boyutpedia Chapter 151 Another Challenge
Chapter 151 Another Challenge
Chapter 151 Another Challenge
The following week, Friday afternoon.
While the first-year students, under the supervision of Tots and Mrs. Pomfrey, participated in the extreme long-distance run, the rest of the students followed the signs on the bulletin board into the classrooms beneath the castle.
The young wizards sat in the classroom, the air thick with a mixture of tension, curiosity, and eagerness.
On the other side of the classroom, the heavy wooden door, engraved with runes, was tightly closed, and four huge scrolls hung on the wall beside it.
Each reel is clearly printed with a college emblem at the top, with a blank space below, waiting to be written on.
Lin Qi stood by the door, his figure tall and straight. Without saying a word, he pointed directly to the four scrolls.
"This is the Academy Leaderboard. It only records one aspect—performance within this 'Transforming Corridor.'" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner. "The score is based on the depth of exploration and performance in handling 'challenges.' It's tallied weekly, and the top performer earns 5 points for their academy."
"Five points!" Ron whispered in Harry's ear.
Hermione clenched her hands tightly, her eyes fixed intently on the Ravenclaw list.
On Slytherin's side, Malfoy arrogantly raised his chin: "Honor belongs only to Slytherin."
Lynch continued, "The difficulty of the corridors will be adjusted according to your grade level. Your goal is to explore as deeply as possible." A mysterious smile appeared on his face. "At the end of this academic year, the college with the best grades will receive a mysterious grand prize!"
Having said that, before the students could even begin to discuss, he pointed directly to the wooden door: "Now, enter in turn. Begin with the second-year Slytherins."
The following days became a "day of suffering" for all the students.
The first Slytherin boy to go in was ejected thirty seconds later, his robes stained bright pink, which drew laughter from the crowd.
Another Ravenclaw girl lasted a little longer; when she came out, her hair was standing on end and still smoking.
Malfoy, who had been so confident just moments before, emerged drenched in ink, his face ashen.
Every time the wooden door opens and closes, it swallows a student, only to "spit" them out again very quickly.
The students who emerged all looked utterly pathetic; their best achievement was merely surviving a few more minutes inside, and none of them could even approach the theoretical finish line for their respective grades.
The difficulty of the corridors clearly exceeded most students' expectations, and finally, it was Gryffindor's turn.
"Harry Potter".
Harry took a deep breath, Lynch's teachings flashing through his mind. He gripped his wand and walked toward the wooden door that held endless challenges.
The door closed behind them, and torches were lit one after another.
Harry didn't rush forward immediately like he did last time.
He stood there, his sharp gaze sweeping across the familiar yet unfamiliar corridor. The stone pillars, the scattered wooden crates, the seemingly harmless floor—everything was similar to what he had experienced during his confinement, but he could sense a more subtle danger lurking in the air.
Having learned from his previous experience, he no longer relied solely on his fighting instincts. As the left wall flipped and the alchemical dummy appeared, Harry did not lunge to the right—he remembered there was a paving stone trap there last time.
Almost anticipating his movements, he crouched and slid, precisely dodging behind the nearest stone pillar. Three streams of ink splattered onto the spot where he had been standing and where he might have dodged.
Without stopping, using the stone pillars and several wooden crates as cover, Harry carefully advanced.
He carefully observed the cracks in the wall and the junction of the floor, trying to figure out the pattern of the traps. He eventually managed to avoid two tile traps and even used a levitation charm to move a wooden box, discovering a narrow passage behind it that seemed like a way to bypass it.
Everything seems to be going well.
However, the corridor that Lynch built at great expense is not static; the mechanisms faced by each challenger will change in detail each time.
As he tried to enter the passage, the walls suddenly slammed shut, nearly trapping him, while a large amount of slippery oil was poured from the ceiling, forcing him to retreat back to the main path.
With his route back blocked, he was forced to deal with the traps on the main road more skillfully.
Harry didn't panic.
He used a flipped-over dummy as a makeshift shield to deflect a barrage of ink shots. In an open area, instead of foolishly charging in a straight line, he advanced in a zigzag pattern, which, though somewhat clumsy, effectively evaded several targeted shots.
He could sense that he was more composed and strategic than most of his classmates. He used observation and tried to find a way back instead of just forcing his way through.
However, when he finally reached the open area about fifteen meters from the finish line, the same spot that had caused his previous failure, he felt a pang of anxiety.
The scene before us had indeed changed completely; the mechanism from last week was nowhere to be found.
The ground was covered with stone bricks that were constantly shifting and changing color, making it impossible to tell which one was safe.
On the walls on both sides, there were no longer simple nozzles, but runic symbols that kept rotating and changing, emitting unsettling energy fluctuations.
Harry tried to find a pattern, but the changes were happening too fast. He gritted his teeth, waited for a seemingly safe moment, and stomped on a bluish-gray stone brick—"Whoosh!" The stone brick beneath his feet instantly turned a blinding red, and at the same time, the runic light on the walls on both sides intensified, and two intersecting, viscous magical nets enveloped him from head to toe, moving much faster than the ink before!
Harry reacted quickly and jumped back, but the edge of the magic net still grazed his calf, and a strong feeling of restraint almost made him fall.
He ran backward, avoiding the main coverage area of the magic net, but in doing so, he completely lost the opportunity to advance. The surrounding mechanisms were fully activated, and more obstacles and simulated attacks emerged.
He knew this was the end.
A few seconds later, he was pushed out of the corridor by a gentle but irresistible magical force.
Harry appeared at the classroom door, almost running, breathing heavily. Bright blue fluorescent marks remained where the magic net had rubbed against the hem of his robes. He looked a little disheveled, but much better than when he was covered in ink and pastel colors last time.
His heart sank. He hadn't been able to go any further than last time. Even though he had used a new strategy and performed better, he seemed to have ended up in roughly the same position as before.
Professor Lynch's gaze lingered for a moment on the fluorescent marks on his calves and his robe, which wasn't overly wolf-fox-like, then his fingers casually traced the runes on the door, and he nodded slightly.
On the Gryffindor leaderboard, magical ink automatically appeared, outlining the following text:
Harry Potter: Exploring Depths - 15 Meters to the Finish Line
This line of text appeared at the top of the Gryffindor points leaderboard, and the distance to the top spot was smaller than that of the top spots on other house leaderboards.
A brief, oppressive silence fell over the classroom, which was then replaced by a cacophony of whispers and stares.
On the Gryffindor side, Ron clenched his fist, happy for his friend's excellent results.
Hermione's face showed a mixture of joy for him and a strong analytical urge. She whispered quickly, "Bright blue marks? Is that a variant of a binding charm? He's definitely encountered a new trap."