Since the basilisk was killed, the Chamber of Secrets had gone through several changes.
At first, it was treated as a tourist attraction. Students would often sneak in to relive the moment when a group of students fought the basilisk, and along the way, they would pick up a few souvenirs to take back.
Later, the school began modifying the Chamber. Back when Professor Abigail was still teaching, she even considered bringing students here for live combat training.
After that, however, Professor Abigail abruptly resigned. The school began preparing for the Tournament, and the Chamber was sealed up again for further expansion and reconstruction.
Now, for the first time, Wade finally saw the results of the Chamber's renovation.
The entire space had been enlarged at least tenfold. Apart from the two obvious passageways, it looked as though there weren't many hidden corners on the surface—but in reality, traces of magical traps were everywhere.
In the center of the room stood a golden compass, slowly rotating. Evidently, once the golden egg was found, competitors would have to return here and use the Portkey again to get back to the arena—that would mark the completion of the first task.
Wade narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the eerie surroundings.
He wasn't worried about finding the egg. For Wade, the real challenge was figuring out how to complete the task without revealing too much of his strength.
Because for him, many spells had already become second nature—woven into his very bones—flowing out instinctively. Holding back that kind of reflex wasn't easy at all.
When fighting the dragon earlier, his Shield Charm might have been a little too powerful... But that wasn't a big problem. After all, anyone chosen by the Goblet of Fire was bound to excel at something—otherwise, how could they stand out and become a Champion?
Just as Wade was planning a route to avoid the traps and enter the passage, he suddenly heard a cry of pain and groaning behind him.
He quickly turned around and saw Isabela kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.
She looked utterly disheveled with burns covering her face and arms, and patches of fire still clinging to her clothes.
"You are… Isabela?" Wade stepped closer and asked, "Do you need help?"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, he instinctively flicked his wand and said clearly: "Aguamenti!"
A stream of water burst from the wand, splashing over the girl and extinguishing the still-dancing flames.
Seeing Wade, Isabela immediately gripped her wand nervously. When he raised his wand, her whole body tensed to the extreme. If not for the searing pain coursing through her, she might have lashed out in reflex.
But when she heard the incantation, she relaxed a little.
She too cast the Water-Making Spell, and cool water flowed over her burns. The pain eased, and she let out a faint groan.
"Thank you, I feel much better now." Isabela forced a smile and asked, "Wade, have you found the golden egg yet?"
At the same time, inwardly, Isabela let out a small, relieved laugh. Fortunately, Wade Grey was still young and had the temperament of a scholar—non-aggressive by nature. If it had been someone else standing here just now, she might not still be standing.
"No." Wade shook his head and casually pointed toward the left-hand passage. "I was just about to explore this way when you suddenly showed up."
Isabela quietly let out a breath of relief. "Then we'd better hurry. The more people who break in later, the fewer chances we'll have to find the egg… Since you're taking the left side, I'll go right."
"Alright." Wade had no objection.
He seemed still concerned about Isabela's injuries. Though he agreed verbally, his feet never moved—he simply watched the girl limp away.
Isabela naturally walked toward the other passage, but in truth, most of her attention remained fixed on Wade behind her. She was wary of a sudden attack from him, while also wondering if there might be a chance to get rid of this naïve alchemist.
Although Wade had just helped her a little, once inside the arena, anyone who wasn't an ally was a rival. Any hint of mercy was meaningless.
However, one's attention is limited. Since most of her focus was on Wade, her awareness of the surroundings dropped sharply.
Wade's eyelid twitched slightly as he saw the moment Isabela stepped into the passage. What seemed like a flat stone floor suddenly bulged upward. Isabela quickly leapt aside—yet the bulge suddenly exploded!
A thick cloud of green smoke burst forth, mushrooming rapidly, swallowing Isabela whole!
Wade immediately took two steps back. The smoke didn't spread further; it stopped just before reaching the walls of the passage, then shrank back again. Left behind on the ground was only an unconscious Champion.
He sighed sympathetically. "What a pity. If you hadn't been distracted, you could have noticed this trap."
Wade slowly walked toward Isabela. After confirming that she was completely unconscious, he picked up her wand. With a gentle wave, it released a spray of golden sparks.
In an instant, a black-robed wizard appeared out of thin air. He gave Wade a strange look, then reached down to grasp Isabela's arm.
Wade recognized him as one of the Aurors who had once acted alongside Kingsley. In his palm rested a small crystal vial. The moment he touched Isabela, the air around them warped, and the two vanished from sight.
Standing at the entrance where Isabela had fallen into the trap, Wade looked further inside.
Hmm… It wasn't that the passage was completely riddled with magical traces, but the traps were set in the most unexpected places. Anyone rushing to find the golden egg, if careless, might trigger one after just a few steps.
But knowing it's full of traps—why bother to trigger them at all?
Carefully stepping around the explosive bulge, Wade entered the passage only a short distance before settling into a concealed corner.
—This spot, which looked perfect for hiding, was actually spotless. Yet just ahead, under the wall's edge, a common-looking dark green vine was actually a well-disguised Devil's Snare.
Wade murmured an incantation and waved his wand. All around him, weeds, dead leaves, vines, pebbles, tiny animal bones and teeth, even fingernail-sized scales—all shuddered, and rose up as if pulled by invisible threads and drifted toward him.
The rules only forbade bringing in dolls. They didn't say anything about making them on the spot, did they?
As an alchemist, a disciple of Master Murray, the inventor of dolls, creating them was his most well-known talent—there was no need to hide it.
Under the spell's influence, a dozen palm-sized "creatures" shakily stood upright.
Every inch of them screamed "crudely made." They resembled strange-looking insects, with pebbles for eyes, dried grass and vines for bodies, bone fragments as horns, and leaves as decoration.
Wade gave his wand another light flick, pressing the tip against his forehead. He drew out a wisp of silver "thought," split it into more than a dozen threads, and injected each one into the little insect bodies.
In an instant, their movements grew far more nimble. Their trembling antennae twitched as though exploring the world around them.
Of course, these dolls were made of simple, fragile materials. They could easily be destroyed, and even under normal circumstances wouldn't last long.
Snap!
Without a word, Wade snapped his fingers. The moment the sound rang out, every little doll froze at once, as though receiving a single command.
A heartbeat later, they scrambled forward with their claws scratching against the stone and raced swiftly into the depths of the passage.
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