Believe in Yourself

Under Hermione’s disdainful gaze, Howard retreated in defeat.

Though he was confident he could handle adult women, he truly had no way to deal with little girls. What was more, another little girl—Natasha—was looking at him the exact same way. Howard was left completely speechless.

Come to think of it, Howard really had nothing to defend himself over. When Josh had previously brought Natasha to find him, he had been in bed with a blonde he had known for less than an hour. That was nothing unusual to him, but now it made him seem like some sort of freak.

"What do a bunch of kids who haven’t even grown all their hair know?"

What Howard found most unbearable was that the other two boys in wizard school uniforms were also looking at him with disdain. It made him extremely unhappy. If magic’s combat power were not a factor, he really would have liked to grab those two little brats and beat them up first.

But that was clearly wishful thinking. He did not think he could beat a wizard—even if it was only a child. But if that child had a handgun and knew how to pull the trigger, charging in would just be suicide. Magic was no different from a handgun in his eyes, and perhaps even more powerful, so Howard could only admit defeat.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, stop making things difficult for him. Professor Dumbledore will be here soon. If you still have classes later, you should hurry up instead of standing here mocking this guy."

Josh stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over. It was not because he was worried Howard would be embarrassed, but because Dumbledore really was on his way. Besides, while Howard’s behavior seemed excessive in these children’s eyes, Josh did not think much of it—as long as he did not fool around inside the school.

The reason those women outside clung to Howard was simple: money, or something else. Howard, meanwhile, clearly knew what he was doing—or rather, he knew very well how to enjoy life. There was nothing worth condemning about something consensual. Josh was no saint.

"Besides, he isn’t married yet. By their way of thinking, he can do whatever he wants as long as he isn’t married, but once he is married, messing around becomes a huge problem. I remember reading about a wealthy man who got caught cheating. The divorce ended up bankrupting his company. Pretty miserable."

While Josh was lost in thought, Dumbledore gently knocked on his door. Finding it unlocked, he walked in. Professor Flitwick came with him. To be honest, Josh’s absence from the opening feast had worried them. They had wondered whether Josh had decided not to return.

"Long time no see, Josh. I was worried you had forgotten the date."

"I haven’t. By the way, did you receive the message Crouch passed on for me?"

"Of course. It is only a minor matter. Hogwarts has plenty of rooms, so even if you brought a few more people, there would be no problem."

Hogwarts truly had many rooms. After all, it was the United Kingdom’s only and most formidable magic school. Even if there were not enough rooms, it would not be a problem. The spatial techniques used in this world might be crude, but shrinking a room was still easy enough.

"By the way, this guy’s name is Howard Stark. He is from another world. I hope he can learn some basic things at Hogwarts, such as meditation and a few spells. It is fine for him to start with the first-year curriculum."

"Certainly. I believe Professor Flitwick would be happy to help with that."

Professor Flitwick immediately nodded and looked at Howard curiously. He was someone Dumbledore trusted, so Dumbledore had told him some things about Josh. At first, he had thought Dumbledore was joking, but when he saw that McGonagall and Snape both looked serious, he knew it was absolutely true.

Teaching magic to an adult whose worldview had likely already taken shape would be difficult, but since Howard came from another world, he was very interested. Still, Professor Flitwick would have preferred to teach someone younger, since it would be easier to establish a magical worldview.

"What about this girl? It seems you have not arranged anything for her."

"She can forget it for now. She does not need to learn anything yet. Just let her attend classes with them. To be honest, I do not think she has the potential to learn magic, but she can learn warrior techniques from Garen and gain some understanding of magic. That would be fine."

For the time being, this was all Natasha could do. After all, Josh had ended up in the Marvel Universe during World War II. Still, Josh did not think it was a bad thing. Ready-made products might be convenient, but they did not seem as useful as someone cultivated personally.

Dumbledore nodded, and the matter was settled. As the headmaster of a school, his decisions were essentially its highest authority. In the past, he might have needed to negotiate with the school governors, but things were different now.

He was no longer merely a wizard. He was also an elemental mage. The ideas Josh had proposed earlier had quickly been accepted by this world. Of course, there had been some trouble: certain old noble families wanted to become elemental mages as well.

Not for any other reason. Previously, they might only have thought it would make them stronger. But after Dumbledore returned from the Muya Continent and spent some time in quiet cultivation, his magic power had basically caught up to his rank. To his surprise, he discovered that his vitality had begun to grow stronger!

If he had once been a candle on the verge of going out, he was now like an electric bulb connected to a power source. Unless that power supply ran dry, he could easily live another three or four hundred years!

If he had once half-believed Josh’s claims about raising one’s life level, he now believed Josh completely.

