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Dali's grandfather lived in the countryside, where beautiful rolling hills stretched out, with a crystal-clear lake resting at the foot of the hills. The old Dursley manor was not far from the lakeshore, and the old man's favorite pastime on sunny days was taking his fishing rod to the lake and enjoying a quiet afternoon of fishing.
It was the perfect place to retire, peaceful and undisturbed, with few visitors.
But truthfully, what grandfather wouldn't want his children and grandchildren to visit? Today was particularly lively, as it was Harry's birthday. Uncle Vernon took advantage of the weekend, packed the family into the car, and headed to the countryside, excitedly bringing his hunting rifle along.
Ever since the children were eight, Vernon had brought Harry here. Harry had learned the skills his grandfather passed down in under an hour and returned with two fat rabbits he had hunted himself. From then on, whenever they had time, Vernon would bring the kids along. It wasn't just for the taste of wild game, though that was certainly part of it.
Harry was an expert at roasting, stewing, and making delicious soups. It was as if the boy had a natural talent for cooking. Whenever the hunted game was transformed into mouthwatering meals, it made them all forget they were living in the culinary wasteland of England.
"I'm heading into the woods. Hopefully, we can bag a deer today. Soon, the hunting season will close, and we'll have to wait until next year. Rabbits don't taste as good as deer," Harry called out loudly.
"Dali, are you coming?"
"I'm digging in the garden for Grandma. She says I'll look better if I slim down a bit, so I need to work up a sweat!" Dali, who was helping his grandmother by tilling the back garden, wiped his face, instantly smearing it with dirt. He didn't seem to mind, though.
"If you find any pheasants, bring back two. I want to try that clay-baked chicken again."
"There's plenty of pheasants. Be sure to go down to the lake later and help Grandpa with the fishing," Harry replied.
"Uncle Vernon, let's go. We need to be back before four; it'll take time to process everything. My magic isn't quite perfect yet. Too bad I can only use it for now. Once I start school, I won't be able to use magic outside anymore."
"Magic or no magic, it's all the same," Uncle Vernon laughed. "Let's go, Harry. Let's hope luck's on our side today."
The two of them climbed into Grandpa's old pickup truck. Uncle Vernon's car wasn't suited for the dirt roads of the countryside, especially since they were heading up into the hills.
They drove along the relatively flat road for about half an hour, soon leaving the small town behind and entering the hilly terrain.
This was a legal hunting ground. There were restrictions on deer hunting, but not on the abundant pheasants, rabbits, or squirrels. Wild boars were also present, though their tough, gamy meat wasn't very appealing.
Once the truck was parked, Harry hopped out. Uncle Vernon, with his three-hundred-pound frame, wasn't built for trekking into the mountains. He'd be out of breath after just a short walk. So it was usually Harry who went into the woods alone or with Dali. After waving goodbye to Uncle Vernon, Harry jogged off into the forest.
Thanks to the world's reliance on clean energy, forest destruction was minimal. In England, brown bears hadn't gone extinct, and many wild animals were showing signs of overpopulation. Hunting seasons were regularly opened to control these species and maintain ecological balance. Predators, which posed a danger, had been hunted down, leaving people to deal with the situation by other means.
However, Harry had another reason for venturing into the mountains today. He needed a place away from prying neighbors and strangers to test his spells and wands.
He carried two wands: an ebony wood M1911 in his left hand and a white ivory Glock G18 in his right. Each had completely different properties.
The ebony wand was a powerful, single-shot magic weapon with a cooldown period of about one second between spells. It consumed more magic power during use, and when fired, it produced a deep, muffled sound.
The white ivory wand, on the other hand, is quite different. It is lightweight with a highly sensitive and light trigger. Spells can be cast in rapid succession, consuming less magic power than the ebony wand, and the gunshot is crisp. Most importantly, the white ivory wand features a fire mode selector: up for single fire, down for continuous or fully automatic fire.
As long as Harry uses a spell and holds the trigger down, the same spell will be cast at a rate of three shots per second. This is not the wand's limit; despite being self-taught, Harry's spellcasting has considerable room for improvement. With formal and quality training, Harry believes he could quickly achieve a rate of eight to ten spells per second with the white ivory wand. Though this is only about half the rate of a true fully automatic Glock, Harry is content with this rate, as any faster might exceed his magical stamina.
The process of casting a spell involves gathering magical energy to form a "bullet," then shaping the spell into a magical projectile before pulling the trigger to fire.
The key factors limiting the white ivory wand's rate of fire are the speed of magic gathering and output. This is a challenge for Harry but not for other wizards, who cannot replicate his performance.
According to Professor Filius Flitwick's book Dueling: Etiquette, Basics, and Advanced Techniques, wizards seem to lack the capability for fully automatic fire. The book includes numerous illustrations of wands designed for various duel settings, such as a twenty-step combat arena, indoor obstacle encounters, and large open space duels. All the depicted weapons are single-shot firearms, even those typically capable of automatic fire, such as the AK47, M4A1, L85A1, and HK416, which are shown only in their single-shot versions.
Fully automatic fire seems to be non-existent in the wizarding world. Skilled duelists have developed techniques akin to the quick-trigger skills of an expert marksman; the faster the trigger is pulled, the faster the spells are cast.
Harry knew he was an exception.
The limitation on magical power, which wizards typically don't face, becomes a challenge for Harry due to the fully automatic capability of the white ivory wand.
After firing around a hundred shots at high speed, Harry needs to take a break to recharge his magic. Fortunately, the more stable single-shot ebony wand can compensate for some of the gaps in his combat capabilities.
Harry has mastered the content of Standard Spells: Beginner in a short time. He even occasionally reviews textbooks for higher grades. First-year spells are simple, everyday charms. The additional second- and third-year spellbooks contain more advanced spells, which Harry can only partially learn, as some techniques are better taught by professors.
Harry excels at the disarming charm, which seems to have been designed for him. Other spells require more practice to master, but disarming is his forte.
Harry raised the white ivory wand and saw a wild boar blocking his path.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry pulled the trigger, and the sharp sound of gunfire rang out. Before he mastered silent spells, any magic would emit a burst of magical energy noise, similar to an explosive.
The recoil from the rapid fire tensed Harry's right arm, his iron-like limbs absorbing the impact. A series of red flashes erupted, sending the startled boar fleeing. However, the spell continued to hit its target.
The Glock 18's fully automatic mode has another issue: it lacks precision, performing worse than submachine guns and even more so compared to rifles. However, within a 50-meter range, the spread of red spells is still fairly accurate.
The disarming charm's target, the boar, was experiencing one of the most miserable moments of its life. Its weaponized, sharp quills were rendered useless and instantly lost their rigidity. The boar, now completely bald, squealed in distress before darting into the forest.
"Whew~"
Harry turned the wand's muzzle and blew away the imaginary smoke.
"Cool!"
After thoroughly experimenting with his spells, he holstered the wands and retrieved his real hunting rifle from his back. He checked the battery, adjusted the sights, and headed deeper into the woods.
(End of Chapter)