Chapter 270: Changes in the Jungle
Brazilian food had strong flavours, tending toward spicy and numbing, which was very appealing to Sean. But for Aldrich and Jensen, the food here was a bit too spicy, so they focused on eating roasted beef and roasted pineapple.
It must be said that Sean had always thought roasted fruit was an unorthodox heresy, but after tasting the roasted pineapple in Castelobruxo's cafeteria, he had to admit that at least this roasted pineapple was truly delicious. The Brazilian honey spread on the surface had been roasted into a crispy shell that was sweet but not cloying, accompanied by the pineapple's fresh fragrance and tartness. The texture was quite rich in layers.
Overall, Hogwarts' British cuisine wasn't even worthy of being compared to Brazilian food.
After eating, Sean, Aldrich, and Jensen prepared to go to the library on the first floor. But just as they reached the first floor, suddenly two Castelobruxo professors and two student council members used their wands to levitate three students and brought them in from outside.
These three students looked to be in very poor condition. Two were continuously wailing, their bodies covered with blackened marks and large amounts of blood. The last one had fainted directly and could be seen missing an arm, which looked as if it had been carbonised and severed by some kind of high temperature.
What was going on?
The three of them exchanged glances but didn't speak. They weren't Castelobruxo insiders after all, so it wouldn't be appropriate to be too conspicuous at this time. However, Sean's enhanced senses from his Wolf's Keenness talent immediately let him hear discussions from other people.
"What happened? Was it that Thunderbird again?"
"It was those Thunderbirds. They seem to be getting closer and closer to our Castelobruxo. Although those three left our school's forest area slightly, they didn't go too far. They were attacked by that Thunderbird on the slope of a low mountain, and Tomur's right hand might be crippled."
"Crippled? His right hand is his wand hand, right?"
"There's nothing to be done about it. He'll have to train to use his left hand from now on. Fortunately we're wizards with magic, so it's not too bad. Perhaps he could find some alchemy masters to create an alchemical arm. Although it couldn't cast magic, it should help with daily life."
"Damn it!"
"Didn't the school professors say how to deal with that Thunderbird?"
"If possible, the school professors would definitely try to capture the Thunderbird, or for the safety of students, they might even kill it.
But Thunderbirds fly at altitudes far exceeding dragons, above the cloud layer. At that altitude, the air is thin and the temperature is extremely low. Ordinary wizards simply cannot fight against the extremely agile and swift Thunderbird at that height. Those very powerful wizards wouldn't risk themselves for this matter, so there must be a detailed plan."
Just as this person finished speaking, a quite young male professor walked over to these discussing upper-year students and said quietly: "Actually, the school is already making plans. Thunderbirds fly high and fast, but they still have to land eventually. So the key now is how to find the Thunderbird's nest. If we can find its nest, we can set magical traps and position ambushers. As long as we prepare thoroughly, we should be able to catch that guy."
"Senior... oh, sorry, Professor. Shouldn't Thunderbirds live in North America? We haven't heard of Thunderbirds living near our Castelobruxo before. How did such a violent Thunderbird suddenly appear this year, and this Thunderbird's power seems to exceed normal Thunderbird standards by quite a bit?"
"I don't know either, but I heard from other professors in the school that recently the magical creatures in our jungle seem to have undergone various degrees of change. Some have become violent, some have become timid and cowering, some have become aggressive and combative, and there are even extremely aggressive magical creatures like this Thunderbird that suddenly arrived. It's said there might be some changes deep in the jungle."
"Also..." The young professor hesitated. He looked around at the people nearby, confirmed there were no issues, then continued: "Also, don't go to the North Forest in our school's territory recently. The Occamy there is also showing unusual behaviour. Our Care of Magical Creatures professor has been trying to calm it, but I heard it almost injured a student who hadn't provoked it at all a couple days ago. Anyway, stay away from those magical creatures recently and ensure your own safety. If there's nothing else, I'll go get busy first."
Just as he was about to leave, the young professor suddenly turned back and said to those students: "Oh, I almost forgot. Tell those third-years that I heard this year's first place from Hogwarts has come to our school and wants to participate in the exams.
You know our school welcomes exchange students, and the exams are fair. But if this Hogwarts student outperforms you, the third-years will have a rough year ahead. If you don't want professors breathing down your necks, work hard these next three days. Don't let him crack the top ten, understood?"
"Don't worry, we won't let him surpass us. Not only the top ten, but also the top twenty and top thirty should only be our own people."
"I hope you can do what you say."
"No problem, Professor. We've got this."
The young professor left his former junior classmates and nodded with a smile toward Sean as he passed by where Sean stood not far away.
Watching the professor, Aldrich commented: "Young master, he's probably a recent graduate who stayed on as faculty."
"That's right. Seeing how close those Castelobruxo students are with him shows they were once friends. Although he's become a professor, the relationship remains. When the junior classmates who were once his friends also graduate, he'll probably become a pure professor."
Having said this, Sean, Aldrich, and Jensen continued toward the library.
On the way, Sean told Aldrich and Jensen what he had heard earlier, but the two of them weren't too worried because, in their view, they were only staying within Castelobruxo anyway, so nothing too serious should happen. Those magical creatures surely wouldn't attack Castelobruxo directly, right?
But Sean was very clear that Kulkan's insistence on returning to South America might very well be related to the reason for these magical creatures' changes.
Thinking this, Sean reached out to touch Kulkan, who had shrunk and was sleeping in his arms. He didn't know when this guy would wake up.