Newt noticed his little apprentice seemed in low spirits after coming downstairs.
Could his cooking really be that bad?
The fragile heart of a ninety-something-year-old man suffered another blow after being criticized by his wife.
Shyer than his peers in youth and not much better in old age, the current Magizoologist Newt curled up on the sofa, almost falling into depression on the spot.
Kate, whose expression wasn’t any better than his, steeled herself for a moment before walking over and taking a deep breath.
“Teacher, I’m ready.”
The task given by the system really made one want to curse.
Both in her past life and this one, physically and psychologically, she was a standard girl.
Not to say she had a germ phobia, but at least she was clean.
Suddenly being told to shovel poop, without some mental preparation, she really might not be able to handle it.
But it’s too tempting!
Not the poop, but the reward.
Increasing any attribute value after completing the daily task—if this kind of task lasted a month, she could gain thirty attribute points!
Evenly distributed among the seven basic attributes, each could get a 4-point increase!
She had specifically asked the system before about how personal basic attributes were defined.
The answer was that for ordinary students, breaking through 3 in average personal attributes after graduation was considered excellent.
And for representative young Wizards like the later Harry Potter, some individual attributes had also broken through 4.
As for boss-level figures like Old Voldemort and Old Dumbledore…
Although the system didn’t explicitly say, Kate estimated their average ability values during their peak were above 5, with individual abilities reaching unimaginable heights.
Like Dumbledore, even half his magical power could reach 5, probably unmatched in the world.
Not to mention personal ability isn’t just basic attribute values; there’s also the exquisite application of magic and rich combat experience.
These are hard to quantify with numbers.
With an Old Dumbledore like this holding the fort, even past his peak, it was enough to keep Lord Voldemort from approaching Hogwarts.
Since the system put it this way, how could she not go for it?
Never mind picking up poop; she’d even sleep in the same nest as a Thunderbird every day if she had to!
So, after building up her mental fortitude, she chose to accept the task, despite her initial reluctance.
Perhaps her expression was too ‘do-or-die,’ because even Newt, who was immersed in his own feelings of frustration, finally noticed something was wrong.
He straightened his aged back slightly and looked at her with some confusion, ‘Child, what’s the matter?’
‘It’s nothing!’ Kate flashed a smile and gripped her pure white wand tightly.
That made sense; Newt had almost forgotten.
Since she could remember, this Child had probably not seen many people, let alone animals with magical powers.
He composed himself, stood up, called out to his wife who was still busy in the kitchen, and then reached out his hand to Kate.
‘Come, you’ll like them.’
The two of them arrived at the room on the first floor closest to the garden.
Newt flicked his wand in front of the door before slowly pushing it open.
The scene before her eyes changed instantly.
Before Kate could clearly see the setting inside, a small black shadow pounced toward her—
Almost subconsciously, Kate closed her eyes and shielded her head with her hands, but the expected pain did not come.
She opened her eyes with lingering fear, only to find that the still-vigorous Newt had quickly stepped in front of her and restrained the shadow.
Using the word ‘restrained’ wasn’t quite appropriate.
Because that intimidating black shadow seemed to be… frantically licking his face.
‘Is this a dog?’ Kate’s expression was a bit strange.
The creature currently lying in Newt’s arms and licking him frantically was extremely similar to a Jack Russell Terrier from the Muggle world.
She hadn’t expected the first creature she encountered upon opening the door to be man’s best friend.
Newt struggled to fend off the dog’s enthusiasm.
After finally managing to break free and put it back, he closed the door and used his wand to clean himself up.
‘This is called a Tail-forked Dog.
They were bred by Wizards.
The biggest difference in appearance from a normal dog is that its tail is forked.’
‘Tail-forked Dogs are extremely loyal to Wizards, but they are very fierce toward Muggles.
There have been instances where packs of Tail-forked Dogs attacked No-Majs in the United States.’
Kate asked thoughtfully,’So it pounced on me just now because it likes me?’
‘That’s right,’ Newt nodded, smiling as he rubbed her head.
Well, who knew that putting points into Affinity would have this kind of effect.
Kate was about to be humble when she heard Newt say, ‘Although you haven’t started learning spells yet, you must always remember that you are a Wizard, and the wand in your hand is your weapon.’
His meaning was clear: he was dissatisfied with how Kate hadn’t even been able to dodge just now.
However, considering her special circumstances, Newt didn’t speak harshly.
After his admonition, he added another sentence:
‘But compared to other little Wizards who would be suddenly scared to tears, you’ve already done great.
Keep working hard.’
This ‘carrot and stick’ teaching style was all too familiar to Kate; her Old Butler had already mastered this technique to perfection.
Mainly because she hadn’t wanted to learn magic at all back then, so the Old Butler had no choice but to do this.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have a microwave to use, especially under the premise of not being allowed in the kitchen.
It was clear that Newt really didn’t know much about teaching students; even his teaching style was temporarily plagiarized from the Old Butler.
He could only imitate the surface, but he didn’t know the main reason the Old Butler could control Kate—
As a modern person, losing modern appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and microwaves was truly hard to adapt to.
If it were the old Kate, she might not have bought into it.
But now…
She took a deep breath, proactively grabbed the doorknob, and with a gentle twist, opened it.
The Tail-forked Dog pounced forward enthusiastically again.
Kate forced herself to remain calm, and mimicking Newt’s earlier manner, she caught its body and held it up high with both hands, moving it slightly away.
‘Teacher, what’s its name?’ she asked quickly.
Newt was still surprised by how quickly she learned and hurriedly said, ‘Her name is Heini.’
What a down-to-earth name!
‘Heini, be good, sit!’ She struggled to place the dog, which still wanted to lick her frantically, on the ground.
With a point of her index finger, Heini shook her head and sat down obediently, though her eyes were still gazing longingly at her.
As expected of a dog bred by humans; it probably wouldn’t work with another species.
Kate let out a long breath, raised her head, and said, ‘Teacher, did I do that right?’
‘Um… you did very well.’ Newt couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Why did he feel like this Child didn’t need his teaching at all?