Chapter 543: Wisdom and Judgment
Chapter 543: Wisdom and Judgment
The next morning, Kyle had just finished breakfast when he was summoned by Professor McGonagall. This time, they were led to a spot right in front of the castle gates, circling around the Black Lake.
By 9:50 am, ten minutes before the start of the competition, the seats were already filled with spectators.
Despite the cold, everyone was unaffected and eagerly waved their flags, eagerly awaiting the start of the competition.
The five judges had already taken their positions, and after a month, Dumbledore appeared at Hogwarts once again.
His face looked a bit haggard, as if he hadn't slept in a long time, but his eyes remained bright, and his expression was full of excitement.
As Kyle passed by, he happened to overhear a joke that Dumbledore told to Professor McGonagall behind him.
However, Professor McGonagall was too nervous to laugh, as she stared intently at the Black Lake in front of her and at Kyle beside her.
As the time approached, Ludo Bagman, the commentator, stepped forward and pointed his wand at his throat, saying, "Louder voice!"
Instantly, his voice boomed like thunder, echoing around the Black Lake.
"The warriors have all arrived, and the competition is about to begin. I'd like to explain something to everyone.
This round tests the warriors' wisdom and judgment. They must first go to the Forbidden Forest and find three keys, and then use these keys to rescue their most precious treasures that are trapped in the Black Lake.
"I believe the warriors already know this, so I won't say more.
"The only thing I want to remind you all is to make good use of the stones in your hands. Each stone can be exchanged with a Centaur in the Forbidden Forest for a clue to a key. Three stones correspond to three keys. Whether or not you can find the hidden information in these clues quickly will also be the key to your victory."
"There's one more thing..." He paused, looked around, and then glanced at the judges' table. After receiving a nod from Chris, he continued, "We've made a slight adjustment to the scoring criteria for the second task. We've divided the scores into rough categories.
First, if you complete the task within an hour, you'll receive a minimum of eight points.
If you finish within two hours, you'll get five to eight points.
And finally, if it takes more than two hours, you'll only receive five points.
"So, I must remind every warrior that time is crucial. You must make the right choices."
Kyle, Fengrong, and Viktor Krum all listened attentively to his words.
As it approached 10 o'clock, Bagman checked the time and said, "Okay, I'll blow the whistle in a moment, and you can start. I'll count to three.
"One... two... three!"
A sharp whistle pierced the cold air, and cheers and applause erupted from the stands.
Without hesitation, Kyle ran straight towards the Forbidden Forest in front of him.
Three Centaurs were already waiting at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, saving them some time.
Each of them chose the Centaur closest to them.
Coincidentally or not, Kyle's Centaur was Farlanze, whom he was most familiar with and had met recently.
Kyle didn't say a word and handed over a stone.
"I need a clue to the key," he said.
After receiving the stone, Farlanze began chanting softly, "The thing you seek is hidden in the eyes of the serpent. When the hour hand moves ten times and the serpent moves five times, you will see it..."
Kyle furrowed his brows and thought for a moment.
The hour hand probably represented the direction, which was the ten o'clock direction, and the serpent moving five times... it should be the distance.
"This direction..."
Farlanze's voice sounded in his ear again, and he tilted his tail towards one side, speaking in a low voice, "Go forward five miles, and you'll reach it."
Kyle was surprised that the Centaur gave him a hint, and after realizing this, he nodded slightly. However, by this time, Farlanze had already returned to the Forbidden Forest.
Kyle didn't think much of it. He raised his wand and said, "Firebolt, fly here!"
He waited for a few minutes, but there was no response.
First, Kyle's spell definitely had no issues, so the answer was clear. Perhaps this task didn't test the warriors' flying abilities, or maybe the judges had banned the use of flying broomsticks to increase the difficulty of the competition.
Unable to find any clues, Kyle could only quickly run into the Forbidden Forest.
The forest was filled with towering trees, and the single winding path was difficult to navigate.
After running for about ten minutes, Kyle suddenly stopped, furrowing his brows as he sensed something amiss.
It was too quiet.
He had been to the Forbidden Forest before, more than once, and he knew that even on the outskirts, there were plenty of animals, and one could always hear the sounds of insects and birds.
But in the past ten minutes, he had only heard his own footsteps, no other sounds... This was almost impossible under normal circumstances.
Unless, the area had been enlarged by a special magic, similar to the Quidditch stadium in the first task.
There was also something odd about the distance.
Five miles... It didn't seem far, and even without a flying broomstick, with the assistance of magic, it would only take ten minutes.
But this was under normal conditions. The forest was filled with trees, and it was impossible to just rush forward. The time required would at least double, meaning twenty minutes.
Finding one key would take twenty minutes, and there were three keys to find, plus the time needed to decipher the Centaur's riddle and explore the Black Lake. No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible to complete the task within an hour.
But the judges wouldn't set an impossible time limit without reason.
There must be something he hadn't considered.
Kyle quickly recalled Bagman's previous words...
This task tested wisdom and judgment... If wisdom was about solving the riddle, what was judgment about...
As Kyle slowly walked forward, he frowned in thought, and suddenly, he heard Bagman's voice.
"Twenty minutes have passed, warriors, you must hurry!"
Wait...
Kyle suddenly stopped, without hesitation, and turned back.
He was a wizard, why did he have to find the keys... Only by skipping the forest could he possibly complete the task within an hour.
Yes, this was judgment... At least in Kyle's opinion, and he was willing to take a chance.
On his way back, Kyle met Fengrong, who looked puzzled as to why he was running back.
"Listen..." Kyle said quickly, "I think we don't need to find the keys, it's too time-consuming, it's impossible to finish within an hour. I plan to go straight to the Black Lake."
"What?" Fengrong was incredulous, "But the rules say that only by finding the keys can we..."
"Don't forget, we're wizards." Kyle interrupted her.
Fengrong still hesitated.
Kyle didn't say anything further, after all, this was just his guess.
He continued running back, and finally, after ten minutes, he burst out of the forest.
"Oh, a warrior has emerged..." Bagman shouted, "Has he found the key?"
At the judges' table, Dumbledore and Chris unconsciously smiled, while Karkaroff and Madame Maxime's expressions turned sour.
Kyle didn't listen to Bagman's words, and after seeing the judges' reactions, he was now certain his guess was correct. He hadn't even reached the first key's location, he had only turned back halfway, and it had already taken half an hour.
If he had to find all three keys, an hour would definitely not be enough.
Kyle didn't hesitate, and headed straight for the Black Lake.
There were many ways to operate underwater, like Gillyweed, which he just happened to have. He had bought it from a potion shop in Diagon Alley and kept it in his box. Last night, he had taken it out specially.
But Kyle didn't plan to use it.
Gillyweed lasted exactly an hour, and half the time had already passed, which would be a bit of a waste.
Kyle took out his wand and cast a spell on his head, creating a large bubble, and then dove into the Black Lake.
The Bubble-Head Charm, although not as agile as Gillyweed underwater, was still a good choice.
The stands erupted in cheers and applause once again.
The audience didn't need to consider so much, they only knew that Fengrong and Krum hadn't emerged, and Kyle was leading everyone...
(End of Chapter)
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