Perhaps because it was hiding to lick its wounds after being heavily injured, the Basilisk did not appear in the castle again while Kyle was busy installing the surveillance system at Hogwarts. A week passed quickly.
During this time, Kyle poured nearly all of his spare time into the production of the monitoring crystal balls. While making a single crystal ball was simple, the sheer scale of Hogwarts Castle was daunting. The application of the Undetectable Extension Charm meant the space inside the castle far exceeded the physical dimensions suggested by its exterior.
It took nearly a thousand crystal balls to cover the entire castle. If he wanted to include important outdoor areas—such as the owlery, the Quidditch pitch, the greenhouses, and the covered bridge—the number would easily exceed a thousand. Consequently, it was difficult for Kyle to handle it all alone in such a short timeframe.
At Kyle's invitation, George, Fred, and Cedric also joined the project. This significantly accelerated the progress of the surveillance system, which Kyle had dubbed "Skynet." However, this inevitably delayed the production of the Fat Electric Mark II.
Fortunately, the next Quidditch match was between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Furthermore, the prototype for the Fat Electric Mark II had already been completed. Once Skynet was finished, there would be plenty of time to build enough Fat Electrics to arm the entire Quidditch team before the third match of the season. There was nothing to worry about.
Finally, on Saturday night, the Skynet system was officially declared complete after the last crystal ball was installed. After relaying the good news to Dumbledore via the Two-Way Mirror, Kyle leaned back in a "tactical recline."
"Let's go have some BBQ!" he said to Cedric and the others.
Fred's face instantly darkened. The last time Kyle had said those words in the Great Hall, the four of them had run into Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest that very night. Encountering Voldemort was one thing—a low-probability event, after all—but the most important thing was that these heartless traitors had sold him out directly to Professor McGonagall.
Though McGonagall hadn't punished them in the end, Fred still felt like pulling out a knife and giving Kyle a "throwing knife warning" every time he heard that sentence.
Four figures slipped out of the castle silently. They were already quite skilled at avoiding the caretaker and the professors on night patrol; they didn't even need the Disillusionment Charm anymore.
Soon, a campfire was lit on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Judging by the dozen or so scorched patches left in the vicinity, this spot had hosted at least as many BBQ parties.
"Cedric, is something on your mind?"
While grilling the meat, Kyle noticed that Cedric seemed distracted. He hadn't even noticed that the fish in his hand was charred. Kyle absolutely didn't believe it if Cedric claimed nothing was wrong.
Seeing that Kyle had seen right through him, Cedric rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just a bit... lost."
Kyle calmly took a bite of his kebab, waiting for Cedric to speak up.
"George and Fred have both found their own paths to becoming stronger, but I'm still just following the curriculum and learning conventional magic..."
Kyle understood immediately. Conventional magic wasn't weak—one only had to look at Dumbledore and Grindelwald to know that. However, the only person in the world who had reached their level through conventional magic was a certain man without a nose. Unfortunately, while Cedric was talented, he hadn't reached that "Dark Lord" tier of genius yet.
Therefore, if he wanted to become strong enough, he had to find a different path. George and Fred, inspired by Kyle, had already found their "shortcuts." Only Cedric didn't know which way to go.
"You have to discover this for yourself. You need to be good at finding where your own talent lies," Kyle said.
Cedric focused his thoughts as he listened.
"George and Fred are full of wild ideas. Alchemy, a subject that requires a collision of inspirations, needs exactly that. You need to think about what you are good at."
"What I'm good at..." Cedric said dryly. "Transfiguration? And Quidditch?"
Forget Quidditch. He couldn't exactly have Cedric grab a broom and transition into a "Witch Doctor" or a "Magical Scholar," could he? In the future, when people in the wizarding world talked about Cedric, they'd introduce him like this:
Cedric, also known as "The Unstoppable" or "Big-Eyed Cedric." Title: The Magician. Class: Magus Scholar. Achievement: Founded Team "Wocao" (meaning Hogwarts Campus Heartthrob). Known for a bizarre and unpredictable combat style, he is ranked alongside the "Golden Flash" Kyle Grindelwald, "Sasori of the Red Sand" George Weasley, and the "Explosive Demon" Fred Weasley as one of the four legendary wizards of the modern era.
Kyle: "..."
