The morning after mastering portals, Li Feng was yanked out of bed like a misbehaving cat, Mordo dragging him by the collar straight into the Mirror Dimension training chamber.
Mordo's eyes were flat with disapproval. Lazy sorcerer. First time I've ever seen one. A man discovers magic and then oversleeps?
"You eat like a beast—that I'll allow. Magic burns fuel. But wasting daylight in bed? That's talent squandered. If not for the Ancient One's orders, I wouldn't bother with you," Mordo said sharply. "Open a Mirror Dimension. Show me what you've learned."
Li Feng rubbed at his eyes, guilt tugging. Last night he'd left his astral form too long in the Merlin ring, lost in alchemy texts until dawn. By the time his spirit returned, his body was half-dead with exhaustion. Still—arguing was useless. Mordo only cared about results.
He sighed, squared his shoulders, and tried. A Mirror Dimension unfurled, but too wide, edges jagged.
Mordo shook his head. "That? More like shattered glass. And why so large? Wide enough for an ant to jog laps."
Li Feng muttered, "That's at least three square meters. Your ants must've been trained by Hank Pym if they can sprint that fast."
Mordo ignored the jab. With a flick, he conjured a whip of pure energy that cracked like a gunshot. "Forget mirrors. First—control. Hold the whip steady. If it's weak, it dissolves. If unstable, it grows wild. Learn this."
He tossed Li Feng a manual, sat at a low table, and casually spun a baseball in his free hand. "When you can strike this ball from three meters away, then we'll return to mirrors."
Li Feng stared. This guy has a baseball fetish. Must've been humiliated in Little League.
Still, he sat cross-legged and worked. Day after day, questions and failures piled up, but Mordo's answers, though clipped, carried weight. Talent and persistence together pushed Li Feng forward.
Weeks later, the whip cracked sharp and sure in his hands. From there, mirrors came naturally. In the chamber, Li Feng layered reflections in spirals until Mordo was surrounded on every side by his own multiplied face.
The master staggered, nauseated. "Enough." He stepped through a portal, muttering, "Stop spinning my head. You've mastered the basics. Seek out Hamir. You're ready."
Then he vanished.
Li Feng scratched his head. Mordo's shift in tone was odd. Stern, yes—but genuine in his teaching. Maybe the Ancient One had maneuvered this, softening the man for the day he learned the truth about her own bargains. Maybe Li Feng was meant to prove that darkness wasn't automatically corruption.
Not my fight. Not yet.
He knocked on Hamir's chamber door. The one-armed sorcerer opened, face unreadable.
"Mordo said you could teach me forging," Li Feng said, rubbing his neck.
Hamir's eyes flicked to the bundle of materials Li Feng carried, then to him—assessing, weighing. Without a word, he gestured for Li Feng to show his work.
Li Feng handed over one of his enchanted playing cards. Hamir glanced once, lip curling. Wasted potential—enough resources for five cards, squandered on one. He tossed it aside.
"The Ancient One says you want a reforged blade. And a robe." His tone left little room for more.
Li Feng tried anyway. "If possible, I'd like to learn beyond that—"
Hamir cut him off with silence, already at the workbench. One hand or not, his authority filled the room. The unspoken message: When you're a full sorcerer, then ask.
He pointed to the stripped Kree bodysuit. "Get to work. I'll instruct. You'll do the labor."
So Li Feng bent to it. He had some sewing skill; with Hamir's curt guidance, he stitched and infused for days. Slowly, the alien spandex reshaped into black trousers and a sleeveless tunic, faintly enchanted for durability and self-cleaning.
Li Feng held it up, smirk tugging at his lips. "Well, at least next time I tumble into another world, I won't be naked. Didn't lose face after all."
—
With clothing sorted, Li Feng turned his focus to something far more critical: forging a weapon worthy of survival—a magic longsword.
It was harder than altering a bodysuit. Fabric carried natural resilience; stitch in the right runes, and you had a functional relic. A blade was different. Steel demanded precision, balance, and intent. And in Hamir's eyes, Li Feng's attempts looked like sacrilege.
