The quiet atmosphere of the library made Ivan silently thank Madam Pince. The rule against loud noises was truly necessary.

  As a beginner’s guide to Transfiguration theory, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration wasn’t particurly difficult, but its thick pages meant it wasn’t something one could finish in a short sitting.

  An hour passed in the blink of an eye. Ivan had barely made it through a little over a third of the book. After considering his pace, he decided to press on. By the time he finally finished reading the entire book, another hour and a half had slipped by.

  Reading continuously for more than two hours left his head feeling somewhat sluggish.

  These old magical texts had a peculiar fondness for using cryptic and convoluted words, as if their obscurity somehow added to the mystique of magic itself. Ivan, who was more accustomed to modern literature, found it rather frustrating.

  "Maybe this is just how wizards are," Ivan muttered to himself, wondering if this abstract way of thinking was an innate talent exclusive to them.

  Because he certainly couldn’t wrap his head around it!

  [Ding! After a period of focused reading, you find A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration tedious, obscure, and difficult to understand. Your Transfiguration proficiency has slightly increased.]

  [Note: Reading Progress – 27%]

  The system notification in his mind caught Ivan off guard. He hadn’t received any prompts while reading his textbooks in css before.

  Did he have to finish the book entirely for it to count?

  A sudden realization dawned upon him—he had never actually read any magical textbook from cover to cover before. That must be the difference.

  Now that he had a theory, Ivan shifted his focus to something else—namely, the system’s utterly game-like notification tone.

  Honestly, calling the book "tedious, obscure, and difficult to understand" seemed a bit excessive. Sure, there were parts he hadn’t fully grasped, but it wasn’t that incomprehensible, was it?

  As for the 27% reading progress... well, that made sense.

  Anyone who has read a book knows that simply finishing it doesn’t mean you’ve memorized everything or can use the knowledge fluently. If that were the case, everyone would ace their exams.

  "Time to see how strong this ‘Schor Mode’ really is," Ivan muttered under his breath before spending 100 points to redeem the Schor Mode experience card.

  [Remaining Time: 00:59:59]

  In an instant, it felt as if something had exploded in his brain. All the knowledge he had recently studied, all the books he had read, surged forth in an overwhelming tide, only to be systematically categorized and reorganized within seconds. His thoughts became crystal clear.

  It was like upgrading from a sluggish, outdated computer to the test high-speed model.

  A minute ter, Ivan opened his eyes. His right hand brushed over the cover of A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. He hadn’t even flipped it open yet, but the contents he had read earlier surfaced effortlessly in his mind.

  Words that had once seemed vague and enigmatic now made perfect sense in context.

  As a textbook approved for Hogwarts students, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration had no doubt been revised multiple times to ensure it was concise and digestible—at least, for wizards.

  When Ivan reopened the book to review, he realized he had already grasped most of its content. All that remained was to go over the sections he had skimmed or struggled with before.

  Page three, Chapter Two, page seven, Chapter Thirteen...

  Ivan’s fingers flicked rapidly through the pages, while the reading progress indicator in his mind shot up at an astonishing speed.

  In just twenty minutes, he had re-read and fully absorbed the entire book.

  [Ding! After a period of focused reading, you find A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration clear, straightforward, and utterly cking in challenge. Your Transfiguration proficiency has increased significantly.]

  [Reading Progress: 100%]

  [Reward: 5 Academic Points]

  [Transfiguration has reached Level 1. Current Proficiency: 12,200. Reward: 5 Academic Points]

  The moment Ivan put the book down, two system notifications rang in his mind.

  Notably, despite leveling up in Transfiguration, he didn’t feel any dramatic change. There was no golden glow, no fshy effects, and certainly no sudden surge of power.

  However, after fully understanding the principles of Transfiguration, Ivan felt confident that casting the spell was no longer an issue. At the very least, turning a matchstick into a needle would be as easy as breathing.

  Even the unreliable wand he held wouldn’t hinder him much—at worst, the effect would be slightly weaker.

  Just as he had suspected, skill proficiency didn’t directly enhance his magical abilities; rather, it reflected his actual level of mastery in a quantified form.

  Seeing that the Schor Mode had about thirty-seven minutes left, Ivan wasted no time. He sprinted to the bookshelves, grabbed the nearest tome—A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Charms—and immediately began reading.

  The moment he picked it up, he realized it was even thicker than expected. It covered expnations of commonly used spells, as well as theories on the structure of magic itself.

  Ordinarily, Ivan would have found such a dry theoretical text incredibly boring. But right now? He was fully engrossed, so much so that he even ignored the system notifications chiming in his mind. He was utterly immersed in the sea of knowledge.

  However, halfway through the book, his expression suddenly changed.

  It was as if his once-clear mind had been veiled in fog. His stream of thoughts, which had been flowing effortlessly, was suddenly blocked.

  It felt like... getting startled while relieving oneself, forcing one to stop midstream.

  Wait—did I just get dumber?

  Ivan stared bnkly at the dense text of A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Charms, momentarily struggling to adjust to his sudden drop in cognitive ability.

  It took him a while of standing there in a daze before he finally reacted. Rubbing his slightly dizzy head, he gnced at the system timer—his Schor Mode had expired.

  He looked down at the half-finished book, unwilling to stop. He flipped to the next page, but the remaining half of the text now seemed far more difficult to comprehend. His reading speed plummeted.

  The stark contrast made it unbearable.

  After struggling through just a few more pages, Ivan let out a defeated sigh and closed the book.

  One hour of Schor Mode had given him a profound appreciation for its terrifying power.

  It wasn’t just about boosting reading speed. It enhanced comprehension, analytical thinking, and problem-solving—essentially transforming an average student into an academic genius, or even a prodigy.

  With this buff, there was no such thing as an incomprehensible subject.

  All he had to do was read, and knowledge would be his.

  <><><><><>

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