Chapter 130: Overwhelming Pressure
Chapter 130: Overwhelming Pressure
"I never expected Professor Broad to give you such high praise." Katrina's expression was complex, or rather, she was feeling unresigned.
At home, although her sister, Isabel, treated her well, she was an undisputed magical genius. Katrina grew up under Isabel's genius shadow, and the pressure on her was immense.
Later, Katrina finally started her education at Hogwarts, thinking that she could showcase her talents here and escape her sister's shadow.
In truth, Katrina was highly gifted in magic, and she always worked hard, striving in every aspect. If not for Albert, Katrina would undoubtedly be the standout among her peers—with her talent and diligence, her peers wouldn't even come close, not even Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff.
However, there was no 'if'.
Albert's sudden appearance eclipsed all of Katrina's dazzling brilliance. Even Isabel, whom Katrina admired and who was hailed as Ravenclaw's most brilliant wizard in a century, fell far short.
The once confident Katrina suddenly fell into gloom.
In terms of talent, he surpassed her.
In terms of effort, he was no less dedicated.
What made it worse was that Katrina originally thought that even if she lost, it wouldn't be by much. After all, she had always been diligent in her studies, always ready to surpass him.
But the reality far exceeded Katrina's imagination.
When Albert Anderson was invited by Professor McGonagall to join the Transfiguration Club, Katrina consoled herself that she would definitely be invited to join the club next year.
Later, Albert displayed his extraordinary flying talent on the Quidditch pitch, helping Gryffindor defeat Slytherin. Since Katrina wasn't good at sports, she could only comfort herself by thinking that as long as she could surpass him in other aspects, it would be enough.
However, Katrina discovered that even Isabel, her sister, rarely praised others, yet she acknowledged Albert's talent in Transfiguration.
At that time, Katrina was still unwilling to admit it. However, the latest paper published in 'Today's Transfiguration' dealt her a heavy blow, confirming Albert's extraordinary talent in Transfiguration.
And now, what about ancient runes?
This was clearly an elective for third-years, yet Albert Anderson had somehow taught himself? Self-taught?
Such a move left Katrina stunned. Moreover, from the change in Professor Broad's expression, it wasn't difficult to see that Albert's proficiency in ancient runes was far beyond her imagination.
"Could it be that I've really chosen the wrong opponent?" Katrina thought to herself, even though she had already grown accustomed to being crushed by her sister in various ways. But this young lady from Ravenclaw was not ready to admit defeat just yet.
Yes, she hadn't lost yet.
Since Albert was also skilled at Wizard's Chess...
"Let's play Wizard's Chess," Katrina suddenly said.
"Wizard's Chess?" Albert was surprised that the Ravenclaw girl next to him wanted to play chess with him. Although they knew each other, they were merely acquaintances.
"You and me?" Albert raised his finger and pointed at the two of them, asking.
"Yes, let's decide the winner with a game of chess!" Katrina needed to regain some confidence from Albert. Playing chess was a good idea. Professor Broad had said that Albert was quite good at Wizard's Chess, and it was one of the few areas where Katrina could beat her sister, Isabel.
Albert was suddenly perplexed.
Moreover, what confused him the most was the task on the panel:
Comprehensive Domination Someone sees you as a rival and is trying to challenge and defeat you. Defeat the challenger in the field of Wizard's Chess and let her know that she will never be your match.
Reward: 200 experience points, Katrina McDougall's favorability +1, Isabel McDougall's favorability +5.
The experience reward for this task was pitifully low, and the increase in favorability was strange. Why was Katrina's favorability increase lower than Isabel's? With only 200 experience points, Albert wasn't very interested. After all, there were already rich experience packages like Voldemort on the task panel.
Of course, if he could get it, he wouldn't let it go. In the past, Albert had done similar tasks.
"Wizard's Chess?" Albert feigned surprise. "In the Great Hall?"
"Yes, in the Great Hall. Let's play three games," Katrina nodded.
"Alright, if that's what you want, I don't mind," Albert said, feeling a bit sorry for the red-haired girl in front of him.
After all, the name of the task was 'Comprehensive Domination', which meant that he was comprehensively crushing her.
She had completely chosen the wrong target for a rival if her opponent had cheats.
"By the way, are those notes you're holding the item you're supposed to give to Professor Broad?" Albert suddenly asked.
After all, Professor Broad already had an appointment with him, and Katrina's appearance here meant that she had other business.
"Ah, I almost forgot about this." Katrina suddenly exclaimed when she noticed the notebook in her hand. "This is the notebook that Professor Binsyida asked me to pass to Professor Broad."
Saying that, Katrina quickly walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
Albert watched Katrina's departing back and shook his head.
In fact, he couldn't quite understand Katrina's persistence. She had actually borrowed the Wizard's Chess set from Professor Broad.
The two of them started their match in the Great Hall, attracting a few onlookers with their serious demeanor.
First game, Albert lost.
Katrina was indeed very good at Wizard's Chess. Albert was swiftly taken by her in a surprise attack.
However, Albert didn't mind. He didn't care about winning or losing; he cared about enjoying the game. Even if he lost, the task wouldn't fail; it would just remain unfinished and hang on the task panel, ready to be completed at any time.
Second game, Albert won, but it was a close call.
He deliberately played a fast game, speeding up Katrina's pace as well. Perhaps the easy victory in the first game had led her to misjudge, and Albert took advantage of the opening.
Third game, it was a draw.
This time, Katrina was clearly not going to give her opponent any openings, and Albert chose to go for exchanges from the start. In the end, after they had exchanged all their pieces, the game concluded in a draw.
As for the fourth game, there was no fourth game.
Because they had initially agreed to only play three games, Katrina originally wanted to determine a clear winner, but Albert directly indicated that she had won the fourth game.
Although he didn't know why Katrina wanted to win against him, Albert felt that if they started a fourth game, he might very well suffer a crushing defeat, so he conceded.
Katrina was dissatisfied, but she eventually chose to end it as a draw and indicated that she would find time to continue sparring with Albert in chess another day.
"What's wrong with your sister?" Albert asked Isabel, who had been standing there from the start, after watching Katrina leave.
"She's under a lot of pressure, but her will to win is strong," Isabel replied calmly. "She probably realized that she can't catch up to you in terms of magical attainments, so she wants to beat you in her area of strength."
"I think you're putting too much pressure on her," Albert mumbled. "Having a genius sister must be tough on the younger sibling."
Speaking of which, Albert suddenly fell silent as he thought of Nia?
(End of Chapter)
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