With such a powerful teammate assisting him, he would undoubtedly earn a very high final score.
Looking at the young monk from the Mystic Society who had come to him of his own accord, Rhys suddenly experienced an absurd illusion.
Did he possess some kind of special constitution that naturally attracted members of the Mystic Society?
As the young man talked enthusiastically before him, Rhys couldn't help smiling.
"My luck really is excellent."
"Not at all. I'm the lucky one!"
Seeing how approachable Rhys was, the young monk was overjoyed.
Who wouldn't want to get along well with their teammate?
Encouraged by his cheerful mood, even the strange chill he had felt upon sitting down seemed to disappear.
What the young monk couldn't see was the large red-haired man standing beside him and staring at him without blinking.
Gryffindor sensed an inexplicably familiar aura from the person before him.
"I never imagined that the leader of your Mystic Society was actually the legendary wizard Godric Gryffindor," Rhys remarked casually while gesturing for the bartender to bring another small cask of ale.
"Neither did we. Lord Polaris has always been extremely mysterious within the organisation. We were only able to meet him because we came to Hogwarts for this competition. Honestly, when he revealed his true identity, all seven of us were completely stunned."
The monk poured himself a cup of ale. After taking a drink, he became even more talkative.
Gryffindor, standing beside them: ???
The muscles on his forehead nearly twisted themselves into the shape of a question mark.
The Mystic Society?
Since when had he founded such an organisation?
Someone had obviously stolen his identity.
Had no one at Hogwarts found this suspicious?
"Since Lord Gryffindor personally brought you to Hogwarts, you must be among the finest talents in the Mystic Society, correct?"
The young monk chuckled without confirming or denying it.
He was indeed one of the organisation's foremost geniuses.
Before even reaching the age of seventeen, he had successfully fused with a fragment of divine remains and obtained power approaching that of a Divine Domain.
Once he further developed the abilities of those divine remains, or fused with even more powerful remains, he would be granted the title of a constellation.
To put it rather grimly, the organisation had recently lost quite a few monks belonging to the Twelve Zodiac Signs.
Perhaps he might even be able to choose one of the twelve constellations to inherit!
"What exactly did your Mystic Society come here to do? You're not even a magical school, yet you've caused such a commotion."
Rhys asked a question he genuinely wanted answered.
However, he also understood that he was unlikely to obtain the correct answer from the young monk before him.
"To broaden our horizons and make the organisation better known. Lord Polaris said he wants to establish a magical school in Eastern Europe that can stand alongside Hogwarts and the others."
Godric, standing to the side, stared with his eyes wide open.
Wasn't the person impersonating him being far too outrageous? Did he not care about staying in character at all? How could Godric Gryffindor possibly establish a separate school outside Hogwarts?
He only half understood the conversation between Salazar and the boy before them, but he could vaguely sense that his old friend was using the young man to reveal certain things to him.
For example, some ridiculous clown was parading around under his name and deceiving people.
Rhys said nothing more. He merely watched as the young genius from the Mystic Society wolfed down every dish on the table.
"Are you full?"
"Yes, completely..."
"Good." Rhys clasped his hands beneath his chin. "Oh, right. One question. Is your crystal ball currently broadcasting? I value my privacy."
"Of course not." The monk shook his head. Broadcasting everything they saw and heard did not suit the style of their organisation at all.
"That's excellent."
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Rhys's lips. He then informed the young man that he had no intention of forming a team.
The young monk from the Mystic Society: Huh?
"No, you..."
Only then did the monk realise that he had somehow fallen into the other party's trap. He had been fixed to the chair, and the lower half of his body could no longer move.
Alarmed, he immediately tried to draw upon the power of the divine remains within him. However, the divine remains, which usually responded smoothly, were behaving strangely today. They moved sluggishly, as though they had no desire whatsoever to unfold their Divine Domain.
Something's wrong!
The monk had lived alongside the divine remains for so long that their minds were nearly connected. He quickly realised that the divine remains were not being lazy.
They were afraid.
How was that possible?
Those were the remains of a god. What could this boy possibly possess that would frighten a deity?
After sensing the emotions of the divine remains, the young monk turned pale with shock. He abandoned any thought of resisting and instead prepared to activate the defensive spell on his crystal ball, using the Portkey to transport himself back.
The boy opposite him appeared not to react, simply allowing him to activate the crystal ball's defensive enchantment.
When the familiar pulling sensation appeared behind his navel, the young monk breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if the boy used the Portkey to leave the arena with him, nothing would happen to him. Surely he wouldn't dare kill him in front of Lord Polaris and so many headmasters?
Once outside, he would immediately report everything to Lord Polaris...
At that moment, Rhys spoke.
"Don't move. I haven't given you permission to leave."
With a wave of his hand, the surrounding air seemed to solidify.
The young monk's eyes widened. He felt as though he had crashed headfirst into a mass of rubber and was slowly being squeezed back out.
"How... is... this... possible..." the monk forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Why wouldn't it be possible? Surely you didn't think teleportation magic was impossible to interrupt? When the difference in strength is too great, one can forcibly flood the surrounding space with their own magic, creating an effect similar to a Domain and disrupting the teleportation.
"This crude method only works against certain forms of teleportation magic. Coincidentally, Portkeys are one of them."
The monk's face had turned deathly pale.
He watched helplessly as he was forced back into his seat, while his only hope of escape fell into the hands of the boy across from him.
"Who exactly are you?" he couldn't help asking.
"Rhys Lint, a fourth-year wizard at Hogwarts."
Rhys casually tossed the crystal ball into a corner of the tavern, then placed one hand on the young monk's head.
Staring directly into his eyes, Rhys asked, "Why did Polaris send you to infiltrate Hogwarts?"
However, the answer was exactly the same as before.
"As expected, the ordinary monks of the Mystic Society have also been kept in the dark."
Rhys sighed regretfully, casually snapped the monk's neck, and then dug the divine remains out of his body.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI