The team was camping in the middle of this maze, and Christian was finishing a disgusting ant leg before washing it down with some orange soda. Lucretia walked over, her hair still wet.
"I have to thank you. Otherwise, I would have to spend this entire test without showering or washing my hair."
"No problem," Christian nodded.
"Can you?"
"Sure." He pointed his wand, releasing a gust of hot air to help her dry her hair.
"Sometimes, I truly envy the versatility of bloodless wizards," Lucretia sighed once her hair was done.
"What would you have done if I weren't here?" Christian asked, slightly curious.
"You mean about my hair?"
"Yes."
"There is nothing I could do."
"Really?"
"Our clan has a spell to heat metal, but I didn't bother learning it due to its low lethality. Now, I'm starting to regret it." One thing she learned from this test was that no spell was useless. She watched as Christian could use any spells in ingenious ways, breaking the limitations that some spells were considered useless or were only used for specific purposes.
"What about when you're at home?" Christian asked.
"I used an artifact or asked one of the bloodless servants to help," Lucretia replied casually, reminding Christian this place was a society with a strict hierarchy, with blood crest wizards at the top.
"Is that so?" Christian muttered, bringing the conversation to an immediate end.
A few minutes later, Xin'er finished washing up, meaning it was the man's turn. Christian asked Menes if he wanted to go first, but the latter said he was not feeling too well and wanted to rest early. Menes even requested to have the last watch for tonight's surveillance.
Christian agreed and went to attend to his hygiene. Because of the Hair Care Charm he had discovered in the African Wizarding World, it was easy to take care of his locks. However, he did not have shampoo or any other hair products available. Of course, it was not without trying. Sadly, Christian failed to conjure or transfigure shampoo, so he had to make do with this herbal water Menes created with his plant magic.
The next day arrived, and the team prepared to continue their journey:
"Are you still not feeling well?" Christian asked as he noticed Menes' pale complexion.
"I rested well last night, so I should be fine."
"I can give you a few vitaseeds if you need them," Christian suggested. Menes was about to reject it, but acquiesced after mulling it over. Finally, once everything was prepared, they headed out again. The team was now in a strange maze area where the path was straight. However, everyone was on guard, fearing that something unexpected would occur.
After half an hour of walking, they reached their destination. Christian looked at the blockage before him, literally speechless. This area was filled with countless tangible wind blades that bounced everywhere. The path ahead resembled an area where over a hundred invisible wizards were casting the Cutting Charm, except the spell was visible and tangible.
"Look," Lucretia pointed, and everyone was immediately shocked. They saw a trail of bodies that were dissected into many parts, forming a small blood pool on the ground.
"That's right, we haven't encountered any other participants yet," Xin'er commented. Her words reminded everyone that this trial was not just about survival but also a competition between many powerful and competent participants.
"Any ideas?" Lucretia asked.
"My strongest shield will probably last about 5 minutes before we are cut into pieces," Christian revealed.
"Don't you have any spells to deal with these wind blades?"
"To be honest, this is the second time I've encountered this spell in my life," Christian admitted. The concept of a wind blade was something he saw in fiction from Jim's memories. The wind spells he knew functioned like regular wind, with blowing as the primary source of destructive power.
"Now is not the time for you to run out of ideas," Lucretia said.
"Maybe we can wait until Menes' artifact cools down," Xin'er suggested.
"72 hours is too long," Lucretia disagreed. "Don't forget this test technically has a time limit." Their instruction was to reach the center as soon as possible, meaning everyone ran to get there as quickly as possible to ensure they passed.
"That's all I can think of," Xin'er muttered.
"Come on, Christos," Lucretia said.
"I'm thinking," he snapped back before suddenly stopping and looking up and down at her. "Can you make a large iron ball that can hold one person? No, it doesn't need to carry one person, but is it sturdy enough to block these wind blades?"
