Pamphlet about magic?
Waking up the following day, I shake off my exhaustion and immediately set out to visit the New York Sanctum in hopes of meeting the Ancient One. It might just be paranoia, but ever since I first swung over the place and saw the woman waving at me, I have felt as if some force is inviting me back here.
Rather than showing up in my Spiderman costume and barging in uninvited, I had instead decided to appear in my civilian clothes and hopefully walk in through the front door like a normal human.
There is no need to bring on some unintentional ill will toward me from the sorcerers here who might mistake me for an invader. After all, who knows how strong they all are, I might just get blasted all the way to the moon if I weren't careful.
Arriving in front of the building, I walk up to the front door without hesitation and knock on it loudly.
I had expected the door to open wide almost instantly since using the time stone should have let the Ancient One know I was coming ahead of time, but that's not what happened at all. Instead, I spent several minutes knocking on the door and ringing the bell periodically with no hint of it opening for me.'
Just as I considered turning away and coming back another day, thinking the Sanctum may not be open on weekends, the door opens slightly, and a middle-aged man with orange robes peeks through the crack.
His eyes still have a bit of sleep in them, and he looks somewhat unhappy with me. Was he still sleeping? In hindsight, it might have been inconsiderate of me to show up so early on a Sunday morning.
"Yes?" He says roughly while eyeing me with suspicion.
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[Name - Kaecilius]
[Level - 142] [Elite (All stats x2)]
[HP - 244,000 / 244,000]
[Description - A sorcerer and a trusted member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.]
[Affiliation - Masters of the Mystic Arts]
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Oh, hello there, future bad guy, arent you a strong one. It's a good thing he still appears to be loyal to the Masters of the Mystic Arts since I sure as hell can't beat him.
"Uhh… sorry for bothering you so early, sir, but I should be expected here," I say, trying to sound as polite as possible.
Kaecilius, who is trying to fish out some sleep from his eyes, doesn't look to care a lot for my statement. "If you damn vampires are expecting me to just invite you in again, then you better start thinking of a new strategy cause rest assured, I learned my lesson from the previous incident!"
"Vampire? I'm not a vampire. Wait, hold on, just let me-" The door is shut in my face "explain…"
What an asshole. I take out my phone and look at myself through the camera. Sure, I'm a bit pale since I'm primarily active at night, and even during the day, my costume prevents me from getting any sun, but I'm not pale enough to be mistaken for a vampire, right? Right?
Putting the phone back in my pocket, I continue to pound on the door and spam the doorbell for a while longer but to no avail. There is no sign of anyone opening it for me again.
Well, I guess I won't be entering from the front entrance as I had originally hoped. Time for plan B, the thing I initially didn't want to do, sneaking in.
Waiting until nobody is looking my way, I slip into the alleyway beside the Sanctum and make my way to the back of the building.
Pulling the hood of my hoodie on my head to hide my identity just in case someone is looking, I carefully climb up the wall of the Sanctum and start making my way up to the roof.
The building isn't very tall, so it takes almost no time for me to make it to the top. Peeking over the edge, I eye the roof where I first spotted the Ancient One previously but see absolutely nobody there this time.
Other than a bunch of flower pots and a door leading down into the building, the coast is clear, prompting me to swiftly leap over the railing and land on the roof.
That's as far as I get, though. As the second my feet hit the ground, chains manifest out of the ground, tightly wrapping around my legs.
Shit, a trap? In a slight panic, I put my full strength into trying to break free from the chains, but I fail to move even an inch, and the chains show no sign of budging.
In the middle of my struggle with the magical chains, I hear a calm voice from my right. "Having some trouble there?"
I turn my head, and there she is.
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[Name - Yao (Ancient One)]
[Level - ???] [Champion (All stats x6)]
[HP - ???]
[Description - Leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Sorceror Supreme.]
[Affiliation - Masters of the Mystic Arts]
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A bald woman that wasn't here a minute ago is calmly leaning against the railing and eyeing me with an almost playful gaze while sipping on a cup of tea. When did she get here?
I stop messing with the chains and stand up straight. "A bit, yeah. Don't suppose you could help me out?" I say with the most sincere smile I could muster.
With a wave of her arm, the chains disappear, and I'm free once more.
"Now, could you tell me why you are here?" She asks me, not seeming very worried that I would try to escape now that I am no longer bound.
"Uhh.. you don't already know?" My eyes pass over her chest where the Eye of Agamotto rests. I'm not entirely clear on its powers, but I thought it lets her see the future up until her death.
"That's why I'm asking. In most cases, I would know exactly who and why are looking for me, but for some reason, you evade my vision." She says, seeing me eye the artifact. "It was quite a surprise to me when the basic traps setup here suddenly triggered."
"Well, actually, there are two requests I have to ask of you. One is probably a bit more reasonable than the other…" I say, making her raise her eyebrows.
"Let's hear the more reasonable one first, I suppose." The Ancient One says.
I take a deep breath before voicing my request. "I wish to learn magic."
This didn't seem to surprise the Ancient One at all, as she only followed up by asking, "And why is that?"
"I got beat up by a Russian man," I say.
"Un…" Not expecting that answer, the Ancient One is stunned. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, he had a huge metal suit of armor and all. You might have seen him beat up at a museum in the news." I explain further.
The Ancient One has a sudden moment of realization. "Oh, you're Spiderman! I guess I should have figured that out sooner." She says, nodding to herself.
After a moment of silence, she creates a small portal and extends her free arm that isn't holding the cup of tea into it. She pulls out a small ring and throws it to me.
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[Sling Ring] (Common)
[Durability - 100 / 100]
Allows the user to create portals as long as they know the prerequisite skill.
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I slip the ring onto one of my fingers.
"Let's check how good your talent in regards to magic is. That ring is used to open up portals, figure out how to use it, and come back here soon. We can talk further after that." The Ancient One says, making motions with her hand to open up a portal with her hand. Knowing where this was going, I stop her.
"Wait, wait, wait, do you like… have a book on how to use this thing?" I ask.
Hearing me, she puts down her cup on the railing and opens up another small portal like the one she pulled the sling ring from. This time though, she pulls out a small foldable pamphlet similar to ones you would pick up at a tourist agency.
"Books are reserved for students of the Mystic Arts, which you are not yet one, but I can give you this though I doubt you will get a chance to read it at where you are going."
The next thing I know, I feel myself falling as a portal opens up under my feet.
"See you soon."
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Note: I back.