Better not. The image was too "beautiful" to imagine. So, it had to be Transfiguration.
As a leading authority in the field, Professor McGonagall had once praised Cedric's talent: "In terms of Transfiguration, among all the students I have ever taught, no one is more excellent than you. I, Minerva McGonagall, would like to call you the—"
Wait, wrong script.
Still, to earn McGonagall's praise meant Cedric's talent in Transfiguration was truly formidable. Most fourth-year students were likely still learning to transform inanimate objects into living ones. Yet Cedric, while still a third-year last year, had already begun studying sixth-year Transfiguration content. At this rate, by the second half of this school year, Cedric could probably begin attempting to learn to be an Animagus under McGonagall's guidance.
If Cedric continued to specialize in Transfiguration, Kyle could actually give him a few suggestions.
"My old man gave me some knowledge regarding Human Transfiguration before," Kyle said, pulling a stack of parchment from his pocket and handing it to Cedric.
"Human Transfiguration?" Cedric accepted the parchment curiously.
Grindelwald had strictly warned Kyle not to perform Transfiguration on any body tissues other than the stratum corneum (skin) and hair. But Kyle, possessing a strong "death wish," had experimented with other things regardless. For example... bone hyperplasia.
Just like now.
Kyle wiped the grease from his hands and slowly stood up. Under the horrified gazes of the other three, Kyle reached back and "pulled out" his own spine.
"What the hell?!!"
The emerald light of healing magic glowed in Kyle's left palm as he pressed it against the wound at the back of his neck. His right hand brandished a bone-white longsword, still streaked with blood, in front of Cedric. "This is called Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)."
Kyle silently decided that whoever wanted to practice this could have at it; he certainly wasn't going to do it again. Pulling out a spine hurt way too much.
Cedric's head shook like a rattle, his face written with rejection. How did a genius like Kyle come up with such a psychotic move? It looked terrifying!
Kyle observed Cedric's expression. It seemed the allure of a bone sword wasn't strong enough; he needed to add more fuel to the fire. Magic surged out of his body, pouring violently into the ground through his feet.
Following Kyle's movements, the ground vibrated slowly, as if something beneath the earth was about to break through.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern!
Kyle slammed the bone sword into the ground, and the earth in front of him instantly exploded. Countless sharp, bone-white spikes erupted from the soil, instantly turning a fifty-meter radius in front of Kyle and Cedric into a forest of white bone.
The momentum of the Dance of the Seedling Fern was impressive, and the resulting sea of bone possessed a macabre beauty. However, Cedric didn't fall for it at all. This thing would be useless the moment someone Apparated into the air. What was the point? Besides, if you transformed a bone sword, didn't you still have to get close to hack at people?
How many people in the wizarding world fought in melee range like Hagrid, who practiced the Eight Inner Gates? Kyle could forget about tricking him into learning this.
Seeing that Cedric wasn't biting, Kyle shrugged helplessly. It seemed the birth of "Kaguya Diggory" (or "Kimimaro Cedric") in the wizarding world was not meant to be.
Kyle searched his mind for the anime he had watched in his previous life, looking for something suitable for Cedric. After thinking it over, there was only one path left. If they went that way, he, Hannah, and Cedric could potentially form a "Hufflepuff Sannin" (Three Wizards).
Konoha had the three Sannin (Yellow, Gambler, Poison); why couldn't their trio make a debut?
Kyle had mastered Needle Jizo based on Human Transfiguration and developed the Rasengan. Now that he held administrator rights to the Hogwarts surveillance system, he could gather "material" for his creation, Make-out Hogwarts, at any time. It wasn't an exaggeration to call him the "Hogwarts Gallant."
As for Hannah, she was moving further down the path of Medical Magic and monstrous strength. Under Kyle's guidance, Hannah had already begun developing the Strength of a Hundred Seal (Byakugō), which allowed for rapid wound recovery. Once that spell was finished, Hannah's combat power would skyrocket. More importantly, little Hannah, who was previously "flat enough to bring peace to the world," was showing signs of growing into a "big" Hannah who could "rally the hearts of the people." This was the fundamental reason Hannah could be a member of the GHS trio.
So, the method to make Cedric stronger was nothing more than fusing with the bloodline of a certain magical creature. To become truly powerful, one had to merge with the blood of a high-tier magical beast. And right now, there was a ready-made Basilisk waiting for Cedric.
