HP: Boundless Wizardry - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Harry Potter - Boundless Wizardry

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters in the story are consenting adults over 18 years of age.

Chapter 3: Beginning of Summer

“Thirty-six.” Sweat rolled down Harry’s neck as he lowered himself to the ground.

“Thirty-seven.” The number came out between breaths, the morning sun shinning trough his Window glinting off his bare, sweat-covered chest.

This time the push took more effort. He gritted his teeth and forced his arms to extend while Hedwig watched with interest. “Thirty-eight.”

Again, he let his body sink toward the ground before slowly pushing himself upward. “Thirty-nine.” His muscles burned, but he wasn’t going to stop one short.

“For the last time… forty.” Harry exhaled the final count and allowed himself to collapse on the floor of his Room. He spread out flat, soaking in the warm sunlight as his body recovered from the morning workout. His arms felt like jelly, his chest heaved, and yet a faint satisfaction settled in his mind.

[ Through continuous training, you have gained +1 Strength. ]

It had been a week since he returned from his third year at Hogwarts, and in that time he had committed himself to daily training. Working out wasn’t just about fitness anymore. He had confirmed that this was the most reliable way to raise his Stats, and the results made the effort worthwhile.

Strength responded best to classic muscle training—pushups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and anything that strained his body. Dexterity, on the other hand, improved through running, stretching, and exercises that tested his flexibility and reaction time. Vitality also grew through physical activity, though at a slower pace compared to Strength or Dexterity.

Harry briefly considered whether deliberately getting injured and healing might raise it faster, but quickly tossed that idea aside. He wasn’t eager to play punching bag just for numbers. From what he could tell, muscle strain from workouts already did the job well enough.

Best of all he didn’t have to care about which part of the Body he trained. Thanks to turning into something like an Semi-Game Character his body responded to gained Stats equally.

Mental Stats were a little trickier. Intelligence increased whenever he studied—reading, memorizing information, and reviewing details. With each point gained, he noticed the difference.

Memorization came easier, understanding became quicker, and his thoughts felt sharper. It left him wondering if there was a natural ceiling, or if he could just keep climbing forever.

Wisdom was the most complicated. The System seemed to reward smart decisions and careful thinking. For now, Harry used chess as his main training method. Playing against himself seemed to work, though it wasn’t exactly thrilling.

Maybe he should start taking Ron more seriously when he asked for matches. Up until now, Harry had treated those games as nothing more than a way to pass time with his friend, never bothering to put in much effort.

Charisma, however, remained a complete mystery. He had no concrete way to test how to train it. His best guesses involved social interactions, maybe flirting, or even practicing speeches in front of a mirror. Unfortunately, none of those were options here.

If the Dursleys caught him rehearsing speeches in the bathroom mirror, they’d probably throw a fit.

And speaking of them, his social interactions were practically nonexistent anyway. The Dursleys were still furious over last summer’s “Aunt Marge incident” and treated him like a pest in their home. But lately, Harry noticed something different in their behavior. It wasn’t just anger.

There was a certain spark in their eyes, almost like they were waiting for something. The last time he had seen them look that excited was right before his first year at Hogwarts, when they’d dumped him at King’s Cross with a trunk, a ticket, and no help whatsoever.

The neighbors were no better. Years of rumors spread by the Dursleys had branded Harry as a delinquent in the neighborhood. Most people either ignored him or looked the other way when he passed. It wasn’t much of a surprise anymore, but it still stung.

So he did what he could with the time he had. He trained, studied, and waited.

The Download still wasn’t finished. Even after a full week, it lingered in the background, incomplete. There was no progress bar to track, but Harry could feel it inside him—an odd, tickling sensation that reminded him of how his magic felt when it stirred.

And that sensation was getting stronger. Close. Almost done.

After washing up and putting on his clothes, Harry headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. The familiar sound of clinking cutlery and rustling plates greeted him before he even entered.

