Ethan ignored Michael's nonsense.
As for this silly boy drooling over "Senior Sister, Senior Sister" all day, Ethan could only say he was ambitious for his age.
Just then, Ethan's attention was drawn to the notice board.
Ever since he'd squeezed seven hundred Galleons out of the Malfoy family, Ethan had stopped taking odd jobs.
He'd thrown himself into preparing for the Art Exhibition, going through canvases and paints like they were snowflakes.
Even the cheapest unframed linen canvas cost around twelve Sickles, and a basic set of paints cost two to three Galleons.
He wasn't exactly poor, but he couldn't help thinking that money flowed like water.
"The notice board's busy today."
Ethan murmured as he looked at the crowd packed three deep around it.
Most students didn't need to work.
So, apart from the initial curiosity it had inspired among the new students,
the notice board was usually visited by only a few scattered upper-year students.
Had another new event been announced?
Ethan stepped forward.
When he appeared at the edge of the crowd, the students parted automatically, like the Red Sea before Moses.
"Ethan, you came to have a look too!"
An older Ravenclaw girl waved to him familiarly.
"Come on, get up front and take a look!"
Ethan went along with it and walked through the crowd.
Though he was small, among the upper-year students he somehow carried the presence of someone nearly six feet tall.
He paid no attention to the assessing looks coming at him from every direction.
Walking beside Ethan, Michael nervously swallowed.
He finally understood what they meant by "when one man achieves enlightenment, even his pets ascend to heaven."
"Hello, Ethan. I've been wanting to talk to you!"
The older girl, with long side locks, said eagerly as she looked at him.
"My name's Penelope Clearwater. If all goes well, I'll be Ravenclaw's next Prefect."
Ethan gazed at the light in the girl's eyes. His lips parted, and he uttered a single word:
"Pity."
"..."
Penelope froze. Seeing that Ethan seemed entirely serious, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"I finally understand what Robert meant when he said you should brace yourself before talking to Ethan."
His thought process really was different from everyone else's.
It was hard to keep a conversation going.
Ethan blinked, neither confirming nor denying it.
He turned to look at the notice board.
Above the many requests, he saw a new line of large text hovering:
[The off-campus competition season has begun! Those interested in signing up or learning more should contact their respective Heads of House!]
Below it were all kinds of competitions, such as the "Green Fingers Gardening Competition," the "Thestral Magical Creature Breeding Competition," and "Wizard and Witch Dash."
"The most famous competition at school is naturally Quidditch," Penelope said brightly. "But there are competitions in other fields too."
"For example—the Color Brush Young Wizard Painting Competition. Would you like to enter, Ethan?"
Ethan smiled faintly. "Are you sure?"
Penelope: "..."
She thought back to Ethan's extraordinary taste and skill, then said firmly:
"No, I think I'll pass."
It was one thing for a master to show up in a beginners' village and wipe the floor with everyone.
The real worry was leaving those young wizards with lifelong psychological scars.
Enter once, get banned for life, right?
"Are there any benefits to entering these competitions?" Ethan asked offhandedly.
Penelope: "Um—yes. You can make friends with young wizards who share your interests. Well, maybe you don't need that. You can also earn recognition..."
Penelope racked her brain for ideas.
Someone as extraordinary as Ethan surely wouldn't care about such mundane things.
He must be pursuing some greater, more profound goal!
"Or there's the prize money—"
Ethan's head snapped up. "There's prize money?"
"Huh? Yes, yes, there is," Penelope replied instinctively. "For example, the Secret Realm Tracking Challenge has a top prize of a thousand Galleons..."
At the mention of that amount,
Ethan's breath caught, and his pupils dilated.
Like a cat that had spotted a dried fish.
A thousand Galleons!!!
Three hundred Galleons more than the fortune the Malfoy family had given him!
The same prize money as the Triwizard Tournament, where people kept dying.
Though that might mean this competition was just as dangerous.
Ethan thought that made perfect sense.
After all, the brighter the gold, the more blood, sweat, and tears it took to polish it.
Ethan grinned.
Sunlight streamed through the Great Hall's enormous stained-glass windows, illuminating half his face and sharply dividing light from shadow.
"Senior Student Krivat."
Ethan looked up and beamed an utterly innocent smile in the sunlight.
"I want to enter that one."
"...All right."
Penelope's eyes widened slightly as she murmured, dazed.
She was completely stunned by that smile.
It was as if someone had cast Lumos right against her face.
Those handsome, beautiful cobalt-blue eyes seemed to pierce her chest and seize her soul.
By the time Penelope came to her senses,
she had already brought Ethan to Professor Flitwick's office.
"Come in."
Professor Flitwick looked up from the desk where he was marking papers.
Seeing the two of them, his eyes brightened, and he greeted them warmly:
"What is it, Mr. Vincent, Miss Clearwater? How can I help?"
Ethan: "Good morning, Professor Flitwick. I'd like to enter the Secret Realm Tracking Challenge."
At that, Professor Flitwick raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Penelope.
"Miss Clearwater, didn't you explain how dangerous this competition is?"
"...I'm sorry, Professor."
Penelope lowered her head in embarrassment, screaming inwardly:
It wasn't that she didn't want to. Ethan had a built-in Killing Curse!
Who could resist when a pretty little face asked so sweetly?!
Ethan blinked innocently, standing with his hands behind his back.
"This competition is difficult. Very difficult, Ethan—almost as challenging as the Triwizard Tournament," Professor Flitwick said.
"The Secret Realm Tracking Challenge is a professional competition that tests a wizard's overall abilities. It's held once every three years and is open to enrolled students aged sixteen or younger—that is, underage wizards. The event usually involves exploring a dangerous secret realm."
"Every year, all sorts of accidents occur, so applicants must first pass the school's selection process. The school then nominates its representatives."
"Although the competition is open to underage wizards aged sixteen and younger, most participants are over fourteen. Even third-years rarely enter, and you've only just started your first year, Mr. Vincent."
At that, Ethan fell into thought.
If it was held only once every three years, he could certainly wait...
But it was a full thousand Galleons!
The Purple Epic painting he needed to advance would probably cost a lot of Galleons.
He needed money for his holiday expenses and for investing in Second-Order Paintings.
But he had to be certain he could win first place and take home the top prize.
Otherwise, it would be a bit of a waste of time...
Just as Ethan was weighing his options, Professor Flitwick's voice rang out again:
"What's more, this year's secret realm is the most dangerous one in the competition's history—"
"Helga's Abandoned Mansion, in the Rotting Marsh in northern England. It once belonged to the Dark Wizard Helga."
"Uh? Mr. Vincent, are you all right?"
Ethan lifted his eyes, a peculiar light shining in them.
The mansion of the Dark Wizard Helga.
It was exactly where the system had once told him a Secret Treasure was hidden!!
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