Tom was indeed nervous, but not nearly as helpless as Grindelwald had made him sound.
He had already read the reference books Wade had deliberately provided.
So he had made thorough preparations for the creatures within the trial.
At this moment, Tom had changed into athletic wear and stood at the entrance of the trial, stretching his muscles and finishing his warm-up.
He looked at the tent in front of him, his gaze firm…
"Carlos Peel! Challenge failed!"
Suddenly, a Grindelwald supporter shouted from nearby.
Not long after, a young wizard, charred black from head to toe, was carried out by several of them…
"This poor fellow stepped on an explosive snail halfway through," one of them said in a low voice.
"Explosive snail? What kind of creature is that?" a healer from St Mungo's asked, completely confused.
"Well… I've never seen this creature before either… just treat it according to the standards for magical creature injuries."
"Uh… isn't that a bit too careless?" The healer looked utterly baffled.
At that moment, Wade and Dumbledore arrived and happened to witness the scene.
Wade could not help but touch his nose awkwardly.
A species that would only be bred by Hagrid in the future… naturally, it had been created by Wade.
Moreover, after his modifications, these explosive snails had become much more docile. They barely moved and appeared far less dangerous.
Of course… that was assuming no one stepped on them, and no one used them as landmines.
"Heh, such a pure and kind nature," Grindelwald said with a smile.
"Wasn't this level of difficulty exactly what you demanded? Without it, you wouldn't even approve the trials. How can you blame Wade?" Dumbledore said angrily in defense of his student.
Grindelwald snorted and turned his head away. Go ahead and keep protecting your precious treasure. You'll regret it later.
"Ahem, just apply some dittany externally. There's no need for a healing potion," Wade said, already hurrying over to offer advice to the healer from St Mungo's.
Seeing this, Dumbledore looked thoroughly pleased once more.
Grindelwald felt a headache coming on and could not be bothered to say anything further. There was no point, he would not listen anyway.
"Tom, how's your preparation?" After giving his advice, Wade cheerfully went over to bother Tom.
"It's fine…" Tom stopped stretching and began wiping his wand.
"Confident?" Wade asked.
"Do I have a choice?" Tom replied expressionlessly.
"Well… you'd better be, unless you want to end up like him." Wade pointed at the charred "little black figure" nearby.
"So I don't have a choice… alright, go away. Don't disturb my preparations." Tom waved him off.
Wade immediately turned and left, pulling over a small stool nearby and sitting down.
As soon as he looked up, he saw Grindelwald watching him with a wide smile, as if saying, go on, justify it again.
"Sigh, I know Tom holds some resentment toward me, but… I'm doing this for his own good. His combat ability is already outstanding, but he's reached a bottleneck. He needs some external stimulus to improve," Wade said with a sigh.
Grindelwald could not help but glance at Dumbledore again.
As expected…
Dumbledore nodded as well.
"That's true. During these past days of training Tom, I've also noticed that his combat techniques have become somewhat rigid. Some bad habits are difficult to correct… perhaps only in the face of real danger can he change."
"Exactly! Professor, you really understand me. Better to bleed a little in training than lose your life on the battlefield!" Wade said, slapping his thigh.
Grindelwald: "…"
"Tom Riddle!"
Someone at the entrance of the trial called out Tom's name.
Clearly, it was finally his turn.
Tom took a deep breath, pulled out a potion, and drank it in one go. Only then did he raise his wand and stride inside.
"A Sharpening Draught. It's a potion Professor Slughorn and I developed together. It can double a person's reaction speed," Wade said with a smile.
"You have something like that?" Grindelwald asked in surprise.
"Of course," Wade replied with a smile.
"Then… how many Galleons per bottle? Can you sell it to me?" Grindelwald asked.
Dumbledore immediately grew wary. "Grindelwald… what do you intend to do?"
"This potion could become an extremely important strategic resource. Dumbledore… you know what I intend to use it for," Grindelwald said coldly.
"Who are you trying to guard against? We cannot easily go to war with Muggles again," Dumbledore replied sharply.
Grindelwald let out a cold laugh. "I'm not starting a war. I'm simply making preparations… why are you so tense? Besides, with this potion, the casualty rate during Auror missions would be much lower. Don't tell me you haven't considered that? I'm doing this for the Ministry of Magic and for the wizarding world."
Dumbledore fell silent. For Aurors, whose duties were extremely dangerous, this potion was indeed very useful.
