Above Dormammu

Following Mordo out of the tearoom, Luke relaxed completely once he was out from under the big shot's gaze.

Seriously, he had almost thought he was done for.

"Ancient One treats you very differently." Mordo slowed to wait for him, giving him an odd look.

Luke felt a little awkward. How could she not? Both he and Ancient One carried dark energy.

"We all came here ourselves to study, but you're different. Ancient One brought you back personally." Mordo recalled how Ancient One had been guiding two sorcerers through a sparring session, only to leave suddenly and return with Luke.

Luke felt even more awkward. Was that really bringing him back? He had been captured!

"Perhaps you have a great talent for magic," Mordo said slowly.

Luke thought back to his journey through the Multiverse, of which all he remembered was growing hands all over his body. He remembered nothing else.

"I don't think so." Looking increasingly awkward, Luke could only interrupt Mordo.

Seeing his expression, Mordo shrugged. "But the Sorcerer Supreme seems to think highly of you."

"The Sorcerer Supreme is a very wise man. He must have recognized your talent." Mordo was still a diehard fan of Ancient One. In his eyes, Ancient One was practically a god.

Sure, I've got a system and dark energy, yet I got invited in for tea the moment I transmigrated. Even I'm starting to question what talent I have. Luke looked up at the heavens, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.

"Want to try some magic?" Mordo asked, watching Luke.

Now that sounds good!

Remembering the portal from earlier, Luke did feel a little interested. At least if he learned that trick, he would never have to worry about not reaching the bathroom in time.

Seeing that Luke had finally shown some reaction, Mordo quickly said, "Then I'll show you your room first, and we can try it out in the courtyard afterward. Since the Sorcerer Supreme thinks you're talented, I'm sure you'll easily learn the spells here."

Arriving at a dim room, Luke felt as though he had walked into a prison cell.

"Don't you have light bulbs here?" Luke surveyed the dim surroundings. They could shoot a movie in broad daylight without even drawing the curtains. Turning to look at Mordo, he almost failed to find him.

Mordo shrugged and said, "Maintaining the sorcerers' daily lives already costs quite a bit. Kamar-Taj doesn't have much in the way of businesses in the mundane world."

Finally locating Mordo, Luke took the little card he handed over. Reading "shamballa" by the sunlight coming through the small window, Luke suddenly remembered something. Holy shit, where's my phone?!

Seeing him freeze, Mordo explained with a smile, "That's the Wi-Fi password. We're not primitives."

"No." Luke smiled bitterly. "I don't have a phone."

"What kind of primitive are you?" Mordo said, looking shocked.

After finally getting settled, Luke followed Mordo to the courtyard where the sorcerers trained.

Mordo slipped on a Sling Ring. "Want to try a portal first? Beginners love this one." He traced a circle with his hand, and a Spark Door opened.

"Convenient, easy to learn, and useful, but mainly, the visual effects are fantastic. A lot of beginners love this spell." Mordo stepped through the portal and appeared behind Luke.

Luke took the Sling Ring and, under Mordo's guidance, pictured an empty spot in the courtyard before him and began tracing circles with his hand.

But the portal he expected never appeared, making Luke frown.

Sure enough, he had little talent for magic. He could not even cast an introductory portal spell.

Seeing Luke's bitter expression, Mordo reassured him, "Don't worry. This is normal. Who can cast magic as soon as they arrive? It takes repeated attempts."

After Mordo's reassurance, Luke's confidence returned. True, even Stephen had nearly died for nothing on a snowy mountain before opening a portal. How could Luke possibly do it right away?

He had to leave the future Sorcerer Supreme some dignity, after all.

After a short rest, Mordo began teaching Luke how to cast spells.

"Actually, the spells sorcerers use are no different from mundane technology. They're simply different ways of applying energy. Sorcerers control energy with their minds, while technology uses matter to direct it. If you want to cast a spell, you need to use your mental power to sense and control the energy around you. Give it a try."

Luke nodded and took up his stance again. To better sense the energy, he closed his eyes and searched intently.

Suddenly, Luke discovered a strange energy inside his body. To his surprise, it was remarkably obedient, letting him direct it however he pleased.

Then take me to that place!

Luke pictured his earlier destination, and the energy immediately surged.

Luke sensed the movement of the energy with delight, but his expression soon changed.

