To Harry's great surprise, he actually recognized this person!
The man who just stepped out had long, blonde hair that fell to his back, framing a pretty face that could easily be mistaken for a woman's. Though he resembled a woman, and even walked like a woman, on a closer glance, he was unmistakably a man.
Back when Harry had been teleported out of the Swan's Seamount, he landed in an empty clearing in a desolate area of the Scarlet Phoenix Empire. There, Harry had met this man by chance. They had gotten into a very brief fight, but afterwards, he proved himself to actually be a good person. Their interaction only lasted a few minutes, but he left an impression on Harry.
It was Daniel, or at least, that was the fake name he went by.
Daniel looked at Malfoy's group first, then sneered and looked away, then at Felix's group, then sneered and looked away again, and then his eyes landed on Harry. Recognition flashed, and he couldn't help but blurt out –
"You – James? You?"
"Me," Harry nodded.
"You found and activated the seventh formation?"
"Apparently so," Harry responded. How was it that everyone but him knew what was going on?
"You know this man?" Zacharias Smith interrupted.
"I met him briefly."
"Good. Tell me everything you know about that bastard and –"
"Don't tell me what to do," Daniel snapped. In an instant, the temperature of the room dropped by a few degrees, and a wave of cold Qi spread out his body. Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"I don't take orders from you."
There was a stunned silence, as even Harry looked at Daniel in newfound admiration. He hadn't expected such a visceral reaction from Daniel, and obviously neither had Zacharias Smith. Judging by the redness of his face – nobody had ever talked to him like that. Well, other than Harry.
"What did you just say?" Zacharias stepped towards Daniel threateningly. A wave of pressure exploded from his body, rushing towards Daniel with the force of a raging wind.
"I said, I don't take orders from you!" Daniel snapped again, and a similar wave of pressure blew out of his body, easily counteracting Zacharias' force. His eyes widened, and then he was blown backwards, taking multiple steps to stabilize himself.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "The Yellow Hero City doesn't have any juniors like you!"
"None of your business."
"This isn't the place for you to act up!" Zacharias threatened. "In here, the three of us are in charge! You better follow our orders, or else!"
"Or else what?"
"Or else we'll make you pay! Can you alone defeat all of us?"
"Who said I was alone?" Daniel interrupted.
As if on cue, the other half of the odd duo came out of the portal.
"Hey D – uh, Daniel!" Sullivan exclaimed, and leapt to Daniel's side. "Oh, what's going on?"
After Sullivan came out, there were seven, and the portal on their wall disappeared too.
"Just this idiot trying to order me around. But, forget about him. Look who it is," Daniel pointed at Harry.
"Huh?" Sullivan followed Daniel's gaze, and his face lit up with a huge smile as he looked towards Harry.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh it's James! Hey James! Remember me?" Sullivan leapt up and down and waved at Harry, totally ignoring the five men in front of him and Daniel.
"Hello," Harry said evenly, wishing Sullivan didn't draw so much attention to himself.
"Since when did our Yellow Hero City have two juniors like you?" Ernest Macmillan asked. There was both suspicion and a tinge of nervousness in his voice.
"Where are you two from?"
"None of your business," Daniel repeated.
"We're wandering cultivators!" Sullivan exclaimed at the same time. "Oh – oops!"
Harry resisted the urge to put his face in his palm. Some things never changed.
"So you two aren't from Yellow Hero City? I can't believe father allowed you two in. If you two don't fall in line, when this is over, I'll have my father teach you the consequences of going against me," Zacharias Smith haughtily said.
"Let's see if he dares," Daniel sneered right back, while Sullivan just let out a laugh, as if he heard a funny joke.
"Yeah, let's see if he dares!" he echoed.
'Ah, I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of arrogant kids. This sucks,' Harry groaned.
He had only been here a few minutes, but somehow, he already pissed off Draco Malfoy's group. And by his association with Sullivan and Daniel, he could see himself becoming an enemy of the three men who apparently were from Yellow Hero City. At least, his relationship with Felix Rosier's group could be considered neutral, though it was clear they all looked down upon him.
'The more you grow, the more your enemies will multiply...' his Magic Spirit's warning flashed in his mind.
Hopefully, whoever came out of the other three portals wouldn't become his enemies too.
