NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Level Up
******New feature has been unlocked: ●Special Points Shop: Spells●
Activation condition: Experience/Witness different types of spells.
The spells you will witness and experience will be added to the shop. You may use them directly without going through the process of learning.
□Note: Not every spell will be added to the shop. Some spells need to be learned on your own.
You can buy them with special points.
Price will vary based on difficulty, versatility, level of power, and influence on the world.
Spells bought from the special points shop can be directly used and are nearly instantaneous.******
The notification that appeared before Adam left him breathless, his heart pounding in his chest. For a moment, he simply stared at it, trying to grasp what this meant. When he finally gathered himself, his hands trembled as he quickly opened the spell section in the special points shop, eager to see what awaited him. As the new screen appeared, a broad smile spread across his face.
Spells:
• Wand-Lighting Charm: 1000 SP
• Water Making Charm: 10000 SP
• Levitation Charm: 15000 SP
• Repairing/Mending Charm: 50000 SP
Note: A wand is required to use the spells, unless the user learns wandless magic.
SP: Special Points
Seeing the list of spells, Adam's excitement grew. Professor McGonagall had demonstrated each of these spells in front of him and his parents, and now, here they were in his system shop. It was almost too good to be true—magic at his fingertips. He could already imagine himself casting them. He nearly bought one on the spot, just to feel that rush of magic coursing through him.
But then, he paused.
A wand is required.
Adam's excitement wavered. He didn't have a wand yet. His fingers hovered over the purchase button for the Wand-Lighting Charm, but after a moment, he frowned.
"1000 SP for this? It's such an easy spell. I could learn it myself and earn the rewards instead."
He glanced at his current special points and gold. Spending on such a basic spell felt like a waste, especially since he knew that learning spells on his own would bring him greater rewards. No, it was better to save his points for something more valuable later on.
He opened his status window to take stock of his resources.
Gold: 100
Special points: 4200
Tasks:
• Receive the letter of admission from Hogwarts and send affirmative reply.
Reward: 500 Special points. 100 Gold
(Completed)
• Visit Diagon Alley and explore 5 places/shops.
Reward: 2000 Special points and 200 gold per shop.
• Learn different types of magic. (Permanent task)
Reward: 1000 Special points and 200 gold per spell. (Rewards vary according to the difficulty of the spell. Learning spells before entering Hogwarts will give ten times the reward.)
• Read books about magical mysteries. (Permanent task)
Reward: Special points and gold according to difficulty and information level of books.
The first task was already completed, and he had earned a small reward. Adam felt a sense of accomplishment—it wasn't much, but it was a start. However, the other tasks still weighed on him. He hadn't had the chance to visit Diagon Alley yet, and without a wand, learning magic before Hogwarts would be a challenge.
He sighed, remembering the rusty swords he had bought during his early explorations in secret spaces. That had been a mistake; without the item box, he couldn't even bring them back, and the gold spent was wasted. Yet, the experience hadn't been entirely useless. Battling in those spaces had helped him level up, and now his physical strength was well beyond that of a normal 11-year-old. At level 3, he was as strong as a teenager, and the thought of growing even stronger excited him.
"If I keep leveling up, I might be as strong as an adult soon." A small smile crept onto his face. "Maybe even a superhuman."
He couldn't use spells yet, but his growing strength was a comfort. Shaking off the frustration, Adam turned his attention to the map section of his system. The map displayed five secret spaces nearby, but not all of them were safe. Three of the spaces glowed red, one pulsed ominously in black, and only one was green.
The red spaces were dangerous, far beyond his current abilities. Adam had always avoided them—his second life was far too precious to risk on something he wasn't ready for. But the black space... it was new. It was near his school, and he had heard rumors about people going missing in that area recently. Three disappearances that he knew of, maybe more. Seeing that space turn black unsettled him. It felt like a warning.
"What does it mean when a space turns black?" Adam wondered, feeling a chill crawl up his spine. "It looks more dangerous than the red ones... Should I avoid it? Or explore it when I'm stronger?"
Before he could think further, the black space suddenly vanished from the map.
Adam blinked, startled. Red spaces had disappeared before, but this was the first time a black one had done so. Why? Did it turn black because it was about to disappear? Or was there something else going on?
"Maybe it was about to expire... Or something dangerous happened."
He frowned, a sense of unease gnawing at him. Whatever the reason, the sudden disappearance of the black space felt ominous. He decided to push the thought aside for now. There was no point worrying about it when he had other matters to attend to.
Adam's attention shifted to the green space on the map. Green spaces were safe, and the previous ones he had explored had been easy to clear. Weak and sickly goblins, some with amputated limbs—nothing that posed a real threat to him. Clearing them had helped him level up twice, and with another green space nearby, he felt confident that he could reach level 4 soon.
"If I clear this one, I should level up again," Adam muttered to himself, his excitement slowly returning. Even though he couldn't use magic yet, leveling up was its own reward.
But as he decided to prepare and visit this space in upcoming days, his thoughts returned to the black space. The memory of its eerie pulsing lingered in the back of his mind.
"Maybe I should visit one when I see it next time. I won't enter but I should see if there is anything that needs to be paid attention." Adam thought to himself.
The next two weeks passed in a blur for Adam. He spent most of his time exploring the secret spaces around his neighborhood, occasionally fighting goblins or walking through eerily quiet forests. The thrill of leveling up kept him motivated, though not every space was as exciting as he hoped.
