https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-4-Diagon-Alley-and-an-Unexpected-Acquaintance/13453180/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-6-The-Journey-Begins-at-Platform-Nine-and-Three-Quarters/13453182/
Chapter 5: Wand and the Emporium's First Customer (Revised)
Chapter 5: Wand and the Emporium's First Customer (Revised)
After a few pleasantries, Hermione chose her wand and ran over from the counter: "Dad, look, I have a wand now." Then she saw Liam and asked, a bit surprised, "Liam? Are you going to Hogwarts too?"
"Yes."
At this moment, Mr. Granger and Mr. Lambert had finished their greetings and pulled Hermione aside: "There's still a long list of things to buy, so I think we need to hurry." They then said their goodbyes to Liam and his father and left the wand shop.
After bidding farewell to the Grangers, Liam approached the counter. He noticed a lively-looking old man standing behind it, who must have been Mr. Ollivander. He had pale eyes that glowed like moons in the dimly lit shop.
"Hello, I'm Layne Liang. I'm starting at Hogwarts this year and need a wand", Liam said, a bit nervously.
"Ah, a new student. Let me see what kind of wand suits you", Mr. Ollivander said, pulling out a tape measure from his pocket. "Which arm do you use for your wand?"
"Um, I think it’s my right hand", Liam replied.
The tape measure, now resembling a vine, began to wrap around Liam, measuring every part of his body. While this was happening, Mr. Ollivander took some boxes from the shelves behind him. "Wands are not mass-produced; each one is unique. I need to test them to find the right match for their user."
The tape measure quickly finished measuring and coiled itself into a ball at Liam’s feet. "Mr. Liang, try this wand. It’s made of ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches long, and very flexible."
Liam gave it a wave, and a box suddenly flew off the shelf, nearly hitting him on the head.
It seemed the chance of getting it right on the first try wasn’t very high.
"Then try this one, holly and snake nerve, eleven inches long."
...
By the time they tested the seventh wand, as soon as Liam gripped the handle, a warm current surged through his body, and some Mars shot out from the tip of the wand.
"Ah, excellent, you and this wand are a perfect match", Mr. Ollivander said with a smile.
He placed the wand in a long box, wrapped it in brown paper, and continued, "Pine and phoenix feather, twelve inches long. It’s a wand that’s very particular about its owner, but you are very lucky."
After paying Mr. Ollivander eight Galleons, Liam and his father left the wand shop.
After a series of purchases, they had only about 70 Galleons left. Considering that Hogwarts provided meals and accommodation, this amount would be sufficient for school expenses.
Finally, they left the Leaky Cauldron and hailed a taxi, returning home with their many packages.
During afternoon tea, Mrs. Sally kept asking the two of them about their day. It took a great deal of effort to satisfy the boss of the house’s curiosity. While eating scones, Mr. Lambert asked Liam, "Do you think wizards have pens that can write novels on their own?"
Liam immediately thought of the reporter’s quill from his fifth year and said, "I think wizards can make their pens move, and there might even be pens that can automatically correct and edit. But a pen that can write novels on its own probably doesn’t exist." Mr. Lambert nodded, a bit disappointed.
...
During the rest of the holiday, Liam immersed himself in studying the numerous textbooks. Occasionally, he would meet Hermione at the nearby park or a fast-food restaurant to discuss the problems they encountered while reading. Honestly, Liam had considered keeping his distance from the main characters, but then he thought about it: as an eleven-year-old, starting to distance himself from the only familiar person who would be going to a strange place with him seemed suspicious. So, he decided to let things happen naturally.
Since this was the only time before adulthood when he could cast spells outside the magical world, Liam spent the past twenty days trying out every spell in his books. Unfortunately, only the simplest spells worked, proving that knowing the incantation wasn't enough—just like how reading a manual wouldn't make you a master of any art.
On the last night before heading to Hogwarts, Liam packed his bags and got ready to go to bed early. Suddenly, the System in his mind sent a notification.
A guest has arrived. Please prepare to receive them—
Liam immediately got up and tidied up. Then, he thought for a moment and decided to pack some of the extra magic Plant seeds and cultivation manuals he had bought in Diagon Alley into a bag before heading to the emporium.
When Liam entered the emporium, he found that it hadn't changed much since his last visit. The only difference was an additional glass bottle on the shelf next to the flower pots, containing a bunch of golden, sunflower-seed-sized crystals.
He picked up the bottle, and a wave of information flooded his mind.
—Sunlight Crystals, a specialty of the mini greenhouse. Each light-producing Plant generates one crystal every two hours. These can be used to accelerate Plant growth and provide sunlight.
—Usage: For catalysis, bury the crystal in the Plant's roots while ensuring adequate water and nutrients. To provide sunlight, dissolve the crystal in water to create the equivalent of midday equatorial sunlight within a five-meter radius for one hour. Alternatively, crushing the crystal will produce a burst of light five times brighter than sunlight for three seconds.
