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9 Mar
Anthony was enthusiastically talking about the World Wizard Dueling Championship, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he spoke.
As a certain famous player once said, "Reforging Ravenclaw's glory is our solemn duty."
Strangely, no one found Anthony's passionate declaration odd.
After all, this was the same Anthony who, on the very first night at Hogwarts during their dormitory bedtime chat, had proudly announced that his lifelong dream was to become a dueling champion.
He had already explained the competition to them back then.
The World Wizard Dueling Championship was held every two years, beginning during the Easter holidays. The tournament was divided into several categories. The main competition was the Adult Division, open to witches and wizards between the ages of seventeen and thirty.
However, in recent years, the organizers had also introduced a Youth Division, designed specifically for younger participants between twelve and seventeen years old.
Besides traditional solo duels, the championship also included a Doubles Dueling event, where two partners fought together against another pair.
Anthony clearly knew the rules inside and out.
"The next tournament will be held next year," he explained eagerly. "By then I'll have just turned twelve. That means I'll barely meet the minimum age requirement, but it's enough to register."
He paused dramatically, as if presenting an official plan.
"My goal is to participate next year just to experience the atmosphere," he continued. "By third year, I want to make it through at least a few rounds. And by fifth year…"
Anthony clenched his fist with determination.
"By fifth year, I want to reach the top ranks of the Youth Division!"
He called this ambitious roadmap his Five-Year Dueling Plan.
After outlining his strategy, Anthony looked around at his roommates with hopeful eyes.
"So? What do you guys think? Anyone interested in joining me?"
Terry and Michael immediately showed signs of interest.
Their expressions clearly revealed that they were tempted.
Unfortunately, both of their birthdays fell later in the year. By the time the next championship arrived during Easter, they would still be eleven years old.
Even if they wanted to participate, they would have to wait until their third year before becoming eligible.
Anthony finally turned his attention toward the last person in the room.
Ryze.
Ryze simply shrugged.
"I actually don't know my exact birthday," he said casually. "But when the time comes, I can go ask Professor Flitwick with you."
"If I qualify for registration, then sure. I'll come along and take a look."
The Doubles Dueling format had already sparked Ryze's interest.
It reminded him strongly of the Soul Fight Arena system he possessed.
Both involved two-versus-two combat.
If he registered for the tournament, perhaps the system would unlock some new features related to team combat.
Even if nothing special happened, gaining real combat experience certainly wouldn't hurt.
Of course, the next championship was still more than half a year away.
After chatting about the tournament for a while longer, the dormitory conversation gradually shifted toward a much more immediate problem.
This week's homework assignments.
When Ryze casually mentioned that he had already finished his homework earlier in the afternoon during his free time, the expressions on the other three boys' faces instantly became complicated.
The difference in their situations was painfully obvious.
That morning, the three of them had spent hours helping organize the Room of Requirement.
In the afternoon, they had practiced various dueling spells.
Tomorrow, they planned to continue searching for the mysterious hidden room, a task that might take who knew how long.
In other words, while Ryze could peacefully lie in bed and relax…
The other three were suddenly drowning in unfinished assignments.
After exchanging silent glances, Terry, Michael, and Anthony simultaneously grabbed their textbooks and rolls of parchment.
Without another word, the trio rushed out of the dormitory and headed straight for the library, preparing for a desperate late-night study session.
Ryze watched them leave.
Then he climbed into bed.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, at exactly seven o'clock, Ryze woke up.
He had slept for nearly ten full hours, and as expected, he was once again the first person awake in the dormitory.
He stretched his body lazily.
His muscles relaxed as a wave of comfort spread through him.
Both his body and mind felt completely refreshed.
After checking his status panel out of habit, Ryze noticed something interesting.
His mana pool had almost completely recovered.
More surprisingly…
The maximum mana capacity had increased slightly.
By fifteen points.
Ryze frowned thoughtfully.
"Could overdrawing mana actually increase the limit?"
He recalled the severe exhaustion he had experienced after yesterday's experiment.
"Or… maybe it's the natural growth from successfully completing that divination spell?"
He murmured to himself.
Unfortunately, he had no immediate way to confirm the answer.
Even if he wanted to test the theory, he would have to wait until next weekend when he had time for another large-scale experiment.
And this time…
He would definitely prepare some energy potions in advance.
Yesterday's feeling of complete magical exhaustion had been extremely unpleasant.
After finishing his morning wash, Ryze headed up to the Ravenclaw Tower rooftop.
The cool morning air brushed gently against his face.
