Chereads / STARTING AT HOGWARTS / Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: The Idea of a Billion-Point Loss

Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: The Idea of a Billion-Point Loss

"I actually lost!?"

Hermione looked at the questions and scores on the two papers in front of her, her face full of disbelief.

One paper contained the questions she had created: 10 questions worth 100 points, and Li William scored a perfect 100.

The other paper contained the questions Li William had created: also 10 questions worth 100 points. She had racked her brains to complete them but had only managed to score 60.

Just now, after the two went upstairs, they hadn't talked much and went straight to the point.

Each had taken a piece of paper, written 10 questions for the other, and agreed to finish them within 30 minutes.

And the result?

This is what happened.

But suddenly!

"Wait, that's not right!"

Hermione stared at the questions Li William had created, spotted the problem, and looked up at him. "These aren't second-grade questions at all!" she exclaimed.

In response, Li William pretended to look surprised and said, "No way, no way. There's no second-grader who can't even solve third-grade questions, right?"

"You!!!"

Hermione was furious.

But then, she suppressed her anger, gritted her teeth, and said, "Why are you so proud? Next time, I'll surpass you after I learn third-grade material!"

"Next time? Alright, I'll give you a chance and some time. How about we compete again in a month?"

After saying this, Li William changed his tone and added mockingly, "Of course, if you think one month isn't enough, two or three months will work too!"

"One month?"

Hermione glared at him and gritted her teeth. "No, one week! Just one week, and I'll beat you!!!"

"Don't be so confident," Li William sneered.

"Just wait and see!"

Hermione shot him a fierce glare, left that remark, and turned around, leaving the room without saying anything more.

As she left, Li William's expression softened. Excitement flickered in his eyes as he murmured, "Come on, girl!"

——

When Li William came downstairs, Hermione and her mother had already left.

"Baby, did you win?" Mary asked gently.

"Of course, I won!" Li William replied with a smile.

"As expected, my William is the best!"

Mary smiled as she praised him, then changed the subject. "By the way, this is the gift Mrs. Granger left earlier—homemade cookies. Try them!"

She gestured to the opened gift box on the table beside her.

"Alright!"

Li William nodded and took a piece to try.

To be honest, it wasn't bad.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Mary asked.

"Better than what my mother makes—"

Li William almost said it instinctively, intending to provoke Mary into working harder for his farming value.

But halfway through, he stopped himself and changed his words. "It's not as good as what my mother makes!"

This was deliberate. He didn't want Mary to keep "farming" for him anymore.

The reason he had pushed his mother to contribute farming value all this time was that she had been the only one around who could do so. Since he urgently needed farming value, he had no choice but to "milk the sheep."

But now that Hermione had appeared, he no longer needed to focus on Mary.

Besides, after so many days, he suspected that Mary might have vaguely noticed something about his behavior.

Though her doubts were likely tempered by the fact that he was still just a six-year-old child, he didn't want to risk her discovering the truth.

And on top of that...

The constant "farming" had also taken a toll on Mary. If he continued, her health might be affected.

Finally, there was also his own problem: he had gained eight kilograms in these days!

If this went on, his body would go from rectangular to round.

Of course, a little weight gain wasn't an issue.

But the problem was that he was gaining weight too quickly. Eight kilograms in just a few days! At this rate, it wouldn't take long before he gained 10 or 20 kilograms, and such rapid weight gain was sure to harm his health.

——

That night...

After dinner, Li William returned to his room to rest. Suddenly, there was activity on his farming system panel!

Farming value +1

Farming value +1

Farming value +1

Almost every two minutes, another farming value was added.

Watching this, Li William's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Once every two minutes—30 farming points per hour!"

She truly lived up to her role as the heroine of Harry Potter!

One hour of farming value from Hermione was more than what he had gained from Mary over the past three days.

At this rate, the day he could upgrade his Transfiguration was not far away!

After that, time passed gradually.

Four hours later, after taking a shower, Li William was preparing for bed. The farming value was still steadily increasing.

He couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "She's truly amazing, this Hermione!"

In the original story, Hermione had been a master of hard work.

To take more classes, she had even borrowed a Time-Turner from Professor McGonagall so she could attend two classes at once.

Her dedication was unmatched.

Thinking of this, Li William smiled and decided to turn off the lights and go to sleep.

Though he was excited by the rapid farming value increase, he was still six years old. His young body couldn't handle staying up late.

"Let's check again tomorrow," he murmured, reaching out to turn off the lights.

But just as he was about to climb into bed, a faint light caught his eye from the window.

What's that?

Curious, he walked over to the window and opened it.

Looking out, he saw the second floor of the villa next door, where Hermione's family lived. The room directly across from his window was still lit.

The light he had noticed earlier came from that room.

Squinting, he could make out a small figure bent over a desk, writing something.

It was Hermione!

"It turns out her room is right across from mine," he realized.

Seeing Hermione hard at work, an idea suddenly popped into his head—a wild thought that would cost him greatly if discovered.

But...

"Isn't this too much?" He hesitated for a moment.

In the end, though, the allure of farming value won out.

Abandoning his concerns, he walked over to his desk, found a flashlight, a piece of white paper, and a pair of scissors.

He carefully cut the white paper into the shape of a person bent over a desk.

Then, he placed the flashlight behind the paper cutout and aimed it at his window.

A shadow appeared on his curtains, resembling a figure studying hard.

Satisfied, Li William smiled, turned off the flashlight, and went to bed.

——

On the other side...

"Yawn~"

Hermione, tired from studying, couldn't help but yawn.

"Maybe I should go to bed and study more tomorrow," she thought.

But just then, something caught her eye.

Through her window, she saw a faint light from the room opposite hers, where William Li lived.

The curtains were drawn, but she could see the light shining through and, faintly, the silhouette of someone bent over a desk.

"Even though he's better than me, he's still working so hard?"

Thinking this, Hermione frowned, then steeled herself.

"No, if he's working so hard, I have to work even harder!"

With renewed determination, Hermione forced herself to stay awake and continued studying.