"All right."
After the trial ended, Mordo gathered the sorcerers who had passed.
In truth, that test had only been the first step.
Those who cleared it would now be led by Mordo into the real world.
After all, the very purpose of the Sanctum sorcerers was to protect this world—
to fight against the unseen forces of darkness,
to drive out the invaders who seeped into the earthly dimension.
Dormammu was the most infamous among them, a dark sovereign feared across realms. But he was far from the only one.
Earth was riddled with dimensional intruders.
Take Mephisto, for example. He hadn't appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, but his true nature was that of the Lord of the Hell Dimension—a being equal in stature to Dormammu.
Fortunately, Mephisto's threat to Earth, as well as his strength here, was not nearly on the same level.
And…
Every dimensional lord was shackled by the rules of their own dimension.
Only within their own domain could they unleash their full might.
That was why sorcerers, led by the Supreme Sorcerer, could do little more than banish them.
Eradication was nearly impossible.
This was the essence of their work—
the very meaning of a sorcerer's existence.
And because of that, if one wished to truly become a sorcerer, it had to be proven through strength—by purging those threats firsthand.
"Next, I will take you to New York," Mordo said. "If you can eliminate even one dimensional intruder, you will be recognized as true sorcerers."
"But there's something I must emphasize." His expression hardened. "Creatures from other dimensions exist on Earth in countless numbers. Not all of them are to be destroyed."
"You must use the knowledge you've been taught to distinguish the harmful ones—and only then may you strike them down."
"And above all—remain hidden. You cannot expose yourselves to the public eye."
Standing at the Ancient One's side, Mordo spoke at length, his tone serious and unrelenting.
Among the group, only Senju Haruto and Kaguya looked indifferent.
The other six sorcerers exchanged glances, encouraging each other nervously.
"Haruto, do you have any questions?" Mordo finally turned toward Haruto and Kaguya.
Kaguya's presence, in particular, puzzled him.
She always remained at Haruto's side, yet she had never displayed even the faintest trace of magical talent.
Even now, when this mission was underway, the Ancient One had placed no restrictions on her. She was simply allowed to follow Haruto freely.
From Mordo's perspective, Kaguya seemed less like an apprentice and more like an outsider.
But since the Ancient One herself said nothing, Mordo had no grounds to object.
At most, he could offer Haruto a chance to ask questions, to clarify anything before they set out.
For once they reached New York, Mordo would act as the judge.
He would score the apprentices, evaluate their performance, and determine whether they had passed or failed.
And above all… Mordo bore a special responsibility—ensuring their safety.
In other words, if any apprentice faced an intruder they could not handle, Mordo would intervene.
But the moment he did, that apprentice would be deemed to have failed.
So if anyone had questions, now was the time.
"Let's just get started," Haruto said casually.
He had little interest in this so-called second trial.
The only reason he cared was because the test location happened to be New York—the very same city as his next sign-in point.
So there was no need to waste words.
Seeing Haruto's lack of objections, Mordo nodded toward the Ancient One, then raised his arm.
With a practiced sweep of his hand, he drew a blazing fire-ring in the air.
The shimmering portal to New York opened, and Mordo stepped through, vanishing from sight.
The six apprentices looked at one another, took deep breaths, and followed suit—tense, excited, and nervous all at once.
"Let's go too," Haruto said to Kaguya.
By rights, it would have been safer to leave her here.
But knowing her nature, if he tried, she wouldn't have agreed anyway.
She gave a small nod in reply.
"All I need to do is picture New York," Haruto muttered to himself.
He had never been there in person, but he had seen it countless times in Marvel movies.
All he had to do was recall one of those scenes.
So he pictured one vividly, rotated the fiery circle, and tore open a portal connecting directly to New York.
Normally, sorcerers were hidden figures.
Even when opening portals, they would choose remote, deserted places to avoid drawing attention.
But Haruto wasn't truly a sorcerer bound by their codes.
Why should he care about such unwritten rules?
Besides—before his reincarnation, he had only been an ordinary person, someone who'd never had the chance to travel abroad.
If not for the system's help with language, even basic communication would've been an obstacle.
So why would he bother worrying about the details now?
He stepped through the portal.
And the place he landed wasn't a street, a plaza, or some landmark of the city.
It was… someone's private garage.
Specifically—
Tony Stark's garage.
The reason was simple.
Stark was famous for collecting luxury cars. His garage was practically a set piece in the Iron Man films—an image Haruto remembered vividly.
But now, those luxury cars didn't stir the slightest interest in him.
What use did he have for cars, when he had already surpassed even the Sage of Six Paths?
Even without a Sling Ring or a portal, he could simply fly to New York in no time at all.
Kaguya was the same. She didn't even spare a glance at the colorful machines lined up around them.
But what Haruto hadn't expected was this:
Stark's garage was private property. Normally, no one should have been here—aside from a few security cameras.
As the fiery portal shrank rapidly behind him and vanished, a startled voice rang out from behind.
Haruto turned instinctively—
and saw a face strikingly familiar.
Not just familiar.
It was Tony Stark.
Dressed in a sleek tailored suit, wearing stylish sunglasses, Stark looked every bit like he was heading to a high-profile gala.
But his expression now was pure shock.
Mouth open wide, eyes darting around, he looked as though he desperately wanted someone to explain the impossible scene he had just witnessed.
"Who the hell are you?!" Stark demanded, his voice sharp with disbelief.
As one of the smartest men alive, as one of the world's most celebrated scientists, he refused to accept concepts like gods or magic.
"This… is this some kind of trick? Did Pepper hire you for this?" he asked, grasping at straws.
Haruto only gave him a brief glance, expression unreadable.
Then, without bothering to answer, he led Kaguya away from the garage.
After all—
He wasn't here to recruit Tony Stark.
And without some special membership system to guide him, why waste time trying to fool Iron Man?