Chapter 146: Albert's Attack

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We are Halfway there.

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Since Albert entered the Forbidden Forest, Yaya had been running around him, sniffing the tree roots and leaves, searching for Fred's scent.

At least, that's what Albert thought.

The silent forest occasionally rustled with the sound of leaves, making Albert's nerves tense as he remained vigilant against potential dangers.

Indeed, venturing into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night was the most reckless thing Albert had ever done.

He stopped in a clearing, looking up at the sky, trying to find the red sparks launched by the twins.

"Perhaps I should have brought a broomstick. It would be much faster to travel through the sky," Albert said, scanning his surroundings with the light from his wand, straining his ears to listen for any other sounds apart from the snapping of twigs and rustling leaves.

Honestly, walking alone on the path in the Forbidden Forest made Albert feel extremely unsafe. Every gust of wind gave him goosebumps.

He had no sense of security at all, and it felt terrible.

"Yaya, don't wander too far from me."

Albert stopped and called Yaya back, then opened the task panel and upgraded the "Protection Enchantment" skill to level 2.

Indeed, he should prioritize improving his self-defense capabilities.

At the very least, when faced with sudden danger, he wouldn't lose his life in the blink of an eye.

As Ollivander had said, using wand crafted from redwood didn't bring luck to the user; instead, the wizards who used them already possessed the ability to turn danger into safety.

This wand was indeed suitable for Albert.

Yaya's tracking speed wasn't fast. Albert followed it continuously for about half an hour along the path.

His mind remained highly tense, making Albert feel exhausted. He took out a piece of chocolate, popped it into his mouth, and chewed slowly to alleviate the fatigue caused by the heightened tension.

When he was deep in thought, Albert liked to eat sweets. It helped relieve fatigue and effectively enhanced his thinking abilities.

Yaya seemed to want some too, but dogs couldn't eat chocolate. Albert could only pat its head and promise to buy it delicious food when they returned.

"Let's keep going!" Albert rallied himself and continued walking deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

The deeper he went, the denser the trees became. Now, he could hardly see the night sky above his head, and Albert's wand was the only faint light in the pitch-black forest.

Beyond the illuminated range of that faint light lay darkness and fear that reached out to grab him.

In fact, Albert had already realized that he might have gotten lost and deviated from the forest path!

To be more precise, it was Fred and George who got lost, and Albert, who followed them, naturally got lost as well.

If that were the case, the situation would be quite unfavorable. Albert estimated that he wouldn't be able to find the twins in a short amount of time.

Now, Albert's only hope was to see the red sparks rising in the Forbidden Forest.

Plans never keep up with changes!

Albert sighed softly. He was well aware of this, so he didn't feel frustrated.

In fact, even before entering the forest, he had placed most of his expectations on the professors. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Lee Jordan back to find Professor McGonagall.

The current situation at Hogwarts was still uncertain and chaotic.

However, before the professors arrived, he had to find the Weasley twins. Otherwise, the mission might fail.

As for regret?

Albert never regretted anything. If he had stayed behind, Professor McGonagall wouldn't have allowed him to enter the Forbidden Forest. The 2,000 experience points and 2 skill points he could gain from the mission were worth the risk, even if it meant depleting a large portion of his reserve experience pool.

Two skill points were truly valuable.

After reaching level 3, the experience gained from missions was already insufficient. Using skill points to level up was the best approach.

"Where could you two be?" Albert muttered softly. He passed through the low shrubs, stepped over fallen trees, and crossed a small stream. His robes were torn by branches and thorns along the way.

Albert felt like he had been walking for a long time. The dense canopy completely blocked the moonlight in the sky.

Yaya stopped in its tracks and barked in a certain direction.

Not good!

Albert felt like he was being watched by eyes hidden in the darkness, and that feeling sent shivers down his spine.

He immediately ran towards Yaya, waving his wand and using the "Protection Enchantment" skill to create a transparent bubble-shaped defense barrier around him.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves could be heard, and Albert could even feel the ground in the Forbidden Forest trembling slightly.

