"Malfoy, is that all you've got?" At the entrance to Hogwarts Castle, Ron looked down smugly at Draco, who sat on the ground panting like a dog.
Without a proper warm-up or any running experience, and with Tris tricking him into taking the lead right from the start, Draco had gone limp after just half a lap.
Unfortunately, he was far too proud to give up. He gritted his teeth and forced himself through the remaining half, only to collapse like a puddle of mud at the entrance, unable to get up.
He had actually done relatively well. The two chubby boys, Crabbe and Goyle, had been left stranded halfway.
Pansy, on the other hand, had realized something was wrong after a few strides and walked the entire latter stretch. Although she returned to the castle entrance after Draco, she was in better shape.
The others fared a little better than Draco, since they hadn't gone charging off at the start. Most hadn't managed to run a full lap either, but by running half and walking half, they had all made it back to the castle entrance.
Harry, Ron, and the others who had been training with Tris for a while knew how to pace themselves and looked perfectly at ease-or at least had to pretend they were.
After returning from one lap of running and another of walking, Ron saw Draco still sprawled helplessly at the entrance and mocked him without the slightest mercy.
Draco wanted to retort, but he didn't even have the strength to open his mouth. The moment he raised his head, acid churned in his stomach, making him want to throw up.
Unable even to speak, Draco could only glare stubbornly at Ron.
Ron wasn't remotely intimidated by that glare. He childishly pulled down his eyelids and made faces at Draco, whose little face alternated between green and white with anger.
"All right, Ron, stop messing around." Tris held back Ron, who was about to keep "casting," and said to Draco,
"There's no need to be so defiant, Malfoy. That's not how you run. Ron and the others kept at it for a month to get where they are now. You're just starting out. It's normal that you can't beat them.
"If you want to win back your pride, keep at it, and you'll get your chance."
As Tris said this, he noticed a flicker of hesitation deep in Draco's eyes. He immediately realized that this first run might have put Draco off.
It looked as though he didn't want to run anymore.
That wouldn't do!
Tris promptly raised an eyebrow. "Of course, if you're already scared and ready to admit defeat, there's not much I can say. You can just stop coming."
"Who... who said... I... I'm scared?" Draco had been considering quitting, but hearing Tris call him scared was more than he could bear.
Would I, Draco Malfoy, ever admit defeat to you two Weasleys?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Although his words came out breathless and speaking took tremendous effort, Draco's gaze had turned resolute. His expression seemed to declare that he would definitely get even.
Excellent!
Tris kept his expression neutral, but inwardly he was already applauding Draco.
Beautiful, Little Dragon. That's exactly the spirit you need. If you lot don't come, where am I supposed to farm rewards?
That was right-the system had handed out another reward.
Just moments earlier, when Tris became the first to run back to the castle entrance, not only had he completed the daily competition he had expected, but the system had also displayed a notification for an advanced competition.
"Intense" competition involving more than ten people counted as advanced competition!
The system had issued a new reward chest.
Although he had only just begun practicing the Astral Meditation previously awarded by the system, its effects were already showing.
Tris had repeatedly shown signs of overflowing magic in class, all of which indicated that his magic was growing far faster than before.
What would turn up this time?
Tris was a little excited.
After saying their goodbyes, everyone returned to their dormitories to shower. Draco needed Crabbe and Goyle to support him. Although the two chubby boys had broken down halfway, all that bulk wasn't entirely useless. They had recovered before Draco and were now able to help.
But when Tris imagined the two chubby boys washing Draco in the washroom, the picture was far too glorious to contemplate.
While showering in the washroom, Tris opened the system's new reward.
It was a familiar scroll, the same style as the earlier meditation technique, only with different writing on it.
So everything this Grind Dog System rewards me with is something I have to learn? Tris speculated privately, then opened the scroll with a thought.
But when he saw the writing on the unfurled scroll, Tris couldn't help rubbing his eyes, wondering whether he had misread it.
Of course, that was impossible.
Although the system presented its display before his eyes, it was actually projected directly into his mind. He could see it perfectly clearly even with his eyes closed.
But could this thing really work?
Was this really something he could learn in this world?
Tris felt his breathing grow heavy.
Because the words emblazoned at the top of the scroll were-Samadhi True Fire!
The scroll began: The three samadhi draw upon the spirit of the upper elixir field, the qi of the middle elixir field, and the essence of the lower elixir field. These three are harmonized and united to form an internal elixir fire.
It can harmonize the yin, yang, and five-element qi within the body, focus the spirit, calm the mind, and refine away inner demons. It can also be released outward to burn another's primordial spirit and life, possessing unrivaled power.
As an avid internet surfer in his previous life, Tris had watched some related videos. Now, retrieving them through his mind palace, he kept drawing in sharp breaths.
This thing could exist in this world?
