[52] Level 4 Mutant Magneto

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In front of the basketball court at Xavier Manor, Brian held a gun in one hand, the muzzle aimed directly at Magneto's forehead.

"Erik, are you absolutely sure you want to train like this?" Brian asked with a hint of a smile, his tone serious.

"Definitely. I can only push my powers to their limits when I'm on edge, when I'm facing real danger. Come on, Brian, let's do this," Magneto replied confidently, his gaze steady.

It had been three days since the Hellfire Club's attack.

During that time, Professor X had developed a specialized training plan tailored for each member of the X-Men.

The events of the recent battle had left a lasting impact on everyone, especially on Hank, who, after his brush with death, had become noticeably calmer and more focused.

Using his creative genius, Hank had designed a set of gliding wings for Siryn to enhance his maneuverability in the air. For Havok, he had engineered an energy collector to help him harness and control his destructive abilities.

With these new tools and three days of intense training, both Siryn and Havok had shown remarkable progress.

It must be acknowledged that Professor X is truly a professional when it comes to training others. In just three days, Siryn and Havok had already advanced to the ranks of Level 2 Mutants. They had begun to control their abilities effectively.

Alex, in particular, had made impressive strides. He had finally managed to harness and release his energy shockwaves with some control, a major improvement from his earlier struggles.

Compared to the rapid progress of Siryn and Havok, Magneto's growth seemed almost stagnant. Despite being a Level 3 Mutant, nearing Level 4, he had hit a wall in advancing his magnetic field control.

This lack of progress left him feeling increasingly anxious, especially as he watched his previously less-skilled companions advance quickly.

Unable to bear it any longer, Magneto decided on a more extreme, almost reckless, training method—one that would put him on the edge of danger.

This was why he now found himself facing Brian, with a gun pointed at him.

Initially, Magneto had considered asking Professor X.

But Professor X has been exploring his telepathy power these days.

He has no time to guide Magneto in training.

Frustrated and eager to push his own limits, Magneto had to turn to Brian, even though he knew Brian wasn't particularly invested in training—he spent most of his time 'training' with Raven.

In Magneto's eyes, Brian seemed an unlikely choice, but he needed someone, and Brian was there. To Magneto's surprise, Brian didn't hesitate; he simply aimed and pulled the trigger.

Bang.

The gunshot echoed through the air, and in that split second, Magneto was caught off guard. He felt the bullet rip into his right leg.

"Ack-fuck! Ugh! Brian! I told you to aim for the head, not my leg!" Magneto grimaced, pain flaring as he stretched out his hand, using his power to extract the bullet from the wound. He glared at Brian, clearly frustrated.

"Consider yourself lucky," Brian replied coolly, blowing away the gunpowder smoke lingering around the muzzle. "If I'd aimed for your head at this range, you'd have a lot more than just ideas."

Brian blew the gunpowder on the muzzle, and the words he said were like a knife, piercing Magneto's lungs.

"Haah.."

Magneto sat down dejectedly on the ground, broken by Brian's words.

"What happened?"

The sound of the gunshot attracted the X-Men who were training.

They quickly gathered around.

Magneto sat on the ground, clearly defeated by Brian's words, his frustration visible.

Hearing the gunshot, the rest of the X-Men rushed over, their expressions tense as they assessed the scene.

"What happened? Did the Hellfire Club come back?" Siryn asked, his voice edged with nervousness as he scanned the surroundings.

"Who did this?" roared Beast, his muscles tensing as his sharp claws extended, ready for a fight. Havok, too, prepared himself, gathering energy in case of another attack.

As they all stood in combat mode, Brian finally broke the silence, speaking calmly.

"I shot Magneto."

Siryn:??? 

Havok:??? 

Beast:??? 

The three of them looked at Brian in confusion.

They didn't understand why Brian would shoot and injure Magneto at all.

"Erik wanted Brian to shoot him in the head, hoping to strengthen his abilities through a life-and-death crisis," Professor X explained as he came over, glancing at the puzzled expressions of the group.

