Chapter 104: Vulnerabilities from the Perspective of Guardianship
After a friendly discussion, Aaron finally compressed his daily tutoring time to eight hours.
Each lesson was two hours long, which was tough, but it was Gines' bottom line; if the lesson time was too short, he couldn't guarantee Aaron's learning efficiency.
After breakfast, Aaron went to the small shop in Diagon Alley via Floo powder.
He wasn't in a hurry to open the shop for business; instead, he signed in as usual.
He had spent a lot last night, and his magic points were pitifully low, less than two hundred, in urgent need of replenishment.
Diagon Alley couldn't compare to Hogwarts; the daily sign-in reward was reduced by a full eighty percent.
But scarcity makes things valuable; with his current capital, even two magic points had to be taken seriously, after all, even a small mosquito has some meat!
Just as Aaron was sighing and lamenting his miserable holiday life, green flames erupted from the fireplace.
Gines walked out with a book, a faint smile still on his face.
But neither Aaron nor Abey gave him a good look, glancing at him briefly before turning their faces away.
One was because half of his leisurely holiday life had been taken up, and the other was because the recipe had been changed beyond recognition, meaning he likely wouldn't eat well in the future.
"Young Master, I..."
"Don't feel awkward." Aaron waved his hand, "I won't complain about you either, after all, you can't make decisions about the tutoring class."
"Thank you for your understanding, Young Master." Ginesbreathed a sigh of relief, then placed the book in his hand in front of Aaron. "This is an illustrated guide to the weapons in the Chamber of Secrets.
It records one hundred and seventy-three longswords, fifty-six shortswords, sixty sabers, twenty-seven daggers, nineteen sets of bows and arrows, fifteen hammers, fourteen spears, thirteen axes, twenty sets of armor..."
"Wait, wait, wait." Aaron interrupted him speechlessly, "No need to say more, I'll read it myself."
"Young Master, I'm just giving a brief introduction.
These are all magic weapons, and their first owners were all more or less famous in history; it can be said that each one is a legend.
Knowing the origins of these weapons might spark your interest in learning, and then you'll achieve twice the results with half the effort!"
"Forget it!
I have enough to learn already; I don't want to add another history class."
"Alright! Then Young Master, take your time reading.
But it would be best if you could choose one before returning, that way you can save some study time."
Aaron was amused and gave Gines a thumbs up, "There really aren't many teachers as dedicated as you these days."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Am I complimenting you?"
Gines smiled without speaking; in this day and age, as long as I'm not embarrassed, the one who's embarrassed is someone else.
Aaron also knew that the butler was a master of feigning ignorance; after rolling his eyes at him, he opened the shop and started his day's work.
The material inventory had been prepared last night, so his job as the boss was simple: sell goods and collect money according to customers' needs and preferences.
Actually, this kind of thing didn't require the boss to do it personally; any clerk could sit there and earn money.
But Aaron had enjoyed staying at the counter for the past few years; firstly, he, as the boss, could have some sense of participation, and secondly, dealing with various customers every day was also a kind of fun.
However, today he was a bit out of sorts; after sitting for less than an hour, he grudgingly handed the work over to Ginesand took Abey out for a stroll.
Gines sighed, expressing complete understanding.
After all, there were eight hours of lessons waiting for him in the afternoon; if he could still maintain the same mood as before, that would be truly problematic.
Before classes officially began, it was perfectly fine to relax as much as possible.
As for whether Aaron would complain about life or even give up on himself because of this, Gines wasn't worried at all.
He had watched his Young Master grow up; his adaptability was extraordinary, and a mere four subjects were just a seasoning for a genius's life.
Furthermore, even if Aaron really went astray, the two bodyguards responsible for secretly protecting him wouldn't turn a blind eye, and no accidents would occur.
He, as a butler and Uncle, would also try to guide Aaronduring his lessons; he was a professional at teaching, so Aaron's holiday might not be easy, but he wouldn't have any psychological pressure.
With several layers of security, it was absolutely foolproof.
However, Aaron's heart was much bigger than he thought.
After leaving the shop and confirming he was out of Gines' sight, he changed his expression, stretched lazily with a nonchalant air, and openly started to slack off.
First, he greeted some of his old neighbors, telling them that the young master was on holiday.
