novelcrest Chapter 421 Secret Realm
Chapter 421 Secret Realm
Chapter 421 The Secret Realm (Part 2)
Such a monster, which Sean placed in this secret realm, is unknown to Fanfan.
In this mysterious realm where time moves exceptionally slowly, Krum and his two companions faced more than a dozen challenging environments, including swamps, jungles, and deserts.
From sudden bursts of poisonous fog to man-eating vines hidden in the jungle, and sandstorms sweeping across the desert, every challenge exhausted them and brought them closer to their limits time and time again.
As the three of them emerged from the briefcase-like entrance, looking disheveled, through the last ray of light, a gasp of astonishment rose from the surrounding students.
Krum's robes were covered in mud and torn, with thorns tearing the cuffs; Eileen's hair was adorned with vines, making her look like she had just rolled around in the jungle; and Ryan was completely soaked, as if he had been in the sea.
Sean, standing a short distance away, was the first to applaud.
The crisp applause echoed in the quiet classroom, followed by thunderous applause from the surrounding students.
"Very good," Sean stepped forward and sincerely praised, "You passed the secret realm not only because you have sufficient ability, but also because you understand the importance of cooperation."
Then, he turned his body to the other side.
"The challenges of the secret realm extend far beyond what we've just seen. Each of you will have the opportunity to enter and undergo your own trials. However, teams as well-coordinated as Krum's group are probably rare indeed."
"If you go in and get stuck in the mud, unable to pull your feet out, or caught in the thorns and unable to escape, don't blame me for not warning you. Remember, this is not only a contest of physical strength and magic, but also a battle of wisdom and patience."
The students nodded in agreement, both excited and nervous.
Sean turned to look at Krum and the other two, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "As for the three of you, your performance today was commendable—however, next time I will make the challenge even more difficult, so you'd better not let your guard down."
Krum couldn't help but smile wryly: "Professor, is there anything harder?"
"Of course," Sean said casually. "The monsters we encountered earlier were just a 'warm-up.' If you have the chance to enter the next secret realm, you might encounter something even more—'interesting.'"
"More interesting? That doesn't sound so good," Ryan chimed in from the side.
Sean didn't explain further, but looked at the three of them and nodded gently: "Alright, you can go and rest now. You truly deserve this applause today."
Amid the applause, Krum suddenly remembered his task for the day. He subconsciously straightened his back, trying to appear more "composed" and "confident," but this posture made his previously distinctly different aura vanish abruptly.
Sean noticed this keenly.
He shook his head inwardly.
Deliberate.
That's too deliberate.
Composure isn't something you can fake; it's a natural quality that comes from within.
Krum wanted to gain so-called "charisma" but lost his own "characteristics".
This is completely a case of losing the big picture for small gains.
Handsome? No, that's not how it is.
Krum still has a long way to go in looking after him.
However, Sean did not tell Krum these things on the spot.
He planned to let Krum experience this kind of life for a day, and then tell him his thoughts in the evening.
Just as Sean was lost in thought, a sudden, urgent sound came from the entrance of the briefcase.
He looked up and saw two more students kneeling and walking out of the briefcase.
They looked extremely wolfish and fox-like, their faces full of panic and exhaustion, their robes were torn to shreds, and there were even several obvious scratch marks.
Sean frowned slightly, keenly sensing that something was amiss.
One, two, two, one.
"Didn't three of you go in? Why did only two of you come out?"
The two students turned even paler upon hearing Sean's words.
Upon hearing Sean's words, the two students turned even paler. They exchanged a glance, and one of them stammered, "Professor...we don't know what happened—Selena—Selena—she's gone!"
"Gone?" Sean asked, somewhat puzzled.
Sean has set up a high level of defense for this secret realm.
If a student is in any danger or is completely unable to fight back (and is considered eliminated), the alchemical artifact will immediately stop attacking and move the student to the safe zone (near the exit).
Gone? Missing?
This situation was far beyond Sean's expectations.
The map is only so big, where can the other side run to?
Seeing Sean's confused expression, another student quickly added, "Professor, we were traveling through the swamp area of the secret realm, almost at the exit. But for some reason, Selena suddenly screamed—and then, she—disappeared! We searched for a long time, but found nothing, and there was no trace of her near the exit."
"You stay here, I'll go check it out."
"Professor, are you going in alone?"
Sean laughed in exasperation at that remark. "What kind of danger could my own briefcase possibly pose? Why don't you come with me?"
The student who asked the question quickly shook his head and withdrew his concern for Professor Phillips.
The moment Sean entered the secret realm, the scene before him suddenly changed.
