Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard-Chapter 515 - 513: This Is the True Broomstick

No need to think about it, the designer of this challenge is definitely Durmstrang.

Bludgers, Golden Snitch... this is clearly a custom-made stage for Krum, without even a pretense of fairness.

They even have a broomstick ready...

Kael picked up the broomstick hovering beside him.

The broomstick was new, with a layer of protective wax on it, but when Kael picked it up, he found it was large and heavy, almost like it was made of stone. Forget about the Firebolt, even the Comet 260 in the school’s broom cupboard was much lighter.

At the end of the broom handle, Kael found a line of small golden letters... Cleansweep One.

Goodness, the first broom of the Cleansweep series, a product from seventy years ago.

Poor Ministry of Magic staff, managing to find this relic broom, which is as rare as a phoenix feather duster even in the Room of Requirement’s storeroom, in brand new condition.

After all, this thing has long been outdated; in the Diagon Alley Quidditch shop, the oldest model has already been replaced by the Cleansweep Seven. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Kael took the broom and walked a few steps forward to the edge of the cliff... To be honest, the sight of twenty-nine Bludgers appearing at once was quite shocking, flying erratically across the pitch with a low buzzing sound.

As for the Golden Snitch, it appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

"Let’s give it a try first."

Kael mounted the Cleansweep One, lightly kicked the ground, and took off.

The Cleansweep series is known for its quality. Even after seventy years, it was still very stable, though the speed was too slow, and turning was much more cumbersome.

For Kael, who was used to the Nimbus 2000, it was a bit hard to adjust... and he had no time to adapt.

Once airborne, the once erratic Bludgers suddenly set their sights on him, coming at him from all directions, almost blocking all paths.

Fortunately, Kael hadn’t flown far. Seeing this, he quickly turned the broom back, swiftly returning to the safety of solid ground.

When he stepped back onto the ground, the Bludgers in the sky dispersed, no longer pursuing him.

With the situation of the second stage becoming clear, it was essentially an unusual "Seeker training session," needing to catch the Golden Snitch amid twenty-nine Bludgers, and the only safe place was this platform with a radius of merely one foot.

Kael walked to the edge and glanced down... While it was unclear how deep it went, it was surely several hundred feet deep, and falling off the broom meant certain death.

Of course... perhaps the school had other means to ensure the champions’ safety, but doing so would mean not thinking about scoring in this round.

...

"Thankfully, they set an age limit."

On the stands, Ron watched the place where Kael was, and said to Harry with a look of relief, "If I were there... I’d probably just stand until the match ended."

Even just watching, he felt his legs trembling incessantly.

"Yeah..." Harry nodded with agreement.

He liked Quidditch and enjoyed flying on a broom fifty feet in the air, but only under normal circumstances.

Flying over a cliff and facing the thrice the number of Bludgers as Kael did, he probably wouldn’t have the courage to take the first step... just like that Beauxbatons’ Delacour.

She tried earlier but almost fell off, struggling to get back to the platform awkwardly... and then she didn’t move again.

"Oh, look, Kael threw his broom!"

Hearing Hermione’s shout, Harry quickly moved his gaze from Fleur back to Kael.

On the platform, Kael had already set the Cleansweep One aside.

"What’s going on? Is he giving up?" Ron frowned.

"Definitely not," Hermione said resolutely, "He must have thought of another way."

Hermione was right; Kael had indeed thought of a way to pass, and not just one.

Technically speaking, this stage was actually much simpler than the first; as long as the fear of heights was overcome, passing it was quite straightforward.

After all, this was the Triwizard Tournament, not Quidditch; magic was allowed. As long as he could break all those Bludgers, he could safely search for the Golden Snitch, and passing would just be a matter of time.

However, doing so might affect his score a bit, and more importantly, the comfort of the Cleansweep One was too poor, and riding it was uncomfortable... so Kael decided to use the second method.

He raised his wand.

"Accio Firebolt!"

Kael waited, and soon, he heard something slicing through the air behind him.

The Firebolt that Sirius had given him swooped around the grounds, flew into the Quidditch pitch, and stopped abruptly beside him in midair.

The noise from the crowd grew louder, and Bagman was shouting.

"Clever move..."

As for what he said afterward, Kael could no longer hear it.

He stepped onto the Firebolt, doing an elegant circle in the air.

This was his first time using the Firebolt, and its performance was nothing short of perfect. The Firebolt felt like an extension of his body, responding to his slightest thought.

This was a real broomstick... as for the Cleansweep One, it should just stay in the museum.

Kael circled again, unconsciously flying out of the platform’s range.

The Bludgers moved immediately.

However, this time Kael didn’t mind at all. He gently lifted his hands, and the Firebolt promptly carried him away from the Bludger encirclement.

Kael glided through the Bludgers as nimbly as a swift.

"Magnificent roll maneuver, dodging what was almost a direct hit!"

Bagman seemed to completely forget about the other two competitors, "Oh, that’s slanted flight... Dripulo dodging technique... I never expected anyone from Hogwarts to fly so well... he should try for the professional teams; this is a great opportunity to represent the national team in the next Quidditch World Cup!"

The cheers from the stands grew louder, with countless fireworks exploding in the air.

In the judges’ box, Karkaroff looked terribly grim, just the opposite of Dumbledore, who was smiling broadly and clapping.

Moreover, he wasn’t just smiling to himself; he wanted to share this joy with others.

"Karkaroff, do you have any recommendations for teams?"

"What?" Karkaroff seemed to have just snapped back to attention.

"I’m saying that if that kid has the desire, joining a professional team would be a good option. Bagman’s right; England hasn’t reached the Quidditch World Cup finals for too long."

Dumbledore said with a smile, "But I’m not very knowledgeable in that area, so I thought to ask your opinion... If I remember correctly, you spent almost a year scouting with Viktor through various teams."

Ms. Maxime, who was beside, gave a slight sidelong glance.

She had also heard about this, around the year they decided to revive the Triwizard Tournament, but she didn’t know the boy Viktor Krum was with him all the time.

This meant that Krum would have delayed his graduation by a year due to missing his studies.

"It couldn’t be helped." Looking at the increasingly peculiar expression of Maxime, Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee, "Viktor has exceptional talent; I must fulfill my responsibility as headmaster, helping him find the most suitable team."

"Headmaster’s responsibility?" A look of disdain flashed in Maxime’s eyes, seeming as if she wanted to laugh but managed to hold back.

She didn’t say anything more, but turned her head to continue watching Fleur on the pitch.

...