Chapter 601
Rules
Chapter 601 Rules
Papua, who had parted with Harry, was leaning against the stone wall. His heavy breathing condensed into white mist in the air. Vines as thick as fingers were wrapped around his body. The poison in the thorny vines paralyzed his muscles and made him unable to move.
But Papua was still conscious. He blinked and looked at Vid Grey who was busy sitting in the middle of the secret room.
This fourteen-year-old boy was originally not taken seriously by everyone. They all thought that the boy had some talent, but was definitely not good at fighting and had a gentle personality.
A person's energy is always limited. If one learns alchemy to such a profound level, how can one have enough energy to study other things?
And what kind of people are alchemists usually?
Before meeting Vid Grey, almost every wizard would form an image in their mind whenever they mentioned alchemists:
He wears glasses, is sloppy and unkempt, and all day long he mutters profound knowledge that others cannot understand, and he often jumps nervously.
They are physically weak and have little contact with the outside world, so they are not very understanding of human nature and seem to be simple. Sometimes they are very stubborn and will not change their mind easily once they have made up their mind.
And greedy for money...very greedy for money.
Studying alchemy is a money-burning hobby. Nick Flamel can turn stones into gold, and Terrence Murray is good at business and owns shares in many companies, but apart from them, most alchemists are always short of money and have to find ways to make money.
So if other wizards want to ask them to repair something, such as a looking glass or an invisibility cloak, they should be prepared to be ripped off.
Alchemists are all nerds, scholars, and inventors. Those with average skills are just craftsmen, the beasts of burden on the assembly line of Aslan's magic workshop, but they can never be warriors.
But when he was completely trapped by Wade, Papua realized that even if he was only proficient in alchemy, he could still leave others helpless.
He fought hard against the drowsiness brought on by the paralyzing poison, and tried to keep his eyes open, looking at Vader.
The black-haired boy sat on the steps, muttering a spell that no one could hear clearly, and his wand passed through the air.
The originally quiet plants in the secret room danced with his magic wand. The vines peeled off the walls, mosses rolled up from the corners like carpets, stones rolled on the ground, and an unknown clump of weeds bent down and pulled its roots out of the soil. Some insects the size of fingernails fell out of it and ran around in panic.
More and more puppets began to take shape in the dim light. Wade did not spend too much time on their appearance. All the new puppets were made in the shape of scorpions. As soon as they landed on the ground, they crawled to the walls, ceilings, secret room entrances and other places with a click.
There was a sudden cold touch on Papua's temple.
He turned his eyes with difficulty and saw a palm-sized scorpion puppet lying next to his ear, with its tail sting dangling next to his neck. Although the puppet did not have "eyes" on its body, Papua still felt like he was being stared at.
"Ved...you...why..." Papua asked hoarsely, "You...already...have...the golden egg..."
The last puppet fell to the ground, and Vader put away his wand and sighed.
"Why do you all like to ask this kind of question? There is only one champion, and sooner or later, I will eliminate the others. In this case, I will try to reduce some obstacles in future competitions. Is it hard to understand?"
Of course, there was no need to tell him that the purpose was to demonstrate power to certain people, to demonstrate the value of being an alchemist, or even to demonstrate a simple method of making puppets.
Apart from anything else, being treated as a harmless lamb may allow you to unexpectedly overturn the table when your opponent is off guard, but you will also have to endure the contempt and misunderstanding of others.
Those emotions are like tiny thorns that will prick people's self-esteem - in fact, they don't do any harm, but they will make people feel a subtle discomfort all the time.
But Wade is not the only weakling who can defeat his opponent by means of "playing dumb to eat the tiger".
Being looked down upon has its advantages; showing strength and making people stand in awe, does that only have disadvantages?
Reputation itself is like a spell that can be directly transformed into power, wealth, and voice. It is a valuable intangible asset that is priceless. While Wade was speaking, a group of scorpion puppets climbed onto the stone platform, stuffed the golden eggs inside into their stomachs - this time their stomachs were hollow - and then quickly crawled away.
The ceiling of the secret room was like a pitch-black dome that swallowed up all the light. The stone walls were also full of holes, and the scorpion puppets hid in them, making them almost undetectable.
The rustling sound was intermittent, like dead leaves being blown across the grassland by the wind, and Papua's forehead was covered with cold sweat.
How many puppets were there beside him...above his head? Dozens? Hundreds?
Even though the puppets were made of extremely crude materials and an ordinary fire spell could burn a large area, how many warriors could withstand a sudden attack from such a tight ambush?
An alchemist... an alchemist like Vid Grey... just one person could turn into an army in the blink of an eye...
He tried to open his eyes wide, looking at the dark and empty corner of the secret room, listening to the faint sound of wind coming from the passage, and thinking: Why didn't anyone stop it? Didn't the referee see what was happening here?
The confusion in Papua's eyes grew more intense.
He said hoarsely: "But... the rules..."
"Well, the rules of the game."
Wade couldn't help laughing. He looked at Papua as if he was looking at a silly child:
"When you start the competition, you can only bring your own wand. Each person can only have one golden egg, and you must return with a golden egg - which rule did I break?"
Papua: “…”
He was speechless, his paralyzed brain was dizzy, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"The rules do not prohibit warriors from creating their own puppets on the field, just as they do not prohibit us from summoning other aids on the field - such as flying brooms, and do not prohibit players from transforming into animals."
"Charms, herbs, transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and even Dark Magic are not expressly prohibited. Is alchemy the only thing that cannot be used?"
Wade said slowly, "The rules also do not prohibit warriors from attacking each other, setting up obstacles for opponents, or forming alliances with each other. Only sixteen of the thirty-three contestants were selected. This is to encourage us to compete and fight, right?"
Papua looked at him and felt that he was gradually convinced.
Even though he himself was still hanging on the wall.
Papua didn't know that the question he had just questioned was also the question that the referees who were watching the game were arguing heatedly about.
Some people strongly called on the Ministry of Magic Aurors to stop Vider Grey's behavior and even declared that he had violated the rules and should be disqualified, but some people insisted that his actions did not violate the rules.
When Wade finished speaking, the principals who were angrily slamming the table in the referee's booth quieted down. Although their faces looked ugly, they did not insist any further.
If there were only teachers and students from the magic school and staff from the Ministry of Magic here, they could still force benefits on their students.
But at this moment, wizards all over the world were watching this game, and the principals still had to save their dignity.
However, seeing the densely packed puppets in the camera, many people still showed despair in their eyes.
But Abby and the others knew nothing about it. They discussed tactics in a low voice while walking towards the secret room set up by Wade.
(End of this chapter)