When he stepped inside, he wasn’t surprised to find the three Dursleys already seated at the table.

As always since his return, not a single one of them acknowledged him. They had made it into a routine.

Rather than waste their precious morning energy on speaking with him, they seemed to consider it far more productive to glare at the sad little portions of fruit that had been carefully arranged on their plates.

It was such a strange detail that Harry had almost forgotten about it. Of course he remembered reading about it in the Harry Potter books, but it had been such a strange and unimportant detail though he couldn’t really recall the exact moment it had happened. Now that he was seeing it firsthand, he couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing.

Suppressing a grin, Harry slid into his usual seat. He hummed a cheerful little tune, just to make the atmosphere that much more irritating for them, and greeted the table warmly.

“A very good morning to everyone.”

The only responses he received were a collection of glares and a few low grunts. Vernon and Dudley didn’t even try to hide their annoyance as they immediately returned to scowling at their plates.

The Dursleys were on a diet.

It all started with Dudley’s school report at the end of the year. The teachers had dared to suggest, in a polite but firm manner, that Dudley was not only bullying other students but was also, well, overweight. Of course, the family didn’t appreciate such bluntness.

According to them, Dudley wasn’t fat—he was simply “big-boned.” Big-boned enough to match the size and weight of a small whale, perhaps, but they didn’t like to think of it that way.

The report had triggered a full-scale domestic war in Number Four, Privet Drive. Petunia, furious at the idea of her precious Dudley being labeled as unhealthy, declared that something had to change.

Vernon and Dudley, naturally, resisted as if their lives depended on it. The shouting matches had gone on for days, echoing through the house like cannon fire.

In the end, shockingly, Petunia had won. And with her victory came a new law in the household: everyone would go on a diet. If Dudley had to suffer, then so did the rest of them.

Harry, however, didn’t consider it suffering at all. He actually enjoyed the light breakfast of fresh fruit. Compared to the usual greasy meals the Dursleys loved, this was an improvement.

And besides, if he ever did get hungry, he had other ways of dealing with it.

One of the first things he had done after returning to Privet Drive was to call for Dobby, just to see if the little house-elf would still come. And come he did—instantly, bursting with excitement the moment Harry called his name.

When Harry offered him the chance to work for him, Dobby had nearly exploded with joy. For a brief second Harry honestly thought the excitable creature might collapse from a heart attack.

Instead, Dobby had sworn his loyalty, and Harry now had the strange but comforting experience of owning a house-elf. Thanks to that, he didn’t have to share in Dudley’s misery. If he ever wanted more food, Dobby was more than happy to provide.

And so, Harry happily dug into his plate of fruit, savoring every bite while his relatives sulked over theirs.

But just as he was about to reach for another slice, a strange feeling washed over him.

[ Download complete! ]

[ Template - Shizue Izawa - Age 8 ]

[ Perks: ]

[ Summoned Otherworldler ]

[ Demon Lords Blessing ]

[ Ifrit ]

[ Demoniod ]

[ … ]

[ Skills: ]

[ Degenerate ]

[ Flame Manipulation ]

[ Flame Attack Nullification ]

[ Japanese Language ]

[ … ]

Before Harry allowed himself to properly focus on the new screen floating in front of his eyes, he decided to finish his breakfast first. Acting suspicious around the Dursleys was never a good idea.

If they were just a little more observant, they might have noticed the way he had gone completely still the moment the screen appeared. Luckily for him, subtle details were far beyond their level of awareness.

Keeping his expression calm, he continued chewing on the fruit slices, pretending as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Inside, however, his attention was entirely on the new information displayed before him.

The name that stood out immediately was Shizue Izawa. Just the Character he had selected. Later she would be better known as Shizu, a Hero from the world of ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime’. Her title, “Conqueror of Flames,” was listed clearly, and Harry felt a flicker of excitement.