Li Feng etched a fire rune to accelerate molecular vibration, sharpening the edge. Then he added an enchantment to wreath the sword in flame, amplifying its destructive bite. And that was it. Crude, but workable.
Hamir said nothing, though his expression was a war between stomachache and heartbreak at the waste of fine materials. Li Feng, oblivious, grinned ear to ear and strutted out of the chamber with his prize.
He didn't get far. Mordo stood waiting in full combat gear, blocking the hall. His eyes flicked over the black sleeveless tunic beneath Li Feng's cloak and the longsword in his arms. For once, the stoic sorcerer looked… almost embarrassed.
"The Ancient One wants you in her chamber," Mordo said tightly. "Bring your grimoire."
"She's back?" Li Feng blinked, missing the crack in Mordo's armor.
Sizing him up, Li Feng fished his matchbox-sized tome from a pocket. "So who's invading this time? If the Ancient One's around, why are you heading to the front?"
Mordo hesitated, then gave more than he usually would. "Demons from Hell. She killed their leader, but lesser fiends slipped through. They're weak alone but dangerous in numbers. That's our work—to hunt them. Otherwise, what is our training for?"
Li Feng smirked inwardly. Sure, sure. And when bullets start flying, will you be just as calm? One day I'll mod a tank, maybe a starship. Then we'll see who's laughing when I swing a magic cannon.
At the chamber doors, Mordo looked as if he wanted to say more, but turned away to join the hunt.
Li Feng shrugged and stepped inside.
The Ancient One sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation. He mirrored her posture, grimoire resting before him. When she finally rose, walking to the window, her sigh carried across the chamber.
"Fate… another generation of disciples lost."
Li Feng opened his eyes but stayed silent. He knew what she meant. A hunting party had fallen. What comfort could he offer? She already knew the cost of meddling too far with destiny.
She motioned for the grimoire. He placed it in her hands, but she didn't open it. Instead, she touched the cover lightly, and runes flared as knowledge imprinted inside.
Li Feng had seen Bastos use the same technique. His face remained calm, but inside he buzzed with anticipation. When he cracked the tome, new spells gleamed back at him—spells for bending the flow of time.
He bowed. "Thank you, Master."
"You'd have reached this yourself," she said with a faint smile. "You already coax time to move—slowing it to quicken a plant's growth."
Li Feng flushed. He'd thought he'd hidden that. Of course, she knew. Relief flooded him that at least Bastos's minor manipulations weren't forbidden.
Then her question cut sharper. "What do you think of Mordo?"
He scratched his head. What do I think? Black robes, black scowl… he's Mordo. Aloud, he hedged, "Not sure what you mean, Master."
Her smile thinned. "Sly fox. Let me be direct—do you understand what it means to carry others with you when you cross worlds?"
Li Feng blinked. He'd never considered it. Crossing was something that happened to him—quantum energy erupting, a tunnel of rubber-hose time, then arrival. He shook his head.
"Mordo knows," she said softly. "He envies your gift. He asked me: can you take him with you?"
Li Feng frowned. He hadn't hidden his ability. What was the point? Energy spikes left trails; S.H.I.E.L.D. would connect the dots eventually. That threat was part of his power. Push me too far, and I vanish. Push harder, and I return with plagues from other realms. Ever seen a zombie apocalypse, Fury?
But this question—could he bring someone else—was new. The idea spun through his mind. An army ferried between worlds. Conquest. Dominion. He snorted. Too much work. He wasn't a general. But a companion or two? That was tempting. Merlin, perhaps. A demigod. Imagine Odin's face when "guests" arrived uninvited.
Cautiously, he asked, "How would I bring someone with me?"
The Ancient One rolled her eyes. "As if I'd know. I don't open those gates—you do."
But her tone sharpened, seeing the direction of his thoughts. "Be warned. Laws differ across worlds. Bring the wrong soul, and the body may collapse instantly. Worse, the spirit could twist, bound as a demon forever. Do not treat this lightly."
Her gaze locked onto his. "From this moment, any magical being you carry into this world must be reported to me. No exceptions."
Li Feng swallowed. Great. Babysitter unlocked.
--
Read extra free chapters on Patreon! at patreon/TheUncrownedKing