Aside from sleeping, time passes fastest when gaming. Two hours flew by in an instant, and the screens of Andromath, Old Marlin, and Sandar suddenly went dark, popping up a prompt: [Purchased game time has expired. Please renew.]
At that moment, the three of them looked like addicts in withdrawal. One second, they were gripping a wooden stick between their legs, attempting to soar into the sky; the next, they were hit with a black screen and a disconnection.
Without missing a beat, they simultaneously pulled out 6 gold coins to declare a full-day pass for the rest of the day.
Tess collected the money and recorded it in the ledger in one fluid motion. Wayne took a look at the books: 212 gold in total savings. This meant if the shop remained full tomorrow, he could add another set of equipment by tomorrow night.
Over in the seating area, the group was chatting animatedly. Immersed in the peculiar magical system of Hogwarts, they seemed to have temporarily set aside the friction between Mage and Warlock, surface and underground, orthodox and fringe. They began to seriously study how to apply the magical concepts from the movie to the real world.
Marlin had also abandoned his tone from yesterday—no more calling Wayne a "scammer" or "scum." He proactively pulled out 2 gold coins to treat Andromath to an iced Coke and popcorn movie combo, lamenting repeatedly that he hadn't discovered such a wonderful place sooner.
However, the veteran casters still felt that the magic shown in the movie was far too limited. Although there were countless magical objects within the explorable areas of Hogwarts, without specific incantations and casting processes, they had no way of understanding the underlying magical principles.
Zaldimar and Raymond, who had seen most of the first film and were re-watching from the beginning to accompany their superiors, stepped up as "salesmen." They told the newcomers that according to Wayne, the first movie was just an introduction to this grand world. Starting from the second installment, more and far stranger magic would appear.
Hearing this, the group couldn't wait to finish the first film, yet every time they encountered a strange artifact, they couldn't help but stop to investigate it thoroughly.
Seeing that even a stubborn old man like Marlin had been won over, Wayne spent 1 gold himself to drink an iced Coke while concentrating on researching the magic appearing in the second film.
In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall was teaching Harry and the others the "Transfiguration Spell." This magic shared striking similarities with its counterpart in World of Warcraft; both involved chanting an incantation to transform a target into something else.
However, in World of Warcraft, magic was tailored for war. Mages studied spells to turn enemies into harmless animals. Theoretically, one could alter the incantation to turn a target into anything. Professor McGonagall was teaching them how to turn a rat into a goblet.
Inside the movie world, Wayne pulled out the Phoenix Feather Wand he had unlocked after finishing the first film. Just as he could enter the movie world himself, items unlocked from the films could naturally be brought back in, though non-movie items like Coke and popcorn could not.
He pointed the wand at a rat and cast the "Transfiguration Spell." Having no prior magic and thus no interference from arcane energy, he found it quite easy to perform. However, likely because his real-world self was drinking Coke, his thoughts strayed when he was supposed to visualize a goblet during the chant. In the end, he turned the rat into an empty Coke bottle.
But when he tried to cast the spell on a raccoon in a cage, he failed no matter how hard he tried.
Clearly, even within the movie world, whether a spell worked on a target depended on whether the caster possessed the corresponding mana.
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Gilderoy Lockhart—the fraud of a professor—released a group of Cornish Pixies.
It was Hermione who finally cast "Immobilus" just in time, causing the chaotic pixies to freeze in mid-air instantly.
Wayne compared this spell to "Petrificus Totalus." He found the latter to be a binding curse that turned the target into a wooden statue that collapsed on the ground, unable to move. The former was a freezing charm, somewhat like Frost Nova in World of Warcraft. It only restricted the target's movement, but its advantage was that as one's mana grew, it could be cast on groups of targets simultaneously.
However, these were all mere appetizers compared to the scene that followed.
Due to terrifying accidents surrounding the legendary "Chamber of Secrets"—such as students being petrified and blood-stained death threats appearing on the walls—Headmaster Dumbledore arranged for Professors Snape and Lockhart to team up. They were to teach the students practical combat techniques as a precaution.
In the classroom, the two professors demonstrated magical offense and defense through a simulated duel. The style of the duel bore a high resemblance to medieval knights or cowboys in the American Old West during the Gold Rush.
The two first walked toward each other. Holding their wands vertically in front of their faces with their right hands, they "presented arms" before lowering them to their sides and bowing slightly in respect.
Then, they turned simultaneously and walked toward opposite ends of the long dueling platform. After five steps, they turned back, raised their wands, and struck casting poses.
Professor Lockhart began to count:
"One, two, three!"
Instantly, a bolt of golden magical energy flew out and struck Professor Lockhart. As someone who was merely making up the numbers and lived on stolen fame, he had no defense. Not only was the wand blasted out of his hand by the spell, but he himself was sent flying backward heavily.
"Whoa!"
Watching this, Wayne couldn't help but exclaim along with the students on the screen.
If he had any doubts about the power of magic in the Harry Potter world before this, seeing a casually cast spell transform into energy that could disarm and knock back an opponent at close range made him think of a saying:
"Strength comes in all measures."
The same incantation yielded completely different results in the hands of different casters. Much like two players having the same skills, their actual combat performance could be worlds apart.
However, while he had learned the incantation, Wayne couldn't find anyone to practice with in the movie world because his actions couldn't influence the characters in the film.
But the opportunity came quickly. To cover up his incompetence, Professor Lockhart assigned two students to the stage for practical exercise.
Thus, Harry and Draco Malfoy, who had always disliked him, walked onto the stage. At this point, the movie entered the "Virtual Experience" segment—allowing the viewer to play as Harry and knock down Malfoy.
Of course, viewers could choose to skip the experience and continue the plot, but Wayne was not about to miss such a perfect training opportunity.
Moreover, he deliberately turned on the external monitor.
The screen lit up. While the other guests were wearing their glasses and immersed in their own cinematic perspectives, the bored and dozing Tess immediately saw it.
She let out an excited "Wow!" But in her excitement, she quickly caught on and began to "wake up" the other guests.