The moment the bald woman stepped through the portal, even though her appearance didn't perfectly match the cinematic universe he remembered, Su Mu instantly recognized her absolute, undeniable aura.
The Sorcerer Supreme.
In the fraction of a microsecond he laid eyes on her, every single muscle fiber in Su Mu's physical vessel went completely taut. He ran his cursed energy and physical reinforcement at absolute maximum overdrive. His mental focus peaked, and the Six Eyes flared to their absolute limit. He was instantly in his ultimate combat state!
Facing an entity on the level of a Skyfather, even the current Su Mu absolutely refused to let his guard down for a single second!
Tony stared at the bald woman in the yellow robes, then squinted closely at the fiery, sparking portal behind her. He suddenly felt a profound, overwhelming headache.
Ever since he had proudly announced 'I am Iron Man' to the world, reality had become increasingly absurd.
First, the apocalyptic White Demon. Then, a literal Norse God of Thunder dropping into New Mexico, confirming the existence of Asgard. And now? A bald woman in monk robes casually opened a fiery magic doorway right into his highly secure living room!
Playing it cool, Tony casually sidestepped behind Su Mu. He picked up an obscenely expensive bottle of wine and poured two glasses, handing one to Su Mu and keeping the other for himself.
"Alright," Tony said, pointing his glass at the woman. "Who exactly are you, and how exactly did you make that glowing hula hoop? Is it a mutant ability? Extremely advanced localized wormhole tech? Or some other kind of superpower?"
The Ancient One, whose gaze had been locked intensely on Su Mu the moment she arrived, finally shifted her attention to Tony.
Hearing his question, she offered a mysterious, serene smile. Her voice was calm and soothing. "It is magic."
"Right. Magic. Sure," Tony nodded, accepting it instantly. After all, he had just learned that Asgardian gods were real. At this point, literal magic was just another Tuesday.
"So, Ms. Sorceress... what brings you to my house?"
"The correct terminology is Master of the Mystic Arts," the Ancient One corrected gently. She then turned her gaze back to the white-haired boy. "And I am here to speak with this gentleman."
Tony downed his glass of wine in a single gulp and threw his hands up.
"Of course you are," he sighed.
Seeing the Sorcerer Supreme formally address him, Su Mu couldn't remain silent. He offered a brilliant, genuinely polite smile.
"Respected Sorcerer Supreme," Su Mu said respectfully. "What can I do for you?"
Seeing Su Mu act so polite and respectful instantly made Tony incredibly uncomfortable. He was so used to that brilliant smile being laced with pure, suffocating malice and arrogance that seeing it look genuinely friendly was deeply unsettling.
Then, Tony's brain fully processed the title Su Mu had used. The Sorcerer Supreme!
Wait a minute... is this bald woman the person he was just talking about?! The other person on Earth who could tank a nuclear warhead?!
Realizing he was currently standing in his living room with two entities capable of shrugging off a nuclear blast, Tony felt a deep, existential dread. It seemed that in addition to the "Anti-White Demon Armor," he seriously needed to prioritize the development of an "Anti-Sorcerer Supreme Armor" as well!
Standing opposite Su Mu, the Ancient One returned his smile.
"I have come to ask you to take on the mantle of the next Sorcerer Supreme," she said calmly. "I am willing to pass down all of my knowledge to you, without reservation. All I ask in return is that you protect Earth until a suitable successor arises after you."
Su Mu blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to offer him the title. Was she trying to retire early?
However, he didn't even need a microsecond to think about it.
"I apologize," Su Mu rejected the offer instantly. "But I have absolutely no intention of becoming the Sorcerer Supreme."
He absolutely did not want the responsibility of babysitting Earth. He had much better things to do! In the time it would take him to learn all the mystic arts and fight off interdimensional threats, he could easily absorb enough energy to unlock his Template Synchronization further, eventually transcending the Ancient One entirely and reaching an incomprehensible, cosmic level of absolute power!
The Ancient One didn't seem surprised by his rejection. She already knew the outcome; she merely wanted to ask to be certain. Her primary objective in coming here was entirely different.
