great-warnovel Chapter 109 The Crowd's Practical Experience
Chapter 109 The Crowd's Practical Experience
Chapter 109 The Crowd's Practical Experience (Part 2)
"However, Professor, you seemed to lose focus for a moment during the fight, which allowed me to suppress you continuously." Hermione keenly noticed Lockhart's momentary lapse in concentration. If it weren't for that change, she wouldn't have won so easily.
"I thought of my two older sisters who died young. If they were still alive, they would probably be as excellent witches as you," Lockhart remarked.
"Forget about that, I did lose to you. As a second-year wizard, your combat ability has surpassed that of most adult wizards. It was a truly spectacular demonstration of combat skills. I think I should add 10 points to Gryffindor."
"Hey Lockhart, how did you steal my job?" Flitwick said, feigning displeasure. "You're in charge of fighting, and I'm in charge of scoring points. We agreed on that beforehand."
On the student side, George and Fred had already started chanting in the crowd, "Granger has once again defeated Headmaster Slytherin!"
They formed a long line with everyone except the Slytherin students, and danced and twisted on the lawn. Colin was the loudest among them. He waved his wand and brush, splattering colorful paint everywhere. The Gryphon kids jumped and danced like madmen, before Professor McGonagall glared at them and stopped them.
The watchful gazes from the tower disappeared, and it was unclear whether Dumbledore was satisfied with the duel, but Hermione certainly was.
Flitwick clapped his hands vigorously, drawing everyone's attention back: "Undoubtedly, it was a spectacular duel. Both sides displayed a level of combat skill far exceeding that of ordinary wizards. Professor Lockhart's ghostly teleportation attacks and Miss Granger's ironclad response, along with her endless array of tactical methods, even successfully fooled the professor. Students in the fifth year and above, after this class, I need you to write a report on your observations and submit it to Professor Lockhart before next week's class. It should be no less than 10 inches long."
A wave of lamentation immediately followed, as practical courses had never required writing papers before.
"Alright, we've been delayed for too long. This year's practical training class is officially starting!" Since Lockhart was a professor for the first time, Flitwick took the initiative to take on a lot of work for him, things that should have been handled by the defense course professor.
"You used up a lot of energy in the fight just now, so take a rest now. Let the other professors organize the students for sparring."
"I'll keep an eye on the first graders." Flitwick patted Lockhart's arm and said with a smile.
"Oh, right, Miss Granger, you don't need to participate in the sparring either. I don't think even the seventh-year students would want to fight you. Just rest on the side with Professor Lockhart."
Hermione readily agreed, feeling that the practical classes for the next six years could potentially be used for homework in other subjects.
She sat down on a bench at the edge of the castle and began to observe the other students' combat sparring.
The older students were more impressive, with a wide variety of spells, each with its own unique characteristics. For example, the Weasley twins were more skilled in two-on-one combat, possessing a level of teamwork far superior to other pairs. Moreover, their two magic hats could work together to create all sorts of unexpected effects.
However, they both have a major problem: they're too playful in combat. Sometimes, for harmless pranks, they'd rather give up an advantage, as if teasing others is more important than winning. While this might be acceptable in sparring, it's a matter of life and death in the wilderness.
Their brother, Percy, was the complete opposite. This Weasley outcast lacked any sense of humor. His fighting style was conventional, as if it had been copied from a textbook, or perhaps he was a replica of Professor Flitwick. From his fighting style to his use of spells, he strived to be exactly the same as the professor.
Although his combat ability is not weak in terms of actual performance, his rigidity often leads to him being outmaneuvered by his opponents at crucial moments, resulting in a comeback. Therefore, despite his excellent grades in all subjects, Percy's actual performance in actual games is often not as good as first place.
Injuries are common in battles among older students, but with Lily and Madam Pomfrey around, some minor injuries can even be healed on the spot. Therefore, the students are not too concerned and can fight more freely.
As for the younger students, Hermione couldn't bear to watch. She had the air of the King of Elden watching a novice fight the Tree Guardian for the first time, her brow furrowed, wanting to help but also wanting them to improve on their own.
After his second year, Harry was allowed to use Chaingall in combat. After imbuing his wand with magical weapons, he charged into close combat with wide-ranging attacks. Second-year students generally didn't have many ways to create distance; their most proficient skill was actually tactical rolling.
