After confirming Coulson's talent, Harry completely dropped the icy attitude from earlier and instantly turned enthusiastic. He grabbed Coulson's hand and laughed brightly.
"Agent Coulson, your talent is really good. Have you ever considered leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. and coming to work at Kamar-Taj?
Our benefits at Kamar-Taj are way better than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. Not only do you get a guaranteed base salary of at least $100,000 per month, you also get access to a huge amount of openly available magic knowledge for free.
You don't even need to work day-to-day—you just study magic. So? Tempted?"
Harry's sudden warmth left Coulson a little at a loss.
And when he heard those ridiculously appealing promises, his heart clenched hard, then started pounding uncontrollably.
At S.H.I.E.L.D., he fought like hell every month, and his paycheck was only $75,000. He also had to stay on call year-round, and from time to time he'd get chewed out by Director Fu—by the one-eyed dragon.
What Harry was offering right now was simply too good. It was insanely tempting.
Not only was the monthly pay up by $25,000, there was also free magic knowledge.
And most importantly, no daily "work"—just learning magic at Kamar-Taj.
Unlike S.H.I.E.L.D., where even if there was no mission, you still had to grind through endless files so your boss could see you were "busy" and had the right attitude.
Coulson was completely swayed!
But right then, an abrupt cough came from behind them.
Nick Fury stared at Harry with an unfriendly look, clearly displeased.
"Potter. Poaching right in front of me—don't you think that's a little inappropriate?"
Fury locked onto Harry, trying to pressure him.
But facing Fury's kitten-like attempt at looking fierce, Harry yawned without the slightest fear.
There was no mental pressure, no real killing intent—honestly, it was adorable.
If they were in the Crossroads Dimension, Nick Fury would make an excellent pet, and also a hardworking field slave.
Harry raised a hand and brushed his hair back. A perfectly timed hint of shyness appeared on his face, like he genuinely felt embarrassed.
"Fury… it does make me feel a little awkward. But you know as well as I do—someone as talented as Coulson deserves better treatment. At S.H.I.E.L.D., his ability gets tied down by endless hassles, and he can't fully use his potential.
Besides, even if Coulson joins Kamar-Taj, he'll still be carrying the responsibility of protecting Earth. It's no different from him staying in S.H.I.E.L.D."
Fury looked at Harry for a long moment. Finally, he let out a helpless breath and turned to Coulson.
"Agent Coulson. Everyone's seen your ability and your contributions over the years. Your current salary really doesn't match your capabilities.
Starting this month, your monthly salary is raised directly to $150,000. Also, I'm promoting you to Level 8 agent.
And given your exceptional magical talent, S.H.I.E.L.D. will fully train you, so you become a sorcerer who can handle things on your own."
Coulson thought for a moment, and in the end, he decided to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., continuing to follow his dear old boss, One-Ey—Director Fury.
First, he'd served S.H.I.E.L.D. for many years. Every corner, every workflow, every mission procedure—he knew it all by heart. He had long since adapted to everything here.
Second, he was already middle-aged. If he could help it, he really didn't want to step into an unknown new world and shatter the stability he'd grown used to.
And he understood something very clearly.
Harry made it sound wonderful, but just like Director Fury, he wasn't a charity worker either.
Sure, Kamar-Taj might have lots of "vacation" on paper—but once you were sent on a mission, the danger level would absolutely be beyond imagination.
Just look at S.H.I.E.L.D.—what kind of enemies did they deal with?
Inhumans, mutants, super-criminals… troublesome, sure, but still within a knowable range.
But Kamar-Taj?
Abyss demons. Dimensional gods.
Just their existence alone could overturn humanity's understanding of the world—let alone making enemies of them.
Which one was safer was obvious at a glance.
So Coulson looked at Fury with pure, unwavering sincerity and spoke firmly.
"Director Fury, don't worry. My feelings for S.H.I.E.L.D. are extremely deep. I can't possibly leave."
Then he looked at Harry, apologetic but earnest.
"Mr. Potter, I'm truly sorry. I'm afraid I have to let down your kindness. It's not that Kamar-Taj is bad, it's just that Director Fury offered… ahem… it's just that I like Director Fury more!"
Harry stared at Coulson, speechless, silently complaining to himself, So this guy looks honest, but he's slick too?
Then again, considering his job, it made sense.
Agents really are naturally evil—too good at acting.
That said, Harry had only asked on a whim. He knew it probably wouldn't work.
And thinking carefully, leaving Coulson in S.H.I.E.L.D. was actually pretty good. Not only could Coulson still bring him money, he could also keep helping deal with abyss demons invading Earth.
Keeping things as they were wasn't bad at all.
