Harry Potter: The Planewalker

The day of the third test arrived, and Christian woke up to the sound of music from the streets. He was a little sad that the cat did not return to see him, but that's how things were, and there was nothing he could do. He prepared himself before heading to his destination: a large open area with hundreds of wizards and witches dressed differently and with various ethnicity and nationalities.

'There are not as many people as I anticipated,' Christian thought, observing everything and everyone around him. After waiting for half an hour, his identity card suddenly vibrated before releasing a force that guided him to the left. Christian did not panic as he was not the only one.

Soon, he found himself with three other individuals, and as soon as they met, their cards released a purple light. 'This is a group test?' Christian thought as he observed this group. There were two girls: one was wearing a white stola with two golden bracelets featuring an insignia of two swords crossing. The other was of Eastern Asian descent, also wearing a stola, and the last one was a boy wearing magic robes, similar to Christian's, with flower designs. The four looked at each other, and Christian first noticed the disdain in the girl in the white dress.

"Well, why don't we start by introducing ourselves and our specialties?" Christian started. "Christos Makedon, 12 years old, bloodless, from the far south, and I know a variety of spells. In other words, my specialty is versatility."

"I am Naevia, but you can call me Xin'er — that's what my mother calls me. I'm 13 years old, bloodless, and my specialty is herbology and magizoology. My dream is to become a [Novice] and, eventually, become the disciple of Master Vivia."

"Naevia? As in the fifth in the comprehensive test?" Christian swiftly asked as he felt this girl might continue talking for the next ten minutes without stopping.

"Yes, that's me," she said with brilliant eyes; she seemed happy someone recognized her. "You know, I would have placed higher if not for my lack of magic theory. I had a perfect score in the other categories."

"I'm glad you're on our team. I'm sure your knowledge will be indispensable." Christian once again cut in, sensing that this talkative girl was about to tell him her life story from birth.

'The Qin Dynasty rules over China currently, so she should be from there. However, her mannerisms, fashion, and accent indicate she's been living in the Ptolemy Kingdom for a long time — probably from birth,' Christian thought.

"What about you two?"

"I'm Menes from the Abubakar family."

'An Egyptian family?' Christian thought. He opened his mouth to say something, but someone else was faster.

"The one known for their plant magic or the Enchanting family?" Xin'er asked.

"Former."

"Is that so? Then, you must also be interested in apprenticing with Master Vivia?"

"Not really."

"Then your target must be Master Ashur. Well, it makes sense. Although Master Vivia is well-accomplished in plant magic, her primary focus is herbology and potion."

Menes did not answer, but Christian was in deep thought.

'[Novice] and [Master] — two more ranks I did not know about.' He guessed he would become a [Third Class Apprentice] after passing this test, and based on Naedivia's words, the next rank was [Novice]. However, he did not know whether [Master] came directly after that or if there were others.

"What about you?" asked Christian.

"You only need to address me as Lucretia," replied the white-dressed girl. "That's all you need to know."

"If we know your skills, we can work better together," Christian persuaded.

"Who wants to work with you? You only need to stay out of my way."

Christian immediately knew working with someone like that would be a headache. 'By that attitude, she must be from a blood crest family. Whatever. As long as she does not affect my passing this test.'

"Can everyone hear me?" A powerful voice echoed in this area, probably due to the use of the Sonorous Charm. Everyone focused on someone on a small platform at the front of this space — most likely the test's overseer.

"This is the test for the [Third Class Apprentice] rank, and unlike the others, casualties are expected and allowed. The library will not be responsible for whatever happens during the exam, so we will give every participant one last chance to excuse themselves."

Everything became quiet, and a few participants soon left the exam area. The overseer waited five minutes before talking again:

"Good. Your presence indicates you have accepted the risk. Now, on to the rules. As you can see, this is a group test, but we did not group you arbitrarily. Every team member matters, and if one person dies or forfeits, everyone else in the group fails the test."

