One Step Closer!

Stevenson grinned widely, gripping a short, thick Blackthorn Wand, exuding an astonishing aura.

"Get out of the way? That's an insult to my Stevenson name. Come on, Wallerup, let me see your magic!"

Stevenson, like a warrior, lowered his body slightly, his spell aimed directly at Sean, his bull-like eyes fixed on the tip of Sean's staff.

Sean's lips curled up slightly.

I need a brute...

A brute who will be completely crushed by me!

After Obscurus took over Sean's body, he remained dormant, recovering his magic, except when Sean woke him up.

The Obscurus is completely different from other parasitic Magical Creatures in the Wizarding World. Not only in its form, but its Magic Power Source also resides in Sean's body, and its power can be converted into Sean's magical output!

The dark power within his body swirled freely, and that immense power flowed from its source to Sean's arms and fingertips.

Sean could almost feel his Elm Wand howling, and the Dragon Heartstring core of the raging Fire Dragon groaning gleefully.

Not only does he possess immense strength, but Sean also has to conduct an experiment during this tense duel.

That is, what kind of power can Ancient Spell is completely unfamiliar with display, under the huge output of magic power?

Sean's staff tip slowly traced an Ancient Runes symbol in the air. This was an Ancient Magic he had practiced with all his might, originating from Grindelwald in his youth!

"Helios Oculus (Blazing Flame Ignition)".

His wand trembled slightly, but there was no sound from the crowd.

Just as everyone looked puzzled, the temperature in the classroom suddenly rose dramatically!

The scorching heatwave swept through every corner like an all-pervasive gale. In just an instant, an indescribable heat filled everyone's skin, and even beads of sweat began to slide down their foreheads.

But they had no time to wipe their sweat, and the students stared in disbelief.

At the center of the stone platform, on the tip of Sean's staff, a fire Phoenix composed entirely of dazzling golden flames slowly spread its wings.

"Screech—" The loud cry echoed throughout the entire space.

Then, to everyone's horror, the fire Phoenix, accompanied by terrifying waves of fire, charged straight toward Stevenson on the opposite side.

Before the phoenix arrived, Stevenson's hair had already turned yellow and curly, his lips had become dry and chapped in a short period of time, and even breathing had become difficult.

"Ha—this is what I wanted..." Stevenson muttered to himself with an excited expression.

He raised his wand and retaliated!

As the wave of fire swept in, Professor Goodman's pupils contracted sharply.

Before he could speak, he waved his wand, and the railings at the edge of the stone platform emitted a pale blue light, which quickly formed a strong protective shield that enveloped Stevenson.

"Boom—" There was no loud noise, only towering waves of fire.

Golden flames exploded, completely engulfing Stevenson. The Phoenix transformed into crimson fire, surging about before being stopped by the light emanating from the railings and finally reaching the ceiling.

"This guy..." Several students' lips twitched, as if they were trying to find some adjectives, but in the end they couldn't come up with anything.

"Where is Stevenson?" The flames inside the arena had not completely dissipated, making it impossible to see the scene clearly.

"Won't they get burned to death?"

"Stop joking, the professor is here, and Stevenson is very strong, okay?"

"Yeah... that spell, that spell..." A student wanted to say that Sean's Divine Fire Charm might just be a facade, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to say it.

The power of the flames just now was terrifying.

Finally, the firelight died down, and on the stone platform, Sean, completely unharmed, stood there with a frown.

He's fine... but what about Stevenson?

The students quickly looked in another direction.

The spot where Stevenson had stood had turned a horribly charred black, and a blackened figure lay in the circle, where the original stone slab surface could still be vaguely seen.

Professor Goodman, his face grave, was half-crouched beside the charred figure, soft white light constantly emanating from the tip of his wand.

That pile of coke... is it Stevenson?

The students below the stage swallowed hard. They looked at Sean in horror. He wasn't tall, but he looked incredibly terrifying at that moment.

Only Sean was very dissatisfied. Although the power of the Divine Fire Charm was considerable, compared to the enormous magical power he had poured in with the combined power of himself and the Obscurus, the effect was shockingly weak.