Not much later, there was movement in a fifth portal of the room. This portal was located adjacent to Harry's, so he had a good view of what came out. And out emerged the strangest creature Harry had even seen.
The body was that of a horse, with four hooves, a flank, and a tail, but from the waist up was the body of a man. It had a pair of human arms, so six limbs in total. The creature's head was human-like, but also had equine features. Most notably, it had long ears like a horse, and more of a snout than a nose. Whatever it was, it was some strange mixture of man and horse.
When Harry laid his eyes on it, his eyes almost popped out their sockets. He had never seen such a strange being before.
The creature was tall, much taller than a human, and its head nearly brushed the ceiling of the room. It was shirtless, showing off his bulging muscles. A bow and quiver of arrows were hanging on his back. After this creature came out, five more of them stepped out the portal. There were now six of these bizarre half-human half-horse creatures in the room.
For some reason, even though only six came out, the portal behind them closed. But Harry didn't think much about that – he was too busy staring.
'What the hell are those?' Harry openly gaped.
The creature in the lead must have seen the gawking expression on Harry's face, because it trotted over, right to the edge of the wall of light.
"Lowly human, what do you think you're looking at?" he sneered.
'What the – it talked? Is it a Spirit Grade beast?' Harry thought in fright. But that didn't seem likely, since all the other humans who arrived were in the Qi Absorption Realm. Maybe, the half-human part of the creature granted it the ability of speech?
"Boy, you dare to ignore me?" the creature mistook Harry's surprise for indifference, and immediately turned hostile.
"Tell me, where did you find Rowena Ravenclaw's seventh formation? And what gives a weakling at the 2nd level like you the right to enter?"
In an instant, Harry's temper flared again. Just as he thought, more arrivals, more idiots.
"Who the hell are you? Do I have to answer your questions?"
"Insolence! How dare you speak like that to a centaur?"
"You're a centaur?" Harry's eyes narrowed..
"You haven't heard of the noble Star Scrying Centaur Clan?" the centaur in the lead sneered.
'Star Scrying Centaur Clan... it's... it's actually them!'
'These are the creatures that launched the surprise attack against the owls!'
'They actually appeared here!'
This was the clan mentioned in the last entry of the Snowy Owl Clan's historical record! This was one of the clans that led to the destruction of the Snowy Owl Clan! Though Harry had thought about revenge, he very quickly put that idea out of his mind – after all, he didn't even know what a centaur was, or where they lived. How was he supposed to take revenge like that?
But never did he expect... the centaurs would actually show up in front of him, and so soon!
"Noble?" Harry snorted. The insults from before already riled Harry up, but seeing these creatures made him truly angry.
An enemy of the Snowy Owl Clan was an enemy of his!
"How noble can you be? Did your mother fuck a horse?"
Immediately, the room fell dead silent. The gathered humans gawked at Harry, wondering if they had misheard. And the six centaurs glowered with murderous expressions. Harry was sure if this wall of light didn't exist between them, they would rush over to kill him right here and now.
"Bastard, I swear on the name of my Star Scrying Centaur Clan, I shall hunt you down and flay the skin off your flesh! My clan has killed others for far less!" the first centaur roared. He pounded his fists against the wall, but it was useless.
"Bold words, coming from a mongrel like you. Enemies really do meet on a narrow road."
"Enemies?" the centaur in the lead echoed. "Does a lowly human like you have qualifications to be an enemy of my noble Star Scrying Centaur Clan?"
"I do, actually. And in the future, I'll definitely raze your clan of ponies to the ground."
At this, all of the centaurs exploded in rage. Three of them began pounding at the wall of light, completely ineffectively, but that didn't stop them from trying. The other three started heaping curses and insults towards Harry.
Even though Harry's cultivation was the lowest in the room, there was one skill he had that could be considered unrivaled – his ability to piss people off! Like magic, he always knew what to say or do to rile others up. Further, he could do it with just a few sentences. Out of everyone here, when it came to angering others, he was firmly in the number one spot.
"Damned human race!" one of them spat.
"Do you know how many humans my centaur race has killed?" another yelled.
"When the contest begins, we'll kill you 100 times over!"
"And when the contest ends, we'll kill off your nine familial relations! Your stupid words doomed your entire bloodline, idiot human!"
