Mage, Are You Going to Die? (Please Keep Reading)

The sunset sank into the depths of the sea, and the story gradually drew to a close.

As for the disagreement with Matt, Russell glossed over it in a single sentence.

After that, they returned to the bedroom on the seventh floor of the bookstore to get ready for bed. Gwen still had work at ten tomorrow, so she needed to rest early.

Although Gwen spent most of her time studying on Earth-65, she had not quit her job at the bookstore. For the past few months, she had been drawing a salary from Russell.

It was understandable when she had classes, but she could not skip work during vacation.

Sensing The Ancient One's consciousness still following him, Russell asked curiously, "Huh, Master, why haven't you left yet? The story's already over."

The Ancient One: O_O

Did I ever say I came here to listen to a story?

"Russell, I have something to discuss with you."

The Ancient One's voice rang in Russell's heart. At the same time, he thoughtfully opened a Portal for Russell, leading directly to Kamar-Taj.

Seeing that Gwen was not asleep yet, Russell simply brought her along.

The air quality and scenery at Kamar-Taj were both better than New York's. Sleeping there meant better sleep quality.

"Master."

"Master Ancient One."

After greeting The Ancient One, Russell took Gwen to his residence in Kamar-Taj to rest.

A cool breeze carried the incense-like fragrance of wormwood and mugwort, refreshing their lungs and hearts.

This was the scent of nature.

As she took in the scenery along the way, Gwen asked curiously, "Russell, is this where you usually cultivate?"

Russell nodded with a smile.

That was right. His current strength was entirely the result of diligent cultivation.

As for allocating attribute points and talent abilities, could that really be called cheating?

After settling Gwen in, Russell went to find The Ancient One.

"Master, what did you need me for? I thought you came to hear me tell a story just now."

The Ancient One stated his purpose directly. "King Odin has sent an invitation, inviting me to Thor Odinson's Coronation Ceremony. I want to bring you along."

Russell nodded. "Then let's go together. I'd also like to see the magnificent sights of the Asgardian Immortal Palace."

The Ancient One nodded. "Good. Then we'll go together in three days."

"Mm, Master. Was that all? Couldn't you have just sent me a message?" Russell asked. He had a feeling it was not that simple.

The Ancient One explained, "Over the years, Asgard and Kamar-Taj have maintained a fairly good relationship. Odin and I can be considered acquaintances.

"Odin's body can no longer hold on. He is about to return to Valhalla. And my mission is also nearing its end.

"To preserve the friendly relationship between Asgard and Kamar-Taj, I intend to introduce you to Thor and have you become acquainted."

"Master, are you going to die?"

Russell cried out in alarm. Once The Ancient One died, he would have to take over as Sorcerer Supreme.

Though he was strong enough and did not need to worry about anything going wrong, he would no longer be able to live as freely as he did now.

The Ancient One shook his head. "Russell, you know this. For an existence like mine, the death of the physical body is not truly death. On the contrary, this body has already become a shackle on my cultivation."

The Ancient One was somewhat emotional. When he had surrounded Mephisto a few days ago, he had discovered that another Ancient One's cultivation was more than half a step ahead of his.

Russell nodded with a heavy heart. He could not possibly stop The Ancient One from cultivating.

I need to find a way to strengthen the people below me. That way, there'll be far fewer things for me to worry about.

Seeing that Russell had already processed the news, The Ancient One continued.

"I have a premonition that this trip to the Immortal Palace will not go smoothly. Someone may cause trouble in secret during Thor's coronation. When the time comes, I may need you to act."

"Mm, that won't be a problem," Russell agreed, then asked, "Should I keep things low-key, or make a big show of it?"

"Make a bigger show of it. Odin knows Kamar-Taj's strength, but the other Asgardians may not. Showing our strength appropriately will benefit future cooperation."

After answering Russell, The Ancient One thought for a moment and added,

"Also, stay in Kamar-Taj for the next few days and get to know the other mages better."

Thanks to the secondary effect of his Ability Absorption talent, Russell was extraordinarily sensitive to energy Perception.

For most spells, even if he had never learned their principles or incantations, Russell could see through and analyze them with a single glance, then replicate them.

For Russell, imitation was countless times more cost-effective than learning.

This was also why Russell rarely came to Kamar-Taj to study. He had already copied all the Kamar-Taj mages' spells.

He simply did not display them at Kamar-Taj normally, lest he discourage them.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Helicarrier.

Nick Fury, Coulson, Hill, and the Avengers gathered together.

Tony was there as well. Persuaded by the soul of his father Howard, he had agreed to join the Avengers and become a special consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D.

After leaving the Quantum Realm, Tony chose to nourish his loved ones' souls with Spiritual Energy. Once they awakened and he had finished catching up with them, he would send them to the Vishanti.

"Russell didn't come?" Tony asked as he drank coffee.

Because he had consumed too much Spiritual Energy, Tony had been recuperating in his mansion for the past few days. He had only heard that Russell came out of the Quantum Realm yesterday and had not looked into it further.

Nick Fury and Coulson exchanged looks, both wearing somewhat awkward expressions.

"Russell refused to join the Avengers."

"Then he could still attend this meeting."

Tony was not surprised that Russell had refused to join the Avengers.

"Could it be some classified information that can't be disclosed again?"

"Not exactly," Nick Fury explained.

"After he returned yesterday, he stayed in the bookstore for a while. Then he caused some commotion in New York that night before disappearing. We can't contact him."

Natasha asked curiously, "His phone won't connect? In this day and age, are there really people who go out without a phone?"

Coulson said helplessly, "His is an ordinary phone, not a satellite phone. There's no signal."

Hearing that, everyone was somewhat speechless, but the meeting proceeded as scheduled.

This meeting was meant to review the Doctor Pym-Mephisto incident, but Russell, the most crucial person involved, was unable to attend.

As a result, they could not reconstruct the details of Mephisto, nor how Russell had faced Mephisto head-on, retreated unscathed, and even made Mephisto suffer a major loss.

Even with Coulson retelling Russell's version of the story, it was impossible to restore those details.

They only learned that Mephisto seemed to be subject to some kind of restriction when acting in the Real Universe. He could only act in the Quantum Realm or other dimensions outside the Real Universe.

However, they had gained very little intelligence regarding Mephisto.

But from Doctor Pym, combined with information from all sides, they had reached a shocking conclusion.

Hydra had revived within S.H.I.E.L.D.!

"Hope was attacked during a mission because someone within S.H.I.E.L.D. leaked the information.

"And Tony's parents' 'car accident' was most likely the work of these people as well. They covered it up afterward," Coulson summarized.

And the person who had personally carried it out was most likely him—

—the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes.