Alex chuckled warmly.
"You could say that.
As the one who developed this training method, I practice it myself all the time."
Then, pointing with his index finger just above his head, he made the students' eyes widen in surprise as hundreds of induction balls suddenly rained down from the ceiling, falling from dozens of meters up.
The metal balls hovered in mid-air about three or four meters above the crowd, looking like raindrops suspended in the sky.
"Wow!"
The young wizards watched in amazement, their eyes wide as they stared up at the dense cluster of metal spheres above them.
Could this really be the kind of training a wizard at this level received? It seemed almost unbelievable.
After giving them a brief demonstration, Alex casually waved his hand, and the balls shot back into the sky.
Even then, the kids stood there stunned, their heads tilted back in awe.
Finally, Alex clapped his hands twice, breaking their spellbound silence.
"Alright, enough watching. What you need to do now is master the Levitation Curse for yourselves. Without that, all this is just talk."
His words helped everyone snap back to reality.
Having seen Alex's impressive display, the young wizards felt inspired, each determined to become as skilled as their professor.
Even Ron, who usually kept to himself, nudged Hermione excitedly.
"Hey, Hermione, do you think you could teach us when we get back? I really want to learn the Levitation Curse fast!"
Hermione smiled proudly at Ron's unexpected enthusiasm.
"Of course!"
Meanwhile, the other students began chatting eagerly among themselves, some planning to find senior wizards to learn the spell as soon as possible, others hoping to team up with friends who already had a good grasp of it.
Alex's demonstration had clearly sparked their curiosity and motivation.
Seeing their excitement, he nodded with satisfaction.
After all, interest and a thirst for knowledge are the biggest drivers of progress.
After a short moment of quiet reflection, the students regained their focus and turned back to Alex, eyes shining with anticipation.
"Professor, what's next?"
Harry and the others, having lost their initial nervousness about the tactical training, were now eager and ready.
Alex glanced at his pocket watch.
"We still have a full class ahead," he said with a smile.
"So let's spend the rest of the time playing a game."
For the freshmen who had only just arrived at the school, Alex was already thinking of ways to challenge them, knowing it would take at least two to four weeks to really put them under pressure.
"Playing games? What games?"
"The game is called 'Hit Fang'!" Alex said with a grin, glancing over at Fang, who was lazily scratching his neck.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, a small bucket appeared in front of everyone.
Inside were more than a dozen colorful balls, each about the size of a bar of soap, bright and eye-catching.
"These are called 'Colorful Balls,'" Alex explained. "They have sensitive conductors inside, so after you throw them, you can control and change them however you like in your mind. Even the youngest wizards who just arrived at school will find it hard to master."
He continued, "When you hit someone, it leaves a colored mark on them that lasts at least three hours before fading away."
He smiled and added, "This is a new toy that Wilson's Arcane Alchemica plans to launch during Christmas. You get to test it out for me and practice your mind control skills at the same time."
"The target is Fang," Alex said, backing away slowly. "I know you've all been annoyed with him for a while now. Here's your chance to get back at him!"
Fang had been pretty lazy lately, so Alex figured this would be a good way to get him moving.
Fang had been distracted, but Alex's words seemed to snap him to attention.
"Hit him!"
The young wizards couldn't wait any longer.
After only two days at school, they were already fed up with Fang's nasty attitude.
Ron, especially, shouted as he grabbed a ball and charged at Fang, throwing it with all his might.
The others quickly joined in, and even Hermione rolled up her sleeves and jumped into the fray, showing just how much Fang had gotten on their nerves.
"Are you all planning to take me on?"
Fang reacted instantly, darting forward like a gust of wind, ready to defend himself.
"Chase him!" Malfoy shouted, clearly hooked on the excitement of the game.
He led a big group in pursuit of Fang, not even noticing that Ron and the other Gryffindors were right beside him.
The group of young wizards scattered across the field like a swarm of wild locusts, hurling colorful balls into the air as they ran.
But Fang, having trained under Alex for years, was quick and agile, darting left and right to dodge the incoming shots with ease.
His speed made it tough for the kids to keep up, and he wasn't just on the defensive; he occasionally swatted the balls back at the crowd with his claws, leaving bright marks on the wizards who got hit.
"We won't catch him if we keep doing this. Let's split up and cover more ground!" Malfoy panted, but his excitement only grew.
Ron chimed in naturally, "And that colored ball we have, the professor said it can be controlled with our minds. We threw it too quickly earlier, so we didn't get a chance to really figure it out."
He added, "Plus, we need to grab more of those balls; we don't have many left."
Harry, also breathing hard, had a spark in his eyes that showed he was still ready to go.
The kids fell into an impromptu strategy session, even Malfoy and Ron forgetting about their usual rivalry, as they planned their next move.
Soon, the young wizards reformed, dividing the playground into four zones and assigning small teams to chase and corner Fang in each area.
Some were even tasked with collecting stray ammunition.
With their new plan in place, they moved differently.
Rather than chasing wildly, they held their ground in their zones and used the colored balls to gradually shrink Fang's space.
After a while, Fang was finally struck by one of the balls, and the kids erupted in cheers, their energy only growing stronger.
Realizing he'd been hit by ordinary kids, Fang turned fierce and fought back with everything he had.
Anyway, Fang had already been hit by several colored balls, so one more hit didn't make much difference.
He simply picked up the balls that had fallen to the ground and started throwing them back like...
a turret. Before long, the chase turned into a full-on colored ball battle.
The little wizards were so caught up in the fun that they didn't care about looking cool, they just fired right back at Fang's barrage.
Watching quietly from the side, Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I see," he murmured.
"Having a common enemy really helps boost their teamwork and brings them together. Plus, when facing a slightly stronger opponent, but not one that's unbeatable, it seems to push them even more."
"And this mix of work and play appears to motivate the kids far better than strict drills. They've already run over two kilometers, yet they're still full of energy."
"Got it. After they finish their basic training, using games like this could be a great way to help them put their new skills into practice."
He glanced at Fang, who was now covered in colorful splashes, and smiled.
There was a spark of inspiration in his eyes, though its meaning was unclear.
When Harry and the freshmen returned to the auditorium after finishing their tactical training course, they quickly became the center of attention.
George and Fred couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight of Harry and his group, all covered in bright, colorful marks.
The intense battle with Fang had left everyone with splashes of color on their clothes and faces, even Hermione wasn't spared.
While the stains on their clothes weren't too bad, the marks on their faces were much more noticeable.