"You… you…"
Lucien stared at Scamander in complete disbelief.
Brother—
You're a fourth-year champion.
Could you at least pretend to have some dignity?
Don't act like somebody's lackey so naturally!
Scamander leaned closer and whispered hurriedly in a voice only Lucien could hear.
"Brother, help me out here."
"There are so many people watching."
"At least let me lose with some dignity."
"If you agree, I'll give you something amazing afterward."
"A true treasure."
Lucien hesitated briefly.
Then nodded.
After all—
He was going to win regardless.
If he could profit from it too, why refuse?
"Both sides ready."
"The duel begins!"
The two bowed respectfully before stepping backward across the battlefield.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Flipendo!"
"Stupefy!"
"Protego!"
Spells exploded through the common room in dazzling streaks of red, blue, and gold.
The younger students watched with sparkling eyes.
This—
This was what magical combat was supposed to look like.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Mysterious.
The freshmen and ordinary upper-years were completely enthralled.
But the prefects and Snape saw through everything instantly.
These two weren't actually trying to hurt each other at all.
They were performing.
"Scamander!"
"You spineless coward!"
"How can a fourth-year champion willingly cooperate with a first-year like this?!"
Emery Carrow cursed furiously from the side.
Yet deep down—
A terrifying suspicion slowly emerged.
The fifth-year champion happened to be absent this evening.
If Lucien continued challenging upward—
Would he eventually challenge her next?
Absolutely not.
If a sixth-year prefect got flattened by a first-year—
She would become the laughingstock of Hogwarts.
After several minutes of spectacular spell exchanges—
Scamander finally allowed himself to be blasted backward dramatically.
He staggered, steadied himself, then bowed elegantly.
"Mr. Grindelwald truly deserves his reputation as the most extraordinary first-year of this generation."
"I concede."
Lucien calmly lowered his wand.
Then slowly turned toward the prefect ranks.
Emery immediately panicked.
He's looking over here again!
Just as she desperately tried to think of excuses to reject the duel—
Snape suddenly spoke coldly.
"Mr. Grindelwald."
Lucien looked over.
"If you wish for your classmates to attend lessons tomorrow instead of collapsing across their desks like slugs…"
"I strongly suggest you pay attention to the time."
Lucien glanced toward the common room clock.
The hands were nearly touching midnight.
Many first-years were already yawning repeatedly.
Lucien immediately understood Snape's meaning.
If he continued now—
His reputation would shift from talented to attention-seeking.
A person who disregarded everyone else purely for personal glory.
That would severely damage his future plans.
He lowered his head politely.
"My apologies, Professor Snape."
Then he turned toward the gathered students and bowed deeply.
"I'm also sorry for keeping everyone awake so late."
"It's fine!"
"The yearly ranking battles are always noisy anyway!"
Emery Carrow immediately jumped forward before Lucien could speak again.
"The ranking battle officially ends here!"
"All students return to your dormitories immediately!"
Only after everyone finally began dispersing did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank Merlin.
If Snape hadn't stepped in—
Things could have become disastrous tonight.
Whether she won or lost—
Being challenged by a first-year at all would already be humiliating enough.
Meanwhile, discussions about Lucien's performance spread throughout the common room endlessly.
For teenage witches and wizards—
Lucien's strength alone was enough to attract worship.
Combined with his appearance and elegant duelling style—
He had instantly become many girls' ideal fantasy.
Several older Slytherin girls openly approached him before leaving.
Others sent flirtatious glances from a distance.
Lucien remained perfectly polite throughout.
But inwardly—
He didn't dare move recklessly at all.
It wasn't because the girls weren't beautiful.
It was trauma.
Three years of accumulated survival instinct.
Maximum punishment: death.
Fortunately, Emery Carrow appeared beside him once more.
"Argus."
"Come with me."
"I'll take you to the First-Year Champion's private dormitory."
Lucien quietly sighed in relief.
Following Emery deeper into the dungeon corridors, he soon arrived at an independent room separated from the ordinary student dormitories.
The environment exceeded his expectations considerably.
A spacious bedroom.
Private study desk.
Bookshelves.
Green silk curtains.
Even the furnishings looked expensive.
"From now on, this room belongs to you."
Emery folded her arms.
