Next Time, For Sure

Feeney laughed bitterly inside. He had always believed his most invincible and powerful skill was the 'Golden Great Deduction Technique'—the capital that made him fearless of anyone in the future—but in that moment, it was shattered by Ancient One.

But then, he felt he was overthinking it.

At seven years old, how much power could he have had? The upper limit of the 'Golden Great Deduction Technique' was still beyond his imagination even now. Comparing his current strength to Ancient One, who had lived for nearly a thousand years and wielded one of the Infinity Stones, was inherently unequal from the start.

So, the 'Golden Great Deduction Technique' was still invincible; it was just that he was too weak right now.

Feeney corrected his conviction internally, and his confidence in being unbeatable returned. He looked at Ancient One, nodded calmly, and said, "Thank you for your help back then, Master Ancient One."

Ancient One had no idea how much Feeney had been thinking in that brief moment. Upon hearing this, she smiled modestly and replied, "It was my own decision. I'm glad it didn't affect you."

Then the atmosphere gradually quieted down.

After Ancient One brought this up, Feeney hesitated to bring up learning magic again. He worried that Ancient One might demand the 'Golden Great Deduction Technique' in exchange for teaching him.

Although Ancient One didn't seem like that kind of person, his understanding of her was far from deep.

The 'Golden Great Deduction Technique' was described as magic in the system's introduction. Calling it a superpower in front of a big shot from the Magic Side didn't seem right, especially since she had already helped him use it.

Most importantly, this power was drawn from the system. If Ancient One really asked him to teach it, he simply couldn't.

Sumire's Fried Chicken Roll, on the other hand, could be taught—there was a recipe, ingredients to prepare, and steps to follow. At most, the taste would be a bit off.

Just as Feeney was wondering what to do, Ancient One patted her butt and stood up. She casually drew a circle in the air, and a sparking magical portal appeared before them. On the other side of the circle, he could vaguely make out an antique room.

A portal!

Feeney's eyes lit up. This was one of the two spells he most wanted to learn.

In his heart, Feeney looked down on Marvel's close-combat magic, but there were two spells he really liked: one was this portal, whose upper limit could even cross galaxies, and the other was the Mirror Dimension, which didn't affect the physical world.

With a portal, he could escape from anyone he couldn't beat; with the Mirror Dimension, anyone he could beat wouldn't be able to run.

"It was a pleasure meeting you today, Mr. Hailsaiz!"

While Feeney was staring at the portal with envy, Ancient One walked over to him and said this, seemingly ready to leave.

Feeney was startled. Seeing Ancient One about to step into the portal, he quickly snapped out of it and shouted, "Wait!"

But Ancient One didn't stop; she walked straight toward the portal. Seeing this, Feeney didn't care anymore and immediately yelled, "Master, I want to learn magic from you!"

At that, Ancient One finally turned her head, gave a meaningful smile, and stepped into the portal, disappearing from sight.

In the rundown factory, Feeney stood frowning in place. He still couldn't figure out why Ancient One had come or what the point of those few words was.

"Could it be because of 'Possessed by Evil Spirit'?" If there was anything different about today, it was definitely 'Possessed by Evil Spirit.' He had just deactivated the skill when Ancient One arrived. If he called it a coincidence, Feeney absolutely wouldn't believe it.

In Ancient One's dictionary, there was no such thing as coincidence!

"Could it be that I might turn evil in the future? So she came to give me a heads-up?" Feeney's mind raced. With too little information, there were too many possibilities, but every Sorcerer Supreme had a tight lip. Trying to get information from them was worse than just guessing.

And that smile at the end—did it mean she wanted to teach magic or not?

Feeney's head ached. Ancient One's sudden appearance had disrupted his relatively peaceful life. Not understanding her purpose left him unsure of what to do next.

"Forget it, I'll go find her and ask."

Feeney finally gritted his teeth and made this decision.

If she could come to him, why couldn't he go to her? Kamar-Taj might be far, but don't forget there was a shortcut in New York—he could go straight through the New York Sanctum.

Having made up his mind, Feeney didn't stay long at the Secret Base. After recovering his strength, he went home.

As soon as he walked in, Skye, who had been watching for him, noticed him. Seeing him covered in dirt and looking exhausted, she was shocked and rushed over, asking anxiously, "What's wrong? Did those two people talk?"

"Should we run first? But how do we explain it to Mother? I know some friends online who make fake IDs. Maybe we should get some fake IDs first. Oh, and I have some friends in the Netherlands. We could hide there..."

Watching Skye start panicking and planning to flee, Feeney found it both amusing and exasperating. He reached out with his dust-covered hand and gently pinched her soft cheek to get her attention, then comforted her, "It's nothing. I just fell off my bike. No one found out. Don't make a big deal out of it. Even if they did find out, I'd handle it. Don't worry."

If it had been before today, being discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. would have left Feeney with no good options. At best, he might have had to reluctantly join them. But after today, things were different.

When in doubt, go to Ancient One!

When she left, he had called her 'Master,' and she hadn't outright refused. That meant he now had backing, which was also why he dared to go find her.

Seeing that Feeney's expression didn't seem fake, Skye finally relaxed. Then she frowned and interrogated him, "Where did you really go today? I don't believe you just fell."

"I'm going to take a shower first!"

Seeing Skye calm down, Feeney grinned and changed the subject. Without waiting for her reply, he headed straight for the bathroom, leaving Skye with an unhappy look on her face.

After washing up, Feeney came out and saw Skye still sulking. He knew she was mostly worried about him. Considering his recent plans, he thought for a moment and then sat down beside her.

"I really didn't do much. I just went out to train a bit."

Feeney didn't spell it out too clearly. He knew Skye would understand.

Having just gone through yesterday's bizarre events, Skye naturally wouldn't mistake 'training' for running or something. She couldn't help but worry, "How did you train? Aren't you afraid of being discovered? Why didn't you let me come along? At least I could have kept watch or something."

"Next time, for sure. Next time."

Feeney said solemnly, using his go-to stalling tactic.

As for Skye, Feeney was a bit troubled. When she first came to this home, he didn't think much of it. But later, as Skye refused to change her name, and 'Skye' felt vaguely familiar, he gradually remembered that when he used to watch Marvel movies, there was a spin-off series where a girl seemed to have that name.

He had wondered if it was just a coincidence, but as Skye became more and more obsessed with her parents, he was pretty sure this girl was the one with the alien gene.

He vaguely remembered from that show that her parents were both in bad shape, and in the end, she gained a vibrational power because of some 'Obelisk.'

But he didn't remember much more than that, because the show was too long, and he hadn't finished it.