While the centaurs were busy flinging insults at Harry, the remaining portals around the room closed.
"ENOUGH!" Felix Rosier suddenly shouted. The centaurs fell silent and looked over at him.
"The portals have closed. Let's focus on the matter at hand – the inheritance test!"
"This lowly human dared to insult the noble centaur race! If I don't kill him, the honor of my clan –"
"And if the competition doesn't start, then how are you going to kill him?" Felix Rosier interrupted.
The centaur opened his mouth, then closed it, unable to retort. He settled for shooting Felix a dirty glare.
"Very well, but when the contest starts, that one is mine to kill!"
"That would depend on what the competition is this time. But even if you get the chance, what's the point? He's just a rogue cultivator at the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"A human like you wouldn't understand! It's a matter of pride for my noble Star Scrying Centaur Clan!" the centaur sneered.
"Whatever. The portals have all closed, so we should begin."
In unison, all eyes landed on Harry.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Go ahead James. Start the competition," Felix prompted.
"Hold on," Harry interjected. "I'm not doing anything until someone explains what the hell is going on."
"You don't know?"
"I have no clue. Someone explain it to me, or I won't do it."
"You really don't know?" Draco asked.
"Look. I found a stone platform, and a scroll saying it was a chance to get Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance. I stepped on it, then the next thing I knew, I found myself here. I don't know what's going on, or how you lot got in here – I don't even know who you all are – well, except Sullivan and Daniel. Until someone explains, I don't mind standing here forever. You better start talking if you want me to do anything."
"You came here in complete ignorance?" Zacharias Smith demanded.
"So what if I did?"
"Not only is your cultivation trash, you're also completely ignorant! How did an idiot like you manage to find the seventh formation?"
"How did a fatty like you manage to fit through that portal?" Harry sneered back.
"Don't call me fat!" Zacharias Smith childishly screamed.
"James, you really don't know what's going on?" Daniel asked before Harry and Zacharias could insult each other any more.
"You never heard about Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance tests?"
"I really don't know," Harry sighed. How many times did he have to say it?
"Alright, I can explain it for you. To start off, you at least know who Rowena Ravenclaw was, right?"
"Not really. I heard her name for the first time today."
Daniel stared at Harry with his mouth wide open. Everyone else had a look of incredulity, like they were looking at the world's biggest idiot.
"Ok... well, she was a famous cultivator who lived 1000 years ago, one of the Four Founders. That's all you really need to for now. And each of them left behind an inheritance, along with an inheritance test, for the future generations of the empire to find. We're in Ravenclaw's inheritance test right now."
Harry nodded, so Daniel continued.
"1000 years ago, Rowena Ravenclaw crafted seven stone platforms, which are entrances to her inheritance test. She hid them across the empire, leaving seven chances for people to get her inheritance. Whenever a stone platform is found, it requires a junior to activate it, at which point, the second part of the inheritance test begins. If someone can pass it, they'll be able to claim part of Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance."
"That makes sense. I know I found and activated the seventh platform," Harry said. "But that doesn't explain how all of you got here."
"Right, I was getting to that. Each time a platform is activated, all the previously activated platforms will activate again. It gives all the juniors around the empire another chance to compete. Since you found the last platform, all the platforms across the empire activated. That's why there were seven portals in this room."
'...oh,' Harry thought mutedly, as everything became clear at once. All these people must have came from groups that got their hands on a stone platform in the past. It certainly made more sense than them all stumbling upon a platform at the same time as he did.
"Anyways, the first platform was discovered 900 years ago, by Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena Ravenclaw. She also passed the test, and took away the first part of her mother's inheritance."
"Then in the next 800 or so years, four more platforms were found and activated. Each time there was a huge competition, but each time, nobody was able to pass the test. For those 800 years, Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance was untouched."
"Then around 100 years ago, Albus Dumbledore found the sixth platform, and activated it. You know about Albus Dumbledore, right?"
"Nope," Harry responded, to which everyone stared at him with even more intense looks.
"You don't?" Sullivan exclaimed. "You've never heard of him?"
"How ignorant can you be?" Zacharias sneered and pointed his thick finger at Harry. "You don't even know the man our empire is named after?"
