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*****
Fini forced a bitter smile. He had always believed his most invincible, formidable skill was 'Ars Magna'; it was the capital that allowed him to face anyone in the future without fear. But in this one moment, that belief had been shattered by the Ancient One.
However, a second later, he felt he was being a bit too much of a perfectionist.
How much power could his seven-year-old self have possibly possessed? He still couldn't imagine the upper limit of 'Ars Magna,' but comparing his current strength to the Ancient One—who had lived for nearly a thousand years and held one of the Infinity Stones—was inherently an unfair comparison.
So, Ars Magna is still invincible. It's just that the current me is too weak.
Fini corrected his conviction internally, and his confidence in his future invincibility returned. He looked at the Ancient One, gave a flat nod, and said, "Thank you for the help back then, Sorcerer Supreme."
The Ancient One didn't know that Fini's mind had raced through so many thoughts in an instant. Hearing this, she gave a modest smile and replied, "It was my own presumption. Fortunately, it didn't negatively impact you."
The atmosphere gradually grew quiet.
After the Ancient One revealed the truth, Fini was a bit hesitant to bring up learning magic again. He was worried she might demand 'Ars Magna' as a trade for the lessons.
While the Ancient One didn't seem like that kind of person, his understanding of her was far from deep.
'Ars Magna' was explicitly categorized as magic in the system's description. Calling it a superpower in front of a titan of the magical world wouldn't be very convincing, especially since she had already helped him use it.
Most importantly, this power was drawn through the system. If the Ancient One actually asked him to teach her, he simply couldn't do it.
He could teach someone how to make a Sumire Karaage Roll—there was a recipe, you prepare the ingredients and follow the steps; the taste would just be slightly inferior at most.
Just as Fini was wondering what to do, the Ancient One patted her robes and stood up. With a casual wave of her hand, a sparking circle of orange sparks appeared in the air. Through the ring, one could faintly see an antique, traditional room.
A Sling Ring portal!
Fini's eyes sparkled. This was one of the two spells he wanted to learn most.
Truthfully, Fini looked down slightly on the melee-focused magic of the MCU, but there were two spells he absolutely loved: first, this portal that could potentially cross galaxies; and second, the Mirror Dimension, which didn't affect the physical world.
With a portal, you can escape if you meet someone you can't beat. With the Mirror Dimension, those you can beat can't escape.
"It was a pleasure meeting you today, Mr. Halsey," the Ancient One said as she walked past Fini, seemingly preparing to leave.
Fini froze. Seeing her about to step through the portal, he snapped back to reality and shouted, "Wait!"
But the Ancient One didn't stop, heading straight for the portal. Seeing this, Fini didn't care about anything else and immediately shouted again, "Master! I want to learn magic from you!"
Only then did the Ancient One turn her head, flash a meaningful smile, and step into the portal, vanishing instantly.
Back in the dilapidated factory, Fini stood alone with a furrowed brow. Even now, he didn't understand why the Ancient One had come, or what the point of those few sentences was.
"Is it because of Incursio!?" If he had to say something was different today, it was definitely 'Incursio.' Furthermore, she arrived exactly when he deactivated the skill. If that was a coincidence, Fini absolutely didn't believe it.
The word "coincidence" didn't exist in the Ancient One's dictionary!
"Could it be that my future self has the potential to turn evil? So she came early to say hello!?" Fini's thoughts wandered. With insufficient information, there were too many possibilities. But since every Sorcerer Supreme was notoriously tight-lipped, trying to get information out of them was a fool's errand compared to just guessing.
Also, that final smile—did she want to teach magic or not!?
Fini developed a headache. The Ancient One's sudden appearance had shattered his relatively peaceful life. Not knowing her objective made it difficult to decide what to do next.
"Whatever. I'll go find her and ask clearly."
Fini finally gritted his teeth and made a decision.
Since she could come looking for him, why couldn't he go looking for her? Although Kamar-Taj was far away, he shouldn't forget there was a shortcut in New York. He could cross over directly from the New York Sanctum.
Having made up his mind, Fini didn't linger at his secret base. Once he recovered his stamina, he headed home.
The moment he walked through the door, he was spotted by Skye, who had been keeping watch. Seeing him covered in dirt and looking exhausted, her face turned pale with alarm. She rushed over and asked anxiously, "What happened? Did those two guys talk?"
"Should we run away first? But how do we tell Mom and Dad? I know some friends online who make fake IDs, maybe we should make some first. Oh, and I have a few friends in the Netherlands, we should go hide there..."
Watching Skye suddenly panic and plan their flight, Fini didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out with a dusty hand and lightly pinched her tender cheek. Once he had her attention, he comforted her:
"It's nothing. I just fell off my bike. No one found out. Don't make a big deal out of it. Even if I am discovered, I have a way to handle it. Don't worry."
If it were before today, Fini really wouldn't have had a good way to handle being discovered by the "Snake" Shield. The most likely outcome would have been forced cooperation. But after today, things were different.
When in doubt, find the Ancient One!
When she left, he had called her "Master," and she hadn't explicitly refused. This meant he was now "part of the organization." This was the source of his courage to go look for her.
Seeing that Fini's expression didn't seem faked, Skye finally sighed in relief. Then, her expression turned cold as she interrogated him, "Where exactly did you go today? I don't believe for a second you just 'fell'."
"I'm going to take a shower first!"
Seeing Skye had recovered, Fini gave a cheeky smile and dodged the topic. Before she could respond, he bolted for the bathroom, leaving Skye with a look of extreme dissatisfaction.
When Fini came out after washing up, he saw Skye was still upset. He knew she was mainly worried about him. Considering his plans for the near future, he sat down beside her.
"Actually, I didn't really do much. I just went out to train a bit."
Fini didn't speak too bluntly, but he knew Skye would understand.
Having experienced yesterday's bizarre events, Skye obviously wouldn't mistake "training" for jogging. Hearing this, she couldn't help but worry, "How do you even train? Aren't you afraid of being seen? Why won't you let me come along? At the very least, I could keep watch for you."
"Next time for sure. Next time for sure."
Fini solemnly employed the ultimate stalling tactic.
Regarding Skye, Fini also felt a bit of a headache. He hadn't thought much of it when she first joined the family, but as she refused to change her name and the name 'Skye' felt increasingly familiar, he slowly remembered. When he was learning about Marvel movies, there was a spin-off show where one of the girls seemed to have this name.
He had wondered if it was just a coincidence, but as Skye became increasingly obsessed with finding her parents, he was almost certain she was that girl with alien genes.
He vaguely recalled that in that show, her parents' situation wasn't great. Eventually, because of some 'Obelisk,' she gained vibration powers.
But he didn't know much more than that because the show was so long that he never finished it.
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Regarding the Ancient One, I personally think she is very strong. Like most people, I believe in the movies she actually wanted to die, rather than just having low defense stats!
(End of Chapter)