She was strong. Not the strongest in that universe, of course, in reality pretty far from it, but still considered an impressive character. Compared to others in that series—especially once the story truly escalated—she was on the weaker side.

Still, Harry knew better than to underestimate her. He had selecter her as his first Download for a Reason! That world was filled with broken characters, where power levels skyrocketed to absurd extremes, and even someone at Shizu’s level could burn down armies without much effort.

What really caught his attention was the download progress. It had taken over a full week just to acquire the child version of Shizu—the one freshly summoned into that world, still at the stage of learning and only beginning to grasp her skills.

If the system had tried to download her prime version, the wait would probably stretch into several weeks, maybe even longer.

Harry leaned back slightly, finishing the last piece of fruit on his plate. The implications were obvious. If this was the speed for Shizu, then for someone like Rimuru—even just a weaker version right at the start of the series—the process would take more than a month. Later Versions would take several if not years.

The system didn’t just measure current strength; it also factored in the character’s potential. And Rimuru’s potential was practically limitless.

Once his plate was empty, Harry politely excused himself from the table. The Dursleys barely reacted, too busy sulking over their diet to care. That suited him just fine.

He climbed the stairs at a steady pace, careful not to rush, before slipping into his room. The door was locked the moment he stepped inside. Sitting on his bed, he finally allowed himself to focus entirely on the glowing screen.

His gaze scanned down the lists of perks and skills associated with Shizu. At first glance, many of them seemed ordinary—mundane abilities that Harry himself already possessed in one form or another. In fact he had more than her, since he was older.

The real treasure were the ones standing out at the top as if the System had sorted it form him. All the abilities tied to her summoning into the Central World caught his attention, standing out like gems among common stones. Harry felt a spark of anticipation as he leaned closer, eyes narrowing slightly.

He couldn’t help himself. He had to take a closer look at the options waiting there.

[ Summoned Otherworldler ]

[ By surviving the summoning ritual, the character endured the perilous passage through the Void and exposure to a vast concentration of Magicules. As a result, their Soul and Mind are far stronger than those of an ordinary human. ]

[ Demon Lords Blessing ]

[ The blessing of Demon Lord Leon Cromwell fortifies the character’s Soul and forges a link to his own. Through this bond, they are gradually empowered over time, gaining enhanced growth beyond normal limits. ]

[ Ifrit ]

[ The Flame Giant Ifrit possesses the character’s body, stabilizing it and granting powerful fire-related abilities. This presence enhances their affinity with fire and allows them to summon Ifrit as a Spirit when needed. ]

[ Flame Manipulation ]

[ Enables the user to control the shape and properties of existing flames, as well as regulate their own internal body temperature. While it cannot directly create fire, the user can raise and focus their body heat to ignite flammable materials. This skill allows flames to be wrapped around objects or targets, and the heat can be intensified far beyond natural limits. ]

[ Flame Attack Nullification ]

[ Nullification type Skill that negates the effects of heat and flames. ]

The list of available options stretched out before Harry, and there were more than a few that made his mouth water in anticipation. The world of ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime’ was ridiculous when it came to power. Characters there broke every rule of balance, tossing around skills and abilities that could reshape reality.

Yet even with that absurd power on display, the reality of his situation set in quickly—downloading just one character, and not even a prime one, but a freshly summoned child, had already taken more than a full week.

On top of that, there was the biggest limitation of all: only one perk or skill could be chosen per download. No matter how many tempting abilities were on the list, he could only walk away with a single prize each time.

It made the decision much harder than he expected.

For example, the idea of gaining fire immunity sounded almost too good to pass up. The ability to manipulate fire itself, to wield it like a weapon or a shield, was even better.

If he selected [Ifrit], there was a high chance he would get both at once. But the danger of that choice was obvious. Ifrit wasn’t just some passive ability waiting to be slotted into him—it was a sentient spirit, complete with its own thoughts, desires, and will.

