Since the Basilisk was killed, Slytherin's Chamber of Secret has undergone several changes.
Initially, it served as a tourist attraction, frequently visited by students who wanted to relive the battle against the Basilisk, and they would pick up some souvenirs from the Chamber.
Later, the school started renovating the Chamber, and when Professor Abigail was still teaching them, she planned to bring students here for real combat training.
Afterwards, Professor Abigail resigned abruptly, and the school began preparing for competitions. The Chamber was sealed again for further expansion and construction.
Now, Vid finally sees the results of the Chamber's overhaul; the entire space has been expanded by at least ten times. Although there appear to be only two obvious passages around, there are no visible corners, but in fact, traces of Magic Traps are hidden everywhere.
There is also a Golden Compass in the middle of the room, slowly rotating. It is expected that after finding the Golden Egg, one must return to this place and use the Portkey to return to the arena to complete the first event of the competition.
Vid squinted slightly as he surveyed the particularly eerie venue.
He is not worried about finding the Golden Egg; for Vid, figuring out how to achieve the competition goals without exposing too much of his strength is more challenging.
Because for him, many Magics have almost become second nature and come naturally. It's not easy to control this instinct.
In his previous duel against the Fire Dragon, his Iron Armor Spell seemed slightly excessive... but that's not a big issue. Being chosen by the Goblet of Fire suggests that there must be some strengths, otherwise, why would he stand out as a Champion?
Just as Vid was planning a route to avoid all traps into the passage, he suddenly heard a scream and a groan from behind.
He immediately turned around and saw Isabella kneeling on the ground, gasping heavily.
She looked extremely disheveled, with burn marks on her face and arms, and even her clothes were on fire.
"Are you... Isabella?" Vid stepped closer and asked, "Need any help?"
Before he finished his sentence, he naturally waved his Magic Wand, clearly chanting: "Aguamenti!"
The Magic Wand sprayed a stream of water onto the girl, extinguishing the flames on her.
Seeing Vid, Isabella nervously gripped her Magic Wand. When she saw the boy in front of her raise his wand, her nerves tensed to the extreme, and if not for the severe pain all over her body, she nearly jumped up to retaliate.
However, upon hearing the Spell, Isabella relaxed somewhat.
She also cast an Aguamenti, and the flowing cold water soothed the burned areas, relieving the pain. She couldn't help but let out a sound.
"Thank you, I'm much better now." Isabella forced a smile and asked, "Vid, have you found the Golden Egg?"
Meanwhile, Isabella internally chuckled lightly, grateful that Vid Gray is quite young and has a scholarly temperament, lacking aggression.
If someone else were standing here, she might have already been knocked down.
"No." Vid shook his head and casually pointed to the passage on the left, saying: "I was just about to explore this side when I saw you suddenly appear."
Isabella secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then let's hurry up and find the egg, or when more people rush in, our chances of finding the Golden Egg will decrease... Since you're going to the left, I'll go to the right."
"Alright." Vid had no objections to this.
He seemed still concerned about Isabella's injuries, agreeing verbally, but his feet didn't move, just watching the girl limp away.
Isabella naturally headed towards the other passage, but her attention was mostly on Vid. She worried that Vid might suddenly attack her and also wanted to see if there's a chance to send this naive Alchemist out of the competition.
Though Vid had just helped her a little, once in the arena, everyone except one's own peers becomes opponents, and any compassion is redundant.
However, one's attention is limited, and when she placed most of her focus on Vid, her awareness of the nearby environment naturally diminished.
Vid's eyes twitched slightly as he saw the girl just stepping into the passage when the seemingly flat stone ground suddenly bulged. Isabella quickly jumped to the side, but the bulge suddenly exploded!
A thick green smoke, like a rapidly growing mushroom, directly "swallowed" Isabella!
Vid quickly retreated two steps, but the green smoke did not continue to expand; it barely touched the passage walls and then shrank back, leaving just a fallen, unconscious Champion on the ground.
He sighed sympathetically, "Such a pity, if you hadn't been distracted, you might have discovered this trap."
Vid slowly moved toward Isabella, confirmed she was completely unconscious, then picked up her Magic Wand and lightly waved, releasing a spray of golden sparks.
A black-robed Wizard suddenly appeared out of the air, gave Vid an odd look, and then reached to hold Isabella's arm.
Vid recognized this as an Auror who once worked with Kingsley, holding a small Crystal Bottle in his palm. As he touched Isabella, the surrounding air distorted, and the two instantly vanished from sight.
Vid stood at the entrance of the passage that had trapped Isabella and glanced inside.
Hmm... traces of Magic are not densely packed, but various traps are placed in unimaginable places. Those eager to find the Golden Egg, if not cautious, might trigger one after a few steps.
Yet, knowing the inside is full of traps, why risk stepping into them?
Vid cautiously circled the range of the explosive bulge, found a secluded corner not far into the passage, and sat down.
— This seemingly convenient hiding spot is instead clean; just ahead, under the corner of the wall, the ubiquitous dark green vine is actually a well-camouflaged Devil's Snares.
Vid muttered a Spell under his breath, waving his Magic Wand, and weeds, dead leaves, vines, stones, small animal teeth and bones, tiny fingernail-sized scales all began to tremble, moving towards Vid involuntarily.
The rule only prohibits carrying Poppets, but doesn't ban making them on site, right?
As an Alchemist, a student of Master Morry, and the inventor of the Poppet, crafting Poppets is a well-known skill of his, needing no concealment.
Under the effect of the Spell, a dozen palm-sized "creatures" rose shakily.
They looked as though they spelled "shoddily made" all over, resembling oddly-shaped insects, with stones for eyes, bodies from dead grass and vines, horns on their heads made from bone segments, and leaves serving as embellishments on their bodies.
Vid again softly waved his Magic Wand, touching it to his forehead, drawing a small silver "thought," then dividing it into several parts to inject into the bodies of these small insects.
In the blink of an eye, their movements became much more agile, with quivering antennae seemingly exploring the world around them.
Of course, the materials for these Poppets are too simple and prone to damage. Even under normal conditions, they wouldn't last long.
"Snap!"
Vid didn't speak, just snapped his fingers, and all the little Poppets seemed to receive unified commands, instantly freezing in place.
In the next instant, they waved their claws and quickly scurried into the depths of the passage.