Previously, Liam had the System plant the new Plants in his yard. Since no one was living in the house, the Zombies weren't interested, so he planted Peashooters around the perimeter and alternated Sun-shrooms and Sunflowers in the rest of the yard. Now, the small yard was full, producing over a hundred Sunlight Crystals a day.
After reviewing the new item, Liam sat behind the counter and instructed the System to let the guest in. The air at the entrance distorted, and a middle-aged white man in a thick fur coat walked in, his shoulders covered in a thick layer of snow, as if he had just come from a frozen wasteland.
Once inside, the man, feeling a bit warm, unbuttoned his coat, revealing an elaborate Victorian-style suit underneath.
Seeing Liam behind the counter, he looked incredulous, hesitated for a moment, but then walked up to the counter with a serious expression. "Boy, my people and I are in dire straits. When we were about to give up, a voice guided me here. I hope fate hasn't played a cruel joke on me."
Liam replied, "Could you tell me more about your problem? I need to know the details to determine if I can help."
The middle-aged man began to describe his predicament, mentioning London, global cooling, steam cores, and Winterhome. Liam immediately recognized that this man was from the game "Frostpunk", specifically from Winterhome, the people who chose to leave on the Dreadnought after the energy towers exploded. Their journey had been more challenging than expected, leading to their current difficulties.
The man continued, "Our world suddenly entered a harsh ice age. The surviving humans formed settlements around steam energy towers to survive, relying on the heat and power they provided. However, our settlement's energy tower malfunctioned, forcing us to leave. This decision was right, as we saw the tower explode and be destroyed shortly after. Now, most of our survivors are on the Dreadnought, searching for a new place to settle, but we haven't found one yet, and our supplies are running low. I..."
At this point, the stoic man broke down, covering his face with his hands and crying. It was clear that the pressure of leadership was taking a toll on him.
Hearing this, Liam reached out and patted the man's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Then, he began to recommend the Plants he had. "I have three types of Plants that might help solve your problem."
The man looked up, his eyes filled with hope. "Really?"
"Of course, it's real", Liam said. "Two of these Plants can generate sunlight during the day and night, respectively, while the third can produce 7 to 10 adult-fist-sized Peas daily. Each Pea, when ground, can make enough Pea soup to sustain an adult for a day."
After hearing the detailed explanation, the middle-aged man was so excited that he grabbed Liam's hand and repeatedly thanked him. Once he calmed down a bit, Liam asked, "I require an equivalent exchange. What do you plan to offer in return?"
The man was taken aback. "We left Britain in a hurry and only brought survival supplies. We didn't bring any money."
Liam glanced at the valuation table provided by the System. "Your paper currency isn't useful to me. I accept a wide range of payment methods, from precious metals and materials to technology. I provided these Plants to save your lives. In return, you should offer something of similar value."
The man thought for a moment and said, "You give me the seedlings and cultivation techniques for these three Plants, and I will exchange them for our most critical technologies: the Difference Engine, the Energy Tower, and the robots."
"Deal. Although your technology tree is entirely different from mine, I can't see myself using it", Liam replied. As soon as he finished speaking, a spatial door appeared next to the man, and a golden light stream flowed out, forming a book on an empty shelf. The book had a golden cover with the title "Winter Home Industrial Manual" written on it.
After confirming the payment, Liam placed all the Plants, except the ones already planted, and the book into a bag and handed it to the middle-aged man. He also handed over the bottle filled with Sunlight Crystals. "The Plants need time to grow and reproduce. You can use these to help in the meantime."
The man's eyes welled up with tears, and he pulled out a beautiful golden pocket watch from his pocket, placing it in Liam's hand. "Thank you for your help. This is the most valuable thing I have, and I hope it can express my gratitude."
After saying this, he bowed to Liam, turned around, and left, dragging the large cloth bag containing the Plants.
At that moment, the System's voice rang out—
You have saved a city and altered its fate, earning 3 Deviation Points—
Deviation Points? What are these?
Liam looked at the System's display panel and noticed a new data category: Deviation Points. It turned out that every time his actions influenced the original fate of a world, he would earn Deviation Points based on the extent and the world's characteristics.
Deviation Points could be used to randomly open a portal to a world or to specifically open a portal to a world visited by a guest of the emporium. They could also be used to master powers. In the emporium, ordinary knowledge and information obtained through transactions could be freely implanted into Liam's mind. However, for Supernatural Powers, the more different they were from those in Liam's world, the more Deviation Points were required to learn them quickly.
For example, if Liam wanted to learn internal energy, just reading books and explanations would take time and luck. Using Deviation Points, he could instantly master it.
After understanding the use of Deviation Points, Liam opened a spatial door and traveled to the Plants vs. Zombies World to deliver the magical Plant seeds he had promised to Crazy Dave.
About ten minutes later, Liam reappeared in the emporium empty-handed. Dave had said he would decide the payment after confirming the seeds' usefulness, but fortunately, the System indicated that the seeds had inspired Dave's new Plant developments, earning Liam 1 Deviation Point.
After settling everything, Liam left the emporium and returned to his bed, waiting for the next day to arrive and his journey to Hogwarts to begin.
(End of Chapter)
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