Mage's Funeral (2)

"The first time I met He was right here. That's right, in this very courtyard."

"He'd arrived half a year before me, yet he'd already skipped through the Sling Ring courses that took many mages around three years to complete—of course, thanks to him, we don't need to use those things anymore."

"As for me, my first impression of him really wasn't good. The Ancient One had him take me under his wing for a while. And He's personality... well, you all know what he was like."

Strange smiled helplessly. "To be honest, he nearly tortured me insane during that period. I woke up at six in the morning and read until ten. Then came an hour of review. Once eleven o'clock hit, my nightmare began."

"He would make me do three test papers. Every single one was related to what I'd studied that morning, and every single one had to be perfect. If I got even one question wrong, I had to start over."

Below the stage, Banner and Tony looked at each other, exchanging haunted glances—this familiar kind of strictness reminded them of their own college days. Although the United States, back when it still existed, had advocated happy education, once you got to college, you learned what it meant to do homework until dawn.

"I didn't even have time to eat. For that, he specifically went through ancient texts and learned a spell called Energy Transfer. Once I finished the test papers, he would cast that spell on me. The energy needed to sustain my daily consumption would be converted from magic into all kinds of nutrition."

"By the time the papers were done, it was usually four in the afternoon. Evenings were for physical training. Yes, we mages of Kamar-Taj have to train our bodies. There