Duelling Training Class

The Duelling Training Class at Newmontgard are somewhat different from the Duelling Club at Hogwarts. The former focuses more on teachers instructing students on how to duel, while the latter tends to emphasize practical exchanges between students, with professors mostly playing a role in demonstration and supervision.

Of course, after Tom Riddle's Residual Soul was destroyed, Hogwarts' revived Duelling Club was suspended. I heard that the upperclassmen had a private student gathering, but during dueling practice, a flower bloomed on one of the boys' heads—that flower had to be removed every day, otherwise it would drain their life force.

Madam Pomfrey served as the gardener for half a month, and the boy only recovered after Snape developed the antidote. However, as a result, the students' party was called off.

After all, without a teacher's supervision, if a spell is not cast accurately, it could lead to serious consequences.

Newmontgard's Duelling Training Class was added to the students' compulsory curriculum not long after the school was founded, as can be seen from the facilities of the dueling arena.

When Sean and his friends walked into the Duelling Classroom, everyone was surprised.

This is a circular room with bright chandeliers hanging from the arched ceiling. In the very center of the room is a huge stone platform, with a fence around it Defensive Spell, so that students can observe from there without being accidentally injured.

In the corner of the room, many dummies were neatly arranged. These dummies were also classified in detail, such as those that could move back and forth, those covered with Dragon Hide with extremely high magic resistance, and even special capture training dummies. These dummies seemed to be some kind of alchemical product. They could distinguish the power of a spell and the location of its impact when a wizard's spell hit. If the spell would be fatal or severely maim, the dummies would emit a red light to remind the wizard on the other side that the capture had failed.

Moreover, Newmontgard, with its strong faculty, sends at least eight instructors to each Duelling Training Class to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, since this is a large class that all grades attend together—and the Hospital Wing staff are always on standby.

This is one of the advantages of having a large number of faculty and staff. Hogwarts professors simply don't have that much time, and the school Hospital Wing only has one employee Madam Pomfrey.

The professor in charge of this class is Vanish Goodman, the Charms Class teacher at Newmontgard, who is the complete opposite of the Charms professor at Hogwarts.

Professor Goodman looked very old. He was nearly two meters tall, but as thin as a bamboo pole. His hands, which were much larger than normal, were withered and long, with prominent knuckles.

He always had a gloomy, unhappy expression on his face, and he wore Monocle over one eye, making him look like a skinny vampire.

"The first Duelling Training Class after Christmas is now beginning." Professor Goodman's voice was like a broken old bellows, hoarse and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

He waved a long, rough, brown wand, and the railings at the edge of the dueling platform lit up.

"The Defensive Spell has been activated..." Hermione whispered.

"Yes, and it looks very strong." Sean nodded; he could feel powerful magic flowing before his eyes.

Goodman squinted with one eye and scanned the crowd through his Monocle with the other.

"There are new students here... This time I will demonstrate carefully with the other professors, remember to analyze the duel process and observe closely."

After saying this, Professor Goodman called up Professor Gurey, the teacher of the Magic Attack and Defense Class.

Sean happened to be behind Goodman, saw that the professor on the stage had his hands behind his back, and spells had silently adhered to his body.

Moreover, a wooden box was tucked open at the back of his waist, and it was clear from the opening and Goodman's fingers that had secretly reached in and out that it contained gold dust.

Defensive spells and Runes symbols?

Professor Gurey walked onto the stage with a wide grin; he seemed to particularly enjoy showing this eccentric smile.

"Professor Goodman, then I won't hold back!" He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"That would be perfect." Goodman nodded expressionlessly.

"Then, salute."

As the two bowed to each other, Goodman's fingers began to trace symbols in the air.

The two looked up at the same time, and Professor Gurey let out an excited shout. His wand instantly rose, and a silent red light shot straight toward Goodman.

To everyone's surprise, Professor Goodman stood motionless, seemingly without any intention of avoiding the situation.

The red light struck Goodman at incredible speed, but a silvery-white transparent barrier appeared around his body, blocking the curse.

Seemingly having anticipated all of this, Goodman calmly completed the final stroke. His symbols were now drawn, and several Runes symbols flashed in the air.

A silver circle appeared beneath his feet.

Immediately afterwards, Goodman also cast a Nonverbal Spell, which became thicker after passing through the circle.

Gure, who was about to cast Defensive Spell on himself, suddenly jolted and rolled over in an unseemly manner.

The red light struck the railing at the edge of the stone platform, and a huge barrier materialized. Sean, who was outside, didn't even hear the explosion before the spell vanished.

However, the intense tremors already demonstrated the power of this curse.

"Does that Ancient Magic, outlined by Runes symbols, increase the power of spells?" Sean wondered to himself as he watched Guree nimbly maneuvering on the stone platform.

Gure had been looking for an opportunity to cast Defensive Spell on himself, but the circle of Ancient Magic was like an accelerator; the magical light passing through it became thicker and faster, giving him no chance at all.

At the same time, Sean witnessed an even more astonishing scene: in the center of the stone platform, Goodman, who resembled a magical cannon, maintained his right hand in casting spells, while his left hand, smeared with gold dust, began to outline symbols again.

After the opponent sketched out three new symbols, Professor Gurey finally found an opportunity to retaliate.

He nimbly dodged a spell while raising his wand high.

A huge light shone, and the dazzling white light briefly blinded the students below the stage.

When they opened their dry eyes, they found that Gure had rushed straight toward Goodman.

The two were only a step apart, and Gure, holding his wand, could almost see the pores on the other's face.

But Goodman was prepared; the instant the other party approached, he had just finished drawing the Runes needed for the second Ancient Magic.

Runes shone again, the magic transformed into a transparent, water-like substance that crawled onto Goodman's body. Sean, who knew nothing of Ancient Runes, was nearly dumbfounded.