"As First-Year Champion, you'll also manage matters concerning the first-years."
"Also…"
She hesitated briefly before adding quietly,
"I suggest placing protective enchantments around your doorway."
"Otherwise, you'll never get any peace while studying."
Lucien immediately understood what she meant.
Likely referring to certain overly enthusiastic older girls.
"I understand."
"Thank you, Senior Carrow."
After giving several more brief instructions, Emery finally departed.
The massive room became completely silent.
Lucien immediately sat down on the bed and opened the system interface excitedly.
"Time to count the harvest."
After defeating Scamander, the system had awarded another four hundred achievement points.
Combined with his previous gains—
He had accumulated a full fifteen hundred points.
"System."
"Begin the draw."
Card packs appeared one after another in mid-air.
Lucien casually selected several.
Then opened them.
Blue skies.
White clouds.
Only one purple glow appeared among them.
Lucien's expression immediately darkened.
"So every gacha system in existence is equally evil…"
The system notifications appeared rapidly.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Obscuro (Level 2)]
[Lumos (Level 1)]
[Confringo (Level 2)]
[Reducto (Level 3)]
[Arresto Momentum (Level 2)]
[Protego (Level 3)]
[Obliviate (Level 2)]
[Reparo (Level 3)]
[Sandstorm Curse (Level 3)]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Expelliarmus (Level 5)]
[Current Remaining Achievement Points: 500]
[Detected overlapping spells. Merge?]
"Merge."
A familiar flood of magical knowledge surged into Lucien's mind violently.
The system prompt appeared again.
[Host possesses exceptional talent.]
[Spell comprehension exceeds magical standards.]
[Obscuro (Level 3)]
[Arresto Momentum (Level 3)]
[Protego (Level 4)]
[Expelliarmus (Level 6)]
Lucien nodded slightly.
"Expelliarmus upgraded too."
"That's basically two purple rewards."
"Not bad."
Most low-level duplicate spells no longer granted huge improvements.
But even spell experience alone remained extremely valuable.
Lucien stretched lazily.
"Luck seems decent tonight."
"Let's do another five-pull."
Five more card packs opened instantly.
Still mostly blue skies and white clouds.
Except—
One card pack emitted an eerie green glow.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Scourgify (Level 2)]
[Aguamenti (Level 1)]
[Protego Totalum (Level 2)]
[Finite Incantatem (Level 3)]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Avada Kedavra (Level 3)]
[Current Remaining Achievement Points: 0]
[Detected overlapping spells. Merge?]
"Merge."
After the fusion completed, only Aguamenti and Scourgify rose slightly in level.
Lucien barely cared.
Daily-life spells offered little improvement to combat ability.
But the final reward—
That was different.
Lucien narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"So the Unforgivable Curses appear with green rarity."
"Fortunately the level wasn't too high."
"Otherwise things could've become troublesome."
Over the years, he had learned enormous amounts of Dark Arts from both Vinda and Grindelwald.
Dark magic itself wasn't truly the dangerous part.
The danger came from obsession.
The deeper one researched—
The harder it became to notice changes within one's own mind.
And certain dark spells naturally amplified emotions and desires.
That was why so many dark wizards gradually became monsters without realizing it.
Lucien exhaled slowly.
"It's late."
"Time to sleep."
"Who would've thought that after reincarnating, I still couldn't escape school?"
He had just changed into his pyjamas when faint knocking suddenly sounded outside the door.
"Argus?"
"Argus, are you asleep?"
"Scamander?"
Lucien suddenly remembered the so-called treasure Scamander promised earlier.
The moment the door opened—
Scamander immediately shoved a thin booklet into Lucien's hands while grinning suspiciously.
"Brother."
"This is a treasure I've preserved for years."
"A true masterpiece."
Lucien lowered his gaze curiously.
Some secret spellbook?
Advanced family magic?
Then—
He opened the cover.
His eyes widened instantly.
"This… this is—"
"Shhh!"
Scamander hurriedly covered Lucien's mouth.
His grin became increasingly vulgar.
"How about it?"
"I'm generous, right?"
"Someone's been begging me for this for ages and I still refused."
"But for you, brother…"
"We're even now."
He winked meaningfully.
"Hope you can still get out of bed tomorrow."
....
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