It was a Centaur. Albert couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He knew that these creatures usually wouldn't harm Hogwarts students.

After a moment, two Centaurs appeared on both sides of Albert. Despite the Centaurs aiming their bows and arrows at him, Albert couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Whether in his past life or this life, this was his first encounter with such a situation.

That feeling was uncomfortable, and Albert couldn't help but grip his wand tightly, ensuring that his defense barrier wouldn't be pierced by the Centaurs' arrows.

"Who are you?" a gruff voice questioned.

"I'm Albert Anderson, a student at Hogwarts," Albert tried to keep his voice friendly.

"You shouldn't be here, foal," the Centaur rudely reminded him.

"I have two friends who got lost in the Forbidden Forest, and I need to find them as soon as possible," Albert explained his purpose for entering the forest.

"And two foals entered the forest. I remember..." The Centaurs put away their bows and arrows and approached Albert, stepping into the illuminated range of his wand.

Albert saw a Centaur for the first time, and it felt strange. They had human-like torsos with red hair and beards, but their lower bodies were chestnut-red horse bodies, with a long red tail trailing behind.

"I know I'm not supposed to enter the forest," Albert said softly, "but I need to find them... If you could offer us some help..."

"We won't help humans!" a dark-brown Centaur roared at Albert.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. If I did, I apologize," Albert calmed down. "I don't know much about you, and I don't want any unpleasant conflicts with you. I just want to find my friends and leave immediately."

"Well, Bain," a chestnut-red Centaur soothed his fellow Centaur, "he means no harm."

"He came uninvited..."

"I hope we can avoid any conflicts," Albert interrupted the Centaur, his voice sounding somewhat cold.

At that moment, Albert was considering whether to take down the two Centaurs, but doing so might mean giving up on finding the Weasley twins.

He wasn't Hagrid, and the Centaurs weren't as friendly as the legends said.

But it wasn't difficult to infer that Fred and George hadn't encountered the Centaurs, otherwise, Albert would have learned about it from them.

"You can probably tell that I'm not as weak as you might think," Albert stared at the Centaurs. "We don't need to fight. I just want to find my friends and then leave."

"Of course, I leave the decision to you."

"Do you know Hagrid?" the chestnut-red Centaur suddenly changed the subject. He had known Hagrid's dog, Yaya, from the beginning.

"Yes, I'm a friend of Hagrid's. I originally intended to seek his help, but Hagrid isn't in his cabin tonight, so I had to bring his dog into the Forbidden Forest to find someone," Albert squinted at the chestnut-red Centaur and continued, "Hagrid once said that as long as I'm with Yaya, no creature in the Forbidden Forest would harm me."

"Follow me then, friend of Hagrid," the chestnut-red Centaur turned and walked towards the forest.

"Ronan!" Bain was not pleased with his fellow Centaur's actions.

"We don't attack foals," Ronan paused and turned around. "I saw red sparks on the other side of the forest earlier."

"That's right! That's good! They might have encountered some trouble!" Albert couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If there were red sparks, it meant that Fred and George were still alive.

"Yaya, keep up!" Albert dispelled the defensive barrier around him and quickly caught up with the Centaurs' footsteps.

"But I must warn you, that part of the forest is very dangerous," Ronan told Albert. "The Acromantulas will devour any creature that enters that area. I don't recommend you taking the risk."

"Thank you, Ronan. I appreciate your help," Albert expressed his gratitude to the Centaur beside him.

"If you can bring your friends back, I will guide you out of this forest," Ronan said before turning away.

Albert watched Ronan's figure disappear and then turned to continue walking towards the forest ahead. He knew he had to be extremely vigilant here; it was even more dangerous than other areas.

"You shouldn't help him," Bain angrily looked at Ronan.

"He is Hagrid's friend," Ronan gazed in the direction Albert had left, speaking softly, "Even if we help him, he would do the same."

