“Gold is the system’s sole currency,” the Magic Card System replied.
“Considering that the overwhelming majority of transmigrators begin life as penniless orphans, the recharge function has been permanently removed.
All Gold must be earned through system-related activities.” Alvin stared at the floating interface for several seconds.
“Wow.” “How considerate.” The corner of his mouth twitched.
He had a system.
He had money.
Two sources of happiness that should have combined into something wonderful.
So why did he feel as though he’d just been robbed?
“There goes the dream of whale-spending on gacha.” Unfortunately, no amount of complaining would change the rules.
After spending some time exploring the system, Alvin quickly grasped its core mechanic.
Card draws.
Everything revolved around card draws.
Each pull cost 100 Gold.
The cards were divided into four rarities: White.
Blue.
Purple.
Gold.
White cards generally contained basic spells, magical materials, consumable items, and occasionally Galleons.
Blue cards offered more practical rewards, including combat-oriented magic such as Expelliarmus and Levicorpus.
Purple cards were significantly rarer.
These included advanced magic like Occlumency, powerful spells such as the Patronus Charm and Sectumsempra, and even complete knowledge packages covering entire magical disciplines like Potions or Transfiguration.
Gold cards stood at the pinnacle.
Character Cards.
Whenever one was obtained, Alvin could select a talent, skill, magical proficiency, spell mastery, or body of knowledge from the represented individual and permanently make it his own.
Just reading the description made his pulse quicken.
As for obtaining more Gold, the system awarded it through missions, milestones, achievements, and special rewards.
After enrolling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, additional features would unlock.
A Daily Mission System.
One hundred Gold per day for completing basic tasks.
And a Free Daily Draw.
The only restriction was that free draws could never produce Gold cards.
Purple was the highest rarity available through that route.
Overall, the system looked surprisingly generous.
“System, do I have a status screen?” [Generating Host Panel…] A translucent interface materialized before him.
Host: Alvin Gaunt Age: 11 Birthday: October 31st Identity: Hidden owner of Alvin Investments, graduate of Garden Primary School, future Hogwarts student Bloodline: Wizard Spirit (Awakening) Magic Power: 3 Magical Items: None Charms Talent: 5 (Outstanding) Transfiguration Talent: 3 (Average) Divination Talent: 0 (Troll) …
Dark Arts Talent: 8 (Born for Azkaban) Gold: 5,000 Alvin’s eyes locked onto a single line.
Then he read it again.
And again.
Dark Arts Talent: 8 (Born for Azkaban) “…” “…” “…What?” For one horrifying moment, he seriously considered abandoning Hogwarts altogether.
Imagine sitting down beneath the Sorting Hat only for it to scream: AZKABAN!
He’d probably become the first first-year student in history to receive a prison sentence during the Sorting Ceremony.
Thankfully, the system immediately clarified.
[Host need not worry.] [Talent values are measurable only by the system.
Other individuals cannot directly observe them.] Alvin slowly released the breath he’d been holding.
“Good.” “Very good.” At least he wasn’t destined to be arrested on sight.
His gaze drifted downward.
Toward the 5,000 Gold sitting at the bottom of the panel.
Almost instantly, his mood improved.
A full fifty pulls.
Years had passed since he’d experienced the excitement of a proper gacha session.
This was 1991.
Mobile games didn’t exist.
Most phones looked like military equipment.
The temptation was impossible to resist.
“Let’s see whether eleven years of accumulated luck counts for anything.” He opened the Card Draw System.
A new notification immediately appeared.
The stars churn.
Fate awakens.
To celebrate successful system activation, a limited Legendary Character Banner has been unlocked.
Light and Darkness The White Lord — Albus Dumbledore The Dark Lord — Gellert Grindelwald Special Event Effect: Obtaining either Legendary Character Card will immediately grant the other Legendary Character Card.
This effect may only be triggered once during this banner.
Future guaranteed Gold cards will be random.
A Gold card is guaranteed within 50 draws.
Alvin blinked.
Then blinked again.
