Chapter 18: Sherlock, the Hot Commodity
Sherlock picked up the teacup in front of him with a feeling akin to pilgrimage, looking at the light green tea inside. He was incredibly excited, but he still felt like something was missing.
It wasn't until Sherlock brought the teacup close to his mouth that he froze. He suddenly realized what was missing: he was wearing a helmet and couldn't smell the tea!
What the hell? How could he drink tea with a helmet on?
Thinking this, Sherlock was about to put down the teacup and take off his helmet, but the next second, something unexpected happened.
A crack suddenly appeared near Sherlock's chin, where the helmet was originally integrated with the mirror-like visor. Then, with a whirring mechanical sound, an opening appeared near Sherlock's mouth.
The full-face visor instantly transformed into a half-face one, and a rich tea aroma rushed into Sherlock's nose the moment the visor opened.
Muttering, "Good tea," Sherlock leisurely picked up the teacup again and brought the tea to his mouth. Feeling the aroma of the tea in his mouth, stimulated by the tea, Sherlock suddenly understood why his helmet had changed this way.
Goodness, as expected of one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe, his cheap uncle Tony had even considered his need to drink magic potions.
It's truly you, Tony Shi Da Ke!
Satisfied, he swallowed the tea in his mouth, watching as the empty cup in his hand filled with new tea as if time were reversing. Sherlock couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "As expected of unlimited refills, this is amazing!"
Just as Sherlock was leisurely preparing to drink his second cup of tea, Ancient One's voice came from the other side of the tea table.
"Little one, are you really not considering the position of Sorcerer Supreme?"
As Ancient One's words fell, Sherlock almost choked and spat the tea in his mouth all over Ancient One.
It took a great deal of effort to get his breath back and swallow the fragrant tea. Then, he looked at the smiling Ancient One sitting opposite him with a resentful gaze.
What kind of grudge is this? This is the second time, isn't it? This is the second time Ancient One has invited him to become Sorcerer Supreme, isn't it?
Where is Stephen Strange? Where did you put such a big Stephen Strange? If Stephen Strange knew that he had stolen his position as Sorcerer Supreme, would he use Kamar-Taj's magic to trap him in the Mirror Dimension?
Don't doubt it, Sherlock truly believed that Stephen Strange was capable of doing such a thing.
After a long period of thought, Sherlock finally sighed and looked at Ancient One, who was still calmly sitting opposite him, and said,
"I don't understand, Sorcerer Ancient One, why must it be me? Surely you should have a better choice. Compared to that person, I don't think I possess the same level of awareness or sense of responsibility."
Hearing Sherlock's words, Ancient One's smile grew even wider, and she answered Sherlock's question.
"It seems your magic also includes a way to see the future. Are you worried about Stephen Strange? No, no, no, don't worry about Stephen Strange; his destiny will not be changed.
But little one, you don't need to belittle yourself. In terms of talent, you have already surpassed Stephen Strange by too much, even reaching a level that even I, in my current state, would envy."
Listening to Ancient One's words, Sherlock seemed a little unclear about what Ancient One meant by his talent. In Sherlock's own view, he only knew a little magic from Harry Potter.
In terms of scope, Sherlock felt that he definitely couldn't beat Scarlet Witch. Look at the Witch's magic that enveloped an entire town; Sherlock felt that he definitely couldn't achieve that level.
In terms of power, Scarlet Witch was a formidable individual who pinned Thanos down and hammered him in the final battle. Sherlock felt that even if he tried his hardest, he might not be able to reach the Witch's level.
If it really came down to talent, Ancient One should have chosen Scarlet Witch instead of him.
As if sensing Sherlock's confusion, Ancient One took a sip from her teacup before explaining to Sherlock.
"It seems you don't know how rare your talent truly is, little one. You must know that all magic in the Universe, without exception, is a relationship of borrowing and returning.
Take Kamar-Taj, for example: to use magic, we need to use mental power to communicate with Vishanti and borrow magical power from Vishanti to cast spells.
Even looking across the entire Universe, there are only a handful of people who can possess their own magical power, but without exception, they are the most powerful people in the Universe.
Even many of the Dimensional Lords from whom we borrow magical power are merely assimilating the magical power within their own dimensions.
But you must know one thing: even assimilated magical power is not, in essence, the Dimensional Lords' own magical power!
If the fact that you possess your own magical power were known to others in the Universe, then the threshold of Earth would likely be trampled by various forces.
What's more, the essence of your magic is also sufficiently miraculous!"
Ancient One paused here to take a sip of tea before continuing.
"I don't know if you've ever felt your own magic. Your magic is different from ours, and even different from all magic in the entire Universe!
Your magic is meant to transcend our magic. It can even be exaggerated to say that the characteristic of your magic is to rewrite, distort, or even re-code the rules of the entire World based on your own will.
The idealistic nature of magic is almost perfectly embodied in your magic. To be honest, if your magic could be learned, even I would be tempted to become your disciple."
As Ancient One's words fell, Sherlock felt his jaw almost drop to the ground. Sherlock could predict that his magic seemed to be an amazing existence, but he hadn't expected it to be so amazing.
As for Ancient One's mention of learning, Sherlock didn't know, because according to the magical knowledge Sherlock currently possessed, the magic in Harry Potter was more like a bloodline magic.
Without understanding the magic of the Marvel Universe beforehand, Sherlock also didn't know if the magic he possessed could be learned by the native people of this World.
Ancient One seemed to have seen through Sherlock's thoughts, still smiling calmly before continuing.
"If you are willing, the Kamar-Taj library will be open to you. You can read and experience it to your heart's content, but be careful not to use these magics, as for now, the entire Earth cannot withstand the devastation of those Dimensional Demon Gods."
The fact that Ancient One was opening the library to him was something Sherlock had never expected, like a huge pie falling onto his head.
Sherlock also cast aside his worries. What the hell about Sorcerer Supreme or not Sorcerer Supreme, magic books were Sherlock's favorite.
As for Ancient One's invitation, he would talk about it later. Although Sherlock had no intention of succeeding Ancient One, just thinking about the various Dimensional Demon Gods that the Sorcerer Supreme would have to face, like C-men, made Sherlock feel an extreme headache.
But no matter what, Sherlock would not give up the opportunity to get free magic books. He would deal with future matters later; anyway, with Stephen Strange to back him up, Sherlock wasn't afraid.