Albert was stunned by the various magic performed on the stage. The Barnabus Finkley Excellent Spell-casting Competition actually felt like a circus.
But it is undeniable that most of the wizards who dare to participate in the competition are quite capable. At least the contestants who come on stage are not too bad in magical attainments.
Someone conjured up a group of birds and performed a "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" in front of everyone; someone used a magic wand to direct puppets to perform an elegant dance; and there was even someone who performed the trick of spitting fire from his mouth.
However, the most eye-catching person at the moment was probably a middle-aged wizard in his forties. He used the Animagus transformation to directly turn into an owl, flew a circle above the stage before transforming into a human form again, which attracted exclamations and applause from the audience.
However, as long as there are a lot of participants, there will naturally be no shortage of poor performers.
Especially the group of young guys, the magic they showed to everyone was quite average. Among them, a man in his early twenties made frequent mistakes because he was too nervous, and he directly became the focus of the competition.
In the end, the man walked off the stage with his head down, and left the bar directly. He was probably too embarrassed to stay any longer, fearing that he would become a laughing stock.
The team was advancing very quickly, and each person only had a short while before it was soon Albert's turn.
The young man in front of him stumbled onto the stage and performed the magic of turning a paper bird into a real bird. However, the bird flew over his head for a while and then fell headfirst onto the stage, causing sporadic laughter.
Albert saw that the referees not far away were shaking their heads imperceptibly and seemed to be writing something on paper.
"Let's welcome contestant No. 17." Diana read out the contestant's number on the registration form. However, this time she didn't just call out the contestant's number like before, but actually said a few more words: "It is worth mentioning that contestant No. 17 is the youngest contestant in the Barnabus Finkley Excellent Spellcasting Competition. He is only sixteen years old and is still a student at Hogwarts. Let's wait and see."
Albert took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.
The moment he stepped onto the stage, Albert could feel everyone's eyes were on him, but being watched by a group of people did not affect his performance much.
Albert began to concentrate and clear his mind.
Then he raised his wand and shook it gently, and an old armchair appeared out of thin air in front of Albert.
Albert waved his wand a second time, and the armchair turned into a lion. It stood up from the ground and rubbed Albert with its slightly rough mane, like a docile house cat. Then, the lion circled around Albert, and seemed to be dissatisfied with the gazes staring at this side, and let out a soul-stirring roar towards the audience below the stage.
At this moment, the wizards closest to the stage couldn't help but tighten their wands to prevent the lion from suddenly pouncing on them.
However, their worries were completely unnecessary. Albert waved his wand twice and the lion disappeared.
After demonstrating the magic of transformation, Albert walked off the stage under the gaze of countless people.
There was no doubt that he had just used a very powerful Transfiguration spell. What surprised them even more was Albert's talent in Transfiguration. He could do it so easily at this age. His calmness was also impressive. Even Diana, who acted as the referee, was very satisfied with the magic displayed by Albert. She even saw the five referees nodded with satisfaction.
"A very powerful Transfiguration spell."
Even Rodris had to admit that Bud was right, Albert was indeed a very powerful genius.
Generally speaking, the larger the size, the harder it is to transform. Moreover, the lion has no flaws at all, so it is a perfect transformation magic.
As the competition continued, Albert discovered that most young people came to participate for other purposes. They were often the most nervous, and nervousness was contagious, which led to most players participating in the competition under nervousness. The result was predictable, and trophies, prize money, medals, and even beauties had nothing to do with them.
Therefore, many contestants who knew they would be eliminated looked at Albert with envy and jealousy.
After all, Albert is currently the contestant with the greatest hope of winning the championship, and most importantly, he is only sixteen years old, the same age as Miss Yanila. They are simply a perfect match.
A strong smell of citric acid quietly spread in the bar.
"I really don't know why they came to participate in the competition." Albert naturally guessed what was going on. He ignored the gazes of those people and chatted with Rodris next to him about the magic show on the stage.
"It's no problem for you to pass the first round of screening." Bud was flipping through today's Bullfight Daily while introducing the competition process to Albert. "After the first round of screening, sixteen contestants will be selected from all the contestants."
"The second round is when we really select wizards with excellent spell-casting skills. Usually, the top few contestants will be selected to enter the third round."
"The third round consists of two parts. The first part is a gathering similar to an exchange meeting between the contestants and the five judges. The judges will also talk to you individually about the problems with your spell-casting techniques and ask you to demonstrate to them individually to determine whether you are qualified for the gold medal." Bud was very satisfied with Albert's performance.
Albert was not surprised by this gradual screening process.
After all, the energy of those veteran referees is limited. It is impossible for them to directly select the champion from countless contestants. That would take a lot of energy, and it is hard to say how credible it is.
After finishing the first round, he calmed down and watched the performances on stage, occasionally talking with the two elderly people beside him about the level of the contestants on stage, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
The game lasted until 8:30 pm, but no one was impatient because of it. For them, it was a wonderful and interesting show. During the game, there were also many jokes. For example, a boy fainted before he even got on the court because he was too nervous.
There was also a contestant who actually conjured up a bouquet of roses during the performance and gave the roses to Miss Yanila in the audience on the spot.
After Yanila accepted his love so graciously, he became so excited that his face turned red, as if the other party had already accepted his confession.
The man's action earned him a round of boos. Later, when Albert was having dinner, he heard that he had been beaten up.
As for Terence Higgs, another alumnus of Albert, although he performed better than most young wizards, he was still eliminated in the first round.
Terence was not surprised by the result, but old Higgs was almost furious. He didn't expect his grandson to win the championship, he just brought him here to show his face and introduce himself to everyone.
However, everything is afraid of comparison.