A primordial spirit was a soul-or rather, a soul strengthened by a cultivator. If Samadhi True Fire could burn a primordial spirit, harming an ordinary soul would be child's play.
Once he mastered it, ordinary people-including wizards-wouldn't even have a means of resisting it.
Practice. I have to practice!
Even if I have to skip meals!
Tris trembled all over with excitement.
Just then, an ill-timed voice came from the next stall. "Tris, you're not doing anything weird in there, are you? Why are you breathing so hard just taking a shower?"
Theodore spoke mischievously from next door.
Tris froze for a moment before catching on, then let the insults fly. "Weird, my arse! Get over here. If I don't teach you a lesson, you really won't know who's in charge in our dorm."
Of course, Theodore didn't dare go over and promptly surrendered.
Aside from how bizarre it would be for two naked blokes to face each other, he couldn't beat Tris anyway. Going over would only mean a one-sided thrashing, and Theodore declared that he didn't enjoy being thrashed.
After that little interruption, Tris quickly finished his shower.
The Samadhi True Fire scroll wasn't long. Tris soon finished reading it, and then, like the previous one, it vanished.
Tris was used to this by now and wasn't surprised.
Since it was Saturday and there were no classes, and he had already finished most of his homework, Tris simply stayed in the dormitory and devoted himself to practicing Samadhi True Fire.
Compared with Astral Meditation, however, Samadhi True Fire was far too difficult.
After two weeks of practice, Tris had only barely ignited the essence fire in his lower elixir field and the heart fire in his middle elixir field. The sovereign fire in his upper elixir field remained stubbornly unlit.
Igniting the Samadhi Fires was merely the foundation. Harmonizing the three afterward was the truly difficult part. In effect, Tris had gotten stuck before he had even begun.
Still, this was a supreme secret Taoist art. Even with the system's help, he couldn't possibly master it overnight, so Tris wasn't in a hurry.
And with Samadhi True Fire-even though he hadn't mastered it yet-Tris finally had a little confidence about the dangers in his foreseeable future.
No matter how powerful Voldemort's magic was, he had one fatal weakness: his unstable soul. Having made seven Horcruxes, he had effectively cut his soul into eight pieces.
With his primordial spirit weakened, wasn't Samadhi True Fire his perfect fucking counter?
Moreover, the fundamental reason Voldemort was difficult to kill was the existence of his Horcruxes. Destroying his body couldn't erase him outright; his soul could escape.
Samadhi True Fire, however, attacked the soul directly, effectively rendering Voldemort's greatest safeguard useless.
Whenever he thought of this, Tris felt especially motivated to practice.
In the blink of an eye, it was late October, and Professor Flitwick taught them a new spell in Charms-the Levitation Charm.
Every Slytherin student succeeded on the first try. Professor Flitwick was delighted, awarding Slytherin ten points and immediately asking the students to explain how they had all improved together.
Professor Flitwick had watched the Slytherin students go from failing to execute all sorts of movements properly to having hands as steady as elite Aurors.
Unexpectedly, the moment he asked, everyone in the classroom turned toward Tris.
Quite a few people knew that Tris led the Gryffindor and Slytherin students in running and exercise, but few had truly taken it seriously.
The wizards' thinking was straightforward: what help could physical exercise possibly offer magic?
Now, however, the changes in Slytherin were plainly visible, and the young Ravenclaw wizards sharing their class were finally tempted.
Over the next two days, a few little Ravenclaw eagles joined the figures running behind Tris in the mornings.
Among them was Padma, who often came to discuss homework with Tris.
The little eagles were excellent students, but their physical fitness genuinely left something to be desired. At last, Draco had a chance to mock someone else.
Tris remembered that in the original story, trouble had broken out during Gryffindor's Charms lesson-the classic "you're going to poke someone's eye out" scene.
Now, however, that scene definitely wouldn't happen.
Apart from Blaise and Theodore, Harry and Ron followed Tris's training most thoroughly. The only reason they ranked below his two roommates was that Tris wasn't sure whether they did that final set of push-ups before bed.
Although Blaise and Theodore couldn't match Tris's numbers-the system had increased his training load by another ten percent in mid-October-the intensity was already considerable for eleven- and twelve-year-old children.
Even if he wasn't sure whether they did their bedtime push-ups, their daytime training was sufficient. Combined with wand-waving drills and basic spell practice, Harry and Ron had both become quite good at charms.
Besides, Ron now had a new wand that suited him perfectly. A mere Levitation Charm wouldn't pose any difficulty.
Naturally, then, there would be no classroom conflict with Hermione, nor would she later run off alone to spend the entire afternoon in the washroom.
In that case, even if Quirrell released the troll again on Halloween night, Harry and Ron would have no reason to go there...
Tris was rather curious about how the weekend's Halloween Feast would unfold.