The next second, a shocking scene unfolded.
Professor Flitwick's figure blurred in an instant, then appeared simultaneously in four different places, as if three copies of himself had appeared.
"What kind of magic is this?" Bagman's eyes widened.
The four Professor Flitwicks raised their wands at the same time:
"Sectumsempra!"
Four streaks of silver light shot out simultaneously, each aimed at a different Goblin.
Two Goblins didn't react in time and were hit on the spot. One had both legs severed, blood spurting everywhere; the other was struck in the chest and literally torn to pieces.
The other two Goblins were lucky. They were standing farther back and managed to cast a spell in time to block the attack.
"Bud! Bucky!"
Bagman's already red eyes grew even redder, as if they were about to bleed.
"Too bad."
Professor Flitwick murmured to himself, sweat already beading on his forehead.
This had been his signature move in his younger days, winning him every duel tournament he entered.
But he was older now, and performing it had clearly left him physically drained.
Bagman realized just how dangerous the short wizard before him was.
They had underestimated him, thinking that their numbers would let them push him around.
"Careful, he's an expert!"
He warned his companions, pointing his wand at a nearby table.
The table hurtled toward Professor Flitwick.
Professor Flitwick calmly responded, giving a flick of his wand.
The flying table instantly turned into a bull. It landed heavily on the ground, then charged at Bagman.
"Damn it!" Bagman hurriedly dodged.
Spells began flying everywhere between the two sides, flashes of light in every color crisscrossing through the small room. The battle was fierce.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Griphook tapped the wall a few times, and a secret passage quietly appeared.
"Charlie, hurry!" Griphook urgently tugged at Charlie's arm.
As far as he was concerned, Charlie was just a first-year wizard. Staying here would only get in the way, so he'd be better off making a run for it.
But Charlie stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"Stop watching. You can't help him. With the spells you know, you can barely tickle them."
Griphook was so anxious he could hardly sit still.
Bagman's remaining men were completely focused on fighting Professor Flitwick. None of them even noticed Charlie in the corner.
In their eyes, a little wizard and a wandless Goblin blacksmith posed no threat at all.
The corners of Charlie's mouth lifted slightly.
His chance had come.
He quietly raised his wand and took aim at the nearest Goblin.
"Stupefy!"
A red flash shot out. The Goblin was completely unprepared and fell unconscious on the spot.
Bagman heard the noise and turned around. His anger flared. "Damn brat!"
But Charlie had already taken aim at the next target.
"Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!"
Two more red flashes shot out, and two Goblins fell.
"That kid!" The remaining Goblins finally realized they had underestimated him.
But it was too late. Charlie's attacks came like raindrops.
"Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!"
The relentless spells made the air tremble. Charlie's wand barely paused as he turned into a magical artillery platform.
Griphook stared, stunned. Were first-year wizards really this overpowered now?
He'd taken down three adult Goblins in an instant. So Griphook was actually the weakest one here.
The three remaining Goblins came to their senses and hurriedly conjured shields of light to block Charlie's spells.
The red spells pelted the shields like raindrops, sending ripples across them.
But the three Goblins kept channeling magic power to maintain their shields, and the spells couldn't break through.
"Damn brat!"
One Goblin flew into a rage and pointed his wand at Charlie, firing a streak of green light.
Charlie was ready. He immediately ducked, sweeping his wand at the same time.
The tables and chairs around him instantly transformed into solid shields, surrounding him on all sides and blocking the incoming spell.
Even then, Charlie didn't think he was safe enough. From within his shield formation, he shouted:
"Protego!"
A ring of light surrounded Charlie, protecting him with both physical and magical defenses.
Now that was what you called saturation defense.
If he'd had more time, he would've put on his Troll vest too.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Spells struck the shields with dull thuds, sparks flying everywhere, but they still couldn't break through.
"Damn it, this kid's got some tricks!"
Bagman gritted his teeth and kept bombarding Charlie with spells.
This was why Charlie hadn't attacked from the start.
Although his spells were as powerful as an adult wizard's, he still had little combat experience, and he only knew a handful of powerful spells.
If he fought the enemy head-on, he'd be out of options after using one spell.
So he could only serve as a surprise weapon, striking unexpectedly while Professor Flitwick drew their fire.
A wizard needed to use his head in a fight!
If all you did was wave your wand and shout Avada, Avada, how were you any different from a troll?
The tide had now turned. Professor Flitwick had taken out two Goblins, and Charlie had caught three off guard.
Only three members of Bagman's side remained.
Seeing things turn against him, Bagman slowly backed away, keeping his remaining underlings in front of him.
"You two, hold off the kid. I'll deal with the old man!"
The two Goblins obeyed and immediately charged at Charlie.
Charlie's heart tightened, but he didn't panic. Reliable Professor Flitwick was still right there.
Just then, Professor Flitwick seized the opportunity and performed that marvelous splitting trick again.
"Apparition!"
Four Professor Flitwicks appeared at once, all pointing their wands at the two Goblins charging toward Charlie.
"Sectumsempra!"
Silver light flashed, and the two Goblins instantly fell to the ground, their fates unknown.
As for Bagman, the moment Flitwick attacked, he turned and ran outside.
He summoned a stone to fly at Professor Flitwick, then Apparated away.
Professor Flitwick was worried about Charlie's safety and didn't pursue him.
He hurried over to the pile of shields surrounding Charlie and looked it up and down, unsure where to start.
"Charlie, are you all right? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Professor."
Charlie poked his head out from the shield formation. Once he saw that the dust had settled outside, he came out, relieved.
A real fight like that was much more thrilling than taking on a troll.
That troll had been a big, dumb target. Apart from its thick skin, it didn't have much going for it.
Fighting intelligent creatures like these was genuinely dangerous.
Charlie resolved to work even harder at earning Tyrant Points and draw more powerful spells.
"Glad you're all right. We couldn't have done it without you, Charlie."
Professor Flitwick climbed onto the pile of shields and patted Charlie on the shoulder, pleased.
"Don't say that, Professor. If you hadn't drawn their fire, my ambush wouldn't have worked."
"I still don't know enough spells."
Griphook was completely dumbfounded.
Was that even something a person would say?
A first-year wizard had taken down three adult Goblins in an instant and still thought he wasn't overpowered enough?
What else was there to say? They might as well just declare him the winner before the fight even started.
Wizards were terrifying. I'm going into hiding. Hiding!
"Charlie, you did exceptionally well today!"
Professor Flitwick was full of praise.
"If we were at school, I'd give you a hundred points!"
"No need to give me points, Professor."
Charlie looked up at Professor Flitwick eagerly.
"I want to learn that splitting trick you just used!"
"Haha, that wasn't a splitting trick," Professor Flitwick explained with a laugh.
"That was just Apparition. I cast it three times in quick succession, then combined it with attacks."
"It looked like I'd split into copies of myself, but it was really just an optical illusion caused by moving so fast."
"It requires extremely precise control of magic power and plenty of combat experience. You can't learn it yet."
System, I want to draw that one!
[...] [Didn't you say you were blacklisting me?] "None of your business."
"Two chapters to start the trial period. Let's make a big splash for the debut."
Before you continue