Ryan knew just how absurdly powerful his Magic Talent was when paired with his Super Brain.
He told Strange, "Don't use me as your benchmark. Stop comparing yourself to others and keep practicing magic. One day, controlling magical energy will come naturally."
Strange listened, then continued practicing with a blank expression.
Ryan was simply telling him to keep at it, and that was exactly what he intended to do.
Day after day passed beneath an unchanging sky.
Strange had been at Kamar-Taj for some time. He spent each day practicing magic, and his days felt full.
Of everyone at Kamar-Taj, one person interested Strange most.
Ryan.
Whenever Strange mentioned Ryan to the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, he saw longing and respect on their faces.
To Strange, Ryan was like the man he himself had once been in the operating room: in command of the situation, in command of everything.
On another sunny day, Strange finished eating and headed for the Training Ground to continue practicing magic.
He was currently working on a spell called Portal. He had devoted the first half of his life to medicine and had no foundation in magic.
So even opening a portal was difficult for him.
To open one, he had to trace a circle with his fingers and create a fiery red doorway.
Strange swept his fingers through the air, but the magical lines only began forming a circle before fading halfway through.
Magic was not easy.
For Strange, who had always been a genius, that was discouraging. He followed the path and soon ran into Ryan.
Ryan was holding a cloak and speaking with Mordo, the instructor teaching the trainees at the Training Ground.
Snatches of their conversation reached Strange—"Kaecilius still hasn't been caught" and "we need to protect the Three Sanctums"—but he