The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

Although Ron was at the bottom of the Weasley family, he had at least heard a lot of rumors from his twin brothers.

For example, the first Wizards Auto Chess tournament, which will be held during the Easter holiday.

Because the purpose of this competition is to attract new players, the entry requirements are very low. Even if you don't have the money to buy the Witcher Auto Chess board, as long as you can invite a few newcomers who haven't played before to try it out, you can still get the qualification to participate.

This was practically tailor-made for someone like Ron who couldn't even pull out a few knats from his pocket. After learning that Ryze was the one who came up with the idea, Ron silently thanked Ryze profusely.

What excited Ron the most was the prize money for this competition.

A full one hundred Galleons!

Even if you don't win the championship, as long as you make it into the final eight, you can still get a lot of prize money.

“Riz, before you go to France and wreak havoc, could you tell me a little bit about that auto chess game?” Before Riz left, Ron leaned close to him and whispered, “I heard from George that although it’s called chess, it’s completely different from Wizard Chess. He said the pieces move on their own, but they can also obey the wizard’s commands?”

Ron was very confident in his talent for wizard chess, which was the only thing he could do to beat his brothers at home.

Although the name Auto Chess sounds a bit strange, he firmly believes that as long as it is a chess game, there must be rules to follow.

Ryze couldn't help but smile as he watched Ron's eager expression, as if he couldn't wait to get on the field and make a splash.

“It’s definitely different, Ron,” Ryze pointed out. “Have you ever heard of Mahjong in the East? Actually, the gameplay of Auto Chess is quite similar to Mahjong. Both determine the winner through arrangement and combination. Moreover, in a game, all participants draw pieces from the same deck. For every piece someone else gets, you will have fewer. So you also need to pay attention to your opponent’s situation at all times during the game.”

Ryze briefly explained how to play, and Ron thoughtfully stroked his chin, his eyes gradually brightening: "I think I understand a little."

Ryze patted him on the shoulder: "Good luck, Ron. We're all newcomers and don't know the rules yet. Rather than letting people I don't know get 100 Galleons, I'd rather the money go to someone I know."

These words struck Ron's weak spot precisely. He was rarely expected to succeed, so when he heard Ryze's encouragement, he couldn't help but nod excitedly at Ryze: "Don't worry, Ryze, I will definitely try my best to win the championship!"

Ron was about to say something more when Professor Flitwick called out sharply from the Great Hall door, "Riz, we have to go!"

"Here you are, Professor!" Ryze responded, turned around to say goodbye to the three of them one last time, picked up his suitcase, and strode towards the door.

The journey to France was not as complicated as Riz had anticipated.

Because it was an official international competition, the Ministry of Magic made a special exception for the British contestants.

They first traveled by Night Rider to Hogsmeade Station, and then traveled directly to the Ministry of Magic in London via the Floo Network of the fireplace.

In the Ministry of Magic's spacious underground hall, Rhett saw many officials hurrying by.

The officials didn't linger on Ryze and his fellow students for long. They simply inquired about their backgrounds and did a quick check before having Professor Flitwick lead them through the fountain to the office that handled international magical travel.

There were still quite a few people in the office at this time.

The Wizarding Championship has separate competition schedules for the adult and youth categories.

The preliminary rounds for the junior group were scheduled earlier, and the preliminary rounds for the adult group would not be held until a week later. So, in addition to a small number of participants who had gone to watch the competition in advance, the people standing here also included the parents of the junior group participants.

Ryze glanced at the crowd and spotted Sirius, dressed in a well-fitting dark blue robe.

Sirius's hair was neatly styled today, and he was having a friendly chat with the wizard next to him.

Sirius turned his head and immediately saw Rizzo carrying a suitcase.

He nodded to the wizard beside him, then strode over, patted Rizz on the shoulder, and greeted Professor Flitwick at the same time.

"It's been a long time, Professor."

Professor Flitwick smiled and nodded to Sirius: "I'm relieved to see you so energetic now. To be honest, when Ryze told you that you were also going to participate in this duel, I was a little doubtful that I had misheard."

“I need some fresh air too, Professor,” Sirius smiled. “And I can’t let Ryze steal the spotlight in France all by himself.”

As he said this, he turned to look at Reese: "Reese, are you ready to receive the cheers from Paris?"

“I’ll do my best,” Ryze shrugged in response.

After chatting for a while, and with the introduction of his classmates' parents, Professor Flitwick glanced at the time and reminded them, "Alright, everyone, it's almost time to reserve the keys. We need to double-check everyone's information before we use the keys to travel to France."

While the Door Key can achieve long-distance international transmissions even further than the Floo Network, its usage requirements are more complex than those of Floo Powder.

One is that the usage time and transmission location of the door key are fixed once designed and cannot be modified.

The other is a part that requires everyone to hold the key.

If one person holds the key while others only hold their body, the transmission can still occur, but the security is greatly reduced, and the key may even fall to another location midway.

So normally, a door key, depending on its size, is usually enough for five to ten people to use.

