"I hope you're enjoying your time here, Wanda," the arcane sorcerer said to the plainly dressed apprentice. Normally, moments like this were filled with warmth and encouragement, but a mischievous glint played on his face as he watched the flustered apprentice yank her head out of a tome taller than half her body. The fine dust kicked up by turning the pages had tickled Wanda's nose, making her sneeze. She blinked in alarm, worried she might have spilled ink and stained the ancient books.
Solomon had already heard that Wanda insisted on undergoing the full arcane general education curriculum. Despite being warned about how difficult it was, she refused to back down—because her teacher had once told her he had completed the course in an incredibly short time. That led her to believe it wouldn't be so hard—only for her to quickly taste the bitterness of failure. Not everyone could finish both Monster Identification and School Theory Overview in a single month and recite them backwards. Even in the abnormal world of magic, Solomon was considered far beyond the norm.
"I was reading the entry on Vampiric Creatures. It doesn't say anything about vampires' corpses decaying into worms," Wanda said. "Vampires, werewolves, and ghouls don't do that. Even the Worm-Type Creatures section doesn't mention monsters formed from swarms of worms. It only lists a formal name and some weaknesses, and..."
"...And the rest of the entries were freshly added. The ink's still new, because I wrote those entries," Solomon cut in. "Do you think someone can write down every monster in this universe all at once? Whenever we discover a new creature, we document it—describe its appearance and biological traits, and most importantly, its weaknesses and encounter conditions. That helps future sorcerers. You don't need to master every single monster in such a short time. Just remember the major categories."
He shrugged. "What's more important is that you understand the basics of addictive substances in the magical world, including introductory alchemy. I've never produced these substances on a large scale, but in truth, they're quite common in the magical community—mainly used to enhance mental abilities. You need to learn about the more common kinds so you don't accidentally ingest one."
"There are drugs in the magical world?"
"Yes. Many, in fact. Most are made by broke magicians. For those guys, death is a mercy. They don't care if Kamar-Taj takes their lives the next day," Solomon said, blinking awkwardly. "I discovered them during my early alchemy studies. I began replicating and creating them. My versions were highly effective and became popular on the black market. Things like a syrup that boosts confidence, a powder that temporarily makes you smarter, or an injection that resists disease. They worked well—but without exception, they were addictive. Worse, my inexperience made them incredibly dangerous. In the end, I had to feed them to gluttonous demon slugs. And those highly resistant little things caused a disaster... You'll find my disciplinary report in the archives. I tried to profit from selling them on the interdimensional black market in exchange for more alchemical materials."
Solomon recalled the havoc caused in the sewers of Vandazar-For when his mutated glutton-slugs fused after devouring each other. Part of it was the administrators' neglect, sure, but the variants he'd cultivated granted the creature new abilities. When those brightly colored slugs surged from the drains and began spraying gas that plunged people into hallucinations, the staff realized the standard pesticides were useless. The real solution was simple: they summoned a massive quantity of salt and flooded the sewer with it. Those pickled mutant slugs later became trade goods, used by heating them in oil and inhaling the fumes.
"I thought Kamar-Taj didn't punish its own sorcerers," Wanda said, surprised.
"The rules are untouchable—even for me. I just didn't get punished too harshly because I was young."
Wanda blushed. "I thought you were perfect, Master."
"How could I be? There's no such thing as perfection—there never will be!" Solomon laughed. "Pursuing perfection is falling into a trap. That's why Kamar-Taj emphasizes asceticism—to prevent sorcerers from chasing extreme ideals. Many believe only by restraining desires and emotions can we avoid corruption. And that's true. I'm sure you've found plenty of books promoting abstinence on the shelves. But don't worry too much—most people aren't capable of feeling anything so extreme. Corruption is rare."
"At least... for now," he muttered quietly.
Wanda's soul had been touched by Chthon. Her emotional swings were far greater than average and nearly uncontrollable. Solomon had already noticed this during their time together. She often reacted strongly to trivial matters. For ordinary people, that might just be a nuisance. But for a spellcaster, it was extremely dangerous.
Kamar-Taj's serene environment was the ideal place for Wanda's recovery, but she wasn't officially part of the order—she lived in the guest quarters and couldn't stay too long. So Solomon did his best to involve her in the same foundational courses on self-discipline taken by sorcerer apprentices.
This wasn't the emotional control class you'd find in a corporate office. It was occult science—balancing one's consciousness and body to achieve peace of soul. After her first class, Wanda realized she had already been learning some of the content through Solomon's teachings—he had just left out the bits involving drug use. Master Mordo had mentioned that in the past, some radical sorcerers at Kamar-Taj had used drugs to suppress their minds, but didn't elaborate.
To put it bluntly, it was magical-chemical brainwashing. The details were hidden deep in the library—until Solomon, who had read nearly every book, dug them up. One of the City of Immortality's mind-reprogramming techniques was derived from this and was now a standard optional method used by their agents.
"Have you joined the martial arts practice?" Solomon shifted the topic. "The morning sessions in the sparring courtyard?"
"That was way too hard!" Wanda grimaced as if the massive book before her paled in comparison. "I only went once, stood there the whole morning, and was sore for a day!"
"To be a sorcerer, you still need a strong body. If you can't punch a bull to death, how can you call yourself qualified?" Solomon parroted a line Mordo had once used on him. Wanda stared at her teacher's grinning face, completely baffled.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll join the morning Tai Chi sessions. I'll let them know," he said. "Once you complete the full course, I'll teach you martial arts—until you can subdue a grown man with your bare hands."
"That's impossible!"
"Believe me, it's very possible. Natasha Romanoff can do it. After magical enhancement, so can you," Solomon nodded. "I started training in martial arts when I was five. My first mission was resolved with my fists. You remember those statues next to the sparring field? Those were my first mission trophies. Two humans, a werewolf, and a vampire."
"They're still alive?"
"Yes. They must bear the guilt of turning an entire town's people into blood slaves."
"Tell me that story," Wanda said, closing her book and shifting into a more comfortable seat.
Solomon sat beside her. "Then let's take our time. And you'll see just how important close-combat skills really are. Because we've got another mission coming up..."
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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