"You... you are getting back at me, right?"
"Don't put it like that, you're misunderstanding me. I'm really not doing this out of revenge. Everything I said was true! Under extreme pressure, magic becomes stronger! You might really cast a full Shield Charm!" Wade said in a sincere tone, but he wasn't fooling anyone. He really liked putting Tom into a difficult position.
"Might?! I also might die!!"
Pfft~
"Cough.. bahaha~ haha, now THAT was a nice one but I'm doing this for your own good, Tom, don't blame me… Anne absorbed my potion, that can't go to waste! Letting her help you refine your magical skills—doesn't that make sense? That way my potion isn't wasted."
"I don't believe you! I hate you!"
And under Tom's resentful gaze, Anne launched her attack…
"Protego!"
Tom raised his wand and roared the incantation with tragic determination.
Buzz!
A complete Shield Charm instantly appeared around Tom!
Bang!
Anne's spell was deflected directly by the shield and blasted a large hole into the ceiling!
Tom looked at the dense cracks on his Shield Charm, then glanced at the ceiling where the spell had left a gaping hole and fractured the surrounding area.
The slight joy he'd felt at successfully casting a full Shield Charm on the first try was immediately drowned by terror.
If he hadn't managed a full Shield Charm and had only relied on his previous half-baked version…
He might have actually gone to meet Merlin just now!
"Ah… I'm so happy… Tom… I didn't expect you'd succeed on the first try," Wade said with a face full of regret.
"You clearly look very disappointed!" Tom exploded.
"Sigh… How could I be? I'm truly thrilled that you succeeded right away..."
"If you didn't say that with such a deadpan face, I might've almost believed you. Do you not even bother with facial expressions when you lie anymore?"
"How can you be so distrustful of me, Tom? Was I wrong earlier? Under extreme pressure, didn't your potential come through? Didn't you successfully cast the Shield Charm?" Wade said with a tone of regret.
"Yeah, yeah… I didn't die today, and I failed to entertain your lordship, Wade. Truly sorry about that!"
Tom was practically grinding his teeth to dust, but this time, he didn't dare insult Wade to his face…
This bastard really knows how to hold a grudge and get back at people hard!
"Well, it's possible that was just a one-time success. You might not pull it off a second time, so you should reinforce your mastery," Wade said expressionlessly.
Tom's eyes widened—Are you fucking done yet? Are you set on killing me today?!
"No need! I've fully mastered it!"
As he spoke, Tom dispelled the Shield Charm at lightning speed and immediately cast another!
This one, too, was flawless.
He had no choice—Wade's pressure was just too intense!
"Alright then, regardless, you've now fully mastered the Shield Charm. Congratulations, congratulations."
"This is all thanks to you…" Tom muttered through gritted teeth, nearly in tears.
Wade turned to Anne. "Your strength has increased quite a bit… how do you feel now?"
"I feel amazing!" Anne beamed as she looked at her wand, unable to hide the joy on her face.
Just by absorbing a small amount of magic power, the potency of her spells had increased so dramatically! If she managed to absorb all the scattered magical energy in the Forbidden Forest… just how powerful would she become?
"In that case, let me try too," Wade said as he stepped onto the platform and took Tom's place.
Tom looked at Wade in surprise, unsure what new scheme he was cooking up.
In truth, Wade was well aware of Anne's strength before this. So now, by dueling her again, he could assess just how much that one little orb of "residue" had actually increased her power.
For Wade, this was valuable experimental data.
After all, since Anne had already absorbed the residue, there was no reason not to run this test.
Anne was a little surprised to see Wade step onto the platform so suddenly.
What followed was a wave of nervousness.
Even though her strength had increased significantly, she had personally witnessed the duel between Wade and Tom. The dazzling, overwhelming display of magic… could she really withstand that?
"Come on, just like you did with Tom," Wade said gently, looking Anne straight in the eyes.
"Alright…"
As she spoke, Anne immediately cast the same Spell, putting all her strength into it.
Bang!
At some point, a Shield Charm had silently appeared around Wade.
Anne's spell was instantly blocked.
But unlike Tom's Shield Charm earlier, Wade's didn't show a single crack after absorbing the impact—in fact, it even absorbed the spell itself!
Unlike Tom's Shield Charm, Wade's didn't deflect Anne's spell at all—it simply absorbed it.
Tom stood to the side, dumbfounded. The more he saw, the more he realized just how vast the gap was between his strength and Wade's.
Anne, too, stared at Wade in shock.
She had just tested the power of that spell on Tom and had felt how strong it was when cast with her full strength.
But now…
She hadn't even managed to cause a single ripple on Wade's Shield Charm?
That meant the gap between their strengths wasn't just large—it was overwhelming.
How powerful was this guy, really?
Anne couldn't help but feel a little defeated.
It was one thing to be weaker than him before. But even after absorbing that magical power and experiencing such a huge boost, she still couldn't shake him in the slightest…
"Go on, Anne," Wade said. "Put a little more into it. I can still handle it."
Hearing that, Anne suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation stir within her.
And yet Wade very clearly caught the flicker of red light in Anne's eyes.
So quick to anger?
It seemed the "residue" really did come with significant side effects—especially for younger witches and wizards.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Stupefy!"
"Impedimenta!"
…
Influenced by her surging negative emotions, Anne cast every offensive spell she knew.
By the end, she even resorted to Confringo, a dangerous blasting curse!
But no matter how hard she tried, every spell she launched was effortlessly countered by Wade.
And this time, Wade wasn't relying on a Shield Charm to block her.
He was using the exact same spell in return to neutralize her attacks!
If Anne cast a Disarming Charm, Wade responded with one too, and their spells would cancel each other out mid-air.
Even her final Confringo was blocked by Wade using the same spell in response.
To accomplish this didn't just require Wade's spells to be more powerful than Anne's—it demanded exceptional casting precision.
Because every time, Wade only cast his spell after seeing what Anne used.
And every single time, he cast it nonverbally.
Frustrated, Anne bit her lip and stopped attacking.
"Wade… just how strong are you really…"
"I'm actually not that strong, Anne. If I were to duel Dumbledore, I probably wouldn't last ten seconds."
Wade meant what he said.
He had witnessed Dumbledore's magic firsthand—that overwhelming magical force still filled him with awe whenever he recalled it.
"..."
"..."
But when Anne and Tom heard this, the statement didn't sit well.
Wade was already comparing himself to professors… but what about them?
"I have to get stronger!"
Tom and Anne had the exact same thought at that moment.
_________
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