The Boy They Tried to Sacrifice

He hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Lyon left through the Floo Network, while Matthew dragged his large bags upstairs to the room that had just been arranged for him on the second floor.

Dinner time had already passed. Matthew quickly ordered some food, ate in his room, and began organizing the day's purchases.

He put away his uniform robes, and stored items like the cauldron, telescope, and scales in their proper places, leaving them unopened for now.

What remained were the textbooks.

He picked up the one he was most interested in—The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1—intending to begin learning his first magic spell by following the instructions inside.

Matthew remembered that before enrolling at Hogwarts, students were not yet restricted from using magic.

In the original story, Hermione had practiced spells at home, and when she boarded the train, she even repaired Harry Potter's glasses.

This suggested that his wand hadn't been Traced yet.

Matthew had a reasonable suspicion that the Trace was only added once the student's information was formally registered at Hogwarts.

That meant he still had a short window to take full advantage of this opportunity to learn magic freely.

He drew the heavy curtains shut, opened The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and saw that the first recorded spell was the Wand-Lighting Charm.

He pulled out his wand and followed the book's guidance to begin casting.

He memorized the incantation and gestures, keeping his tone steady and pacing consistent as instructed.

Matthew quickly chanted the spell: "Lumos."

Instantly, as his magic surged, the tip of his wand emitted a pure white light that flickered unsteadily.

He had succeeded on his first try!

Delight filled him at once. Matthew was certain that even without Odin's Insight, his innate magical talent was quite good.

But what he hadn't expected was the return of the emotionless mechanical voice:

You have learned the Wand-Lighting Charm. Due to your Odin's Insight, you have mastered an advanced casting method for the Wand-Lighting Charm.

You have comprehended a portion of the Light Law.

Even though he already believed he was exceptional without relying on Odin's Insight, this was undeniable proof that he possessed something extraordinary.

I really am amazing!

Matthew couldn't help but praise himself inwardly.

He noticed a glowing structure taking shape in his mind—on closer inspection, it was the spell model for the Wand-Lighting Charm.

He set down his wand and, with a single thought, activated the spell model using his magic.

Immediately, a wandless and non-verbal Lighting Charm was cast effortlessly.

What surprised him even more was that the spell's form had changed. It had transformed into a small, condensed orb of white light.

The orb of light hovered at the tip of his index finger, and Matthew found he could control it with ease.

He gave a flick of his finger, and the orb shot out rapidly.

Guiding it to circle midair, Matthew triggered its detonation with a thought.

pOp!

A soft, nearly imperceptible explosion sounded.

In the next instant, the entire room was engulfed in a blinding white light. For a moment, everything around him vanished into that radiance.

Matthew instinctively shut his eyes, but the searing brightness still pierced through, stinging like needles.

He immediately lowered his head and covered his eyes tightly with both hands.

Merlin's beard, is this really still the Lighting Charm?

The power was way too much!

By all logic, a spell cast non-verbally and wandlessly should be weaker than one performed with both wand and incantation.

Even the most gifted Wizards typically have to practice extensively just to replicate wand-cast effects through advanced casting.

But the effect Matthew had just produced had clearly exceeded the normal limits of the Wand-Lighting Charm.

That was practically a magical flashbang.

The spell's light lingered for a moment before gradually fading. Matthew's eyes were streaming with involuntary tears from the strain.

If he hadn't drawn the heavy curtains beforehand, that blinding burst of white light would have easily stirred panic outside and drawn all kinds of trouble.

Wiping his eyes, Matthew sat back and pulled up his data panel.

...

World Laws:

Alchemy Laws (Not mastered), Light Law (Not mastered)

Origin Law: None

...

A new entry, Light Law, had appeared under World Laws, though it remained in an unmastered state and didn't provide any further details.

Comprehending just a portion yet not fully mastering it made sense.

But the information below was what truly lifted Matthew's mood:

...

World Rejection: 0.8%

(Description: Your invasion has been detected by the world. Your intrusion has been temporarily thwarted by the world's origin. The world holds a mild rejection toward you.

Note: At 10% rejection, you will be expelled from this world's crystal wall.

At 30%, you will be obliterated by the origin grey mist.)

...

The rejection level had dropped again.

It was settled—this world still cared for him.

The "advanced casting method" noted in the panel prompt likely referred to non-verbal and wandless casting.

As for the unexpectedly powerful effect, it could definitely be attributed to his partial comprehension of the Light Law.

It seemed the influence of Laws on magic was far more intricate—and potent—than he had anticipated.

If merely grasping a fraction of the Light Law could amplify the Lighting Charm to such an extent, what would happen if he fully mastered it?

At that moment, intense fatigue washed over him, and a sharp throbbing spread across his temples.

The discomfort that had been masked by excitement now made itself known all at once.

Feeling his magic reserves completely drained, Matthew realized these were the signs of magical exhaustion.

The flashbang was indeed impressive—but the cost had been steep.

He turned his attention to the spell model in his mind. As the foundational spell for most beginner Wizards, the Lighting Charm wasn't particularly complex. Its structure appeared relatively simple.

In Matthew's perception, it resembled a three-dimensional pyramid formed by glowing lines and nodes of various thicknesses.

Looking more closely, he noticed that some of the glowing lines bore tiny inscriptions. He had a strong sense that these were intimately tied to the Light Law.

What if the core remained unchanged, but the pyramid was inverted?

The idea struck him like lightning. Matthew began to mentally replicate the pyramid, this time turning it upside down. As he did so, he generated the same points and lines, methodically connecting them one by one.

Finally, he connected the upper and lower parts in reverse.

Before long, an inverted pyramid—completely mirroring the upright one beside it—was fully formed.

The entire process had gone astonishingly smoothly, without the slightest resistance.

However, when Matthew came back to his senses, he realized it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Did I transmigrate again?

He had only duplicated and constructed a new structure, something that felt like it had taken mere moments, yet an entire day had passed in the outside world.

Apart from the rumbling in his stomach, Matthew also noticed that his magical reserves had fully recovered—and his total magic capacity had even slightly increased.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided to test the new spell model.

He carefully guided a wisp of magic into the newly constructed structure...

Nothing happened.

Matthew blinked, confused. There was no response at all.