lin Xia couldn't help but look up at the cat on the podium.

Professor McGonagall must have overheard the students' discussion. (End of Chapter)