"Leave?" Wade chuckled at her words. "If I wanted to leave, I could've done so long ago."
He pulled out a bag, turned it upside down, and a string of golden eggs clattered onto the ground. In the faint light, they gleamed with a dazzling brilliance.
Seeing the golden eggs that she and the others had been desperately searching for pile up on the floor like a harvest of apples, Amina's eyes widened in shock.
"You… you… you… despicable…"
Her facial muscles, still stiff, twitched slightly as she tried to glare at Wade with enough fury to make him feel deeply ashamed.
"What do you mean?" Wade asked with a look of surprise. "I didn't snatch these golden eggs from you."
Amina: "..."
Was it my fault I went down so quickly? Wasn't it because you suddenly appeared and ambushed me?
——But being defeated by someone three years younger than herself… she didn't really have much room to protest.
Amina was so furious that tears nearly welled up. She squeezed her eyes shut in anger, refusing to look at that hateful face opposite her.
——Unicorn wand, you chose the wrong master!
"Alright, be a little more mature." Wade walked closer and said, "If the next person who comes in is one of your teammates, you might still have the chance to get them to cure your paralysis. But if you want to go for a golden egg, I'd suggest you take the other path."
Amina was forced to open her eyes, staring wide at Wade. She didn't speak, but every word she wanted to say was written in her gaze.
Wade nodded. "Exactly what you're thinking… The remaining golden eggs on this path will end up in my hands."
Amina struggled to say, "The rules… don't… allow…"
"I heard them." Wade replied. "They only said I can't leave the arena with more than one golden egg. They didn't forbid me from picking them up and then tossing them elsewhere, did they?"
"Why…" Amina asked in confusion.
"Hmm?" Wade raised an eyebrow. "When the conditions allow it, reducing the number of opponents as much as possible—doesn't that count as standard procedure? Of course, the most important reason is—"
He paused, and Amina strained to lift her head slightly. She saw Wade smiling as he continued:
"—because I can do it, and it isn't difficult. So why shouldn't I?"
That blazing, sunlike confidence and ease pierced straight through the girl's heart like a bullet. Her heartbeat faltered, her breath caught in her throat.
She watched the boy—three years younger, yet already nearly her height—stride deeper into the passage, her heart thumping wildly. For a long moment, she was speechless.
She should have been angry. But almost instinctively, she found herself hoping that he would always keep winning, always remain this proud, never have his sharp edges worn down by setbacks.
From the chamber came a noise—another group of champions had entered. Amina heard voices not far away:
"Wait, don't attack." Ryan Smith of Ilvermorny raised his hand. "I'm willing to set my wand down first. Can you hear me out for a moment?"
"Sure!" Chinatsu Asada also lowered her wand. "I'm guessing you're thinking the same thing as I am."
Ryan nodded. "That announcement just now makes it clear—someone who came in before us has already gotten hold of more than two golden eggs."
Asada Chinatsu: "And they can lie in ambush ahead of time, set traps, and launch sneak attacks from the shadows—this place seems perfect for ambushing."
Ryan: "Exactly. Fighting each other now is pointless. It would only make us look like fools to the ones who entered earlier."
"But even if that's what I think too… wasn't Seraphina from your school one of the ones who already went in?"
Asada Chinatsu said: "I am actually the first from Mahoutokoro to enter the second stage. Once you two joined forces, wouldn't that put me in danger?"
As they spoke, a cry of pain echoed near the compass—someone else had arrived.
This time it was Diego Costa of Castelobruxo. He gritted his teeth as he pushed himself off the ground, took one look at the two before him, and warily stepped back while drawing his wand.
The two once again urged him to calm down and repeated the proposal they had discussed.
"We're not necessarily locked in a winner-takes-all relationship," Ryan said earnestly. "There are sixteen golden eggs in total. Even if five schools joined forces, there'd be plenty to go around. We can help each other through this task."
Asada Chinatsu nodded in agreement.
"That makes sense. But the first golden egg we find will be mine," Diego said with a sour look. "I'm the only one left representing Castelobruxo."
The other two exchanged glances. They also felt this Brazilian school was rather unlucky, so they didn't argue.
This stage had a fifty percent elimination rate. At first that sounded terrifying, but once the task began, it actually felt like there were plenty of chances to get a golden egg.
"But those who entered before us may also have formed alliances—and they're ahead of us already. To close the gap, we'd best wait for two more people," Diego added.
Ryan and Asada Chinatsu didn't object. They nodded, kept a careful watch on their surroundings, and waited patiently.
Soon after, two more figures appeared one after the other—Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour.
Neither rejected the proposal of joining forces. The five discussed briefly, then chose a passage to enter together.
Working in cooperation and keeping watch over one another, even if one accidentally triggered a trap, the others could step in to help. All five were outstanding representatives of their schools—none dragged the team down.
Before long, they came across Amina, still bound tightly in thorn-vines.
Their eyes met, and Amina, trembling with emotion, opened her mouth to call for help. But with her muscles paralyzed, even swallowing was difficult; instead, a trail of bright drool slipped down the corner of her mouth.
Amina: "..."
…
"Ahhhhh! I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him!"
Even before she had full control of her limbs, the rescued Amina leaned against Fleur and let out a roar of fury like a raging tigress.
"Alright, alright. But who exactly are you talking about?" Fleur asked gently, pity in her eyes.
"Who else? Wade Grey!" Amina shouted. "Forget looking for golden eggs along this path—all of them here have already been taken by him!"
"What?"
Everyone was stunned. Diego, who had been walking beside Cedric, instantly pulled away, while Asada Chinatsu, bringing up the rear, already had her wand pointed at Cedric's back.
"What?"
Cedric was equally shocked and quickly asked, "Why would Wade do that? Is there some misunderstanding?"
"How should I know? I'm not a Legilimens! I saw it with my own eyes—he had a whole bagful of golden eggs!"
Once again Amina roared like a tigress: "I'll kill him!"
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