"One Hundred Tips for Witches to Become Beautiful and Elegant?"
Ludo read the title out loud, his expression instantly becoming remarkably colorful.
"I do not think this book will be of any help in today's task," he said dryly.
"I think it will," Maurise shrugged.
Hearing their brief exchange, Fleur turned her head and stared at Maurise for several seconds.
"Are you not worried at all? About the upcoming task?" she asked, a trace of genuine bewilderment in her voice.
Everyone else was terrified and on edge. How could he possibly be sitting here so leisurely, reading a book?
"Relax," Maurise handed the book over to Fleur. "Have a look at this."
"No, thank you," Fleur declined stiffly.
However, she let out a long breath, and her shoulders noticeably relaxed a fraction.
A few minutes later, the sound of numerous footsteps echoed from outside the tent as the audience gradually filed into the stands. During this time, Madam Pomfrey ducked her head into their tent, but Ludo quickly ushered her away, reminding her that she belonged in the medical tent next door.
Finally, Ludo began to explain the rules of the task.
"Alright, champions," he announced loudly. "Your task today is to retrieve a golden egg from a dragon within a specified time limit. Yes, a dragon. You heard correctly. Those big beauties are your opponents for today."
He pulled out a small purple silk pouch and shook it. "Now, you will need to draw lots to determine which specific beauty you will be facing."
The champions drew their dragons one by one.
Fleur drew the Common Welsh Green, Krum pulled the Chinese Fireball, and Harry ended up with the Hungarian Horntail.
Maurise drew the number one slot: the Swedish Short-Snout.
This meant he would be the very first champion to enter the arena.
Maurise didn't know much about the Swedish Short-Snout. He only knew it was a dragon with silvery-blue scales, and that its hide was highly sought after for making protective gloves. But since it was a fully grown dragon, its combat prowess was undoubtedly formidable.
"Excellent! The order has been decided," Ludo cleared his throat, barely able to suppress his bubbling excitement. "The first to enter the arena will be Maurise Black. When you hear the whistle, step through that entrance. Is that clear?"
Maurise tucked his book away and replied calmly, "Crystal clear, Mr. Bagman."
At that moment, Harry, Fleur, and even Krum looked at Maurise with deep envy, wishing they could possess even a fraction of his composure.
Before long, a sharp whistle pierced the air. Everyone turned to look at Maurise simultaneously.
Ludo waved at him frantically. "Follow me, champion of Hogwarts! Show the audience what you are made of. I will lead the way."
Maurise stood up.
"Be careful," Fleur's voice sounded softly from beside him.
Maurise glanced at her and gave a small nod.
He followed Ludo out of the tent and stepped into the arena.
The enclosure was a massive, oval-shaped arena surrounded by towering stands. Every single seat was packed tightly with eager spectators.
Directly across from Maurise was a shallow depression acting as a nest, lined with dead branches, loose rocks, and the scattered bones of unknown animals. In the center of the nest lay seven or eight dragon eggs, among which rested a highly conspicuous golden egg. That was his objective.
Standing guard over the eggs was the Swedish Short-Snout. Its reptilian eyes locked fiercely onto Maurise and Ludo the moment they entered.
"Your target is the golden egg."
Ludo gave one final reminder before scrambling up a ladder to the commentator's box, leaving Maurise standing alone at the edge of the arena.
Maurise began to walk slowly toward the dragon.
Simultaneously, the roar of the crowd reached a deafening crescendo. Everyone craned their necks, desperate to see how this young champion would handle the colossal beast before him.
As he drew closer, Maurise noticed a thick iron chain shackled around the dragon's neck, restricting its range of movement.
He stopped and quickly re-evaluated the situation.
'Well, this takes away all the difficulty.'
He had numerous ways to simply snatch the golden egg and leave. However, his sights were set on more than just the egg.
Since he was already here, it would be a shame not to take some local specialties home with him, wouldn't it?
Maurise narrowed his eyes and drew his wand.
The audience in the stands naturally had no idea what was going through his head. They only saw the young champion standing frozen in place, seemingly pondering his battle strategy.
Ludo's magically amplified voice echoed from the commentator's box: "Black is observing the dragon's movements! He seems to be looking for the optimal moment to strike—oh! What is that?!"
The moment Ludo spoke, thick, pitch-black mist began to billow out from Maurise. It surged outward with terrifying speed, devouring the light.
In a matter of seconds, the black mist had completely engulfed the entire arena, swallowing the dragon, the golden egg, and Maurise himself.
This was Maurise's newly invented spell: Shadow Veil.
"Black must be trying to obscure the dragon's vision!" Ludo bellowed into the microphone. "A brilliant tactical maneuver! Unfortunately, it means we cannot see a single thing happening down there either! Headmaster Dumbledore, is there anything you can do about this?"
He turned to look at Dumbledore, but the Headmaster was merely staring intently at the swirling black mist, the corners of his mouth turned upward in a faint smile.
Inside the mist, Maurise was strolling leisurely toward the dragon. In his magically enhanced vision, the Swedish Short-Snout was frantically whipping its head around, completely disoriented and blind to its surroundings.
Perhaps driven by panic, the dragon thrashed its tail and unleashed a blind torrent of brilliant blue flames into the darkness. The fire flared briefly within the mist, failing to even singe the hem of Maurise's robes.
Maurise easily circled around to the dragon's flank.
Just to be safe, he cast a quick combo.
"Xul... Noth... Vras." (The Fainting Curse)
"Vor... Kul... Teneb." (Torment Curse)
Struck by the consecutive dark curses, the dragon let out a pained, guttural roar.
Maurise didn't stop there. He raised his wand and began unleashing a relentless barrage of Stunning Spells.
Dragons possessed incredibly high natural magical resistance, but that wasn't an issue for him.
If one Stunning Spell wasn't enough, he would use two. If two weren't enough, he would use ten, twenty, a hundred. He would simply spam the spell until the beast could no longer take it.
Jets of red light shot from his wand in rapid succession, striking the dragon with pinpoint accuracy.
During the bombardment, he also summoned over a dozen skeletons into the mist, utilizing their magical links as living mana batteries to fuel his relentless assault.
Under the combined effects of the debilitating curses and the overwhelming barrage of Stunning Spells, the dragon's massive body finally gave out. With a thunderous crash, it collapsed unconscious onto the rocky ground.
Maurise lowered his wand and nodded in satisfaction.
Of course, he still hadn't completed his most important objective.
He walked over to the unconscious dragon and crouched down, his gaze locking onto a small patch of soft, unarmored skin on its underbelly.
"Kha-Zul... Ver-Thek... Ssyrax." (Blood Drain)
Maurise slowly extended his hand.
Two minutes later, three massive barrels filled to the brim with fresh dragon blood were safely secured within the expanded storage space of his robes.
"Perfect~"
Having secured his loot, he finally dismissed his skeletons and cancelled the Shadow Veil.
The black mist rapidly dissipated, finally revealing the arena to the anxious audience.
The massive, terrifying dragon was lying motionless on the ground, completely knocked out cold, while Maurise Black unhurriedly strolled forward and scooped up the golden egg.