Why isn't this energy heading toward the Sling Ring? Instead, it's...

Under Mordo's gaze, black energy suddenly poured out of Luke's body, enveloping him and sinking into the ground before he reappeared in a patch of shadow nearby.

Reappearing, Luke turned to Mordo in confusion. "Did I do it?"

Seeing the shock in Mordo's eyes, Luke assumed he had succeeded and boasted excitedly, "I didn't think I really was a genius! I got it on my first try."

But when he saw the other sorcerers silently drawing their weapons, Luke finally sensed something was wrong.

Are they so jealous of my talent that they're going to gang up on me? Surely not?

He slowly backed toward the wall, watching the sorcerers act as though they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Holy crap, you're serious!" Luke sensed that the atmosphere was wrong. Even Mordo was approaching with a "whip."

Are we really getting that wild?

Watching the burly men close in, Luke swallowed.

Something's wrong. Run!

The energy inside him surged out again, enveloping Luke as he vanished.

Luke had intended to head straight to the little attic to find Ancient One, but before he got far, he felt the energy around his body run dry, and he reappeared in the material world.

Damn it! Not enough energy!

Luke took a deep breath. It's fine. Although he now seemed to have nowhere left to go, there was still one way to save himself!

"Boss, help!"

Luke shouted at the top of his lungs, but whether because she was too far away or for some other reason, Ancient One did not appear before him as he had imagined.

No, I need to get closer to Ancient One.

But with this many people, how am I supposed to get out?

Looking at the burly men before him, Luke sensed his extremely slowly recovering energy again. It was nowhere near enough to escape.

As one burly man approached and raised his staff, Luke desperately hoped someone would come out and stop him.

The moment that thought appeared in Luke's mind, a piece suddenly split off his shadow and became a black-clad ninja before him.

Holy shit, the Shadow Legion!

Luke remembered what this was. It was a Ninja Soldier from the Shadow Legion of his childhood memories!

Then Luke remembered the mask in his system. Could the units in this system be Ninja Soldiers, and could he summon them?

Luke immediately grew excited. He had never expected to possess the ninja legion he had dreamed of having as a child!

But then Luke came back to his senses.

Although Ninja Soldiers could easily handle ordinary people...

Looking at the burly men drawing closer, could these people be considered ordinary?

Seeing their muscular builds, Luke could well believe that these melee sorcerers could beat this Ninja Soldier flat even without magic.

But when Luke checked his remaining energy, he had only 5.9, nowhere near enough to buy another Ninja Soldier.

I'm screwed. This AFK System is garbage. I'd like to request a replacement system.

Suppressing those thoughts, Luke looked at the Ninja Soldier before him.

"Go! Hold them off!"

At Luke's command, the Ninja Soldier charged resolutely at the sorcerers, only to be taken down by their assortment of melee weapons.

Still, while the Shadow Ninja bought him time, Luke recovered a little energy and immediately vanished with Shadow Form.

Using Shadow Form, Luke appeared outside the courtyard, then immediately sprinted away.

Mordo and the others were no pushovers either and gave chase at once.

Luke ran at the speed he usually reserved for rushing to work, sprinting all the way and actually leaving the regularly trained sorcerers behind.

But it did not last. Before he got far, portals opened ahead of him one after another, and sorcerers charged out.

"You're using cheats now?!"

Luke now understood how difficult these sorcerers were to deal with. He could not even run away!

As a sorcerer swung a staff down at him, Luke instinctively used Shadow Form to dodge. Seeing this, his opponent slammed the staff into the ground instead. Energy obtained through dealings with Dimensional Demon Gods erupted, blasting Luke straight out of Shadow Form.

Shocked, Luke hurriedly used Shadow Form to flee in another direction, but these battle-hardened sorcerers had already identified his weakness.

"Stop him with energy shields! That ability of his probably can't penetrate barriers made of energy!" one sorcerer shouted. The others did not hesitate, conjuring spell circles in their hands as they tried to surround Luke.

Watching the sorcerers close in around him, Luke grew extremely nervous. His energy was almost depleted, and now that he was surrounded, there was no way to escape.

Remembering that he still had a Ninja Soldier, Luke tried summoning him again. His shadow split once more, and the Ninja Soldier reappeared.

"Quick, get me out of here!"

