Chapter 190: Challengers of the Philosopher's Stone Dungeon
Inside the Philosopher's Stone Dungeon, Harry used every ounce of his strength, but in the end, he had to call upon Grandpa Voldemort to possess him. With Voldemort's power, he flattened the obstacles.
The mirror that awakened a person's deepest fears was especially tricky, leaving Harry at a loss until he tapped into that extra power.
Finally, he reached the deepest chamber. In the center lay a clear, sparkling crystal ball.
"Is this the Portkey?"
Harry placed his hand on the crystal ball. After a wave of dizziness, he reappeared at the entrance.
A line of text appeared on the screen above the door: Harry Potter, 10 minutes 26 seconds.
"First place."
Only then did Harry notice Dumbledore standing by the door again. He hurriedly greeted the Headmaster.
"Your record in this dungeon is unlikely to be broken by any other student," Dumbledore said, looking at the time thoughtfully. He believed no young wizard could be faster than Harry in this particular challenge.
Ryan agreed with Dumbledore's assessment. Unless another protagonist with a built-in "grandpa" appeared in the future, let alone a student, even a team of Aurors wouldn't be able to clear it in under ten minutes.
Dumbledore and Ryan then took Harry back into the dungeon.
Based on Harry's description of the levels, the two of them adjusted and modified the intensity of the challenges to better serve the student body.
For example, Harry felt Snape's logic puzzle was too difficult.
So, Ryan thoughtfully added a little spice to the riddle game. Now, any student who answered incorrectly would be forced to drink a randomly selected potion with negative effects—like sneezing powder.
Almost every level was given a punishment mechanism. Not lethal, not injurious, but the method of ejection was... humiliating.
Harry, looking at the layers of added difficulty, swore in his heart that he, Harry Potter, would never attempt this dungeon again!
If he did, he was a dog!
The students returned, and the peaceful daily life of Hogwarts resumed.
Time flew by.
During this period, a new campus legend was born.
It was the now-active Philosopher's Stone Dungeon. Every student who went to challenge it kept their mouth shut about what happened inside. The only sounds were the wails and howls echoing from the hospital wing, giving the recuperating Professor Quirrell plenty of "lessons."
The workers at the Tower of Wonders couldn't find their bosses for a day or two. Only the staff and students of Hogwarts knew that George and Fred, refusing to give up, had challenged the dungeon again. They had fallen at the Wizard's Chess level and been transported out, treating everyone to an aerial acrobatics show in the process.
They had been teleported high above the Astronomy Tower, where a powerful wind charm blew them across the sky like they were riding broomsticks—flying from the east side of the school to the west, then rolling back from the west to the east.
At that moment, the scene was jubilant, the air filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Every student watching from the castle windows couldn't help but smile.
Probably because the smiles had been wiped off George and Fred's faces.
Of course, George and Fred weren't the type to be defeated by such small setbacks. They would only try again and again.
Eventually, they even started to enjoy the feeling of being human cannonballs.
On the crystal screen at the entrance, apart from Harry Potter, the only ones who had cleared the dungeon were upper-year students. There were fewer than ten of them, all members of the Adventurers' Club.
But all of their times were slower than Harry's.
In the eyes of the students, these clearers were revered as "Combat Gods."
And the "Double Red Stick" (Top Enforcer) of the Hogwarts student body was Harry Potter.
Among the younger students, there were also many who gained respect for their attempts.
For instance, Hermione.
Although she felt her failure to clear the dungeon was less than ideal, to the lower-year students, her achievement was already incredible.
If it had been the original, unaltered levels protecting the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione might have been able to infer weaknesses using her book knowledge.
But with Ryan's modifications, while the difficulty remained at a student level, the required knowledge base was broader. Plus, some levels tested non-magical qualities.
So, even after finding the source of every problem and consulting massive tomes in the library for weaknesses, she still couldn't clear it. She was stuck battling Ryan's Nightmare Mirror level.
According to her own account, she simply couldn't handle the vision of Professor McGonagall storming toward her with a test paper marked "zero." Every time she saw it, her intense emotional reaction caused her to be ejected.
Among all the non-Adventurers' Club students who challenged the dungeon, the ones with the highest acclaim were Neville and Hannah.
Level 1: Facing the magical projection of the three-headed dog. The two of them raised their fist-sized fists and wham, wham, wham—delivered a beatdown that exploded the projection.
The students watching at the entrance were astounded.
Level 2: Facing the Devil's Snare. The two of them tore through it effortlessly, like ripping apart a cabbage. The dangerous constrictor plant that Professor Sprout emphasized could kill an adult wizard became a toy in their hands.
Level 3: Professor Flitwick's flying keys. Neither Neville nor Hannah was good at Quidditch or broom flying.
But it didn't matter.
They picked up rocks from the ground and hurled them like cannonballs. With ear-piercing whistles, they physically knocked the correct flying key out of the air.
Level 4: Wizard's Chess.
Playing chess was out of the question. Boxing was the only way to survive.
The opposing Queen came to take them, but she found she couldn't. When she brought her scepter down, the two young wizards blocked it dead, engaging in a contest of strength.
Finally, the scepter snapped in half.
Neville and Hannah ran off the board in the chaos, leaving the Queen bewildered.
Queen: ???
Queen: No one told me that defeating the opponent's pieces required martial arts in addition to strategy!
However, the two of them also got stuck at Ryan's Nightmare Mirror level, because they couldn't use brute force there.
But their performance already surpassed ninety percent of the school.
It could be said that after returning to school, a wave of dungeon-challenging swept through the students.
Followed by a wave of social death from failing the dungeon.
Now, every student who stepped inside did so with the grim determination of a warrior marching to their doom: Clear the dungeon or die of embarrassment.
Dinner time.
At the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins were missing again.
"Where are George and Fred?"
"They seemed to go straight to the fourth floor after class. They're not in the common room."
Everyone understood. George and Fred were off to try a new method of social suicide.
And so, people began placing bets on how the twins would be ejected this time.
~~~
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