Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard

Chapter 544: Chapter 542: Wisdom and Judgment

The next day, in the morning.

Kael had just finished breakfast when Professor McGonagall called him away. This time, the audience was much closer to the competition site, right in front of the castle gates and encircling the Black Lake.

By 9:50 AM, ten minutes before the competition was set to start, the seats were already filled with spectators.

Although it was still quite cold outside, everyone seemed unaffected, eagerly waving their flags and waiting expectantly for the competition to begin.

The five judges were also in place. After a month, Dumbledore had reappeared at Hogwarts.

He looked a bit weary, as if he hadn’t slept for a long time, but his eyes were still bright, and he seemed quite excited.

As Kael passed by, he happened to overhear Dumbledore telling a joke to Professor McGonagall behind him.

But Professor McGonagall just stared nervously at the Black Lake in front of her, and at Kael, unable to laugh.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Ludo Bagman, the commentator, stepped forward, pointed his wand at his throat, and said, ”Sonorus!”

His voice immediately became like thunder, echoing around the Black Lake.

”The champions have all arrived, and the competition is about to begin. I think it’s necessary to explain the challenge to everyone.

This round tests wisdom and judgment. The champions must first head to the Forbidden Forest to find three keys, then use those keys to rescue their most precious treasures trapped in the Black Lake.

I believe the champions are already aware of this, so I won’t say much more.

The only thing I want to remind everyone is to make good use of the stones in your hands. Each stone can be exchanged for a clue to a key from the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. Three stones correspond to three keys. Whether you can quickly find the hidden information in these clues will be the key to winning.

Additionally...” He paused, glanced around, then looked toward the judges’ table. After receiving a nod from Chris, he continued:

We have made some minor tweaks to the scoring criteria for the second task, dividing the results into rough categories.

If completed within an hour, they’ll receive at least eight points.

If completed within two hours, they’ll receive five to eight points.

And if it takes longer than two hours, the score will be below five points.

So I must remind each champion that time is crucial, and you must make the wisest decisions.”

Both Kael and Fleur, and Krum, listened intently to his words.

The hour was approaching ten.

Bagman checked the time, ”Alright, once I blow the whistle, you can start. I’ll count to three.

One... two... three!”

The sharp whistle sound echoed through the cold air, followed by cheers and applause from the stands.

Kael wasted no time and ran straight toward the Forbidden Forest ahead.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, three centaurs were already standing there, saving quite a bit of time.

The three chose the centaur closest to them without hesitation.

Whether by coincidence or not, the centaur on Kael’s side was Firenze, with whom he was most familiar. They had just met recently.

Kael didn’t speak, simply handed over a stone.

”I need to know the clue to the key.”

After accepting the stone, Firenze began to chant softly, ”The thing you seek is hidden in the eye of Hydra. When the hour hand ticks ten, and Hydra moves five times, you will see it...”

Kael frowned and pondered for a moment.

The hour hand might represent direction, pointing to ten o’clock. Hydra moving five times... should indicate distance.

”In this direction...”

Once again, the chant from Firenze reached his ears, as Firenze’s tail pointed obliquely to one side, speaking softly, ”Five miles ahead, you’ll find it.”

Five miles?

Kael hadn’t expected the centaur would give him a tip. After realizing it, he nodded gently. But by then, Firenze had already returned to the Forbidden Forest.

Without overthinking, Kael extended his wand.

”Accio Firebolt!”

He waited in place for a few minutes, but no broomstick appeared.

Clearly, Kael’s charm couldn’t possibly be flawed, so it was evident that this task didn’t test the champions’ flying abilities. Perhaps to add difficulty to the competition, the judges had banned the usage of broomsticks.

With no other choice, since there was no certainty whether all the champions were searching for the same key, Kael could only run quickly into the Forbidden Forest.

The Forbidden Forest was full of towering trees, and the only narrow path was winding, making it difficult to traverse.

About ten minutes into his journey, Kael suddenly stopped, his brows furrowing as he noticed something unusual.

It was too quiet around him.

Having visited the Forbidden Forest multiple times before, Kael was well aware that even its outskirts were usually teeming with wildlife. Insects chirping and birds singing could be heard everywhere.

Yet, during the past ten minutes, aside from the sound of his own footsteps, he had heard no other sound... something that was almost impossible under normal circumstances.

Unless someone had used magic to amplify this area, much like the Quidditch Pitch during the first task.

Additionally, the issue of distance seemed unusual.

Five miles... it didn’t seem particularly far. Even without broomsticks, it should take only ten minutes with the aid of charms.

But under normal circumstances, with trees everywhere in the Forbidden Forest, it was impossible to move straight ahead, doubling the required time to twenty minutes.

Finding one key would take twenty minutes. But here, there were three keys, in addition to interpreting the centaurs’ riddles and spending time at the Black Lake. No matter how you looked at it, completing it within an hour seemed impossible.

But the judges couldn’t have arbitrarily set an unattainable time limit.

There was something he hadn’t realized.

Kael swiftly recalled Bagman’s words from earlier...

This task tested wisdom and judgment... If wisdom involved solving the riddles, what about judgment?

While slowly moving forward, Kael pondered, his thoughts interrupted by Bagman’s voice.

”Twenty minutes have already passed; the champions must make haste.”

Something was off...

Kael suddenly froze, then decisively turned back and started running in the opposite direction.

He was a wizard; why did he necessarily need to find the keys? Only by skipping the time spent in the Forbidden Forest could he possibly complete the task within an hour.

Yes, that was judgment... at least, that’s how Kael saw it, being willing to take the gamble.

During his return, Kael ran into Fleur, who seemed puzzled at his retreat.

”Listen...” Kael quickly spoke, ”I don’t think we need to waste time searching for keys. It’s impossible to finish in an hour; I’m going straight to the Black Lake.”

”What?” Fleur appeared incredulous. ”But the rules say, only if you find the keys can you...”

”Don’t forget, we are wizards,” Kael interrupted her.

Fleur remained hesitant.

Kael said no more. After all, it was only his guess, and no one could be sure it was correct.

He continued sprinting back and finally emerged from the Forbidden Forest after ten minutes.

”Oh, we have a champion out of the forest...” Bagman shouted, ”Has he found the keys?”

At the judges’ table, Dumbledore and Chris instinctively smiled, while Karkaroff and Maxime didn’t look pleased.

Kael ignored Bagman, but upon noticing the change in the judges’ expressions, he became more convinced he was on the right track. Having not even reached the first key’s location, his halfway return already took half an hour.

If he had searched for all three keys, an hour definitely wouldn’t have sufficed.

Kael didn’t hesitate, heading straight to the Black Lake.

There were many ways for underwater activity, such as Gillyweed, which he happened to have. Having purchased it at the herb shop in Diagon Alley, he’d kept it in his trunk, taking it out specifically the night before.

But Kael opted not to use it.

The duration of Gillyweed was exactly an hour, but half of the time had already elapsed, making it a bit wasteful.

Kael took out his wand, conjuring a large bubble on his head, and then plunged into the Black Lake.

The Bubble-Head Charm, while not as agile as Gillyweed for underwater activities, was still a very good choice.

The stands erupted again with cheers and applause.

The audience didn’t need to worry about the details; they only knew that Kael was ahead of everyone else, with Fleur and Krum still not emerging...