"He is not welcome here."

"We never attack foals," Ronan repeated. It was an ancient agreement between the Centaur tribe in the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts.

"That foal is not as weak as you think. You should be able to see that," Ronan stood in the clearing, looked up at the starry sky, and muttered to himself, "He's special, yes, very special."

Both Ronan and Bain could tell that if they intended to do something to Albert, he would fiercely retaliate.

As Albert said, he had no ill intentions, and the decision was left to the Centaurs.

And the Centaurs chose peaceful coexistence.

As Ronan said, Centaurs never attacked Hogwarts students.

...

On the other side, within the hunting range of the Acromantulas, Albert had to stay alert and vigilant.

Since arriving here with the Centaurs, Yaya could no longer track Fred's location through scent.

Albert was hesitating whether to send up green sparks into the sky, but he was also concerned that it might attract the Acromantulas.

Suddenly, Yaya started barking furiously behind Albert.

"Protection Enchantment!" Albert immediately cast the spell, and a defensive barrier protected him and Yaya. A large spider appeared without warning behind Albert, its fangs and claws crashing into the protective barrier, unable to advance.

Yaya continued barking, while Albert stiffly turned his head, staring in shock at the monster in front of him, his heart skipping a beat.

Unlike the small spiders he had encountered before, this one was horse-sized, with eight legs, a dark and hairy giant spider. Its large pincers were moving, making a spine-chilling clicking sound.

"I hate spiders," Albert couldn't help muttering while facing the eight eyes. Soon, he noticed that a new task had appeared on his panel.

Angry Counterattack

It seems you have encountered an attack. It's time to show the attacker what you're made of. Defeat the incoming Acromantula and let those hairy beasts know that you're not to be messed with.

Reward: 1500 experience points, Skill gained: Arachnid Expulsion Charm

"Well, this skill comes just in time," Albert muttered. He immediately opened his skill panel and upgraded the Disillusionment Charm to Level 2. Then he reached out and grabbed the whimpering Yaya, using the Disillusionment Charm to disappear on the spot.

The Acromantula couldn't comprehend why its prey suddenly vanished before its eyes.

The next moment, Albert appeared 50 feet away. Suppressing the discomfort caused by the Disillusionment Charm, he waved his wand and shouted loudly, "Stupefy!"

A red burst of fire hit the giant spider.

"Stupefy!" didn't have much effect on the Acromantula; instead, it enraged the giant spider even more.

"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"

The Acromantula was already charging towards Albert, and the Stupefy and Impediment jinxes had some effect, slowing down its movement.

"Protection Enchantment." Albert once again used the protective barrier to envelop himself.

The giant spider crashed into the barrier, once again failing to get through.

Albert could feel the anger emanating from the eight black eyes of the Acromantula. Its sharp pincers were moving, clicking and clacking, as if telling him that it was going to devour him.

The spells didn't seem to have much effect on it. Was it because my magic was too weak, or was the spider too large, or maybe its magical resistance was too strong?

If he upgraded the spells to Level 2, the effects might be better, but... Albert glanced at his experience pool, knowing that he would definitely need to learn the Arachnid Expulsion Charm later.

It would be best to deal with it without leveling up.

What were the spider's weaknesses?

A Basilisk?

And...

Its legs?

After all, it had eight legs.

Trip jinx... Leg-locking jinx... Limber-legs jinx... and the Dancing Feet Charm...

Hopefully, these spells would work.

Albert once again activated the Disillusionment Charm. He admitted that the magic was highly practical, but the discomfort it caused was terrible.

After realizing its prey disappeared again, the Acromantula immediately looked around, but Albert's voice had already sounded.

Tarantallegra!

The Dancing Feet Charm hit the Acromantula's legs, causing it to involuntarily start dancing a jig.

This spell undoubtedly had a remarkable effect.

The spider, which clearly didn't know how to dance a jig, now looked like it had two legs cramping, twitching uncontrollably.

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(End of this chapter)