Chapter 128 – Unannounced Visit

[2009 – September]

*Knock* *Knock*

Waiting calmly after I knocked on heavy wooden doors using the door knockers, it wasn't long before a bald African-American man in somewhat unique robes opened the door.

"Mr. Frost? To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?", Daniel Drumm, Master of the Mystic Arts, asked in a clear and deep voice, his brow raised in surprise.

"Master Drumm, please forgive the inconvenience.", I greeted with a small nod, having a rather good impression of the sorcerer as he struck me as a kind yet dutiful and tough individual, "I am here to visit the Ancient One."

The Master looked at me with a small frown at my answer, though I didn't further elaborate on the reason for my unannounced visit as there wasn't really a reason to.

The Ancient One wasn't some CEO from a Fortune 500 company. She may be the most powerful sorceress of Kamar-Taj but her schedule wasn't really 'busy' in that sense.

Even if Kamar-Taj existed to guard extraterrestrial entities that threaten this reality, incidents of a scale that required the Supreme Sorcerer to deal with personally, were usually very very rare and did not happen often.

Most of the time the Ancient One was thus either busy with studying the Mystic Arts or with teaching new students.

This also meant that there wasn't much to worry about when to visit her, which I had decided to do today after school had ended.

Hesitating for only a short moment, the Master invited me inside with a gesture while addressing me.

"The Ancient One is currently in Kamar-Taj and not in the Sanctum. So we will have to use the portal to visit her.", Drumm replied simply, not inquiring for the specific reason, knowing that the Ancient One would not reject a meeting.

Quickly opening a portal as stated, I didn't hesitate to step through it together with the Master. I wasn't worried about this being a trap or anything like that. Not only did I know enough about Drumm's character to be sure that he wouldn't try something like that, but it would also be completely ineffective.

For the last few weeks, I had been vigorously training my control over my barriers, especially my ability to manipulate space through them. At this point, I had the confidence to return to Earth even if someone tried to trap me in a secondary dimension.

My ability to control, distort, and sense space, had increased tremendously, which was also something that was necessary for preparation for my next ability.

Arriving in a small crypt through the portal, the Master led me along a few corridors while explaining that this small room was basically the designated entry point for all portals from the Sanctum to Kamar-Taj to avoid an overlap with another person's portal, which might end in awkward or even very dangerous accidents.

Quickly activating Farsight, my eyes flashed with a piercing white light for a moment as I expanded my vision to the outside world, gaining a rather precise idea of where I was at the moment.

I hadn't been to Kamar-Taj before after all, so I used this chance to confirm its location to be in Kathmandu, Nepal.

From now on it would be much easier for me to come here if I so desired, as I could now accurately capture this location with my Farsight which also meant that I could also use my shield to easily teleport myself here.

Naturally, there were some magical restrictions in place to prevent such an intrusion but against an Omega-level mutant that could shield himself from the effects of all Eldrich Magic, these restrictions were practically useless.

They might bring me some pressure due to the fact that my shields depended on the limited strength of my mind, but considering that I was only a few days away from gaining another Omega-level ability that would increase my strength to simply unbelievable levels, such limits would be a thing of the past.

Still, those were merely theoretical considerations as I had no plans to just burst into Kamar-Taj whenever I fancied, as that would most certainly incite the Ancient One's ire.

The Sorcerer Supreme might have been very gracious to me but I wouldn't dare to even think for a moment that the Ancient One was just a kind soul that wouldn't harm a fly. The number of lives that she had reaped in her quest to protect Earth would surely be absolutely astronomical.

Provoking her by intruding into her territory uninvited wasn't even foolish anymore, it was simply suicidal.

We didn't speak much besides some small talk as he led me through the corridor toward the Ancient One's office, though I could sense his gaze flicker down to my right hand where a small black chain was wrapped around my wrist.

He clearly knew about the fact that the Quantum Tail had chosen me as its wielder, which naturally sparked his curiosity as a sorcerer as it wasn't a normal artifact in any sense of the word. He didn't ask though and just continued to make casual conversation with me as we walked through the rather traditional-styled buildings.

At that chance, I couldn't help but ask him about why the New York Sanctum seemed rather 'empty' with him being the only one present compared to the many people that were here in Kamar-Taj.

The New York Sanctum was after all a very spacious city villa and I didn't see why he or any other Protector of this Sanctum had to live here alone, though I guessed that there might be some reclusives amongst the Masters every once in a while, who were chosen as the different Protectors by the Ancient One.

"Novices and Apprentices are required to stay in Kamar-Taj during their apprenticeship, and only Disciples can request to be transferred to the Sanctums, though that is not a request that is agreed to very often.", he explained with a shake of his head.

"The protectors of the different Sanctums usually have the last say about who is allowed to take up residence in their Sanctums. And most protectors would only grant this privilege to other Masters or their personal Disciples."

"Though thanks to the portals we use it also isn't necessary to have a powerful force stationed in the Santcums at all times. Most Masters instead prefer peace and quiet, so they are often in seclusion as long as the situation allows it to study the Mystic Arts.", he ended.

I understood this principle as I would also prefer a quieter environment while studying up on possibly life-threatening magic and rituals.

Arriving before a sliding door with paper lining, the Master turned towards me and said: "Please wait here while I inform the Ancient One of your visit."

During the short walk through Kamar-Taj, I had taken note of the rather simplistic style of the interior design as well as the clearly Asian touch it carried. And to be honest, I could find some appeal in living this simply.

Nodding in acknowledgment, I took a step to the side as Drumm directly entered the room.

The thin oriental-style door wasn't really efficient when it came to blocking out sound though, at least not when in comparison to Extrasensory Perception and my enhanced senses, which I could further strengthen with my Body Supremacy.

So it wasn't really a surprise when I overheard Drumm informing the Ancient One about my visit, to which she – as I expected of her – reacted calmly, and told him to let me enter.