George and Fred looked miserable. Exceeds Expectations wasn't easy to achieve, but they understood this was the bottom line Mrs. Weasley would accept.
To carry out their grand business plans in the future, they had to agree.
"By the way, who is this Adrian you've been talking about?" Arthur said with interest.
"Adrian Hals! He's the most brilliant genius I've ever seen. He defeated a troll in his first year! He's our Gryffindor hero!" George praised without hesitation.
Fred added, "He also rode a fire-breathing dragon at the end of term and saved Hagrid, the gamekeeper, who'd been attacked by a dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Are you telling fairy tales?" Mrs. Weasley frowned.
"Of course not! If you don't believe us, ask Ron—he and Adrian share a dormitory!" George said earnestly.
At George's words, everyone turned to look at Ron.
"It's true. The whole school knows about it," Ron shrugged.
Mrs. Weasley was very surprised. She couldn't imagine a first-year student having such legendary experiences at school.
"Hals..." Arthur muttered to himself, thinking of something.
"What about Potter? How is he at school? Has he ridden a dragon or fought a troll?" Ginny asked eagerly, pulling Ron's sleeve.
"Well, uh..." Ron hesitated, not knowing what to say. Fortunately, he remembered a few glorious moments. "Harry successfully caught the Snitch last year! And together with Adrian, Hermione, and me, we stopped the Dark Lord's plot!"
Ron felt somewhat proud—he'd done well last year too!
However, no one paid attention to him. Ginny was fantasizing about the Savior's new adventures, while George and Fred competed with Mrs. Weasley over ownership of the fifty Galleons.
Mrs. Weasley felt they shouldn't have too much money while young. Apart from material costs, everything else should be left with her for safekeeping.
Meanwhile, Adrian, having acquired a set of machines from the Muggle market, was working on modifications with Aysia.
Ding. Task completed. Evaluation in progress.
The reminder sounded in his mind, pulling Adrian's attention away.
If the task hadn't shown as complete, Adrian would have thought the system was broken.
"What's wrong?" Aysia brushed dust from her clothes, noticing Adrian's odd expression.
"Nothing," Adrian shook his head, calmed down, took up the carving knife, and continued working.
By the time the modifications were finished, night had fallen. After hurriedly eating dinner, Adrian returned to his small room and checked the mission information.
Quest: Revitalize Hals Oddities Shop
Mission Objective: Pass Ministry inspection within one month (Completed)
Task Evaluation: Perfect
Task Reward: 1000 Experience Points
Extra Bonus: Wolfsbane Potion formula (Accept reward?)
A thousand experience points made Adrian excited, though he'd spent more than that learning alchemy and making those enhanced potions. This just made up for it.
What truly surprised Adrian was the Wolfsbane Potion formula as an extra bonus!
Since his last conversation with Dougt in the broken house, Adrian understood this potion hadn't been developed by Damocles Belby yet. That would probably happen in the next few months.
"Accept reward!" Adrian said without hesitation.
The next moment, the Wolfsbane Potion formula appeared in the system display.
Wolfsbane Potion (Potion Formula)
Required materials: Soothing Flower rhizome, Fig Peel, Valerian, Sage blood
Note: This special potion allows werewolves to keep their sanity after transformation. Add even a little sugar and it loses its proper function.
Looking at the formula, Adrian stroked his smooth chin, thinking about what effect this quest reward could have.
First was selling it for money. A bottle of Wolfsbane Potion would be priceless to werewolves.
Werewolf wizards were disgusted and discriminated against largely because on full moon nights or when extremely emotional, they were forced to transform, losing reason and falling into frenzy.
Additionally, the werewolf condition was extremely infectious. Wizards bitten or scratched risked being assimilated if not treated quickly. That's why werewolf wizards were so unwelcome in the magical world.
The Wolfsbane Potion reduced the risk of werewolves going berserk and gave them a chance to reintegrate into normal life.
Second was fame. Adrian remembered that Damocles Belby, the developer of the Wolfsbane Potion, was a member of the Order of Merlin. He'd very likely received it for developing this potion.
Just as Adrian was thinking, another voice rang out.
Ding. First round of tasks completed. New task issued.
The new mission didn't surprise Adrian. Since it was about revitalization, it naturally couldn't end after just passing the Ministry's review.
Adrian checked it.
Mission Objective: Revitalize Hals Oddities Shop
Mission Statement: This shop passed the Ministry's inspection perfectly and obtained large orders from the Ministry. However, its reputation only spreads in a small area. You must continue working hard.
Task Reward: Depends on evaluation
Note: Because the items you sold strengthened the Ministry's combat power, causing some dark wizards to suffer losses, beware of revenge!
The task note made Adrian frown. If the system hadn't reminded him, he'd almost forgotten the shop was in Knockturn Alley. Such close contact with the Ministry did carry the possibility of retaliation.
Of course, even knowing this in advance, Adrian wouldn't give up the Ministry's bulk orders.
Because this order represented official recognition in the magical world. It represented an opportunity to escape dangerous Knockturn Alley and do normal business in Diagon Alley!
Adrian had been fed up with the ruined place that was Knockturn Alley for ages. Not to mention the dangers—normal people would never come here to shop.
So earning enough Galleons to open a real magical shop in the relatively safe Diagon Alley was what he should do now.
Otherwise, Adrian worried about what might happen at home when he was away.