“This system really knows how to sell a banner.” A beginner event featuring two of the most terrifying wizards in modern history.
And obtaining one automatically granted the other.
The offer was absurdly tempting.
Almost suspiciously tempting.
His eyes drifted toward his remaining Gold.
Exactly 5,000.
Exactly enough for fifty pulls.
The guarantee definitely wasn’t bait.
Not at all.
Five minutes later, Alvin stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
He washed his face.
Then his hands.
Then his hands again.
And again.
And once more for good measure.
Only after completing several rounds of ritual purification did he finally nod in satisfaction.
Ready.
He returned to the living room and sat down.
“System.” “Spend all 5,000 Gold.” “Fifty pulls.” The interface exploded into motion.
A radiant pentagram unfolded in midair.
Streams of light erupted from its center.
Five white.
Three blue.
Two purple.
The results began scrolling rapidly.
[Congratulations.
Obtained: 100 Galleons (White)] [Congratulations.
Obtained: Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans Gift Box (White)] [Congratulations.
Obtained: Lumos (White)] …
[Congratulations.
Obtained: Occlumency (Purple)] [Congratulations.
Obtained: Inspiration Potion (Purple)] Alvin nodded approvingly.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
The 100 Galleons alone would comfortably cover most of his first-year expenses.
And if Galleons could appear as White-rarity rewards, money would probably never become a major concern.
The spell rewards were even more valuable.
Whenever he obtained a spell card, the corresponding knowledge integrated directly into his mind.
Incantations.
Wand movements.
Casting rhythm.
Practical applications.
Common mistakes.
Everything.
It felt less like learning and more like remembering something he had always known.
If someone handed him a wand right now, he could cast Lumos immediately.
His attention shifted to the Purple rewards.
Occlumency.
That alone made the pull worthwhile.
Whether or not the system protected the secret of his reincarnation, Alvin had no intention of allowing people to rummage through his thoughts.
Especially not Albus Dumbledore.
And definitely not Severus Snape.
When two of Britain’s greatest schemers possessed varying degrees of mind-reading ability, preparation was simply common sense.
The second reward was no less impressive.
Inspiration Potion Created by an ancient Potions Master.
For one hour after consumption, the drinker’s mind enters an extraordinarily active state.
Greatly increases reasoning ability, creativity, concentration, and processing speed.
Alvin’s eyes lit up.
Now that was useful.
Research.
Spell development.
Studying.
Problem-solving.
The potion had applications in practically every field.
A genuine treasure.
With a thought, the potion disappeared into the System Inventory alongside his other physical rewards.
Storage was one of the system’s basic functions.
Any item acquired through card draws could be safely stored there until needed.
“Continue.” The second ten-pull began.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
The rewards remained consistently good.
Several useful spells.
Various magical ingredients.
More Galleons.
Knowledge packages.
A handful of Purple cards in nearly every batch.
Objectively speaking, the results were excellent.
Subjectively?
Alvin’s expression darkened with every passing pull.
Forty draws.
Not a single Gold card.
His eyelid twitched.
“Seriously?” “Does this banner refuse to drop Gold before the guarantee?” “Have I been cursed?” “Was I a gacha victim in my previous life too?” “Did bad luck follow me across reincarnation?” By the time the final ten-pull arrived, his eyes had begun to lose focus.
The light of hope was fading.
Then— The pentagram erupted.
Brilliant light flooded the room.
Two dazzling golden rays shot skyward.
Two purple.
Three blue.
Three white.
The twin pillars of gold instantly eclipsed everything else.
For a brief moment, the entire living room seemed submerged in molten sunlight.
Alvin froze.
He stared.
Then stared harder.
The realization hit.
He launched himself out of his chair.
“YES!” “DOUBLE GOLD!” “I KNEW IT!” “I’M NOT UNLUCKY!” “I’M A TRUE EUROPEAN!” “CERTIFIED BRITISH LUCK!” His triumphant shout echoed through the villa as the two golden cards slowly emerged from the sea of light.