Nearby, Pierce watched this scene, thoughtful.
He knew that while Crossbones also had decent magical talent, he was only around Black Widow's level—nowhere near Coulson.
Coulson was a man even Harry Potter wanted to recruit.
With that, a plan formed in Pierce's mind.
Should he try contacting Coulson… and invite him to join HYDRA?
The difficulty would be enormous. Coulson was personally cultivated and promoted by Fury—his trusted confidant. Turning him would be harder than reaching the heavens, and the chance of betrayal was almost nonexistent.
But HYDRA specialized in exactly this.
As long as Coulson had even the slightest wavering, they could pull him in.
If Coulson agreed to join HYDRA and accepted strict control, then everyone would be happy.
But if Coulson refused…
Then Pierce could only crush the flower with a ruthless hand.
A genius who can't be yours is the greatest threat.
Sitwell, who'd spent years catering to his boss—trying to make his boss feel even more comfortable—knew Pierce far too well.
The moment Sitwell saw Pierce's butt clench and his legs tighten slightly, he knew exactly what Pierce was thinking.
Pierce wanted to recruit Coulson. If that failed, he would kill Coulson.
Without question, if Coulson joined HYDRA and willingly allowed Pierce to control him, he would become Pierce's most valued confidant.
And Sitwell—poor Sitwell—after more than a decade of shameless flattery and scheming to please his boss, would still be worthless when real interests were on the line.
HYDRA was that kind of reality.
Worse, once they went back, Crossbones—whom Sitwell had always kept suppressed—would climb right back up and start shitting on Sitwell's head again.
Sitwell clenched his fists, unwilling to accept it.
He had to obtain powerful magic and win back his boss's favor.
But cruel reality was like an insurmountable wall standing in front of him.
His magical talent was too awful. All he could do was control mud—one tiny, insignificant spell. Becoming stronger would be incredibly difficult.
Maybe he could find other ways to enhance his strength—an Obelisk, the super soldier serum, or something else…
Also, after the Hulk vs. Abomination fight ended last time, it seemed like the surveillance footage had caught a strange creature with a huge green head. The lizard-men in the sewers seemed connected to it. That might be another breakthrough.
After finishing the agents' talent tests, the later discussion about cooperating to clear out the lizards went very smoothly.
S.H.I.E.L.D. already wanted to deal with them, and the addition of Harry and Spider-Man was an unexpected bonus.
Soon, they planned to act tomorrow—track down the lizards' whereabouts, wipe them out completely, and eliminate the threat for good!
After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Harry sharply noticed something was off with Peter beside him, and asked in confusion, "Peter, what's wrong?"
Peter looked downcast and said miserably, "Harry… can I really not learn any other magic?"
Seeing other people use those flashy spells made Peter incredibly envious.
Harry understood at once—so that was what Peter was stuck on. He didn't hesitate and comforted him decisively.
"No!"
So the little spider became even more depressed.
Harry thought for a moment, then explained.
"For now, that's basically true. Because you're bound to the fate-weaving web, you also have to pay a price when you receive its gifts. One of those prices is that it's very hard for you to gain other magical power.
But as long as I become strong enough, I can help you break free from the fate-weaving web's restraints. When that happens, you'll be able to use other magic."
Peter's dull eyes lit up instantly, and even his voice rose in excitement.
"Then when will you be strong enough?"
Harry rubbed his chin. After a short consideration, he confirmed the timeline and answered confidently.
"Hmm… probably when I reach multiverse-level. That's not too long. If things go smoothly, the shortest would be just a few years!"
"And the longest?" Peter knew Harry usually wasn't reliable except at critical moments, so he asked for the worst-case scenario.
"Probably… a guaranteed few hundred thousand years?" Harry puffed out his chest proudly.
Peter: "???"
Alright. He'd given up on becoming a sorcerer.
The moment Harry stepped into the house, a warm smile rose on his face. He greeted Uncle Ben and Aunt May cheerfully.
"Uncle Ben, Aunt May, I'm back!"
After dinner with his family, Harry returned to his room.
The instant he entered, a familiar throbbing sensation surfaced without warning from the depths of his soul.
Harry's heart jolted.
Before long… he was going to transmigrate again!
Sure enough, the next day—when morning sunlight spilled over the land—Harry had just pushed open his bedroom door, and in the blink of an eye, the world around him changed completely.
In an instant, the familiar room vanished. The quiet morning disappeared. A wave of excited cheering surged from all directions, and he even caught the lingering scent of a girl's sweet fragrance on his body.
Harry's lips curved into a brilliant smile. His young body seemed to make his mindset young again too.
Today was the day of his first-ever Quidditch match!
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