There's no scenery to speak of in the sewers, and there are no monsters that piqued his interest.
There were no monstrous fish, but the rats were quite large, though still within a normal range.
There were some stray cats and dogs, and various abandoned pets like pythons and lizards.
But these are all harmless animals, merely depending on human society, living in the cold, damp places, eating scraps.
The dark tunnel didn't smell good, but as long as he kept walking, entering the flood discharge channel through the sewer, it should be much better.
However, just as he was on the move, the situation suddenly changed.
The surrounding space started to twist like a string figure, and the original passage turned upright after a transformation, directly connected to the scene on the ground not far away, but the pedestrians and vehicles instantly disappeared.
Space began to overlap, flip, like a kaleidoscope in front of him.
Su Ming knew what was happening, but he immediately decided to pretend not to know.
He stopped in his tracks, holding the Godslayer at his waist in his hand, and the dagger-like weapon grew in the wind, instantly turning into a giant sword, the golden light illuminating the surrounding tunnel.
The terrifying killing intent contained in the weapon caused all the small animals within a hundred meters to scatter instantly.
"Who's there?"
The folded space changed again, like glass cracking and then rippling, a white-skinned, genderless bald person with a calm face appeared.
"I am The Ancient One, a Mage."
Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, this image was exactly as he had seen in the movies, a woman, so this world is the MCU? The danger level is much lower.
"A Mage?"
The Supreme Mage looked at Su Ming with a half-smile, raising a hand, seemingly contemplating something. She chanted a spell, drawing a circle in the air around her, and in the surging sparks, a luxurious interior space could be seen on the other side.
"Come, you traveler from the Otherworld. I've observed you for a while, and initially, I deem you harmless to this world, but questions remain that require you to answer in person. Please, come to the New York Temple for a chat."
She adjusted her clothes, her white robe remains immaculate in the sewer, she turned her hand up, making a gesture of invitation.
The sound of dripping water echoed in the sewer, but these droplets strangely ascended upward, they were now within the Mirror Space, where everything was magic.
Su Ming put away his weapon, breathing out lightly, of course, as the Supreme Mage considered herself Earth's protector, his prior crossing could not have escaped her attention?
Not only her, many Cosmic Level big shots likely noted his presence too?
At all times she remained in the shadows while he was in the light, thus as she mentioned, she observed for a while, if her observation concluded differently, this would probably not end in mere talk.
From The Ancient One's current demeanor, it appeared she bore no hostility, yet not being in uniform now made his magic resistance virtually zero, she picked a good time indeed.
"But it's alright, although I hail from the Outer Universe, I am human, and truly, a human who knows nothing about magic," Su Ming thought while advancing.
No matter his intentions on Earth, as long as he showed no inclination to destroy the world, anything he did remained human affairs.
Mages wouldn't meddle in ordinary human disputes.
Building concentration camps? Go ahead, cleansing the land with nuclear bombs? Feel free, as long as the three temples weren't destroyed and didn't affect Earth's Protective Array, knock yourselves out.
This is the rule of Kama Taiji, even in the era of Doctor Strange's Supreme Mage, he didn't partake in the Avengers' two civil wars, and often remained neutral without expressing views within the Illuminati.
Besides defending Earth, they had no personal stance or inclination, considering themselves as outsiders, they were uninterested in worldly matters of others.
They focused on dealing with the Demon King, and Multi-Dimensional Lords, these significant villains, had no regard for ordinary humans, let alone a 'Muggle' like Su Ming or even the future Dr. Doom, whom they couldn't be bothered to address.
Therefore, with no need to hesitate, Su Ming entered the Teleportation Gate directly.
"The Ancient One wishes to chat, merely to discern where I came from, and confirm there's no collusion with the Demon or Plane Lord."
Themselves immaculate, though carrying Satan's unfulfilled contract, it was long severed by the Wall of Origin and World Barrier.
Who knows Satan here? Hell's boss in the Marvel World is Mephisto after all.
Besides, refusing to enter would ensure The Ancient One wouldn't allow him out of the Mirror Space.
Simply take the journey, as in Marvel here, he would undoubtedly require magical support in the future, meeting the Mages was no harm.
Crossing the door, Su Ming instantly reached the New York Temple, not yet how it seemed in the future, but the basic architecture and so were unchanged.
Numerous books and materials are orderly placed on surrounding bookshelves, some strange magic props are displayed around, including that future SM gear for binding Kaecilius.
Of course, the Magic Floating Cloak sat quietly in a glass cabinet nearby, awaiting its future owner.
Large murals hung on the walls depict scenes of deserts or glaciers, they were Teleportation Gates, leading perhaps to some Earth corner, or another plane.
Beside Su Ming, The Ancient One dissipated like an illusion, he was instantaneously moved to a sofa, where opposite him, the Mage smiled at him.
She knew almost everything Su Ming had done since arriving in this world, even witnessing his havoc in Hawaii from hidden phases.
Those eliminated gangs she bore no favor or disfavor towards, similar people existed outside Kama Taiji, it was ordinary human life, their choice and burden to bear.
The concept of good and evil was too simplistic and extreme, the binary concept was unsuited to the real world, at her level, The Ancient One didn't care about such matters.
Entering the temple meant reaching her domain, she had already subtle methods checking Su Ming's aura.
The conclusion was the same as before, he had no trace of magic aura, a complete novice.
Adopting a strange guise and nighttime outings to hack people was peculiar to her, but as she always believed, it was another's choice.
Overall, this Otherworld traveler was safe. The Earth was vast, enough to accommodate some foreign humans as all humanity shared common fate, The Ancient One fully understood this.
Su Ming realized her intention too, essentially conducting an 'immigration health check', he knew he bore no issues.
Whether Demon or Dimension Lord, offers were consistently alike, baiting with powerful Mystical power to lure servitude.
"Do you crave power, mortal?"
"Drink, it's the beastman's fate."
"Sign the contract to become a Majin!"
These ploys faltered against novices, differing power systems preferring machine guns, missiles, and atomic bombs. Offering a cup of green goo was futile.
Displaying magical divine power finds no allure against mere mortals, less potent than a bomb, devoid of wonder, thus resisting temptation.
The Demon King and the Lords didn't acquire power through happenstance, recruiting minions required discernment, investing power in mediocrity wastes effort.
This couldn't escape The Ancient One's view, the person before her lacked magical talent, possibly never casting even one magic spell in life.
Surely, if Su Ming overheard this notion, he'd vehemently object internally, while he admits to his lack of magic, he's adept at burning scrolls...
So now The Ancient One needed merely to pose additional routine queries, for final confirmation, she already observed extensively.
"Please take a seat, care for a drink?"
"Whiskey, with ice."
Upon reaching Marvel here, it was fittingly courteous to greet the real management, now even having the Mage's head figure come for a household survey, a tad embarrassing indeed.