Harry paused at that thought, a frown forming. What would actually happen if a being like that was suddenly placed inside his body? Would he still be in control, or would he end up fighting for dominance with a fire spirit that had no reason to obey him? The risk was enormous.

Shifting his focus, he considered the soul-related perks. There was one that promised to strengthen the soul itself. On paper, it sounded vague, but also incredibly valuable. A stronger soul had to be good for something, even if he couldn’t see the immediate benefits.

Maybe it would give him resistance against possession, protect him from curses, maybe enhance his Magic or even let him better handle stronger powers and Skills in the future. The possibilities were wide open, and that alone made it attractive.

Still, despite the allure of these options, Harry reminded himself of his original plan. Fire immunity, Ifrit, soul strengthening—they were all tempting. Yet none of them were the actual reason he had chosen Shizu as his very first download.

He leaned back slightly, exhaling as his eyes returned to the screen. The real goal, the one he had been eyeing since the moment the new screen appeared, was simple.

His true objective was:

[ Degenerate ]

[ A unique skill that governs fusion and division, allowing the manipulation of skills, objects, and properties at their core.

Synthesis: Merges two or more targets into a single entity. This can be used to chain multiple skills together, enabling the creation of new abilities with far less effort than normal.

Separation: Extracts or divides properties from a target. This includes removing skills (excluding those bound to the soul), purging foreign entities such as possessing spirits, or cleansing toxins and harmful substances from the body. ]

A skill that allowed the combination and separation of other skills—or even objects and abstract properties—wasn’t just convenient, it was terrifyingly versatile. For someone like Harry, who had access to downloads from countless worlds across the multiverse, such an ability could be the perfect foundation.

With it, weaker abilities could be merged into something stronger, and powerful ones could be taken apart and studied in detail. The potential was almost endless.

That alone would have been enough reason to pick it, but Harry had a few more motivations for choosing [Degenerate] as his very first skill.

He didn’t know what the actual download process would feel like, and the unknown always carried risk. To be safe, he made sure to sit on his bed, leaning back against the pillows so he wouldn’t fall or injure himself if something went wrong.

The mattress beneath him felt steady, and the familiar walls of his room gave him at least the illusion of security. If he passed out or ended up thrashing around, at least no one would see.

Taking a slow breath, Harry fixed his eyes on the screen. With a single thought, he confirmed his choice.

[Degenerate] was selected.

The response was immediate.

A sudden, overwhelming sensation surged through him. It wasn’t pain, but it was so intense that his body stiffened involuntarily. It felt as if something fundamental within him was being rewritten.

His limbs, his chest, even his breathing all remained perfectly normal, yet the core of his being resonated with a strange pressure.

It didn’t take him long to realize where it was coming from. This wasn’t a change in the body—it was deeper than that.

The soul.

Memories of the Tensura series flickered in his mind. He remembered how Unique Skills and stronger abilities were always described as residing within the soul itself. Now he was experiencing that description firsthand.

Just as suddenly as the sensation had appeared, it faded away, leaving only a faint echo behind. Yet Harry knew instinctively that something had shifted inside him. It wasn’t a guess, it wasn’t a theory—there was simply a clear, wordless understanding in his mind.

Somewhere within his soul, he now had the ability to do things he hadn’t been capable of before. The knowledge of [Degenerate] sat inside him, not as a thought he had studied, but as an instinct that felt as natural as moving his hand.

[ Unique Skill acquired! ]

[ Degenerate (Active) ]

It worked.

When Harry opened his skill menu to double-check, a new entry had appeared. Just like [Download (Passive)], his freshly obtained ability had no level attached to it. It wasn’t the sort of skill that could be trained or ranked up. Instead, it existed as a fixed, but utterly broken, power.

The description was short, but the meaning was clear. Harry now possessed the ability to separate or combine anything he touched. Of course, reality wasn’t quite as simple as the line made it sound.