"Merlin, you son of a bitch... Is my Runes Talent completely hopeless?" Sean cursed under his breath, somewhat annoyed.

His proficiency with the Divine Fire Charm barely reached 500, but its magic conversion efficiency was far inferior to other spells!

Sean was very dissatisfied.

He paid no attention to the silent Stevenson; he knew all too well the power of his spell.

If his Runes Talent were around a normal five points, the power of this spell would increase exponentially. The current Divine Fire Charm, partially neutralized by the opponent's spell, and with Goodman's intervention, meant that while it looked frightening, it was at most a severe burn, an injury that would heal in a month in the Hospital Wing.

Goodman, who was half-squatting, finally stopped chanting. He breathed a sigh of relief, waved his hand, and then the medical team rushed in and carried Stevenson away.

"Sean Wallerup wins..." He glanced at the other person with a complicated look.

A second-year wizard... a second-year student... how could he master such high-level Ancient Magic? Although his Runes writing was clumsy and rough, it was genuine Ancient Magic!

If Sean knew what the expressionless Professor Goodman was thinking, he would definitely mutter to himself, "The Ancient Magic you just demonstrated is already on my system panel, but the proficiency is only 0..."

Goodman straightened up and looked at Sean with a strange look in his eyes.

"Professor, is he alright?" Sean asked with concern.

Even knowing that his curse wouldn't be fatal, he still had to put on an act.

"He won't die, but he'll be bedridden for a while," Goodman said slowly. "Mr. Wallop, what a brilliant spell..."

Hearing Professor Goodman's monotone words, Sean was momentarily confused about his thoughts. He could only blink innocently, "I was just trying it out..."

To Sean's surprise, Professor Goodman didn't scold him at all, but simply said, "Given your performance so far, no wonder you're so confident. However, Wallerup, do you still want to continue your free duel?"

"Hmm, that's fine too."

"Your choice is yours," Goodman nodded. "However, the powerful Ancient Spell can no longer be used. It's not that I'm going back on my word, but the power of Ancient Magic is simply too incredible. If students keep going into the Hospital Wing, it will be overwhelmed, and..."

Sean wondered if he had seen wrong; Professor Goodman seemed to have smiled.

"Furthermore, if you keep using this spell, no one will be willing to duel with you."

"Oh, I see, Professor." Sean nodded.

He had two purposes for this duel: to hone his combat skills and to demonstrate his strength. Although the students of Newmontgard had a poor impression of him, they all came to the school for the same reason: to admire strength.

To form an organization, you must first demonstrate power; only the scent of blood can attract hyenas.

However, Sean's spell was perhaps too powerful, because even after promising not to use Ancient Magic again, none of the students from Newmontgard stepped forward.

Fourth-grade students should ask themselves: are they really that much better than Stevenson? That's hard to say... and...

They looked at Sean on the stage, who was lightly kicking the stones at his feet.

Who knows what other tricks this guy is up to?

Sean kicked the stone under his feet toward the scorched ground, using the lighter-colored circle as a goal. After playing like this for a while, no one came up to the goal.

"Is it working too well...?" Sean licked his dry lips and looked at Professor Goodman.

"Professor," he said softly, "From now on, I will also accept the challenge of fifth-grade students."

These words immediately caused a huge uproar.

In the process of learning magic, the fifth year is a huge change compared to the fourth year, because from this year onwards, students will take the OWLs exam at the end of the semester, which is the ' Ordinary Wizarding Level '.

Students must achieve the required exam scores to continue taking the elective course in that subject.

Whether it's more advanced magic or the pressure of exams, the fifth-year students' strength will improve rapidly. If third and fourth-year students can still duel each other, then fifth-year students can basically crush the lower grades.

So when Sean first proposed to duel with third and fourth graders, the others were surprised but not to the point of losing their composure. But when he said he wanted to challenge fifth graders, many people couldn't sit still.

Suddenly, several fifth-grade students from Newmontgard stood up.

