Ever since Albert entered the Forbidden Forest, Fanghad been running around him, sniffing tree roots and leaves, searching everywhere for Fred's scent.
At least, that's what Albert thought.
The rustling of leaves occasionally echoed in the quiet Forbidden Forest, making Albert's nerves tense, always on guard against potential dangers.
As expected, venturing into the Forbidden Forest late at night was definitely the most reckless thing Albert had ever done.
He stopped in a clearing, looking up at the sky, trying to find the red sparks the Twins had fired.
"Perhaps I should have brought a Flying Broom; traveling by air would be much faster." Albert looked around in the light of his wand, listening carefully to see if there were any other sounds besides the snapping of branches and the rustling of leaves.
Honestly, walking alone on the path in the Forbidden Forest, Albert felt particularly insecure; the night wind blowing made goosebumps appear.
Having no sense of security at all, this feeling was truly terrible.
"Fang, don't stray too far from me."
Albert stopped, called Fang back, and then opened the task panel to upgrade the "Protego Totalum" skill to level 2.
Indeed, it was better to improve his self-preservation ability first.
At least, when danger suddenly appeared, he wouldn't lose his life immediately.
As Ollivander said, wands made of red cedar do not bring luck to the user, but rather, the Wizard who uses them already possesses the ability to turn danger into safety when faced with it.
This wand was indeed very suitable for Albert to use.
Fang's tracking speed was not fast, and Albert followed it continuously along the path for about half an hour.
His mind remained highly tense, making Albert feel very tired. He took out a piece of chocolate, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed it to reduce the fatigue caused by the tension.
When thinking, Albert liked to eat something sweet, which could relieve fatigue and effectively improve mental activity.
Fang seemed to want some too, but dogs couldn't eat chocolate, so Albert could only pat its head and promise to buy it delicious food when they returned.
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"Let's go!" Albert regrouped his spirits and continued deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
The deeper they went into the Forbidden Forest, the denser the trees became. Now, the night sky above was almost completely obscured, and Albert's wand was the only faint light in the dark forest.
Beyond the range illuminated by that faint light lay impenetrable darkness and fear.
In fact, Albert had already realized that he might be lost, and had even deviated from the forest path!
It should be said that he wasn't lost, but Fred and George were lost, and Albert, who followed them, naturally got lost too.
If this was truly the case, the situation was a bit grim, and Albert estimated that he wouldn't be able to find the two of them in a short time.
Now, Albert's only hope was to see the red sparks rising in the Forbidden Forest.
Plans never keep up with changes!
Albert sighed softly; he knew this well, so he wasn't annoyed.
In fact, long before entering the forest, he had placed most of his hope on the Professors, otherwise he wouldn't have asked Lee Jordan to go back and find Professor McGonagall.
Hogwarts now was probably in utter chaos.
However, before the Professors arrived, he had to find the Weasley Brothers first, otherwise the task might fail.
As for regret?
Albert never regretted. If he had stayed, Professor McGonagall would certainly not have allowed him to enter the Forbidden Forest. 2000 experience points and 2 skill points were worth the risk, even if it meant consuming a large amount of stored experience in his experience pool.
2 skill points were really precious.
After level 3, upgrading skills with experience gained from tasks was no longer sufficient; using skill points to upgrade was the best method.
"Where could you possibly be?" Albert muttered softly. He pushed through low bushes, stepped over small fallen trees, and crossed a small stream, his robe torn by branches and thorns along the way.
Albert felt like he had walked for a long time again. The dense tree canopy completely obscured the moonlight from the sky.
Fang stopped, barking in a certain direction.
Not good!
Albert felt like he was being watched by eyes hidden in the darkness, a feeling that made him shiver.
He immediately ran to Fang's side, waving his wand and casting Protego Totalum, creating a bubble-shaped transparent defensive barrier around them.
Suddenly, hooves pounded around them, and Albertcould even feel the ground of the Forbidden Foresttrembling slightly.
It was Centaurs. Albert couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He knew these creatures usually didn't harm Hogwarts students.
