[Peter's first person POV]
This is dope. I can tell that I'm stronger than before and this weird feeling inside my body, it's as if every cell in my body is itching for something. I can sense the mystical energy seeping through every corner of the Earth. It's intoxicating. And this exo skeleton armor, I can manipulate it to transform according to my needs. It's as if a symbiote is wrapped around me.
"You are thinking of leaving right now to meet your family, right?" The Ancient One suddenly said with her usual stoic expression, but I can tell that she's kinda happy for some reason. Weird.
"Not yet. Since I'm here, teach me. I was too arrogant and careless last time. I don't want to face such a situation again. So, teach me magic and help me understand my power or something," I asked her. This is my last resort. As much as I would like to meet them, I can't go there in my condition. Although the exo skeleton armor is under my control, what if another weird freaky power pops up? Can't take that chance. Before I leave this place, I'll learn magic and master my spidey power.
"Hmm," She rubbed her fingers across her face with a contemplating look, "Very well. Let us begin your training, Peter Parker."
She teleported me to the training ground with a flick of her finger. There was a group of newbies in orange training clothes, practicing the classic transportation portal spell.
I watched them create portals, some successful while some failed.
"Peter Parker, stand next to them," She ordered me with a serious tone.
[Zoooo!] Wow! She used magic to change my clothes. It was weird and creepy. I can feel a new underwear appearing out of nowhere and it's a fit. I looked down and saw myself wearing an orange training cloth with a symbol of the Kamar Taj. Then she gave me those magic rings to wear like the rest of the students.
"I'm sure you won't have a problem mimicking their movements. Feel the flow of magic and focus. Imagine the garden we were standing in a few moments ago and open a portal," She instructed me as she walked behind everyone and started observing them individually.
Alright! Here goes nothing.
I copied them as they waved their hands and imagined the garden clearly with its green grass, oak trees, and stone buildings as I tried opening a portal, but nothing happened. Damn! I repeated it a few times, but it didn't work. I tried imagining the garden with better clarity and even closed my eyes to visualize everything clearly, but still nothing.
Wait! I can see orangish sparks as a faint rune or whatever it is called appeared before my eyes briefly. I can do it. After eight months, I got a new chance and I won't let it go to waste. I know what's wrong here. I am thinking too much about it and trying to run where I'm supposed to walk. I'm getting frustrated and restless right now because I doubt I've ever failed this many times in a row.
Yeah! Focus...
I took a deep breath and relaxed my mind as I imagined the garden again while waving my hands and orange sparks appeared briefly again. Just relax, Pete. You got this. I calmed my mind and controlled my breathing. I imagined those weird magic lines around the garden.
[Sizzzle!] [Crackle!] As I opened my eyes I saw a round portal and beyond it was the garden I just imagined. Success!
That's just the tip of the iceberg...
"Good job. It took Stephen quite a while to use this spell. I had to throw him into the North Pole for motivation," Ancient One patted my shoulder as she praised me with a proud smile.
Yeah, I know. I don't even want to imagine where she would have thrown me had I failed repeatedly.
Anyway, I repeated the spell multiple times until it became easier and the portal appeared faster.
------
After eight days of gruesome training with the Ancient One, she finally allowed me to enter the Kamar Taj library.
I spent most of my time reading various books related to magic and some ancient history. Sadly, I'm not allowed to go into the forbidden section. Oh, well, no need to rush. Let's take one step at a time.
While reading books about magic, I learned more about these mystic arts and how they function. My theory about these mystic arts being similar to science turned out to be true. But the only difference is that instead of using science rules, they use magic rules. They manipulate mystical energy by following certain rules to cast spells. It's fascinating.
Those magic threads I keep seeing after coming out of the Astral Plane are what connects everything together like the web.
While I was engrossed in reading, I didn't even notice when Wanda entered the library. Yeah, I got Spidey Power, but that Ancient One forbade me from using them. She tried to seal off my power, but thanks to my Immunity power, it failed. Since her power doesn't work on me, she made me wear some kind of metal rings around my fingers that suppress my power. It's hard, but I'm getting used to it.
"Peter Parker," She greeted me with a stoic expression as she sat opposite me with a bag of food that she must have gotten from Dr. Strange.
I glanced at her for a moment and went back to the books, "You do know, you can't bring food into the library, right?" I reminded her. I didn't want to get in trouble for eating in the library.
"Don't you get bored of eating fruits and veggies all day? I mean, you haven't eaten anything for almost eight or nine months, and then for the last eight days, you've been eating fruits and veggies. Don't you want something else?" Wanda argued with me as she placed the food between us on the table.
Girl you have no idea how long I can go without eating fancy food or no food at all. Haaa... Bad memories flashed before my eyes when those lunatics were performing experiments on me. They didn't give me any food, just some tasteless gooey liquid laced with poison. Damn! To think I survived years like that. Anyone in my place would have found a way to somehow kill themselves, but not me.
Anyway, I sighed heavily as I put the book aside and opened a portal to the rooftop, "Come on, better safe than sorry..." I urged her to move.
Wanda smiled slightly as she picked up the bag of food and jumped into the portal. I followed her and closed it afterward. We sat down on the ledge of the roof looking down at the beautiful snowy mountains below. One would think it's cold up here, but there's a magic dome protecting this place and keeping the temperature in check.
Ah! When you have magic, there is no need for AC or heater. How cool is that?
"So... Spicey meat burger. I thought you were a vegan," I asked Wanda as I unwrapped the burger and took a big bite.
"Yeah, when you go through certain situations, you gotta adjust accordingly. And food is one of them," She replied while taking a sip from her cola bottle.
"Can't argue with that. So, what's new?" I asked as I munched on the burger while enjoying the view. "Heard you got an earful from Wong yesterday. What happened?" I teased her as I finished my burger within seconds and grabbed another one from the bag.
Wanda frowned as she recalled the scolding Wong gave her yesterday, "Yeah... Apparently, I messed up during meditation. He kept telling me that I wasn't concentrating enough. It's hard to focus with all these thoughts going through my head constantly."
"Talk to me," I urged her as I focused on chewing my burger slowly so that I could listen to Wanda.
Wanda stared at me with conflicted emotions flashing in her eyes for a moment before sighing heavily, "You sure you want to hear my story? It's nothing special. It's just that I don't know if what I want to do is right or wrong."
"Go on, it's the least I can do for someone who took care of me for eight months without a complaint," I assured her with a genuine smile.
Wanda stared into my eyes for a moment to find any signs of lies, but she couldn't find any. Finally, she sighed heavily and began narrating her life story.
*****
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⭐Read 17 advance Chapters⭐
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Next, Ch: 110: Spidey & Scarlet Witch
Ch: 111: Wanda's weird confession
Ch: 112: Training & fun
Ch: 113: Magic & Chi
Ch: 114: New threats rising
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