This time, when Shane arrived at the guild, he didn't rush to push the door open.
He stood in front of the heavy wooden doors, pressed his ear to the door panel, closed his eyes, and silently counted down in his head.
Three… two… one.
Boom—almost the instant he reached "one," a massive crash erupted from inside.
Right after that, a thick solid-oak round table came howling through the doorway, trailing dust and splashed water, and smashed into the ground not far from Shane's feet, exploding into pieces.
Shane looked down at the wreckage by his shoes and nodded in satisfaction. "Yep. This is the kind of 'welcome' I'm used to. That's the vibe."
He stepped over the mess and walked into the hall.
The moment he entered, he saw a huge open space in the center.
Gray and Natsu were, as expected, brawling again.
They had their foreheads pressed together like two bulls, locked in a contest of pure strength. The tables and chairs around them had already suffered—everything in a ring had been knocked over.
"Bastard! You stepped on my foot!"
"Hah?! You're the one who stuck your foot out!"
Off to the side, Erza's eyes sharpened and she reflexively moved to step in.
"Hold on. Wait."
Shane reacted fast and grabbed her arm.
He was still counting on those two to help him complete his trial—this was a perfect chance to see if they'd been slacking lately.
In the ring, the two seemed to have reached some unspoken agreement: neither of them used magic. They just went at it with fists and feet.
Natsu threw a punch that whistled through the air. Gray twisted aside and swept a leg toward his lower body.
No flashy magic lights—yet their movements were clearly sharper than before.
Every punch, every kick carried weight—real, hard-earned strength forged through "hammering" training.
"Not bad… heavier punches, steadier footwork, faster reactions."
Shane narrowed his eyes as he watched, nodding to himself.
That "demon training" had definitely worked. They complained nonstop, but their bodies were honest—they'd gotten stronger.
A strange kind of satisfaction rose up in him, like a dad watching his idiot sons finally improve. He felt genuinely pleased.
"Alright, that's enough."
After observing, Shane let go of Erza's arm and made a "go ahead" gesture. "Your turn. Don't break anything."
"Mm!"
The instant she got permission, Erza became a streak of crimson lightning and shot into the fight. In seconds, two screams rang out almost at the same time, and the world instantly became peaceful.
Shane, meanwhile, deftly sidestepped the battlefield and headed straight for the bar.
It had become a habit.
First thing after coming back to the guild: go bother Makarov a little.
"Yo, old man!"
Shane grinned and leaned in, then—like a magician—pulled out several brightly colored magazines from behind his back and slapped them down in front of Makarov with a 啪.
They were back issues of Sorcerer Magazine, with scandalously posed cover girls.
Erza had finished them and casually tossed them at home; Shane had "borrowed flowers to offer the Buddha."
But Makarov only glanced once, then lifted his chin proudly, moustache twitching. "Hmph! I've already read these! I even know who's on the cover of the next issue!"
Shane's smile froze. He awkwardly pulled his hand back, silently cursing the old man's insane dedication.
Makarov shot him a sidelong look and took a sip of booze. "Enough. If you've got something to say, spit it out. You always take the long way around—if you're not tired, I'm tired for you!"
The little old man had it figured out.
Ever since Shane joined the guild, every time he came to Makarov first, it was because he had questions.
Still, Makarov felt slightly gratified: Shane was nosy, sure, but he had a sense of limits and didn't cause much trouble.
He'd even gotten a decent reputation around town—people called him the "Pet-Catching Hero," which helped salvage the guild's image.
The one who was getting wilder lately was Erza…
No idea who she learned it from, but her "problem-solving style" was getting more and more… big.
Catch a thief, destroy half a street. Fight bandits, take down two buildings. Just thinking about the growing stack of complaint letters made Makarov's head ache.
Right—later I'll have Shane rein Erza in. Otherwise who knows what she'll turn into.
Makarov made that decision firmly in his heart.
Seeing his usual trick got exposed, Shane didn't feel embarrassed—he leaned even closer and went straight for it.
"Old man, do you know what a 'Great Magic World' is?"
"Pfft—!"
Makarov almost sprayed his drink.
He genuinely didn't understand how Shane managed to show up every time with the exact kind of question that brought nothing but trouble.
He set the cup down. His usual playful look vanished, replaced by a hard seriousness.
"Where did you hear that term?"
"From a dark guild master," Shane said plainly, not hiding the source. "You probably know which one—Ultear's guild."
