After dealing with the Blast-Ended Skrewts, Ivan did not waste any time and quickly passed through the newly blasted hole.
He knew that the explosion would definitely attract more monsters. If he did not want to fall into an endless battle, he had to move quickly!
Ivan made his way through the maze in the dark, relying only on the small amount of light coming from the tip of his wand.
As he slowly approached the center of the maze, an incredibly strange monster suddenly came into view, standing like a statue in front of him.
It had the appearance of a monstrous lion, with a majestic body and fearsome paws, but its head was that of an intellectual witch.
"Sphinx!" Ivan muttered to himself.
He had read about this creature in the Book of Monsters, which was a magical creature from ancient Egypt, where wizards used sphinxes to guard precious treasures, and in his previous life he had been very impressed by it while reading Ancient Greek mythology.
"Stop, young man!"
Before Ivan could get close, the Sphinx stepped in the middle of the road, fixed Ivan with its long, almond-shaped eyes, and spoke in a hoarse, deep voice. "You will answer my question before moving on!"
"I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry! Sphinx, can you step aside?" Ivan asked as he gripped his wand.
"Those are the rules! Only the brave who have guessed correctly are allowed to move on! Otherwise, you may find another passage to the end," said the Sphinx, looking up arrogantly.
Ignoring Ivan, the Sphinx cleared its throat and happily prepared for the riddle game.
It had been thinking about this riddle for days, and it would never be so easy to guess…
"Confringo ~ (exploding thunder)"
Before Sphinx could reply, Ivan lifted his wand, and a hot flame slowly rose from the tip of the wand, rapidly expanding into a two-meter-wide fireball.
The fiery light filled its field of vision and silenced the Sphinx's words.
Before it could react, the huge fireball flew over its head and crashed into the towering hedge behind it.
Fire erupted into the sky, the roar of it echoing through the narrow tunnel, the heat wave threatening to set its fur on fire. The Sphinx's long almond eyes widened, and it turned stiffly to find the hedge behind it half-collapsed.
Ivan put down his wand and asked again, "Can I go over now, Sphinx?"
The Sphinx swallowed hard and wriggled into a corner, pointing with its paw. "After you, sir!"
"Thank you!" Ivan said, nodding in satisfaction as he put away his wand and walked towards the newly blasted opening.
However, when he passed by the Sphinx, it suddenly moved. Ivan instinctively thought that the Sphinx was trying to sneak up on him, so he quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at it.
The Sphinx quickly lowered itself to show that it was harmless and said, "Sir, I just wanted to remind you that the answer is a spider!"
Ivan looked at the Sphinx in front of him, speechless. It seemed that the Monster Book of Monsters was right about the Sphinx's penchant for riddles.
But he didn't even know the riddle. What was the point of telling him?
Ivan shook his head, not bothering with the man, and kept walking.
After climbing over a fallen hedge, Ivan spotted his target, the Triwizard Cup, which represented the final victory, on a large, meter-high pedestal.
Yvonne approached the base cautiously, her nerves on edge and alert for any sign of trouble, and tapped her wand on the trophy as she approached.
The magic seeped into the cup and slowly the whole cup lit up.
"Very good, it's a real trophy, and it hasn't been tampered with!" Ivan exclaimed, relieved to have used his Detection Magic on the trophy.
… .
At the same time, Harry, in the second act, stepped into the vast maze with a sharp whistle.
It was as if they had entered another dimension. The noise and commotion outside instantly vanished, replaced by loud booms.
Harry, of course, knew that Ivan was responsible for the commotion, so he simply followed the sound.
However, Harry soon regretted his rash decision, and within two or three hundred yards he was attacked four times.
The hardest to deal with was the Blast-Ended Skrewt that Hagrid had bred. The hard shell on its back was extremely stiff, and even after casting the Splinter Curse several times, he was unable to break through its defense. In the end, he had to accidentally hit the soft belly of the Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Within a few minutes of entering, Harry was covered in dirt. The maze was more dangerous than he had imagined, and if it weren't for the fact that his Charms had improved significantly over the past few months of training, he would have been forced to give up the game and apply for outside support.
Harry ran on, panting, and as he rounded an aisle corner, he felt the ground shake.
Was there an earthquake?
Bewildered and confused, Harry watched as Ivan appeared on the other side of the passage.
"Ivan!"
Harry was glad to know that he did not have to stay in the dangerous maze any longer.
Ivan, on the other hand, naturally saw Harry, but he had no intention of greeting him.
"Run back, Harry!"
Harry stopped in his tracks as several crab legs, each over two meters long, emerged from the end of the passage, followed by a hard carapace and a massive body.
They were Blast-Ended Skrewts!
And a bunch of them!
Harry's skin crawled. How many of these creatures did Hagrid keep?
He was even more alarmed when he saw that, in addition to the Blast-Ended Skrewts, there were also giant spiders, red hats, and strange creatures of unknown species.
Harry couldn't help but wonder if Ivan hadn't lured the whole maze of monsters to him!
However, this was obviously not the time. Before Ivan could remind him again, Harry turned and ran…
However, compared to their running speed, the monsters were much faster…