With Professor X's explanation, everyone suddenly understood. They turned to Magneto with strange looks.

"Magneto, are you trying to commit suicide?" Hank laughed bluntly.

Obviously, Beast Hank still remembered that Magneto had mocked him for his appearance as a "bigfoot." Now that he had the chance, he couldn't resist mocking back.

"Fuck off," Magneto muttered darkly, raising a finger toward Beast.

Then, with Professor X's help, he stood up and prepared to go back to the medical room at Xavier Manor for bandaging.

"Erik, take this," Brian called out just as Magneto was about to leave, tossing him a glass bottle.

Inside the glass bottle was a crystal-clear, ruby-like blood.

"This is… the blood of Father Asa."

Magneto looked at the glass bottle in his hand in surprise.

"Have you all never thought about storing some of Father Asa's blood? Were you planning to draw it directly every time you get hurt?"

Brian's words silenced the X-Men, hitting a nerve they hadn't considered. They really hadn't thought about preserving Father Asa's blood.

Brian looked at Professor X and the others with a hint of contempt.

The blood Brian took out was collected after he had taken measures to preserve it from Father Asa. In addition to this bottle, while talking with Father Asa about the God of Apocalypse, Brian had asked him for an extra 100cc of blood.

It was for moments like this.

He didn't want to reveal the healing ability of his own blood—not yet, at least.

Magneto drank the blood in his hand, and a ball of red light enveloped him.

The injury on Magneto's leg was healing rapidly, and soon it was as good as new.

Magneto felt fully restored.

"Go on, Brian."

After jumping up, Magneto walked back to Brian, looking at him with clear determination.

It was obvious that Magneto hadn't given up on his idea—he was set on pushing his limits.

Seeing this, Brian didn't waste any words. He raised the gun again, pressing the muzzle against Magneto's forehead.

Finally, Professor X could stand it no longer.

"Enough, Erik."

Professor X intervened, pressing his right hand to his temple as he released his telepathic power. His consciousness poured into Magneto's mind, taking control of his movements.

Under Brian's watchful eye, 'Magneto' raised his right hand, and the gun in Brian's hand suddenly dismantled itself, falling into a pile of parts.

"Erik, don't let hatred cloud your judgment," Professor X said firmly. "The key to mastering your ability isn't anger and hatred. Try to reach for the light within you, in the deepest part of your heart."

After using Magneto's ability to disassemble the pistol, Professor X's telepathic presence entered Magneto's mind, guiding him into his innermost memories.

Together, they entered Magneto's childhood memories.

There, Magneto saw his mother and his younger, innocent self, surrounded by the warmth of his early days. To his surprise, he witnessed his mother encouraging him to practice his abilities from a very young age.

"Erik, bring this coin here," his mother said with gentle encouragement.

"Okay, Mom," young Magneto responded, nodding as he stretched out his hand. The coin moved effortlessly into his mother's palm.

He was barely able to walk, yet his control over his abilities was already natural and steady.

"I… I had forgotten this," Magneto murmured in reality, his eyes opening as he processed the memory, his face filled with a mixture of emotion and awe.

A small smile tugged at his lips, reaching almost to his ears, as a single tear slipped down his cheek.

At that moment, Magneto experienced a profound breakthrough, and his power surged, evolving beyond his previous limits as a Level 3 Mutant.

Having reached the level of a Level 4 Mutant, Magneto regained his 'lost memories'.

Now, when using his abilities, he was no longer driven by hatred and anger. Instead, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm.

Buzz.

As Magneto ascended to Level 4, the metal objects throughout Xavier Manor began to tremble. He could now sense all the metals in the entire manor with absolute clarity. He felt an unprecedented control over them.

And not only that—he sensed the range of his control over metals expanding rapidly, rising at an astonishing rate.

Raising his hands, he magnetized half of the metal in New York City, lifting it into the air.

In that moment, Magneto felt a surge of power like never before, filling him with exhilaration.

He lowered his hands, releasing the magnetized metal back into place across New York City.

Then, his gaze shifted to a large radar antenna situated 2 kilometers away.

