Chapter 440: Adventure Beneath the Lake (Three)

Chapter 440: Adventure Beneath the Lake (Three)

Felix smiled, waving his wand. A golden mist gathered in the water, forming a screen quite similar to the one on the shore, albeit smaller. Even Ludo Bagman's voice echoed distinctly.

"An hour remains, twenty minutes short. Six brave warriors are still struggling to adapt to the chaotic magic, yet they've all ventured out of the protective barrier, relying on the primitive method of breath-holding to explore. It's an undoubtedly right strategy as each of them is surrounded by at least one golden gem."

"An hour's nearly up! Only two warriors remain, one from Durmstrang and another from Uagadou. These two will be turned into hostages. Security officers, ensure their safety."

Felix rose, bidding farewell to the mermaid leader. A silver cloak materialized behind him, unfolding silently into the dim lake water. In an instant, he dashed like the wind.

The cloak seemed sentient, swiftly parting the water ahead. Within a minute, he spotted his first target.

Glancing at the diminutive student before him, Felix bent down, the cloak billowing behind him. "Adim Buweck?"

"Y-yes, it's me," the wizard stammered, looking utterly disheveled. An hour had passed, yet he couldn't wield his wand, forced to hold his breath underwater. February's waters weren't forgiving without magic.

"Following the rules, you'll be a hostage next," Felix said softly, observing the wizard's terrified expression. "If your teammate rescues you, you can rejoin the contest. There's an opportunity with effort..."

Amidst a cluster of mermaids...

With his wand pointed at the wizard, magic gathered at its tip. Before the wizard could plea, he drifted back into slumber.

"Next one." Felix straightened, peering towards his next destination.

On the shore, the audience struggled to keep up with the enthralling scenes. Ludo Bagman, his face flushed from the winter wind, animatedly narrated—

"Our safety officers have successfully rescued the first hostage. Although their pocket-stuffing technique might seem rough, rest assured, there's no risk of drowning... Two hostages will be tied to the stone pillars at the mermaid square awaiting rescue."

"Let's do a quick recap:"

"The two teams from Hogwarts are progressing steadily. Each member has collected around three golden gems, restoring their spellcasting abilities. Cedric Diggory used an ice bomb, magically enlarging the frozen area, successfully immobilizing a dozen Grindylows; Colin Creevey's dark mist was quite impressive..."

"The second team did well too. Harry Potter's control over the rainbow fish is remarkable. He's the fastest gem collector among all warriors, gathering five in total. Though the poor fish couldn't keep up with him, Potter successfully cast an advanced variation of the Shield Charm. Hermione Granger didn't utilize the rainbow fish as expected, an unconventional move indeed. Her progress isn't slow; she decoded five blue-level challenges, each time choosing a map of the surrounding area as a reward, securing four gems so far."

The voice abruptly stopped.

Ron stood frozen, looking around, softly asking, "Hermione? She's talking to me? Where is she? How is she communicating with me?"

Remembering what Hermione had mentioned, he decided to backtrack. Thankfully, he had left fairly noticeable footprints along the way. When he reached the crevice where he'd been ambushed by the large octopus, the creature was nowhere in sight. He hastened his steps.

Returning to where he'd found the golden gem, he indeed found a blue-colored small house behind some water plants. "Blue... test of intelligence..." Ron's heart skipped a beat, but he still stepped inside.

The next moment, he was pulled into a quaintly designed library.

Empty, the hollow voice echoed in the room, "Detected warrior, the test begins." A golden roulette appeared in mid-air. Ron just made out the options—“Potionology,” “Magical Lore,” “Intellect”—when the roulette swiftly started spinning.

Uneasy, Ron muttered, "Please don't be Potionology, please don't be Potionology..."

Finally, the roulette halted, pointing to "Muggle Studies."

Ron heaved a sigh of relief. The voice continued, "Please choose open-book or closed-book—"

"Open-book!" Ron promptly shouted.

A golden parchment appeared on the table. Dark shelves in the library began to shift, emitting creaking sounds. Once everything settled, a shelf full of books stopped in front of him.

The hollow voice spoke again, "All the answers lie within these books. Test time, external ten minutes, time ratio: 1:5."

Wide-eyed, Ron couldn't help but feel this challenge was oddly familiar.

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