"Wait a minute, what kind of stone circle is this?"
Vid quickened his pace to catch up, asking seriously, "Legend has it that places like this are doorways between reality and the Otherworld. Entering them is extremely dangerous... Are you treating it as an amusement park entrance?"
He really wanted to pry open Machioni's skull to see if it was filled with "Gryffindor."
Machioni seemed to be expecting this reaction, bursting into a hearty laugh immediately.
"Dear Vid, do I seem like someone who's that brainless?"
He laughed while shaking his head, reaching out to pat Vid's shoulder.
"Think about it, Stonehenge in Salisbury, Castlerigg Stone Circle in Cumbria, Senegambia Stone Circles on the Gambia River, and the Twelve Apostles in West Yorkshire... These famously legendary stone circles did indeed connect to the Otherworld, but that was in the past."
"Elves have left our world more than a thousand years ago, and those passages were completely closed and became ineffective with their departure, now they're just photo spots for Muggles."
He restrained his laughter a bit, still speaking with confidence and enthusiasm:
"Those larger stone circles have lost their function altogether, not to mention the small fortresses scattered in the wild."
"The artwork I found is an Alchemy Work jointly created by human Wizards and Elves in ancient times. It's not a dangerous portal, and its function to connect with the Otherworld has long been lost, the only thing remaining now is the exquisite 'shrinking' magic."
"Rest assured, while you were busy competing, Professor Morry and I have tested it hundreds of times to ensure it's truly safe. Its only purpose is to open a wondrous miniaturized journey for our visitors."
Vid: "…Alright, as long as you can confirm it's safe."
He suddenly remembered, as if he had heard of this concept in Grindelwald's Gray Castle—
More than a thousand years ago, human Wizards and Elves once lived in peace together. However, true Elves have since completely disappeared from the human world.
Nowadays, some commonly seen Magical Creatures often have only certain traits similar to Elves, like Goblins' longevity and unique magic; House-Elves' emphasis on contract habits; Veela's stunning allure; Centaurs' mystery and close connection with nature, and so on.
Putting these together, you have the true Elves.
Yet, such mysterious beings no longer exist in the Magic World.
Suddenly, Vid recalled what Ms. Grey had said: Some ancient beings... are awakening...
Could Elves reappear as well?
These thoughts swirled in his mind. Just as he was about to discuss with Machioni, the man in front suddenly reached out an arm and pulled Vid.
"Don't get distracted!" Machioni said, "This place is more dangerous than it appears."
Before he finished speaking, a sharp, hair-raising buzzing sound of wings suddenly approached!
Just then, a giant stag beetle with a shell glinting with ominous gleam rushed at incredible speed, this small toy you could play with in your hand was now almost like a giant war vehicle, roaring as it approached, two black scythe-like mandibles clacking ominously.
The two reacted swiftly, almost simultaneously rolling sideways, as the black war vehicle roared past them, crashing into slender grass stalks.
The stag beetle turned around, its naturally armored head shaking, targeting the small foes in front.
Vid drew his Magic Wand, just about to give it something tough, when Machioni suddenly pulled him to run!
"Wait!" Vid shouted, "I can handle it!"
"Don't forget, we're testers now!" Machioni shouted back, "Other Wizards can't ... oh, damn!... can't use some powerful Magic Spell!"
He nearly got caught by the stag beetle, Vid timely cast a Petrificus Totalus to stop the frenzied bug.
After shrinking, their Spell's power reduced significantly, needing more focus and effort to cast stronger spells.
Seeing the beetle immobilized, Machioni finally sighed in relief, walked over and knocked on the bug's hard shell with his hand, making "dang dang dang" sounds.
He thoughtfully said, "Isn't this thing a little too dangerous for the Little People Country?"
Vid also tapped its stag horn-like mandibles: "Normally, these things could bite people until they bleed, after shrinking... if it's too late to run, I worry it might bite players in half, and you'd be in trouble."
"True indeed." Machioni wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead, unwillingly saying, "But these death-threatening, heart-pounding experiences are the highlights here, taking them away... I'm a bit reluctant."
"How about restricting their activity range, then?" Vid suggested based on his past gaming experience, "As soon as they run out of a specified area, they automatically stop chasing."
"Alright... for safety reasons, we can only do that..."
Machioni said with regret, seemingly unwilling to give up the thrilling game experience.
Even before he finished speaking, a glistening sticky spider silk silently dropped from above, accurately sticking to his head.
"Wah!"
Vid suddenly heard a short scream and a rapid upward ascent, he immediately looked up.
Only to see Machioni in the air struggling with arms and legs, but he was indeed an experienced Wizard, while screaming as he got pulled up, he swiftly drew his Magic Wand, aiming at the webbing pulling him and shouted: "Defodio!"
The light flashed, the web snapped accordingly, a dark silhouette above the bushes seemed to be observing below.
Vid timely waved his Magic Wand, gently letting Machioni land, then saw him quickly take out a handkerchief to wipe the slime off his hair, pretending to be calm and muttering:
"Looks like... the boundary of area restriction still needs more consideration!"
"In case there's a sudden unavoidable situation, is there an emergency escape method for visitors?" Vid asked, "How do we change back? Do we leave the same way?"
"Oh, this is very simple." Machioni glanced around, then pointed left: "See that spot!"
In the shadow beneath a fern's roots, hid several scattered red mushrooms, each about the size of Vid's fist.
"This is the emergency escape method—Ejection Mushroom! Just one footstep, visitors will truly fly... literally fly."
He pointed to the sky, waving his arm: "—be catapulted out! While leaving the amusement park, everything will revert to normal."
"When we leave, we'll give it a go."
Vid thought for a moment and then said, "However... maybe we can add an extra safety measure? I can create a disposable badge with miniature Iron Armor Spell, which can activate for a few seconds, in case people don't find the Ejection Mushroom fast enough."
Machioni's eyes lit up all at once, then he asked: "Is this badge... expensive?"
Vid gestured with his hand: "With such a small area Iron Armor Spell... and it's disposable, the cost would probably only need a few Knuts..."