The black wolf opened its mouth wide and lunged to bite Audrey.
Audrey stepped to the side and suddenly raised her knee, slamming it hard into the wolf's waist.
'Copper head, iron back, and bean-curd waist'—this was a common saying about wolves; the waist and abdomen were the soft spots of any canine.
However, after taking this hit, the black wolf was sent flying without letting out a single whimper. It simply spun a few times in the air and crashed to the ground.
With a quick roll, it flipped back onto its feet and continued its charge toward Audrey.
Audrey frowned slightly; the feeling under her foot was wrong!
She hadn't felt the sensation of hitting a creature of flesh and blood; instead, it felt as though she had kicked a solid iron plate.
—These were all alchemical creations!
As the wolf pack swarmed her, Audrey used her fists, elbows, legs, and knees to strike and send those black iron lumps flying.
Isaline and Tsuruko, clinging to the pillar, watched Audrey display her overwhelming power, completely dazed by the sight!
"Did I see that right? Is Audrey really that strong?"
Isaline's jaw dropped, and she couldn't even close her mouth.
Kamo Tsuruko remained silent, but cold sweat began to roll down her forehead.
Audrey's ferocity had truly shocked her.
This human-shaped dinosaur of a girl was definitely someone she could not afford to offend!
Her mind raced at high speed, desperately trying to find a reasonable excuse, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't escape the responsibility for putting Isaline in such a dangerous situation.
'Damn it! I clearly just wanted to pique Isaline's interest and then invite Audrey to help crack the ruins; I even prepared the "treasures in the ruins" already!'
'But why is there such a sinister trap here?!'
...
The battle on the field remained deadlocked. Audrey fought while contemplating her next move.
Any alchemical creation must have an energy source; as long as the source was destroyed, the creation would lose its vitality.
'But where is the energy source?'
'Heh, if I don't know where it is, wouldn't I find out if I just tore it apart?'
Dragon scales began to grow on Audrey's body, and dragon horns sprouted from her head.
Hearing the vicious sound of wind behind her, she turned and delivered a straight punch, hitting a black wolf right in the forehead.
"Boom!"
The black wolf was knocked away like a cannonball.
Audrey kicked off the ground with both legs, her whole person shooting out like a projectile. She was so fast that she arrived even before the wolf she had punched!
With a downward elbow strike, she slammed the black wolf violently onto the ground.
"Crack, crack,"
Cracks began to appear on the surface of the black wolf.
Audrey added two more punches in rapid succession.
"Boom, boom!"
The black wolf was instantly smashed into countless small fragments!
With a whirlwind kick, Audrey sent all the other approaching wolves flying. She glanced at the fragments on the ground, her brow immediately furrowing into a tight knot.
—This thing had no magic core!
Even more exaggeratedly, the fragments of the black wolf were actually aggregating on their own. She believed that given another minute, it would be fully restored!
This matter was becoming a bit difficult!
Audrey thought of a strategy while continuing to fight.
The two girls on the pillar had long been stunned into silence.
"What is that on Audrey's body?"
"It looks like armor?"
"I think they're dragon scales! She's like a humanoid fire dragon now!"
"Is that some kind of magic?"
"I don't know! I've never seen a transformation like that!"
They were both amazed by Audrey's exceptional combat prowess, but they also fell into deep despair; these black wolves were indestructible—what were they supposed to do now?
Meanwhile, Audrey was still analyzing the situation.
Hufflepuff's trial was based on culinary skill.
Slytherin's trial was based on bloodline.
This was most likely Gryffindor's trial. Since it was a trial, there naturally wouldn't be any real danger.
Just now, Audrey had caught a glimpse of a teleportation array inside the black wolf's mouth.
Yes, being bitten by a black wolf wouldn't lead to death; it would only result in being teleported out.
It was just that Godric Gryffindor had never imagined that a thousand years later, a freak who could smash black wolf puppets to pieces without even using magic would appear.
Since defeating the black wolves wasn't the condition for passing, how exactly was one supposed to pass the trial?
Audrey fought and retreated, dealing with the black wolves to prevent herself from being teleported while carefully observing the arena.
Yes, she could easily tell Isaline and Tsuruko how to get out and then intentionally let a black wolf bite her.
But after this fight, her temper had been piqued; she absolutely had to pass this trial now!
This arena was empty. There were no magical echoes on the walls, floors, or stands. The only suspicious thing was that tall stone pillar in the center!
There were indentations on the stone pillar, clearly intended for the young wizards participating in the trial to climb. The higher up one went, the fewer indentations there were, making the climb increasingly difficult...
If Gryffindor tested courage, could his intention be for the young wizard to climb to the top of the pillar?
Indeed, a young wizard who climbed to the top of the pillar while facing the pressure of a potentially fatal fall certainly wouldn't lack courage!
However, it was also truly nonsensical—how did climbing to the top of a pillar help solve problems at all?
'Is it to let the young wizard choose their way of dying?'
'Falling to death or being bitten to death?'
'If it's falling to death, perhaps they could die faster and with more dignity?'
She didn't know what Gryffindor was thinking; anyway, Audrey completely failed to get his point.
Audrey seized a black wolf and ran toward the central pillar. With a leap, she landed beside Isaline and Tsuruko.
"Audrey..."
Isaline said sheepishly.
"I'm sorry... I've harmed you this time."
"No," Audrey laughed, "don't say such useless things. I'll send you out first!"
Forcing the black wolf's mouth open and ignoring its struggles, Audrey directly shoved the wolf's head against Tsuruko's buttocks.
"Whoosh!"
Tsuruko distorted for a moment and disappeared from the spot.
Isaline: "This is?!"
Audrey smiled and said, "This is just a trial. Failure doesn't mean death; you just get teleported out. So the way to get out is to be bitten by this wolf. Don't be nervous, Isaline, it's your turn next!"
"Ah!"
Accompanied by Isaline's scream, she too disappeared from the arena.
Audrey casually threw the tool wolf down and began to climb the pillar.
To her, this pillar over twenty meters high was really child's play. She wouldn't even be hurt if she fell twenty meters to the ground without using any magic or her special constitution.
She could ascend four or five meters with a single leap. In just three or four seconds, she had reached the top of the stone pillar.
"This is...?"
Audrey saw a magical echo. The magic circuits here were hidden very well; if she hadn't climbed close, she wouldn't have discovered them from a distance.
Following the direction of the magic circuits, Audrey climbed to the other side of the stone pillar. Sure enough, here she saw a tiny protrusion where multiple circuits converged!
Without hesitation, she tapped it. After a burst of spatial distortion, she was teleported away.
Gryffindor's trial?
Heh, it looks intimidating, but the difficulty isn't even as high as Slytherin's!
—Climbing a pillar is easy, but wanting to possess the Slytherin bloodline is no simple feat!
'Oh, why do I suddenly feel a little bit of pride?'
'This must be the fault of ancestor Salazar Slytherin; I, Audrey Astley, am definitely not someone who discriminates against Gryffindors!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]