Albert on the Offensive

Ever since Albert entered the Forbidden Forest, Fang has been running around him, sniffing the roots and leaves, searching for Fred's scent.

At least, that's what Albert thought.

The quiet Forbidden Forest was occasionally filled with the rustling of leaves, keeping Albert on edge as he remained vigilant for any potential danger.

Indeed, venturing into the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night was undoubtedly the most reckless thing Albert had ever done.

He stopped in an open space, looked up at the sky, and tried to find the Red Sparks launched by the Twins.

"Perhaps I should bring a Flying Broom; traveling through the sky would be much faster." Albert looked around in the light of his wand, listening intently to hear any sounds besides the snapping of branches and the rustling of leaves.

To be honest, walking alone on the trails of the Forbidden Forest, Albert felt particularly insecure, and the night wind gave him goosebumps.

I feel completely insecure; this feeling is awful.

"Fang, don't stray too far from me."

Albert stopped, called Fang back, and then opened the Task Panel to upgrade the "Protego Totalum" skill to level 2.

Indeed, we should first improve our ability to protect ourselves.

At least, if you suddenly encounter danger, you won't lose your life immediately.

As Ollivander said, wands made of Redwood do not bring luck to their users, but rather give wizards the ability to escape danger when they encounter it.

This wand is indeed very suitable for Albert.

Fang wasn't very fast, Albert followed it continuously along the path for about half an hour.

Albert felt exhausted from being constantly on edge. He took out a piece of chocolate, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly to reduce the fatigue caused by the tension.

When thinking, Albert likes to eat something sweet, which can relieve fatigue and effectively improve mental agility.

Fang seemed to want some too, but dogs can't eat chocolate, so Albert could only pat its head and promise to buy it some good food when they got back.

"Let's go!" Albert rallied his spirits and continued deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

The deeper they ventured into the Forbidden Forest, the denser the trees became, and now the night sky was almost invisible. Albert's wand was the only glimmer of light in the Black Forest.

Beyond the area illuminated by that faint light lay utter darkness and terror.

In fact, Albert had already realized that he might be lost, and had even strayed from the forest path! Or rather, it wasn't him who was lost, but Fred and George who were lost, and Albert, who was following behind them, naturally got lost as well.

If that's the case, things are not looking good, and Albert estimates he won't be able to find the two of them in a short time.

Now, Albert's only hope is to see the Red Sparks rise in the Forbidden Forest.

Plans can never keep up with changes!

Albert sighed softly; he knew this all too well, so he wasn't annoyed.

In fact, long before entering the forest, he had placed most of his hopes on the professors; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Lee Jordan back to find Professor McGonagall.

The current Hogwarts is probably in complete chaos.

However, he must find the Weasley Twins before the professors arrive, or the mission may fail.

As for regret?

Albert never regretted it. If he had stayed, Professor McGonagall would never have allowed him to enter the Forbidden Forest. The 2,000 experience points and 2 Skill Points were worth the risk, even if it meant consuming a large amount of his experience pool.

Two Skill Points are really valuable.

After level 3, the experience gained from quests is no longer sufficient to upgrade skills, so using Skill Points is the best way to level up.

"Where could you possibly be?" Albert muttered to himself. He walked through the low bushes, stepped over fallen saplings, and crossed a stream, his robes torn by branches and thorns along the way.

Albert felt as if he had walked for a long time, the dense canopy of trees completely blocking out the moonlight.

Fang stopped and barked in a certain direction.

This is bad!

Albert felt as if he were being watched by eyes hidden in the darkness, a feeling that sent chills down his spine.

He immediately ran to Fang's side, waving his wand to use Protego Totalum, creating a transparent, bubble-shaped Defensive Barrier around them.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves filled the air, and Albert could even feel the ground of the Forbidden Forest trembling slightly.

Albert breathed a sigh of relief when he learned it was Centaurs; he knew these creatures usually wouldn't harm Hogwarts students.

A moment later, two Centaurs appeared on either side of Albert. Centaurs drew their bows and aimed their arrows at him, Albert couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Whether in his past life or this one, this was the first time he had ever experienced something like this.