Moments later, two Centaurs appeared on either side of Albert. Albert was still a bit nervous when the Centaurs drew their bows and aimed arrows at him. Whether in his previous life or this one, this was his first experience of something like this.
That feeling was very uncomfortable. Albert couldn't help but grip his wand tightly, ensuring his defensive barrier wouldn't be pierced by the Centaurs' arrows.
"Who are you?" a rough voice demanded.
"Albert Anderson, a student of Hogwarts." Albert tried to keep his voice as friendly as possible.
"Colt, this is not a place for you to be," the Centaurroughly reminded him.
"I have two friends, they are lost in the Forbidden Forest, and I need to find them as soon as possible," Albert stated his purpose for entering the Forbidden Forest.
"There were two other Colts who entered the forest, I remember…" The Centaurs put away their bows and arrows and walked towards Albert, entering the range of his wand's light.
Albert saw a Centaur for the first time, and the feeling was very strange. From the waist up, it was human, with red hair and a beard, but from the waist down, it was a reddish-brown horse body, with a long red tail dragging behind it.
"I know I shouldn't enter the forest," Albert said softly, "but I need to find them… if you could offer us a little help…"
"We do not help humans!" The dark brown Centaurroared at Albert.
"Oh, I'm truly sorry. If I offended you just now, I apologize," Albert had calmed down and said softly, "I don't understand you, and I don't want to have any unpleasant conflicts with you. I'm just here to find my friends. Once I find them, I'll leave immediately."
"That's enough, Bane," the reddish-brown Centaursoothed his companion, "He means no harm."
"He came uninvited…"
"I hope we don't have any conflicts," Albert interrupted the Centaur, his voice sounding a little cold.
At this moment, Albert was considering whether to knock out these two Centaurs, but doing so might mean the end of his search for the Weasley Brothers.
He wasn't Hagrid, and the Centaurs weren't as friendly as the legends suggested.
But it wasn't hard to deduce that Fred and Georgehadn't encountered Centaurs, otherwise Albert should have learned about it from the Centaurs.
"It shouldn't be hard for you to see that I am not as weak as you think," Albert stared at the Centaur and said, "We don't need to have a conflict. I just want to find my friends and then take them out of here."
"Of course, I leave the decision to you."
"You know Hagrid?" The reddish-brown Centaursuddenly changed the subject. It had recognized Hagrid's dog, Fang, from the beginning.
"Yes, I am Hagrid's friend. Originally, I planned to ask him for help, but Hagrid wasn't in his hut tonight, so I could only bring Hagrid's dog to the Forbidden Forest to find people." Albert squinted at the reddish-brown Centaur and continued, "Hagrid once said that as long as I'm with Fang, no creature in the Forbidden Forestwould harm me."
"Come with me, Hagrid's friend, I probably know where your friends are," the reddish-brown Centaur turned and walked towards the forest.
"Ronan!" Bane was very displeased with his companion's actions.
"We never attack Colts," Ronan stopped and turned, saying, "I saw red sparks light up on the other side of the forest earlier."
"That's right, that's it! They might have encountered some trouble!" Albert couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The red sparks meant Fred and George were still alive.
"Fang, keep up!" Albert deactivated the surrounding protective barrier and quickly followed the Centaur's pace.
"However, I need to warn you, the forest over there is very dangerous," Ronan told Albert, "Those Acromantula will eat animals that enter that part of the forest. I do not advise you to risk going there."
"Thank you, but I won't abandon my friends," Albertshook his head, refusing the other's kindness. "I will take responsibility for my recklessness. If I get eaten by spiders, then I brought it upon myself, and it has nothing to do with you."
"Alright!" Ronan looked deeply at Albert, nodded, and said, "Come with me, it's still some distance from here."
About twenty minutes later, Albert stood exhausted under a tree, resting. Even though Ronan had slowed his pace, it was still very difficult for him to keep up with the Centaur's stride.
"From here on, it's the hunting ground of those Acromantula, but I still don't advise you to risk it."
"Thank you, Ronan. I will remember you, and the help you've given me." Albert bowed slightly to the Centaurbeside him in gratitude.
"If you can bring your friends back, I will guide you out of this forest," Ronan said, then turned and left.
