the final monster

"I'm fine Percival. Perfectly fine. So don't worry so much." I said with a smile. Even though I understood why he was so worried it was unnecessary. Under normal circumstances, that would have been the end of a wizard. Right there, at that moment.

But I was by no means a normal wizard. So even though it did give me a bit of a scare at first, it was not enough to kill me. but if it was enough to startle me, I could imagine how freaked out everyone else would be.

"Kid, you really are something. I was ready to stop the entire match the moment you were injured that seriously. I was even about to call the headmistress to save you. But it seems I was worrying for nothing." He said with a grin as he stared at my body with an arched brow.

I could only smile awkwardly.

"We wouldn't want to waste the headmistress's time," I responded only to get a jab to the ribs by Percival who was frowning.

"This is a matter pertaining to your wellbeing. And considering how valuable you are to the tournament; I don't think she would hold back in helping you out." He said seriously.

I waved him off casually as I rubbed my ribs to alleviate the pain.

"Yeah-yeah, I get it- I get it. It's over now. And since that's the case, let's head to the last floor. I want to be done with this arena for the day and go to sleep." I said honestly as I swallowed down the yawn that was trying to escape my lips.

This whole battling thing was stressful on the mind, and I was about done with it.

'Luckily I only have one more floor to go. And I think I'll just nuke the fucker and be done with it. no need to hold back on this one.' I thought to myself.

"In any case, you did a damn good job out there kiddo. Very impressive. You only have one more floor to go. But be warned this is the hardest floor in the arena for a reason. I would like to tell you about it, but the headmistress told me to refrain from 'spoiling the fun'. Her words, not mine." he said with a shrug as he saw me frowning slightly.

I raised my head to the ceiling and looked around, she must be watching from somewhere. I get the feeling that there's a crowd of teachers in a room watching on eagerly. But it was probably just my imagination. Either way, it was not of my concern. I wanted to finish this and get the key. Get some other materials and spells of interest before participating in the tournament. Things should be smooth sailing after that.

Maybe I should get some petrification potions for the people back at Hogwarts. I can use that to fuck around with Dumbledore some more. The old man is simply too much fun to mess with.

As I thought about this, we ascended the last flight of stairs. But these were different. They were behind a massive iron door with dozens of chains locking it shut. Massive locks that had golden pulsating carving on them could be seen as well.

I really wondered what could be behind such a door.

The stairs were crumbling and broken with countless cracks on them. Clearly, this place wasn't frequented often which made sense since nobody had been able to clear the seventh floor easily enough to be eligible to challenge the last remaining secret floor.

"So, what's up here anyway to have to install such a heavy-duty door?" Asked Percival as he pointed at the massive iron door behind him.

The small statue smiled slightly.

"A very dangerous beast. If it was let loose. We would never know where it went." It responded seriously before gazing at me deeply.

I was getting increasingly curious about what it could be.

Our steps echoed in the small stone corridor full of cobwebs and moss. It was humid, borderline damp even. And as we walked forward, we finally came across the final door. It was smaller, wooden and decaying. It looked like the door towards a broom closet. There was no grandeur like the massive iron one but instead a dilapidated broken one. I could even see through the decaying planks and directly into the field which was currently dark and empty.

We all arrived a few steps before the door when the small statue suddenly stopped and turned around on his heels.

He glanced at everyone present before gazing up at me.

"This creature you will be facing, it can sometimes be weak, and sometimes it can be immensely powerful rivalling the best wizard in the world. It all depends on what it's opponent is." His words made me frown slightly.

As I thought about what he said Achlys's surprised voice sounded out in my head.

{No way! HA! How the hell were they able to capture on of them? That's insane. No wonder this is on a different floor altogether. It's unbeatable.}

His words made me frown even harder.

'What do you mean by that-' but my internal question was cut short by the statue's next words.

"The creature took after German folklore. Everyone calls them… doppelgangers. They take the form of whatever is in front of them. They can choose at will. They have all the abilities of the user while they fight. There has never been a recorded case of someone beating them before."

The statues words caused a stir in the group as Jenna gasped with a mixture of shock and excitement written all over her face.