Chapter Twenty-Nine: Learning Magic

“By the way, you said mutants also passively absorb dark energy?”
“Yes.”
The Ancient One glanced at Michael, as if she knew what he was thinking.
“Not everyone is suited to learning magic. Magic is based on words and symbols—it requires a high level of understanding, and, secondly, control.”
“Mutants’ abilities are fixed. They can’t change the form of their powers, only release them in a single way, so they are destined to find it difficult to become sorcerers.”
Michael nodded in understanding.
In other words, mutants are like a fixed formula: you input numbers and get calculations, but you can’t solve anything outside that formula.
“So where should I start learning?”
The Ancient One led Michael to a bookshelf.
“If I’m not mistaken, this entire bookshelf contains basic knowledge. Finish it first.”
A bookshelf?
Michael looked it over: three meters tall, ten meters wide, with each book averaging six centimeters thick.
Are you kidding me?
Even Doctor Strange didn’t memorize an entire bookshelf when he started learning magic.
The Ancient One looked at Michael and said, “You’re different from others. Most just borrow magical power from Vishanti, but you must learn to cultivate and transform it yourself. In application, you need to learn much more.”
Well, simply put, it’s the difference between a crash course and an advanced program.
“All right.”
Michael pulled out a book:
“The Origin of the Dark Elves.”
He looked helplessly at the Ancient One. Do you take me for a fool? Is this really basic magical knowledge? Isn’t this more like a novel, a biography, or history?
The Ancient One saw what Michael was thinking and explained, “The Sanctuary’s classification places books of similar type or depth together, so the contents are quite varied. Still, knowing the basics of other races was a compulsory course two hundred years ago.”
“And now?”

Michael was a little puzzled.
“Now the Dark Elves haven’t visited for over a hundred years, so people are too lazy to read this book. But there are still plenty of Dark Elf relics in the world—there might be treasures or traps inside. If you know nothing, you could pay with your life.”
“On the other hand, if you’re familiar with the ways of the Dark Elves, you could obtain countless treasures.”
The Ancient One sighed and said to Michael, “Young people today are all ignorant, lacking the patience to read what the sages left behind. I have high hopes for you, don’t let me down.”
She patted Michael’s shoulder and turned away.
Indeed, the Dark Elves left the Aether particles on Earth, which seem to be the Reality Stone, possessing the ability to rewrite reality.
That bunch of Dark Elves couldn’t master the Reality Stone and transformed it into Aether particles. No matter the limit or power, Aether particles are inferior to the Reality Stone.
But Aether particles have one advantage: whoever absorbs them can use them.
Just like Thor’s girlfriend Jane Foster, a mere mortal absorbed the Aether particles and wasn’t immediately doomed.
After flipping through a few books, Michael found they weren’t as thick as he’d thought. The special paper used was much heavier than ordinary paper, so while they looked five or six centimeters thick, there were only about a hundred pages. And so, Michael began his journey of learning magic.
Unlike Doctor Strange, who specialized in stealing advanced spellbooks, perhaps because he didn’t intend to use magic to heal himself, Michael read whatever he got, adapting as needed. After reading so many books, he gained some understanding of the Nine Realms.
What interested him most was the banished Tenth Realm—Heaven.
That is the world of angels, but from the legends of Heaven and angelic faith that began in medieval Earth, it seems they visited Earth during that time.
Exiled, yet still coming out to spread their faith—Michael couldn’t understand such a strange move.
Still, he had already learned the conversion of magical power, and could construct simple patterns using it.
The Ancient One must have instructed Wong to let Michael borrow books as he pleased.
The Ancient One also appreciated Michael’s focus. In some respects, Michael seemed even more talented than Doctor Strange.
Thus, she had the fleeting thought of keeping Michael.
Then she dismissed it—Michael hadn’t signed a contract with Vishanti, so their blessing couldn’t reach him. If she passed the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to Michael, the trio of Vishanti would be quite troubled.
Having read so many books, Michael now had a bit of knowledge about everything: crafting mystical scrolls, potions, magical items, arrays, and more.
During this period, Michael discovered a marvelous kind of magic: teleportation.

The Ancient One appeared behind Michael. “You’ve discovered a remarkable spell.”
“Before the Sling Ring was invented, sorcerers wanting to use portals had to learn this spell. A great sorcerer once lamented its complexity, so he created the first version of the portal. Later, another sorcerer invented the more portable Sling Ring, and now it’s an essential item for all sorcerers.”
The Ancient One sighed again, her mood heavy. “But it may not be a good thing. If the Sling Ring is lost, sorcerers could find themselves trapped.”
Michael thought of Doctor Strange.
As Sorcerer Supreme, he was trapped in his own Mirror Dimension by Spider-Man and couldn’t get out. Perhaps he is the disgrace of all Sorcerer Supremes.
Michael pursed his lips—since the Ancient One wouldn’t give him magical items, he’d have to learn to craft them himself.
He could make his own set of magical items when the time came.
“Master Ancient One, may I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Master Ancient One, the Sanctuary teaches white magic—why is there only defensive magic and not healing magic?”
The Ancient One thought for a moment, then understood Michael’s reasoning.
“Firstly, white magic refers to defensive magic. You should already know that healing magic and wood elemental magic belong to life magic. Black magic refers to offensive, destructive, and chaotic magic, with a progressive order. White magic was developed specifically to counter black magic, so all spells here are defensive.”
“I’m sorry, but apart from defensive and spatial magic, there are no other types here. If you want to learn elemental or healing magic, you’ll need to go to the Kharios Library, but I don’t know where it is.”
“As for black magic, you’ll have to search for the Book of Darkness. That thing is like a cursed tome—wherever it appears, disaster follows. I advise you not to seek it.”
Michael replied, “There seems to be some black magic here as well.”
The Ancient One raised a brow—he had noticed already?
“Yes, but they are all forbidden books, confiscated from evil sorcerers or heretics. If any sorcerer can’t resist temptation, their magic is revoked and they are expelled.”
Michael was speechless—so this is a trap, then.