He spent a few minutes doing light exercises, stretching his limbs and warming up his body.
Once finished, he returned to the dormitory.
His three roommates were still asleep, collapsed across their beds like exhausted corpses.
Considering that they had stayed up until midnight finishing homework, it wasn't surprising.
Ryze shook his head with amusement before waking them up one by one.
Half an hour later, the four boys finally gathered in the Great Hall.
They quickly ate breakfast before heading together toward the Ancient Runes classroom.
Professor Babbling was already waiting inside her office.
"Oh, you're here," she said with a small nod when she saw Ryze.
Her gaze shifted toward the three boys standing behind him.
"Please sit down for a moment."
"I spoke with the portrait of King Arthur last night," she continued calmly.
"He left early this morning to gather the knights. It might take a little while longer."
Anthony's eyes lit up immediately.
"King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table…"
He sighed softly.
"That's a story I've heard since childhood."
He looked slightly disappointed.
"It's a pity these portraits don't actually possess the real will of the people they represent. They're only figures painted by later generations based on their legends."
Anthony's dream of becoming a dueling champion had partly grown from these heroic knight stories.
Terry, the dormitory chatterbox, muttered from beside him.
"That's probably a good thing."
"If those knights actually had their real personalities…"
He shuddered slightly.
"The Knights of the Round Table would probably start fighting each other again right here inside Hogwarts."
"I definitely don't want to witness a full-scale portrait bloodbath."
Ryze couldn't help smiling.
The wizarding world actually had two different types of magical portraits.
The most common type could move around and hold simple conversations, but they lacked true self-awareness.
Most of their actions were repetitive patterns based on the original subject's personality.
Over time, if the magical energy inside the painting faded and wasn't replenished, these portraits would slowly lose their animation and eventually become ordinary paintings.
The second type was much rarer.
These were portraits like those hanging in the Headmaster's Office.
When these portraits were created, the subject would personally participate in the painting process.
Through special magic, parts of their memories, emotions, and personality were imprinted into the artwork.
As a result, the portrait behaved almost exactly like the real person.
Many pure-blood wizarding families preserved portraits of their ancestors in this way.
It was considered a valuable form of family heritage.
After about fifteen minutes of waiting, a small messenger figure suddenly hurried out of one of the portraits hanging inside the office.
The tiny painted figure bowed respectfully before Professor Babbling and quickly reported the situation.
"The Fourth-Floor Trophy Room?"
Professor Babbling nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense. For portraits, it's one of the largest gathering places in the castle besides the Great Hall."
She stood up immediately.
"Come along, then."
The group followed her out of the office and headed toward the fourth floor of Hogwarts Castle.
If the knights had gathered inside the Great Hall, it would have attracted far too much attention from curious students.
Neither Professor Babbling nor the portrait inhabitants wanted such a spectacle.
The fourth floor housed several important classrooms, including Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
However, the most famous location there was the Trophy Room.
The room contained hundreds of cups, medals, shields, and statues.
The names of countless outstanding students from Hogwarts' thousand-year history were engraved on those trophies.
Along the walls hung several massive commemorative portraits.
One depicted Hogwarts' victory in the first Triwizard Tournament.
Another celebrated the successful hosting of the International Wizarding Schools Potions Championship.
And yet another captured the grand award ceremony of a past International Wizard Dueling Championship.
These portraits allowed visiting students to witness the glorious moments of past champions.
Normally, the figures inside these paintings behaved with dignity.
But today…
The entire room had descended into chaos.
More than one hundred members of the Knights of the Round Table had gathered across the various paintings.
They stood, argued, and wandered about in every imaginable posture.
Their sudden arrival had severely crowded the original inhabitants of the Trophy Room portraits.
The Triwizard Champion, who was proudly holding the Triwizard Cup, had been forced to crouch awkwardly in a tiny corner of his own painting.
The Dueling Champion, his hair completely disheveled, was angrily waving his wand while shouting protests at the invading knights.
As for the Potions Championship portrait…
It had suffered the worst fate.
Several enormous warhorses belonging to the knights had trampled straight through the painting's scene, knocking over tables and scattering potion bottles everywhere.
The poor Potions Master inside the painting stood helplessly in the middle of the mess, staring mournfully at his spilled potions.
"Merlin's beard…" Terry whispered in shock.
"I swear this is the first time I've ever seen portraits behave this chaotically."
He stared wide-eyed at the crowded paintings.
Then he leaned closer to Ryze and whispered excitedly,
"I think I just saw someone pull Merlin's beard a few seconds ago."
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