22 He Is Back!

Fanny jumped up and down at the joy of opening his first portal. Unfortunately, he could only open it while wearing 'Demon Armor Incursio.' Without the armor, he could only summon flickering sparks.

"So just how talented was Doctor Strange?!"

Fanny cried silently in his heart. He had been focusing on this spell for a year, but he had not succeeded. In the future, it seemed that Doctor Strange would only need to go to the Himalayas and freeze for a while.

Learning the portal gave Fanny more confidence in the face of coming dangers. If he couldn't beat them, he could run. This principle was enough to deal with most people.

Fanny glanced at the system. The almost full experience bar indicated that he could draw the fourth skill soon.

Having only a year between skill extraction was unimaginable for Fanny. He had to wait for seven years from the first skill to extract the second and eight years after that to extract the third.

And now, he only needed a little more than a year to extract the fourth, though the price was collecting strange nicknames such as 'Battle Demon of Kamar-Taj,' 'The Armored Mage,' 'Zero Magic Mad Knight,' and so on.

The reason for his insane growth speed was inseparable from Kamar-Taj. He was extremely glad that he had come here. Otherwise, where could he find this kind of safe and efficient 'dungeon?'

The only wish Fanny had left was to extract the fourth skill before Tony Stark returned. It would be great if it was another strong combat skill.

"Portal!"

Fanny smiled with satisfaction, staring at the fiery circular portal in front of him. He could finally go anywhere he wanted without going through the temple or bothering others to open a portal.

"Although, it's quite bothersome to carry the sling ring around."

Fanny observed after returning to Kamar-Taj that while every disciple was allowed to wear a sling ring while practicing, the artifact seemed to be quite precious and strictly controlled.

It's not like Fanny can't do anything about it. Just like "Jack Sparrow's Compass" that he made through 'Ars Magna,' he could create an artifact with the same purpose as the sling ring.

However, the sling ring was different from the compass. Its power had a great impact on reality, far more complicated than the simple compass.

And he was worried that the ring he created might suddenly lose its effect.

Fortunately, there was no need to hurry to find the solution right now. He had applied to borrow and practice with the sling ring for a while, so there was no rush to return it.

Fanny put the thought about the sling ring aside and returned to think about the fourth skill extraction. With his current pace, he might need one or two months to fill up the experience bar.

He was right on track, but he still felt that it would be safer if he could rush it earlier.

"Looks like I have to work harder!" Fanny gritted his teeth and made a decision.

The best way to gain the most experience would be to fight Ancient One. However, Ancient One would have to cooperate. He had asked Ancient One for advice, hoping to gain battle experience, but Ancient One was just too strong.

Fanny would be defeated in too few moves, resulting in less experience than he got against Mordo. At least Mordo would give advice and entertain his fight a while longer.

He might be able to gain more experience if he fought Ancient One in the sea, but Ancient One obviously didn't have that kind of free time.

Another way to increase the experience gained other than through battle was to get the skill to undergo a "breakthrough."

Fanny's 'Demon Armor Incursio' had not evolved after the year of training, but he was already much stronger than when he first started.

Kamar-Taj mages specialized in close-quarter combat, so they had a lot of training regimes to improve their body. Therefore, while Fanny was yet to evolve 'Demon Armor Incursio' through the training, he could almost activate its other trump card.

The ability that many people dreamed of.

Stealth!

When he was training with 'Demon Armor Incursio' the last few days, he could almost feel the activation condition for the ability. It was already within his reach.

Fanny decided to double his training plan next week to fill the last stretch of experience he needed. If it wasn't enough, he could only hope to find more experience dummies like Mordo and Wong.

Unfortunately, the wheel of fate waits for no one. The next day, two news shook the entire world and interrupted Fanny's plan.

Tony Stark was back!

And he announced that he would permanently shut down the weapons research and development department!

Everyone could see through the TV that the scar-covered Tony Stark was a changed man. The man who announced he would no longer engage in arms business was no longer the decadent genius playboy that he used to be.

Apart from Fanny, there shouldn't be many people who knew whether Tony's change was good or bad news. Of course, for Obadiah Stane, it could only be bad news.

"What's wrong with him?"

Skye couldn't hold her curiosity and asked Fanny while watching the TV. She knew that Fanny had inexplicable knowledge obtained through mysterious means.

"He had thought that his weapons were made and used for maintaining world peace, but he discovered how wrong he was. Now, he planned to change his method!"

Fanny explained, but Skye still had a look of disbelief. It was understandable—the main bulk of the Stark Industry's wealth was gained through weapon research and development. Closing the department would be no different than breaking one's own arms.

To give up a company worth billions of dollars just because he had gone through self-discovery... no sane person would believe that kind of reason.

"Alright, don't just stand there. Help me with something,"

Fanny switched the topic, "Help me buy as many of Stark's stocks as possible. Buy as many as you can!"

"Are you sure?"

Skye looked like he wanted to say something, but she hesitated.

"Don't worry, he is a genius. Do you really think he would give up the weapon department without some sort of plan? In the future, Stark's stocks will only become more and more valuable. Whether you can become a little rich woman out of it depends on your operation."

Fanny explained with a grin.

This time, the stock sell-off was different from what Obadiah planned by kidnapping Tony. This time, it occurs without warning. Coupled with Tony's current image and the aggressive propaganda of hostile companies, many people thought that Stark Industry was finished this time.

Fanny sighed at the endless deception of corporate wars. That was the primary reason why he had never thought of opening a public company to make money for so many years. It would be too tiring.

The more money he wanted to make, the more tired he would be. Managing various resources, attacks from hostile companies, internal conflicts, and so on.

Just thinking about opening a company gave him a headache. He decided that he didn't need that much money anyway and limited his business.

Even Tony Stark wouldn't be able to manage his company without Obadiah at the beginning and Pepper Potts later on.

Perhaps after Tony created his Iron Man suit in the near future, some people would think he resisted the grips of the military solely through the power of money.

But in truth, the military feared not only Tony Stark's immense wealth but also the connection built by his massive corporation and the influence his father commanded as the founder of SHIELD.

In addition, Tony himself was a genius who had developed countless weapons. The military needed those weapons, so they could not forcibly silence Tony. If he only had money, he wouldn't be able to reach anywhere near that level.

Considering all that, there were two important conclusions. First, Fanny wasn't as talented as Tony, and second, his trusted aide Skye was nowhere near Pepper Potts's level.

His influence would turn his sister into a fat otaku at this rate!

Fanny rudely thought to himself while looking at Skye's increasing weight and rounding face.