"This is far too weak. Does this guy really have a domain?" After finding a way to drain the water from the cave, Rhys dragged the nameless Secter Order Mage out like a drowned rat.
In just a brief exchange, the Mage had been instantly killed by Rhys, leaving him momentarily speechless.
When he saw the sand and grit emerge over the man's body earlier, Rhys had thought there would be a great battle that night. He had not expected the other party's development of his domain to be so shallow, to the point where he could not even fully elementalize his body for a short period of time.
If he had been able to fully elementalize himself, combined with the advantage of this terrain, he really could have held out against Rhys for a while.
"Let this be a warning, let this be a warning!" Rhys decided that once he returned to Hogwarts, he would definitely remind Daphne and the others to seriously develop their domains, lest they end up like this in the future.
However, the man's fighting spirit being this weak also put Rhys in a bit of a bind.
With material like this, could he really put pressure on Daphne and the others? Would it end up turning into a game of hide-and-seek instead?
Rhys's eyes shifted, and he suddenly thought of a good idea. It did not matter that the Mage in his hands lacked fighting spirit. Weren't there still divine remains inside the cave?
The fighting will of those divine remnants was not weak at all, more than sufficient for his purposes.
Acting on the thought immediately, Rhys directly took the divine remains out of the cave and fused them into the Mage 's body.
The Mage immediately began to convulse violently.
Seeing this, Rhys did not delay any further and hurried back to Hogwarts before the sun rose.
Rhys headed straight for Helga's office. After handing the Mage over to Hufflepuff, he yawned.
"He's here. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Alright." Still bleary-eyed, Helga took the material from Salazar's hands. After examining it for a moment, a satisfied expression appeared on her face.
A domain wielder, with plenty of killing intent. It really was top-quality material. Salazar had gone to considerable trouble.
Next, she needed to modify both the puppet and the material, stripping the domain and killing intent from the material and then installing them into the puppet. That way, her puppet would possess far greater combat power and would also put a great deal more pressure on the students.
After thinking it through and forming a rough plan, Helga got to work.
Several hours later, the material had vanished completely, and the hollow at the puppet's neck had been filled.
"Very good." Looking at the puppet before her, Helga smiled in satisfaction. Now all that remained was to wait for the end of the final exams.
The two examinations organized by the Ministry of Magic were a bit earlier than Hogwarts' end-of-term exams.
While students in the other year groups were still attending classes, the fifth- and seventh-year students were already beginning to prepare to face the most important examinations of their lives.
In the current magical world, without a decent set of O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. certificates to one's name, it could be said that it was impossible to get anywhere at all.
As a result, the upper-year students were generally on edge, and all kinds of strange potions and magical items began circulating privately. These included, but were not limited to, Baruffio's Brain Elixir, which greatly enhanced performance under pressure; dragon claw powder to strengthen memory; powerful calming draughts; and Forgetfulness Potions that made worries fade away.
Some of these goods were even connected to Rhys.
He had once brewed a large number of calming draughts for Astoria. After the curse on the girl's soul was removed, these potions naturally no longer had any use for her.
So, after asking Rhys, Astoria took the calming draughts he had brewed and resold them, and the demand was astonishingly good.
Those upper-year students who were unable to sleep due to anxiety only needed a few drops of the calming potion to enjoy a sound night's sleep while easing the worries in their hearts.
At a time like this, Rhys's calming draughts were practically divine items. They were even sold by the ounce, and the final price rivalled that of the same weight in gold.
It gave Rhys a small shock from the realities of modern wizarding society.
When the people from the Wizarding Examinations Authority arrived, this atmosphere reached its peak, and even Cedric was affected to some extent.
"Diggory, you seem very nervous?" The day before the exams, Cedric was called to the office by Helga.
Cedric swallowed. He really was a little nervous.
He was worried that he might not perform well in the exams and end up embarrassing his teacher.
After all, his teacher was one of the founders of Hogwarts, a living legend. If his performance in the O.W.L.s was poor…
Cedric did not dare to imagine what might happen.
"What are you nervous about?" Helga laughed. "In a few years, when you look back, you'll realize that these exams are nothing more than a small interlude in life. Go take them with confidence. Even if you don't perform as well as you hoped, there's no need to be discouraged. Your professor believes in your abilities."
Helga truly did not place much importance on the so-called "O.W.L.s" exams.
In her view, even ten Outstanding O.W.L. certificates could not compare to a tiny bit of progress at the domain level.
A student of Helga Hufflepuff did not need certificates to prove their excellence. The name of their teacher alone was proof enough.
Of course, getting high scores was still worth aiming for, because that old snake and that old raven also had students. Who knew, one day they might start competing with her over whose students achieved better results in the O.W.L.s? That was something she had to guard against.
Thinking of this, Helga suddenly remembered something. With Salazar currently holding the identity of a student, didn't that mean he would also have to sit the O.W.L.s in the future?
If his results ended up being worse than Cedric's, that would be quite a bit of fun.
Although Helga felt the probability of such a thing happening was not very high, it was still possible. After all, modern magic differed quite a bit from ancient magic.
And as far as Helga knew, Salazar had not been diligently studying modern magic. That was only natural.
She herself had not put much effort into that area either, so there was a chance the old snake might stumble.
If that ever happened, she would have a lifelong source of laughter all the way to the grave.
Cedric had no idea about the complicated train of thought his professor was going through. All he felt was that her words were warm and comforting, and he felt much better after hearing them.
"Oh, right. Do you need any calming potion? I have a bottle here. It'll help you sleep more soundly. I can also get my hands on some Felix Felicis, though I wouldn't really recommend using it."
At the moment he heard "Felix Felicis," Cedric was somewhat tempted. He had heard of this famous potion before. It could bring a person good luck.
After a few seconds of inner struggle, Cedric politely declined his professor's offer. In his view, illusory luck was far inferior to solid, real ability.
However, he still accepted the bottle of calming draught with a smile.
It had no real side effects, and he had several friends who had recently developed insomnia and were in need of it.
After seeing Cedric off, Helga sincerely offered her blessings for her student in her heart. Not only for the sake of giving Salazar a small "surprise" in the future, but more importantly because she hoped the O.W.L.s would bring Cedric some confidence.
The O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T. examinations lasted a total of two weeks.
During this period, the Great Hall was used as the written examination venue. The four House tables disappeared, replaced by rows of individual desks.
After the written exams, candidates entered small rooms beside the Great Hall in groups, waiting to be called in for the practical examinations. Small groups of students entered the examination room in alphabetical order, while the rest crammed their last-minute revision in the waiting rooms.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI