Eric had no particular hang-ups about using someone else’s wand.
As far as he was concerned, it made little difference whose wand he used.
If he ever needed a wand that could perfectly bring out his magic, he could simply go back to Ollivanders and buy another one.
At the very least, Wand Affinity guaranteed an exceptionally high baseline whenever he cast magic with a wand.
The only reason Eric had chosen this acacia wand was because it was powerful.
Powerful enough that, with certain spells, it could actually refuse him.
In other words, the wand had an unusually low floor but an extraordinarily high ceiling.
That was the fundamental difference between it and ordinary wands.
No ambitious wizard would overlook a wand with that much potential.
More importantly, after several attempts, Eric had accidentally discovered a way to control it, barely.
When he simply used the wand to cast spells, Eric could manage some basic magic, but the results were extremely inconsistent.
Sometimes the spell worked well.
Sometimes it didn’t work at all.
The first time Eric tried the Wand Lighting Charm, he managed to produce a tiny point of light at the tip of the wand.
His next two attempts produced nothing whatsoever.
Then, on the attempt after that, the wand lit up again, glowing like a small electric bulb.
Eric temporarily stopped experimenting.
Looking at the several books spread open across his desk, he began to think through the problem carefully.
According to Magical Theory, a wand essentially functioned as a converter.
Put simply, it allowed a wizard’s magic to interact smoothly with the outside world.
Witches and wizards of ancient times hadn’t needed wands to cast magic.
Back then, they had used other methods.
Later generations hadn’t adopted wands because the older methods were incapable of producing magic.
The main reason was that the wand’s size and design made it the most effective casting tool available under comparable conditions.
In theory, modern witches and wizards could still return to the old-fashioned method of chanting lengthy incantations while casting through wooden staffs as tall as themselves.
But such methods weren’t merely slow, they also reduced the effectiveness of the resulting spells.
Longer incantations weren’t inherently better.
Modern spells had simplified the process of verbal casting precisely because shorter, more refined incantations were more efficient.
Regardless of the method, however, a wizard still needed something similar to a wand to channel their magic outward.
Releasing raw magical power directly was uncontrollable and dangerous.
Eric had been able to produce his eruptions of Magical Pressure through raw magic alone partly because his Magical Power was extraordinarily strong, but also because his mental control was just as exceptional.
Even then, Eric still couldn’t directly reproduce the effects of an actual spell using raw magical power.
That was where the overall properties of a wand became invaluable.
A wand helped a wizard complete the process of spellcasting.
So the biggest problem Eric faced now was simple, how could he make this acacia wand remain stable?
If Eric didn’t understand what he was actually trying to accomplish, then naturally he wouldn’t understand what he needed to do to solve the problem.
When everything was stripped down to its essentials, all he needed was a way to keep the wand stable enough for his magic to flow through it smoothly.
His own Magical Power was already strong enough that he didn’t need the wand to strengthen it before he could release it.
But if he wanted to learn spells while his Spell Proficiency remained relatively low, he still needed a wand to complete the casting process.
If his proficiency eventually became high enough, Eric believed he would be capable of nonverbal magic, or even wandless magic.
But he wasn’t there yet.
After thinking through the problem carefully, Eric realised that he had fallen into a misconception from the very beginning.
He didn’t actually need to rely on the wand in order to cast a spell.
If he were using an ordinary wand, Wand Affinity would prevent it from resisting him, and naturally his spellcasting would be extremely smooth.
But that casting process could be divided into two distinct stages.
First came Eric’s own magical output.
Then that magic passed through the wand and was released into the outside world.
Combined, the two stages formed a complete spell.
And the process of magic passing through a wand could itself be divided further.
First, the magic travelled through the wand itself.
Then the wand applied its own amplification and adjustment to that magic.
In this process, the wand essentially acted as a passive magical regulator.
That was also the fundamental reason modern witches and wizards relied on wands to cast spells.
Exactly what sort of enhancement a wand provided depended primarily on its wood, its core, and its compatibility with the wizard.
Some wands excelled at Transfiguration.
Others were particularly suited to jinxes.
Acacia wands were rare, but remarkably versatile.
So if Eric didn’t need the wand to assist him at all, and merely wanted to use the wand itself as a channel through which he could release his own magic…
That should be entirely possible as well.
For an ordinary wizard, of course, such a thing would be impossible.
Using a wand while simultaneously rejecting the magical amplification provided by the wand itself sounded absurd.
But Eric was different.
Eric picked up the wand again.
With a thought, he activated his Mental Field.
His world instantly faded into shades of grey and white, making the already dreary interior of the Leaky Cauldron seem even colder and more desolate.
The familiar sphere of light formed from his Mental Power reappeared beside his feet.
This time, Eric chose the acacia wand in his hand as the sphere’s target.
The light responded to his intent and instantly plunged into the wand.
━━━━━ INFO ━━━━━ [Acacia Wand] Ten inches long.
Constructed entirely from acacia wood.
Core: White-Tailed Eagle Tail Feather.
Extensive traces of powerful magical use remain within the wand, but it possesses no independent consciousness.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Just as Eric had suspected.
The interior of the wand had already grown accustomed to the presence of another wizard’s magic and soul.
That was why it constantly interfered with Eric’s spellcasting.
Eric focused all of his attention on the wand.
Then he separated a portion of his own magic— And poured it straight in.
His vast Magical Power surged into the wand like a mountain descending upon it, occupying every part of its interior with overwhelming force.
The wand in Eric’s hand clearly sensed what was happening.
It immediately began resisting violently.
The force erupting from the acacia wand was astonishing.
Eric nearly lost his grip and was forced to seize it with both hands just to prevent it from wrenching itself free.
Inside the wand, Eric’s magic and the wand’s own power began an unrelenting contest of strength.
If anyone had been watching from the side, they would have seen Eric’s Magical Power surging continuously through his body, becoming so intense that it was beginning to visibly affect his appearance.
At that moment, Eric resembled a miniature fusion reactor.
His face had turned burning red, while thin wisps of white steam continuously rose from his skin.
Eric noticed none of it.
His eyes remained tightly closed as he concentrated every ounce of attention on suppressing the wand in his hands.
He had no idea how much time passed.
Then— Eric’s eyes snapped open.
A sharp glimmer flashed through his pupils.
He raised the wand and shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” The next instant, an enormous white creature materialised before him.
Eric knew immediately that he had succeeded.
A wand was merely a tool.
The one who truly commanded magic… Was the wizard.