However, this method was a bit too risky. Should he tell Cedric? Kyle pondered silently. In the end, he couldn't make up his mind.
"Hey, I say, why don't we go in and explore?"
After eating and drinking their fill, George tilted his chin toward the pitch-black Forbidden Forest.
"Now?" Cedric's tone was hesitant.
Fred leaned in with a mischievous grin. "What, are you scared? Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark?"
Cedric pressed his grease-covered palm onto Fred's face and shoved him back. "You're the one who's afraid of the dark. I just think it's too dangerous to explore the Forbidden Forest at this hour."
It was already past eleven at night. Many nocturnal predators would be emerging. Fred, his face covered in oil, pulled out his wand and cast a Scourgify on himself with a look of disgust.
"What's there to be afraid of? The four of us are strong enough to run wild in the Forbidden Forest."
"The ones who should feel in danger are the creatures in the forest," Kyle curled his lip disdainfully. Seeing that Cedric was still hesitant, Kyle added more incentive. "Hagrid told me there's an Acromantula colony in the forest."
He held up a finger. "You know, a pint of Acromantula venom can sell for a hundred Galleons. Besides that, their other body parts are quite valuable too."
Sorry, Hagrid, Kyle said silently in his heart.
Cedric's reaction was exactly as Kyle expected. Since tasting the beauty of having a large amount of Gold Galleons at his disposal, Cedric was no longer that honest "Big-Eyed" boy. He cleaned the grease from his hands and scrambled up from the ground. "Where is that Acromantula colony?"
Kyle threw a water orb to extinguish the campfire. "Just look for spiders nearby, then follow them."
By the light of their Lumos charms, the four searched the surrounding grass. Soon, George found a line of spiders crawling along. The spiders were scurrying away from the light of the wand tips, ducking into the dark shadows of the trees. He motioned for the others to come over.
"That's it. Follow them." Kyle broke into a run. The other three followed.
As the four "Father's Sorrows" (troublemakers) ventured deeper into the forest, the line of spiders grew, eventually forming a black carpet leading into the distant darkness. They no longer needed to stop to check the direction because the goal was clear. The four leaped into the trees, no longer needing to deal with the twisted roots on the ground, which allowed them to move much faster.
After about twenty minutes, they reached the edge of a vast hollow. In the hollow, countless spiders were crawling around, each as large as a carthorse. Eight eyes, eight legs, black and hairy—they looked like behemoths.
That was the Acromantula colony Hagrid had told Kyle about. Hagrid had previously offered to take Kyle to "pet Aragog's leg hair." When Kyle asked what kind of creature Aragog was and Hagrid explained his true identity, Kyle lost all interest. He had assumed that since dragons could look so "rugged," something called an "eight-eyed giant spider" must be hideously ugly.
Refused on the grounds of ugliness! Disgusting!
But Hagrid had told Kyle the location anyway, hoping that Kyle would one day change his mind and come pet Aragog's leg hair with him. But now, Kyle was here—not to pet leg hair, but to "fleece the wool."
The four crouched on a tree at the edge of the hollow, discussing how to extract the venom. Since the trees in the hollow had been cleared, they couldn't use the forest for cover; they would be exposed the moment they charged. In a head-on fight, the four of them had nothing to fear. Fred could probably clear out most of the hollow just by tossing a few C2 Dragons. But if he did that, the venom might be evaporated by the explosions. How would they collect it then? So, a frontal assault was out.
"Kyle, what about your Human Transfiguration? Why don't you turn into Hagrid and lure the leader, Aragog, out?" Fred asked, tilting his head.
Kyle looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Hagrid is nearly four meters tall. I'd have to stretch myself to over twice my original size to look like him. You might as well just chop me into pieces."
"Sorry, sorry, forgot," Fred rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
While the four were focused on their plan of attack, a thick patch of darkness crept up behind them.
Click-clack!
The moment the sound rang out, the lightning-fast Kyle drew a Flying Raijin Kunai and blocked behind him.
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal clashing echoed in the dark forest. Having blocked the Acromantula's sneak attack, Kyle spun his body in the blink of an eye. A Rasengan glowing with a faint blue light was slammed directly into the Acromantula's ugly head, right between its massive pincers.
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