"Mr. Wallop, are you sure?" Professor Goodman asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Sean kicked a rock right where Stevenson had been lying. "Bingo!"

This casual demeanor provoked the anger of many, and the proud Newmontgard even took a step forward in unison.

After much debate, a fifth-grade student was finally chosen, and he received the approval of most people.

Bach Hoffman, who had been observing from the high platform with a detached eye, had lost his previous nonchalant demeanor; his expression had now become serious.

"Phileas Garfield is one of the better fifth-year students. He should have no problem dealing with a second-year kid."

The girl next to him finally showed interest. She pulled out a macaron from somewhere and popped it into her mouth, saying indistinctly as she chewed, "That handsome young man named Wallerup is quite interesting~ Hehe, Bach, don't look at me like that. I like interesting handsome guys, second only to interesting books. Besides, I already said—wait for the results, don't jump to conclusions."

Bach Hoffman turned his head away with a cold face. This Patricia had no idea about her position!

Garfield stepped onto the dueling platform, staring intently at Sean as if facing a formidable enemy. He stood within the circle where Stevenson had once lay, with scattered stones at his feet. As he observed his opponent's condition, he began to calculate the difference in their strength.

The opponent possesses immense magical power, but likely knows fewer spells than I do; he is right-handed and habitually lowers his wrist when casting spells; he prefers to use appearances to deceive his opponents and hides his true intentions; I need to pay attention to his lip movements and wand gestures to determine the real spells; also, since he is proficient in Ancient Magic, he has a broad knowledge base, and my lesser spells may not have the expected effect, or may even be used against me.

Looking at the tall, serious-looking boy across from him, Sean blinked.

He's a little excited now, as it's his first time competing against fifth-graders, and this will truly showcase his abilities.

Of course—some traps laid long ago can be used as a backup plan...

"The duel begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Garfield's twelve-inch-long Black Walnut Wand flashed with light.

Nonverbal Spell! And incredibly fast!

Unable to cast a spell to counter it... Sean quickly made a judgment and rolled away to dodge the spell.

"Bang!" The spell shattered on the stone slab, sending stones flying.

What incredible power! Sean caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye and immediately moved even faster.

For the first time during the event, a scene occurred that caused anxiety among the Hogwarts students.

Sean had no chance to fight back. He even had difficulty finding time to chant spells. The boy named Garfield had a considerable number of Nonverbal Spell. Without being able to determine the opponent's spells, it was obviously not a wise choice to fight back.

Moreover, the opponent's spells were fast and accurate. As the owner of the Black Walnut Wand, he clearly possessed keen intuition and insight. Several times, the spells narrowly grazed Sean's robes, eliciting gasps of surprise.

Below the stage, Hermione and Daisy nervously clasped each other's hands, their hearts pounding as they watched Sean struggle to dodge their attacks.

On stage, Sean also felt immense pressure. His opponent was strong and showed no signs of underestimating him, leaving him with no room to retaliate.

As expected of the elites of Newmontgard, their pressure is truly immense... Sean thought breathlessly, his stamina already beginning to wane.

Garfield's strength made many seventh-year students at Hogwarts feel ashamed. They couldn't help but switch places with Sean, and then realized with grim faces that they didn't seem to have much room to fight back.

"Ah! Watch out!" a girl exclaimed.

On the field, a curse finally grazed Sean's face.

He immediately felt the skin on his cheekbone begin to tighten, and that half of his head seemed to become a little heavy.

A silent Binding Charm, and incredibly powerful; even a tiny swipe has a noticeable effect... They want to restrict my movements first...

Sean figured out the other party's purpose, but even though he knew it, he still couldn't fight back.

It's a pity, he's still far behind in a direct confrontation... Sean sighed, then looked at the other party.

We've arrived at our location...

He stood still and raised his wand.

10,000 words done! Here's the final update. Merry Christmas everyone! I, the author, gave up the chance to go out and have fun this Christmas to come back and write, shouldn't you give me some encouragement? doge

By the way, I'll continue with 10,000 words a day tomorrow! Let's go!