But… he still could not fully trust Grindelwald.
Grindelwald shook his head helplessly. When I ask for a potion for the sake of the wizarding world, you suspect I'm planning something. Yet when this brat says he's doing it for the wizarding world and for his friends, you believe him without question. Truly irritating.
"If you're interested in purchasing it, you can discuss it with my professor, Slughorn. I'm not very good at handling such matters," Wade said, breaking the awkward tension.
"Very well, I'll speak with your professor later," Grindelwald nodded. "If you have anything else beneficial to the wizarding world, you should bring it out sooner rather than later."
"I'm aiming for refinement. For example, this Sharpening Draught only lasts for an hour, and the enhancement is only twofold. I believe it can still be improved," Wade said thoughtfully.
It was clear he was serious, which made Grindelwald inwardly uneasy.
It had to be said, the boy was truly capable, and that temperament… he was very much one of their kind.
Grindelwald could not understand why Dumbledore remained so completely taken in by him.
Then again, the fact that Wade could keep Dumbledore convinced of his sincerity was a remarkable ability in itself.
By now, Tom had already disappeared into the trial.
"A pity. It would have been nice if we could see what's happening inside," Grindelwald said regretfully.
To be honest, he was quite curious about Tom's true strength.
After all, even Dumbledore had personally trained him, and as a second-year, he was attempting a seventh-year trial.
Even if his talent could not match Wade's, it would certainly surpass most others.
"There is… there's a way," Wade said, pulling a mirror out of his pocket.
"A Two-Way Mirror? How can you see anything clearly with something that small?" Grindelwald said, squinting at the tiny mirror.
"Of course you can see clearly." As Wade spoke, he flicked his wand, and the small Two-Way Mirror instantly enlarged, dropping to the ground like a massive full-length mirror.
At that moment, the view in the mirror hovered above Tom's head, following him as he moved forward through a long corridor.
"Who has the other mirror?" Grindelwald asked.
"I placed a flying construct inside beforehand. Originally, it was meant to help those outside observe the challengers more clearly, in case rescue was needed. But Two-Way Mirrors are too rare, and I only found this pair, so the idea couldn't be fully implemented. Since the flying construct was already made, I placed it in the seventh-year trial instead…"
As he spoke, Tom in the mirror encountered his first wave of enemies.
Five knight constructs armed with longswords. They moved like the wind, their blades flashing like lightning.
Of course, this posed no real challenge to Tom.
In just a single exchange, all five knight constructs fell apart…
After all, he had already defeated the knight constructs left behind by Slytherin. How could these inferior versions possibly trouble him?
A sharp gleam appeared in Grindelwald's eyes.
At Tom's age, possessing such combat ability, he could undoubtedly be called a genius.
Winning Wade over might be difficult, but Tom was not entirely out of reach. From their earlier interaction, Grindelwald had noticed something. Tom still harbored considerable resentment toward Wade. There was an opportunity there.
Meanwhile, Tom stepped past the wreckage of the knight constructs and continued deeper inside.
He remained extremely cautious. When he reached a patch of muddy ground, he did not hesitate. With a flick of his wand, he cast a freezing charm, turning the ground into a thick layer of ice.
With that, the explosive snail traps hidden beneath instantly lost their effect.
Tom calmly walked across the explosive snails, moving with more ease than many upper-year students.
Next, he successfully saw through an ambush by a group of Red Caps, then dodged a barrage of attacks from mutated Venomous Tentacula that fired poisonous spikes…
After using Lumos to pass through a corridor filled with Devil's Snare, Tom finally encountered his first formidable opponent.
It was a troll, and not just any troll, but one clad in full armor.
Tom stared at the troll, covered head to toe in armor and wielding a heavy spiked club, his lips twitching slightly.
Wasn't it supposed to be just an ordinary troll? Why the hell was it equipped?
But at this point, there was no turning back.
The armored troll was already charging at him, swinging its cold, gleaming metal club.
Tom pressed his lips together and launched an attack.
The goblin-made armor perfectly blocked all of Tom's spells.
For a moment, Tom was forced into a difficult fight.
When another of his spells was deflected by the armor and he narrowly avoided being smashed, Wade could not help but frown. "Tom… use your head. Don't just try to overpower it."
Grindelwald glanced at Wade. "If it were you, how would you handle it?"
"Me? I'd use a severing charm to cut its throat in one strike," Wade said.
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