Albert watched Ronan's disappearing back, then turned and walked towards the forest ahead. He knew he had to be extra vigilant; this place was more dangerous than anywhere else.
"You shouldn't have helped him," Bane looked angrily at Ronan.
"He is Hagrid's friend," Ronan looked in the direction Albert had left and said softly, "Even if we didn't help him, he would still do the same."
"They are not welcome here."
"We never attack Colts," Ronan repeated.
This was an ancient agreement between the Centaurtribe in the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts.
"That Colt is not as weak as you think; you should be able to see that," Ronan stood in the clearing, looking up at the starry sky, murmuring, "He is very special, yes, very special."
Both Ronan and Bane could tell that if they tried to do anything to Albert, he would retaliate fiercely.
Just as Albert said, he meant no harm and left the decision to the Centaurs.
And the latter chose peaceful coexistence.
As Ronan said, Centaurs never attack Hogwartsstudents.
...
On the other side, upon entering the Acromantula's activity range, Albert had to brace himself and stay alert to his surroundings.
Ever since coming here with the Centaur, Fang could no longer track Fred's location by scent.
Albert was hesitating whether to fire green sparks into the sky, but he was also worried that doing so would attract the Acromantula.
Suddenly, Fang barked frantically behind Albert.
"Protego Totalum!" Albert immediately cast the spell, and the defensive barrier protected him and Fang. A large Acromantula appeared behind Albert without warning, scuttling and clawing, crashing into the protective barrier, unable to advance another inch.
Fang was still barking wildly, while Albert stiffly turned his head, staring dumbfounded at the monster in front of him, his heart skipping a few beats.
Unlike the small spiders he had seen before, this one was as big as a horse, with eight legs, a black, hairy, giant spider. Its large chelicerae were moving, making a chilling clicking sound.
"I hate spiders," Albert muttered, facing the eight eyes. Soon, he noticed a new task appearing on his panel.
Angry Counterattack
You seem to have encountered an attack. It's time to show the attacker what you're made of. Defeat the attacking Acromantula and let those hairy big guys know you're not to be trifled with.
Reward: 1500 experience, gain skill: Spider Repellent Charm.
"This skill came just in time," Albert muttered. He immediately opened the skill panel, upgraded Apparition to level 2, then reached out and scooped up the whimpering Fang, and used Apparition to disappear on the spot.
The Acromantula simply couldn't understand why its prey had suddenly vanished.
The next moment, Albert appeared 50 feet away. He suppressed the discomfort caused by Apparition, waved his wand, and shouted, "Stupefy!"
A red flash of light hit the large Acromantula.
The Stupefy had little effect on it; instead, it further enraged the Acromantula.
"Stupefy! Impediment Jinx! Stupefy!"
The Acromantula was already lunging towards them. The Stupefy and Impediment Jinx had some effect, slowing down its movement.
"Protego Totalum." Albert cast the protective barrier again, enveloping himself.
The Acromantula crashed into the protective barrier, causing it to be thwarted again.
Albert could feel the Acromantula's rage from its eight black eyes. Its sharp pincers clicked and clacked, as if telling him, "I'm going to eat you."
The spells had little effect on it. Was his magic too weak, or was the spider too large, or was its magic too strong?
If the spells were upgraded to level 2, the effect might be better, but... Albert glanced at his experience pool. He would definitely need to learn the Spider Repellent Charm later.
It would be best to solve it without upgrading anything.
What are a spider's weaknesses?
Basilisk?
And...
Legs?
After all, it has eight legs.
Trip Jinx... Leg-Locker Curse... Jelly-Legs Jinx... and the Tarantallegra...
Hopefully these spells work.
Albert Apparated again. He admitted that this magicwas extremely practical, but the discomfort caused by Apparition was truly terrible.
After the Acromantula discovered its prey had disappeared again, it immediately looked around, but Albert's voice had already sounded.
Tarantallegra!
The Dancing Charm hit the Acromantula's legs, making it uncontrollably tap dance.
This spell undoubtedly produced a remarkable effect.
Spiders obviously don't tap dance, so it now looked like two of its legs were cramping, twitching uncontrollably.