"Bang!"
Only when his cheek collided with this cannonball-hard object did Flint realise this wasn't a fist at all. But the solid round knob of a walking stick!
His face was knocked to one side, his brain buzzing, followed by a burning pain on the side of his face!
Flint's eyes widened. A sneak attack?
"You..." He turned angrily, raising his fist to hit back. An iron hand pressed down on Flint's shoulder from behind. He turned to see the muscular Cedric glaring at him fiercely.
Flint: "..."
Ethan smiled: "Have you calmed down?"
Flint: Calm... calmed down.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the suddenly appearing Ethan. Even the rescued Hermione gaped, unable to recover for a long moment. It felt like summoning an ancient god to beat up some thugs.
"Come, have some tea." A gentle, ethereal voice came from behind Hermione.
Hermione turned to see Luna looking at her with concern. She instinctively took the teacup offered to her and sipped: "Thank you... ptui!"
Bitter! So bitter! Like biting into rotten mud, Hermione had never tasted such awful tea. Her features scrunched together. On purpose? She glared at Luna's pure face, finally realising and screaming internally: What kind of decent person carries tea sets everywhere?! Too weird!
A blue subtitle appeared before Ethan's eyes.
[You have exercised your body and strengthened your physique.]
[You gained the trait "Vitality"]
[Vitality: You are energetic and can now paint for longer periods.]
[You also have stronger resistance to illness.]
Immediately, a full force surged from within Ethan's body. Sweeping away the fatigue from staying up all night, even his brain, which had been aching from excessive painting, slowly calmed down and became clear again.
Besides "Erudition", there was also a "Vitality" trait? Ethan looked at the subtitle in surprise, seeming to understand why he hadn't triggered this trait before. Probably because he rarely took the field himself. His artworks were already sufficient. Unexpectedly, this accidental encounter triggered something new.
Immediately, Ethan's gaze toward Flint filled with kindness. This made Flint shiver instinctively, wanting to dodge. But he saw the other party simply extend a hand toward him.
Flint: "?"
Ethan asked concernedly: "Are you alright? If you're fine, then how about another round?"
Moderate exercise is good for health.
Flint: "?!" For that brief moment, he actually thought this demon had a conscience! Flint deeply despised himself internally.
He slapped away Ethan's hand and got up from the ground. Glaring at Ethan, his lips moved for a long time before he managed what he considered the most vicious words: "You filthy mudblood!"
Ethan raised his hand, stopping those who wanted to rush forward. He also leaned forward, lowering his voice: "Oh? What about you? You little troll born from your father's and grandmother's inbreeding."
Flint: "!!!" What... what kind of vicious sentence structure was that?
The tall youth's face turned deathly pale, then flushed red. Trembling and biting his lips, he couldn't say a word in rebuttal.
At this moment, a porcelain-white small hand extended, holding a teacup. "Come have some tea to moisten your throat."
"Oh, oh, thank you." Flint instinctively took it and downed it in one gulp. "Ptui!"
What kind of hellish tea was this? Flint immediately smashed the teacup to the ground, panting heavily, angrily glaring at Ethan and his companions. Simply a demon alliance!
"Don't think you're so great, Ethan Vincent!" Flint gritted his teeth. "Just wait, we Slytherins will never let this go!"
Then, not bothering to train anymore, he turned and strode away. As he left, he heavily bumped into Neville. But after walking just a few steps, he suddenly stopped. Turning around, he strode back. Under everyone's gaze, face burning red, he picked up the Nimbus 2001 that had fallen to the ground.
Slytherins: "..." Embarrassing all the way to Merlin's house!
Ron said speechlessly: "He's probably really a troll."
Hermione frowned, clenching her fists: "Those awful Slytherins!"
Perhaps because Ethan was also called a "mudblood", Hermione wasn't sad at all now. Instead, she felt a subtle sense of shared glory.
Harry: "Unless we completely defeat them like with Malfoy, making them fear us. Otherwise, they'll come looking for trouble whenever they find an opportunity."
Just like his aunt and uncle. With disgust first, finding fault and punishment became natural.
But everyone knew. One Malfoy was manageable. A whole "united" Slytherin... how easy would it be to completely crush them?
The various members of the Morning Star Club couldn't help but look toward their leader. They were stunned to see Ethan actually curve his lips into a strange smile! Not like encountering a big trouble, but like seeing prey voluntarily walking into a trap!
The reason was simple. With the [Vitality] trait, one of Ethan's giant snake paintings would soon be complete.
"The first victim is already delivering itself so quickly..." Ethan murmured, raising the corners of his mouth.
Slytherin, Round Table Council. Watch me defeat you one by one! Make my Morning Star Club Hogwarts' unique beacon.
Ethan suddenly turned, showing his frozen club members a brilliant smile: "Well then, let's begin our first club training session. The training content, naturally, is trying to survive under my hand."
"?!"
"Wait... wait! Ethan! Starting with something so intense... AHHHHH!"
"Holy crap! Why can Ethan's wand shoot three spells at once?!"
"Coach, I want to learn this!"
Screams rose up. Echoing across the breezy lawn. Not far away, students looked up, muttering in amazement: "Preparing for Halloween already?"
Those screams sounded so "real"! Like they were really about to die. Haha... ha?
Late October...
Ethan successfully used the [Vitality] trait to synthesise the skill [Robust Physique Lv.1]. This way, not only did Ethan avoid being knocked down by Hogwarts' flu epidemic, but even when staying up late painting, he remained energetic.
Finally... The giant snake [Body] was complete.
Inside the Chamber, the air seemed to freeze. Transforming into thick murderous aura, darkly shrouding between the stone walls. The massive basilisk curled up in the depths of the cavern. Not daring to move, muscles tense all over, wishing it could suppress its heartbeat to nothing.
It had once prided itself as a worldly powerhouse, able to take lives with a glance. However, before "that thing", it only felt how insignificant it was. Even though it was modelled after itself and was only a section of the body.
Tom muttered dazedly, looking up at the torso manifesting in the painting: "What kind of monster are you trying to create?"
On the canvas dozens of metres high stretched a black torso. From afar, it rose and fell like a mountain range. The twisted and sinister aura emanating from those scales made anyone feel physiological revulsion from just one glance. An object of ultimate evil. Created purely from desires for destruction, devouring, and slaughter. And this was merely one section of the body.
[Artwork: Snake Body]
[Grade: Tier 1 · Golden Legend]
[Type: Living Painting Portrait]
[Description: One-fifth of the complete portrait]
[Effect: When existing alone, can only cause intense fear in witnesses, impacting their minds]
[When five paintings combine, effects and grade will undergo earth-shaking changes.]
Ethan waved his wand, weaving part of the giant snake's soul threads into the portrait. Though weak, it could grant [Snake Body] realistic writhing.
"Mm, only fear is a bit insufficient..." Ethan murmured. Having a flash of inspiration, he extended his claws toward his existing cards. Let me fuse them and add some seasoning to the giant snake portrait...
Evening... When Ethan returned to his dormitory satisfied, "Hoo hoo hoo!" His and Luna's owl was waiting for him on the windowsill.
Ethan patted Carrot's thick chest, took the letter, and read: "Slytherin Pure-blood Glory Club..."
[Ethan Vincent, we cordially invite you to participate in the Hogwarts Halloween Courage Test event with us]
[Staking our honour]
[Competing to see whose club is superior]
[The loser must not only publicly apologise to the opponent but also declare the dissolution of their club, never to conduct activities again]
[Do you dare accept, Ethan Vincent?]