Tom Riddle's Duel Opportunity
Seeing Miranda's wand so close at hand, Ignatius helplessly raised his hand in surrender.
"She's really strong. Goshawk truly lives up to his reputation as the author of the Book of Spells!" He exclaimed as he stepped off the dueling platform, then turned to Septimus Weasley, the seventh-year Prefect of Gryffindor, and asked, "Would you like to go up and try it out on her, Weasley?"
"I won't go and humiliate myself; the difference in skill is quite obvious," Weasley said, Ignatius.
At the same time, Miranda walked off the dueling platform with a smile on her face and went straight to Xiwen's side.
"What a wonderful duel, Miranda!" Xiwen exclaimed to her.
"Compared to your duels where you defeat your opponents in one move, this is definitely a bit more exciting," Miranda said to Xiwen, her eyes sparkling.
"The main problem is that third-year students lack practical experience. I've encountered quite a few dangers, so I benefited a bit from that," Xiwen replied with an embarrassed smile.
"Alright, let's not talk about that now. Next up is the part where we challenge students from higher grades." Miranda glanced at Xiwen curiously, a smirk playing on her lips. "Judging from your expression, it looks like you want to come and fight me?"
"If I really have the chance, of course I'd like to try my luck against someone stronger," Xiwen said with a smile.
He did consider challenging older students, since third-year wizards weren't good enough to give him practical experience. So, challenging older students would surely be a good option, right?
For example, based on the strength that Miranda and Ignatius just demonstrated, without using the power of their Soul Body, Xiwen, who has not yet mastered the Silent Spell, is far inferior to them in terms of spell casting speed alone. Therefore, it is difficult for him to say that he has the ability to contend with the two of them.
I imagine that dueling with them would greatly enhance my practical combat experience, right?
Soon, the top three students in each grade have been determined through duels, and the highly anticipated moment of challenging students from higher grades is about to begin.
According to Professor Merrythought's rules, junior wizards can choose to challenge any of the top three students in their grade who are one year ahead of them on the leaderboard. However, they must successfully challenge the top student in order to proceed to challenge the top three students in the next grade.
Therefore, making a reasonable choice is a very difficult problem.
The challenge against students of higher levels begins with the first-year wizards.
The top-ranked student on the first-year leaderboard is a young wizard from the Black family named Alphard Black.
This new member of the Black family was the kind of young wizard who had already learned some spells at home. Unlike other first-year students who, due to unfamiliarity with spellcasting, would throw away their wands and resort to their fists...
This brings us to a rule of duels between wizards. "In a proper duel, duelists may only use magic to fight each other; physical contact is prohibited."
Because of this rule, whenever a situation arises where first-year wizards are seen punching and kicking each other, the referee in charge of the first-year students will helplessly pull the two entangled wizards apart and declare them both out of the game.
It was precisely because of this that Alphard Black, as one of the few first-year wizards who could successfully use spells, easily won first place in the dueling competition.
As Professor Merrythought announced the start of the challenge, Alphard walked somewhat nervously onto the second-year dueling platform.
"Mr. Black, please choose your opponent now," Professor Merrythought said, standing on the referee's bench next to the second-year dueling ring.
The top three second-year students on the leaderboard were sitting at the very front of their group's audience, watching with great interest the first-year wizard who had come to challenge them.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Alphard hesitated for a moment, then his gaze suddenly hardened. He turned to Professor Merrythought and said, "Professor, I want to choose the senior who is ranked first on the leaderboard."
"Are you sure?" Professor Merrythought asked, somewhat surprised. "I must remind you that failure will disqualify you from continuing the challenge."
"I know. But I also know that I don't have the ability to defeat any of the senior students, so why don't I ask the most outstanding senior to guide me?" Alphard nodded heavily and said to the professor.
Having said that, he turned to Tom Riddle in his seat and said seriously, "Senior, please enlighten me!"
Professor Merrythought nodded in approval, gesturing for Riddle to step onto the dueling platform.
Riddle smiled politely, strolled onto the stage, and said gently to Alphard, "It's a pleasure to spar with you, junior Blake."
"Both sides bow!" Professor Merrythought explained, following the dueling procedure.
Riddle, with a gentle smile on his face, bowed to Alphard with great aristocratic grace.
In contrast, Alphard, who was already a nobleman, appeared much stiffer due to nervousness.
At that moment, Xiwen gently turned his ear and heard the whispers around him.
It seems that many young witches have a strong liking for the polite and extremely handsome Riddle. Among them are even many young wizards from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, two houses that have historically been at odds with Slytherin.
Moreover, after two years of interaction, Riddle's controversy within Slytherin House had actually diminished considerably.
It's unclear when exactly, but the fact that he was the youngest heir of the Gaunt family quietly spread throughout Slytherin House. Even though Xiwen believed that Riddle himself had spread the rumor, no one else questioned it unless Shivn pointed it out.
This significantly reduced the criticism of Riddle's lineage due to her orphanage background.
In addition to Riddle's handsome appearance, elegant demeanor, and excellent grades, most people wouldn't have too much of a dislike for him. Among them, Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin House, admired him the most, and even enrolled him in the Slug Club as early as Riddle first year.
Therefore, since he successfully "handled" his relationship with his two troublesome roommates, Lestrange and Avery, by using his hidden Ashwinder Egg, Riddle gradually became very popular in Slytherin.
In the short time that Xiwen was thinking, Riddle had already exchanged many blows with Alphard.
Riddle essentially guided Alphard in a mentoring manner, constantly pointing out things Alphard needed to pay attention to during the duel, as well as some tips that Riddle himself had summarized from the duels.
The young wizards below the stage all looked like they had learned a great deal from his explanation. Even the third-year wizards near Xiwen, who were a year ahead of him, felt a sense of inferiority.
"Xiwen, I didn't know Riddle was this strong before. His combat ability is comparable to most of our group, right?" Abraxas looked at Xiwen somewhat guiltily and asked in a low voice, "What do you think my chances of winning are What If...? he chooses to challenge me?"
"I think if he chooses you, you should just pretend to be injured and admit defeat," Xiwen said to him with a smile. "That way, you might still retain some dignity as a senior."
Abu: "Could you give me some face...?"
As Xiwen and Abu were talking, the battle between the two on the stage was nearing its end. It turned out that during Riddle's instructional duel, Alphard Black's magic had run out first.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Riddle." Alphard bowed deeply to Riddle, looking somewhat weary, and said solemnly, "I learned a lot today."
"You're welcome, it was nothing." Riddle replied gently, maintaining his elegant smile.
"Tom Riddle, a second-year student, has won!" Professor Merrythought announced the result of the duel.
Then, she looked at Riddle with satisfaction and asked, "Riddle, now it's your turn to challenge the next grade level. Which of the top three students on the leaderboard would you like to choose?"
Upon hearing Professor Merrythought's question, Riddle paused for a moment, but his gaze gradually hardened.
Xiwen looked up as if he sensed something, and his eyes met Riddle's bright gaze.