Chapter 19: Kaecilius's Idle Life in Kamar-Taj
Once Sherlock understood, he immediately stood up and bowed slightly to Ancient One, then said,
"Thank you for your generosity, Sorcerer Ancient One."
Sherlock's gratitude was truly heartfelt; after all, he hadn't explicitly agreed to inherit the Sorcerer Supreme's position from Ancient One yet, but she had already generously opened the library to him. From this perspective, she had indeed been forthright.
Ancient One didn't seem to dwell on the idea of Sherlock becoming her successor. She smiled and nodded, and then, as if thinking of something, she continued,
"A personal suggestion: if you don't currently have the intention of succeeding me, then I advise you not to take off your helmet."
Upon hearing Ancient One's words, the hand that was about to remove the helmet froze in place. Only then did he remember that Uncle Ba, playing Kaecilius, and Mordo were still in Kamar-Taj at this time.
Awkwardly lowering his hand, Sherlock suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt, as if he was enjoying benefits but unwilling to help this poor Sorcerer Ancient One.
In short, it was a very strange, inexplicably sourced sense of guilt.
However, Ancient One seemed completely oblivious to Sherlock's embarrassment. Instead, she cast a magic spell, and soon, a knock sounded from inside the room.
After Ancient One called out for them to enter, a plump Asian man walked into Ancient One's sanctuary. It was Wong, who had become the Sorcerer Supreme during Doctor Strange's five-year disappearance.
Watching the serious-faced, seemingly meticulous Wong enter the hall and respectfully salute Ancient One, Sherlock also felt a slight sense of unease.
Although Wong appeared extremely serious on the surface, even giving off an imposing aura after inheriting the Sorcerer Supreme title, in reality, Sherlock, who had seen some movie clips, knew the truth.
This guy, like himself, was a pure fun-lover and a goofy character, one of the few characters Sherlock liked. Sherlock would never forget how this guy learned a magic trick to show off in front of She-Hulk.
Ancient One briefly introduced Sherlock to Wong, not even revealing Sherlock's name, and then instructed Wong to find Sherlock a place to stay and grant him access to the entire library.
Wong carried out Ancient One's orders very well. To be fair, although Kamar-Taj already had Wi-Fi, the overall environment was simply incomparable to Tony's mansion.
But once you got used to the environment here, there was no doubt that life here was much more interesting than in Tony's mansion, especially with Wong. After Sherlock got familiar with this guy,
this guy's goofy personality could no longer be hidden. He even tried various indirect ways to inquire about how Sherlock got his helmet, saying he wanted one too.
Most importantly, Sherlock, living in Kamar-Taj, had more than once overheard Wong in front of his junior brothers and sisters, dissing his own outfit and demanding that those junior brothers and sisters on the training grounds practice magic diligently instead of always thinking about being chuunibyou.
Sherlock expressed deep disdain for Wong's two-faced behavior and, during one meal, bluntly stated that Wong's big head definitely wouldn't fit his helmet.
Even if it did, it would enlarge the head's silhouette, increasing the risk of a headshot in combat.
Sherlock's taunt infuriated Wong, who immediately challenged Sherlock to a duel without a word.
Could Sherlock tolerate that guy? He decisively used a Transfiguration spell disguised as a Polymorph spell, leaving Wong completely speechless.
But a new problem also emerged: Wong seemed to be obsessed with Sherlock's disguised Polymorph spell, constantly pestering Sherlock about how he managed to do it.
Aside from these joyful daily routines, most of Sherlock's life was spent with Wong in the library, each engrossed in a magic book. Occasionally, they would also ask Wong to get some delicious food from the Hong Kong temple and secretly drink it in the library.
Sherlock, who often hung out with Wong, hadn't seen the two major villains, Kaecilius and Mordo, much. However, even if Sherlock had seen them, he probably wouldn't have cared.
After all, Sherlock's mind, apart from teasing the goofy Wong daily, was mostly focused on the magic books in the library.
Compared to the magic books in Harry Potter, Marvel's native magic gave Sherlock a more scientific feeling.
In Sherlock's view, the magic in Harry Potter was more idealistic, mostly driven by emotions, and emotions could even greatly affect the power of magic.
But the magic in Kamar-Taj was more often activated by magic runes and magic circles formed by lines, just like a permutation and combination. Different runes formed different magic, and runes were connected by lines.
As time passed, Sherlock sometimes wanted to try Kamar-Taj's magic, but he always held back, as Sherlock didn't want to needlessly face some random dimension lords.
However, things often didn't develop as Sherlock expected. During a sparring session with Wong, Sherlock almost unconsciously used the basic shield magic of Kamar-Taj.
It was just that Sherlock's shield seemed a little different from the shields of others in Kamar-Taj; it was a pure white shield.
This matter even alarmed Ancient One, but after Ancient One's research, the reason why Sherlock's shield was white could only be attributed to Sherlock's inherent magic power.
After realizing that his magic power could also drive Kamar-Taj's magic, Sherlock visibly became excited and, with Wong's assistance, began to practice Kamar-Taj's magic.
However, unfortunately, besides some very basic magic, such as small shields, magic chains, and small spells like portals, Sherlock could not use most of the magic.
The only exception might be the Mirror Dimension; this magic unexpectedly had a similar effect to the Traceless Extension Charm.
Undeterred, Sherlock began to study the combination of the two types of magic, based on Kamar-Taj's magic books and his many notes from wizards in Harry Potter.
And surprisingly, Sherlock actually researched a new magic.
When this magic was used, a black mist would envelop Sherlock's entire body, making it impossible to see Sherlock's figure or face, and even his voice would be altered by the black mist.
However, besides that, it had no other effect. But at least Sherlock didn't have to live with his helmet on all the time.
This matter made Sherlock depressed for a long time and was mocked by Wong for a long time. Finally, under the warning of Sherlock's Polymorph spell, Wong finally let the matter go.
Of course, while Sherlock was studying magic, Wong also looked at Sherlock's magic book. The result was simple: in Wong's words, it was even more mystical than metaphysics.
Sherlock also confirmed one thing: his magic was unique to him and could not be learned by others.
Aside from these minor things, Sherlock's life in Kamar-Taj could be said to be exceptionally wonderful. Even in the later stages, Wong, led by Sherlock, had already begun to develop into Sherlock's shape (fun-lover + lsp + goofy).
But living in Marvel, a World constantly filled with explosive U.S. blockbusters, happy days are often short-lived. Just as Sherlock was immersed in the ocean of magic, a phone call successfully pulled Sherlock back to reality.