Daniel looked the Hobbit over with a questioning gaze, as if being interrogated. "Hello, may I ask who you are?"
"I am Sheriff Robin Smallburrow, the Sheriff of Michel Delving," the Hobbit replied.
Daniel was a little surprised, not expecting to encounter a Hobbit police officer. "Hello, Sheriff Robin, I am Daniel. I just came from Hobbiton and plan to travel throughout the Shire."
"You are the Wizard Daniel?!"
"Huh? Sheriff, you know me?"
"Cough, the news of a Wizard arriving in Hobbiton has spread throughout the Shire. I didn't expect you to come to Michel Delving," the Sheriff explained after he recovered from his surprise.
After learning Daniel's identity, Sheriff Robin's attitude changed dramatically, and he enthusiastically welcomed him. Led by Sheriff Robin, Daniel arrived at the only inn in town, "The Bird and Baby Inn," to check in. Despite its somewhat strange name, the inn's height was a bit unfriendly to him; he could easily hit his head on the ceiling when standing upright. The bed was also small for him, so the innkeeper had to piece two beds together to allow him to stretch his legs and sleep comfortably.
"Hogwarts Sign-in System: Located in Shire - Michel Delving. Do you wish to sign in?" The system prompt appeared once again.
Daniel was overjoyed and quickly exclaimed, "Sign in!"
"Sign-in successful! Congratulations on obtaining the Hogwarts first-year Charms Class textbook, 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1'!"
An illusory spellbook appeared out of thin air, floating in front of Daniel. He found that the book would turn pages according to his will and eagerly opened it. The first-year Charms Class textbook contained five of the most basic and simple spells: Lumos, Levitation Charm, Incendio, Alohomora, and Reparo, none of which had any offensive power. However, Daniel was very satisfied. This was the first time he had encountered structured magic since his arrival in this world.
Before, he had only magic power and could only use the crudest methods to control objects with his magic. That looked similar to the Levitation Charm but was very mentally and magically draining. He couldn't be distracted during the control process and needed to focus completely to control the cleaver to attack. This meant that when controlling the cleaver against an enemy, he would be a clear, living target if he couldn't be distracted.
Magic, however, was different. It was like a stable anchor point. Aside from needing to concentrate at the moment of casting, once successfully cast, he only needed to focus on maintaining the output of magic power. It could be said that the magic effect was very stable.
Daniel quickly flipped through the spellbook, then began learning with the simplest spell, Lumos. After carefully and thoroughly reading and memorizing the principles of the spell, as well as the casting techniques and movements, Daniel began to attempt to cast the spell.
"Lumos!"
Since he didn't have a wand, Daniel simply mimicked the wand-waving motion with his hand. The first attempt was unsuccessful. Daniel was not disappointed. After all, even the simplest spell, if cast without a wand, was considered wandless casting. Wandless casting is a very advanced technique. Besides a few powerful Wizards who can master it, ordinary Wizards can't even perform silent casting, let alone wandless casting. Therefore, most Wizards in the magical world, once they don't have a wand, aren't much stronger than a Muggle.
Under Daniel's persistent efforts, a faint light appeared at his fingertip. Although it was just a tiny glow like a firefly's and quickly extinguished, it invigorated Daniel and gave him more hope. "Lumos!" Perhaps motivated by the success, after chanting the spell again, a white light flickered at the tip of Daniel's index finger, like a candlelight, illuminating his joyful smile.
The next day, Sheriff Robin proactively invited Daniel to visit various attractions in Michel Delving. They visited the Municipal Hole where the city government worked, and Daniel even received a warm reception from the Mayor of the Shire. Unlike the outside world, the Shire had very loose governance and management, adhering to ancient laws. Basically, every town and village was self-governing, with Hobbits voluntarily fulfilling their duties. The Mayor was mainly responsible for holding banquets, managing the post office, and maintaining public order, and was elected every seven years.
After visiting the Municipal Hole, Sheriff Robin took him to the Mathom-house—the Shire's museum. "Mathom" in Shire Hobbit slang means useless, so the Mathom-house collected objects that Hobbits considered useless to keep but too valuable to discard.
However, when Daniel arrived at this Hobbit museum, he was greatly surprised. Among the objects collected in the Mathom-house, in addition to ancient artifacts representing Hobbit history, there were also quite a few weapons such as bows and arrows, spears, armor, longswords, and axes.
Daniel stood before a bow and arrow. The bow and arrow, made of an unknown wood, were orange-yellow all over, hard as iron yet very flexible, and beautifully carved with elegant patterns. "It is said that this is a bow and arrow used by an elf. It's been here for a long time anyway," Sheriff Robin explained, seeing Daniel's interest.
Daniel was surprised to hear that. He didn't expect an elf's bow and arrow would be collected here. Sheriff Robin then introduced him to several pieces of armor and axes said to be crafted by dwarves. These armors were clearly tailor-made for Hobbits, and there were still traces of cuts on them, indicating that Hobbits had once worn them in a cruel battle.
Daniel found it hard to imagine what kind of enemy could have forced these gentle and friendly Hobbits to take up arms and fiercely resist. Finally, Daniel stood before a gleaming silver chainmail. The chainmail was woven from countless silver rings, like a vest, soft yet very tough. However, Daniel noticed that this chainmail vest was quite large, more suited for someone of his height and build.
"It is said that this chainmail was made by dwarves and is very tough; it cannot be cut by a knife or melted by fire. However, we Hobbits cannot wear it, so it can only be kept in the Mathom-house for collection," Sheriff Robin introduced.
Daniel looked at this chainmail vest, very tempted. He was currently a vulnerable Wizard and desperately needed a defensive item to protect himself. "Sheriff Robin, I need this chainmail. Can it be sold?"
Sheriff Robin shook his head. "I'm sorry, although the items in the Mathom-house are useless, they are the common property of the residents of Michel Delving. If Wizard Daniel wants to obtain it, he would probably need the consent of all the town's residents."
Daniel felt a little disappointed to hear that. But then Sheriff Robin's tone changed, and he said with a chuckle, "However, Wizard Daniel, if you can demonstrate magic for everyone at the banquet, I think everyone would be happy to agree to your request."
"What banquet?"
"In five days, it will be the 1200th anniversary of the founding of Michel Delving. Everyone in town will hold a celebratory banquet in the Great Hole Hall. You are very welcome to join us then!"
Hearing this news, Daniel agreed without hesitation. Originally, he had planned to leave after signing in here. But now, to get the chainmail vest, he decided to stay for a few more days.