He could feel the mechanics of the skill within him, like a set of instructions imprinted on his soul. To use it effectively, he needed at least a basic understanding of what he wanted to accomplish. If he tried to purify a lump of metal ore, for example, then he needed to know what part of it was the metal and what part was the waste.

Not in precise detail but he had to be able to identify at least the basic atomic composition, enough to tell the skill what to keep and what to discard.

It reminded him of Rimuru’s “Great Sage,” which practically turned the ability into an auto-pilot. With “Great Sage”, all the complex calculations were handled by an AI-like assistant, meaning Rimuru could separate and combine without worrying about the science behind it. Harry, unfortunately, had no such luxury.

Once he had gotten that Skill, he had surpassed Shizu’s used of it instantly thanks to “Great Sage”.

For him, using [Degenerate] meant slow and steady. He would have to concentrate, work slowly, and make sure not to accidentally ruin whatever he was attempting to manipulate.

That being said, the skill wasn’t limited to physical objects. In fact, Harry quickly realized it might actually be easier to use on conceptual things like skills, magic, or abilities.

Breaking apart a spell into its components or merging different powers together didn’t require atomic-level knowledge, only a conceptual understanding. That was precisely why he had wanted this skill so badly in the first place.

Still, experiments could wait. Before testing out [Degenerate], he needed to decide on his next download. Wasting time wasn’t an option.

Rimuru’s “Great Sage” naturally came to mind again. The skill was amazing, almost mandatory for anyone trying to compete at the highest level. But Rimuru himself was a special case.

Even in his earliest days, he carried massive potential. Considering he was very likely the reincarnation of Veldenava—the being who had created an entire multiverse—downloading Rimuru at any stage would be an endless process. Realistically, it would take him over a year to obtain even the weakest version.

A year was far too long. Voldemort’s revival was creeping closer with every passing day, and Harry couldn’t afford to sit around waiting. There were countless other worlds out there with characters who weren’t nearly as powerful but had unique skills that could be abused to devastating effect.

Even Tensura had a wide selection of Characters with a more realistic donwload time, but powerful Skills.

One example was Shuna’s “Analyst.” On paper it sounded simple, but in practice it was incredible. Faster thinking, the ability to analyze and understand anything, improved spellcasting—it would have worked perfectly with [Degenerate], letting him break down and rebuild skills with precision.

Harry scrolled down to select it—only for the menu to flash red.

[ Error! Selection not possible. You cannot select a character from the same universe twice in a row. Please choose a different template. ]

He froze, then sighed.

“Well… that’s that. Another time, then.”

With the Tensura world temporarily locked out, his mind drifted to other options. Who else could he pick?

At first nothing stood out. Then, suddenly, inspiration struck. It wasn’t even a series he had paid much attention to before, but the memory of it surfaced now, clear as day.

The characters weren’t particularly strong compared to heavy-hitting universes, but that was exactly why the download time won’t be excessively long. And buried inside that weaker setting was a set of skills that, when combined, became absurdly broken.

It would take at least two downloads to be useful, considering that he couldn’t repeatedly use it on the same World, three, but once it was done, the payoff would be enormous.

Harry felt his pulse quicken as excitement surged through him. His lips curled into a grin.

This was it. He had made his choice.

[ Starting Download… ]

The notification flickered across his vision, and Harry immediately sensed the difference. This time it didn’t feel like something that would take months, though it was definitely heavier than Shizu’s download. If his instincts were right, the process would still drag on longer than last time—but nowhere near as unbearable as Rimuru had been.

With the download steadily running in the background, he turned his focus back to the real reason he had chosen [Degenerate] in the first place. The skill wasn’t just for playing with objects.

If it worked the way he imagined, then it could become the cornerstone of everything he planned to do. Risky, yes, but the payoff would be massive.

Before testing his true goal, however, he wanted to experiment with something smaller. A week of waiting had given him plenty of time to think about how to approach it.

Harry moved over to the small desk tucked against the wall of his room. From the drawer he pulled out the Monster Book of Monsters, still bound tightly with the belt he had wrapped around it months ago.

