In the magical world, bookstores often employ magic circles to regulate temperature and humidity. The bookstore Ryan and Hermione visited that day was no exception. They spent a pleasant afternoon enjoying the cool air and browsing books, and before they knew it, it was already 3:30 p.m.
Fortunately, each of them had purchased several books—spending a few Galleons in the process—so the clerk didn't glare at them for loitering in the air-conditioned shop.
With shopping bags in hand, Ryan headed to the post office. There, he carefully packaged and sent out the gifts he had picked earlier that morning for his friends.
On their way to the dock, Ryan turned to Hermione and asked curiously, "Most of the books you bought are in Spanish, and one's in Portuguese. Are you sure you'll be able to read them?"
Hermione smiled. "Well, since we usually take turns reading books, I can always ask you for help if I don't understand something."
Chatting and laughing, the two made their way to the dock, where Professor Sprout was already waiting. Judging by her cheerful expression, she had likely found some interesting things in town. By 4:00 p.m., all the students had gathered. After confirming the headcount, everyone boarded the boat for the return trip to school.
Thanks to the enchantments on the vessel, the boat sped rapidly upstream. Occasionally, it even lifted slightly out of the water, bouncing along the river like a salmon in mid-migration.
However, this exciting mode of travel wasn't exactly pleasant for everyone. By the time they arrived back at the school dock, many students stepped off with pale faces and wobbly legs. A fourth-year Hufflepuff boy even vomited the moment he disembarked, clutching a wooden post for balance. Ryan quickly grabbed him from behind, preventing him from collapsing outright.
As the canoes docked one by one, the returning students brought a renewed sense of energy to campus. Excited chatter filled the air as they showed off their purchases and shared stories from their day trip.
Ryan and his classmates joined in, though the boys were quick to clean themselves up, while the girls rushed back to the dormitory for showers. That left only a few boys lounging in the common room of their carriage-style dormitory.
It was during this casual conversation that Ryan learned something interesting—their practical fieldwork classes would be collectively arranged about a week before Christmas. That meant he still had some time to make preparations.
Today's strange arrangement by the store owner had left Ryan slightly unsettled. It felt like something was brewing beneath the surface. Given that, it couldn't hurt to prepare more thoroughly.
So later that night, Ryan visited Uncle Jiu again. Their meeting took place in the charity cemetery, where they discussed spiritual cultivation. From Uncle Jiu, Ryan learned that the world's situation had stopped deteriorating and had even begun moving in a more positive direction. Thanks to the ample supply of sunlight crystals, practitioners had gained the upper hand in their ongoing battle against demons. With cultivation resources now abundant, many sects had reopened their doors to new disciples. As a result, Uncle Jiu's standing within the Maoshan Sect had risen significantly.
During Ryan's last visit, Uncle Jiu had asked if he could bring along some materials about Western magical practices. So this time, Ryan came well-prepared. He brought with him translated textbooks from both Hogwarts and Castrobrushe, as well as a detailed volume on ancient Nordic runes and their practical applications. These translations had taken a great deal of time and effort to complete, and only now were they ready to be handed over.
Curious, Ryan asked why Uncle Jiu, a Taoist practitioner, was so interested in studying magic from a completely different tradition.
Uncle Jiu responded solemnly, "Learning from others is also a form of cultivation. I'll have the crane take these back to Maoshan to see what insights we can gain."
Indeed, a true cultivator maintains humility and a willingness to learn throughout life. Reflecting on this, Ryan realized how his pride in recently mastering the Thunder Method had started to fade. There was always more to learn.
Ryan stayed at the cemetery for the next few days, diligently seeking guidance from Uncle Jiu to advance his cultivation.
Only after resolving all his current concerns did Ryan return to the Wanjie Grocery Store. Upon his arrival, he found messages waiting for him from both the Plants vs. Zombies world and the Fallout world. They had prepared the exchange items discussed during their last communication.
Taking advantage of his presence at the store, Ryan facilitated the transaction between the two worlds. He handed over newly cultivated marigolds—plants capable of targeted metal absorption—to the Fallout world to accelerate their ruins reclamation efforts. In return, he gave a batch of mechanical and electronic equipment from the Fallout world to the Plants vs. Zombies world. Their world, plagued by a distorted technological development, was struggling to produce these items in large quantities, yet their growing population made them urgently needed.
By the end of this hectic day, Ryan had finally taken care of everything and returned to his dormitory bed. Though exhausted, he felt fulfilled. All the effort he'd put in hadn't been for nothing; he sensed that he had earned considerable merit from these deeds.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. Other people had systems that would immediately reward them with strength and resources after completing a task. His own system, on the other hand, felt almost fake—offering little in the way of direct benefits and requiring significant effort just to make progress.
Muttering complaints to himself, Ryan closed his eyes. But he was quickly cheered up by a realization: the cultivation barriers that would normally take him three to four months to break through might actually be resolved within the week, thanks to Uncle Jiu's guidance. That meant his strength would soon see a notable improvement.
This experience had taught him a valuable lesson: it wasn't enough to rely on personal hard work and diligence. One also had to leverage every available resource. Having a mentor like Uncle Jiu and not seeking help when needed would be a wasted opportunity.
With his thoughts organized and lessons learned, Ryan drifted off to sleep.
When he awoke the next morning, he discovered a pile of gifts at the foot of his bed. That's when he realized it was the end of his second month in South America—Halloween was just around the corner.
These presents were likely sent early by his friends back in the UK, knowing how unreliable transatlantic owl post could be.
Castrobrusso, nestled deep within the Amazon rainforest, maintained temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius year-round. The dense greenery remained lush and vibrant, in stark contrast to Hogwarts, where snowflakes were probably already drifting from the sky. This environmental difference contributed to the lack of a festive Halloween atmosphere here. It wasn't until he saw the gifts that Ryan felt the holiday spirit stir.
This year's Halloween presents weren't too different from previous years, though one thing stood out—the Weasley twins had sent a large assortment of snacks and candies. Written in large, looping letters were the words "Trial Products." Apparently, the data Ryan had given them last time had significantly advanced their research.
Amused, Ryan decided to send these experimental items to the Fallout world, where the academy had the right people and technology to safely analyze the effects of consuming them.
With that done, Ryan freshened up and joined everyone else in heading to the auditorium for breakfast.
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