"To become a powerful wizard, extensive combat experience is essential."
In the magic training room, Grindelwald spoke to Kyle.
After Kyle had mastered the nature transformation of magic power, Grindelwald and Dumbledore—the two most powerful wizards in the magical world—took turns stepping up to subject Kyle to an inhumane beatdown.
Dumbledore was slightly gentler, always stopping exactly when the point was made.
But Grindelwald...
Kyle felt that this wretched old geezer was definitely seeking personal revenge for that day Kyle had plastered his face with soot using an exploding tag.
Kyle now possessed a wide variety of offensive means, but they were of little use against these two wretched old men.
Both of them had suppressed the power of their curses and their casting speed to a level roughly equivalent to Kyle's.
They didn't even use magic beyond the Hogwarts curriculum. Yet, relying solely on the tight chaining of spells and flexible, versatile application, they beat Kyle until he had no power to resist.
The abilities Kyle currently mastered were roughly as follows:
Ninjutsu: B-Rank and below, including the Five Basic Nature Transformations of B-Rank, as well as the healing-focused Mystical Palm Technique.
Taijutsu: The Eight Gates Release (openable up to the Second Gate), the fighting techniques honed in New York, and the Hidden Leaf's secret Taijutsu technique: One Thousand Years of Death.
Magic: Aside from standard spells, the only two with significant lethality were Sectumsempra and the Blasting Curse.
Items: The greatsword Phoenix's Vow, modified firearms, exploding tags, Explosive Clay, Dungbombs...
Kyle didn't feel that any of the above methods would be effective against Grindelwald or Dumbledore.
His magic couldn't break through their Shield Charms (Protego). The only thing that could breach their defenses was the Chidori.
As for the Chidori Sharp Spear, which had even greater piercing power, he shouldn't even think about it.
The moment Kyle pulled out Phoenix's Vow, several chains created via Transfiguration would attack him, sealing off his escape routes. Then, with a flash of red light from a Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus), his greatsword would bid him farewell.
Even if he chose not to channel Chidori into the sword and instead launched a direct surprise attack on his old dad...
Having already become familiar with his "blind them with strong light then close in" routine, how could the two of them give Kyle a chance for close-quarters combat?
Just a few well-placed Impediment Jinxes (Impedimenta) were enough to successfully seal off Kyle's charging route.
That left only the option of a long-range bombardment.
The power of standard spells couldn't break their Shield Charms. However, more often than not, Kyle's spells didn't even get the chance to land on the defensive barriers formed by the Shield Charm.
Grindelwald and Dumbledore, the combat ceilings of the wizarding world, had not stooped so low as to use Shield Charms to bully a primary school student.
More often, they chose to use spell collisions to cancel out Kyle's attacks. This was a more advanced technique of spell parrying, and it was also what they intended to teach Kyle.
As for the Shadow Magic series he had just learned—its power was great enough, certainly, but this stuff was taught to him by Grindelwald.
Grindelwald: You dare use my own spells against me?
To be honest, using Shadow Magic against Grindelwald was less effective than throwing two dungbombs at him.
At least the latter would disgust him.
Although Kyle was always in a state of being one-sidedly thrashed, the strong are generally forged by being abused by other strong individuals.
Kyle, whose talent in combat was already outstanding, saw his combat experience skyrocket under the attentive cultivation of the two old Dark Lords.
This feeling of watching himself become stronger bit by bit fascinated Kyle.
At the same time, Kyle had not neglected his research into magical nature transformation and the spatial anchors for Apparition.
Kyle had originally thought that he would spend the vast majority of his time this summer vacation on these two research projects.
However, a letter delivered by the Weasley family owl, Errol, made him temporarily pause the work at hand.
The letter contained just one simple sentence:
"A certain Dumbledore who sold me out in front of Professor McGonagall, have you forgotten our agreement?"
It seemed that Fred held a deep grudge regarding the incident where Kyle had pushed him out to take the fall.
Upon seeing the letter Fred wrote him, Kyle remembered the agreement he and the other three "Father-Frustrators" had made while still at Hogwarts about conducting special training during the summer.
Because Kyle had been so immersed in magic during this period, he had forgotten all about it.
George and Fred probably hadn't received a single letter from him since the holidays began, which was why they sent the owl to remind him.
The Weasley family, as well as the Diggory family, both lived in the village of Ottery St Catchpole, along the banks of the River Otter in Devon.
Kyle had previously agreed to go find the three of them during the summer vacation.
When the time came, he and Cedric would stay together at the Weasleys' home, The Burrow.
As for the location of the special training, he just needed Grindelwald to step in and help him expand the space inside his "Bag End" suitcase.
Kyle put down the book on spatial magic he was holding. After writing a reply to George and Fred, he dashed out of the library in a flash.
Kyle's figure soon appeared in Grindelwald's study.
"Dad, I have a favor to ask." He shook the Newt-style suitcase in his hand.
Upon seeing this suitcase, Grindelwald's expression changed slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
However, Grindelwald quickly adjusted his facial expression. "You want me to help you expand the space in the suitcase?"
He had heard from Dumbledore long ago that when the little guy was wandering alone in New York, he had stubbornly dug out a living space of nearly two hundred square meters beneath an abandoned factory.
This must be it.
As Kyle's biological father, he was quite curious to know what Kyle's life in New York had been like back then.
Kyle nodded. "Can you help me expand it to be as big as that Quidditch pitch? It needs to have mountains, water, and forests."
Grindelwald smiled. "Any other requirements? For instance, building a Magical Zoo?"
As long as Kyle nodded, he would immediately go pay a visit to his neighbor, Newt Scamander.
Hearing this, Kyle's eyes lit up instantly. "Can we?"
"Of course. You are my son; whatever you want, as long as I can satisfy it, I can give it to you."
Grindelwald spoke with incomparable dominance.
Kyle was immediately tempted by the Magical Zoo Grindelwald mentioned, but after thinking it over carefully, he decided against it.
The raising of magical creatures was a major issue, especially regarding providing them with sufficient living space.
No matter how much he expanded his small suitcase with the Undetectable Extension Charm, it could never truly match the real world.
Moreover, even with the help of house-elves, Kyle didn't think he could keep an eye on all the magical creatures at all times.
If a magical creature were to escape, it would be a huge disaster.
The danger rating of the magical creatures Kyle wanted to raise was never below "XXXX".
If a dragon were to run out into the Hufflepuff common room later on, the situation might become uncontrollable.
Dumbledore would absolutely beat him to death.
So, Kyle rejected this heart-pounding proposal.
"That... well, Dad, let's forget about the Magical Zoo."
Hearing Kyle's words, Grindelwald couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
He had lost an excuse to go to the Scamander house next door and cause trouble.
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