Albert was so dazzling that he not only showed his extraordinary talent for transformation, but also passed the first round of the competition with ease.
Now everyone in the bar is talking about No. 17, and some people have even started betting on whether this youngest contestant in history can become the final champion and take away the final gold medal.
The youngest competitor, the youngest talent, the youngest champion, and the youngest recipient of the Barnabus Finkley Gold Medal for Excellence in Spellcasting.
These are all good gimmicks that immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
In order to make people place their bets with confidence, the dealer even revealed Albert's identity as the youngest International Wizard Chess Champion and the champion of the Magic School Potions Championship.
For a time, a genius surrounded by countless halos appeared in the "Bullfighting Daily", and countless wizards joined the carnival waving their wallets.
"They changed your odds. It seems that they are still confident that you can win the championship." Rodris handed the Bullfight Daily to Albert with a smile, and turned around and asked, "Old man, do you plan to place a bet?"
"I bet 50 Galleons on Albert to win the gold medal." Bud looked at Rodris with a smile: "Do you want to join? I promise you won't lose."
Rodris smiled but said nothing. He actually bet that Albert could make it through the second round.
"Is this reliable?" Albert had already found his odds in the newspaper. The odds of winning the championship were 2.5 times (originally 4 times), and the odds of betting on him winning the gold medal were 8 times. The odds of betting on being eliminated were only 0.3 times, and the odds of betting on passing the second round were 0.8.
In the eyes of most people, Albert had a high chance of being eliminated. No one would believe that a sixteen-year-old underage wizard could really win the championship or gold medal for Barnabus Finkley's excellent spellcasting skills.
"Is this thing reliable?" Albert asked again.
"You want to bet too?" Bud frowned and looked at Albert. Generally speaking, contestants are not allowed to bet, but there are always ways to get around this problem, such as finding someone to help bet.
"It's reliable. This is a bet between the Bull Fighting Daily and the Spanish Ministry of Magic."
"The Spanish Ministry of Magic is also involved?" Albert was a little surprised.
"Nominally, it's a bet organized by the Bull Fighting Daily, but it's guaranteed by the Spanish Ministry of Magic," Rodris explained.
"I'll go see how many Galleons there are." Albert muttered, throwing down the remaining food and going upstairs.
Of course, this was just an excuse. Albert went upstairs to do a divination for himself. He felt that he had no reason not to make the money.
The white mist in the crystal ball kept spinning, and Albert saw Yanila putting the gold medal on Albert's neck as he held the trophy in his hand, and next to him were reporters taking pictures of them.
Albert was very satisfied with the picture in the crystal ball. He won the gold prize, completed the task, and could also transfer a large sum of Galleons.
As for not bringing enough Galleons
This was not a problem for Albert. He took out the two-way mirror and contacted the house-elf, asking Beetee to go to Gringotts to get the money and bring it over.
When Albert went downstairs, Rodris had already left and Bud was talking to Diana, the bar owner.
"How much do you plan to bet?" Bud asked Albert with a smile.
"I plan to bet on myself to win the gold medal." Albert continued to sit down and eat.
"You are very confident!" Diana reminded with a smile: "However, the gold medal is not that easy to obtain. At least there is no precedent for underage wizards to win the gold medal. As far as I know, the youngest known winner is Mr. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts."
"I'm lucky." Albert quickly finished his meal and returned to his room to wait for the house-elf to bring Garlon over.
"This has nothing to do with luck." Diana looked at Albert's back as he went upstairs and asked Bud, "Do you think he can win the gold medal?"
"I have confidence in him." Bud looked at Albert's back, turned his head and said to Diana: "But don't think about him, Albert is already engaged."
"Engagement? Are you sure? He's not an adult yet. He should be preparing to enter the sixth grade at Hogwarts, right?" Diana couldn't help but frowned, thinking that Bard was lying to him.
"Yes, they are engaged." Bud nodded and said, "He plans to get married after graduation. Yanila, you won't have a chance. Don't think about it."
"Aren't you optimistic about him?" Diana was a little angry, "Why do you want to stop him?"
"Because I want her to be free to choose her own happiness." Bud said calmly, "You know whether you have been happy or not these years."
"Then why didn't you stop me?" Diana walked away gritting her teeth.
"Because I couldn't stop it at that time!" Bud looked at Diana's back and sighed softly: "Besides, that was your choice, wasn't it?"
Albert was unaware of the conversation between the two. He had just received a heavy bag of money from the house-elf, Bit.
Such opportunities are rare, and Albert plans to make a fortune.
As for how much to bet at that time, I have to discuss it with Bud in advance.
After Albert finished his bath, he took the bag of gold coins and knocked on the door of the next room.
"What's up?"
Bud's eyes fell on the purse in Albert's hand, and he immediately realized something.
"I plan to bet on myself to win the gold medal." Albert put the bag of Galleons in front of Bud and said straight to the point.
"All?" Bud looked at the bag of Galleons that Albert placed in front of him and suddenly remembered something.
Albert would predict!
"Yes, all of it. However, I'm a little worried whether they can afford to pay for the loss." Albert briefly expressed his concerns. If they can't afford to pay and run away or refuse to pay, they will be doomed. Sometimes you really can't trust the moral integrity of some people.
"How much is in it?" Bud asked, picking up the gold coin and weighing it.
"1,000 Galleons." Albert said honestly.
"Isn't this a bit too crazy?" Bud muttered. However, he did not reject Albert's proposal in the end. "This requires finding someone to share the bet. I have to ask a few old friends for help. However, if we win, each of us will have to pay 100 Galleons as a reward to shut them up."
"Win-win, I understand that." Albert said he knew it.