— — — — — —
The next morning, Tom got up and casually opened the system panel—only to do a double-take.
Instead of losing any credits from yesterday, he'd actually gained 18 credits—and picked up 3 achievement points, too.
A quick scroll through the system log told him why: he'd completely mastered the Charms yesterday. That earned him 30 credits and 3 achievement points.
Tom paused, deep in thought.
So... this learning space might actually be a self-sustaining machine?
Just learning a few spells was enough to cover the cost of using it, and even turn a profit. If that was the case, he didn't really need to worry about burning through credits anymore.
Still, he figured the real sink for credits would be the "Turbo" buff.
Right now, he only had enough credits to activate it for ten minutes—barely long enough to get a taste, let alone see what it really did. What was it like, anyway?
Would it make him fly? Turn him into some kind of magic prodigy?
As those wild thoughts drifted through his mind, Tom got out of bed, washed up, and—surprisingly—didn't head straight back into the learning space.
Yesterday, he and Andros had run a few tests. Apparently, when Tom left the space, Andros had two choices: go dormant or move around freely.
And if Tom left the space running (i.e., credits still being spent), Andros could even communicate with him and look through his eyes.
Kinda like... a jinchūriki?
Still, it gave Tom an idea.
He could buy and conjure all the textbooks into the learning space before going in himself. Andros could read them first, figure things out, and then teach him.
That way, Tom could save a ton of time and credits.
So, first thing in the morning, he headed out. After a bus ride to the city center, he passed through the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley and made a beeline for the bookstore.
Tom didn't know exactly what textbooks the upper years used—but thankfully, the shop assistants did.
He flagged one down and explained what he needed.
The clerk blinked at him in surprise. "All the textbooks? Kid, you sure? You don't look older than a second-year at most. No need to grab everything all at once."
"For example, with Defense Against the Dark Arts—new professor every year. You won't even know what book they're using until class starts. Total waste if you buy it now."
Such a kind, reasonable guy. Tom was almost certain he was a Hufflepuff.
"Knowledge is never wasted," Tom replied with a calm smile. "Even if the books change, what I learn from them stays with me. Better to spend money on something useful than on toys or snacks. And if I don't need them later, I can always resell them."
The clerk stared at him like he'd just heard a grown man talking through a kid's mouth.
Still, if the customer insisted, he couldn't say no. He'd done his duty by giving a heads-up.
So, the clerk pushed over a trolley and went off to gather the books.
After finding out Tom was a soon-to-be first-year, he nodded approvingly. "You'll definitely be sorted into Ravenclaw. Though personally, I still think Hufflepuff is the best house."
Tom chuckled and nodded back. "I think Ravenclaw suits me just fine."
He had big goals—top of his class, top of the school. Among the four houses, Ravenclaw definitely matched his vibe the best.
Ten minutes later, the trolley was piled high with thick, heavy tomes—not just the required textbooks, but a few extra books Tom had picked out himself.
It wasn't until he got to the counter that he realized... he was short on funds.
Just like in the Muggle world—textbooks priced like robbery.
He remembered Aunt Allman complaining once. Her son was in university, and some of his textbooks cost dozens of pounds—one even hit triple digits. Might as well be robbing a bank.
With a sigh, Tom made his way to Gringotts and withdrew another 200 Galleons. Only then could he settle the bill. He also paid 10 Sickles to have the books delivered by owl.
With his shopping done, Tom didn't bother wandering around Diagon Alley. Instead, he stopped by a nearby Waitrose, picked up some fruit and snacks, and headed straight home.
Waitrose was a fancy supermarket, known for top-quality, super-fresh food. And while Tom might not be rich in the wizarding world, he had enough money in the Muggle world to live comfortably—and he never saw the point in skimping on himself.
His appetite was a little bigger than most kids his age—not outrageously so, but he burned a lot of calories with all his physical training.
After all, who said you had to use magic to defend yourself?
Sometimes, a solid punch did the trick—and it didn't hurt that he could shake down a few school bullies for "protection money" too.
At 3 p.m., three owls flew in through the window, dragging his books behind them. Tom conjured the stack directly into the learning space, but didn't go in himself just yet.
He wanted to test how much his learning efficiency dropped when he studied in the real world.
"Whew... that was exhausting."
By 10 p.m., Tom flopped into bed, eyes shut tight with fatigue.
On average, a person can only focus intensely for about 15 minutes at a time. Beyond that, attention starts to wander, and your mind goes off track.
Do anything for over two hours, and frustration sets in. Efficiency nosedives, and eventually, nothing sticks at all.
With breaks only for meals, Tom had been studying from 3 to 10 p.m.— 7 hours, but only the first two hours had been really productive.
After that, he was mostly just reading for the sake of it, treating his textbooks like storybooks instead of actually learning anything.
By the end of the day, he'd only earned 30 study credits —roughly the same as what he'd gotten during 3 hours in the learning space.
That decided it: no more wasting time. He'd save up the "Turbo" buff for later, when he had more credits. But as for the learning space itself, that had to be used as efficiently as possible.
With his plan set, Tom quickly drifted off to sleep.
. . .
For the next month, Tom didn't step foot in Diagon Alley again.
Every day, he split his time between training inside the learning space—five hours a day under Andros's guidance—and practicing spells on his own in the real world.
Time flew by—and before he knew it, it was the day before school started.
.
.
.