He paused, then emphasized, "That guy's ambition… seems to be turning the current world back into the so-called Great Magic World."
Hearing that, Makarov's tense expression actually eased a little.
He picked his drink up again, shook his head, and snorted. "Arrogant, ignorant lunatic. That's impossible."
"Why?" Shane pressed.
Makarov sipped slowly, eyes growing distant as if he were reaching into old memories.
"I heard about the Great Magic World from the previous guild master. Once you hear this, you'll understand why I say it can't be brought back."
"Old Master's good stuff?" Shane's eyes lit up. He dragged over a chair, sat neatly, and put on his best I'm listening face.
Seeing Shane sit quietly like that, Makarov felt a strange wave of déjà vu.
Once upon a time, he'd sat just like this in front of Master Precht, listening to lessons about magic and the world.
The younger ones really are starting to carry the guild forward… he thought. Precht… where are you now?
"Master?" Shane called, confused by the faraway look.
Makarov snapped back, coughed twice, and straightened up.
"Do you know what a parallel world is?"
"I do," Shane nodded quickly.
He'd only encountered the concept recently. He didn't know why it connected to the Great Magic World—but he remembered it clearly.
"Good. That makes it easier."
Makarov seemed pleased with Shane's answer.
He watched Shane grow from a magic newbie into who he was now, and he couldn't help feeling a tiny bit proud.
If Shane knew what he was thinking, he'd definitely mutter: You're way too optimistic, old man. I'm still basically running on two ounces of knowledge sloshing around.
"Actually…" Makarov raised a finger and drew a circle on the tabletop. "Besides the world we live in—Earthland—there are several, even countless parallel worlds. Separate, yet tightly connected."
He tapped a few dots around the circle.
"But at the origin of everything, those worlds weren't born at the same time. They share a single source."
"The so-called Great Magic World is that original world. It's the source that produced all parallel worlds, and the starting point of all magic power."
He pressed his finger heavily into the center of the circle.
"The Great Magic World has infinite, inexhaustible magic. But every time it splits and creates a new parallel world, not only does its own magic diminish—the newly born world also has weaker magic density."
"For example, Earthland—our world—still has plenty of magic. People have magic in their bodies; the system is relatively complete."
"But some parallel worlds, after repeated splits, have nearly run dry."
"In those worlds, magic becomes incomplete. And in some cases… people can't even store magic in their bodies at all. They can only rely on external tools."
At that, Shane immediately thought of the other Jellal and the world he'd described—Edolas.
A magic-starved world where people needed magic items to use magic at all… exactly what Makarov was describing.
Makarov watched Shane's thoughtful expression and nodded, satisfied.
He paused a moment to let Shane digest it, then continued.
"That's why, throughout history, many fanatical dark mages—chasing the so-called 'one true magic'—have obsessed over restoring the Great Magic World."
"The 'guild master' you mentioned… is probably just another one of those arrogant fools."
"'True magic'? What's that?" Shane immediately latched onto the key phrase.
Last night, Hades had said something similar—claiming that if they completed the Great Magic World, Ultear's Arc of Time could easily restore lost happiness.
"Mm…"
Makarov thought for a moment, then offered an analogy.
"Because of environmental limits, many powerful spells can't fully show their true form in our world."
"Like a giant whale from the deep sea—it can't swim on a shallow beach."
"But in a place like the Great Magic World, where magic is effectively infinite… those restrained spells might reveal their real, almost miraculous shape."
His gaze turned heavy. "Close to divine."
Shane's eyes widened.
So that's why.
No wonder Ultear's so-called "Arc of Time" always felt… underwhelming.
A Lost Magic that supposedly controlled time, yet most of what it showed was patchwork fixes and speeding up plant growth.
Was that because the world itself capped the ceiling?
If they really reached the Great Magic World… what would Arc of Time become?
Rewinding anything at will? Forcing the future forward? Or freely stepping into past and future like the Eclipse Gate?
A chill crawled up Shane's spine.
If Hades could actually pull off that ambition… what would the world become?
No wonder he didn't care about Nirvana at all—he tossed it to Brain like a toy, just to keep the Council's eyes busy.
To someone like "the abyss of magic," Nirvana really might be insignificant next to the dream of reshaping the world.
And—
Shane thought of Ultear.
Her goal was also the Great Magic World. If she could truly control time… what would she do?
What was she trying to retrieve? What was she trying to change?
After Makarov's explanation, Shane's questions didn't shrink—they knotted tighter, like a mess of threads twisting into something even more complicated.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!