Training room.
All at once, it became extremely lively.
The sorcerer apprentices were boiling with excitement.
"This is a Portal? Unbelievable!"
"Even after seeing it so many times, seeing it again is still insanely shocking."
"Wasn't it said Karl has been an apprentice here for three whole years? How can he suddenly use a Portal?!"
"That's badass—seriously badass."
"Could there be some hidden genius right next to us?"
The apprentices studying here started chattering excitedly.
They were sorcerer apprentices.
And they were sorcerer apprentices who had only just entered Kamar-Taj.
Most of them were still learning basic theory—forget casting magic, plenty of people hadn't even finished learning the theory.
And now, all of a sudden, someone had directly cast a Portal.
And he did it so easily.
How could they not be shocked?
Quite a few of them felt especially surprised.
Wasn't it said this guy had been here for three years and still hadn't become a sorcerer?
A lot of people even said he was hopeless, a piece of rotten wood that couldn't be carved.
So how was he now casually casting a Portal? Wouldn't that make them even worse than "rotten wood"?
The sorcerer apprentices were extremely excited.
However—
Someone else was even more excited than they were.
That was Aldrich.
He stood up immediately from the front, his expression extremely animated.
He walked up, carefully observed the golden Portal, and felt the power within it.
Confirmed.
It really was a Portal!
Looking at Karl, he was genuinely happy.
"Karl, you've learned Portal!"
"Congratulations. You can become a true probationary sorcerer now. I'm proud of you."
Karl kept a very low profile.
"It's all thanks to Aldrich-sensei's teaching."
"If it weren't for Aldrich-sensei's careful guidance, there's no way I could've learned Portal this quickly."
Karl said this with complete sincerity.
To be honest—
Aldrich had treated him very well.
These past few years, he had been very attentive to him.
Patiently teaching him again and again, without any of the impatience other sorcerers had.
Karl could say he was truly grateful.
"No need for that. It's just my duty."
"Alright—there's no need to be so polite in Kamar-Taj. Let me take a closer look at your magic."
Aldrich said with a smile.
"Please instruct me."
Karl said very modestly.
"Mm. Let me see."
"After all, a beginner's Portal usually has a lot of problems…"
Aldrich said with a smile.
He gathered his mental power.
Aldrich carefully sensed the Portal's energy structure.
Then—
Aldrich's eyes widened, and his heart lurched.
What the hell??
Why did it feel like Karl's Portal was even better than his?
Why couldn't he find a single structural flaw in it?
He felt—
This spell…
It was almost perfect??
Seeing Karl looking at him with anticipation,
Aldrich nodded and spoke evenly, keeping his expression unchanged.
"Not bad. Your Portal is very good."
But inside, he was utterly baffled.
What is going on?!
How is a beginner's Portal this strong?
Don't be fooled—Portal is a basic spell at Kamar-Taj, something every sorcerer must master.
But that doesn't mean Portal is simple.
Just clearing your mind—having no distracting thoughts at all—already filters out most ordinary people.
Not to mention drawing on energy borrowed from other spaces in the universe and using runes to inscribe a magic array.
How is that "simple"?
For an ordinary probationary sorcerer, being able to build a crude framework is already impressive—most can't pass at all.
But Karl?
This Portal had been sustained for so long, and there wasn't even the slightest sign of instability.
And this is what you call someone who's been stuck in the probationary classroom for three years?!
Aldrich couldn't make sense of it, but he was massively shaken.
He sensed it again for a long while.
Confirmed.
Flawless.
Even better than his own.
"This kid isn't some rotten wood that can't be carved—this is a damn World Tree!"
Aldrich, usually so refined, couldn't help swearing in his head.
First time using a Portal, and it's this perfect—what kind of "rotten wood" is that?
If only he could get a few more "hopeless cases" like this!
He complained like crazy internally.
But seeing all the apprentices looking at him, Aldrich cleared his throat and spoke.
"Not bad."
"The energy is stable, the structure is complete."
"Among probationary sorcerers, this is already top-tier."
"But Karl, don't ever get arrogant. There are plenty of people who use Portal better than you."
Aldrich said, putting on an air of seriousness.
Even though Karl's Portal was the best he had ever seen—
He absolutely couldn't say that out loud.
For sorcerers, the greatest taboo was arrogance and conceit.
"Yes, Aldrich-sensei. I understand."
Karl remained very low-key.
In the Marvel world, there were powerhouses everywhere.
He had a god-tier talent, sure—but he was only just getting started. He had to stay humble.
Not to mention—
Just the Sorcerer Supreme alone.
Karl didn't think he could compare to her.
There was nothing to be proud of.
Aldrich looked at Karl's expression and felt very satisfied.
"Good. A sorcerer must stay calm and steady!"
"Now let's see how far your Portal can transmit."
"This is also a very important measure of a Portal's level."
"Normally, if a sorcerer can transmit a few hundred meters at the beginning, that's already very good."
Hearing that, Karl nodded as well.
It really was as Aldrich said.
A Portal isn't a magic door you can open anywhere at will.
Even if energy isn't the limit, transmission distance is constrained by the sorcerer's mental power—it won't be too far.
The kind that crosses the globe in one jump—at Kamar-Taj, that's the level of a great master.
And speaking of that—
Even Doctor Strange, when he first started learning, could only transmit from Mount Everest back to Kamar-Taj.
For an ordinary person, being able to transmit a few hundred meters is already the ceiling.
Even if Karl could go a bit farther, there was nothing to be proud of.
So Karl stayed modest.
Aldrich, meanwhile, was very pleased by Karl's humility.
Then he casually glanced at the scenery behind the Portal—
And his heart dropped again.
What the hell??
Why does the scene behind that Portal look kind of familiar?
Aldrich couldn't help rubbing his eyes.
He looked carefully.
That's right.
A United States flag, planted in gray, dusty ground.
People around the world should recognize that scene.
It was humanity's first landing on the Moon, planting a flag there.
But…
This was a scene seen through a Portal!
This kid opened a Portal… all the way to the Moon???
What the—!!
The apprentices nearby saw Aldrich freeze up,
and they followed his gaze straight through the Portal.
When they saw what was inside, they were stunned.
"You're kidding, right? Am I seeing things?"
"Don't the records say a beginner's Portal can only transmit a few hundred meters? Are the records wrong?"
"When did Kamar-Taj's surroundings get a 'Moon Landing Memorial Museum' built?"
"Aldrich-sensei, what's going on? This isn't what you said at all!"
Aldrich was completely dumbfounded.
"Uh… uh…"
Aldrich was stunned too.
(End of Chapter)
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