Spells flew from the front row in rapid successiorificus Totalus, Somnus, Expelliarmus, Incarcerous, ao. Each spell was aimed with deadly precision, the casters holding nothing back.

  But before the spells could reach Alex, the swirling crows reacted. Each spell collided with two or three birds, dissipating harmlessly as the birds vanished in bursts of bck feathers. In the ter of the chaos, Alex was ready.

  “Aguamenti Maxima!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the noise. A massive torrent of water surged forth, twisting and r as it barreled toward Avery and his group.

  “Block it! Protego! Obstructo!” Avery yelled, his reflexes sharp as he raised defensive spells.

  But Alex wasn’t done. As the water surged forward, he flicked his wand again, “Gcius!” The rushing water froze midair, transf into a jagged wave of ice, sharp edges glinting dangerously uhe sunlight.

  As soon as Alex made his move, Avery cast "Fme-Freezing Charm" over his group without hesitation. Lucius, standing nearby, immediately stepped forward to shield them with Protego, while the others created barriers to ter the ining attack. "You’ve done your homework, haven’t you?" Alex swirling his wand effortlessly. "Analyzed my old moves, crafted your strategies? Unfortunately for you, I’m not repeating myself today. No alchemy props, no reused tactics. I’m taking you dht here, in front of everyone."

  The rushing torrent Alex summoned smashed into the barrier wall with the force of a tidal wave. While the ice should have rebounded, under Alex’s meticulous trol, it defied gravity. The flow twisted upward, surging over and around the magical shields like liviacles. The r water scattered the formation as several wizards in the front line were swept away.

  Though the Fme-Freezing Charm protected them from direct harm, the ented ice g to their bodies unnaturally. It coiled around them like serpents, tightening its grip. Those in the rear scattered at Avery’s shouted warning, but one wizard wasn’t fast enough and became ensnared. "What's the point of this?" Avery muttered, puzzled by its seemingly harmless behavior. But experieold him Alex wasn’t wasting energy. Quickly, he reinforced his defenses, casting a Human-Shaped protego to shield himself entirely.

  Then it struck. A sharp crag noise echoed through the air as bright arcs of electricity coursed through the ice. Those trapped jerked violently, their muscles spasming untrolbly. Lucius, uo resist the current, colpsed onto the ground.

  Alex grinned. He’d seamlessly transitioned from Ice manipution to lightning magic, using the properties of water as a ductor. His and htning runes wasn’t perfect—he hadn’t yet mastered the aeiques—but his preparation had paid off. "Not bad, but the voltage still feels low. Just paralysis," Alex muttered, sounding almost disappointed. Still, he moved swiftly, taking advantage of the chaos. "Stupefy!"

  One by ohe paralyzed wizards were rendered unscious by Alex’s spells, including Lucius, who y helplessly on the ground. Gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd. Reporters scribbled furiously, cameras fshing as they captured the se. "My God," oer excimed, uo tain his shock. "How did he do that? Aren’t they protected by the charm? And why didn’t they fight back?"

  A soft, knowledgeable voice from the crowd answered. "The ice was transfigured after casting. That’s why it g to them despite the protes. Then he ducted electricity through it, exploiting their vulnerability. A clever strategy, really."

  The repnced down, startled to find Professor Flitwick standing beside him. The diminutive professor, having just arrived, was watg the duel with sparkling eyes, clearly impressed.

  Meanwhile, Avery, still upright, finally pieced together what had happened. His expression darkened as he barked orders. "Damn it! Stop standing around! He’s burhrough a lot of magic power with the spells. Push him now, or we’ll all be humiliated—maybe worse!"

  The remaining wizards in the rear snapped out of their daze. The spectators’ murmurs and the reporters’ fshing lights only heighteheir urgency. Spells began flying from all dires, rapid aless."Scify!""Expelliarmus!""Stupefy!"

  The ground was cleared of water in seds as the wizards biheir ing spells, and they unched an uing barrage at Alex. None of them held bao longer uimating him. Their pn was simple: overwhelm him with sheer numbers and drown him in spellfire. But Alex didn’t flinch. His grin widened as he tauhem. "Oh, now you’re serious? A bit te, don’t you think? Ten of you might’ve had a ce earlier, but now?"

  With a mog ugh, he moved. Alex’s body became a blur. Spells zoomed past Alex, some so close they nearly grazed him. Oruck the ground only timeters away, sending sparks flying. Most people in his position would be panicked, afraid of making a mistake under such pressure. But Alex remained unnervingly calm, his expression cold aached, as if he wasn’t the one in danger. It was as though his body were a mere puppet, expertly trolled by someone from afar.

  He shifted sideways, tilted his head, or bent at the waist with precision, evading almost every curse sent his way. The few spells he couldn’t avoid were deflected with a casual flick of his wand. Behind him, the missed attacks smmed into the stone wall, sending ks of debris flying and creating a deafening series of bangs. The sheer power of these spells was enough to intimidate ag, but Alex moved as though it didn’t faze him.

  The spectators, a mix of wizards aers, stood frozen in disbelief. How could someone dodge so many attacks with just body movement? It was absurd. “This is insane! His speed is unreal!” one onlooker muttered, uo take their eyes off the duel.

  Oher side, Avery, the leader of the attag group, ched his wand tightly. Alex’s posure and skill caught him off guard, but he quickly recovered. “Stop aiming directly at him!” Avery barked. “He’s too fast. Predict where he’s going to move and attack there! I’ll track his movements—hit his fnks with strong spells!”

  The others nodded grimly. They couldn’t treat Alex like an ordinary oppo anymore. They had to go all out. Alex, still weaving through the chaos, let out a soft sigh. “Finally taking it seriously? Took you long enough,” he muttered, a trace of boredom in his tone.

  The five wizards sprang into a. “Tempestas Maxima!” “Frangere Pluvia!” “Fiendfyre!” they shouted, unleashing a barrage of high-powered spells. Unlike before, these weren’t simple curses but wide-area attacks desigo leave Alex with o run. The croed at the spectacle. “That’s overkill! Using area spells like that in a one-on-one duel?” someone whispered.

  But Alex’s response left their jaws hanging. With a swift leap forward, Alex began stepping through the air itself, as if invisible stones had appeared beh his feet. Every step he took created a brief shimmer, the result of an expertly cast Impediment Spell. He didn’t stop at ground level either—he vaulted higher and higher, each step propelling him upward until he was five or six meters off the ground.

  The massive ba hall’s high ceiling was the only thing keeping him from going further. “Merlin’s beard!” a reporter excimed. “He’s using the Impediment Spell like stepping stones! How is that even possible?”

  Vivian, one of Alex’s cssmates, folded her arms with a smug grin. “Hah! That’s nothing. You should see him during practice,” she boasted.

  The reporter’s ears perked up. “Practice? What do you mean?”