Chapter 8: Everyone Has Their Own Learning Method

During the recent experiment, Ivan also noticed a hidden factor: the accumulation of prior knowledge could affect the efficiency and speed of learning. This is why it only took about twenty minutes of the "Top Student Experience Card" time to finish reading Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, whereas reading The Fundamentals of Spell Theory took much longer. In fact, after thirty minutes, Ivan had only finished half of the book. The quick reading of Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration was partly due to Ivan already having some basic knowledge of transfiguration spells, and partly because he had already skimmed through the book earlier, which gave him some understanding of its content.

On the other hand, The Fundamentals of Spell Theory covered a wider range of knowledge, and Ivan had not looked at it beforehand, so his reading speed was naturally much slower. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the Top Student Experience Card, Ivan immediately realized that the most efficient way to use the one-hour time frame was to first read the relevant book, and then, after finishing, use the Experience Card to enhance his comprehension and thinking abilities before reviewing the material. This would allow him to make the best use of his time.

Moreover, each time he thoroughly understood a magic book, he was rewarded with academic points. Plus, by improving his spell levels, the accumulated points could be exchanged for more Top Student Experience Cards. With this cycle, his strength would surely increase rapidly.

Earlier, Ivan had only read half of The Fundamentals of Spell Theory, but even so, the proficiency of all the spells he knew had increased significantly. For example, the Levitation Charm and Disarming Charm had both reached Level 1, just like the Transfiguration spell, and he was awarded ten academic points again. This brought his previously reset academic points back up by twenty points, reducing the time needed to gather points for the next exchange.

Thinking about this, Ivan looked around at the countless magical books in the library and suddenly realized that these were all opportunities for academic points! If he could read them all, it was hard to imagine how much his strength would increase.

With this thought, Ivan regained his determination. However, just as he was about to get back to work, he was told that it was time for the library to close. Ivan realized that he had already been in the library for over three hours.

"Children, learning is important, but remember to balance work and rest. Now, go back to your respective dormitories!" Madam Pince was ushering the little wizards, who had hoped to stay longer in the library, out.

As the Hogwarts librarian, she certainly didn't mind students who loved knowledge, as long as they didn't cause a ruckus, but the library's opening hours were set by the headmaster, so she couldn't extend them.

At that moment, Ivan walked up, holding the half-read The Fundamentals of Spell Theory, and asked, "Madam, may I borrow this book?"

"Of course, as long as you return it within the required time," Madam Pince said, glancing at the title and casually nodding her approval. She then turned her attention to scanning the library, as there were always a few students who tried to hide among the books and sneak into the restricted section after the lights went out. Of course, there were also a few who, distracted by their reading, lost track of time.

"Thank you," Ivan said politely, nodding his thanks. He then walked out of the library, eager to try out the spells he had improved.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

Before Ivan could take more than a few steps, he heard a few sharp female voices behind him. He was suddenly bumped into, causing his forehead to collide with the wall. He then sat down hard on the ground, and the book The Fundamentals of Spell Theory fell from his hands.

Fortunately, the impact wasn't too hard. Ivan touched his slightly reddened forehead and quickly got up. He first picked up the book and then noticed the girl who had collided with him.

The first thing that caught his eye was her messy brown hair, clearly untidy and in need of a comb. She wore a standard wizard robe that seemed a little too big for her, and several books were scattered around her.

"Hermione?" Ivan blinked, but quickly figured out the situation. It seemed that our know-it-all Hermione had been rushed out of the library by Madam Pince and, in her haste, had collided with him from behind.

"Ivan?" Hermione seemed equally stunned by the collision. It wasn't until Ivan helped her up that she managed to stand. "Oh, sorry, I was a bit distracted and didn't expect to bump into you."

"It's alright. Just be more careful next time," Ivan said with a smile, handing her the book he had picked up.

Hermione immediately opened her mouth once she saw the book in Ivan's hand. "I've borrowed The Fundamentals of Spell Theory before. I learned so many new magical techniques. Oh my gosh, I never realized before that strong intent could greatly enhance the power of some spells, but this requires a wizard to have high control over magic, or else the magic could get out of hand!"

At this point, Hermione seemed to recall something and raised her voice even higher. "By the way, learning requires both understanding and memorization, not just flipping through a book from start to finish. Instead of reading books like The Fundamentals of Spell Theory, I think you should first memorize all your textbooks!"

Hermione rambled on about her thoughts or rather her experiences. Perhaps she thought she was helping Ivan, but there was an unmistakable air of superiority in her tone.

Ivan realized that Hermione must have seen him using the Top Student Experience Card earlier and was kindly trying to give him advice. However, her tone made him raise an eyebrow, and he started to understand why Harry, Ron, and the other students weren't particularly fond of Hermione's intellect.

"Thanks for the advice, but I think everyone has their own learning method," Ivan said calmly, finally understanding why Hermione's personality before Halloween hadn't been very likable to others.

"How could that be?"

Hermione was about to continue her lecture, but Ivan interrupted her with his actions.

"Quick Transfiguration!" Ivan flicked his wand lightly at the parchment Hermione had been using for notes. The parchment trembled slightly, then began to expand and change shape. The rough surface of the parchment slowly became smooth and flawless.

In just a second, Ivan had recited the incantation and flicked his wand in a smooth motion, just like Professor McGonagall's demonstration in class. The parchment was now transformed into a thin, flawless stone slab, right in front of Hermione.