Chapter 37: A Genius of Transformation Magic? No, I'm Really Not!

On the way back, unlike Tom, whose face was as dark as water, Livede appeared quite cheerful.

Because after the "interrogation" of Tom just now, combined with the sporadic hits he had dealt Tom over the previous two weeks, his merit points had finally reached 500.

It was just enough to redeem that bottle of Felix Felicis that had been locked away for over two weeks.

Without further delay, Livede redeemed the Felix Felicis while on the road. A small glass bottle appeared in the palm of his hand. The potion inside radiated an incredibly alluring glow. Livede carefully tucked the bottle away; a thing like Felix Felicis would surely come in handy sooner or later.

The Hog's Head Inn at this moment looked like an entirely different place compared to before. Everything was spotless and clean. Even Dumbledore, who had visited last time, had almost thought he had walked into the wrong place.

All of this was, of course, thanks to Toby the house-elf. As an experienced house-elf, the slightest speck of dirt in his master's living quarters was a grave insult to him! If not for Aberforth’s strong objections, Toby would have nearly thrown away that grimy boar's head hanging above the bar.

Just as Livede and Tom walked through the door, Aberforth beckoned them over, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"My pretentious brother is here. He’s waiting for you in your room."

Accustomed to their peculiar sibling dynamic, Livede and Tom nodded and headed upstairs to their room.

No sooner had they entered the room than Livede found Dumbledore sitting by his bedside, quietly reading his copy of *Oliver Twist*. Professor Hicks was there as well, sitting in a chair and smiling at Livede and Tom as they stood at the doorway.

Livede glanced at *Oliver Twist* without feeling panicked, as the true content of the book was hidden. Aside from himself, no one else could see anything beyond the superficial disguise.

At this moment, Dumbledore wiped his glasses and looked up, happening to see Livede and Tom.

"Ah... forgive me, the content of this novel is simply too engaging... No wonder you like it so much, Livede," Dumbledore said with a smile, setting the book aside.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Hicks, it has been a long time."

"It has indeed been quite a while... are you getting used to things here?" Professor Hicks asked.

"Very well. Mr. Aberforth has been taking good care of us."

Dumbledore studied the two of them and smiled. "I can see that my brother has indeed been very attentive... and it seems your skills have grown quite a bit during this time as well."

Tom’s eyebrows twitched slightly at these words. Could Dumbledore actually tell that his skills had improved?

Dumbledore pointed to the open spellbook on Tom’s desk and smiled. "This is second-year material, after all..."

Tom immediately felt relieved. So he had just seen the book he was reading; he had feared Dumbledore could see right through him at a glance.

Dumbledore turned to Livede and asked, "Tom is studying spells, so what about you, Livede? What have you been working on lately?"

"I've been studying Transfiguration," Livede answered truthfully. He had indeed been researching Transfiguration lately, and thanks to the *Complete Guide to Transfiguration*, he felt his skills had made significant progress.

"Transfiguration? That is excellent. I happen to have some insights into Transfiguration myself. May I see?" Dumbledore asked with keen interest.

Hicks also smiled. "Livede, Professor Dumbledore is a truly formidable master of Transfiguration."

"Oh... you’re making me blush, Eulalie," Dumbledore said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Then I shall try..."

Livede did not refuse. He had indeed been studying for a while and wanted to see what level he had reached. He drew his wand, stood before Dumbledore, and pointed it at his empty desk.

"Whoosh!"

A cream cake immediately appeared on the desk. According to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration, while a wizard cannot conjure food out of thin air, one can summon it directly if one knows where the food is located. This was how Dumbledore had provided pumpkin juice to them back at the Wool's Orphanage.

Tom stared at the cake, unable to stop himself from looking at Livede. *You have this ability... yet every night when you wanted a late-night snack, you woke me up and made me go to the kitchen to fetch food for you? You beast! You were intentionally making things difficult for me!*

At this moment, Livede poked the cream cake with his wand. A second later, the cake began to transform rapidly, eventually turning into a goblet.

Dumbledore looked at the intricately patterned goblet with genuine appreciation in his eyes. For a Transfigured goblet to be this refined, it would require the skill level of a fifth-year student! To think Livede could wield Transfiguration with such proficiency at his age... he realized he had underestimated Livede’s talent, especially in Transfiguration!

Just as Dumbledore was about to speak, Livede flicked his wand again. The goblet transformed once more, shifting from an exquisite golden cup into a very cute little kitten.

Dumbledore was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but reach out to pick up the kitten. The fuzzy sensation, the warm body heat... the kitten stuck out its tongue and gently licked the back of Dumbledore’s hand.

When Dumbledore looked up at Livede again, his eyes were filled with shock. There were students at Hogwarts who could achieve this, certainly. But they were, at the very least, talented fifth or sixth-year students, and all of them were members of the Transfiguration Club.

And now, Livede hadn't even started school yet, and he had achieved this level solely through self-study using basic books! How could he not be shocked? This talent... it was even far stronger than his own had been at that age!

In truth, while Livede’s talent was not poor, it wasn't as high as Dumbledore imagined. The reason he had been able to advance his Transfiguration to this level in just two weeks was not only due to his adult-level magical core but also because of the *Complete Guide to Transfiguration*, a book produced by the system. That book contained the hard-won insights of every master of Transfiguration throughout history! Every difficulty Livede encountered while practicing could be answered by the book. It was as if he had hundreds of highly skilled Transfiguration masters acting as his tutors—even the oblivious Dumbledore himself was among them. Combined with Livede’s powerful memory, it was no wonder he had reached his current standard.

At this point, Professor Hicks looked at Dumbledore with equal shock. She naturally knew how difficult it was to reach such a level of Transfiguration at this age.

Dumbledore sighed and placed the kitten back on the table. "Livede, you have given me yet another massive surprise... Your current Transfiguration is far superior to many adult wizards. And to think you achieved this through self-study... it would be no exaggeration to call you a once-in-a-century Transfiguration genius!"

"Ah?" Livede was a bit dazed. In truth, he really didn't know what level his Transfiguration was at. Based on his memories from before he transmigrated, it seemed that by the third or fourth year, young wizards could turn inanimate objects into living ones. Therefore, he hadn't thought turning a kitten was anything spectacular. He had originally intended to reveal only a tiny bit of talent before Dumbledore.

As it turned out, he seemed to have overdone it. *Tsk! This is troublesome! I didn't intend to be labeled so heavily in Dumbledore's eyes...*

*Transfiguration genius? I’m really not one!*

"Is... is it really that exaggerated? Many people can do this, right..." Livede asked, not wanting to give up.

"It is not exaggerated at all, Livede. Many lower-year students can turn inanimate objects into living ones after diligent practice. But to be able to make the living creature so detailed and so perfect at this age... among all the Hogwarts students I have ever seen, you appear to be the only one."

Beside them, Tom looked on, completely stunned. Could it be that what Livede said in the woods earlier wasn't just him showing off? Was the gap between them truly this large? *So... the feeling that I could challenge him was actually just an illusion after all...*