After coming out of the bathroom, Lux patted her face with cold water, the awkwardness of being questioned by the Ancient One finally fading quite a bit.
Returning to the tea room, the Ancient One was still sitting there upright, as if she had never moved.
Seeing Lux come out, the Sorcerer Supreme put down her teacup and stood up with a smile: "It seems you've adjusted your state. As we said before, academic exchange is the best way to enhance understanding."
"Follow me, I'll introduce you to a very excellent mage."
Lux nodded obediently... Kamar-Taj, Central Training Grounds.
A Black mage wearing a dark green robe stood with his hands behind his back, sternly guiding several apprentices in combat practice.
He was burly with a resolute gaze, exuding a rigorous aura of "I am the disciplinary committee member" from head to toe.
Karl Mordo, also known as the future Baron Mordo.
He was the prized pupil of the Ancient One and one of the few extreme conservative mages in Kamar-Taj.
Su Modie had always found Mordo to be quite interesting.
Although his role in the movies wasn't very large, in the comics, he was a winner in life, even becoming Doctor Strange's father-in-law—strictly speaking, his stepfather-in-law, the stepfather of Doctor Strange's girlfriend, Clea.
In other words, Dormammu should call him brother-in-law... and Stephen Strange would have to call him... Dad?
That circle is truly a mess... "Mordo," the Ancient One's voice came, interrupting Su Modie's recollections.
Mordo turned immediately and bowed respectfully: "Master Ancient One."
Then, his scrutinizing gaze fell upon the blonde girl behind the Ancient One.
Mordo had already heard the rumors about this outsider girl.
Casting magic without any cost, possessing a terrifyingly massive amount of magic power... As a firm practitioner of asceticism, Mordo had always held a disdainful attitude toward such "talented types."
Especially a young girl who looked like she had never done a day's work in her life.
magic is a rigorous science.
Every bit of sacrifice yields a harvest, and every victory comes at an unknown cost.
"This is a guest from afar," the Ancient One introduced. "Mordo, I want you to have a simple... academic exchange with her, to demonstrate your respective understandings of magic."
"With pleasure." Mordo nodded slightly; though polite, his tone carried a hint of arrogance. "Miss, please."
Lux nervously pinched the corner of her skirt:
"Um... my name is Luxanna, Luxanna Crownguard. You can call me Lux. Please guide me, but I'm actually not very good at communicating with others. My magic just... well, it comes out on its own."
「villainess value +15」
Mordo's eyebrow twitched.
Listen to that, is that even human speech?
What does she mean by 'comes out on its own'?
It's like the richest man bashfully saying his money was just blown in by the wind.
"It's fine, you can demonstrate your magic first," Mordo said in a deep voice.
"Uh... just like this?"
Lux blinked and held out her fair palm.
There were no obscure incantations, nor any complex hand seals.
With just a thought, a soft golden orb of light popped out from her palm like a magic trick.
"Do you... want to see?"
Lux kindly handed the orb over. "Just think about it lighting up, and it appears. It's very simple."
Mordo frowned and, half-doubting, reached out to take the floating orb.
He could feel the staggering energy contained within that orb, but he didn't believe something that didn't draw from higher-dimensional powers could be so stable.
Sure enough, Mordo hadn't even held the orb for a few seconds.
The light elements, which had been as docile as a kitten in Lux's hand, suddenly became violent!
Lux: "Ah, be careful—"
Buzz—!!!
The high-purity light element sphere seemed to reach a boiling point and exploded right in front of Mordo's eyes!
Although Lux retracted the harmfulness in time, it was still a flashbang detonating at zero range.
"Ah!!!" Mordo let out a scream, clutching his eyes as he stumbled back several steps, two lines of physiological tears instantly streaming down.
The surrounding disciples watching were not spared either; they all clutched their eyes, faces covered in tears, wailing—
"My eyes!"
"Why can't I see anything!"
「villainess value +32」
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't know it would explode!" Lux apologized in a panic.
Mordo rubbed his red, swollen eyes while waving his hand, his voice trembling slightly.
It was unclear if it was from the pain in his eyes or his pride: "It's... it's fine... it's just that your magic is a bit... exclusive..."
Seeing Mordo's disheveled state, the corner of the Ancient One's mouth twitched up imperceptibly before she cleared her throat to smooth things over.
"It seems this innate magic derived from bloodlines is indeed difficult to learn through simple imitation. Mordo, why don't you show Lux our universal secret arts of Kamar-Taj instead?"
Mordo took a deep breath, trying hard to regain his dignity as the Master Brother.
Since he couldn't compete in talent, he would compete in skill! In theory!
In the profound understanding of magic!
"Miss Lux," Mordo unfastened a brass ring from his waist—a Sling Ring—and handed Lux a new one. "Since you possess such vast magic power, learning how to guide it to open spatial gateways is a mandatory course for you."
Speaking of this, Mordo perked up.
He began to explain volubly:
"Listen closely, the Sling Ring is only an aid; the key lies in your mind."
"You need to construct every detail of your destination in your mind—not just the image, but the flow of the wind, the temperature, the humidity... You must use the Geometric Formulas of the Vishanti to calculate the overlapping points of two spatial coordinates, and then use your mental strength to resonate..."
Mordo spoke extremely professionally, with various technical terms flying everywhere, making the surrounding apprentices nod frequently with faces full of admiration.
This is what a mage should look like!
Rigorous! Profound! Full of wisdom!
However, 拉克丝... her eyes, which were originally full of excitement and radiance, slowly began to lose focus...
Probably with an expression like... "What is he saying? What geometric formulas? What coordinate resonance? Isn't this magic? Why does it feel like I'm in a math class?"
Not just Lux, but Su Modie, who was eavesdropping from the apartment, also felt her head growing large. It was like being suddenly dragged into a higher mathematics lecture; although she understood every word, they sounded like a heavenly script when put together.
Mordo spoke for a full ten minutes before finally giving a confident demonstration.
He put on the Sling Ring and drew a circle with his left hand.
Sizzle, sizzle—
Orange sparks flew in the air, then stabilized into a perfect circular portal.
On the other side was another part of the Sanctum.
"Do you see?" Mordo retracted the magic, his tone carrying a bit of self-satisfaction. "This is a portal. Generally speaking, a talented apprentice needs several months to...."
"So as long as I think about where I want to go and then draw a circle, right?"
Lux, understanding only half of it, suddenly interrupted Mordo's long-winded speech.
Mordo: "..."
"You... could say that."
"Then I understand." Lux said as she began to try.
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