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Chapter 185: I Don’t Want to Be a Bread Man (Part 2)
🕑 Added 2025-06-12 12:30:02 +0000 UTC"Teacher, you were looking for me?"
Noah followed Wang into the room where the Ancient One was waiting. He sat down quietly, respectful as always.
At that moment, the Ancient One was preparing tea. Frankly, from her calm and composed demeanor, it was hard to imagine she was the most powerful magician in the world.
"Hmm, how have you been feeling lately? You seem... not particularly happy," she asked with a knowing smile, pouring tea into three cups.
Once the cups were filled, she placed them in front of Noah and Wang, then took one for herself and sipped, visibly enjoying the aroma and warmth.
Noah scratched his nose, picked up the cup, and took a sip before replying, “I wouldn’t say I’m unhappy—just a bit down. My two-month vacation got canceled again.”
To be exact, he was a little annoyed, though he dared not use that word in front of the Ancient One.
This marked the second summer in a row where Noah hadn’t had a proper break. Admittedly, he probably would’ve been bored anyway, but still—there’s a saying: “It’s fine to be useless, but not to be absent.”
It was more of a psychological thing. Noah genuinely enjoyed studying at Kamar-Taj, but even he believed in the occasional lazy vacation.
After all, he had to train his body every single day here.
And as someone who viewed himself as a pure mage, physical training was not exactly appealing. The training intensity at Kamar-Taj was insane—dozens of times more than anything he had done before.
Moreover, the Ancient One had tweaked the regimen to focus entirely on physical endurance and resilience. Whereas training used to balance mind and body, it now leaned fully into physical enhancement.
Magic practice had practically been sidelined.
Since Noah’s return from Hogwarts, the Ancient One had started promoting meditation as the new foundation of magical training. Now, all magicians at Kamar-Taj restored their energy and stamina through daily meditation.
Truthfully, her meditation technique was extremely effective at higher levels.
Before Noah acquired a superior method from his system, the Ancient One's technique had been the best he’d ever seen.
But for entry-level and intermediate magicians, it felt a bit... lacking. Though still good, it lacked polish in certain areas. Of course, Noah wasn’t about to say that out loud.
"Oh? So what would you do if you had the two-month vacation?" the Ancient One asked, still calm and composed.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe hang out with Constantine?” Noah rubbed his chin, a little unsure.
“I asked you to stay here to keep you safe. At least for now, it’s better you avoid being in the spotlight.”
“I know, I know… because of the whole ‘magic power enhancement’ issue,” Noah said with a shrug. “It’s been a real headache.”
To be fair, that situation had been a problem.
Kamar-Taj had used Noah as a 'case study' for magical growth, and now his name—Noah Finniel—was known throughout the magical world.
The only silver lining? While people knew his name, they didn’t have a photo of him.
Thanks to the British Ministry of Magic (and surprisingly, even the American one), his identity remained somewhat protected. They hadn’t released any public information, which was great for keeping a low profile.
Still, even now, some folks were probably searching for him.
Even back at Hogwarts, students from all grades were trying to meet him, often with their parents pulling strings just to get an introduction.
If he hadn’t left when he did, he might’ve gotten mobbed at his own doorstep.
Coming back to Kamar-Taj was not just a way to dodge that chaos—but also to avoid overly enthusiastic senior magicians who wanted to “chat.”
“I heard from Wang that you’re not too keen on physical training?” the Ancient One asked, sipping her tea again.
Noah paused. “Well… I feel like I’m doing fine as I am?”
From what he remembered, Doctor Strange was a pure magician.
Yes, Strange had done some physical training—but he mostly relied on magical prowess, not brute force or swordsmanship. That was the kind of mage Noah wanted to become. A long-distance, glass-cannon wizard. Not a hybrid martial artist-mage.
In truth, Noah was a bit lazy. But despite that, he completed every single training session faithfully.
“Noah, maybe you don’t understand now—but strengthening the body is vital,” the Ancient One said, shaking her head with a smile. To her, Noah’s resistance was merely childish reluctance.
He was only fourteen, after all. In her eyes, he really was just a child.
Even if the system hadn’t blocked Noah’s true soul age, it wouldn’t make much difference. Compared to someone like the Ancient One, even Dumbledore was a kid.
“Maybe,” Noah said, tilting his head, “but I really feel I’m more suited to casting magic from a distance.”
Gandalf-style wizards were great—but Noah preferred being a magical machine gun.
“Still, you’re completing the training, right?” she asked, smiling again.
“Of course. It’s just exhausting.”
“Get used to it, Noah. Your future is unpredictable. The world is shifting because of your existence. But remember this: a magician’s body is like a bucket. If you want to turn that bucket into a pool—or even a river, or an ocean—your body must evolve along with your magic.”
The Ancient One’s tone turned unusually serious.
Noah nodded. She was right. He knew she was right.
But where was the limit to human physical strength?
In the Eastern world, the body was believed to have infinite potential. But in the Western world? Not so much.
Noah couldn’t see many reliable ways to enhance the body to such extremes.
Take Captain America, for instance—serum-enhanced, yes, but even he ended up an old man.
Thankfully, Noah had his system—and ever since he acquired the Blood of the Undead in Hungary, he had access to unique advantages. His physical stats could be optimized quietly.
Still, he kept that information to himself. The target he had in mind hadn’t even shown up yet.
As for his unpredictable future? Meh. His system could block all attempts to spy on or track him.
Even if it had gone dormant again after Budapest, it still did its job well.
“I understand, Teacher. I’ll continue doing my best,” Noah said sincerely.
“Good. Go rest for now. You’ve got assignments this afternoon. Oh, and your snake—is it an Animagus? Or something else? Never mind. Teach her. She seems talented.”
“The snake’s name is Nagini. She’s a Maledictus. After fully turning into a snake, she became one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. During my experiments, I accidentally extracted both her soul and Voldemort’s.”
“A blood curse... That’s terrifying. But you didn’t tell your sister?”
“No. Avril probably couldn’t handle it.”
Noah shrugged.
He hadn’t told Ms. Haifin the full truth. When he first brought the snake home, she was surprised—but as Nagini proved quiet and intelligent, she eventually just assumed it was a typical magical pet. Like how other wizards had owls.
She just found it uncomfortable that her brother had chosen a snake as a pet.
Few people were comfortable with snakes.
After leaving the hall, Noah strolled leisurely toward the dorms with Wang beside him.
Since it was still early, Wang had nowhere to go and decided to stick with Noah. They were in the same group, after all, and usually partnered up during training.
“To be honest, Noah, you’re way too skinny. Just look at everyone else, and then look at you. Huge difference,” Wang remarked.
“Come on, I’ve got a good figure and a solid frame. I just don’t want to turn myself into a walking pile of muscle—or, more precisely, a bread man,” Noah retorted, rolling his eyes.
He wasn’t about to explain himself further.
He was only fourteen. Maybe not the most muscular, but definitely not scrawny. At 1.7 meters tall already, he’d easily grow past 1.8 meters someday.
At least he hoped so.
“Bread man? What’s that?” Wang asked, completely confused.
“You know, those bodybuilders who cover themselves in oil and strike all those poses—don’t their muscles look like loaves of bread?” Noah explained, spreading his arms.
Wang visualized it... and his face turned a little green.
He really liked bread.
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