The feeling was very uncomfortable, and Albert unconsciously gripped his wand tightly to make sure his Defensive Barrier wouldn't be pierced by the Centaurs's arrows.

"Who are you?" a gruff voice demanded.

"Albert Anderson, a student at Hogwarts." Albert tried to keep his voice as friendly as possible.

"Follower, this is not a place for you," the Centaurs gruffly warned.

"I have two friends who are lost in the Forbidden Forest, and I need to find them as soon as possible," Albert said, explaining his purpose for entering the Forbidden Forest.

"Two more foals went into the woods, I remember..." The Centaurs put away their bows and arrows and walked toward Albert, stepping into the range of the wand's light.

Albert first saw the Centaurs, he felt very strange. It was human from the waist up, with red hair and a beard, but from the waist down it was a brownish-red horse with a long red tail.

"I know we can't go into the woods," Albert said softly, "But I need to find them... if you could offer us even a little help..."

"We will not help humans!" the dark brown Centaurs roared at Albert.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. If I offended you, I apologize." Albert had calmed down and said softly, "I don't know you, and I don't want any unpleasant conflict with you. I'm just here to find my friends, and I'll leave as soon as I find them."

"Alright, Bane," the reddish-brown Centaurs reassured his fellow centaur. "He means no harm."

"He came uninvited..."

"I hope we don't have any conflict," Albert interrupted the Centaurs, his voice sounding somewhat cold.

At this moment, Albert was considering whether to take down the two Centaurs, but if he did, his search for the Weasley Twins might come to an end.

I am not Hagrid, Centaurs are not as friendly as legend has it.

However, it's not hard to deduce that Fred and George did not encounter the Centaurs, otherwise Albert would have learned about it from Centaurs.

"You should be able to see that I am not as weak as you think," Albert said, staring at the Centaurs. "There is no need for us to fight. I just want to find my friends and get them out of here."

"Of course, I leave the decision to you."

"You know Hagrid?" the reddish-brown Centaurs suddenly changed the subject. It had known Hagrid's Hound, Fang, from the very beginning.

"Yes, I am Hagrid's friend. I originally planned to ask him for help, but Hagrid is not at his cabin tonight, so I can only bring Hagrid's Hound to the Forbidden Forest to look for him." Albert squinted at the reddish-brown Centaurs and continued, "Hagrid once said that as long as I am with Fang, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will harm me."

"Come with me, Hagrid's friend. I think I know where your friend is." The reddish-brown Centaurs turned and walked toward the forest.

"Ronan!" Bane was very unhappy with the behavior of his compatriots.

"We never attack foals," Ronan said, stopping and turning around. "I saw Red Sparks on the other side of the forest earlier."

"That's right, that's it, they might be in some trouble!" Albert breathed a sigh of relief. The Red Sparks meant that Fred and George were still alive.

"Fang, keep up!" Albert deactivated the protective barrier around him and quickly caught up with the Centaurs.

"However, I need to warn you that the forest over there is dangerous," Ronan told Albert. "Those giant spiders eat any animals that go into that forest, and I don't recommend you go there to risk it."

"Thank you, but I won't abandon my friend." Albert shook his head and refused the other's kindness. "I will take responsibility for my recklessness. If I get eaten by a spider, it's my own fault, and it has nothing to do with you."

"Alright!" Ronan gave Albert a deep look, nodded, and said, "Come with me, it's still a distance from here."

About twenty minutes later, Albert stood wearily under a tree to rest. Even though Ronan had slowed down, he still struggled to keep up with the Centaurs.

"From here on, this is the hunting range of those giant spiders, but I still don't recommend you take the risk."

"Thank you, Ronan. I will remember you and your help." Albert leaned slightly forward to express his gratitude to the Centaurs beside him.

"If you can bring your friends back, I will guide you out of this forest," Ronan said, turning and leaving.

Albert watched Ronan's disappearing figure, then turned and walked towards the forest ahead. He knew he had to be extra vigilant; this place was more dangerous than anywhere else.

