A Christmas Gift on Credit

It is said that it takes more than ten well-trained dragon tamers working in perfect harmony to subdue a fire dragon without taking any damage. Killing it is even more difficult, as they must also withstand the fire dragon's final counterattack before it dies.

Tom stroked his chin, thinking to himself: If only I could poison them. Snape's notebook contained quite a few poison recipes that could kill Troll.

"Andros, have you ever killed a fire dragon?"

Andros seemed a little bewildered by the question. "Fire dragons? I've killed two. One was a black dragon, and the other a long-horned dragon. I only killed them when I was short of money."

There were no animal protection laws in Andros's time; people could kill whomever they wanted.

To kill the fire dragon, you basically only need to do three steps. The first step is to rush into the dragon's lair.

The second step is to withstand the attack of a dozen or even dozens of fire dragons and kill one of its own kind.

The third step is to leave confidently. The steps are simple and clear.

Tom asked expectantly, "So what do you think of me? Can I kill a dragon?"

Andros looked at him like he was an idiot. "You? Kill a fire dragon? With your small frame, a single spit from a fire dragon could turn you into charcoal."

"Not your brute force approach. I want to kill a fire dragon in a direct confrontation, a lone fire dragon."

Andros breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Tom was having a fit. "It's tough. Although those idiots aren't strong, they're definitely tough as nails."

"You've only learned white magic, which has the advantage of being steady and reliable. The stronger your magic and the deeper your understanding, the greater the power you can unleash."

"The drawback is its lack of lethality, but that's nothing against wizards; we're all just mortals."

"But you're still a bit outmatched against a fire dragon. Besides, that thing can fly; if it senses danger, it'll try to escape, and you can't stop it."

Tom was about to say, "Isn't there Flying Broomstick? I can just ride it and chase after them," but then he remembered the system's requirements: only wands could be used, and the Flying Broomstick was considered an external force, so he immediately lost his spirit.

"What about Dark Magic?"

Andros was embarrassed. "Dark Magic is really not my area of expertise. I haven't studied the Dark Magic of your later generations either, but there should be a chance, right?"

As someone whose very being is radiating righteousness and whose Patronus is exceptionally powerful, Andros is genuinely not skilled in Dark Magic.

Tom sighed. He regretted not having studied enough when he needed the knowledge, especially when it came to spells. He regretted pretending to be a good boy at school to keep Albus Dumbledore from overthinking things, which resulted in him not even having mastered any decent Dark Magic.

His eyes suddenly lit up; he was so focused on the Twelve Trials that he forgot he could hire a teacher.

If only a master of Dark Magic could come, wouldn't the problem have a chance of being solved? But I don't have enough achievement points!

Tom thought there might be a special reward today, so he decided to give it a try, just in case.

"Andros, I'm going to try summoning your colleague. You may not know him, but he's definitely a powerful wizard on par with you."

He refused to believe that all the King of the Century were as one-dimensional as Andros.

Andros nodded frantically. It was lonely being alone. Tom had to expend mental energy to summon him out, and he spent most of his time inside the space.

Although he could sleep, he had already been reborn, so what was sleeping all day? Now, finally someone was coming to keep him company.

Tom silently prayed. "System, spend 1,000 achievement points to summon a teacher of the King of the Century caliber."

The system panel flashed.

[Current Achievement Points: 423. Summoning King of the Century level teacher requires 1000 achievement points. Insufficient achievement points to summon.]

Tom's smile froze.

"System, it's Christmas today, no presents? Can I buy something on credit if I don't want a present?"

[Detected that the host's current mission, "Twelve Trials - First Trial: Dragon," is time-sensitive. This trial requires a direct confrontation with the fire dragon, and the host's current strength is insufficient.]

[Summoning a new teacher can significantly enhance the host's strength and increase the success rate of trials. After comprehensive evaluation, the system allows this overdraft. Overdraft achievement points will be deducted first from subsequent acquisitions.]

Tom paused for a moment. Although it wasn't a gift, the system was helping him, and the system wasn't a cold, impersonal machine of rules.

"Okay, overdraft, summon." Tom made a decisive decision.

[Overdraft confirmed. Host's current achievement points: -577. Summoning begins.]

The system responded immediately. The achievement points disappeared from the system interface, transforming into a golden light that shot out of Tom's body and hurtled towards the endless fog in the distance.

With a boom, the white mist dissipated, and the space, originally the size of Quidditch Pitch, expanded again, more than doubling in size in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, in Austria, at the top floor of the Nurmengard Tower.

An elderly man in prison clothes with a full head of white hair looked shocked and incredulous, but in the end, all of that turned into intense curiosity.

Tom and Andros frowned, sizing up the newcomer. Was he wearing prison clothes?

Andros's heart was in turmoil. The King of the Century wore prison clothes? As someone of that level, he understood this deeply.

The King of the Century can lose, can be defeated, can die, but to be imprisoned? That's almost impossible.

Without an iron will, how could one harness the powerful torrent of magic? He began to worry about Tom.

A 100% approval rating means he already considers Tom his closest junior and naturally hopes he is doing well.

Tom broke the silence. "Teacher, please introduce yourself?"

Tom cursed the system a hundred times in his mind, "This garbage system didn't even give me any advance notice, leaving me feeling like an idiot."

The old man in prison clothes remained silent. Just like when Andros first arrived, he surveyed the Study Space, looking it over completely before finally grinning at Tom.

"Gellert Grindelwald, your second teacher."

Tom stared in disbelief, his mouth agape. "You're Gellert Grindelwald?!"

Andros carefully searched his memories, as well as the books he had read since his resurrection, and finally found information about Gellert Grindelwald.

"You're the dark wizard who was defeated by Principal Tom? No, weren't you supposed to be in prison? Are you dead?"

Upon hearing the name "Albus Dumbledore," Gellert Grindelwald's eyes narrowed, but he quickly regained his composure and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm sorry, this loser isn't dead yet, still lingering on in the Nurmengard Tower."

He exclaimed to Andros, "It is your existence that truly amazes me, Mr. Andros. Your name still resonates throughout the wizarding world thousands of years later. When people mention the Patronus Charm, you are the first name that comes to mind."

Andros laughed heartily. "You flatter me."

While the two were exchanging pleasantries, Tom quickly complained to the system in his mind, "System, what are you doing? Why did you summon Gellert Grindelwald?"