Reaching into her robes, she withdrew a strange, brass-like ring with two finger holes and levitated it across the room toward Su Mu.
"I have observed that your innate abilities possess the unique trait of continuously elevating their own conceptual limits," the Ancient One said softly. "If you learn to master the mystic portals... it is highly probable that in the future, you will be able to casually traverse dimensions."
Su Mu caught the Sling Ring, genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected her to hand over the magical artifact so easily. He looked at her suspiciously.
"And what exactly is the price for this?"
The Ancient One shook her head slowly. "There is no price. However, I strongly suggest that once you master interdimensional travel, you should take the opportunity to explore the infinite parallel universes as soon as possible. After all... the multiverse is vast. You really should go out and see it."
The corner of Su Mu's mouth twitched. Despite her polite phrasing, he perfectly understood the Ancient One's subtext:
I'm not asking for much. Just please, for the love of God, spare this specific universe and go terrorize the other parallel realities!
However, this perfectly aligned with his own desires. There were countless apocalyptic events he wanted to witness and participate in firsthand! The Annihilation Wave, the Onslaught crisis, the Marvel Zombies universe, the Infinity War... the list was endless!
The greatest allure of the Marvel Universe was the infinite possibilities of the multiverse! He was never going to confine himself to a single, boring reality!
Seeing that Su Mu had accepted the Sling Ring and her primary objective was complete, the Ancient One turned to leave. But Su Mu suddenly stopped her.
"Sorcerer Supreme, wait," Su Mu said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "What do you think about Tony taking on the mantle? With his genius-level intellect, I'm absolutely certain he'd make an excellent Sorcerer Supreme!"
Tony, who had been quietly enjoying his wine in the background, nearly choked. He pointed a finger at himself, absolutely bewildered.
"Me?!"
Su Mu grabbed Tony by the shoulders and pushed him toward the bald woman. "Don't you think the collision of bleeding-edge technology and ancient mystic arts would create something truly spectacular?"
Tony paused, his brilliant mind rapidly processing the implications. Slowly, he nodded.
Relying solely on conventional technology to combat god-like anomalies like Su Mu or alien invasions was a losing battle. The technological tree took decades to climb. But if he could integrate literal magic with his arc reactor technology... it could be an entirely new, revolutionary paradigm shift!
Meanwhile, the Ancient One stared at Tony Stark—the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
However, her gaze wasn't focused on the man standing in front of her. Her eyes were empty, gazing deep into the currents of the River of Time, peering into the countless branching futures.
A few moments later, a serene, knowing smile touched her lips.
"This gentleman... will indeed become an exceptional Sorcerer Supreme."
Su Mu smiled brightly. She had agreed!
Following Su Mu's suggestion, Tony immediately packed a bag and left with the Ancient One, stepping through the portal to study magic at Kamar-Taj.
Su Mu had absolute confidence in Tony's ability to master the mystic arts. After all, in several comic book universes, Tony Stark actually did become the Sorcerer Supreme. Furthermore, the fact that the Ancient One had peered into the future and accepted him meant Tony absolutely possessed the requisite talent!
...
Slinging a high-tech messenger bag over his shoulder, Su Mu stepped onto the air and began flying directly toward Washington, D.C.
Inside the bag were ten brand-new Arc Reactors he had "requisitioned" from Tony's lab before the billionaire left. They would be more than enough to sustain him temporarily. By the time they were drained, he would undoubtedly possess an Infinity Stone.
With his Energy Absorption at Level 4, he could now effortlessly sustain flight speeds exceeding Mach 10. The journey from Malibu, California to Washington, D.C. took him less than twenty minutes.
His destination: The White House. The absolute political heart of the United States.
The military had been so incredibly generous as to gift him a beautiful nuclear explosion. It was only polite that he delivered his "return gift" personally!
However, as he breached the airspace over Washington and approached the White House, he realized something was wrong.
The White House... was already in a state of absolute, chaotic pandemonium!
_______
ENJOYED THE STORY??! FULL NOVEL COMPLETED ON MY PATREON JOIN AND READ ALL THE CHAPTERS:
Patreon.com/IndifferentVillain
+1M words only for 12$/month