Professor Flitwick now held an old pair of leather shoes in his hand; these would be their set of keys for the door.

"See you in Paris then," Sirius waved and stepped back into their group's line.

Rizzi, along with several other senior students who were also participating in the junior group, reached out and grabbed the boot, while Professor Flitwick watched as Rizzi steadily grasped the key.

As the countdown ended, Ryze felt as if he had been pulled hard from behind his navel by an iron hook, and then he was lifted off the ground in a dizzying spin.

When their feet touched solid ground again, they had arrived at the French Ministry of Magic.

Chapter 186: First Round Duel Opponent

Using a key gives one a feeling of being pulled and twisted, a feeling that is actually stronger than Apparition.

After the teleportation was completed, the intense dizziness caused Anthony beside him to stumble several steps, and Ryze reached out to support him.

“Thanks, this key really didn’t feel good,” Anthony waved his hand, and after regaining his balance, he looked around. “Is this the French Ministry of Magic?”

In stark contrast to the somewhat oppressive black tile style of the underground Ministry of Magic in London, the Paris Ministry of Magic appears remarkably bright.

The tall, semi-transparent glass dome allows sunlight to fully reach the ground, and there is a faint fragrance in the air. I don't know where the Paris Ministry of Magic is located, but it's definitely not underground.

At the same time, the style of dress of the wizards here is different from that of England.

British wizards' robes are mostly heavy, and when combined with intricate patterns and colors, they appear quite noble, while French wizards prefer lightweight silk fabrics, and many also wear exquisite top hats.

“Welcome to Paris, children,” Professor Flitwick straightened his crooked hat. “We’ll rest here for a while, and once everyone is here, we’ll head over to the competition venue for cross-border registration.”

They didn't have to wait too long. The others arrived one after another in the next half hour, in batches of five minutes. The process went smoothly and no one fell behind.

After they registered with the French Ministry of Magic, Sirius took the suitcase from Reese: "Reese, you go with Professor Flitwick to the arena to complete the registration. I'll take care of the hotel matters and gather some information. I'll be there to cheer you on for the first round of the qualifiers this afternoon."

The preliminary rounds for the junior group were held in a magical manor on the outskirts of Paris.

The huge temporary open-air grandstand had already been set up, and in the center of the grandstand were several long dueling platforms wrapped in powerful protective spells.

When Raz and his group arrived at the scene with Professor Flitwick, young wizards from all over the world had already gathered there.

You can see shamans of different styles from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America here.

When Ritz and his friends finished registering and were waiting in the rest area for the lottery, Ritz spotted a somewhat familiar face in the crowd.

It was in the nearby Beauxbatons rest area, where students in shady silk school uniforms were resting.

One girl stood out; she had a cascade of long, silver-gold hair that shimmered in the sunlight, and her exquisitely beautiful face captivated many of the male wizards around her.

Even the boys at Hogwarts couldn't help but show a look of fascination.

Anthony even unconsciously took two steps forward, his eyes appearing somewhat glazed over.

Ryze didn't react in any particular way. He had already gotten used to emptying his mind when he didn't need to think, trying to stay in an astrological state as much as possible.

In this state, he can more easily see through the essence of things and will naturally not be attracted by these alluring magics.

He pulled Anthony back to his senses: "There's something strange about that girl's aura. I feel like she might have Veela blood in her."

Anthony jolted awake, shaking his head as if waking from a dream, his face flushed red.

"Just now... I felt like my mind was a mess, and I couldn't take my eyes off it at all," Anthony said, rubbing his nose awkwardly, and not daring to look in that direction anymore.

The girl not far away seemed to have noticed the commotion.

She tilted her head slightly, her long, silver-gold hair gleaming in the sunlight.

Her azure eyes swept over the Hogwarts students, noticing their reactions upon seeing her. She raised an eyebrow slightly, then gave a haughty snort before turning back to chat with her companions, ignoring the situation.

“That’s Fleur Delacour, one of Beauxbatons’ more famous geniuses in recent years,” Professor Flitwick walked over unnoticed, tiptoed and patted Anthony and the others on the arm. “Don’t be discouraged, kids. It’s normal for unprepared people to react like this when facing the magic of Veela blood for the first time. You’ll get used to it.”

"Besides, she's only a fourth-year student now, so she shouldn't be considered a main force in Beauxbatons. As long as we're careful to guard against her charm ability, even if we encounter her on the dueling stage, defeating her shouldn't be too difficult."

Professor Flitwick reassured the senior students and continued, "Alright, registration is complete, and the draw for the first round of the preliminary rounds this afternoon has just been completed."

Professor Flitwick faced off against their respective opponents in turn.

Anthony's opponent in the first round was a second-year student from Beauxbatons College, who seemed to be there to watch the game and broaden his horizons.

In comparison, Ryze's opponents are not so easy to deal with.

“Riz, your opponent is… Jean Pierre, a sixth-year student at Durmstrang,” Professor Flitwick said, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at the name on the parchment, a hint of worry in his voice.

