Ivy Doom stared at his attribute panel on the first page of the Book of Destruction, feeling that this was all absurd.
When he first arrived in this world, he had been using his character from his game save file. At that time, no cheats were active.
Even when he fought Ranrok's dragon, there were no cheats involved.
But now, after being sealed in an ancient magic crystal for a hundred years, the cheats had finally appeared?
That was too strange and completely illogical!
If Ivy had to come up with a reason, the only thing he could think of was Harry Potter.
He and Ivy had both received their acceptance letters to Hogwarts on the same day, stepping into their respective destinies at a small seaside cottage.
With the established storyline in motion, that was when the cheats appeared by his side.
If fate existed, Ivy would raise his middle finger to it.
But what use was pondering this? Ivy hadn't even met this "Boy Who Lived," Voldemort's destined adversary.
However, he was certain that no matter how powerful Voldemort was, he would never be a match for Ivy.
After all, even the dragon-like Ranrok, who could easily alter terrain, had fallen into Ivy's hands. How could a bald man with a little wooden stick, shooting green lasers, possibly be the greatest dark wizard in the world?
That said, his body still hadn't fully grown, and there were still many secrets at Hogwarts to uncover. Ivy wasn't about to expose himself to Dumbledore's watchful eyes just yet, which was why he had destroyed the wand he used for casting Dark Magic.
Now, with the Book of Destruction in his hands, Ivy knew he had new secrets to explore.
Everything was about to begin with the Book of Destruction!
He stared at his body's attributes.
Strength: 6 (Underage penalty -2)
Agility: 8 (Underage penalty -2)
Constitution: 10 (Underage penalty -2)
Intelligence: 15 (Race bonus +1)
Perception: 14 (Race bonus +1)
Charisma: 17 (Race bonus +2)
After removing the underage penalty and race bonuses, the numbers from highest to lowest were 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8.
Ivy was quite familiar with these numbers, as they closely resembled the standard character attributes from Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a tabletop role-playing game with a massive world view that attracted countless players in various ways.
To play a D&D game, the most important first step is creating a character.
You design their appearance, race, background, and past experiences, and then choose their class and attributes.
There are three primary methods to assign character attributes: rolling the dice (which depends on luck), distributing fixed numbers, or using the 27-point-buy system.
Each method has its merits. Rolling the dice is the most dependent on luck, but also the most fun, as it adds an element of randomness. Typically, just moving for attributes is enough to make everyone laugh around the table.
Why laugh? Because everyone loves to mock the poor soul who ends up with the lowest total attribute score. What else could it be?
In this method, you roll four six-sided dice and take the sum of the three highest rolls to assign to one attribute. The best possible outcome is 18, and the worst is 3. But generally, if you roll over 12, it's considered a win.
Back on Earth, Ivy loved to use this method to determine his character attributes, especially because he once rolled an incredible set of numbers. It included three 18s, a 15, a 14, and a 12.
It was almost a perfect, balanced character! This meant his character was very versatile and capable of a wide range of possibilities.
As a result, in that game, Ivy controlled this versatile character, sweeping through battles like a legend. But ironically, the hero eventually perished in a humble trap, bringing an end to his not-so-legendary life. Yet, this was the true charm of D&D—the journey was far more fun than the destination. At least Ivy had enjoyed playing that character.
The second method, the fixed number distribution, assigns the six numbers 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 to the six attributes. This method provides the most balanced and mediocre attribute distribution, which is exactly what Ivy's current attributes reflect.
As for the final method, the 27-point buy system, it allows you to create characters with extreme strengths and weaknesses. It's commonly used in video games. This method is often used to ensure the team can handle most challenges by balancing the strengths of the characters.
Though Ivy didn't get to use his preferred "lucky dice roll" method, his current attributes were still acceptable. The most important thing was that his primary attribute, Charisma, was high enough to support his spellcasting abilities as a wizard.
In the D&D world, spellcasters are limited by their spell slots. They can only cast spells up to the total number of available spell slots for the day, unlike wizards in the Harry Potter world, who can cast spells at will, or video game mages who rely on a mana bar.
While Ivy was still in the world of Harry Potter's magic, the attribute panel provided by the Book of Destruction opened up a new path for him. Maybe, one day, he could become as legendary as the mages from the D&D world, living forever and even gaining powers akin to that of deities.
The last section of the attribute panel, the Expertise section, was still labeled "To Be Chosen!"
In the D&D world, certain feats come with attribute bonuses!
Additionally, Ivy's unique trait—Perfect Part-Time Jobs—meant that he could gain nearly infinite expertise options. As long as he had enough time, he was sure to become a perfectly balanced "water bucket" character in the future!
Ivy tried extending his finger and pointing at the Expertise section. As expected, a list of options expanded before him.
Confidently, he tapped on one and selected his first feat—Spellcasting Without Material Components.
For many D&D spells, certain materials are needed to cast them.
For example, the first-level Chromatic Orb requires sand or dust, including the three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue. More advanced spells require even more components. While this feat can't negate the monetary costs of spellcasting, it can reduce the tedious preparation of materials.
Of course, there was another important point. Back in the day, Ivy had read many novels on a Chinese web platform that were set in the D&D world. The protagonists, often time travelers, frequently chose this feat as a tradition.
Just as Ivy was about to select his second feat, he suddenly realized that he hadn't yet chosen any D&D class background.
The current level 15 Wizard and level 10 Ancient Magic Wizard were just placeholders within the attribute panel's broader framework, but he wasn't a D&D spellcaster yet.
Thus, the feats he had chosen wouldn't be of much use. Even the attribute bonuses might not be entirely effective, so there was no reason for him to rush into selecting feats! At the very least, he would need to have a first-level spellcasting class, right?