As Luna had foreseen with her gift, the next morning in the Great Hall, Dumbledore announced the first of the three trials of the International Magic and Wizardry Tournament to all participants.
- King's Game -
The King's Game was essentially a game focused on two phases. The first phase was the elimination round, where teams fought each other to reduce the number of rivals while attempting to reach the throne atop the mountain. The second phase was the most decisive, where all remaining teams would unite to fight against the sole team sitting on the throne. If they managed to make the King descend from the Throne, the team was disqualified, allowing another to occupy the throne.
The longer a team occupied the throne, the more points they would accumulate in the end.
There were rules in the King's Game:
- The entire King's Game would last three days. (Participants received a kit of food and utensils for use over three days.)
- No fatal injuries. (Mutilations and broken bones were allowed.)
- Any use of alchemical items in the King's Game was prohibited. Misuse of these items would result in the disqualification of the entire team. (Wands were allowed.)
- Any outside help beyond the King's Game arena would result in immediate disqualification of the team. (In other words, outside help was prohibited.)
Asterion, Rose, Cedric, and Luna were seated together at the Slytherin table, along with Hermione, Daphne, Dorea, Tracey, Blaise, and Theodore.
Waving his wand and casting a sound-muffling spell crafted by Snape, which prevented sound from propagating within a delimited space, Asterion looked at his teammates and spoke calmly.
"We need to choose who will be our King. Whoever is chosen cannot descend from the throne, or we'll lose."
"I refuse. I want to fight, not sit still on some stupid throne," Rose was the first to decline. She entered the tournament for the battle; if she didn't fight, it would make no sense for her to be there.
"I also decline. My talents will be better used on the battlefield," Cedric also declined, for a reason quite appropriate.
"I too will decline. Rose and I will be the attackers and defenders," Asterion took a sip from his steaming cup of black coffee and drank the bitter liquid without hesitation.
Setting the cup back on the saucer, all three looked directly at Luna, who was gazing around as if the air was more interesting than the conversation unfolding.
"Luna will be our queen." Seeing the dreamy and distracted expression on the girl's face, Asterion sighed wearily and spoke with a helpless tone.
Rose and Cedric naturally accepted, although Luna's combat power could be questioned, she was not dead weight that would hold the rest of the team back; on the contrary, with her gift, she was the most important member of the team.
It was decided: Luna would sit on the throne while Rose and Asterion acted as attackers and defenders, and Cedric would support the team, acting as a healer and using his spells for other tasks.
"I have a strategy that would be suitable to use from the beginning of the game," Hermione spoke, capturing everyone's attention. Resting on her lap was a large, old book.
Seeing the conversation shift to her, Hermione cleared her throat and spoke confidently, head held high. "The wolf in sheep's clothing."
Without waiting for others' responses, she continued, "We can lure our enemies by showing a weak side to them and lead them into a trap, especially putting them in unfavorable terrain for them but favorable for us."
Rose looked at her friend with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but smile. While it was a great idea, such a strategy wouldn't work.
"Mione, maybe this would work if Asterion and I weren't on the team, but with us here, no matter what we do, we'll be seen as the strongest team. Any sign of weakness will be interpreted as a conspiracy against them."
Hermione's face hardened at her friend's words; she lowered her head, disheartened, and whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't think of it that way."
"It's okay. Any idea can help us; don't hesitate to speak just because you're embarrassed," Asterion nodded, comforting the brown-haired girl. Although Hermione's strategy might not work, it still helped others formulate different strategies based on it.
"Splitting up and attacking isn't smart; it will weaken the team and expose weak links to danger," Daphne gave her opinion after a brief silence.
"But that's good for us; we can use the night to affect our enemies psychologically and try to separate the sheep from the wolves in a moment of nervousness. Not only would it save magical energy by not attacking directly, but it would also fragment the enemy team."
When she finished speaking, Hermione and the others at the table couldn't help but look at Daphne with shocked expressions.
Daphne's strategy was at the very least cruel and insidious.