The Hogwarts students who had been discussing their duel opponent immediately fell silent and turned to look at Rhett.

"Sixth grade?" Anthony's initial joy vanished considerably. "This is... (unintelligible)."

“Yeah, the sixth-year students are already considered Durmstrang’s main force,” Ravenclaw, a fifth-year student, reminded Reese. “Reese, you need to be mentally prepared. We might have to use the new style that we’ve been developing for the past few months right from the start.”

Although Ryze is exceptionally gifted and has great ideas about developing spells, there is probably a gap between his combat experience and magical power as a first-year student facing off against a sixth-year student.

Ryze usually manages to hold his own against fifth-graders in the dueling club, but struggles against sixth-graders and above.

However, everyone believed that the new school of magic they had developed would likely defeat even adult wizards who encountered it for the first time.

“I’ll handle it according to the situation,” Rhett said calmly. He didn’t intend to use light magic right away. “Our goal is for Hogwarts to win the junior division, so the later we use these trump cards, the better. Ideally, we should save them for the main competition, which will give other schools less time to study them.”

"And I also want to see what level Durmstrang's sixth-year students are at."

Chapter 187: Information on the Opponent

The preliminary rounds of the Wizarding Duel Tournament for juniors last five days, and the main tournament also lasts five days. If a player uses light magic to reveal their trump card on the first day, their opponents will have nearly ten days to figure out how to counter it.

Upon hearing Rezs's assessment, Professor Flitwick did not press the matter, knowing that Rezs usually held back when sparring with older students at school.

For example, the "ancient magic" that Ryze used when dealing with the trolls, the magic that Sirius and Rupin taught Ryze, and the magic that Ryze learned from the centaurs some time ago.

He was simply reminding Ryze that his opponent would likely underestimate him when he learned that Ryze was just a first-year student, and if Ryze could seize this opportunity, he might be able to catch him off guard.

Ryze then lowered his head to sense the magic within his body.

More than seven months have passed since he became the "Doomsday Prophet," and during these months he has been receiving at least 0.9 units of curse energy every day.

Over the course of more than two hundred days, Ryze gained a total of 208 points of spell power through curse energy.

再加上無用大棒的60法強，自身原本的40法強和自然成長的16點法強，還有3月初從鍛造器裏獲得的20法強，最後整體還要再加上科學狂人的13%的加成。

Ryze now has a whopping 380 ability power.

If you include the ring, he can reach 430+ spell power, but in the duel tournament, only wands are allowed to participate, and other alchemical items cannot be used.

Even though Ravenclaw's ring cannot be taken away, it only has an effect if Ryze wears it himself. Therefore, at least in the duel, Ryze cannot use Ravenclaw's ring.

Based on Ryze's assessment over the past few months, the magical power of an average 17-year-old adult wizard is roughly equivalent to 300-500 spell power.

Students with around 300 spell power are those with relatively poor grades. Normal adult wizards who can graduate smoothly can reach over 400 spell power, while top students can reach over 500 or even higher.

Therefore, Ryze's current magical power is roughly equivalent to that of a normal sixth-grade student. That sixth-grade student from Durmstrang shouldn't be much stronger than him in terms of magic power.

In terms of attack speed, with the bonuses from the Mad Scientist and Keystone Mage, Ryze won't lag too far behind.

The only weaknesses Rizzo lacks are basic skills and combat experience. The former is why Rizzo has a hard time fighting against Hogwarts' upperclassmen, while the latter is the biggest weakness of Hogwarts students.

In order to reduce the influence of Voldemort's pure-blood and power-first ideology, and to prevent the Duel Club from becoming a dark magic exchange and bullying club, Hogwarts has limited the size of the Duel Club since Voldemort's time.

The club now has only a dozen or so people, with only one or two people from each grade.

Despite having a dueling champion like Professor Flitwick, and having practiced with each other for many years, everyone already knew each other's fighting styles, so the practice effect was naturally average, mainly focusing on improving their own basic skills.

In contrast, Durmstrang, besides promoting dark magic, is also the magic school with the most intense dueling atmosphere in the world, and even has its own special martial arts magic school.

Under such circumstances, Durmstrang's sixth-grade students naturally have plenty of dueling experience.

If the opponent is truly underestimating him, then it will naturally save him a lot of trouble.

He nodded to Professor Flitwick, indicating that he would be careful.

After that, he began to repair himself.

The older students were all seriously preparing for the competition, while the younger students who came just to join in the fun were much more casual.

They hadn't been thinking about winning any prizes; they were just focused on participating. So they wandered around the different areas and met some young wizards from other places.

This is one of the few instances of external communication within the relatively closed wizarding world.

Hogwarts is, after all, one of the oldest and most prestigious schools. Although it hasn't had any notable achievements in duels in recent years, quite a few young wizards still come to say hello.

Rizzi outwardly pretended to be a newbie, politely greeting the students and, while the young wizards were trying to gather information, also inquired about their situation.

Soon it was noon.

The estate's rest area offers a sumptuous French lunch.