"Possessing such luck, why is my gacha luck still so 'African'?"
Spinning in her chair, Artoria expressed her inability to understand the current situation. Why was her luck so good here that a single thought resolved a future major crisis, yet what popped out of the pool was still a massive amount of Black Keys? This kind of luck was excessively extreme, leaving Artoria's mood very low. But there was no helping it; luck is such a mystical thing. Just like how Lancers' luck never exceeds E and every one of their endings is tragic. With such examples before her eyes, there was really no way to force things. Most importantly, her pool wasn't a system at all; if it were a good thing like a system, it would have a function to increase luck, though that's hard to say.
"Master, how should this be handled?"
Saturday asked Artoria curiously. It was her first time seeing her Master like this, and she found it very interesting, so Saturday turned on the recording function and asked for the disposal plan for Ultron 1. Handling such an intelligent entity was very troublesome; she thought it would be more appropriate to plant a virus in the other party's source code to cause a program crash and destroy it until not a single trace remained.
"Uh... can it be formatted? After formatting, can using its data upgrade your computing power?"
After thinking it over carefully, Artoria felt that direct destruction was too wasteful. She wanted to format it directly, restoring everything in Ultron 1 to its original state, and then let Saturday devour the other party's virtual computing power. This way, it might make Saturday even stronger. Although she was a bit reluctant to part with Ultron 1's human thinking mode—after all, the emergence of an artificial intelligence life form is very difficult—she had the loyal Saturday in her hands, which was much better than having an extra strong one. So, Artoria felt this was the better way to go.
"Oh my god, I just remembered. Since the creator of Ultron 1 is Dr. Pym, has something happened to Dr. Pym now? I have to get Hope to go check right away."
While thinking about how to handle Ultron 1, Artoria suddenly remembered Dr. Pym. Since Ultron 1 had already changed into this state, something must have happened on Dr. Pym's end. After all, he wouldn't allow a guy who intended to destroy the world to appear in this world; he could be considered a superhero, being the first-generation Ant-Man.
"Hope, go see your old man quickly. Something might have happened to your Father."
Thinking of this, Artoria didn't hesitate and quickly called Hope. She didn't know what Hope had been up to lately, staying in the lab every day and not coming to Artoria's place for a long time. Artoria could only notify her by phone. The old man was almost gone, yet she was still busy with experiments; had the Father and daughter not been in contact for a long time?
"This awkward Father and daughter pair, honestly."
Listening to the sound of something accidentally breaking on Hope's end, Artoria smiled helplessly. This Father and daughter might have been enemies in their past lives; neither of them could express themselves well, and the more it was like this, the deeper their misunderstandings became. Only an onlooker could see through such a situation.
"Did you rest well these past two days, Artoria?"
Just as Artoria was lamenting, a voice suddenly appeared, giving her a start. She looked up and saw that smiling face, and looking further up, that familiar bald head—especially those shining circles—it was someone she knew all too well. Artoria rolled her eyes helplessly and took a sip of milk tea to calm her nerves. Regarding this black-hearted 'Master' who had thrown her to the foot of the Himalayas, although Artoria was grateful, she was also a bit awkward. Especially those piercing eyes that seemed to look straight into one's heart, giving Artoria the feeling of being seen through, which made her a bit unhappy.
"This cosmic journey was quite good, wasn't it?"
The Ancient One didn't mind Artoria's little awkwardness; she wasn't going to bicker with a child over such things. Stepping out of the portal, the Ancient One spoke with hidden meaning. After looking for Artoria last time, she discovered that Artoria wasn't even on Earth, leaving only a clone behind. In other words, Artoria had gone for a trip into space. She herself hadn't had much time to travel the Universe, but that didn't stop her from knowing about cosmic affairs. Otherwise, how would she know Odin, the God-King of Asgard? Last time Gaea was present, so it wasn't convenient to speak, but this time the Ancient One had come to find Artoria for a specific matter.
"What, am I not allowed to go out and play?"
Artoria had long been prepared for the Ancient One's questioning. After all, with three Infinity Stones on her, how could she hide it from this'sly old fox'? Because she had prepared her explanation long ago, Artoria wasn't flustered at all and faced the Ancient One with ease.
"You girl, truly petty."
Seeing Artoria's complaining look, the Ancient One smiled knowingly. She naturally knew Artoria was very unhappy about being thrown to the foot of the mountain last time and held a grudge. She didn't come here to investigate things or to let Artoria throw a tantrum; the matter she came for this time was very important.
"I won't say anything else. Since you've already started collecting the Infinity Stones, then! I'll give you a hand. One Infinity Stone is currently in my hands, but this one cannot be given to you."
The first half of the Ancient One's sentence made Artoria's heart skip a beat with joy, but the latter half caused the smile she was about to put on to freeze instantly. You say you'll help me, and then you won't give it to me? What exactly are you doing? Playing with me? Can big shots just play with people like this? Can big shots just do whatever they want? Can big shots just not keep their word? But soon Artoria caved. Big shots really are amazing; she couldn't beat her, couldn't provoke her, couldn't provoke her.
"I'm not playing with you. Among the relatively safe Infinity Stones, one is in Asgard, taken there by that kid Thor last time. Two others are on Earth. Of the two on Earth, one is the one in my hand, which I can't give you for now, but I can help you find a way for the other two."
How could such an obvious change in Artoria's expression escape the Ancient One's eyes? She smiled. The reason for helping Artoria this time was because Dr. Stephen had already found his way to Kamar-Taj, though he hadn't found the specific location yet. She believed he would soon come to her to learn magic. Mordo had also betrayed her, leaving with that Darkhold. The world seemed to be entering its proper track, as if a giant invisible hand was pushing the operation of the entire world. This made the Ancient One feel that her time was running out. Moreover, she was about to teach Stephen, so the matter of the traitor could only be put aside for now. This was exactly the same as the fate she had seen, unchanged. Dormammu's movements were becoming more intense; it seemed he was about to return again. All these things the Ancient One kept suppressed in her heart, never telling anyone.
During this time, the Ancient One decided to use her influence one last time to help Artoria. This could be considered the final help from an incompetent teacher to her student! Thinking of this, a look of liberation flashed in the Ancient One's eyes. Artoria didn't see this, nor did she notice the Ancient One's abnormality. Artoria's mind was now full of the thought that the big shot was finally ready to step in and help a little newbie like her.
"You! When will you truly grow up?"
Lamenting thus, the Ancient One reached out her right hand and rubbed Artoria's head for the first time, her words carrying complex emotions. For the first time, she felt a bit reluctant, but she had long been prepared to become part of fate at any time, ready to offer her life as the Sorcerer Supreme for this world.
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