Before meeting The Ancient One, Skye had kept reminding herself not to be surprised, to be polite, and not to embarrass herself. But the moment they met, she still could not hide the surprise on her face.
Besides not expecting The Ancient One to be a woman, she had also not expected that enormous bald head.
After seeing The Ancient One, Skye instinctively turned to look at Feeney's hair beside her. A trace of worry showed in her eyes, making his face darken slightly.
Feeney glared fiercely at Skye, making her realize how rude she was being. Only then did he begin introducing Skye to The Ancient One, though The Ancient One probably already knew her.
When introducing Skye, Feeney only said, "This is my older sister." But when introducing The Ancient One, he had a lot more titles:
"This is my teacher, the leader of Kamar-Taj, the strongest person on Earth, the Sorcerer Supreme who knows almost everything about the past and future—The Ancient One!"
Hearing this, Skye grew even more nervous. Although she could not understand why this gentle-looking, refined person was described so extravagantly by Feeney, it did not stop her from feeling awed.
"Greetings, Master Ancient One."
Skye offered her greeting respectfully.
"Hello, Miss Hailsaiz." The Ancient One nodded kindly, then said to her, "Feeney has already told me about you. But please don't blame me for saying this: the power of magic may not be something everyone can control. Don't force it."
Skye nodded seriously to show that she understood. Being given this opportunity was already wonderful. Even if she failed to learn, she would not blame anyone.
Everything in Kamar-Taj was novel to Skye. During her day of sightseeing, her thirst for knowledge practically exploded, and her anticipation of learning magic instantly reached its peak.
Thus, after returning and telling their parents, the two of them used traveling as an excuse and temporarily stayed at Kamar-Taj.
At first, the two of them did not learn anything. Instead, they watched the other sorcerers practice in the Training Ground. Seeing the streams of orange-red energy swirling around the sorcerers' hands, Skye became incredibly excited and could not wait to join them.
But once she began practicing herself, she learned that things were not so simple. After a full month, she had not produced even the tiniest spark.
Fortunately, Kamar-Taj had kept up with the times and had internet access. Otherwise, she probably would have given up long ago. Even so, she had been considering quitting these past few days.
The only thing that comforted Skye was that Feeney was not much better than her. If she could be described as producing no sparks at all, then Feeney could only be described as producing the tiniest flicker.
For the whole month, Feeney had been extremely depressed as well. He had even begun to wonder if going bald was truly the only way to become stronger. After an entire month, all he had managed to produce was a little spark!?
Only Mordo had told him that most people were at about this level when they first started learning, which allowed him to continue practicing gloomily.
It seemed that The Ancient One had indeed been telling the truth when she said his talent was merely average.
His failure with magic made Feeney realize that using this method to grow stronger quickly was somewhat unrealistic. His greatest advantage still lay in the abilities drawn from the system.
Just as Feeney was wondering how to proceed, Skye found him and said that she wanted to quit.
"Are you sure?"
Looking at Skye's depressed face, Feeney asked again to confirm. He understood this feeling very well. Studying for so long without seeing any progress was truly discouraging. At least he could still see a little hope, but Skye could not guide out even a trace of energy.
"Yeah. Maybe I'm really not suited for it."
Skye spoke gloomily. If possible, she still wanted to obtain this extraordinary power, but she also remembered that The Ancient One had advised her from the beginning not to force it.
"Alright, alright. It's fine. I always felt that the Mystic Arts Mage path wasn't very suitable for girls anyway. You should think more about how you'd use your Shockwave Ability if you had one."
"Why shockwaves?"
Skye did not understand why Feeney kept mentioning them.
"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you when the right opportunity comes." Feeney did not explain. Instead, he changed the subject. "Are you planning to go home, then?"
"Yeah."
Skye nodded. Although Kamar-Taj had internet access, the connection here was clearly not very good. Besides, she was somewhat unaccustomed to its simple, plain lifestyle.
"Alright, then. I'll leave explaining things to Mom and Dad to you."
During this time, they had naturally kept in touch with their families. They had also gone into town and taken some photographs to show them, so neither set of parents had noticed anything unusual.
"Then let's go. I'll take you to tell Teacher. She can send you straight back."
After taking Skye, who had packed her belongings, to The Ancient One and explaining everything, Feeney found that The Ancient One did not say much about Skye's decision to quit. She neither comforted nor encouraged her, merely nodding to show that she understood.
After opening a portal and sending Skye to a place not far from her home, Feeney began discussing another matter with The Ancient One.
"Teacher, I'd like to train my combat abilities with some other sorcerers."
"Mordo and Wong should be happy to help you." The Ancient One nodded and offered her suggestion.
During this month, he had also become acquainted with the two sorcerers who would later have a close relationship with Doctor Strange. As for the traitorous Kaecilius, he did not seem to have joined Kamar-Taj yet.
"Then, may I use this?" Feeney summoned Possessed by Evil Spirit. The Silver Longsword appeared before him. After grasping it, he did not immediately choose to equip the armor.
The Ancient One looked at Feeney holding the longsword and paused slightly. After a long while, she said quietly, "This is a Living Weapon. It may erode your mind and harm your body. Do you understand?"
Feeney hesitated, but still nodded to show that he understood. The system's description said that it housed an Ancient Life. Without that trait, it would not be able to evolve.
"Remember, never let the power control you!"
In the end, The Ancient One did not stop Feeney from using these abilities, granting him the greatest trust.
Just as Feeney was about to leave and discuss a sparring match with Mordo, he suddenly thought of a possibility. He stopped, turned to The Ancient One, and asked, "Teacher, can you use it?"
Feeney held out Possessed by Evil Spirit. He wanted to know whether anyone besides himself could use it. Having an ordinary person test it would be too dangerous, but with The Ancient One, he had far fewer concerns—unless she wanted to die.
"I think I can give it a try."
The Ancient One did not hold back. She took Possessed by Evil Spirit from Feeney and examined it with interest. "Hmm... It seems to be a very strange creature. It can adapt to its user's power and evolve. The method by which it was forged is also quite extraordinary!"
"Its incantation is 'Possessed by Evil Spirit.' It can transform into armor," Feeney reminded her from the side.
"Possessed by Evil Spirit!"
The Ancient One softly recited the words. A shocking surge of energy burst from the longsword, its momentum far surpassing what Feeney had produced the first time he used it.
The figure that condensed behind her was also far more terrifying and oppressive. Even Feeney, standing nearby, found it somewhat difficult to breathe.
"Roar!"
A tremendous roar rang throughout Kamar-Taj, startling all the sorcerers.
Just as the figure was about to embrace The Ancient One, she waved her hand. A stream of Green Energy swirled around her and dispersed the figure of Possessed by Evil Spirit. She then withdrew the energy, and it transformed back into the shape of a longsword.
"Huff, huff!"
As the pressure vanished, Feeney gasped for breath. Only after experiencing it personally could he understand his own weakness. It was clearly the same equipment, yet in The Ancient One's hands, it had been more than ten times stronger than when he used it.
However, after The Ancient One's test, he also understood that final control over the skill still belonged to him. Although The Ancient One could use it, he could cancel the skill at any time during the process.
Please vote and bookmark. Sigh, the bookmarks are actually dropping now. How terrifying d(д)!
Before you continue