Sorcerer Supreme? Me?

October 31, 2010, morning, New York Sanctum Sanctorum.

"So the Blood God just left like that? There was no fight?"

The Ancient One nodded with a smile. "He did not wish to lose another avatar, and I did not wish to waste energy."

"So that is the end of it?" Russell asked again.

"It is."

"Good." Russell perked up. "Then should we settle my wages?"

"Wages?" The Ancient One looked puzzled.

"The Blood God's Power," Russell reminded him.

"Did you not take some yourself?" The Ancient One countered. Russell had absorbed quite a bit of energy while brutally beating Deacon Frost.

"I earned that with my own skills. It does not count as wages," Russell argued.

"Then how much do you want?" The Ancient One laughed.

"Hmm." Russell fell silent. He did not know what would be appropriate either.

"Master, how much energy did you gain this time?"

As he spoke, Russell released energy equivalent to one Attribute Point, indicating that it should be used as the unit of measurement.

The Ancient One slowly raised two fingers.

"Twenty million?" Russell asked.

Of the energy the Blood God had transmitted to Earth, the panel had absorbed around twenty percent—roughly 3.4 million.

Had the Ancient One swindled more from the Blood God? Otherwise, how could he have twenty million?

The Ancient One shook his head.

"Two million? That is way too little." Russell shook his head, considering whether he should just forget about the wages.

"Two hundred million." The Ancient One smiled faintly.

Russell shot to his feet. "How is that possible? The total energy the Blood God transmitted to Earth was not even that much. Even if you took all of it, you would not have two hundred million."

"What you saw, and what the Blood God saw, may not have been real." The Ancient One smiled meaningfully.

Crack! Crack!

The space around them split apart as the Ancient One pulled Russell into the Mirror Dimension.

"When the Blood God was transmitting energy to Earth, I used the Mirror Dimension to divert it," the Ancient One explained, pointing at the largest Sea of Blood within the Mirror Dimension. "Look. The energy there is the true total amount the Blood God transmitted to Earth."

Russell looked around the Mirror Dimension.

Nearest to him were several Seas of Blood, large and small. Farther away were clusters of energy with all kinds of different properties.

I thought I would not encounter another generous patron like the Blood God for a long time. Who knew the rich guy was right beside me?

"Do you want it?"

The Ancient One's calm voice now sounded utterly tempting to Russell.

"Mhm." Russell nodded helplessly.

"Then it is all yours."

"Hm?" Russell snapped awake. "What are the conditions?"

Whenever something was given, something was sought in return.

His relationship with the Sorcerer Supreme was not close enough for this.

"This energy is what I have accumulated over the years through... clever acquisition. It is also the main source of magical power I use in battle."

The Ancient One continued explaining.

"As long as you become the Sorcerer Supreme and take my place in protecting this world from magical corruption, this energy will be of little use to me. Naturally, I can give it to you."

Was this a big shot feeding him?

Russell hesitated.

"Will becoming the Sorcerer Supreme come with any restrictions?"

"Russell, the Sorcerer Supreme has never had restrictions." The Ancient One's voice was distant, as though he were recalling something. "It is a responsibility. Accepting it will indeed mean losing much."

"What did you lose, Master?"

"Freedom, and a night of peaceful sleep." The Ancient One sighed slowly. "I have borne this world year after year.

Russell, you will become stronger than I am, and you will do better than I have. The burden that weighs upon me like a mountain may, in the future, be no more than a touch of wind and frost to you."

"Master, are you trying to PUA me?" Russell said darkly. He believed the Ancient One's words, but he was not buying them.

The Ancient One skipped over the question. "You do not need to make a choice now, Russell. You can take your time considering it."

His talent was simply too effective against magical lifeforms.

Especially those Dimensional Lords of mediocre strength who relied on endless energy to shamelessly wear others down.

As Russell left the Sanctum Sanctorum, he suddenly remembered something.

Where are my wages?!

He had used massive amounts of energy and the position of Sorcerer Supreme to distract Russell's Mental Focus, then taken the opportunity to stiff him on his wages.

What a cunning Master Ancient One!

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Russell returned to the bookstore.

There, he saw an intriguing sight.

George Stacy from Universe 404 and Gwen Stacy from Universe 65 were staring wide-eyed at each other.

Today was Halloween, and it also happened to be Sunday.

George had come to the bookstore to invite its owner to the community party and celebrate Halloween together.

"Hello, young lady. I know this is presumptuous, but I still have to ask—do you know Helen? My God, you look so much like Helen when she was young."

After staring at each other for a long time, George was the first to recover and the first to speak.

"Helen? She is my aunt."

My God, Helen is still alive in this world?

In Universe 65, Helen had died when Gwen was young.

"George. George Stacy." George took the initiative to offer his hand. "Helen has never told me she had a niece who looked so much like her."

Gwen was somewhat at a loss. After hesitating for a moment, she still shook George's hand. "Gwen. Gwen Stacy."

"My God, your name sounds exactly like my daughter's." George exclaimed. "Though she is only eight years old."

As he spoke, George gave Gwen another careful look and praised, "You are truly beautiful. I hope Little Gwen will be as beautiful as you when she grows up."

"I am sure she will be, George." Russell approached and spoke.

"Thank you for the kind words, Russell." George smiled in response. "By the way, will you two be attending the Halloween party tonight?"

At the mention of a party, Gwen's eyes lit up.

At the party, she could meet her mother, Helen—the Helen of this universe.

"Of course." Seeing Gwen's expression, Russell readily agreed. "Gwen and I will be there on time."

"Good. Then I will go notify the others." With that, George left the bookstore.

Once George had gone far away, Gwen asked Russell, "You know George?"

Russell withdrew his gaze, looked at Gwen, and nodded. "Yes."

"Can you tell me about George? And his wife, Helen?" Gwen asked eagerly.

She desperately wanted to know about the Stacy Family of this universe.

"Gwen, why not go see for yourself?"

Russell's words carried a deeper meaning.

He had long said that Gwen should see a therapist!

The cure for a troubled heart had to come from the heart itself.

Letting Gwen interact with George's family would benefit her Mental Health.

Russell and George had known each other for some time.

During his investigations, George discovered that Russell had appeared repeatedly at Gang Fights and various murder scenes.

That was clearly abnormal.

At first, George suspected that Russell was not only a vicious gang member, but also a serial killer.

But after investigating, he found that these were all Independent Cases, not a series of connected crimes, and the culprits were other people.

Russell was merely a passerby who "happened" to be at the scene.

Sometimes, Russell would also leak a few pieces of information to George.

Over time, Russell and George became familiar with each other.

As for Russell's true purpose in appearing at those places,

it was naturally for the energy left behind after evil people died.