During this time, he bought two boxes of ice cream at Flo's Ice Cream Parlor for Abey as a snack, read storybooks for a while at Flourish and Blotts, and ordered two larger Wizardrobes from Madam Malkin.
More than two hours later, he arrived in front of Ollivander's Wand Shop.
"Sure enough, this sign still looks a bit an eyesore, too old." Aaron muttered, shaking his head, and pushed open the door to enter.
The doorbell rang automatically, but Ollivander didn't appear, presumably not in the shop.
Aaron sat down at the desk by himself, letting out a relieved sigh.
While he was wandering outside, he vaguely felt two people following him closely, and he knew without thinking that they were the ones responsible for monitoring—no, protecting him.
He had known of their existence before, but he couldn't sense them at all; it was only after becoming a Magician that he had even a tiny bit of perception.
But even this perception was quite strained; these people had been protecting him closely for many years, and their familiarity was what allowed him to catch a slight flaw.
Aaron was now certain that these people were truly strong; he was no match for any one of them.
Moreover, their stealth methods were extraordinarily clever, definitely professionally trained; the fact that no one noticed their presence after he wandered for over two hours was enough proof.
Presumably, after he returned, these two bodyguards would report his itinerary to Gines, which was very annoying, but he was helpless.
Fortunately, Ollivander's Wand Shop was a loophole.
As he expected, this was his Uncle's territory; as long as they understood their place, they wouldn't trespass.
Furthermore, his safety within this shop didn't require their concern; as long as there wasn't too much commotion, they could only guard outside obediently.
For the first time, Aaron felt he had a handle on these loyal guardians; this first victory in his life was absolutely joyous, cause for celebration, and it would be inexcusable not to have a good meal after returning home.
On a whim, Aaron moved his finger, and a faint white light flashed on his right index finger.
Wandless magic, a technique he had known for a long time but rarely used, because a wand was indeed much more convenient.
However, last night in the Chamber of Secrets, Vico's two sentences made him ponder: a wand is also a type of magicweapon, but magic power is the Wizard's true strength.
Weapons are important, but even the most important weapon is an external tool.
Aaron felt that during the holiday, he might as well add another subject for himself: achieving the effect of wand casting without using a wand.
This was very difficult, no less challenging than fighting himself, fully armed, to a draw while he was bare-handed.
But undeniably, only by achieving this could one be considered a truly powerful Wizard.
Before wands were invented, Wizards who reached the pinnacle relying solely on themselves, without any external aids, were those one-in-a-million prodigious geniuses.
The geniuses of that era and today's geniuses were not on the same level at all; giving them a wand would absolutely be an overwhelming victory against peers, and they could even counter-kill in cross-level battles.
Aaron knew himself; he would need a lot of time to reach this stage.
But who said he didn't have a cheat? Skipping a few detours should always be allowed, right!
As if in response to this thought, all the drawers on the shop shelves began to vibrate slightly, and thousands of wands seemed to be strongly attracted, eager to fly out.
Aaron then noticed that the white light on his finger hadn't dissipated; this unconscious emission of magic power was like a signal from a Wizard choosing a wand for the first time: I need a wand.
He had been recognized by all the wands back then, and he didn't expect it to happen again today.
Although quite excited, he immediately withdrew his magicpower and suppressed the commotion.
After all, there were still two people guarding outside; if they rushed in out of worry, it would be a huge mess.
Once it happened, there would be a second, a third... In this way, Ollivander's Wand Shop's protective role for him would gradually diminish, and he didn't want to be constantly monitored outside, without even a place to breathe.
Ding-a-ling!
The doorbell rang again.
Ollivander, with a head of silver hair, walked in and showed a kind smile as he looked at Aaron sitting at the desk.
"Long time no see, Uncle." Aaron wiggled his right hand, "Did you miss me?"
"If you're ever free, you can come help me look after the shop." Ollivander chuckled, "If you're interested, you can study wand-making with me."
"This..."
"What? Unwilling?"
"Willing, of course willing, who doesn't know Ollivander's wands are the best.
It's just that I might be very busy this holiday, so I probably won't have much time."
"I thought so too.
But it doesn't matter, Gines just came to see me and said that wand-making can also be included in your course options."
Aaron:...