Ancient One: I Want to Kill Him
Although the Ancient One didn't want to deal with Xiahou, she had no choice but to open a portal for him to stop him from shouting.
When the mages present saw a portal actually appear in front of Xiahou, their expressions fell apart again! At the same time, they all grew even more curious about who he was.
The main reason was that the Ancient One's reputation, built up over centuries, was simply too great. Aside from Xiahou, no one had ever been so rude to her! And from the look of it, she was particularly indulgent toward him.
Xiahou paid no attention to the mages' expressions. As soon as the portal appeared, he stepped straight through it. Seeing the tea already prepared on the table, he made himself at home, sat down, picked it up, and drank it all in one gulp.
The Ancient One looked at Xiahou and said helplessly, "Since you know who I am, why aren't you even a little afraid of me? Aren't you worried I'll throw you into another dimension?"
Xiahou smacked his lips, thinking that this tea was nothing like the miraculous stuff described in the fanfiction he'd read.
Then he answered indifferently, "You already know you're an NPC, and I'm a player. What do I have to be afraid of? Besides, can't you read minds? Why aren't you reading mine anymore?"
The Ancient One thought, Like hell I know! If I hadn't seen the future and all the things you did before, constantly calling yourself a player and everyone in our world NPCs, how would I have known? And before, I was only trying to bluff you!
Xiahou watched the Ancient One sitting across from him, who was just looking quietly at him, never imagining how much was going through her head.
When he saw that his tea had filled up again, he had no choice but to continue. "You know I understand you well. After you brought me here yesterday, you didn't do anything to me, and you were especially tolerant of me. That's when I knew: either you needed my help with something, or you were plotting something involving me."
"So, Master Ancient One, can you tell me why?" Having said that, Xiahou stared straight into the Ancient One's eyes.
What he was actually thinking was, Don't I have an incredible presence right now? Look, look, even the Ancient One is stunned by me! §(*￣▽￣*)§
Xiahou's stare made the Ancient One a little uncomfortable, and she said, "I'm not plotting anything involving you, and there's nothing I need your help with. I've been tolerant and indulgent toward you simply because I like you, and because you're special."
But she was thinking, Sigh, it's mainly because I'm afraid you'll go out and cause trouble! Especially with Mutants and ordinary people fighting so fiercely right now, and your abilities being so overpowered, it would be easy for you to be mistaken for a Mutant, captured, subjected to all kinds of research and torture, and eventually turn evil.
Of the timelines she had seen, more than eighty percent had been destroyed by Xiahou. Those inexplicable abilities and items were the kind that even Eternity couldn't withstand.
"Besides, you should know that there's nothing fun going on out there right now! You'd be better off training hard and improving your skills. Then you'd be better able to protect yourself later, instead of dying at the drop of a hat!" the Ancient One continued.
After hearing her out, Xiahou thought she had a little bit of a point, but he still felt that something was off. He didn't give it much thought, but asked, "So you mean you want me to inherit the title of Sorcerer Supreme?"
The Ancient One was stunned. Σ(っ °Д °;)っ How did you connect that to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme?
After taking a sip of tea to steady herself, she said, "I'd love to have you inherit the title, but to become the Sorcerer Supreme, you first have to learn magic!"
Xiahou was displeased to hear that. "Who says you have to use magic? Aren't all your mages melee fighters? And what about Gandalf? Didn't he put one point into lighting and dump the rest into strength? He still became a white-robed wizard, didn't he? He's even known as a dual-wielding berserker!"
The Ancient One was speechless...
"But the mages here all need to know magic! Although they fight in melee more often, they still need to be able to keep their enemies from escaping, using things like the Mirror Dimension. That way, they can have a friendlier exchange of hand-to-hand techniques!" A certain Sorcerer Supreme, trying to salvage Kamar-Taj's reputation, forced out an explanation.
Having heard the Ancient One's explanation, Xiahou thought it made a lot of sense. It also explained why the mages in Marvel all knew magic but preferred melee combat. It wasn't that the mages didn't want to fight at range; they just preferred competing with warriors for a spot on the front line.
Then he continued, "So why does it have to be two and a half years? Do you have a problem with our Brother Chicken? You little hater, you've shown your chicken feet, haven't you?"
The Ancient One was even more speechless. This was another reason she didn't want to read Xiahou's mind. He had seemed fairly normal before coming to Kamar-Taj! How had his whole style changed so quickly?
The reason Xiahou had changed so much was that the Ancient One had provoked him. Since she could read minds anyway, he wasn't going to hide anything anymore and would just let himself go. He'd been worrying too much before.
Besides, aside from the top-tier existences in Marvel, the Ancient One ranked near the top. Other than Dormammu, who dared do anything but sneak onto Earth to cause trouble?
Since the Ancient One had no intention of doing anything to him, and he was a gamer, he had nothing to fear. So he might as well let his true nature loose.
The Ancient One now wanted nothing more than to get rid of Xiahou. She felt that if she stayed with him any longer, she might accidentally kill him.
"That's not important. You'll know when the time comes."
Hearing the Ancient One's answer, Xiahou muttered, "This is why people say the Riddler should get out of Gotham!"
Then he asked another question he was particularly curious about. "Speaking of which, Ancient One, with so many traitors among your disciples, do you really not know? Or do you just not want to deal with them? And you say it's all to train Strange! You just want to slack off, don't you?"
"No, I don't know, and I shouldn't know. That's for Strange to worry about," the Ancient One explained with a straight face.
Neither of the two sitting there believed her.
"Then you should know about all the crap Strange gets up to, right? Why not choose Tony? I feel like he's a little more reliable than Strange, isn't he?" Xiahou continued asking the questions he was curious about.
The Ancient One was already starting to get a little impatient. Do you hear the things you keep asking? Is this a matter of what I want?
"I don't think you should be curious about these questions! Besides, everything is predestined. Even if it's forcibly changed, time will slowly return to its proper course. As the old Eastern saying goes, 'Small things can be changed, but great things cannot.' Certain key points in time are fixed, just as Strange is the only one who can inherit the position of this universe's Sorcerer Supreme."
Xiahou could also see that the Ancient One was growing impatient, and they had talked a lot today, so he decided to continue the conversation another day.
After taking another sip of tea, he stood up, ready to take his leave. "Ancient One, can you get me some good tea next time? This tea doesn't taste good at all, and it doesn't have any special abilities! By the way, can I go look at the magic books in the library?"
The Ancient One hurriedly replied, "Of course. Just go find Kaecilius and have him take you there!"
Seeing how eager the Ancient One looked to send him away, Xiahou promptly got up and headed for the door.
As he went out, he turned back and said to the Ancient One, "I'll come have tea with you again tomorrow! Remember to have some better tea ready!"
The Ancient One was furious. (╬▔皿▔)╯ She couldn't stay in Kamar-Taj any longer. Tonight, she would go out and have some fun. After thinking it over, she recalled that Mephisto seemed to be planning something lately. Should she go beat him up and let off some steam while she was at it?