This time, Luke did not send the Ninja Soldier on a suicide attack. Instead, he threw himself onto the ninja's back and had him carry him away.

The Ninja Soldier's red eyes widened, as though he was struggling a little, but he still sprinted off with Luke.

Weaving nimbly from side to side, he actually managed to carry Luke out of the encirclement.

But Luke knew he was on these sorcerers' home turf and could never escape. He could only hope that a certain big shot would appear.

And so, the Ninja Soldier carried Luke around as increasing numbers of sorcerers chased and blocked them, while Luke kept calling Ancient One's name.

With so many sorcerers pursuing and intercepting them, it was fortunate that the Ninja Soldier had unlimited stamina. Otherwise, the burly men would have pinned Luke down long ago.

Before long, Luke was hiding behind the Ninja Soldier, cornered against a wall by a huge crowd of sorcerers.

Looking at the sea of people before him, Luke had reason to believe that every full-fledged sorcerer in Kamar-Taj had come to intercept him.

Looking at his completely depleted energy, which left him unable to prolong his survival with Shadow Form, Luke shook his head. There really was no saving him now.

But before his delighted eyes, a portal opened in front of him. A figure in yellow stepped out of the Mirror Dimension and stood between Luke and the others.

A sorcerer in the crowd shouted, "Sorcerer Supreme, that man behind you carries dark energy! He's a follower of the Dark Lord!"

Luke looked at the sorcerer who had shouted, thought he seemed familiar, and took a closer look.

Well, well, isn't that Kaecilius? You bastard, you haven't turned traitor yet?!

Ancient One removed her hood, revealing her bald head and bringing everyone to heel.

"Although this man carries dark energy, he is not a follower of Dormammu. Rather, he is another Dormammu..."

Holy crap, Boss, are you trying to get me killed?

Hearing Ancient One's words, Luke sank into despair. Good grief, she's branded me the enemy's final boss. She's going to burn me in front of everyone to reaffirm the doctrine.

As the crowd grew even more agitated, Ancient One continued, "He has the potential to become like Dormammu, yet he is not the same kind of being as Dormammu."

Boss, not only are you pausing in all the wrong places, you're talking in riddles too!

Watching Ancient One leave everyone thoroughly confused, Luke's eyes filled with tears. She's probably trying to protect me. I can live.

"He resembles Dormammu because he can control dark power, but he differs from Dormammu because dark power does not control him. Instead, he controls dark power."

"He is a purer Dark Lord than Dormammu. Or rather, the true Dark Lord."

Listening as Ancient One placed him directly above Dormammu, Luke checked his 5.9 energy. Oh, it had increased by another 0.1. He now had 6.0 energy.

Am I really that awesome?

"But you said dark power is the most evil power of all! If he's the Dark Lord, shouldn't we be all the more determined to kill him before he threatens Earth?" Kaecilius continued shouting.

You bastard, once you turn traitor, I'll eliminate you on Ancient One's behalf!

Luke glared viciously at Kaecilius, but Kaecilius ignored him, waiting instead for Ancient One's response.

"Power in its pure form is neither good nor evil. Just as weapons in your hands can protect the world, in the hands of evildoers, they can threaten it." Ancient One maintained her impassive demeanor as she spoke. That sagely bearing made her words all the more convincing.

"Furthermore, his power comes from the Dark Dimension. The stronger he grows, the weaker Dormammu becomes." Ancient One supplied the final straw, thoroughly dispelling everyone's desire to slay evil and uphold righteousness. "Besides, so long as his heart remains good, dark power will no longer pose a threat. Once Dormammu is eliminated and dark power becomes purer, we can also draw on it to become stronger, and even cast magic without paying a price."

In principle, Kamar-Taj's spells worked through barter, exchanging things of one's own with the demon gods of various dimensions for supernatural power. Thus, the sorcerers all had a habit of training their bodies to increase their capital.

If no price was required, they would be true sorcerers, just like Doctor Strange showing off his skills in the final battle. Huh, what final battle?

After learning this, the sorcerers looked at Luke differently, seemingly eager for him to kick Dormammu aside right now and restore order to the Shadow World.

Luke had instantly gone from someone everyone wanted to beat up to a precious darling who needed careful nurturing. Still a little dazed, he was pulled into the Mirror Dimension by Ancient One.