He found himself in a dark swamp, the air thick with the stench of decay, the ground soft and muddy beneath his feet, occasionally punctuated by the low chirping of insects and the calls of animals.
His gaze swept around and quickly caught some subtle traces—faint shoe prints on the soil and some marks where grass had trampled them.
Clearly, this was the last place Selena stayed before she disappeared.
"No signs of attack," Sean muttered to himself, then crouched down to examine the ground carefully.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on an unusually smooth patch of mud, as if something had slid across it.
"Phantom appearance?"
"Someone deliberately left traces here," Sean said coldly, his eyes sharpening.
His intuition told him that this was definitely not a simple matter—it didn't seem like a simple accidental disappearance, but rather a deliberately set trap.
"Looks like someone's playing some tricks," he said.
As Sean approached the center of the swamp, the atmosphere around him suddenly changed.
A dark shadow suddenly sprang from the bushes, lunging straight at Sean from behind, accompanied by a sharp shout: "Knock out!"
A red beam of light shot straight toward Sean.
However, Sean, who was prepared, instantly darted around and swiftly waved his wand, easily dispelling the spell.
The red light dissipated in the air, and the attacker's figure emerged from the bushes.
"Selena." Sean's voice carried a hint of suppressed anger.
Selena slowly straightened up from the grass, a stubborn and defiant smile on her face: "Professor, you really reacted quickly. It seems I have to step up my game."
Selena clapped her hands lightly, her tone full of mockery. "Professor, you are indeed clever, guessing it right away. But you are still a little slow, aren't you? I've been waiting for quite a while."
(PS: Time flows differently inside the briefcase than outside, which is why Selena waited here for so long.)
"Why?" Sean countered. "Are you doing this just to waste time? Or is it...?"
Selena's smile faded, her eyes hardening. "For revenge," she said through gritted teeth, her voice laced with barely concealed shame and anger. "I'll never forget the humiliation I suffered last time. Did you think you could so easily trample on my dignity and then pretend nothing happened?"
Sean stared at her, his face expressionless.
"So," he began slowly, his voice low and menacing like a thunderclap about to erupt, "you orchestrated all of this, weaving your 'disappearance' into a trap, just so I would come looking for you?"
Selena gave a cold laugh and raised her wand high: "Yes, Professor. Today, I'll show you what it feels like to be out of control."
"Utterly foolish," Sean said coldly, then raised his wand. "Since you've chosen this path, don't blame me for being impolite."
Undeterred, Selena launched a preemptive attack: "Stun!" A red beam of spell shot straight at Sean, followed by a swift "Binding Spell" from her other hand, attempting to trap Sean in one fell swoop.
However, Sean's movements were incredibly fast.
He slightly shifted to the side, flicked his wand, dispelling the red beam of light and simultaneously reflecting Selena's binding spell back.
The beam of light grazed Selena's shoulder, slicing the bushes behind her in two.
Selena didn't stop. She quickly moved her position, waving her wand again and unleashing several attack spells in succession. "Your skill level is even worse than I expected," Sean said coldly, suddenly quickening his pace and pointing his wand directly at Selena. "Clearly, you still haven't learned how to face a real opponent."
He suddenly unleashed a powerful "Explosion Spell." Selena tried to defend herself, but the force of the spell sent her flying backward, landing heavily on the ground.
Is that all?
Sean doesn't think so.
Selena is well aware of his abilities.
Are they just rushing in for revenge without any preparation?
That's something a Gryffindor lion cub would do, but this is Durmstrang.
"What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Use them all at once." Sean stood cautiously to the side, about ten meters away from Selena.
Treat your opponent tactically, and respect them in action.
The act of conveying a message is merely a tactic to provoke the other party into anger and thus expose their weakness.
He wanted to see what Selena had that made her think she had the victory in the bag.
In other words, he wanted to see what gave Selena the courage to do this.
"As expected, you figured it out. Someone Karkaroff called here to teach us is definitely not an ordinary person." Selena lay on the ground, a cold smile suddenly appearing on her lips. "But your mistake was being too arrogant."
As she spoke, she reached into her robe and took out a jet-black object with an unusually smooth surface, resembling a stone.
Seeing this, Sean frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on the rock.
He sensed an extremely ancient power, a power that made even someone as powerful as him feel vaguely uneasy.
Could it be...?
"Interesting. What is this? Your 'trump card' is just a rock?" Sean used reverse psychology, pretending to be nonchalant as he probed Serena.
Selena noticed it, or perhaps she simply didn't care.