"ANYWAYS," Daniel loudly interrupted, preventing any further arguments, "100 years ago, Albus Dumbledore passed the sixth test, and took the second part of Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance."
"Wait. You said first part and second part? How many parts are there?"
"There are three parts. Each of the Four Founders left three parts to their inheritance," Daniel clarified.
"And today, you found and activated the seventh formation. It's the last one, so it represents the last chance for anyone to get Ravenclaw's inheritance. And coincidentally, there's only one part of her inheritance left. The whole empire is in anticipation for the result."
Harry nodded. Things were beginning to make sense after Daniel's explanation.
"I see. I gather your clans or whatever each own one of the stone platforms? And that's how you all got in here?"
"Right. The Malfoy Sacred Clan has one, and so does the Rosier Sacred Clan," Daniel said while pointing to Draco and Felix. "The three Sacred Clans that rule over Yellow Hero City have one, and Sullivan and I just happened to be there at the time. Luckily for us, the Patriarchs of the three Sacred Clans picked the four strongest juniors of the city to enter, not just of their clans. And finally, the centaurs have one."
"Ok – wait, did you say Sacred Clan? All these people here are from Sacred Clans?"
All of a sudden, Harry realized just who all these people were. They weren't just random people around the Scarlet Phoenix Empire... they were actually the strongest of the junior generation! As it turned out, they all had huge backgrounds!
Actually, that made sense. Only the Sacred Clans would be able to monopolize these stone platforms. But now that he knew, Harry wanted to curse his big mouth. If he had known these people were all from Sacred Clans, then he definitely wouldn't have aggravated them so.
The last time he pissed off someone from a Sacred Clan – Theodore Nott – he had very nearly died, and the Swan Sea Sect was destroyed. Those events were fresh in his memory, and since then, he had been wary to not repeat the same mistake.
How was he to know these people were all from Sacred Clans?
"Finally realized it?" Draco Malfoy sneered. "Now that you know, you better get on your knees and apologize to us! The Sacred Clans can't be disrespected by a rogue cultivator like you!"
'Ah, I messed up, big time,' Harry sighed.
This time, he had truly messed up.
Though he didn't want to apologize, in the end, he decided to.
"Alright. I'll admit I was wrong. Draco, I shouldn't have told you to go fuck yourself. And Millicent, I shouldn't have called you a troll. Actually, you're quite pretty – " Harry gagged a bit into his throat " – and Zacharias, I'm sorry for calling you fat. Honestly, you aren't that fat. I mean, I've met a couple people who were fatter than you, like my uncle. But just a couple though."
Though Harry apologized, he didn't have much experience in that field. As a result, his apology came out all wrong. It didn't sound sincere at all. And since he repeated all his insults for the whole room to hear, it actually made things slightly worse. Especially when some newcomers looked at Draco and Millicent with odd looks, the two of them once again felt the urge to rush over and attack James. But everyone wanted to get on with the inheritance test, so they swallowed their anger towards James and accepted it.
"And what about us?" one of the centaurs demanded.
"Apologize to you?" Harry sneered. His tone did a complete 180.
"Your Star Skying whatever clan can go straight to hell. I'll die before I apologize to your clan of evil creatures."
"You'll die first? Careful what you wish for." the centaur sneered back. "My noble Star Scrying Centaur Clan has over 100 ways to torture you lowly humans to death."
"Little pony, you still haven't realized it?"
"Realized what?"
"You all need me to start the test, don't you?" Harry made an educated guess based on how everyone had been looking towards him earlier.
"Right – what about it?"
"Then in that case, you better change your attitude! In fact, I'm thinking you better apologize to me! Or else you can forget about Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance!"
"You dare?!" the centaur's face changed colors, as did everyone else in the room. Just like James had guessed, the test wouldn't begin until James started it. Until then, they would all be stuck in this room, with no way out.
Not starting the inheritance test – such an idea never even crossed the centaur's mind, or anyone else's for that matter. Everyone wanted to obtain Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance. If they were the one to find the seventh platform, they would start the test without any hesitation. Not kicking the test off was simply not an option. Only a person who's mind worked in strange ways like Harry would even think of such an option.
"Why don't I dare?" Harry shrugged.
"Don't you know that'll prevent you from getting the inheritance?"
