With a "whoosh," a cauldron flew through the air, forcing Mr. Weasley to duck just in time.
The source of the attack quickly became apparent—monster goblins had caught up to them.
Unlike the reckless murlocs from earlier, these monster goblins were smart.
Instead of charging in blindly, they somersaulted behind cover and pelted anything they could grab—fruit, broken wands, even a rusty old kettle.
Most of their projectiles fell short, but the sheer chaos was enough to keep everyone on edge.
"Ventus!" one of the wizards shouted, casting an uncommon spell.
A fierce wind howled down the street, sending debris flying.
The massive goblin bear, which had to weigh at least nine hundred kilograms, merely hunkered down, unfazed by the gusts.
But the monster goblins behind it?
They weren't so lucky.
Caught off guard, they tumbled backward, rolling helplessly across the slick pavement like a pile of thrown marbles.
Still, none of the spells being cast were dealing real damage.
They were all about crowd control, but against something this big and tough, it wasn't enough.
Ted clenched his wand, frustration flaring in his chest.
'You're wizards! How do you not know any offensive magic?!' He wanted to yell at them.
It was like being in a game where all your teammates only knew support skills.
If something happened to them, it was on them!
Then, an idea struck him.
"Use the Water-Making Spell!" Ted ordered.
Without hesitation, Hermione and the others followed his lead.
"Aguamenti!" Eight voices rang out, including the twins and Peggy.
Streams of water erupted from their wands, gushing like open faucets.
They weren't the strongest casters—most of them were still students, after all—but quantity over quality was the plan.
The pooling water quickly spread toward the goblin bear's feet.
That was step one.
Step two—
"Frost Nova!" Ted slammed his foot down, wand pointed forward.
A pulse of ice magic burst outward in a wide arc, instantly freezing the water-soaked ground.
The icy wave surged ahead, crawling up the bear's legs until it was encased up to its knees.
"Keep going! More water!" Ted shouted.
Another round of "Aguamenti" flooded the frozen battlefield, and Ted struck again—
"Frost Nova!"
The cold blast layered over the previous ice, locking the goblin bear in place.
Mr. Weasley and another wizard caught on and joined in, adding their own freezing spells to the mix.
"Glacius!"
"Glacius!"
"Glacius!"
One after another, the waves of cold magic spread, reinforcing the ice prison.
The bear bellowed in rage, but its movements slowed.
Its thick fur frosted over, and its breaths came out in ragged, misty puffs.
Finally, it stopped thrashing.
Encased in a thick shell of ice, the beast was immobilized.
Ted exhaled, lowering his wand.
"That should hold it for now. We need to move."
No one argued.
The group hurried away, retreating through the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron, where they quickly sealed off the entrance.
Not a second later, a deafening roar echoed behind them, followed by the sound of ice cracking apart.
It had already broken free.
But that wasn't Ted's problem anymore.
By noon, the adrenaline had worn off, and the group found themselves at The Burrow, still shaken from the encounter.
Aunt Molly had whipped up a feast—steak, roasted chicken, cheese, warm vegetable soup, and desserts—to lift their spirits.
Mr. Weasley barely ate before rushing to the Ministry of Magic for updates.
At the table, George clapped Ted on the shoulder.
"That was brilliant, mate!"
Fred grinned. "Yeah, I always heard you were strong, but that? That was next level. What was that magic? Looked like something straight out of a game!"
Ted smirked but said nothing. If only they knew. His system wasn't just from the wizarding world after all—it was from his knowledge of the other worlds.
"I helped too," Ron interjected, puffing out his chest. "My Water-Making Spell and Slide Charm were spot-on!"
Peggy gave him a polite nod. "You did well, Ron."
Ron beamed.
"That's right! And that was nothing! Last year, at school, we took down a troll! And not just one monster—there were three!"
A hush fell over the table as Aunt Molly stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really, Ronald? Tell me more about how you fought a troll at Hogwarts?"
Ron's face paled.
His brothers and sisters suddenly vanished from their seats, leaving him stranded in the face of impending doom.