She sneered and slowly rose from the ground. "Professor, do you think I'm a fool? With my abilities, of course I can't defeat you with just a spell. But with this—" she raised the stone in her hand, "you might not be able to maintain that arrogant attitude anymore."
"Oh?" Sean raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Let me guess, you're planning to use it to turn things around? It's just some unknown magical item; what do you think it can change?"
“This is no ‘unknown’ thing.” A glint of fanaticism flashed in Selena’s eyes as she held up the stone and said coldly, “This is a relic of Herpo that our family has kept for a long time—it is also based on the same principle as the Azkaban Iron Chains. You know, those locks used to bind magical criminals are made based on this power.”
Herpo's name is known to everyone in the wizarding world.
He was a dark wizard of ancient Greece and the first person to create basilisks and Horcruxes.
As for the latter—
No one knows if he is still alive.
They have lived for thousands of years.
As the earliest and most famous dark wizard in history, he was branded a "villain" and his image was printed on the Chocolate Frog card. Selena continued, a hint of vengeful satisfaction in her voice: "However, this stone is far more powerful than iron. Once activated, it can banish all magic within dozens of meters of copper, whether offensive or defensive spells—they simply cannot be cast!"
Within its domain, even the most powerful wizard is but a mortal.
Sean remained silent, his gaze still coldly fixed on Selena.
Selena's smile grew even more smug: "I've investigated you, Professor. You're from Hufflepuff, a writer, and while you possess great magical abilities, what are you without magic? Just an ordinary person! What right do you have to look down on me and humiliate me like you did last time?"
As she spoke, she raised the stone in her hand high and began to chant an obscure incantation.
Suddenly, the runes on the stone surface lit up with a deep red light, and a strange sense of oppression filled the surrounding air.
During this time, Sean tried using a simple levitation spell, and sure enough, he was unable to use magic.
Seeing that Sean couldn't use magic, Selena's smile grew even more blatant.
She stepped forward, the stone clutched in her hand, her eyes burning with extreme fanaticism: "Professor, without your magic, can you still be as calm and composed as before? Or rather, what gives you the right to remain so aloof?"
Sean remained silent, but from Selena's perspective, she clearly saw that Phillips's eyes inexplicably lit up—staring intently at the stone in her hand, which made her uneasy.
Selena's expression darkened slightly. She gritted her teeth and continued to approach Sean: "Right now, you can't use any spells at all, not even the most basic flow of magic is forbidden. What can you do like this? You might as well kneel down and apologize to me!"
"Kneel down?" Sean finally spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Selena, do you really think a single stone can completely change the situation?"
"The spell is useless here," Selena said coldly. "What else can you rely on?"
"I can't use spells," Sean nodded slightly, then changed the subject, his tone chillingly cold, "but I've never been a wizard who only knows spells."
"Furthermore, thank you for the items you sent. They are very useful to me, and I will accept them."
As soon as she finished speaking, Selena suddenly felt a dangerous aura rushing towards her.
Sean suddenly took a step forward, his movement so fast that Selena had no time to react. His right hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the stone from her hand.
Selena instinctively stepped back, but Sean pulled her closer, and the two instantly became entangled.
"Do you think you can control the situation with just this stone?"
Selena gritted her teeth and tried to break free, but Sean's grip was incredibly strong, and she couldn't budge him at all.
Without the aid of magic, the contest became a pure test of physical strength, and Selena completely underestimated Sean's power.
Is this a writer?
What she didn't know was that she was facing an enemy who had cheated.
In the early stages of acquiring the system, Sean drank a lot of strength and agility potions.
"Let me go!" Selena screamed, raising her other hand and slapping it hard at Sean's face.
Just as her fist was about to strike Sean, he dodged to the side, then grabbed her wrist and, with a little force, firmly suppressed her movement.
"Want to hit me?" Sean sneered, a hint of contempt in his eyes. "Then try it."
Selena was immediately enraged.
She raised her knee, attempting to kick Sean in the stomach, but Sean quickly dodged to the side.
Taking advantage of her loss of balance, Sean suddenly rammed her chest with his shoulder, sending her staggering back several steps.
"Without magic, your movements are nothing special." Sean's tone was icy as he stood still, watching Selena wolf-fox steady herself and assume a defensive stance.
If a true Chinese were standing here.
You'll definitely recognize Sean's starting stance—Tai Chi!
A completely different Tai Chi from Hunyuan Tai Chi.
"Don't get too cocky!" Selena said through gritted teeth, suddenly rushing forward and throwing a punch at Sean's chin.
This punch was imbued with her anger.
This punch was earth-shattering.
This punch was so fast that it almost formed a blurry arc.