The first secret space he visited after discovering it was marked green on his map, signaling that it was safe. Yet, as Adam entered the space, he couldn't shake off the nervousness that prickled at the back of his neck. The forest around him was dense and quiet—too quiet. The thick trees loomed overhead, their branches twisting like skeletal fingers. The deeper he walked, the more it felt like the forest was watching him. Adam's heart pounded as he continued, gripping the normal short sword he had managed to buy with all of his gold. He used it all to get a better sword since he had already unlocked item box and could easily take that sword back with him, without having it appear in front of his parents which previously forced him to leave his rusty sword behind.
Minutes passed, and despite his unease, he didn't encounter much of anything. Eventually, a couple of goblins appeared—small, green-skinned creatures with sharp teeth and mischievous eyes. They weren't sick like the ones he had faced before, but they didn't seem particularly strong either. Adam's grip on the sword tightened as the goblins charged. A quick swing of his blade, combined with a few well-timed dodges, was all it took to defeat them. The fight was over before it even began. He didn't even break a sweat.
"That was easier than I thought," Adam muttered to himself as the goblins disappeared into a faint mist, leaving behind a faint shimmer of gold that was absorbed into his system. "Guess I'm getting stronger."
Adam also noticed that after his shop was unlocked, now killing those goblins actually gave him 5 gold, which was not alot but it would still help him get his money back from using all 100 gold for iron short sword.
Despite the empty forest and the lack of real danger, Adam couldn't help but feel a little unsettled by how desolate the space was. The goblins were weak, and the space was too quiet—like it was hiding something. Yet, no matter how far he wandered, he found nothing else. It was just him, the trees, and the unnerving silence.
The next two spaces he explored were similar, almost identical in their atmosphere. These spaces appeared later next week after the first one he had completed. One forest was even more barren than the last, with only a single goblin roaming around. It didn't even put up much of a fight before Adam defeated it. Again, he felt that strange sensation, like something was missing. The lack of challenge left him feeling unsatisfied, though his system told him otherwise. Each time he cleared a space, his experience grew, but still unable to reach level 4 after clearing 2 secret spaces since there only 3 goblins in total in these two secret spaces. Only after the third secret space was cleared that Adam finally reached level 4. He was happy that he found a secret space with quite a few sickly, weak goblins, some with even amputated limbs.
With this new level came an improvement Adam hadn't expected. Before, after practicing magic at night, Adam would be left exhausted, often passing out before he could make any real progress. But now, after reaching Level 4, he noticed a significant change. His control over his magic had improved. He no longer felt the overwhelming fatigue after practicing, and though the magic was still difficult to master, he could feel it flowing more naturally through him.
It was during these nights that Adam focused on learning "muggle magic," just like his mother. Without a wand, he couldn't practice wizard spells, but that didn't stop him from trying to create fire. Every night, before going to bed, Adam would sit on the floor of his bedroom to avoid burning his bed, his palms extended in front of him, concentrating on producing even the smallest spark of flame. At first, it was frustrating—tiny sparks would fizzle out almost as soon as they appeared, flickering for a second before vanishing into nothing. But as the days went on, Adam noticed improvement.
On the first day, it was just a flicker of light—barely noticeable. But by the end of the second week, he had managed to conjure a tiny flame, no bigger than a matchstick's fire. It was small, almost laughable compared to the fireballs he had dreamed of creating, but to Adam, it was a victory. He stared at the tiny flame in his hand, a proud smile tugging at his lips.
"It's not much, but it's something," Adam whispered, watching the flame dance for a moment before extinguishing it with a flick of his fingers. "I'm getting closer."
In between his adventures in the secret spaces and his nightly magic practice, Adam also found time to spend with his parents. They went out to eat at local restaurants, watched movies together on the weekends, and even did some gardening in the backyard. Adam knew that he couldn't enjoy all this once he goes to Hogwarts so he made most of the time he had in present. It was during one of these quiet afternoons, while planting flowers with his mother, that Adam brought up the subject of Hogwarts supplies with his father.
Sitting at the dining table that evening, Adam looked across at his dad, George, who was reading the newspaper. Clearing his throat, Adam decided now was the time.
"Dad," Adam started, trying to sound as casual as possible, "I've been thinking… I'll need money for my Hogwarts supplies, won't I? There's a lot to buy—robes, books, a wand."
George glanced up from his newspaper, his expression thoughtful. "You're right. We'll have to withdraw some money from the savings we've been putting aside for your future schooling."
Adam felt a pang of guilt, knowing that the money his parents had saved was meant for regular school, not a magical one. But George didn't seem too concerned. He set the paper aside and smiled reassuringly at Adam.
"Don't worry about it. We've been saving for years, also stocks you told to invest in are doing quite good, you know. And this is important. I'll make sure you have everything you need."
That eased Adam's mind a little. His dad's calm confidence made him feel more secure about the whole situation. With the money issue out of the way, all Adam had to do now was wait for the next step.
That next step came faster than he expected.
It was early morning, exactly two weeks after Adam had first received his letter from Hogwarts. He had just finished breakfast when an owl tapped on the window, a familiar-looking letter clutched in its beak. Adam's heart raced as he rushed to the window and opened it, taking the letter from the bird's claws. As soon as he saw the writing on the envelope, his excitement flared.
"It's from Professor McGonagall," Adam thought, tearing open the envelope.
The letter was brief but to the point.
Dear Adam,
I trust you and your family are well. I will be arriving tomorrow morning to escort you to Diagon Alley, where you will be able to purchase your school supplies. Please be ready by 9 a.m. I look forward to meeting you again.
Best regards,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Adam stared at the letter, his hands trembling slightly with excitement. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was finally going to Diagon Alley. The place he had dreamed of for so long. He could hardly believe it.
"I'm really going," Adam whispered, a huge grin spreading across his face.
He dashed out of the room to find his parents, eager to tell them the news. Tomorrow was going to be the start of something amazing.