"Before today, I didn't even know who Rowena Ravenclaw was. If I don't get her inheritance, it's no big deal to me."
"And what about us? We won't be able to compete either!"
"Finally realized it?" Harry laughed at the furious centaur. "I suggest you get on with the apology."
The beast looked at Harry with an expression of ultimate vexation, his face twisted in a mix of rage and frustration. Worst of all, though he wanted to curse James, he found that he couldn't, not when Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance was at risk. Perhaps this fellow, who obviously had some mental problems, may very well follow up on his threat.
To Harry, the centaur's constipated expression looked quite funny.
"What are you waiting for?" Harry innocently asked. "Don't you want the inheritance?"
"My noble centaur clan shall never apologize to a lowly human!" the first centaur roared.
"Suit yourself," Harry shrugged and plopped down on the floor. He laid there, hands behind his hand and as carefree as one could be.
Seconds passed.
Minutes passed.
As time dragged on, people suddenly realized... this obviously crazy fellow was serious!
They shot dirty looks at both James and the centaur, but neither of them paid the others any attention. As for Harry, he had a thick face, and was used to being stared at. And as for the centaur, his personal sense of pride was too high.
"Dammit, can't you two settle this afterwards?" Draco Malfoy snapped.
"Nope," Harry cheerfully responded. "That group of beasts and I are mortal enemies. I'll never let one of them off."
"Malfoy heir, are you suggesting I lower myself to that rogue cultivator's level? You're dreaming!" the centaur yelled. Immediately after, he returned to his stoic expression.
And the rest of the room stood there in frustration, all locked in a stalemate.
Five minutes... ten minutes... fifteen minutes... twenty minutes... Harry was about to doze off...
"You!" the lead centaur finally pointed at one of the centaurs behind him. "Apologize!"
The centaur looked like he was about to protest, but then thought better about it.
"I'm sorry," he said stiffly.
"It seems like, you're not interested in Rowena Ravenclaw's inheritance," Harry looked at lead centaur.
"We already apologized!"
"Sure, that one cursed me a couple times, but I'm used to that. You, on the other hand, didn't you say you'd flay the skin off my flesh? I'm going to need an apology for that one in particular."
"I, apologize to a lowly human like you? I refuse!" the centaur stomped his hooves.
"Dammit Firenze, just say it!" Draco Malfoy ordered. He looked truly annoyed now.
"If you don't want the inheritance, then fine! But we do! So put your pride aside, and just apologize!"
"Firenze, if you prevent us from getting the inheritance, our clans will definitely settle accounts with your clan!" Anthony Goldstein threatened. Around the room, looks of agreement could be seen on all the faces of the humans.
Despite the prodding, Firenze continued to ignore everyone.
Twenty five minutes... thirty minutes...
"Do you want to be stuck here forever? Because there's no way out of this room," Felix Rosier spoke up. That seemed to do it, because finally –
"Sorry," Firenze grunted. It looked like it took all his strength to say that word, and after that, he shot Harry a look of pure malice.
"Alright, see how easy that was?" Harry gave Firenze a lopsided grin, and the centaur nearly fainted in anger.
"Next time, remember to cultivate your character, not just your strength. When a child misbehaves, it's the responsibility of an adult to set them on the correct path."
At those words, Firenze almost lost himself to sheer fury. There was so much anger in his heart that he almost blacked out. He looked like he was going to kill Harry, this barrier of light be damned, but his companions managed to drag him back and calm him down. With that taken care of, Harry turned back to Daniel.
"Now, where was I – right! What about those two portals? How come no one came out there?" Harry pointed at the two empty sections of the room.
"You really don't know anything, do you?" Daniel muttered.
"The history and whereabouts of the first six stone platforms are all documented. The very first one to be found, the one found by Helena Ravenclaw, was lost 20 years ago. No one knows where it is now. Some people believe it was destroyed, even."
"And the sixth stone platform, the one found by Albus Dumbledore, it belongs to the Dumbledore Sacred Clan now. But their clan doesn't have any juniors, so no one came through."
"Got it," Harry nodded. He supposed all of this was just common knowledge to other people in the empire.
"Is that it? Can we start now?" Draco Malfoy growled.
"Not yet," Harry said cheerfully.