But Sean reacted faster than her. He leaned back slightly to dodge the blow, then swiftly struck out with his fist, aiming straight for Selena's shoulder.
The moment the fist collided with her shoulder, Selena groaned in pain and was forced to take two steps back.
However, she didn't stop. Selena pounced on him, completely abandoning her defenses, and engaged in close combat with Sean.
Their fists clashed rapidly in the air, the force of their punches kicking up dust.
In this "warrior duel," there are no magical fluctuations in the traditional sense, nor any spells to assist; it is only a direct contest of flesh and strength.
Each punch that landed on the opponent's body produced a dull thud that sent chills down one's spine.
Sean dodged Selena's straight punch and retaliated with a punch to her side, causing her to groan and bend slightly.
However, Selena did not back down. She gritted her teeth, grabbed Sean's shoulders with both hands, and tried to hit his ribs with her knee.
Sean snorted and forcefully flung her hand away, then delivered a backhand hook straight at Selena's chin.
Selena had no time to dodge and was knocked back by the punch, almost falling over.
"Shall we continue?" Sean straightened up and wiped his mouth.
To be honest, Selena's tenacity has exceeded his expectations.
It truly lives up to Durmstrang's reputation as a school known for its "duel" and "dark magic."
Sean swears that Durmstrang's professors definitely mentioned the "duel" here, and how they should duel if they lost their wands.
Selena's breathing became rapid, her face filled with anger and humiliation, but even more so with resentment.
By this time, she had realized that she could not compete with Sean's physical strength and skills, but she was still unwilling to admit defeat.
"You think this will make me give up?" Selena said through gritted teeth, raising her fist and charging forward again.
This time, Sean didn't give her another chance.
He sidestepped Selena's attack, then swept his leg, knocking her to the ground.
Selena fell into the mud, and the stone in her hand slipped to the side.
Sean didn't pursue further. Instead, he slowly walked to the stone, picked it up, and looked coldly at Selena: "Don't you understand? Even without magic, I'm still far stronger than you. That's the difference between you and me."
Selena lay prone in the mud, her face covered in a mixture of mud and blood, making her look particularly disheveled. Her fingers gripped the soil tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Sean stood there, holding the stone in his hand, expecting her to get up angrily again and continue her defiant counterattack as before. However, this time, when he looked down at Selena, he found that Selena was actually crying.
Sean was stunned.
This time... I've got him cornered.
He's good at fighting, and he's good at comforting a girl who's crying.
However, it's a bit beyond his capabilities to try and comfort someone after he's just made them cry with one punch.
Sean opened his mouth, trying to say something to ease the situation: "Selena—" Before he could finish speaking, Selena's shoulders suddenly stopped trembling.
The next second, she suddenly raised her head, sprang up from the ground with an almost insane speed, and pounced directly at Sean!
Sean instinctively thought she was about to attack again, and that she was trying to use this pounce to ambush him.
Without any hesitation, he quickly raised his hand, ready to retaliate with the same force, aiming a punch at her abdomen.
However, just as his fist was about to land, Selena's action took him by surprise.
Selena didn't throw a punch or attack; instead, she threw herself into his arms and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.
Then, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and, without warning, pressed her lips to his!
Sean's pupils dilated instantly, and he froze in mid-air. His fist stopped halfway, completely forgetting to continue.
"Wh-what?!" Sean's mind went blank; he even wondered if he was seeing things.
This action came suddenly and without warning, completely throwing even the usually calm and composed Sean into disarray.
He had never encountered anything like this before—a student who had just been covered in mud and furious was now kissing him without hesitation!
Selena's actions were swift and decisive, as if she had planned it all in advance.
For those brief few seconds, the air seemed to freeze.
When Sean finally snapped out of his shock, he instinctively pushed Selena away, took a few steps back, and wore an extremely complex expression.
"What are you doing?!" Sean asked in shock.
Selena stood there, her lips slightly red, wiping the mud from her face and haughtily raising her chin: "Didn't you always think you were superior? And now?"
Upon hearing this, Sean frowned deeply: "Are you getting revenge on me?"
"Revenge?" Selena sneered, her tone mocking. "Professor, I'm not that naive. It's just..."
I want you to understand that you are not completely unshakeable. Even you have moments like this.
After saying that, she slowly took off one of her coats and casually threw it on the ground.
Although her skin was somewhat sunburned and covered in dirt, it still couldn't hide its fair and soft appearance.
Then she slowly unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a black lace bra that accentuated her full, rounded breasts. Selena reached behind her back and easily removed the bra straps, then gracefully took the bra out of her arm.
She then reached for her zipper...:
(620 words have been deleted)