The Duel Begins!

Goodman took a serious look at the young wizard in front of him for the first time. Sean stood upright, had a handsome face, and wore a gentle smile that seemed to never fade.

As one of Grindelwald's confidants, he naturally knew the name of Sean Wallerup. Similarly, after the Academic Exchange ended last year, the other's reputation had spread throughout Newmontgard Castle.

However, as the Charms Class professor of Newmontgard, Goodman always believed that the title of genius could only be used after a wizard had truly made a name for himself.

There are too many wizards who show their talent in their student days, but in the end, how many of them are respected and written into the History of Magic?

In Goodman's mind, apart from Grindelwald, the headmaster of Newmontgard, only Mr. Dumbledore, the headmaster of another School of Magic, Hogwarts, could be called a genius.

Yes, he felt he didn't deserve the title of "genius," even though Goodman was one of the best in terms of Runes and spellcasting among the faculty and staff of Newmontgard.

The young wizard before him was too sharp, and his actions, knowing he was being 'held' by the Newmontgard students, were irrational. Furthermore, he hadn't received any information recently about whether any Hogwarts students were thoroughly investigating the Newmontgard students' abilities.

Acting rashly without even understanding the strength of the opponent shows a lack of adequate preparation.

Professor Goodman silently shook his head in his mind and gave Sean a temporary assessment.

But he wouldn't slack off in fulfilling his teaching duties. "Mr. Wallop, are you sure? With your request, the third and fourth graders will also do their best. If you're sure, you can go up there and give it your all. The medical team and I will be keeping a close eye on things."

Sean nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you, Professor."

He also considered whether to investigate the strength of the Newmontgard students beforehand. Harry brought the Invisibility Cloak, and he also had Dave's bio-listening device.

However, after much deliberation, Sean abandoned the idea. In the future, he couldn't always find a way to investigate his opponents' detailed information beforehand. Just like in the Wizarding World, the unknown always outweighs what you already know.

So why not train properly now? With professors supervising at school, there's always some safety in fighting opponents of unknown strength.

Professor Goodman stepped onto the stage, with Sean standing beside him, ready to fight. "Sean Wallep from Hogwarts Ravenclaw House requests a free duel. Students from any school, even those in their fourth year or below, are welcome to challenge him."

He then turned to Sean and asked, "Want to bet points?"

Sean nodded. "Okay."

Personal points in Newmontgard cannot be traded privately, but they can be used as bets during duels, making them a kind of alternative currency within the castle.

Bonus points are automatically cleared at the end of each semester, but if you have enough points, you can even apply for personal instruction from Grindelwald —a dream for every Newmontgard student.

"I'm accepting the bet. Okay, anyone willing to take the challenge, come up on stage and sign up," Professor Goodman said.

The students who were originally paired up all looked over.

As expected, the students of Newmontgard, especially those in their third and fourth years, immediately turned pale. How dare a second-year student be so arrogant when Hogwarts is completely dominating them?

Indeed, in their view, this was an extremely serious provocation.

Of course, most of the second-year students weren't so angry; they still remembered the terrifying Blood Loss Curse from before.

On the other hand, the students at Hogwarts were excited.

"Well done, Sean!"

"You're really something, buddy."

Whistles and cheers erupted.

Sean stood on one side of the stone platform, smiling and waving to the classmates who were cheering him on. He was elegant and looked like a gentleman being interviewed.

However, after waiting for a while, no one came up on stage.

The students of Newmontgard, especially the fourth-year students, were looking at each other. They weren't stupid; the other side's ' Occamy Emerges from Its Hole' had already spread far and wide. Magical Creatures of the xxxx danger level was not something ordinary students could contend with.

Sean waited for a long time but no one came up. He guessed what they were thinking, so he cleared his throat and said, "My Serpensortia was just an accident. I'm back to normal now. Don't look at me like that. If I'm lying, I'm just Flobberworm."

Although he made the promise and was preparing to do so, Sean's reputation in the castle was clearly not very good.

"Professor, if no one comes up, can I tell people outside that I'm invincible among fourth-graders?" Sean, eager for practical training, added fuel to the fire.

Professor Goodman remained expressionless and silent.

"Sean, remember to add the suffix, it must be within the fourth grade of Newmontgard." A loud, carefree voice rang out.

His classmate Stephen Wellen, also one of the top students at Eagle House, is optimistic and outstanding. However, this guy sometimes thinks differently from others, and adding fuel to the fire is one of his hobbies.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Stephen. I'll mention it to the Daily Prophet reporter." Sean smiled and waved.

