Early the next morning, Ivan appeared in the attic.
Claw poked Greyback, who was standing beside him, and jerked his chin toward Ivan.
“Look, what on earth is that thing on the boss’s nose?”
When Greyback looked over, Ivan was coming down from the loft with a pair of strange black glasses perched on his nose.
The lenses were pitch black, completely obscuring his eyes.
“I have no idea,” Greyback said, scratching his head.
“Looks like something a blind man would use, doesn’t it?”
“You’re the one who’s blind,” Claw rolled his eyes.
“The boss’s eyes are perfectly fine.
Just yesterday, he drove a blade straight through Eric’s heart.”
“Then why is he wearing those?”
“Who knows?
Why don’t we go ask?”
“Sure!”
The two of them whispered to each other as they walked toward Ivan.
“Great Patron, what are those two black discs on your nose?”
Curious, Greyback reached out to touch them, but Ivan slapped his hand away.
“These are sunglasses,” Ivan said.
“Sunglasses?
What are they for?”
“Blocking light.”
“But it’s cloudy today.
It just rained hard last night,” Greyback pointed out the window.
Outside, the sky was indeed overcast with no sunlight to be seen.
Ivan adjusted his sunglasses.
“Because I feel like it.”
With that, he turned around to “process” the breakfast ingredients.
Claw and Greyback stood there, looking at each other.
“The boss is a bit weird today,” Greyback whispered.
“Weird how?”
“Weirdly handsome!”
“You suck-up!
You’re brown-nosing too quietly!
You should learn from me.
When you flatter someone, you have to do it loudly so the Great Patron can hear you!”
“Great Patron, you look so handsome today!
We love it!” Claw shouted at the top of his lungs.
Ivan was currently snapping a chicken’s head off with his bare hands.
Hearing the words behind him, he nearly strained his own wrist.
After finishing today’s “grind,” Lilia stepped forward and considerately cast an *Aguamenti* to help Ivan wash his hands.
“The ingredients are ready.
Same old rule: you must finish everything.
The next meal is already waiting for you.”
His subordinates let out a chorus of groans.
Ivan ignored them and headed back upstairs.
Once back in his bedroom, he took off the sunglasses.
He had made them just last night.
Using two pieces of black glass and some copper wire for the frame, the craftsmanship was crude, but they were functional.
He needed them now—or perhaps he wouldn’t need them yet—but it was better to be prepared.
As for the reason?
He recalled last night.
After consuming a vast amount of Mana Restoration Potions, he had finally repaired a new interface panel.
[Ivan Rosier (Human Mage)] Level: 20 Health: 580/580 Mana: 648/830 Strength: 45 Agility: 58 Endurance: 58 Magic: 83 Spirit: 93
On the left side of the panel, there was a 3D avatar of himself.
It depicted a black-haired youth dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, matching his current outfit exactly.
Ivan raised a hand and waved.
The avatar in the display waved back.
“The synchronization is pretty good,” Ivan grinned.
But his smile didn’t last long.
His mana was currently depleting at a rate of over 90 points per second.
557, 466, 375…
“As expected.
At this rate of mana drain, even Dumbledore would be reduced to a Squib!”
Ivan stared at the rapidly ticking numbers, speechless.
“Sigh, who would believe that I’ve been feeding this bottomless pit for eleven whole years?”
This value was likely far beyond that of a normal young wizard, and perhaps even comparable to an adult wizard.
Under normal circumstances, he should be a genius with abundant magic.
But it was useless.
Every bit of mana he recovered was drained by the “Repair Panel” skill, which held the highest priority.
Just like now, even though he was doing nothing, his mana was leaking out like water from a sieve.
Ivan continued to examine the panel.
On either side of the 3D avatar were two columns of empty equipment slots.
From top to bottom, they were: Head, Necklace, Shoulders, Cloak, Chest, Wrists, Hands, Waist, Legs, Feet, Ring 1, Ring 2, Trinket 1, Trinket 2.
There were also slots for a primary and off-hand weapon.
Currently, all these slots were empty except for his clothes and shoes.
“Does this mean I can wear equipment?
Can I increase my attributes?”
Seeing this change, Ivan impatiently opened his inventory.
Previously, the items in his bag only had simple names and icons.
Since the character panel was generated, the inventory had undergone a significant change.
Now, every piece of equipment had lines of small white text describing it.
[Protection Ring (White Quality)] [Ring] Effect: Slight increase in hex resistance.
[Protection Ring (Green Quality)] [Ring] Effect: Endurance +1.
Slight increase in hex resistance.
[Inferior Magic Crystal (White Quality)] [Trinket] Effect: Mana Regen +10/sec.
[Dragonhide Gloves (Green Quality)] Effect: Strength +1.
Minor increase in magic resistance.
[Auto-Alarm Badge (White Quality)] [Trinket] Effect: Passive Warning.
The badge will vibrate slightly when a unit with strong malicious intent comes within 1 meter.
…
These were items he had asked Lupin to purchase before, just in case they might be useful one day.
Since his inventory had so many slots, he figured he could just hoard them.
He hadn’t expected them to actually become useful now.
“Equipment even has quality tiers?
It looks like I’ll have to scout various shops for better gear in the future!”
Excited, Ivan immediately began equipping himself.
His strategy was clear: prioritize mana regeneration above all else.
Since the panel drained 91 points per second, Magic Crystals were his top priority.
Following that was Spirit, as that attribute determined base mana regen.