Goodman finally found a good opportunity to fight back, and his wand shot out, striking Goodman.

But Goodman only swayed slightly before several spells were launched at his opponent.

The amplified spell was incredibly powerful. Gure dodged most of it, but was still struck by the last spell.

His body suddenly became sluggish and slow, and even his thoughts slowed down.

A reinforced silent Slowing Charm!

Goodman pressed his advantage relentlessly, unleashing several more spells in quick succession without pause, all while remaining completely still within the circle of Ancient Magic.

Having been slowed down, Gurei was clearly no longer able to escape the spell. With a sigh of resentment, his wand spun and flew to the ground, and he himself turned into a stone statue.

"The outcome is decided." Goodman's expression remained unchanged.

He broke the spell on Gu Lei, then looked at all the students. "What did I do in this battle? Who can answer me?"

Hermione hesitated whether to reach out; she had only learned a little of the Ancient Runes and was not yet at the point where she could understand them.

As for Sean, he was even worse off. He only had two points of Runes Talent, and he couldn't understand the Ancient Magic that Professor Goodman was using at all. He even felt a little dizzy.

A senior student from Newmontgard raised his hand; judging by his uniform, he was probably a seventh-year student.

"Mr. Booker, you answer me."

Booker's Sonorus Charm, his words fast and clear. "Professor Goodman, you started planning before the duel, using your superb Runes skills to complete the outline of most of the runes without your opponent noticing. At the same time, you cast a defensive spell on yourself in advance to ensure that you would not be knocked down by your opponent's first spell. By using the defensive spell to withstand the attack, you completed the construction of the first Ancient Magic —but I don't know this spell. It looks like it's an enhancement spell?"

"Indeed, I lack the combat ability to face them head-on, so I adopted this approach," Professor Goodman seemed to have no idea that making arrangements before the duel was wrong. "I played to my strengths, and for my offensive spell, I chose the Slowing Charm, a medium-level spell that can be cast quickly. When the enemy slows down, I speed up. At the same time, I was building up my defensive Ancient Magic to ensure that I wouldn't lose my combat ability in the face of the opponent's desperate attack."

"I didn't stop casting spells when disarmed, because I had to take into account the enemy's ability to Wandless and Silent Casting..."

Professor Goodman spoke at length, and frankly, it was all highly individualistic experience, completely disregarding the so-called 'duel dignity'.

Sean summarized his approach as: play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, use any means necessary, and be extremely cautious.

To be honest, this is similar to Sean's thinking. That's how it should be in a real battle. Professor Goodman's insightful and easy-to-understand explanations have benefited him a lot.

No wonder the students of Newmontgard fight so much more fiercely than those at Hogwarts, no wonder they always manage to bring home the Triwizard Cup...

"Hey Sean, did you see that guy from earlier?"

Sean turned to look at the speaker and saw that it was the Weasley twins, who had somehow managed to blend into the group of second-year students.

"Which one? Oh, that Booker?"

"Yes, it was him," Fred said through gritted teeth. "George and I were beaten up by that Booker and his gang."

Looking from afar, Sean saw that Booker had light brown hair and an annoying, faint smile on his face. Judging from his clothes and accessories, he was probably a nouveau riche.

A seventh-grader led a large group of people to beat up two fourth-graders in a dirty trick... It seems that Booker has truly learned the essence of ruthlessness.

George and Fred were still discussing revenge nearby.

"How about Dungbomb plus Amortentia? Then lock all those bastards in one room!"

"Then I'll have to buy a large dose of Amortentia... Or should I order another live goat and have it delivered to them?"

"You're a disgusting guy," George said disdainfully, then nodded, "But I like you. You're a true twin brother of George Weasley."

Sean's lips twitched. These two brothers' revenge plan was truly disgusting...

However, Sean wasn't confident he could win against a seventh-generation Newmontgard student. If only he could launch a sneak attack... I 'Swooping Evil, Occamy, Wampus Cat together, what's the point of talking about martial ethics?

Of course, using Magical Creatures wasn't Sean's original intention for training his combat skills. His plan was to practice Wizard Duels below the fourth grade in Newmontgard to accurately assess his current proficiency in spells and his combat abilities.

As for revenge, Sean already had some 'cute' little plans.

He nudged the two brothers' arms. "That Dungbomb can't tell friend from foe... You two can think of how to get revenge on him first, I'll have a plan in a couple of days."

"Sean, I know you're a loyal friend," Fred put his arm around his shoulder, "But that guy is a seventh-year student, and we asked around today. Booker is quite outstanding. Apparently, two years ago, at the Triwizard Cup, Booker, who was then a fifth-year student, almost made it into the tournament team, but there were too many strong seventh-year students in Newmontgard, all of them were abnormally strong, so he was outmaneuvered and didn't make it in the end."

"Clearly, he's become one of the weirdos in seventh grade now." George shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.

Sean waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I have a way."

"Really? Don't try to be a hero just to get revenge for us."

"Really, you'll see when the time comes."

Having assured the twins, Professor Goodman paused his explanation.

"Now, you can practice in pairs without worrying about getting injured. The professors and medical staff are on standby at all times."

"Your goal is singular: to completely disable your opponent's ability to cast spells," Professor Goodman said. "Anyone who wants to duel on the stone platform, come and sign up with me."

Upon hearing this, Sean immediately walked over, and Goodman glanced at him with a slight lift of his eyelids.

"A second-year student at Hogwarts? And who are they dueling with?"

"Free duel."

"Not bad courage... So, will you accept the challenge from the second-year students of Newmontgard?"

Sean blinked. "Yes, and not just second graders, third and fourth graders too."

Goodman finally showed a different expression. He squinted at Sean, seemingly wondering where the little wizard in front of him got his confidence.