As the two continued their back-and-forth banter, the students of Newmontgard finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Faced with the choice between being tricked by Sean and saving face, they made a decision.

A lean boy jumped onto the stone platform.

Sean chuckled at the sight of him; wasn't this the guy who had lost to him by ten Galleon the other day?

"Good evening, young man. Oh, by the way, I forgot to say that we met last time. May I ask your name?" he greeted him in a friendly manner.

The boy looked grim; he had been saving those ten Galleon since he enrolled in school almost two years ago!

"Aleka Ramos, a second-year student in Newmontgard," he introduced curtly.

"Ramos, nice to meet you. Thanks for the ten Galleon last time." Sean didn't forget to provoke the other side.

"Oh? Such a good thing! Sean, you have to treat us! I'll also contribute ten Galleon, and next time I'll treat everyone to snacks!" Stephen from the audience started to cheer again.

This guy is also a rich kid, and he and Sean are known as the two biggest spendthrifts in Eagle House.

"No problem, I'll place the owl order as soon as I get back." Sean readily agreed.

Ramos's chest heaved a few times. Those two annoying guys... However, he didn't let anger take over his head. Instead, he became even more cautious and serious.

The judgment of the Gate of Division can only indicate the difference in magic power and Spell Proficiency, but it may not be the case in actual combat!

Upon noticing this, Sean secretly praised the students of Newmontgard, thinking that they were quite mature.

He gripped the wand tightly, without any sign of slackening.

"Greet each other," the two bowed in acknowledgment, and Professor Goodman's voice rang out, "The duel begins!"

"Expelliarmus!" Ramos reacted extremely quickly; the moment the initial words were uttered, the Expelliarmus erupted.

"Dusandation!" Sean dodged the spell with lightning speed and chanted the incantation at the ground.

During the demonstration by the two professors, a significant amount of ground was damaged. Under the effect of the Dust Charm, dust and small stones were swept up, blurring the view on the stage.

Dust Charm? Why would the opponent choose such a simple spell to blur vision, but he has the ability to see through dust? However, the fact that even small stones were blown away indicates that the opponent's spell proficiency is very high, and his magical output is equally astonishing.

Ramos tensed up. He could no longer see Sean, only a cloud of dust in his vision, but he still made a quick judgment.

He cast a small defensive spell and then stuck it to the railing at the edge of the stone platform to prevent a surprise attack.

Ramos's spell "Tergeo" had no effect; the dust continued to swirl.

Amidst the swirling dust, Sean had already cast a "Quietus" Quietus on himself, and then continuously cast Dust Charm in a low voice, maintaining a small "dust storm" on the stone platform.

His sensitivity to magic allowed him to roughly judge Ramos's strength when Ramos cast the Expelliarmus —his abilities were outstanding, and his control over both the speed of casting spells and the power of magic output was quite perfect. If he were at Hogwarts, Ramos would be stronger than many third-year students.

But for Sean, that wasn't enough.

He can quickly disarm his opponent, but he still needs to prepare for the upcoming duel...

The dust rising from the stage obscured the students' vision, and they could only see two blurry figures. Ramos's side kept tentatively casting various spells, while Sean's side seemed unable to find the right direction for their spells.

Bach Hoffman, dressed in his sixth-grade uniform, stood with his hands in his pockets on a wooden platform, calmly watching the scene unfold before him.

"The spell is powerful, but it blurs vision and then leaves you with no way to resolve the situation. The predicament affects both of you simultaneously, which isn't very clever," he said.

The girl who had been following him seemed indifferent to everything. She twirled a strand of her long, blue-streaked hair between her fingers and said casually, "We'll know when the results come out, won't we?"

While they were talking, Sean finally got himself ready.

He raised his wand and looked in a certain direction in the dust, where his own magical mark shone brightly.

Yes, Sean had marked it long ago, and Ramos didn't even notice that a small black worm had crawled onto his leg in the dust.

This is the Shadow Worm Charm I got from Gormlaith Gaunt. Sean found that this charm is also quite good for marking the opponent's abilities.

"What an eye-catching target..." Sean muttered.

"Acupunct Internus!" He deliberately reduced the intensity of the spell's output.

A spell, moving at incredible speed, cut through the dust and headed straight for Ramos.

Without letting his guard down, Ramos dodged the curse with a rather unladylike roll.

"Damn it, he really does have the ability to pinpoint my location!"