"That's possible," Lucretial responded. She was from the Metallus family, which is known for its metallurgy. Although the manifestation of their clan's spell is usually weapons, the core spell of their blood crest was the manipulation of metals.
"But what do you need that for?"
"I have an idea."
Lucretia wanted to ask more questions, but knew this was not the time, so she created a large-scale metal ball.
"Make the bottom smoother," Christian asked, and she followed. A smile of satisfaction hung on the corner of his mouth once he saw an approving product. Then, Christian rolled this silver metallic ball into the [Wind Blade Zone]. He had to praise Lucretia for her work as the ball was not cleaved in two. However, his plan failed.
'Without anyone controlling the ball, it will bounce around and maybe even roll backward instead of forward,' Christian thought. His plan was to put everyone inside his bag before placing the sachet inside the metal ball. However, the lack of control of the metal ball ruined this plan.
'No, even without this issue, how would I know when the ball reached the other side to leave the bag?' Christian thought. He sighed since this plan was not feasible.
"Wait, can you make a metal statue instead?" Christian said.
"You have a lot of demands," Lucretia complained.
"Can you?"
"Yes, but since a statue requires more skills, it will also take more time."
"It doesn't need to be perfect."
"I know." Lucretia took over twenty minutes to finish, and the final product was decent even by the most stringent standards. "I didn't think you had a knack for sculpting," Christian praised.
"Neither did I," Lucretia shrugged.
"It's quite beautiful," Xin'er commented
"So, what's your plan?" Lucretia finally asked.
"You'll see." With swift and efficient movements, Christian pointed his wand and uttered: "Piertotum Locomotor." The metal statue came to life and knelt before him.
"This is my second time trying this spell, and Professor Minerva was right — this is a fun spell," Christian said. He learned this spell in the Transfiguration Club, having personally asked her to teach him, knowing she had always wanted to use it, and his request was the perfect excuse for her to do so.
"Who is Professor Minerva?"
"No one that you need to care about," Christian replied casually before ordering the statue to walk back and forth through this danger zone. The statue followed orders like a faithful knight, walking to and from this area. Upon its return, the group noticed all the cutting marks on its body.
"Repairo!" Christian's spell instantly removed all the damage. "Excellent," he commented. "But let's add some more safety." He pointed his wand and closed his eyes at the statue, and a few seconds later, a magical shield appeared around it; he had bewitched this statue with the protective charm, Protego Maxima.
"Could I bewitch it with the same spell to double the charm's potency?" It would be great if he could add another Protego Maxima as an enchantment, thus doubling the effect of the defensive charm. Christian was a man of action, so he immediately tried. He closed his eyes, imagined the link between him and the statue, and guided and commanded it to add another enchantment.
The resistance was unlike anything Christian had felt before, but he persevered with his terrifying focus. He immediately felt a heavy burden in his mind, almost giving him a headache. He persevered for a few seconds before giving up.
"It should be possible, but I haven't found the correct method yet," Christian said out loud, forgetting others were around. "But what is the correct method? I could try the different incantations of the Shield Charm. What were they again? Protego Duo and Protego Totalum."
Christian closed his eyes and tried again. He encountered another bout of immense resistance, but he suddenly had an idea: He imagined a triangle with each enchantment on one side. His approach succeeded as two new shield materialized around the metal statue.
"Fascinating," Christian commented as he saw the final result. This experiment allowed his enchanting skill to reach another level, and he could not wait to explore the application of geometric shapes in his bewitching works.
"With an additional three forms of protection, this thing should have no issue passing through the wind-blade zone," Christian nodded before giving the statue a new command. The thing's intelligence was weak, meaning he had to be direct and not complicate things.
"Protect this bag and pass through the wind-blade field," Christian ordered. "And once you reach the other side…" He looked around before taking a pebble from the ground and turning it into metal. "Drop this pebble into the bag."
The statue put his hands together, and Christian nodded before turning to the team.
"It's your…Why are you guys looking at me like this?"