"You shouldn't have helped him," Bane said angrily to Ronan.

"He's Hagrid's friend." Ronan said softly, gazing in the direction Albert had gone. "Even if we help him, he'll still do the same."

"They are not welcome here."

"We never attack foals," Ronan repeated, an ancient agreement Centaur Tribe in the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts.

"That colt isn't as weak as you think, you should be able to tell." Ronan stood in the open space, looking up at the starry sky, and murmured to himself, "He's special, yes, very special."

Both Ronan and Bane could see that if they tried to do anything to Albert, he would retaliate fiercely.

As Albert said, he had no ill intentions and left the decision to the Centaurs.

The latter, however, chose to coexist peacefully.

As Ronan said, Centaurs never attack Hogwarts students.

On the other hand, upon entering the range of the Acromantula, Albert had to be on high alert for his surroundings.

Since arriving here with the Centaurs, Fang has been unable to track Fred's location by scent.

Albert was hesitant about whether to fire the Green Sparks into the sky, but he was also worried that doing so would attract the Acromantula.

Suddenly, Fang barked wildly at Albert's back.

"Protego Totalum!" Albert immediately cast a spell, and Defensive Barrier protected him and Fang. A large spider appeared behind Albert without warning, baring its fangs and claws as it crashed into the protective barrier, unable to advance even an inch.

Fang was still barking wildly, while Albert stiffly turned his head, staring dumbfounded at the monster that appeared in front of him, his heart skipping a beat.

Unlike the small spiders I'd seen before, this one was as big as a horse, with eight legs, and was black and hairy. Its large pincers were moving, making a chilling clicking sound.

"I hate spiders," Albert muttered to himself as he looked at the eight eyes. Soon, he noticed a new quest had appeared on his screen.

An angry counterattack! You seem to have been attacked. It's time to teach the attackers a lesson, defeat the attacking Acromantula, and let those furry behemoths know that you're not someone to be trifled with.

Reward: 1500 experience points, and the skill "Spider Repelling Spell".

"This skill came at just the right time," Albert muttered. He immediately opened his Skill Panel, leveled the Apparition Charm to level 2, then reached out and picked up the whimpering Fang, using Apparition to disappear on the spot.

The Acromantula simply couldn't understand why its prey had suddenly disappeared.

The next moment, Albert appeared 50 feet away. He suppressed the discomfort caused by Apparition and waved his wand, shouting, "Stunning Spell!"

The red flames struck the giant spider.

The Stunning Spell had little effect on it, and instead enraged the Acromantula even more.

"Stunning Spell! Obstruction Jinx! Stunning Spell!"

The Acromantula had already pounced towards them. The Stunning Spell and the Obstruction Jinx had some effect, slowing down its movement.

"Protego Totalum." Albert used the protective barrier again, enveloping himself in it.

The Acromantula crashed headfirst into the protective barrier, suffering another defeat.

Albert could sense the Acromantula's anger emanating from its eight black eyes, its sharp pincers clicking and clacking as if to say, "I'm going to eat you."

The spell didn't seem to have much effect on it. Was my magic too weak, the spider too big, or its magic too strong?

If the spell were upgraded to level 2, the effect might be better, but... Albert glanced at the experience pool; he would definitely need to learn the Spider Repelling Spell later.

Ideally, this problem should be solved without requiring an upgrade.

What are the spider's weaknesses? Basilisk? And...?

Legs? After all, it has eight legs.

Tripping Jinx... Leg-Locker Curse... Soft Leg Jinx... and Dancing Feet Spell...

Hopefully these spells will work.

Albert used Apparition again, admitting that the magic was extremely useful, but the discomfort Apparition caused was just too terrible.

After discovering that its prey had disappeared once again, the Acromantula immediately looked around, but Albert's voice had already rang out.

Tarantallegra! The Dancing Charm struck the Acromantula's foot, causing it to involuntarily begin a tap dance.

This spell undoubtedly produced remarkable results.

Spiders obviously don't tap dance, so it looks like it has two legs cramping and is shaking uncontrollably.