Columbia University

Columbia University.

Finney's enrollment hadn't caused much of a stir. It was ordinary, much like everyone else's, even though the Ancient One had once told him he could have a huge impact on this world.

Since he hadn't planned to live on campus, he hadn't been assigned a dorm in the first place. But the school wasn't close to home, so he decided to rent a place.

"Are you really sure you don't want me to drive you?"

In the new apartment, Skye looked over the furnishings and asked Finney.

"No, I'll probably need to go to the Sanctum pretty often, so it's more convenient to live off campus." Finney shook his head, turning down Skye's offer.

Skye didn't insist. She nodded, then unexpectedly said, "All right, then I'll move in too."

Since money wasn't an issue, the apartment Finney had rented wasn't small, and there was indeed another empty room. But he hadn't expected Skye to say that, and he stared at her in bewilderment. "What are you moving in for?"

"It's comfortable here." Skye gave Finney a strange look before answering. "People keep coming by the shop asking when you'll be back. It's too noisy, and staying home all the time feels a little awkward. Since you have classes every day, I can use the internet here without anyone bothering me."

Finney was at a loss after hearing Skye's answer. He scratched his head, then cautiously suggested, "I mean, you're an adult now, and you're not that young anymore. Have you considered living on your own?"

At that, Skye blushed bright red and immediately snapped, "I... I can pay rent, okay? We'll just say we're renting it together."

Then, as if she'd thought of another excuse, she added indignantly, "If Mom and Dad weren't worried you couldn't take care of yourself, I wouldn't have come over. Do you think I want to live with you?"

"Hmph!"

With a girlish huff, Skye went straight upstairs to unpack, leaving Finney standing there in utter confusion.

There wasn't much Finney could say about the older sister he'd spoiled rotten. It was probably better to live together anyway. New York was so chaotic, and it really wasn't safe for a pretty girl to be on her own sometimes.

University life was easier than Finney had imagined. His major was rather obscure, so he didn't have many classes and had plenty of free time each day.

At school, he was mainly studying Ancient Sanskrit. He hadn't actually read most of the books from Kamar-Taj yet, since translation software still wasn't very advanced.

He'd also tried to get Skye to help him develop a translation program, but without enough data for it to learn from, the results were still poor.

Until now, he'd had to ask people to translate the books for him. He couldn't keep holding them up, though, so his progress had been slow.

It was another bright afternoon.

With no classes, Finney sat in the living room, absorbed in a textbook he'd borrowed from school. Beside him, Skye listlessly flipped through a fashion magazine.

But before long, she tossed the magazine aside, sprawled across the soft sofa, and nudged Finney with her little foot as she complained, "Tony Stark again. This guy's literally everywhere."

"You've been reading that book for almost a month. Aren't you bored? The weather's been getting colder lately, so why don't I take you shopping for some clothes?"

Skye kept chattering away beside him like a sparrow. Finney helplessly shut his book and glared at her. "I really shouldn't have agreed to let you move in. And don't you already have enough clothes?"

"I'm buying clothes for you." Skye first put on a serious face to correct him, then grinned. "At most, I'll pick out a few things for myself while we're at it."

Finney sighed and glanced outside. Since November began, there really hadn't been many days this nice.

He looked back at Skye, who was watching him expectantly, and reluctantly nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the fashion magazine she'd tossed aside. The cover featured Stark in a sharp suit, which prompted him to ask,

"Didn't you used to like Tony Stark?"

Following Finney's gaze to the magazine, Skye curled her lip disdainfully and said, "I admired his technology and inventions, but I've realized he's nothing but a playboy!"

"You never know."

Looking at Tony Stark, who seemed full of energy on the magazine cover, Finney remarked with a sigh, "He'll probably become a hero."

"A hero!?"

Skye gave him a strange look. Tony Stark had many titles: billionaire, scientific genius, playboy. But almost no one ever associated him with being a hero.

"He really loves peace."

Finney shrugged. It was the old master-and-disciple tradition; he didn't much care for spoiling the future anyway.

"He owns an arms company!"

Skye replied, sounding exasperated. Then she dropped the subject and hurried back to her room to do her makeup and get ready.

After spending the entire afternoon shopping with Skye, Finney went to the New York Sanctum at dusk and opened a portal to Kamar-Taj.

The cool morning air invigorated him. In the past few months at Kamar-Taj, he'd gained as much experience as he had in the several years before.

The Experience Bar, emptied after he drew "Possessed by Evil Spirit," was now more than half full again.

But lately, his progress had slowed. For one thing, he didn't have enough talent or time, and he had to devote a lot of effort to translating and reading. For another, he couldn't find anyone to spar with.

There weren't many Sorcerers who enjoyed fighting. Mordo had things of his own to attend to lately, so Finney couldn't keep bothering him. As a result, he often couldn't find anyone to spar with.

As Finney thought about how to solve the problem, he headed toward the Training Ground. On the way, he ran into a slightly chubby figure and greeted him. "Good morning, Wong. You're here today too!"

Wong wasn't yet the librarian he would be when Doctor Strange arrived in the future. He was currently one of the Hong Kong Sanctum's guardians and didn't often show up at Kamar-Taj.

"Good morning, Master Finney." Wong returned the greeting politely, then came over and quietly asked, "Do you have a fried chicken roll?"

"Uh, won't that be too greasy for breakfast?"

Although he said that, Finney deftly summoned "Sumire's Fried Chicken Roll" and handed it over.

Wong took it and sniffed it, looking utterly blissful. Then he said without a hint of concern, "It's fine. I've already had breakfast, so it won't make a difference."

"..."

Finney was at a loss for words.

Running into Wong meant he'd found someone to help him gain experience today. Wong wasn't quite as strong as Mordo, but he was still one of the better opponents, especially since his fighting style wasn't as agile as Mordo's.

After these past few months of training, Finney had grown considerably—though not in terms of magic, of course.

With all his combat experience and "Possessed by Evil Spirit" equipped, he now counted as one of Kamar-Taj's skilled fighters. Well, specifically in terms of combat ability.

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