"I want to know who I'm competing against. Each of you, say your name, your clan, and your cultivation level. Here, I'll even start. I'm James Evans, rogue cultivator, 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
Though the last thing that these cultivators, who hailed from Sacred Clans, wanted was to take orders from a rogue cultivator, they had no choice. In here, for the time being, they had to comply.
"Draco Malfoy, Young Master of the Malfoy Sacred Clan. 8th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Vincent Crabbe, Young Master of the Crabbe Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Gregory Goyle, Young Master of the Goyle Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Pansy Parkinson, Young Mistress of the Parkinson Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Millicent Bulstrode, Young Mistress of the Bulstrode Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Marcus Flint, Young Master of the Flint Clan, vassals to the Malfoy Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Cassius Warrington, Young Master of the Warrington Clan, vassals to the Malfoy Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
Then moving on to Rosier's group...
"Felix Rosier, Young Master of the Rosier Sacred Clan. 8th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Rodolfo Rowle, Young Master of the Rowle Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Averner Avery, Young Master of the Avery Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Yaxtin Yaxley, Young Master of the Yaxley Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Travis Travers, Young Master of the Travers Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Gibson Gibbon, Young Master of the Gibbon Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Julian Jugson, Young Master of the Jugson Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
Then the group from the Yellow Hero City...
"Anthony Goldstein, Young Master of the Goldstein Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Zacharias Smith, Young Master of the Smith Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Ernest Macmillan, Young Master of the Macmillan Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Terry Boot, member of the Goldstein Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Michael Corner, member of the Macmillan Sacred Clan. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"You know us, James! We're Sullivan and Daniel, wandering cultivators, and we're at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm!" Sullivan grinned at Harry.
Then the centaurs...
"Firenze. 8th level of the Qi Absorption Realm," the lead centaur spat in Harry's direction.
"Magnus. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Torvus. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Petros. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Anatoli. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
"Lysias. 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
As the cultivators rattled off their names and backgrounds, Harry felt his body go numb. Though he didn't show it, he was starting to feel nervous. There were actually 15 Sacred Clans represented in here! The Yellow Hero City had three, Malfoy had five, and Rosier had seven! Then there were two vassal clans, and also the Star Scrying Centaur Clan. Harry knew their clan wasn't weak – after all, they dared to attack a Spirit Grade clan like the Snowy Owl Clan, and furthermore, they were able to monopolize an inheritance platform. In terms of strength, they must have been as powerful as a Sacred Clan.
Further, everyone here was at least at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm, with three people at the 8th level. Though nobody was at the 9th, Harry wouldn't be surprised if most of them were just as powerful. Their cultivation base was impressive, as expected from those of a Sacred Clan.
In the back of his mind, Harry wondered why only six centaurs had come, while everyone else had seven. Surely their clan had more than six juniors?
"One last thing, then we can start. Tell me everything you know about the test."
"We can't, you stu – never mind. But we can't," Malfoy sounded like he was going to add an insult to that, but then thought better about it.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"My god, you're ignorant," Malfoy groaned. Thankfully, Daniel stepped in to explain again.
"This room is called the Room of Requirement, and was crafted by Rowena Ravenclaw. It was considered her magnus opus, her finest creation, and can take whatever form it desires. Each time there's an inheritance test, the test is different to prevent anyone from having an advantage."
"How is it different?"
"I mean, it's just different. It's a completely different test each time. The very first one – the one where Helena Ravenclaw won – the room took the shape of a massive dumping ground full of junk. Ravenclaw's first treasure was hidden within, and the contestants had to search for it. In another contest, there was an arena where competitors had to defeat waves of constructs that Rowena Ravenclaw created. And in the last test, which Albus Dumbledore won, the whole competition was just standing in front of a mirror, and letting the mirror judge you."
"Each test is different, with no relations to the previous ones. That's why none of us can tell you anything, since we just don't know. But that also makes it a fair competition where no one has the advantage."
"Got it," Harry nodded.
"Now that he answered all your questions, can we continue?" Draco asked impatiently.
There was plenty more Harry wanted to ask, but he decided to not press his luck and aggravate these people even more.
"Very well. How do I start it?"
"Just say, 'Begin the inheritance test'," Draco instructed.
'Here we go…' Harry took a good look around the room, at the 27 gathered cultivators, and took a deep breath.
"Begin the inheritance test."