Christian's eyes narrowed as this was bad news for him. He may be a little confident in his ability, but it's another thing to ensure everyone in this group makes it out alive — especially given Lucretia's uncooperation.

The overseer did not care for these people's response and continued: "Your identity cards have been enchanted to Disapparate you from the test site if you hold it with both hands and yell [I give up]. However, if you die before taking it out and uttering these words, there is nothing we can do about that."

'The ability to give up is very dangerous. I do not know the mental fortitude of these people. What if they forfeit at the slightest sign of danger?' Christian could not hide his worry as he placed his card in a secure pocket of his robe. He was so close to returning home and did not like the idea that these people could determine his success.

"You can only bring one wand, two magic tools, and no extended bags or space-related artifacts. Please, don't try to sneak them in — it's pointless. We have a safe place for those who wish to preserve their items while taking the test."

Christian looked in the booth next to the overseer. He did not like the idea of handing over his bag of holding, but he had no choice. Hopefully, the powerful curse he placed on it would deter anyone from snooping in.

"Lastly, your test's objective is to find the central area, and you'll pass. You have five minutes for any last-moment preparations."

'That's it? That's all the information they've provided?' Christian thought. His mind rushed to analyze and deduce all the information he was given. He took out a single piece of paper before walking to the booth to hand over his bag, and then returned to his group. He did not have any magical tools or artifacts, so he only kept his wand.

"Now, can you tell us your ability?"

"This hasn't changed anything. Anyway, you people are only going to rely on me to pass," Lucretia replied, still with her dismissive attitude. Sadly for her, Christian was no longer playing around. He silently cast the Suppression Charm his professors invented for his Dueling Disks.

Lucretia's face contorted in pain as she felt a terrifying headache; it was like her mind suddenly had to carry hundreds of kilograms. "How dare…you do this…to me?"

"This is not a game," Christian said with icy eyes. "If I don't know what you're capable of, I don't know how to use you properly, which makes you useless. It's fine if you're useless, but I must know beforehand to prepare."

'I'm…from the…Metallus Family." Lucretia said with gritted teeth; the pressure on her mind was immense.

'Metalus? Does she have the ability to control metals?' He did notice that these blood crest clans had the tradition of naming themselves based on their magic specialty or field. Although not all of them — for example, Menes' family — it was common for all the other famous blood crest families he'd encountered.

"Can you control metal?" Christian asked as he canceled his spell. Lucretia began to breathe heavily; she finally felt like she could breathe properly.

"Well?"

"I…I can manifest metallic weapons."

"Show me."

She gritted her teeth before a sword materialized before her. Christian observed it clearly. "Sharp. Well, it seems you're not useless after all. Now, into the more important business."

He wrote something on the paper before bewitching it. "This is a basic magic contract with a nasty curse. The wording is simple: anyone who forfeits this trial will have the word "traitor" appear on their faces, permanently scaring them. I've also added a potent curse that will drain all the life energy from your limbs until you lose the ability to use them altogether. I've signed it, and now, it's your turn."

The group was quiet until Xin'er asked, "Is this really necessary?"

"This test means more than my life, so yes, it is," Christian replied calmly.

"I'm not signing this damn thing," roared Lucretia.

"You can do it willingly or not. Either way, everyone will sign this contract before the allotted time."

"You? Do you know who I am?"

"Can your identity allow me access to the library's third level?"

 Lucretia was instantly speechless and embarrassed.

"In that case, I don't care. Now sign. Please don't make me use the violent approach." She looked at him with anger and hatred, which made Christian frown.

"Let's add another clause that no killing of teammates is allowed for the test's duration." He scribbled some more on the paper before handing it to Lucretia. Under his cold and cruel eyes, she swiftly signed her name. Then, Xin'er and Menes followed.

'The blood families might have a way to counter such a basic contract, but it's enough for the duration of the test,' Christian thought.