Ted chuckled and slipped outside with the others, leaving Ron to fend for himself.
Ted sat on a bench in the yard, deep in thought.
This morning's battle had been a test—a reminder that not all wizards were fighters.
The spells used by most of them were rudimentary, more suited for defense and daily life.
If not for Ted's knowledge of battle magic, they might not have made it out in one piece.
He hadn't even used his full power.
No advanced spells, no magic-enhanced items, no special cards from his collection.
If he had been alone, the fight would've been simple.
A few well-placed spells, a bit of space to maneuver, and he could have kited the goblin bear until it collapsed.
But that wasn't the point.
Ted didn't want to stand out too much. Not yet.
Instead, he played his role—a student who had just happened to learn an unusual freezing spell.
A skilled but not overly powerful wizard.
Nothing too suspicious.
Laying low was the best strategy for now.
Like a well-trained familiar, Psicrystal Parker had been perched quietly on a nearby wall, keeping out of sight while serving as a conduit for Ted's latest experiment—his psychic ability, Mind Spikes.
This was the real trick.
The invisible spikes of psionic energy pierced into the goblin bear's mind, throwing it into disarray.
When its feet were frozen the first time, it should have instinctively fought back.
But instead, its concentration broke, leaving it unable to muster any resistance.
Without this interference, its natural magic resistance would have likely shrugged off even seven or eight freezing spells, making it an unstoppable force.
Magic resistance worked much like magic itself—it existed passively, but required focus to activate properly.
That's why surprise attacks were so effective.
If an enemy wasn't prepared, they couldn't properly resist magic, leading to a clean takedown.
It was a classic lesson from Ted's extensive knowledge of rpgs—sometimes, the best way to deal with a high-magic-resistance opponent wasn't brute force, but a well-placed debuff.
Thanks to Ted's Mind Spikes, the goblin bear's head was a mess of scattered thoughts.
Its eyes had gone slack, its movements sluggish, as though it had just been blindsided by a critical hit.
While others saw only a massive, dangerous creature caught off guard, Ted knew the truth—this was the result of a well-executed strategy.
Meanwhile, Anzu had taken advantage of the chaos to pull off another trick—setting fire to the second-hand magic shop in Knockturn Alley, the shop that caused those monster to run free across the streets.
With the street already in turmoil, who would question a little extra destruction?
Fires breaking out in moments of panic were hardly unusual, after all.
Though this had been Ted's first real encounter with a magical beast of this scale, the event had been marked as a completed quest in his system.
First Task:
---------------------------
[Emergency (Blue)]The bustling magic business district was suddenly attacked by monsters, and the wizards—despite their wands—were thrown into chaos, fleeing in panic. Now, you must step up and take control.
Objective: Contain the situation, lead your friends to safety, and assist others in escaping.
Reward: 450 XP, +Lv1 Magic Resistance, Card: [Predict the Enemy (Blue)].
As expected, when things get critical, adults aren't always reliable. Sometimes, you have to take charge yourself.
---------------------------
Second Task:
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[I'm in the Newspaper! (Green)]The British wizarding community might be small, but it still has its own media, eager for a good story.
Objective: Get yourself mentioned in mainstream wizarding news.
Reward: 200 XP, Card: [Celebrity (Green)].
Ah, so fame comes knocking sooner than expected.
---------------------------
Ted had barely finished processing the notification when the mystery of the second task resolved itself.
Just over ten minutes later, Mr. Weasley burst back into the house.
He stepped out of the fireplace, brushing off soot with the feather duster hanging nearby.
In his other hand, he waved a stack of newspapers excitedly.
"Molly! Molly, look at this! We made the papers!" he exclaimed, his face a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration.
Aunt Molly, who had been mid-lecture with Ron about his reckless spell use, was immediately distracted.
Ron, who had been shrinking into the floorboards, let out an audible sigh of relief as the attention shifted away from him.
The rest of the group rushed over to see.
There, in the Daily Prophet's Emergency Special Issue, was a front-page story covering the monster attack.
Ted leaned back slightly, taking it all in. 'Well, I guess so much for laying low...'