It's About to Start

Time flowed like water. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and then a year passed. Fanny had entered the dangerous year of 2010. Without his intervention, the world would begin to drown in chaos.

Iron Man's war, the return of Norse mythology, alien invasion, genocidal AI, and so on; all kinds of problems would come one after another.

This April would mark a whole year since Fanny first came to Kamar-Taj. The steady rhythm of his life allowed him to gradually increase his strength, and he was close to his fourth extraction.

A piece of news shattered his peaceful life immersed in training. The shock even wiped what little sparks he could muster when practicing the portal spell.

"It's been a year. Iron Man has gone missing. But I still can't open a portal."

Fanny looked down at the sling ring on his hand, depressed. He had focused all his effort and abandoned the thought of learning other spells, yet it was all for naught. He felt that even the "average" assessment that Ancient One gave to his magical talent was an overestimation.

Tony Stark's disappearance sent shockwaves around the world. Fanny couldn't stay in Kamar-Taj comfortably anymore, his thoughts weighed down by concern over his family's safety.

He had been persuading his aging parents to retire since New Year, but the two still had unimaginable youthful vigor. They flatly rejected his idea. Fanny couldn't let them continue working in New York as Iron Man's debut drew closer; the city might even get nuked in the future!

If they really didn't want to leave New York, Fanny wanted them to at least move to a safer area. This year, he had spent a lot of effort to finally purchase a house next to the New York Sanctum. This was the only place in the entirety of New York that would give him peace of mind.

...

"Why do we have to resign and move there?"

His parents did not understand Fanny's request. Neither did Skye; she couldn't understand why Fanny was so insistent on having their family move.

Fanny hesitated for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and explaining, "New York will be a very dangerous place in the future! That place is the only long-term safe zone!"

Fanny's father, Elias, thought that Fanny was talking about how they were getting old. He smiled, "Brat, we came to New York long before you were born. I know this place better than the back of my hands."

Fanny sighed. He resorted to summoning the Rings of Raggadorr, the only spell he was proficient in, and looked straight at his stunned parents. "Believe me, you know less than I do. This world will become more dangerous than you can imagine."

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I'm a Mage now!"

After knowing them for so many years, Fanny was 100% sure his parents wouldn't realize his identity as a mage. That was why he told them frankly and directly, with no excuses or white lies. Otherwise, they might think he was an alien or something.

"When did you learn all this?" Elias looked at the ring in Fanny's hand in a daze. He reached out to touch it, but Fanny pulled the ring away.

Fanny thought for a bit before replying, "For the last year or so. Skye also knows about it."

He only needed to say enough to convince them, so they didn't need any more detail. It also wasn't a lie that he learned the spell within the last year.

Elias and Willa turned to look at Skye, who was also stunned. They opened their mouths, but none of them could get any word out.

"But what does this have to do with the city becoming dangerous?" Elias asked in a deep voice. As a lawyer, he knew when to focus on the important details. He was worried that the aforementioned dangers were related to Fanny.

"Do you believe that aliens exist?" Fanny picked up on his father's worries and explained, "There are many beings out there that covets Earth since time immemorial. It is a mage's duty to defend Earth from their invasion.

"It is very likely that some of them would attempt to invade Earth within the next few years. The place I want you to move to is a sanctuary established by the mages; they would protect you from any danger that might arise."

"What about you?" His mother's worry for him only worsened. She asked again nervously, "Are you going to fight those aliens too? Will it be dangerous? Shouldn't we tell the army?"

"Don't worry about me; I'm stronger than you think. Also, the government should have special organizations prepared for these contingencies." Fanny smiled, comforting his mother. "But if it is truly necessary, I will definitely go. After all, we need the Earth to continue living."

At the very least, Fanny wanted to stop Dormammu from coming to Earth. He didn't want to put all his hope on the 'bargain.'

His parents' worries couldn't be assuaged simply by acting casual, but they finally agreed to Fanny's advice to move. They then carefully interrogated him about Kamar-Taj.

Fanny heaved a sigh of relief after ensuring his parents' safety. He had contacted his good friend Master Daniel from the New York Sanctum that his parents might move nearby.

As the youngest mage of Kamar-Taj, the owner of the mages, and the favored disciple of Ancient One, all these nicknames earned him some respect from many mages.

Fanny didn't rush to ensure his parents' safety without reason. His strength might have grown rapidly over the past year, but he was still a long way from facing Dormammu, Thanos, Ego, or other big shots.

Not to mention the green fatty and Thunder God, who were afraid of electricity, even the soon-debuting Iron Man. He wasn't confident that he could win in critical battles to come.

Therefore, Fanny needed to improve his strength, and fighting was the best way. After Iron Man made his appearance, the Earth would have no shortage of enemies for him. He needed to solve all his worries first before he could dedicate himself to improving his strength.

Actually, within the past year spent in Kamar-Taj, what Fanny improved the most wasn't 'Demon Armor Incursio.' On the contrary, it was the seldom-used 'Ars Magna.'

The Sanctum and the mages restricted the power of 'Ars Magna' due to their purpose to protect the Earth from invasive forces. After becoming a mage, Fanny gained a deeper understanding of the power exerted by the Sanctum and the mages. It was like studying his enemy; it doesn't necessarily mean he could defeat the enemy immediately, but he gained clues about how to defeat the enemy.

Even though Fanny didn't practice using 'Ars Magna,' by understanding how the power of the mages interfered with the effect, he naturally gained insight into the skill itself.

Ancient One had warned him that the power of 'Ars Magna' was very dangerous, but she didn't take any active effort to restrict Fanny from using it. She had even helped him once. However, the deeper Fanny understood about 'Ars Magna,' the more he understood Ancient One's warning back then.

Magic that changes reality according to one's thoughts. This was indeed a very terrifying power. Perhaps as Fanny became stronger and stronger in the future, just having random thoughts would cause serious consequences.