Chapter 40: The Challenge (Patreon)

Given Cedric's character, Shane had no objections to letting him join Fairy Tail in the future.

Teaching him magic circles ahead of time wasn't a problem.

The real issue...

Was Skyscraper itself.

It was an exceptionally powerful illusion spell.

Powerful enough that it could even affect its own caster.

Back in Aslant, even Mystogan needed the aid of his staves to remain conscious while casting it.

Otherwise, he could easily become trapped within his own illusion.

After Shane's improvements, Skyscraper had become even more stable—

But it had also reached the level of Super Magic.

If Cedric wished to learn it, then one thing had to be tested first.

His innate mental strength.

If his mind couldn't withstand the backlash of illusion magic...

He could become trapped inside his own illusions during training.

And never escape.

To be safe, Shane thought for a moment before speaking.

"I can teach you Skyscraper."

"Really?!"

Cedric's face lit up with excitement.

"But..."

One word instantly extinguished his smile.

"I can teach it to you."

"But you have to agree to one condition."

Shane continued,

"Next semester—or at the latest, next school year—I'll be establishing a guild at Hogwarts."

"If I teach you Skyscraper now..."

"Then when the time comes, you'll have to join my guild."

"A guild?"

Cedric blinked in confusion.

"What exactly is that?"

He remained cautious.

It wasn't because he believed Shane had bad intentions.

Rather...

He was worried that whatever this guild stood for might conflict with his own beliefs.

He had no desire to join an organization that might someday force him to do something against his conscience.

Shane simply shrugged.

"Don't ask."

"You'll find out when the time comes."

"So..."

"Can you accept that condition?"

Cedric hesitated.

After weighing the pros and cons several times...

He finally nodded.

"...All right."

"I agree."

"And..."

Shane continued.

"There's more?"

Cedric asked instinctively.

Shane's forehead immediately twitched.

"Do all Hufflepuffs enjoy interrupting people?"

"Could you let someone finish talking first?"

The memory instantly resurfaced.

Not long ago, Shane had gone to the kitchens late one night looking for a midnight snack.

There, he had found several Hufflepuffs secretly raiding the pantry.

That wasn't unusual.

After all, the Hufflepuff common room was located right beside the kitchens.

At first, they had simply greeted him politely before returning to their feast.

But after seeing Kururu prepare Shane's late-night meal...

The irresistible aroma immediately caught their attention.

Their eyes sparkled.

One after another, they rushed over to ask how to cook crayfish.

Initially, Shane had been delighted to teach them.

Promoting Chinese cuisine was always worthwhile.

Unfortunately...

Every few sentences, one of the Hufflepuffs would suddenly interrupt him.

"What if we replaced garlic with ketchup?"

"Could we add pumpkin juice instead?"

By the end...

Shane had been so frustrated he nearly transformed them all into tomatoes and planted them in his vegetable garden.

Returning to the present...

Cedric hurriedly apologized.

"I'm sorry."

"Please continue."

Taking a deep breath, Shane calmed himself.

"To learn Skyscraper, you need extraordinary talent in one particular area."

"In a moment, I'm going to cast a spell on you."

"If you can escape within the allotted time..."

"You'll have the qualifications to learn it."

He drew his wand from his waist.

"Oh."

"One more thing."

"If you fail..."

"Then the promise you made earlier is automatically void."

"But..."

"If you still want to learn magic..."

"I've got plenty of other options."

He puffed out his chest proudly.

"So..."

"Are you ready?"

Cedric swallowed nervously before nodding.

"I'm ready."

"Good."

"First..."

"Let's shake hands."

Shane suddenly stretched out his hand.

Although puzzled, Cedric instinctively accepted it.

The instant their hands met—

A thin strand of brilliant crimson flame emerged from Shane's arm.

Like a glowing red wire, it wrapped itself around Cedric's wrist before disappearing.

Cedric's eyes widened.

"The Unbreakable Vow?!"

Before he could fully react—

Tap.

Shane lightly struck his forehead with his wand.

A flash of white filled Cedric's vision.

Everything blurred.

Then...

Darkness.

His body collapsed onto the floor.

"Cedric!"

Several Hufflepuffs who had witnessed the scene from afar immediately rushed over in alarm.

They hadn't seen the conversation.

All they had witnessed was Shane casting a spell on Cedric.

"What did you do to him?!"

one of them demanded angrily.

Shane waved his hand casually.

"Relax."

"It's the same kind of magic as yesterday's Halloween game."

"He'll wake up in about ten minutes."

Inside the Illusion

Cedric slowly opened his eyes.

Darkness.

That was the first thing he saw.

He could feel the icy ground beneath him.

"...Where am I?"

That was his first thought.

Then his memory returned.

"Shane cast a spell on me."

"He told me to escape."

"But..."

"How?"

He slowly stood up and looked around.

He discovered he was standing upon an enormous square staircase.

Each of the four corners connected seamlessly to the next.

The stairways rose and descended in impossible ways.

The entire structure felt profoundly unnatural.

"...What is this place?"

Cedric cautiously walked toward one corner.

Finding nothing unusual, he continued toward another.

Halfway there...

He suddenly stopped.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He was certain he had been walking upward.

So why...

When he turned around...

Was the place he'd started now above his head?

Cedric stared in disbelief.

Unable to trust his own eyes, he hurriedly ran all the way around the staircase.

The result only made things worse.

No matter where he stood...

The staircase refused to obey common sense.

It had no highest point.

No lowest point.

Every direction contradicted itself.

Everything he believed about space had completely collapsed.

The staircase beneath Cedric's feet was none other than the famous geometric paradox—

The Penrose Stairs.

Proposed in 1958 by the British mathematician Roger Penrose and his father, geneticist Lionel Penrose, it depicted an impossible staircase that seemed to ascend—or descend—forever without ever reaching either top or bottom.

It was a three-dimensional variation of the famous Penrose Triangle.

Watching Cedric wander helplessly through the impossible structure, Shane quietly sighed.

Cedric had been raised in a traditional wizarding family.

He had never encountered modern mathematics or concepts like higher-dimensional geometry.

There was simply no way for him to comprehend what he was seeing.

Besides...

The Penrose Stairs weren't the real challenge.

They were merely...

A hint.

What lay beyond the staircase—

That...

Would be Cedric's true test.

After circling the impossible staircase several more times without discovering any clues, Cedric finally stopped.

Thinking carefully, he slowly walked toward the edge.

Below him stretched an endless abyss.

A bottomless darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

He nervously swallowed.

If there was no escape on the staircase...

Then perhaps...

He needed to find another way.

After all...

This was only an illusion.

Even if he died—

It wouldn't be real.

Taking one final deep breath to steel himself...

Cedric broke into a short run.

Then leaped from the edge of the Penrose Stairs...

Straight into the endless darkness below.