— — — — — —
Next, Ariana turned her frustration into motivation and launched a full-scale assault on the feast before her.
The young witch had always loved good food, and every dish here had been prepared by Tom's personal house-elf chefs. Each one was top-tier.
So naturally, she ate with great enthusiasm.
She was midway through her feast when Tom's phantom quietly reminded her, "Nassim has already reached the final passage. If he passes the trial of the three dangerous magical beasts—Graphorn, Erumpent, and Poisonhorn—he'll catch up to you."
Only then did Ariana stop.
She stuffed the last piece of Texas barbecue into her mouth, stood up, and asked through a mouthful of food, "Tom, am I allowed to attack people here?"
Hmm?
Tom's eyes flickered. He had already guessed what she was planning and immediately nodded. "Of course."
Ariana's face lit up.
Her gaze swept across the lavish banquet.
How much could she eat by herself?
There were over a dozen tables loaded with food, and she hadn't even finished a fifth of it.
"No. Wasting food is wrong."
She quickly abandoned the dangerous thought that had crossed her mind.
With a hint of regret, she gave the feast one last look before turning toward the fireplace.
Then she got to work. One after another, she cast every trap spell she knew around the area.
Anyone stepping out of the Floo fireplace without taking precautions would absolutely regret it.
With Tom's eye for magic, he could immediately tell that the first thing waiting outside was a Dangling Jinx.
After that came a Confusion Hex, a Blinding Curse, a Jelly-Legs Jinx, a Bat-Bogey Hex, and several others.
If someone took the full combo head-on, they would probably end up in the infirmary.
"Bye-bye, Tom!"
Ariana looked very pleased with her masterpiece.
Her golden hair traced a graceful arc through the air as she excitedly waved at him.
Then she stepped beyond the plaza's boundaries. The instant she crossed the line, a harsh alarm echoed throughout the entire city.
At the same time, three alchemical golems launched into the air from nearby locations and sped toward her position.
"Good luck."
Tom looked at Ariana with a trace of sympathy.
If even the girl he had taught knew how to set traps, then what about him?
Every inch of Dalaran was infused with magic. Anyone entering without authorization would immediately trigger the alarm.
Right now, the city's alert level was only Level One. The highest possible alert level was Level Five.
For example. At Level Five, the force rushing toward Ariana wouldn't be three alchemical golems. It would be more than a hundred and fifty.
Naturally, maintaining the highest security setting also consumed the most resources. That was exactly why Tom had brought the champions here as guinea pigs.
He wanted to determine which alert level was most suitable for Dalaran's normal day-to-day operations.
Watching Ariana hastily cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself before fleeing the area, Tom smiled in satisfaction.
Then he shifted his attention back to the neighboring maze.
Just as he had said, Nassim had already arrived before the three magical beasts.
The boy understood what he needed to do, but for the moment, he hadn't thought of a good solution and didn't dare act rashly.
As for the other champions, the slowest pair, Quinta and Kamio, had already reached the middle layer of the maze. Everyone else had entered the core region.
If Nassim didn't pick up the pace soon, the others would catch him.
This would also be the first time the champions encountered one another inside the maze. But combat wasn't prohibited here.
"Whatever."
Tom promptly stopped caring.
After all, the maze was already running on autopilot. As long as no one accidentally blew the place up, there was no need for him to keep watching.
Besides, the real entertainment was only just beginning. The champions still had plenty of opportunities ahead to make each other's lives miserable.
...
At that moment—
Nassim gritted his teeth, a flash of white showing against his dark skin.
Then he began dancing wildly.
It was one of Uagadou's powerful hypnotic spells. Normally, the High Priest would use it during ceremonies to hypnotize entire crowds, creating the illusion of divine miracles and mystical power.
The problem was that his targets this time were three magical beasts. Each of them possessed physiques far superior to those of humans, and Nassim had no idea whether the spell would actually work.
For about thirty seconds, he continued his bizarre dance.
At first, the three creatures watched him as though he were a complete idiot.
Gradually, however, their eyelids grew heavy. One after another, they opened their enormous jaws and yawned.
Unfortunately, none of them actually fell asleep.
Left with no better choice, Nassim continued his ritual dance while slowly edging toward the passageway.
At first, everything went smoothly.
But when he got within ten meters, the Graphorn suddenly let out a piercing roar. It lowered its body, aimed directly at him, and scraped its hind legs against the ground.
The beast was clearly preparing to charge.
Now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he turned and ran, he wouldn't be fast enough to escape a charge from this distance. If he rushed forward, he might end up performing a perfect slide straight into the Graphorn's horns.
In the end, Nassim chose to trust.
Trust that the judges and his headmaster wouldn't let him die here.
The strange dance came to an abrupt stop. His hands, however, continued moving rapidly.
Pebbles scattered across the ground shot into the air, transforming into arrows loosed from an invisible bow as they streaked toward the Graphorn.
At the same time, he pumped his legs as hard as he could and sprinted toward the final passage.
The bad news was that his rushed spell lacked power. The stones failed to injure the Graphorn in the slightest. Instead, they only made it angrier and even more awake.
The good news was that Nassim was fast. Before the Graphorn could slam into him, he dove into the narrow passageway leading to the finish.
The Graphorn's enormous body couldn't fit inside.
It crashed headfirst into the wall with a thunderous bang. Then its eyes rolled back. And it promptly knocked itself unconscious.
"Nice!"
Nassim punched the air in triumph.
Without wasting another second, he sprinted toward the fireplace at the end.
A dizzying sensation washed over him. The next moment, he arrived in the plaza.
Then he took one step forward.
...And his tragedy began.
Trap after trap detonated on his body.
Within seconds, he barely looked human anymore.
His brain and limbs seemed completely disconnected from one another.
Stumbling, crawling, and rolling across the ground, he somehow managed to escape the trap zone.
Fortunately, Ariana still had a shred of conscience. She hadn't planted any vicious dark magic. Otherwise, Nassim would have already been dead—maybe only just in time to watch his fellow countrymen enthusiastically performing the famous Coffin Dance.
...
Meanwhile, the audience was left staring in stunned silence.
Were there any normal people in this tournament? Tom's maze had already been filled with one sinister trap after another. Yet somehow the contestants were no better.
Ariana Dumbledore... As expected of Grindelwald's student.
At such a young age, she was already this devious.
Some people even suspected that one day she might surpass the Dark Lord himself.
But what truly shattered their expectations was still to come.
Nassim's bad luck had only just begun.
As the tournament's designated guide, a portion of Tom's magic once again condensed into a phantom figure.
This time, though, there was a distinctly strange expression on his face.
.
.
.