Lastly, he would stack Magic to increase his maximum mana capacity.
When he placed an [Inferior Magic Crystal] into a trinket slot, the 3D avatar on the panel changed instantly—a blue crystal brooch appeared on the youth’s chest.
Ivan felt his own chest and found that a brooch had appeared on his physical body as well.
He experimented further, placing the clothes he was wearing into the “Chest” slot.
*Zip—*
Ivan felt his original clothes vanish, replaced instantly by new ones!
“The real world and the virtual interface are interconnected?
That’s remarkably precise!”
“Does this mean I can save time on bathing and getting dressed in the future?”
“If I’m ever in a hurry, and I just move the clothes from the equipment slot to the inventory, wouldn’t I be…”
He had unlocked a strange new train of thought.
He quickly focused his mind and continued studying the character panel.
He tried putting rings on his fingers.
He had over a dozen various protection rings in his inventory, and he pulled them all out to stack them on his hands.
However, he soon discovered that only the first two rings equipped provided attribute bonuses.
Even if he wore more rings, only the two ring slots on the panel remained active.
“Sigh, the attribute slots are too few.”
“Humans clearly have ten fingers—some even have eleven, or even more—so why are there only two ring slots on the panel?
Not precise at all!”
As he put on each piece of equipment, he could clearly feel his Strength, Agility, and other attributes being rapidly enhanced, just like when he leveled up.
The feeling of becoming stronger was immediate.
“This is absolutely wonderful!” Ivan couldn’t help but throw a punch, the air letting out a slight whistle.
He checked his final attributes:
[Ivan Rosier (Human Mage)] Level: 20 Health: 590/590 Mana: 300/930 Strength: 45 (+3) Agility: 58 (+4) Endurance: 58 (+2) Magic: 83 (+10) Spirit: 93 (+18) Mana Regeneration: 51 points/sec (Base 11 + Crystal 40)
The recovery speed was still lower than the 100 points per second required for the panel repair.
“Still not enough,” Ivan frowned.
“I need to find more gear that increases mana regen, or find better trinkets like the Magic Crystal.”
Just then, he noticed something else.
“Opening the character panel actually affected the display function of the inventory?
What about other items?” This story is hosted at g.com.
He quickly looked at the other items in his bag.
Sure enough, new descriptions had appeared beneath the potions:
[Mana Restoration Potion (White Quality)] Effect: After consumption, restores 150 mana per second for 10 seconds.
[Mana Restoration Potion (Green Quality)] Effect: After consumption, restores 200 mana per second for 10 seconds.
Ivan’s eyes widened.
He quickly took out one white and one green potion from his inventory.
He swallowed the white one first and watched his mana values.
+150 -49 +150 -49
Two seconds later, he downed the green quality potion.
The effect triggered:
+200 -49
Although the description said the effect lasted for 10 seconds, as soon as he took the green one, the recovery effect of the white one disappeared.
Clearly, the two did not stack.
Ivan tried a few more times, but the result remained the same.
“So…
my previous method of ‘chugging dozens of bottles at once’ was completely wrong?”
He thought back to the potions he had frantically downed over the past few days.
Most of them had been wasted.
“Damn it,” Ivan cursed, but then felt a bit fortunate.
“At least I know now.”
He looked at the 300/830 mana on his panel.
“If I want to cast spells in the future, I’ll have to keep popping potions.
One bottle every ten seconds to maximize the effect.”
He flipped through other types of potions in his inventory—Healing Potions, Antidotes, temporary attribute boosters…
they all had detailed descriptions now.
“Good stuff, truly good stuff!” Ivan laughed.
“Shopping will be so much easier in the future.
Especially those Dark Magic items with unknown effects—as long as I put them in my inventory and take a look, I’ll know everything!”
He stood up and walked to the mirror.
The youth in the mirror had eyes that lacked the typical innocence of a child, replaced by the steadiness of an adult.
“Now that I’ve found the correct way to take potions, then…!”
Ivan suddenly remembered something and frowned.
Then, he pulled out various materials from his inventory and tinkered for a while.
Soon, a pair of homemade sunglasses sat on his face.
The lenses were pitch black, completely hiding his eyes.
“Better safe than sorry,” he said to himself in the mirror.
At nine in the morning, Ivan appeared in the attic hall again wearing his sunglasses, with Lilia following behind him.
the team members had finished breakfast—or rather, they had barely managed to stuff down their quotas.
Now, they were slumped in their chairs, looking utterly miserable.
“Great Patron, can we eat a little less tonight?
Or maybe change to some normal ingredients?
Like bread?
Cereal?
Even potatoes would do…” Greyback asked weakly.
“No, those don’t give experience!” Ivan said.
“What?” Greyback didn’t hear him clearly.
“Nothing.
Lupin.”
“Here.”
“Continue the procurement today.
Pay special attention to any high-quality Magic Crystals.
If you find any, report the location to me.
Also, Darwin, take your men and follow me in a bit,” Ivan ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
“Ears, contact Griphook.
Tell him to be ready at any time,” Ivan said.
“Understood, Mr.
Rosier.”
After giving his orders, Ivan turned and walked out, with Darwin and his men following.
Daytime in Knockturn Alley had begun.
The sound of shops opening, peddlers hawking their wares, and distant scuffles echoed through the alley.
And further away, the Headmaster of Hogwarts—Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore—was already on his way.
Ivan knew none of this.
He had already plunged into the various shops with his men, beginning his street-combing treasure hunt.