The moment her voice trailed off, Isolde started mentally complaining to herself like crazy.
Help, what on earth was she saying just now!
What temporary defeat, what battling again next time, what practicing magic well before coming back to challenge…
These lines were simply too melodramatic!
Having read too many passionate counterattack web novels in her past life, she had subconsciously copied the clear-headed and stubborn speeches of those female protagonists.
Clearly, inside she was already so tired that she just wanted to collapse on the ground and gasp for air, yet on the surface she still had to put on a stubborn expression of unyielding perseverance and refusal to admit defeat.
She looked just like a drama queen deliberately forcing a persona.
I am out of moves…
She could even imagine her expression at this moment: her eyes firm, her tone resolute, and her hand gripping her wand tightly—she was the living template of an unyielding, passionate protagonist from a novel.
It was so embarrassing that she could dig out an entire Hogwarts castle with her toes.
Who would say such hot-blooded words right after finishing a duel that exhausted all their magic?
This was just too deliberate!
Fine.
At least she managed to put on a cool front to some extent.
She bit the bullet and maintained this persona, because after all, the person opposite her was Bellatrix Black, her capture target.
She couldn’t possibly show an exhausted and crestfallen look right after the fight; that would be too degrading.
Moreover, looking into Bellatrix’s grey eyes, which held a hint of surprise and probing, she inexplicably didn’t want to show a shred of defeat and wretchedness in front of the other person.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix looked at the stubborn-eyed Isolde before her, raised an eyebrow, and completely flattened the tiny, barely perceptible curve at the corner of her lips.
Only the strong deserved her serious attention, and a loss was a loss.
Even though Isolde possessed resilience that did not lose to her own, the gap in strength was right before their eyes, and Black would not acknowledge someone who could not beat her.
She didn’t say another superfluous word, but simply gripped her wand, turned around, and walked straight out of the Dueling Arena.
Leaving behind a proud and dazzling figure, without giving Isolde an extra glance throughout the entire process.
Watching her retreating figure, Isolde quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her tensed body instantly collapsing.
If not for relying on her last shred of willpower to hold on, she would have slumped straight onto the ground long ago.
She knew very well in her heart that Bellatrix’s attitude could not be more obvious.
At present, she had not reached a level where Bellatrix would truly take her seriously.
Since there were so-called hidden quests, she would just find ways to interact more with Bellatrix!
This duel was merely a small ripple in Hogwarts’s peaceful campus life, and it was soon submerged in heavy coursework and magic practice.
Isolde had not forgotten the harsh words she had uttered, nor had she forgotten the absurd reward of “intimate contact”.
Ever since her Talent Resonance degree increased by 30%, she keenly discovered that her speed in reading magic books, understanding spell principles, and controlling magic power had all become much faster.
Advanced spell theories that were originally obscure and difficult to understand could now be thoroughly mastered after reading them a few times, and her efficiency when practicing spells was also a huge leap ahead of before.
She immersed all her spare time in the Dueling Arena and the Library, frantically enhancing her strength.
The Talent Resonance bestowed by the system was like an invisible bridge, allowing her to always easily capture the magic essence of Bellatrix.
Unwittingly, her fighting style, spell-casting method, and even her dodging posture had a few similarities overlapping with Bellatrix.
Every time she sparred with someone in the school Dueling Arena, seeing Isolde’s fierce and swift offense, as well as her fluent and ruthless spell transitions, onlookers would inevitably whisper in exclamation:
“Good heavens, Winnier’s fighting style seems to have been seen on Black!”
Hearing such discussions, Isolde finally completely understood what the system’s so-called Talent Resonance was.
How could it be some general talent enhancement?
It was clearly a precise resonance with Bellatrix’s magic talent, replicating her magic logic, allowing herself to infinitely approach the other person on the path of magic.
And this kind of change also gave her a sliver of confidence in her heart.
However, when words like this reached Bellatrix’s ears, it was completely different.
After listening to her roommate finish speaking, the noble young lady Black was so angry that her teeth itched.
No, is that fellow a copycat?
They only fought one match like that, and she learned this fast?
“——You mean to say, that fellow Winnier’s duel style is very similar to mine?”
While saying this, Bellatrix was facing the mirror tidying her stray hairs.
Roommate A: Yes.
“…I couldn’t tell last time, this fellow is quite good at learning?”
In a place Isolde didn’t know, Bellatrix quietly began to pay a little attention to her.
“What was Winnier’s full name again?” she asked Roommate A.
“Isolde Winnier.”
“Oh right, Isolde, an interesting name.”
…
From then on, at the end of every semester, Isolde would muster up the courage to initiate a duel challenge against Bellatrix. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
At first, although Bellatrix began to feel that this Ravenclaw was overestimating herself.
But through clash after clash, watching Isolde grow at an astonishing speed, watching the other’s spells and magic power operation methods share thirty percent identical to her own, the disdain at the bottom of her eyes gradually turned into surprise.
She had never seen anyone who could mimic her magic style so precisely while also blending in their own traits.
Once this talent came out, even though she remained arrogant, she couldn’t help but give a bit more attention to Isolde.
However, even though Isolde progressed by leaps and bounds, Bellatrix’s talent was defying the heavens to begin with, and her growth speed far surpassed ordinary people; the gap in strength between the two always existed.
Every challenge by Isolde ended in failure, but she never gave up.
After every failure, she would practice even harder and silently accumulate strength.
She always felt that she was not strong enough yet, and not yet at the stage where she could truly contend with Bellatrix.
Therefore, even though she longed to get closer in her heart, she never made any superfluous moves besides dueling.
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was that she couldn’t.
Having finally gotten a rare chance to read books side by side in the Library, the system completely failed to trigger any hidden quests.
Trash system, it disappeared just like that for a full two years!
The two of them advanced to the third year together.
Hogwarts’s third year welcomed the most grand event of the academic year—the Christmas Ball.
The entire castle was decorated with flowing brilliance, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of cakes and mulled wine.
All the students had prepared their most exquisite formal wear, full of joy and anticipation for the beginning of the ball.
Yet Isolde couldn’t be happy at all.
Inside the Great Hall, she sat at the Ravenclaw long table, gazing at Bellatrix not far away at the Slytherin long table.
Who knows what the capture progress is now…
The system was somewhat useless; she couldn’t see anything!
It was purely making empty promises!
The young lady who usually always wore the Slytherin school robes with cold and stern eyes.
At this moment had changed into an exquisitely tailored Black velvet long dress, outlining a slender and upright figure.
Her long, dark, curly hair, usually scattered casually, was carefully pinned up, revealing her slender, fair neck and exquisite collarbones.
Her ears were dotted with tiny gemstone earrings, displaying the young lady’s elegance and noble poise to the fullest.
Just looking at her made one feel as if they could sense a faint fragrance, dazzling enough that people couldn’t look away.
As Isolde watched and watched, she couldn’t help muttering inwardly.
Clearly she was the same person, how could she look this stunning just by changing into a formal gown.