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Fini had imagined many scenarios for meeting the Ancient One. After drawing the 'Sumire Karaage Roll,' he had anxiously considered whether to find her and apprentice himself to learn magic.
However, he was far too young at the time, and with Skye having just joined the family, he never followed through. Later, when he discovered that 'Ars Magna' could be trained and improved, he temporarily set the idea aside.
With the date of Iron Man's center-stage debut drawing closer and his own strength growing slowly, the thought of finding a master had long since resurfaced. He had already planned that if his third draw was lackluster, he would head to Kamar-Taj to find the Ancient One and ideally find a way to settle down there.
In Fini's impression, there was arguably no place on Earth safer than by the Ancient One's side.
Aliens, the Hulk—she could suppress them all with one hand. Such was the power of a combat ceiling; the Sorcerer Supreme protected the entire planet single-handedly.
Thus, in Fini's imagination, he should have been approaching the Ancient One with a devout heart, walking with the steps of a pilgrim and wearing a respectful expression. It was supposed to be a beautiful picture.
But now...
He was lying on the ground with zero dignity, covered in dirt, caught red-handed speaking ill of someone behind their back.
The dream was shattered!
Fini felt that if he knew how to use the Time Stone, he would definitely rewind time to before the Ancient One arrived and tape his own mouth shut.
"You... you..."
The Ancient One's sudden appearance left Fini too shocked to speak. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was here!
"Hello there. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Halsey!"
The Ancient One looked down at the prostrate Fini with a smile. Although her expression was kind and warm, Fini felt a bit of a chill.
Fini struggled to sit up, trying his best to calm down. He then pretended not to recognize her and asked with trepidation, "Who are you?"
"Oh? Am I not the 'big bald head' you were just mentioning?"
The Ancient One adopted a look of feigned confusion, still watching Fini with a smiling gaze. The amusement in her eyes only made Fini more nervous.
"..."
Fini didn't know how to respond. In his memory, the Ancient One was firmly in the camp of "good." Possessing the Time Stone, she was not only top-tier in terms of power, but her mastery over the past and future was arguably peerless.
The future!?
Fini suddenly felt he understood something. Looking at the woman before him, he fell into deep thought for a moment before finally sighing. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sorcerer Supreme."
Judging by her attitude, Fini felt that if she knew his future, their relationship probably wasn't ordinary. Besides, he had always intended to cling to her as a benefactor, so it made sense for his future self to have a good relationship with the Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One nodded with a smile and remained silent. She didn't seem at all surprised that Fini knew who she was.
"Um... Sorcerer Supreme..."
The Ancient One wasn't talking, but Fini couldn't hold it in. He didn't have the Time Stone to spoil the future for himself, so he desperately wanted to know why she had suddenly appeared.
"Is there a reason you've come to see me?"
Hearing Fini's question, the Ancient One immediately shook her head and said nonchalantly, "No particular reason. I was simply a bit bored, so I wanted to come see you."
You're the Sorcerer Supreme; you should be guarding the Earth! If Dormammu knew you were this bored all day, he'd be heartbroken.
Fini complained silently. Although this was technically their first meeting, there was zero sense of being strangers between them.
Since things had already progressed to this point, Fini felt there was no point in holding back. After a thought, he asked directly, "Sorcerer Supreme, how do you know about me?"
"It is exactly what you are thinking!"
The Ancient One sat down next to Fini, unbothered by the dirt. She completely ignored Fini's constipated expression upon hearing her answer.
Exactly what I'm thinking, my foot...
Fini didn't even know what he was thinking. There were too many ways she could know of him for him to guess. He simply asked again, "Is it because we know each other in the future?"
The Ancient One's deep eyes fixed on Fini. She neither nodded nor shook her head as she replied, "Perhaps!"
Fini felt mentally exhausted. This feeling of her potentially knowing everything while he knew next to nothing was truly uncomfortable. He decided to temporarily drop the question of how she knew him.
She was the strongest person on Earth and a titan of the magical side. Since he'd run into her, if he didn't find a way to suck up and get some benefits, he'd be doing himself a disservice.
No sooner said than done. Fini immediately put on an expression of pure sincerity and said, "Sorcerer Supreme, truth be told, I have admired you for a long time. I've always wanted to learn magic from you. Could you perhaps check my aptitude?"
The Ancient One pondered this for a moment before nodding and replying, "It is... average."
Fini's heart sank. That was the kind of answer you give when you want to praise someone but find they aren't handsome or smart, so you just say "they're quite tall."
Even though he refused to accept her evaluation of his talent, Fini didn't argue. Instead, he seized the opportunity. "So that means I do have the talent to learn magic. Can I study under you?"
The Ancient One didn't refuse. Instead, she looked at him with curiosity and asked, "What is your purpose for learning magic?"
"I want to protect the universe!"
Fini spoke with immediate, righteous conviction. This wasn't a lie. His goal in becoming stronger was to stop Thanos's "family planning." That involved half of all life in the universe; if he stopped the Snap, he would absolutely be a universal protector.
A flash of surprise seemed to cross the Ancient One's eyes. After pulling a silent smile, she changed the subject. "How has your sister been these past few years?"
Fini felt it was odd that she'd ask about Skye, but he answered honestly, "She's doing very well."
Then, he voiced his doubt. "Sorcerer Supreme, is there something wrong with my sister?"
"Nothing." The Ancient One shook her head, speaking with a touch of sentimentality. "I was simply reminded of how, years ago, someone actually went so far as to modify the rules of the world just because they wanted a sister."
"..."
In that instant, Fini suddenly understood a lot. He finally realized why his first use of 'Ars Magna' had succeeded and why it had granted such a massive amount of experience.
Perhaps—no, definitely—the Ancient One had done something in the shadows to allow such a powerful effect of 'Ars Magna' to manifest.
Fini didn't know exactly how strong she was, but he knew she was powerful enough that it wasn't impossible for her to detect his use of 'Ars Magna.'
A novel, never-before-seen magic, combined with a request that wasn't malicious—it was entirely within the Ancient One's character to give it a secret push in order to analyze it.
However, if she could help in secret, she could just as easily sabotage. In Fini's heart, the "invincible" effect of 'Ars Magna' was no more.
At this moment, Fini suddenly remembered something a certain "Uncle" once said:
Only magic can defeat magic!
(End of Chapter)