Mercer had been brought here by the Ancient One, and he seemed to be a complete novice at magic. Yet the moment he arrived, he told Mordo to go all out. Wasn't that a little too arrogant?
Mordo looked helplessly at the Ancient One. He hadn't intended to do that, but when he turned to her, she didn't object. Instead, she looked thoughtful.
What did that mean? Was he really supposed to go all out?
After a moment, the Ancient One looked at Mordo and said, "It's fine. Use your full strength. If you injure him, I can heal him."
Mordo gave Mercer an odd look. "Please don't hold it against me if I accidentally hurt you."
Mercer smiled and nodded, then moved away to put some distance between himself and Mordo.
For their match, the Ancient One even had the other apprentice sorcerers stop training and gather on her side to watch.
Seeing the person the Ancient One had brought immediately challenge Mordo, the apprentices studied Mercer curiously.
They were all around twenty-three. Compared with them, Mercer was absurdly young, which only made them more puzzled.
A boy like him had arrived and immediately challenged Mordo, one of the best among them. They couldn't help wondering what was going on.
What was the Ancient One up to today?
"I'll still hold back a little. You..."
Mordo had still intended to pull his punches, but in the blink of an eye, Mercer flashed forward. The distance between them was only a dozen meters, and Mercer crossed it in an instant.
Before Mordo could finish speaking, an overwhelming sense of danger surged through him. He hurriedly raised the Living Tribunal Staff in front of himself.
Clang!
Metal rang against metal as the staff in Mercer's hands slammed into Mordo's.
But Mercer's staff hadn't changed at all. It didn't seem to have been infused with magic.
"Huh? I didn't put any magic into that strike? Looks like this isn't so simple," Mercer murmured in surprise.
He didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, he stepped back with his right foot, restoring a safe distance.
Mercer kept turning the Living Tribunal Staff over in his hands, seemingly trying to figure out how to channel magic into it.
Across from him, beads of sweat rolled down Mordo's forehead. He had never expected Mercer to be so fast. Was that kind of speed even humanly possible?
"This boy is no ordinary novice. No wonder he told me to go all out. Looks like I can't hold back anymore!"
With that, Mordo went on the offensive, channeling his magic into the Living Tribunal Staff and attacking Mercer.
What happened next left everyone dumbfounded.
No matter how Mordo attacked, Mercer always found some unexpected angle from which to deflect his strikes.
Mercer had no intention of fighting back. Once he had neutralized an attack, he simply stood there blankly, fiddling with his own staff.
Mordo had never felt so defeated. He could tell that his opponent wasn't even trying to beat him. Mercer was merely studying how to channel magic into the Living Tribunal Staff.
After a dozen or so exchanges, Mordo helplessly raised his hand. "I surrender."
"Huh? Why?" Mercer looked utterly baffled, still unaware of how demoralizing his behavior was. "I haven't even hit you yet. Why are you giving up?"
Mordo: ...
The Ancient One chuckled and beckoned Mercer back to her side. Taking the staff from him, she said, "It seems using this right away is a little difficult. Why don't you try this instead?"
As she spoke, the Ancient One pinched the air with her right hand, and a dark gold two-finger ring appeared in her grasp.
"This is a Sling Ring. It's both a means of attack and a mode of transportation for us sorcerers. When I came to find you earlier, this was what I used to open the portal."
Mercer took the Sling Ring from the Ancient One. He was familiar with it. When Doctor Strange came here later, this would also be the first thing he encountered.
"However, this also requires intense concentration. Otherwise, it will be difficult to..."
The Ancient One was still explaining how to use the Sling Ring when Mercer put it on and began tracing circles, imitating what he had seen.
Before she could finish, golden light flickered in front of his fingers. A few circles later, he had actually opened a Sling Ring Portal!
Staring at the Sling Ring Portal, the Ancient One's lips parted slightly. For a moment, she was speechless.
After a while, she looked at Mercer and slowly asked, "Were you pretending when you couldn't channel magic into the staff just now?"
Mercer felt a little awkward too. He hadn't been able to channel magic a moment ago, so why had the portal opened so easily? It was almost ridiculous.
"No. I just waved my hand around, and the portal opened." Mercer scratched his head, leaving everyone at a loss for words.
Many of the apprentice sorcerers gained a much higher opinion of Mercer after witnessing this. Among them, the quickest had taken over a week to open a Sling Ring Portal after receiving their rings. The slower ones still couldn't do it after a month.
Mercer, by contrast, had opened a Sling Ring Portal less than two minutes after receiving the ring. And then he said something like that. Nothing could have left them more speechless.
"Never mind. People have different affinities for magic. There have been cases of someone struggling with one spell, only to pick up another and master it instantly," The Ancient One said.
Just then, the system's voice rang out in Mercer's mind.
Item Card ×1 obtained!
Hearing that, Mercer sighed inwardly. If he had known, he would have taken the Sling Ring first.
He had overestimated the Asgardian Warriors he had absorbed earlier. Although he now had some magic within him, he still didn't know how to use it, nor had he had a chance to examine their memories.
Holding the Living Tribunal Staff just now had been no different from holding an iron rod.
The Ancient One was about to offer a few more precautions when Mercer's expression suddenly turned serious. After a brief pause, they both looked up at the sky.
A streak of fire fell from above, landing in the nearby mountains.
"What was that?" Mercer asked in confusion. "It landed in the mountains."
"Let's take a look."
Without another word, the Ancient One took out her Sling Ring and opened a Sling Ring Portal. She and Mercer stepped through one after the other.
They emerged from the Sling Ring Portal and surveyed their surroundings.
"Over there!"
Mercer pointed, and the Ancient One followed his finger. An enormous mass of a creature lay sprawled on the ground.
The Ancient One's expression sharpened. She nodded and opened another Sling Ring Portal, bringing them beside the enormous creature.
At the sight of the gigantic mass, the Ancient One and Mercer exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
The monster was like a small mountain, dark green all over. Its body was an irregular mass of liquid, yet it somehow held together.
Near the top of the "mountain" were two enormous eyes, each at least as tall as a person, staring dully at the Ancient One and Mercer.
"A slime?!"
The Ancient One and Mercer spoke at the same time. This enormous dark green creature was a liquid monster known as a slime.
There were slimes on Earth too, but very few. Even combined, they probably wouldn't amount to a tenth of this one. Something this enormous must have come from another planet.
However, these monsters were extremely weak in combat. Any planet that had entered the age of firearms could easily deal with them.
As the two studied it, a clear voice suddenly rang out behind them.
"Are you here to steal my food?"
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