Mutual Help

In the morning, in a suite apartment in Brooklyn.

The faint morning light filtered through the sheer curtains into the white bedroom, as if draped in a hazy veil. The girl lay on her side, wrapped in a sheet, on the soft bed, her golden hair radiant, her eyelashes long and slender.

The alarm was set for seven o'clock, but she woke up before six-thirty. She tossed and turned in bed for a quarter of an hour, but she was completely unable to sleep, so she got up early.

She turned off the alarm, got out of bed briskly, brushed her teeth, and put on her makeup. She changed out of her pajamas and hesitated for a long time while choosing an outfit from the large ebony wardrobe, finally selecting an ensemble she was reasonably satisfied with.

After breakfast, everything was ready. She slung on her backpack and arrived at the stone steps by the main entrance early to wait.

Gwen Grovene, a sixteen-year-old high school student, had just moved to New York a week ago and was a transfer student at 163 High School—at least, that's what all her relevant files indicated.

Incidentally, today was her first day of school.

She recognized the car sent to pick her up from the end of the street, eight hundred meters away. After all, even in New York, you didn't see such a cool, stretched luxury limousine every day. The car stopped in front of her as expected. The door opened, and a woman in professional attire with silky, light-gold curly hair stepped out and stood politely in front of Gwen.

"Gwen Grovene?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," Gwen hummed in response.

"Elizabeth Betty, Mr. Passo's secretary," the woman introduced herself. "He sent me to take you to school."

"So, Mr. Passo isn't coming?"

"He has other matters to attend to, but I can relay anything to him for you." Elizabeth opened the car door. "Come in, we can chat on the way."

Gwen got in. After the door closed, the driver started the car, and the limousine moved smoothly down the street. A layer of laminated glass filled with sound-damping gel was installed between the driver's cabin and the rear seats, ensuring the driver could not hear the conversation of the passengers in the back.

Gwen put down her backpack and sat somewhat awkwardly on the luxurious leather seat, unconsciously fiddling with her fingers.

"Nervous about school?" Elizabeth tried to start a conversation.

"Ah, no," Gwen explained. "I'm just, well... I've never ridden in a limousine before. Oh, I mean, of course I haven't, because theoretically I'm only six months old, but according to my memories, clearly Gwen Stacy never rode in one either."

Elizabeth nodded with an understanding expression.

Gwen pretended to look at the scenery outside the window, and after a moment, she casually asked, "So, does Mr. Passo have any messages for me?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Study hard and make progress every day."

"...Anything else?"

"Try to stay out of trouble," she said. "Mr. Passo hopes you'll try not to use your superpowers in your daily life, keep a low profile, and just be a normal high school girl, don't cause any trouble."

"But he told me I should use my talents to fulfill my purpose, didn't he?" Gwen raised an eyebrow. "If I don't even use my superpowers, how can I become valuable?"

Elizabeth patiently explained, "Mr. Passo has created a new identity for you and managed to make you disappear from the CIA's sight, but they definitely haven't given up on finding a spider-girl who can scale walls. So, for the sake of your cover identity, please keep a low profile, understand?"

After a pause, she changed the subject. "As for the latter part, I wasn't supposed to explain it. But don't worry, Mr. Passo has his own plans for you. Someone else will contact you in a while; they will teach you combat skills and how to hide yourself. When Mr. Passo feels you are ready, he will naturally assign you tasks."

Gwen pouted. "I know how to fight."

"Mr. Passo's arrangements are also for your own good; I hope you understand."

Gwen said casually, "I understand. It's just..."

It's just that he didn't come here himself to tell me this.

But she quickly swallowed the latter half of the sentence.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing," Gwen shook her head and grabbed her backpack. The car stopped opposite the school gate at that very moment.

"If you have any questions or needs, you can contact me," Elizabeth said. "If it's important, I'll relay it to Mr. Passo for you."

Gwen opened the car door, got out, and waved goodbye. "I will. Thank you."

***

Wanda Maximoff's eyes were wide open, her concentration as intense as possible. Scarlet, transparent energy fluctuations flowed and tumbled between her slender fingers like cohesive streams of water, constantly changing shape.

Michael stood a few meters away with his arms crossed, observing and sensing the magical fluctuations in her palm, while also instructing Sherry to record all forms of energy changes with monitoring equipment at all times.

After taking the time to study the Chaos Magic Wanda wielded, Michael finally had some preliminary understanding of this power. Chaos Magic was a form of dark magic, and its functions and nature differed greatly from the authentic mystic arts he had learned from the Sorcerer Supreme. However, of course, there were also many commonalities.

"Alright, that's enough," Michael said.

The scarlet fluctuations suddenly dissipated, and Wanda lowered her hands, looking at him with a questioning gaze.

"I think I understand now," Michael said, walking over to her. "Your power originates from something called 'Chaos Magic,' and its most famous user is the ancient evil god Chthon. But I've never seen this form of magic before, and I only have a superficial understanding through your demonstration so far, so we'll need to explore it together in the future..."

Wanda subconsciously let out a soft "Ah." Michael stopped and asked, "What?"

"You said this is... from an evil god?" Wanda looked blankly at the scarlet glow rippling at her fingertips. "Is that right?"

"I don't know how this power became connected to you, and I'm not clear on the reason yet," Michael said calmly. "But power itself isn't inherently good or bad, just like a handgun. Whether it harms or saves depends on the wielder's intent."

Wanda nodded slightly. "Yes, I understand."

"Then, to make it easier to understand what I'm about to teach you, I'll first explain the basic way I cast magic."

Michael paused and said leisurely, "First, the most basic part of a spell, and its foundation, is the 'incantation.' This is a language passed down since the dawn of civilization. If you consider the real world as an incredibly vast program architecture, then 'incantations' are the source code for modifying data and applying laws within that real architecture."

He extended both palms, his right palm upward and his left palm downward, pulling out a vertical line of flame-colored light in opposite directions. Then, he rotated his arms counter-clockwise, and the line swirled according to his guidance, carving out a complexly patterned circular magic circle in space.

"I draw energy from other spaces in the multiverse and use that energy to construct weapons, shields, or temporarily alter the rules of reality to cast more wondrous magic."

He opened his five fingers and gently pressed on the transparent magic circle. The intricate golden lines instantly disintegrated, gradually dissipating like a mirage.

"I'm telling you this to explain the principles. But doing so actually borrows the power of other higher beings, and borrowing implies a cost. Unless certain special methods are used."

Wanda asked, confused, "Special methods?"

"We can leave that for now," Michael said. "Your spellcasting doesn't require you to draw energy from other dimensions or borrow the magic of others like I just described, because you already possess the ability to wield Chaos Magic. That's an almost inexhaustible source of power, so theoretically, you shouldn't have to worry about the cost. What I'm going to teach you is just how to use it more skillfully and efficiently, starting with the very basics.

So, the most fundamental lesson starting today is to forge weapons with your magic. Crafting swords will make your attacks unstoppable, capable of cleaving through any obstacle in your path. Forging shields will make your defenses unbreakable, protecting your own safety. Or you can even condense your magic into a single point to enhance penetration and explosive power, piercing any defense like a bullet and delivering a fatal blow."

Wanda stared dreamily at the sparks gradually dissipating in the air, seemingly still processing.

After a moment of thought, she snapped back to attention. "So, you're saying you can teach me to use my so-called 'Chaos Magic' to do what you do?"

Michael shook his head.

"To be precise, it should be that we help each other," he said. "First, I'll help you understand your own power and master it skillfully. Then, I hope that one day in the future, you can help me figure out how I can also wield 'Chaos Magic'."