But under Hermione's tutelage, Harry was quite familiar with the weaknesses of rolling. He would deliberately raise his chain to scare his opponent into rolling early, using the so-called "fast and slow knife" technique, and then follow up with a step to wait for the opponent to roll.
Moreover, Hermione gave him a manual on how to use the Chain Association as a birthday present last Christmas. He studied and practiced it carefully, so his movements were quite skillful.
Ron, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His main focus was on magical shields, employing a defensive counter-attacking strategy. His small, round shield, radiating a deep blue light, combined with his hastily learned, yet still somewhat immature, Ironclad Charm, made him an impenetrable shell. No matter what the other students tried, they couldn't break through his defenses. Even when Harry rushed in with Chaingatha, he only managed to make Ron's barrier tremble twice. Finally, Harry tried to break the stalemate with the Kalia Swiftsword, which he had just learned from Hermione and was still unfamiliar with, but Ron seized the opportunity...
One shot petrified them all, knocking them down.
Unfortunately, the spells learned in first grade have limited offensive power, and those minor curses can't even break through the defenses.
Neville also performed well. He was originally at the bottom of the class last year, but after obtaining his own scabbard and wand, he showed outstanding combat talent. His scabbard was extremely heavy, like an iron rod wrapped in wood, and because of the mercury inside, it had extremely strong magic resistance. With a swing, he could dispel the spells of his peers. Combined with his talent for finding openings and opportunities, as well as the magic weapon spells he had just learned, he also achieved good results.
Draco also emerged as a surprise contender. Although he narrowly lost to Harry and Ron, his exceptional use of spells allowed him to defeat Neville, bringing some honor to Slytherin. Unfortunately, he's currently very unpopular; only professors and...
The elf and his mother ignored him, and he was like a lonely wandering soul, spending all his time in the library.
As for the first year, it was pure chaos, with the diminutive Professor Flitwick mingling among students almost as tall as himself.
They were loudly reminded to be careful when rolling and not to grab other people's eyeballs with their hands, as that would be a foul.
Ginny's performance was also quite outstanding. Her Guns N' Roses wand could produce a loud gunshot when swung, which could disrupt the opponent's rhythm in battle and even frighten them into reciting the wrong spell. Some Muggle children were even scared to tears. She was also very fierce when fighting, and she didn't care about minor bumps and bruises. She would even laugh and fight back against her opponents.
Colin would then smear sticky paint all over his opponent's face. Although it wasn't very lethal, it was certainly annoying. And supposedly, it would take a long time to wash it off. But in the end, his opponent, who was so annoyed by him that he took advantage of his height and size, and with his face covered in ginger-yellow paint, he suddenly tackled him and threw all the paint back at him.
Then there's Luna, the little girl from Eagle School. Her fighting style was quite unexpected for Hermione. Coming from a wizarding family, she must have received a good preschool education, so she seemed quite at ease in battle. Although her eyes seemed unfocused and she didn't notice her opponent approaching, she often managed to resolve the crisis with clever little spells at crucial moments and seize the opportunity to counterattack, showing a bit of Hermione's flair.
At that moment, Lockhart came over with a plate containing some blackberry cookies and two glasses of lemonade.
"Have something to eat. The battle just now took its toll, so I asked the Pokémon for some afternoon tea." The defense professor handed over the plate with a gentlemanly air.
"Thank you, Professor." Hermione wouldn't refuse food, and immediately began to eat happily like a hamster.
"It's hard to believe you look so different now compared to when you're fighting," Lockhart chuckled, looking at Hermione's puffed-out cheeks.
"Is there any difference?" Hermione hadn't really noticed; aside from the part about the Finger Witch, her fighting style...
He was actually deeply influenced by the Faded One, having received many of his memories of becoming the King of Elden.
"Has no one ever told you this?" Lockhart asked, somewhat surprised. "In battle, you're like the cold wind on the tundra—fierce, utterly devoid of emotion. You calculate every possibility with precision and rationality, able to seize even the slightest opening. And you're incredibly daring. Sometimes the spells practically brush against your scalp, as if you've already calculated the battle distance. To be honest, I've encountered so many evil enemies, but none have ever given me this kind of oppressive feeling."
