A New Year

"Thank you!" Fanny sincerely thanked Mordo. He really was grateful to his senior Mordo for the guidance and experience he received.

Mordo was a little embarrassed at Fanny's earnest gratitude. He waved his hand and said, "Go back to your training."

Fanny silently smiled at Mordo's back. If the chance ever comes to repay Mordo, he would be duty-bound to take it. Well, depending on the specific chance.

As Mordo had mentioned, Fanny's nickname had been known by all of Kamar-Taj, which irritated him to no end. He had previously earned the nickname of "Armored Mage" and "Mad Knight," but now many mages actually started to call him "Silver Knight."

The power of media made it like it was his government-approved nickname.

"Should I get Tony to talk about it?!" Fanny thought to himself. He was a member of a professional mage organization and the direct disciple of the Sorcerer Supreme. Calling him a knight would be a slap on Ancient One's face!

"Good morning! Silver Knight!" Someone interrupted Fanny as he was thinking about countermeasures. His anger was immediately ignited, and he turned around to challenge the person to battle—but he turned as meek as a kitten when he realized that the person had no hair.

"Good morning, Master!" Fanny replied helplessly to Ancient One, "Master, please don't mock me. I am a mage in life, and I'll be a mage's ghost after I die."

"Nobody said that you're not a mage!" Ancient One smiled coyly.

Fanny glared resentfully at Ancient One. She glared back. The Sorcerer Supreme had braved many kinds of storms; this kind of staring match was nothing.

Unsurprisingly, Fanny relented first. He stopped talking about the nickname Ancient One had used and changed the topic. "Master, is there any magical artifact that could force the astral body out?"

"No!" Ancient One pulled out a small fan and walked while fanning herself. Fanny followed closely behind.

"Is there any powerful magic weapon that proportionally matches the enemy's size, defense, strength, and speed?"

Ancient One stopped and stared at Fanny as if wondering if she had really taught him anything.

"Fanny, if you can find that kind of magic weapon someday, please show it to me."

Fanny was a little embarrassed at Ancient One's sarcastic encouragement. He also knew that his question was a little idiotic, but he just thought that if there was one, the Sorcerer Supreme who had lived for so long would have known.

"What are you trying to do? Is your moniker as the Silver Knight not enough?" Ancient One asked casually, nodding and smiling at the mages that greeted her.

"There might be a battle between green and yellow monster soon. I want to stop it," Fanny hesitantly replied. Perhaps Ancient One was not omniscient. After all, she could not investigate everything in the world.

But Ancient One has the ability to solve most problems in the world. With her strength, there weren't many things that could stand in her way.

"Then be careful and don't get hurt," Ancient One said, concern in her voice.

Was that all?!

Fanny stared blankly, dazed by Ancient One's simple instruction. She didn't ask what monsters or why he wanted to stop them, just telling him to be careful.

"But I can't beat them now. Is there anything in the organization that can help me?"

Fanny pouted at Ancient One. If you have any good equipment, you can lend it to me and trust that I will return it!

"Is the Sling Ring not enough?!" Ancient One snapped back, glaring at Fanny's fingers. "You are the only one in Kamar-Taj who was allowed to carry it around."

"Cough, this is a life necessity..." Fanny hid his fingers behind his back, afraid that Ancient One would confiscate his Sling Ring. He was already used to life with portals.

"Fanny, I don't mind what you do, as long as you remember two things: don't bring trouble to Kamar-Taj, and don't put other mages in danger."

Fanny nodded at Ancient One's solemn instruction. Kamar-Taj had given him more help than he ever needed, and he had considered himself part of them. He would obviously avoid making problems for them.

"Also, you should choose your own future. I believe that you will always have a way." Ancient One patted Fanny on the shoulder and walked to the training grounds to check on the disciples.

Fanny couldn't get much help from Ancient One, so he had to think of another way. He had thought of finding a battlefield that gave him an advantage, like what he did to Iron Monger.

Unfortunately, the Abomination was different from Iron Monger. Its vitality was simply terrifying. To it, the freezing wind of the Himalayas might as well be a gentle breeze.

Moreover, with Abomination's speed, it would be hard to get both it and Hulk into the portal, especially since Hulk wouldn't obediently cooperate like Tony did.

Fanny sighed in sorrow and put away his thought. He would definitely find a way to cross this mountain. He didn't know how much time he had, but there should still be a while. Perhaps he could draw the fifth skill before the time came.

Either way, even if he didn't intervene at all, the plot would simply continue with its original trajectory. Even if the sky fell, there would still be a giant that could uphold it.

His parents weren't in New York, and Skye was a shut-in. Those big guys' commotion would never reach the people he cared about.

Fanny never wanted to be a hero, but he was the kind of person who would help people when he had the chance. He wouldn't feel guilty if he couldn't help everyone.

He wasn't like Tony, who felt responsible for protecting world peace.

He was a person who took things at his own pace and was even a little lazy. If New York wasn't so dangerous, and if there was no threat of Thanos in the future, perhaps he wouldn't feel any urge to gain experience at all.

Ultimately, Fanny decided to learn astral magic through the proper step. He looked forward to the fifth skill, which might or might not appear before Hulk fought the Abomination.

Time passed by unknowingly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.

Tony hadn't contacted him much in the past two months, and he used Pepper's phone each time. He never used his own number.

This was because SHIELD had been investigating Fanny's identity and pressured Tony and Pepper as the only source in the process. They had been so annoying that the two had complained to him.

Of course, they had asked for compensation in the form of Sumire Karaage Rolls!

Fanny had wanted to discuss the matter of Abomination with Tony, but he restrained. Tony was already buried in his own problem after announcing his identity, not to mention the pressure from the military, the palladium poisoning, and so on.

Thus, the year of Iron Man's successful debut, 2010, passed, and the world welcomed a new year.