Wisdom and Judgment

The next day, in the morning.

Kyle had just finished breakfast when Professor McGonagall called him away. This time, the place where everyone watched the game was closer, right opposite the castle gate, and they walked around the Black Lake.

By 9:50 a. m., ten minutes before the start of the match, the seats were already full of spectators.

Although it was still cold outside, everyone was completely unaffected, excitedly waving their flags and eagerly awaiting the start of the competition.

The five referees were already in place, and after a month, Dumbledore reappeared at Hogwarts.

He looked somewhat haggard, as if he hadn't slept in a long time, but his eyes were still bright, and he seemed quite excited.

As Kyle passed by, he overheard Kyle telling a joke to Professor McGonagall behind him.

But Professor McGonagall just stared nervously at the Black Lake in front of her and Kyle beside her, unable to manage a smile.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Ludo Bagman, who was providing the commentary, came out, pointed his wand at his throat, and said, "Sonorus!"

His voice immediately became like thunder, resounding around the Black Lake.

"The Champion have all arrived, and the game is about to begin. I feel it's necessary to explain something to everyone."

This challenge tests wisdom and judgment. The Champion must first venture into the Forbidden Forest, find three keys, and then use these keys to rescue their most precious treasure, which is trapped in the Black Lake.

"I believe the Champion already know this, so I won't elaborate."

"The only thing I want to remind you is to make good use of the stones you have. Each stone can be exchanged for a clue to a key from the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. Three stones correspond to three keys. The key to your victory will be finding the hidden information in these clues as quickly as possible."

"There's one more thing..." He paused, looked around, then towards the referee's table. After receiving a nod from Chris, he continued:

"We made some minor modifications to the scoring criteria for the Second Task, and made a rough division of the scores."

Firstly, if it's completed within an hour, the minimum score will be eight points.

If it's completed within two hours, it's rated five to eight points.

Those who finish in more than two hours will only receive a score of five or lower.

"Therefore, I must remind every Champion that time is of the essence, and you must make the right choice."

Whether it was Kyle, Phoebe, or Krum, they all listened attentively to what he said.

It's getting closer and closer to 10 o'clock.

Bagman checked the time. "Alright, you can leave when I blow the whistle. I'll count to three."

"One two three!"

The piercing whistle echoed in the cold air, and cheers and applause erupted from the stands.

Without hesitation, Kyle ran straight toward the Forbidden Forest in front of him.

Three centaurs were already standing in front of the Forbidden Forest, which saved a lot of time.

All three tacitly chose the centaur closest to them.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, Kyle's partner happens to be Firenze, whom he's most familiar with; they had just met recently.

Kyle didn't say anything, but simply took out a stone and handed it over.

"I need a clue about the key."

After obtaining the stone, Firenze began to chant softly, "What you are looking for is hidden in the eye of Serpens. When the hour hand ticks ten times and the serpent moves five times, you will see it..."

Kyle frowned and pondered for a moment.

The hour hand might represent direction, specifically the ten o'clock position, and the snake moving five times... probably represents distance.

"This direction..."

Firenze's voice came again, his tail pointing sideways as he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "It's five miles ahead."

Five miles?

Kyle hadn't expected the centaur to give him a hint. He nodded slightly after realizing what was happening, but by then Firenze had already returned to the Forbidden Forest.

Kyle didn't think much of it and extended his wand.

"Firebolt Accio!"

He waited there for several minutes, but there was no movement around him.

First of all, there's definitely no problem with Kyle's curse. Then the answer is obvious: this event might not have required testing the Champion ' flying ability, or it might have been to add some difficulty to the competition, so the referees simply banned the Broomstick.

There was no other way; since he didn't know if the Champion were looking for the same key, Kay could only run quickly into the Forbidden Forest.

The Forbidden Forest was filled with tall trees, and the only path was winding and difficult to traverse.

After walking for about ten minutes, Kyle suddenly stopped. He frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

It was too quiet around us.

He had been to the Forbidden Forest before, more than once, so he knew very well that even on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, there were many animals, and the sounds of insects and birds could be heard everywhere.

But he had been walking for ten minutes and hadn't heard any other sounds besides his own footsteps... This is practically impossible under normal circumstances.

Unless, this place has been enlarged by special magic, just like the Quidditch Pitch in the First Task.

Another strange thing is the distance issue.

Five miles... that doesn't sound that far. Even without the Broomstick, it would only take ten minutes with the help of the spell.

But this is under normal circumstances. The Forbidden Forest is full of trees, so it's impossible to just walk straight ahead. The time would at least double, which is twenty minutes.

Finding one key takes twenty minutes, and there are three keys here. Add to that the time needed to solve the centaur's riddle and get to the Black Lake, and it seems impossible to finish the race in an hour.

However, the referee cannot arbitrarily set an impossible timeframe.

There must be something he hadn't considered.

Kyle quickly recalled what Bagman had said earlier...

This project tests intelligence and judgment... If intelligence is about solving riddles, then what is judgment...?

Kyle walked slowly forward, frowning in thought, when he vaguely heard Bagman's voice.

"Twenty minutes have passed, Champion, you must hurry!"

wrong...

Kyle suddenly stopped, and without any hesitation, turned around and ran back.

He's a wizard, so why does he need to find the key...? Only by saving time in the Forbidden Forest could he possibly complete this project within an hour.

That's right, that's judgment... at least that's how Kyle sees it, and he's willing to take the gamble.

On his way back, Kyle ran into Phoebe, who was clearly puzzled as to why Kyle was running back.

"Listen..." Kyle said quickly, "I don't think we need to go looking for any keys. It's a waste of time; it's impossible to finish in an hour. I'm going straight to Black Lake."

"What?" Phoebe asked incredulously. "But the rules say that only by finding the key can..."

"Don't forget we're wizards," Kyle interrupted her.

Phoebe was still somewhat hesitant.

Kyle didn't say anything more, after all, it was just his guess, and no one could be sure if it was right or wrong.

He continued running back and finally broke out of the Forbidden Forest ten minutes later.

"Oh, Champion has emerged..." Bagman shouted, "Has he obtained the key yet?"

On the referee's table, Dumbledore and Chris unconsciously smiled, while Karkaroff and Olympe Maxime's expressions were not so good.

Kyle didn't listen to what Bagman was saying. After seeing the change in the referee's expression, he was now even more certain that he was right. He hadn't even reached the location of the first key; he had only turned back halfway, and it had taken him half an hour.

If we really need to find all three keys, an hour definitely won't be enough.

Kyle did not hesitate and went straight to the edge of the Black Lake.

There are many ways to move around underwater, such as using Gillyweed, which he happened to have. He bought it at the herbalist shop in Diagon Alley and had kept it in his box until last night when he took it out.

But Kyle wasn't planning to use that.

The duration of the Gillyweed is exactly one hour, and half of it has already passed, which is a bit of a waste.

Kyle took out his wand, conjured a giant bubble above his head, and then plunged into the Black Lake.

While the Bubble-Head Charm isn't as agile as the Gillyweed when moving underwater, it's still a pretty good option.

Another round of enthusiastic cheers and applause erupted from the stands.

The audience didn't need to think about all that; all they knew was that Phoebe and Krum hadn't come out yet, Kyle was ahead of everyone else...