Kamar-Taj had been anything but peaceful lately.
After all, even the area above the library had been shattered.
That enormous commotion could be heard throughout all of Kamar-Taj.
If the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't left Kamar-Taj to roam the dimensional planes, her-sama might have been disturbed by it.
Even so—
This still caused an uproar in normally calm Kamar-Taj.
It turned out that even after becoming sorcerers, people still couldn't change their gossiping nature.
Karl, who had originally kept a very low profile in Kamar-Taj, instantly became a figure of massive attention.
"Did you hear? That Karl who was still an apprentice after three years suddenly became a veteran sorcerer?"
"Veteran sorcerer? Don't joke."
"Can a veteran sorcerer even make that kind of commotion? I'd say he's at least a master sorcerer."
"Stop it. I took classes with Karl—he's way more godlike than you."
As Karl walked along the road, he could feel countless eyes on him.
Even though sorcerers generally had good manners and only gave Karl a faint smile when they saw him, it still left Karl feeling helplessly amused.
He really wanted to keep a low profile!
Why wouldn't these sorcerers give him a chance?
"Sigh."
"If I'd known, I shouldn't have used magic in front of those sorcerers."
Karl couldn't help but let out a sigh.
This world was so dangerous—he needed to lie low.
"Maybe this is the trouble of being too outstanding. No matter how hard I try to keep a low profile, I just can't."
Karl couldn't help but lament.
Aldrich-sensei happened to come in from outside.
Hearing that, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He thought to himself: Kids these days—nothing like how low-key he was back then.
Aldrich-sensei sighed inwardly.
Over there, Karl had already noticed Aldrich-sensei.
"Aldrich-sensei, you're here."
"Mm."
"How's it been these past two days? How's your consolidation?"
Aldrich-sensei asked.
"Not bad."
Karl replied calmly.
The magic of Kamar-Taj was still extremely dangerous.
Compared to sorcerers in other worlds who turn natural energy into their own energy, most of Kamar-Taj's magic was borrowed power—and much of it even came from demon gods.
If you didn't have a firm grasp of it and you went berserk once, that was it—you'd be dead.
So during these two days, Karl hadn't learned any new magic.
Instead, he repeatedly summoned and used the two spells he had learned, until they became second nature and he could wield them freely.
Now Karl felt that even master sorcerers might not be as proficient with magic as he was.
Aldrich-sensei was very satisfied with that.
"As the saying goes, a towering building rises from the ground."
"The fundamentals are extremely important. No strong person can do without arduous cultivation."
"In this world, there has never been such a thing as getting something for nothing."
"Especially in the world of magic—the easier something is to obtain, the more you must be on guard."
Aldrich-sensei said earnestly.
"Yes. I understand, Aldrich-sensei."
Karl answered very modestly.
"Good."
"Then let me see how much you've improved."
"Let's do Portal. Try to see whether you can transport into the New York City Sanctum."
Aldrich-sensei said.
In Kamar-Taj, there were three Sanctums.
Built upon the three great nodes of power on Earth, they had been guarding Earth all along.
These were sacred relics passed down from the great Agamotto, and also the strongest structures in all of Kamar-Taj.
Even someone as great as the Ancient One could not replicate the power of the Three Sanctums.
Therefore—
The Sanctums also possessed astonishing spatial protection.
Inside, perhaps even a mortal's explosives could blow them up.
But from the outside—
You would need an incredibly terrifying level of force to break a Sanctum.
And that was only on the physical level. Even more astonishing was the Sanctum's spatial protection.
This was a blockade that even master sorcerers could not break through; it was directly linked to Earth's very sources of magical power.
Within Kamar-Taj, only the Sorcerer Supreme could forcibly break in from the outside.
Even a master sorcerer, without authorization, couldn't do it.
Having Karl transport to the Sanctum was simply a way to check—through the index of energy fluctuation—what level Karl's magical attainment had reached.
"Yes."
Karl answered respectfully.
As he spoke, Karl began to activate his own power.
Powerful magical energy started to brew.
Golden sparks began to appear in midair.
Dense runes were connected through his mental power, and vast amounts of energy began to surge forth.
He reached out and rotated his hand through the air.
A golden Portal began to take shape as he constructed it.
Aldrich-sensei froze on the spot.
This isn't right!
Why did the Portal actually form?!
Where's the Sanctum's spatial protection?!
Shouldn't the Portal's structure be disrupted?!
How could this happen?
Aldrich-sensei was stunned.
The Sanctum was incredibly strong.
A Portal simply couldn't open into it.
Under the effect of Earth's powerful sources of magical power, unless your power was strong enough—
But what was this right in front of him?
Aldrich-sensei rubbed his eyes.
"Could it be that the Sanctum's protective power has failed?"
Aldrich-sensei thought.
He extended his hand.
The golden power in his hand shifted; golden sparks slowly appeared.
A Portal began to form little by little.
But unlike Karl's Portal—
Pshhk!
A soft sound rang out, like a flame being snuffed.
The golden Portal he created actually went out just like that.
"So the Sanctum's magical protection is fine…"
Aldrich-sensei muttered.
Then he suddenly turned his head and looked at Karl beside him.
He understood now.
The problem wasn't the magic Sanctum—
The problem was Karl!
The same Portal, used in his hands versus in Karl's hands, was completely not the same thing!
"How did you do it?"
Aldrich-sensei asked.
"How did I do what?"
Karl asked, confused.
"How did you break through the Sanctum's magical defense and open a Portal?"
Aldrich-sensei asked.
"Magical defense? What magical defense?"
"The Sanctum has magical defense?"
Karl exclaimed in surprise.
He genuinely didn't know.
In the film, Kaecilius didn't spend much effort before killing the sorcerers and, along the way, blowing up the Sanctum.
Karl had been complaining about that the whole time.
Who would've thought—
The Sanctum actually had magical defense?
Thinking about it, it was normal.
After all, it was a powerful barrier that blocked Dormammu's invasion—how could it not have defenses?
But Karl's words landed very differently in Aldrich-sensei's head.
He looked at Karl, speechless to the extreme.
He almost wanted to cry.
Is this the world of geniuses?
The magical defense that he couldn't break through even at full power—
In this kid's eyes, it simply didn't exist?
What kind of miraculous species is this?!
(End of Chapter)
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