Seeing Gwen tilting her head with a curious look, Harry naturally wouldn't tell her the truth. He just laughed it off.
"I used to learn martial arts. These are just the skills I picked up back then."
He flexed his arm in a mock show of strength. The lean muscles under his shirt were as tough as steel wire but showed no visible trace, making him appear deceptively slender.
"Didn't expect that, did you? I'm pretty strong too!"
Gwen covered her mouth and giggled. "Hahaha, alright, you're the strongest! Well, this is where we part ways. See you tomorrow!"
After watching Gwen leave, Harry turned around and noticed that his brother Peter seemed a bit down. He asked with some concern, "What's wrong, Peter? Why do you look so listless?"
Peter hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back. Finally, he asked, "Harry, do I really have no talent for magic?"
As his closest family, Peter naturally knew that Harry's so-called part-time job wasn't about earning money but about going to a sacred place for sorcerers called Kamar-Taj to study magic.
He had once hoped to learn magic alongside Harry, but to his disappointment, he was rejected by the Sorcerer Supreme.
The Sorcerer Supreme told him he had no talent for magic.
With his kind and considerate nature, Harry naturally guessed what was on his brother's mind. He patted Peter's shoulder and comforted him.
"Don't worry, Peter. Although you don't have a talent for magic, the Sorcerer Supreme once said that you will have your own destiny. And your destiny is bound to be extraordinary!"
"But... what could be more amazing than magic?" Peter said, lacking confidence.
Although the Sorcerer Supreme had told him his future was destined for greatness, Peter had always seen himself as an ordinary person. He wasn't a superhero from a DC comic, and he didn't have any extraordinary abilities.
Even today, when he wanted to help a classmate, he would have been beaten up by Flash if Harry hadn't stepped in.
Harry said with a serious expression, "Trust me, Peter. I have a feeling you'll become a great person in the future. You have a quality that most people don't!"
Harry wasn't lying to Peter. He truly felt that Peter was destined for greatness; he just lacked an opportunity.
Like today, even he couldn't guarantee that he would have had the courage to stand up for the bullied classmate if he were in Peter's position.
For that alone, Peter was far superior to others.
Harry had always felt that Peter had the potential to be a superman; he just lacked a superman's powers.
...
At a corner, Harry said goodbye to Peter. Under Peter's envious gaze, he headed towards the New York Sanctum.
Greenwich Village, New York City, 177A Bleecker Street. It was a seemingly ordinary building.
It was a three-story Victorian-style brownstone townhouse, featuring a French Baroque architectural design and a mansard roof.
Apart from the rather peculiar circular skylight at the top of the building, everything else exuded a classical charm.
However, what most people didn't know was that this common classical stone building on the streets of New York was, in the realm of magic, a nexus for the multiverse and supernatural phenomena, as well as a crucial hub for the magical shield protecting the Earth.
Of course, it was also Harry's other home in this world, a place second in importance only to Uncle Ben's house.
Entering the New York Sanctum, the space suddenly opened up.
Due to the mystical nature of the Sanctum, its interior space was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
Harry familiarly headed upstairs, greeting the sorcerers he passed with practiced ease. Finally, he stepped through a permanent portal and was instantly transported to the Kamar-Taj sanctuary in the Himalayas.
Walking down the steps into the interior, he arrived at a spacious courtyard. The sorcerers there were already engaged in their daily training under the guidance of the Sorcerer Supreme. Harry didn't disturb them but joined the formation and began training with them.
He stretched out his hand, and brilliant golden runes materialized out of thin air, then intertwined and wove together to form a more complex runic structure.
Upon closer inspection, one could clearly see the difference between Harry and the others.
The other sorcerers all wore a dark gold ring that required two fingers to release magic.
This ring was called a Sling Ring, the primary tool for casting spells. Wearing it made it easier to communicate with other dimensions and borrow power from them.
But Harry wasn't wearing such a ring, yet he could still cast spells.
This wasn't because Harry's magical skill far surpassed the other sorcerers, but because he wasn't borrowing magic from other dimensions. He was using the magic within his own body to activate the spells!
This was also why the Sorcerer Supreme had taken him as her disciple. He was a natural-born spellcaster.
When the training ended, the sorcerers greeted Harry with smiles.
The popular Harry at school was also the darling of the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression walked by. Upon seeing Harry, he snorted coldly and then walked away.
Harry's cheerful mood instantly soured. He couldn't understand why Kaecilius disliked him when he had never done anything to offend him.
The detestable Kaecilius reminded Harry of the awful Dursley family.
They were all the same. Even though Harry had done nothing wrong, he was always subjected to their inexplicable malice.
But upon seeing a kind-faced, portly middle-aged man behind Kaecilius, Harry broke into a genuine smile.
Fortunately, most people in the world were kind and wouldn't be as malicious towards him as Kaecilius. The Sorcerer Supreme and Wong were both like that.
If there was anyone at Kamar-Taj, besides the Sorcerer Supreme, that Harry was closest to, it was undoubtedly Wong.
When Harry was younger, Wong would always patiently teach him and help him modify spells.
Most spells at Kamar-Taj required magic from specific dimensions to be used. If Harry wanted to use his own magic to cast them, the runic structure of the corresponding spell had to be modified beforehand.
And Wong, as the librarian of Kamar-Taj, was a master at this.
Wong watched Kaecilius's departing figure with a heavy heart, then turned to Harry with a gentle smile.
"Don't mind him, Harry. Kaecilius lost his wife and daughter, so his temper has always been like this. He's not friendly to anyone except the Sorcerer Supreme."
Harry nodded, accepting Wong's explanation.
Then, Wong led the way.
"Come, Harry. The Sorcerer Supreme is waiting for you in the main hall. Your lesson today will be taught by her personally."