The last time he had tried, no matter how hard he focused, he couldn't make the radar move.

But now, he felt that he could.

Under the watchful eyes of the X-Men, Magneto extended his right hand, making a simple rotating motion.

Krrr, boom.

The giant radar antenna 2 kilometers away rotated a full circle.

Magneto, who had accomplished this effortlessly, looked calm and composed. He even sensed that he could easily lift the giant radar antenna off the ground if he wanted.

"Thank you, Charles," Magneto said, looking at Professor X with a smile and offering his sincere gratitude.

Professor X returned the smile with a nod.

"Congratulations, Magneto. Congratulations on becoming a Level 4 Mutant," Beast said appreciatively.

The others joined in, congratulating Magneto on reaching Level 4.

While Magneto was absorbed in the joy of becoming a Level 4 Mutant, Brian quietly stepped away and caught up with Professor X, who was also leaving.

"Professor X, what exactly did you do to Magneto?" Brian asked.

"I just helped him revisit some happier moments from his childhood," Professor X shrugged, trying to sound casual.

Brian looked at Professor X silently, clearly skeptical.

"Alright, Brian," Professor X admitted under Brian's steady gaze. "Eric didn't have many happy memories. I had to use my ability to weave a beautiful memory for him."

"So you created a false memory for Magneto?"

Brian asked, his voice quiet but pointed. "And let his mind keep looping through it until he gained control over his power and reached Level 4? How many times did he experience this memory?"

Professor X was silent for a moment, then replied softly, "Fourteen million times."

Brian's eyes widened. "Good grief."

In the span of a single second, Magneto had experienced 14 million fabricated memories in the conscious world.

'Doctor Strange would have to step aside for you, Professor X!'

"Are all telepaths this dirty?"

Brian looked at Professor X with clear disdain.

There was no doubt that, after three days of training, Professor X's telepathic abilities had significantly strengthened.

He could now not only control others and read their thoughts and memories but could also create powerful mental illusions and fabricate false memories.

Professor X's fabricated memories felt ten thousand times more real than genuine memories. Similarly, the mental illusions he created were ten thousand times more vivid than reality.

Brian thought to himself that if he didn't have his own brain-blocking ability, he would probably keep a wide distance from Professor X.

'No, just blocking isn't safe enough. I need to find a way to truly shield my mind,' he resolved privately.

When dealing with a master who could manipulate the mind so thoroughly, Brian knew he couldn't be too careful.

As for why he didn't consider killing Professor X? Killing a telepathic Mutant of his caliber?

In the future, the Omega-level Mutant, Phoenix, Jean Grey turned Professor X's body into slag in seconds.

Didn't he transfer his psychic consciousness to a vegetative person and revive again?

To be honest, Professor X's combat power is not as good as the Black King.

But in terms of the degree of difficulty to kill, he is more difficult to kill than the Black King.

As the saying goes, "If you don't finish off the snake, it'll come back to bite you."

Brian wasn't interested in having a Level 5 telepathic Mutant watching him all time. Yet, what benefit would he gain from killing Professor X? None whatsoever.

If he wanted Professor X's telepathy ability, he could simply wait until he obtained a way to see through minds. Then, he'd have access to the power without rushing into anything dangerous.

"Did you just call me dirty? Ouch, my heart."

Hearing Brian's ridicule, Professor X was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed.

"Well, helping his companions strengthen their abilities, just slightly changing the memory.

This is nothing. And I promise, this is the last time," Professor X assured, though it seemed he was setting himself up for another round.

He then made his way to the X-enhancement room.

Now that the training of the X-Men was on track, they could simply follow the regimen laid out. Siryn Sean Cassidy, Havok Alex Summers, and Beast Hank were progressing steadily, and each of them could soon hold their own as Level 3 Mutants.

While they might still be at a disadvantage against the Hellfire Club's Level 4 Mutants, the gap was narrowing.

With that in place, the professor was ready to seek out a new Mutant.

Now, with access to the X-enhancement room, Professor X had grown accustomed to the exhilarating experience of connecting with Mutants across the globe.

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