The interactions with the Legendary Witch are always quite rewarding, but at the same time, Ian needs to maintain a cautious attitude, as the whims of a bad woman who's been alive for thousands of years can change at any moment.
For instance, right now.
The Witch had clearly just fulfilled Ian's wish to ride a Big Bone Dragon, and Ian was quick to offer a string of flattering remarks, yet the Witch immediately began a severe examination of his progress in learning Alchemy.
Despite Ian having successfully repaired those iron lumps by the gate and even upgraded their equipment, and even replicating some of the functions from the Deathly Hallows of the God of Death, Lady Morgan seemed still dissatisfied with his Alchemy learning progress.
"At the current snail's pace of your learning, it will take you at least three full years to thoroughly understand all the knowledge I've imparted to you."
Morgan was probably the first wizard to be dissatisfied with Ian's learning speed, not because she thought he lacked talent, but to criticize that Ian shouldn't spend so much time sleeping.
"If I had your excellent learning environment, I would definitely only sleep once a month, as there are many ways for a wizard to avoid the penalty of fatigue." Perhaps according to Morgan's entrepreneur-like enthusiasm, Ian's method of studying only during the day wasn't quite diligent.
However.
For Ian, who had a great deal of obsession about growing taller to at least 188 cm, he could only use self-reflection to dodge the issue, as he didn't want to risk stunting his growth due to lack of sleep.
Occasionally staying up late was fine.
But if he stayed up every night... he feared he would have to resort to drinking Magic Potions to grow taller, which was too artificial, much like getting cosmetic surgery in the Great Cold Nether Country.
"The final answer for the Alchemy assignment you gave me should be a Time Converter, right?" Ian immediately changed the subject after his self-reflection.
This was the conclusion he had reached from researching Morgan's Alchemy assignment, but as his Alchemy skills improved, he increasingly felt that the Alchemy techniques Morgan presented were more complex.
Of course.
This was merely Ian's judgment based on slight knowledge of the Time Converter. Even though he had specifically checked, there weren't many books on Time Converters in the library, and those with substantial content were as rare as books mentioning the Three Sacred Artifacts of Death.
Many issues can't necessarily be resolved through books. This relates to how even the authors might not know the answers, and because many sensitive books vanish quietly as history progresses.
Some are hidden intentionally.
Others are obscured by the dust of history.
Despite the abundance of books in the Hogwarts library, the current Forbidden Book Area merely serves as a collection ground for incomplete forbidden books, and naturally, there wouldn't be any books detailing the principles of Time Converters.
The books that could be found mostly discussed the method and sensation of use.
The Time Converter looks like a small, shining gold timer with a long, intricate gold chain. Each turn of the Time Converter can send you back an hour in time.
When using a Time Converter, the user feels as if they're quickly flying backwards, with all sorts of blurry cloud shapes brushing past their eyes, and a pounding in their ears that drowns out their own voice.
"You should call it an Hourglass of Destiny," Witch Morgan corrected Ian's terminology, clearly indicating that it wasn't merely a difference in names, but also a difference in the magnitude of power it held.
"Can it overturn destiny and change the past?"
Ian's eyes immediately lit up.
The name "[Hourglass of Destiny]" naturally made him overthink. It should be known that the rules for using the Time Converter always included a rule that you could only observe history, not change it.
Nothing that has happened can be altered with a Time Converter, not even Dumbledore could do it, so its main function was largely limited to uncovering some truths.
And... for students to study.
In her third year at Hogwarts, Hermione received this magical tool from Professor McGonagall, which allowed her to go back several hours to attend more classes.
To obtain a Time Converter, professors had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic, assuring them that the owner was a model student and would never use it for anything other than studying.
Of course, regardless of the regulations, the mere fact that such a magical time tool was given to a student already showed the high limitations of the Time Converter's use.
"It only contains the dual power of destiny and time. If you wish to use it to retrieve lost love and family, all you'll gain is disappointment."
After leading Ian into the castle, Morgan sat on her chair, munching on the snacks that Ian had 'popped' out, and replied to Ian with a frivolous tone.
"Isn't that no different from a Time Converter?"
Ian was somewhat disappointed.
Though it didn't lessen his interest in learning.
After all, being able to create a Time Converter would still be quite an accomplishment, a skill that couldn't be learned at Hogwarts or elsewhere.