Although those old nobles were not as powerful as Dumbledore, their eyes were sharp. Even though Dumbledore still looked like a frail old man who might die at any time, the life force radiating from him could not deceive those old fellows who had used life-extending items.

There was nothing more to say after that. Who would not want a long life? Especially when they watched Dumbledore, who had been about the same age as them and seemed close to death, suddenly become brimming with vitality—who the hell could accept that? Fortunately, Dumbledore was no longer the Dumbledore he had once been.

In the past, Dumbledore had always needed to consider whether his successor would be as capable as him after he died. He could not allow his successor to be suppressed too severely by the other forces within the school, so he had no choice but to compromise. On top of that, Voldemort had constantly threatened the school, leaving him with few ways to deal with a group of people who played political games.

But now? After seeing Josh kill or cripple those unreasonable troublemakers, witnessing a broader world, and learning that Josh intended to make Hogwarts into a talent-training base—even if it was only a foundation for magical education—Dumbledore had far broader options.

Since that was the case, Dumbledore would no longer show any kindness to those people causing trouble right in front of him.

He had not killed or crippled the people who came looking for trouble, but after crushing them with high-ranking magical pressure and, on one occasion, directly blasting apart the castle of someone who had spoken rudely, almost no one dared confront Dumbledore head-on anymore.

Because they simply could not beat him!

In the past, they might have been able to threaten Dumbledore by saying they would side with Voldemort. But now? Please. Voldemort probably could not create such terrifying magic even if he lived until death!

Without anyone to rely on and without sufficient strength, those old nobles truly had no options left.

In Josh’s familiar words, before absolute strength, all schemes and tricks were nothing more than a joke. Dumbledore had never heard those words, but that did not mean he could not understand their meaning. He was now illustrating them perfectly.

"To be honest, this really feels wonderful."

Dumbledore had muttered that to himself more than once after dealing with those matters. It also made him even more certain that following Josh was completely right. If Josh had not been unable to remain in this world for long, Dumbledore might even have considered handing Hogwarts over to Josh in the future.

But that did not really matter. He believed Josh would never allow anyone else to meddle with Hogwarts. All Dumbledore needed to do was continue as he had before: constantly seek out talented children, train them into qualified wizards, and tell them how vast the world was.

Once they graduated in the future and formed new worldviews, they could provide Josh with a steady stream of talent. This was the link between them, so whether Hogwarts was formally handed over to Josh did not truly matter. Put simply, Hogwarts was already under Josh’s protection.

"By the way, Professor Dumbledore, would you be interested in going to a larger world in the future?" Josh suddenly recalled something and immediately asked.

"The Muya Continent?"

"No. It is a world with a higher world level than this one, and there are many interesting things there as well. If I am not mistaken, you have already sensed this world’s limit. The limit of the world I am talking about is twice as high as this one’s!"

A world’s limit was the highest rank of person it could accommodate. Generally, higher-level worlds would send those who reached and were about to surpass that limit to an even higher world. But the Wizard World clearly did not have that function, so its upper limit was essentially locked, preventing anyone from breaking through.

"A world like that? Wouldn’t it be dangerous?" Dumbledore hesitated.

"Of course there is danger, but fortunately, one of the strongest beings in that world is a friend of mine. We also founded an alliance together. Think of it as the Ministry of Magic, specifically for managing people with special abilities. If we encounter people who commit evil deeds and cannot be controlled, we will have to use force."

Josh realized that the Secret Ones Alliance he and Master Ancient One had created really did resemble the Ministry of Magic in some ways. Of course, the Ministry of Magic had broader responsibilities because it also possessed diplomatic authority. But if they were being honest, Josh felt his alliance was far more impressive.

"Official or not, every superpowered person on Earth in the Marvel Universe has to listen to the Chief Judge, or they will all suffer! And I hold the position of Supreme Judge. As long as I coordinate with Master Ancient One, won’t I have the final say?"

Dumbledore was somewhat tempted, because this organization clearly offered his students a better option. But he also feared that if his strength was insufficient, their partners might look down on him and harm Josh’s interests, which would leave him embarrassed as well.

"You do not need to worry about that." After Dumbledore told Josh what he was thinking, Josh shook his head without concern.

"First of all, that organization has only just been established. It does not even have a complete set of rules and regulations. You have been a headmaster for so many years, so you can fully fill in those gaps. Even if the mages in that world are stronger than you, so what? You can become administrators."

"Besides, Master Ancient One’s disciples are not that strong. You should believe in your talent. After cultivating properly in that world for a while, even if you cannot surpass them, you will at least be no weaker than them!"