"It's just a game; do we really need to go so far as to psychologically torture?" Hermione spoke with a hint of defiance in her voice. To her, such cruel methods were unsuitable for a sports game.
"Just a game?" Theodore asked sarcastically. "It's not just a game, Ms. Granger. We're talking about the world's first International Magic and Wizardry Tournament, and it's being hosted in our country. If we lose, it'll be a shame hard to forget."
"We have to win, no matter the cost." Beside Theodore, Blaise concluded.
It was the typical mindset prevailing in Slytherin. Winning was always more important, regardless of the means used to achieve it.
But this was for Slytherin; Hermione, and even Cedric hesitated to agree with such a strategy. Yet, considering what was at stake, their eyes grew determined.
"Theodore is right." Nodding to the young Slytherin sitting on his left, Cedric continued, "We have to win, whatever it takes."
"Now you're talking like a Slytherin." Theodore smiled proudly, putting his arm around Cedric's neck.
Cedric merely offered a weary smile at his words; if not for the tournament's significance, he definitely wouldn't use such a cruel strategy against their enemies.
In comparison, he found Hermione to be a white, innocent rabbit, while Daphne was a snake hidden in the bushes, waiting for her prey to pass by and strike with deadly, cruel insidiousness.
Seeing Cedric putting the school's interests above their own, Asterion nodded approvingly; the young man would make a good senator in due time, he just needed to become a bit more determined and cruel for the position.
Breakfast continued with everyone sharing their ideas, presenting them one by one. Some were cruel, others too innocent, like Tracey suggesting seduction to lure other participants.
This made everyone roll their eyes at the Slytherin girl. Though the strategy could work, it required having a Veela on the team, something they didn't have.
"Let's win!" Cedric raised his juice-filled glass and toasted with a gentle smile.
"Let's win!!!" Everyone echoed simultaneously, drinking from their respective glasses.
"Let the games begin." Sipping his coffee, Asterion thought, looking at Dumbledore at the teachers' table conversing cheerfully with the Ministers of Magic.
As if sensing his gaze, Dumbledore turned and raised his glass towards Asterion, who returned the gesture with a cup of coffee instead of a glass.
Honestly, Asterion didn't know what Dumbledore was thinking; the man had a mind more insidious than an entire nest of snakes. Their and Rose's participation in this tournament smelled of Dumbledore's conspiracy, especially with the main suspect being a member of Hogwarts' Council.
Robert Crouch.
Asterion chewed on the name in his mouth, his eyes briefly gleaming with a cold light. Dumbledore had already warned that Robert was missing; he presumed the man was either dead or hiding, plotting something in the shadows.
In any case, there was no better option: if the former, the man was killed to cover up traces of something bigger; if the latter, Robert was conspiring with someone or some unknown group.
Asterion really disliked surprises; you never knew if they would bring good news or bad news. And when it involved him, the news mostly tended to be bad.
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Author's Thoughts: There will only be one chapter today due to the complexity of what I planned. It's more complicated than expected, and I don't want to rush and write something bad.
There are thirteen teams with four participants each, which is a lot of people. So, I'll eliminate some right from the start because there are too many for me to remember and for you readers to keep track of as well. I'll focus only on the most relevant ones for the plot.
There will be two chapters on Monday. Sincerely, Prince.
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New Novel: (I Am The Prince of Hell - Autor: Take The Sun (Myself) ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 132 - The First Trial (2), Chapter 133 - King's Game (1), Chapter 134 - King's Game (2), Chapter 135 - King's Game (3), Chapter 136 - King's Game (4), Chapter 137 - King's Game (5), Chapter 138 - King's Game (6), 139 - King's Game (7), 140 - King's Game (8), 141 - King's Game (9), 142 - King's Game (10), 143 - King's Game (11), 144 - King's Game (12), 145 - King's Game (13), Chapter 146 - Second Phase of the King's Game (1), Chapter 147 - Second Phase of the King's Game (2), Chapter 148 - Second Phase of the King's Game (3), Chapter 149 - Second Phase of the King's Game (4).