As soon as the book felt movement, it shook and thrashed against the leather strap, straining to break free. It wasn’t going anywhere.

On the desk he placed the living book to his left, and on the right he set down an ordinary blank notebook. Taking a slow breath, he pressed his left hand against the Monster Book and his right against the empty one. Then he concentrated.

The idea was simple in theory—separate the enchantment that gave the monster book its life, and transfer it into the plain notebook. The execution, however, required focus.

Harry closed his eyes, sinking into the sensation of magic flowing beneath his skin.

Ever since his first visit to Ollivander’s, he had noticed something unusual about himself. Unlike most wizards, he could feel magic. Not just spells being cast in the air, but the raw essence of magic lingering in objects and places. Ollivander’s wand shop, drenched in enchantments, had been the first time it overwhelmed him.

Over the years, the ability had only sharpened. Now, he could distinctly sense the difference between one magical object and another.

the Monster Book, isolating the threads that turned it from a simple text into a biting, snarling nuisance.

A faint glow shimmered above the cover as the book abruptly stilled. The magic within it unraveled under his touch, a current of energy flowing out and hovering in the air. Slowly, Harry guided the separated enchantment toward the blank notebook.

The moment it fused, the empty book twitched, then snapped open and tried to bite his fingers.

“Ah—right.” Harry yanked his hand back with a startled laugh. “Forgot to bind you first.”

Unlike the original, this version had no sharp teeth, and its size was smaller, making it far less dangerous. Still, it wriggled like a hungry animal until he quickly wrapped his belt around it.

When it finally settled, Harry let out a breath and leaned back in his chair. Success. His new skill worked, and as long as he stayed calm and precise, he could control it without much difficulty.

That test was enough to boost his confidence, but it wasn’t his real objective. Securing his belt, he left the books on the desk and moved to the bed. Stretching out across the mattress, he made himself as comfortable as possible.

There was no preparation left to do—no shortcuts, no quick fixes. If he wanted more certainty, it would take months or even years of research, and he didn’t have that kind of time. He wasn’t even sure it would give him a meaningful answer.

Either the plan would succeed, or it wouldn’t. But one thing he knew for sure: it wouldn’t kill him.

Tensura skills weren’t ordinary magic. They were reality-warping abilities, and Harry trusted that [Degenerate] would answer to his will.

Closing his eyes, he let his awareness turn inward. This time he didn’t reach out to any object around him. Instead, he searched within his own body, tracing the flow of energy until his attention settled on the one place that mattered most—his scar.

The Horcrux. The shard of Voldemort’s soul he knew was there, confirmed beyond doubt by the system itself.

Harry’s plan was straightforward: separate a piece of it. Not the soul fragment itself—that was too risky. Instead, he focused on the memories tied to it. Specifically, the knowledge Voldemort had possessed in the moments before casting the Killing Curse.

Decades of magical research, countless spells, and the accumulated expertise of one of the most feared dark wizard of the century.

If he could isolate those memories and take them for himself, the gain would be immeasurable.

He activated [Degenerate]. The skill reached into the scar, tearing apart the Horcrux with surgical precision. The moment the memories detached, they flooded into him.

Visions slammed into his mind one after another. Scenes of Tom Riddle’s childhood, his years at Hogwarts, his first experiments with forbidden spells. Duels, rituals, whispers in dark chambers—all of it forced itself into Harry’s head in an unstoppable stream.

Pain flared instantly. His skull felt like it was splitting apart under the weight of knowledge, and every instinct screamed at him to let go. But he bit down on the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to stay silent, refusing to give the Dursleys any reason to come barging in.

The torrent lasted minutes that felt like hours. Finally, the flow slowed, then ebbed away. His vision swam, and the world around him tilted.

Harry’s last coherent thought before darkness claimed him was simple.

It worked.

Then he passed out cold.