Lockhart sighed. Admittedly, he had been distracted during the battle, but wasn't it because Hermione was putting too much pressure on him? Wave after wave of relentless attacks, giving him no chance to breathe, and numerous close-quarters combats that were so close yet so far, even he would feel mentally exhausted. But the little girl in front of him, who was eating a cute cookie, seemed completely unaffected, as if she hadn't just brushed past death.
"Is that so?" Hermione murmured. So this is how the Faded Ones defeat one enemy after another and walk the path to becoming king.
"But speaking of which, there aren't many wizards who like and dare to fight in close combat these days. I admire your fighting style." Lockhart stared at the senior students who were exchanging spells. They all used rather traditional wizarding fighting methods, which were completely different from his style of using both staff and sword and being able to fight in close combat.
"These are some of my combat insights; you might find them useful." Lockhart pulled a notebook from his pocket and said sincerely, "After taking on this position, I specifically summarized some knowledge points not mentioned in the textbooks and wrote this booklet."
"After all, I lost to you in the very first lesson, so I probably won't have much to teach you in the future." He joked cheerfully, showing no sign of being defeated by the little girl.
"You're too modest, Professor." Hermione quickly took the notebook and carefully put it away. "I just got lucky for a moment."
There are still many things I need to ask you.
Wizards of Lockhart's caliber possess combat techniques that are essentially their own unique style, which, in the Middle Ages, would be considered a secret art.
Even a master might not necessarily pass on the knowledge to his disciple.
While Hermione won't absorb everything in this, the key points will undoubtedly be very helpful to her.
She thought about it again and felt that she couldn't just take the professor's gift for nothing: "Please wait a moment."
She tore a few blank pages from the back of her notebook, took out a quill pen, and leaned over the bench to write quickly.
Soon, she stuffed several pages filled with spells into Lockhart's hands: "These are the key points of the Loretta Greatbow's magic; I think you'll be interested."
Upon their first meeting, Lockhart displayed a remarkable level of brilliance magic; given his talent, mastering this magic shouldn't take him too long.
Hermione chose to teach him this spell for two reasons: firstly, Lockhart was very impressed with it, and secondly, she discovered a weakness in Lockhart's combat system.
Lockhart, who emphasizes surprise attacks and on-the-spot adaptability, lacks a truly lethal spell; his most powerful spell is Thunder Explosion.
Perhaps it's sufficient for fighting humanoid creatures, but against enemies like basilisks, it becomes ineffective, even unable to break through their defenses. Therefore, this magic, which concentrates magical power into a single point, has an extremely long range and immense destructive power...
It is crucial to complement his combat system.
Hermione wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to cast spells without the Radiant Stone. In this world where radiation was everywhere, the Radiant Stone was just an external energy source. Whether it was Harry, Neville, or Lockhart, the absence of the Radiant Stone simply prevented them from casting powerful spells at will like Hermione, but it didn't prevent them from using the Radiant Stone to change the course of battle.
In fact, as Hermione grows a year older and her magical power increases significantly, her reliance on the Radiant Stone will gradually decrease. Regular level magic will not force her to use her cheat codes, unless she is facing someone like Lockhart or the Basilisk.
"Is this really possible?" Lockhart was somewhat surprised. He naturally knew the value of this magic. In fact, ever since Hermione wounded the basilisk with an unknown great bow spell during the summer vacation, many people had begun to notice the prospects of the Brilliant Stone faction and wanted to try to replicate that awe-inspiring great bow. But without exception, they all failed. The published Brilliant Stone papers were too basic.
Trying to bypass several layers of theoretical construction and directly study the Loretta Great Bow, which is also a mid-to-high-level technology in the border region, is tantamount to building castles in the air.
"If it's you, Professor, of course, no problem." Hermione picked up another cookie and started crunching on it.
Lockhart chuckled: "I never expected to not only lose to a twelve-year-old girl, but also have to learn magic from my own student."
"Thank you, Hermione, though."
"Gidero, haven't you had enough? Don't forget you're the defense professor!" Professor Flitwick jumped up and down in the crowd.
He was struggling to handle so many students on his own and yelled for Lockhart to come and save the day.