Harry had shut himself off from everyone. Not only had he lost the match, his broomstick had come down near the Whomping Willow and been thrashed into splinters.
And it wasn't as though he could go demand compensation from the Whomping Willow!
Madam Pomfrey kept him in the Hospital Wing over the weekend for observation, and after sitting with him a while, everyone else had no choice but to trickle out one by one.
Kate was only released back to the dormitory after Madam Pomfrey had drilled it into her that she absolutely must remember to drink her potion.
Hermione was the one who walked her back to the Common Room. Cho Chang and Luna both had things of their own to do, so they stayed until she was discharged and then headed off.
The moment she stepped into the Common Room, Kate scanned the place, but there was no sign of Malfoy anywhere.
That silly child couldn't still be out on that little hillside practicing, could she?
Kate was about to go looking for her when Malfoy came in, with Pansy at her side.
Right. Nothing for her to worry about, then.
With today's rewards on her mind, she only tossed Pansy a quick greeting before ducking straight into the dormitory.
First, allocation. Apart from Main Quests and the year-end package, she'd never once come into more than ten Attribute Points at a time. Add the five points she'd fleeced out of the System recently, and she had seventeen to distribute.
After spending them, she'd be only thirty-eight points short of her school-year goal — a gap she could close on the System's monthly handouts alone.
Kate, devoted as ever to becoming a Hexagon Warrior, was very satisfied.
Next came the Spell Extension for the Patronus Charm.
When she first started learning the charm, Kate had honestly only thought of it as a way to drive off Dementors.
Who could have guessed her Patronus would turn out so obliging that it leveled up just by eating Dementors? It was probably the spell she'd raised fastest and with the least effort.
"System, open the Spell Extension!"
[Patronus Charm has reached Level 9. Opening Spell Extension...]
[Spell One — Ethereal Form: assume the shape of a spirit body beyond the reach of physical interference.]
[Spell Two — Emotional Conduction: within a set radius, amplify all attributes of your companions.]
[Spell Three — Pool of the Divine: supported by mental force, forcibly commandeer all matter within range.]
Hiss. You really couldn't fault the reputation of the hardest charm there was — every spell it extended into was more monstrous than the last.
Kate stared at the three options on the screen for a long while before asking, meekly, "Aren't you going to walk me through these one at a time?"
[Owing to the inherent nature of the Patronus Charm, all three extended spells require mental force as their foundation, with Mana as secondary.]
[Spell One — Ethereal Form. While the Host is in Ethereal Form, she is immune to all physical damage. Duration scales with the strength of her mental force.]
[Spell Two — Emotional Conduction. While the Host maintains this spell, she may amplify the full attribute spread of targeted companions according to spell level and mental force. The Host cannot benefit from this spell's effect herself.]
[Spell Three — Pool of the Divine. All things in creation lie within the divine pool.
While the Host maintains this spell, she may manipulate every form of matter within range, including heat and radiation in the physical sense, and mental assaults in the spiritual sense.
The spell's cost is measured in Spirit. When Spirit is exhausted, the Host will fall into a deep sleep of indeterminate length.
Furthermore, once this spell is used, the Host will enter a Weakened State for one week. Please use with caution.]
[Note: at the Host's current Spirit, she can sustain Spell One or Spell Two for 65 seconds, and Spell Three for 6.5 seconds. Please make your selection promptly.]
Kate watched the System's explanations without blinking, and it was a good while before she came back to herself.
Heaven only knew how much willpower it took to keep herself calm enough to start weighing the pros and cons of these three spells.
There was no question about it: all three were top-tier magic, the sort the overwhelming majority of Wizards in the world wouldn't dare even dream about.
Even so, each had its trade-offs.
Ethereal Form would certainly guarantee she stood undefeated against most spells, but the drawback was the pitiful duration.
And Voldemort's Killing Curse was an attack aimed at the soul. Once it struck, it killed the soul outright.
Ethereal Form only blocked physical attacks. It did nothing against attacks on the soul.
Emotional Conduction — buffing her companions was formidable, no doubt, but knowing how the System operated, the amplification she could apply in the early stages would be next to nothing. She'd just have to grind it up.
On top of that, she couldn't benefit from the effect herself, which made it a matter of burning her own mental force to escort other people safely through a fight.
As for Spell Three.
Pool of the Divine. The name alone was overwhelming. If not for the time limit and the side effects, it would have been a perfect spell.
Control over all matter within range — was there any other spell, or any technology in this world, that could manage that?
With that spell, never mind defending against the Killing Curse; she could reflect a missile straight back where it came from.
This was probably what people meant by the legendary Zettai Ryōiki.
But matching the sheer power of the spell, its side effects were outrageous to the point of cruelty.
Her sixty-five points of Spirit would sustain the spell for a mere 6.5 seconds. Go a hair over and she'd black out on the spot.
Overrun the clock on a battlefield and she might as well pronounce herself dead.
Even if she timed it perfectly and put her enemy down clean, she'd still be weakened for a week — harsher than the backlash from spending Emotion Points.
All she could say was that every great power demanded its price. There was no such thing as a free lunch under heaven.
Kate stood on the carpet, expression grave, eyes fixed on the screen. Half an hour of churning deliberation later, she spoke with quiet resolve: "I choose Spell Three."
This was her last-ditch life-saving spell. Even if she never had cause to use it before graduation, she needed a trump card like this in hand.
[Host has acquired Pool of the Divine. Current level: 1]
Kate held her breath without meaning to. She'd assumed that gaining a top-tier spell like this would go the way it had with Chongli Divine Fire — a helping of mental torment first.
But no. Nothing happened at all.
[There's no need for the Host to be so tense. The side effects of Pool of the Divine are punishment enough on their own; no mental assault is required.]
[For acquiring Pool of the Divine, Host gains Spirit +10 and Charisma +15.]
This spell raised her Charisma too?
Never mind. It hardly made a difference either way.
Kate let out a breath, and the sudden slackening of her nerves left her legs weak enough that she dropped straight onto the bed.
At least her Spirit had gone up. Next time she cast the spell, she'd buy herself a little more time.
If she wanted to wield Pool of the Divine properly one day, it looked like next year's allocations would have to tilt toward Spirit.
[Charisma: 55]
[Strength: 65]
[Agility: 65]
[Spirit: 75]
[Vitality: 82]
[Luck: 57+5]
[Mana: 76]
After this year, Mana, Spirit and Vitality would be her main investments, in descending order of priority. It wasn't as though she was ever going to beat Voldemort to death with her fists.
If it ever really came to that, she might as well respec into a Berserker.
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