Chapter 26: The Astonishing Wisdom of the Native Wizard!

When Roger first sought Professor McGonagall’s guidance on his path toward immortality, he had already shared some of his underlying theories. She was aware that he intended to pursue self-directed physiological transmutation. However, modifying other parts of the body was a vastly different matter from altering the brain.

In Professor McGonagall’s estimation, even if something went wrong with Roger’s physical modifications, St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries could likely save him. As for brain modification, she assumed that would be a task for the distant future. It was only logical to save the most critical organs for last, by which time Roger would have matured into a reliable and powerful wizard. She had lent him *Blood Magic and Transfiguration: Speculations on the Future Age*, and having read it herself, she did not oppose his chosen path. But to begin brain modification in his first year? That was far too early.

Furthermore...

"This modification of yours—it has nothing to do with immortality, does it?" Professor McGonagall asked, reading the written report Roger had provided. Many of these issues were too complex to explain verbally, so before visiting her, Roger had organized his experimental theories into a document.

Roger shook his head. "Actually, it is somewhat related. Although I am a seer, I am not omniscient, and I am well aware of my own limitations."

"Professor, let us consider a simple math problem. Suppose a wizard needs one unit of time to learn a spell, and his lifespan is one hundred. It is easy to calculate the total number of spells he can learn in his lifetime. Now, complicate the matter: how long does it take him to absorb the knowledge of a magical textbook? Once he establishes his own knowledge system, what is his efficiency multiplier for learning magic? How much time will he spend on other life events?"

"If we know the extent of a wizard’s talent and refine the algorithm, we can roughly calculate the highest level of achievement a wizard might attain under ideal conditions and normal growth."

By this point, someone as brilliant as Minerva McGonagall understood exactly what he was implying.

"Are you saying..."

Roger nodded and continued, "After I began my research into immortality, I ran some rough calculations. If I continue with low-risk magical experiments and normal growth, the probability that I will develop my own immortality technique before the age of ninety is high, but it is not one hundred percent. This is not a lottery; this is about the continuation of my life! Even a one-percent failure rate is unacceptable to me! And that is only for the trivial pursuit of immortality—I haven't even touched the threshold of true eternal life."

Therefore, Roger chose to deviate from normal growth. He chose a path of high risk and high reward. He chose a path that would expand the foundation of his own innate talent.

"Why the sudden urgency? You cannot become fat in a single bite—you said that yourself," Professor McGonagall said. She generally understood his logic, but she still found some parts of his reasoning difficult to grasp. It was human nature to want to improve one's odds after catching a glimpse of one's future through magical research, but there was no need to go to such extremes right away. She looked at him with confusion, unaware of just how outrageous his prophetic abilities truly were.

"Not becoming fat in a single bite means I will not recklessly chase success or make mistakes when I know a task is impossible, not that I should hesitate and stand still when there is a possibility for progress," Roger replied. He paused before adding, "Professor, do you know what the world looks like through the eyes of a seer?"

"Hmm?"

"I can see many possibilities for the future—some good, some terrible. There are deep tensions between different groups of wizards, like a powder keg waiting to be ignited by a spark called a 'Dark Lord.' The world we live in is developing rapidly, and a collision between Muggle and wizarding civilizations could occur at any moment."

"Moreover, although wizards are those who wield magic, we do not truly understand the nature of magic itself, which is a massive problem in its own right. And remember what I said, Professor? The world is vast. There are nearly four hundred billion star systems in the Milky Way, and nearly two trillion galaxies like ours in the universe. According to Muggle scientists, it is highly probable that other life exists beyond the stars. So... do 'they' on the other side of the stars also use magic?"

What Roger said was not a lie, nor was it groundless worry. While these were not necessarily predictions made via his prophetic magic, he had learned of them through another form of 'prophecy.' He knew that even after he had transmigrated, sequels to *Harry Potter* continued to emerge, though he hadn't paid much attention to them. Logically, Voldemort had been defeated and the world was at peace, so what stories were these sequels—movies, novellas, stage plays, games—actually telling? Could there be new villains stronger than Voldemort? Theoretically, the appearance of the 'enemies' he described was not entirely impossible.

" 'Accidents' will not grant me special treatment because of my youth," Roger stated. Ever since he had been shot seven times in the Middle East, he had abandoned the arrogance of believing himself to be some sort of chosen one. Seeing Professor McGonagall hesitate, Roger did not press the issue. "Professor, if you find this difficult, let us simply forget it. Brain modification is merely one approach to becoming stronger; it is not the only path I have."

Before, he hadn't considered other options, but now that the desire to 'enhance talent' had been ignited, Roger—having spent time in an era of information explosion—had too many strange paths to strength in his mind. Trying them one by one would take decades. Brain modification was simply the path with the highest potential given his short lifespan. If the shortest path was blocked, he had plenty of backups; there was no need to be stubborn. He would simply switch to another.

The current 'shortest' path was merely based on the technology he currently possessed. Perhaps other paths held even greater potential?

"..." Looking at Roger’s carefree smile, Professor McGonagall was silent for a long moment.

"...Roger."

"Yes?"

"I will help you with the Undetectable Extension Charm." Professor McGonagall continued, "However, I still believe that direct brain modification is too high-risk... Are you familiar with Muggle computers?"

"Eh?" Roger was puzzled as to why she brought that up.

"You wrote in your report that you have mastered a technique to manipulate nerve cells to a certain degree. If you set aside the need for spiritual growth and focus solely on compensating for memory limitations and enabling multi-threaded thinking, why not explore that direction?" A slight smile curved her lips.

Professor McGonagall had, of course, read all the books she had lent him. Could installing a computer chip into the arm and linking it to the nervous system achieve an effect similar to his proposed brain modification? She might not have Roger’s talent or his foresight, but concepts like brain-computer interfaces had existed since 1991.

How could a true master of magic not have ideas on how to become stronger? The theoretical works left behind by predecessors and the way modern magic had replaced ancient magic proved that for thousands of years, wizards had never stopped trying to grow stronger; it was simply that many of their ideas were impossible to implement. After all, not everyone could be like Roger, who could foresee crises and perform eight hundred magical experiments with a 99.99% mortality rate in a single day, with scientific progress moving like a rocket. For ordinary wizards, every bit of innovation was difficult and slow.

"But the computers of this era..." Roger frowned. Knowing Muggle technology better, he felt it wasn't that simple.

"If Muggle computers cannot fully meet your needs, why not look into the wonders of Alchemy?"

Alchemy—a subject Hogwarts students could only elect to study in their sixth year, involving the most profound magical knowledge. It was not only difficult, but it was also protected by knowledge barriers monopolized by various noble families, magical factories, and secret organizations. It was a field Roger had never touched.

And Professor McGonagall was about to lead Roger into this entirely new 'world.'