"Hey, everyone's here~"
"How's your health, Ancient One? You look great lately!"
As soon as Alaric stepped into the hall, he greeted them cheerfully and with a smile.
"As long as you're not gossiping about me behind my back, I'm perfectly fine."
The Ancient One looked at him calmly, with a faint smile on her lips.
"Ahem… how could I? I always remember you only for the good things, truly!"
Alaric laughed awkwardly, trying to hide his discomfort.
"Hm." The Ancient One smirked ever so slightly.
To believe or not to believe, that is the question.
"Hey, Wong! Haven't seen you in years, you look… well, the same as always!"
He quickly changed the subject to avoid further embarrassment.
"Y-yes, yes, yes!" Wong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and immediately nodded.
"So, will you stand up on your own, or should I call you out?"
"Uh… maybe that's not really necessary, right?"
Wong looked at the Ancient One in despair, seeking salvation, but she had already closed her eyes and begun meditating.
She made it clear that she wouldn't interfere.
"Wong, you can see that Mordo and Daniel have already had a nice little 'talk' with me. If you refuse, how will you look them in the eyes tomorrow?"
Alaric spoke quite seriously, his tone leaving no room for discussion.
"Uh…" Wong wanted to say something, but when he saw Mordo and Daniel, both with swollen faces and looks full of resentment, his words vanished.
"I understand." He finally sighed and stood up, slowly walking toward Alaric.
"Well… it'll be over soon."
Alaric patted him on the shoulder, as if to comfort him, but with a satisfied expression that promised nothing good.
"Could you at least not hit the face?" Wong asked, with half a glimmer of hope in his voice.
"You think I want to?" Alaric raised an eyebrow and pulled him into the mirror dimension.
The scene that followed was too brutal for anyone to witness. The Ancient One didn't even open her eyes, and Alaric made sure everything remained far from the eyes of others.
When they returned from the mirror dimension, Wong's face was in worse shape than Mordo's or Daniel's.
His cheeks were swollen, as if he had just come out of a fight with a hammer, not a man.
Without the help of magic, recovery would take days.
Alaric sat down contentedly beside the Ancient One, observing the three swollen faces before him, finally feeling at peace.
"That's your lesson. Let this rumor-spreading be the last."
"Thank you! Thank you!" the three of them said almost in unison, deeply grateful that the punishment was over.
"And let me warn you," added Alaric, "if you try to use magic to heal before I leave, I have time. If I catch you, you'll get another round."
"Ahh… this?" Wong and Daniel looked at each other helplessly.
They wouldn't mind staying locked in the library working on magic, but Mordo…
Mordo was an instructor for apprentices; he saw people every day.
With a swollen face, how could he show up?
Even for him, known for his calm demeanor and thick skin, it was embarrassing.
"May I…?" Mordo muttered quietly, seeking even a shred of mercy.
"Well…" Alaric was about to refuse, but then the Ancient One intervened.
"Enough. A small punishment and a big warning. Let it end there."
"I understand." Alaric nodded.
The Ancient One opened her eyes and looked at the three disciples: "Return to your duties. Work diligently. If you don't make progress, Alaric will take over your training."
"Don't worry, we'll study diligently!" they replied in unison and quickly bowed.
In the next moment, they were already opening portals to escape as far as possible.
"Wait! You're taking me back!" shouted Alaric, seeing that they were about to disappear through the portals.
"If you leave like that, shouldn't I beat you again?"
The three froze, looked at each other, and closed their portals with expressions of complete despair.
Without a word, they covered their faces and, heads lowered, walked toward the exit, like three students caught stealing cookies.
Many sorcerers who met them in the hallway stared in surprise.
Someone whispered: "Wong? What happened to him?"
"What do you think? Look who returned today."
After that, no one asked further questions.
Everyone knew Alaric was back in Kamar-Taj and that someone had paid the price.
---
"Why did you suddenly come today? It's fine if the temple isn't under your supervision," asked the Ancient One, watching him with mild interest.
"I came to borrow books. I've read all the magical texts I had in the temple," Alaric replied, taking a cup of tea and sipping it lightly.
"Hm? Since when did you suddenly start loving studying?" the Ancient One raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious.
"You're not planning to do something… reckless again, are you?"
"What do you mean? I've always loved studying!" Alaric feigned innocence, widening his eyes in false righteousness. "Don't slander me."
Of course, he had other plans, he had developed the idea of creating a forbidden teleportation spell, but he had no intention of telling the Ancient One about it.
"You boy…" the Ancient One sighed, twitching the corners of her lips. "I know you're plotting something again."
"I have only one request," she continued, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Go ahead."
"As long as you don't get involved with dark dimensions and entities you can't control, I won't stop you."
The Ancient One knew she couldn't keep him under constant supervision. Instead of completely forbidding him from acting, she decided it was better to set boundaries.
Until Alaric became strong enough to resist dimensional lords, she hoped he would at least avoid contact with them, so he wouldn't die prematurely or be corrupted by their darkness.
She had great expectations for him. She wanted Alaric to one day surpass both her and Odin, to become the protector of Earth and the universe.
"Don't worry, I know my limits," Alaric said seriously, nodding.
"If only you actually knew what 'limits' mean," the Ancient One rolled her eyes.
"I'm very reasonable," Alaric replied, somewhat offended.
In his mind, he added: As long as the situation isn't hopeless, I won't provoke first. Everything's under control.
"All right. If that's all, go. I won't keep you."
The Ancient One waved her hand and closed her eyes again, sinking into meditation.
"Then I'll go to the library."
Alaric bowed and left.
...
The library was almost empty. Only Emir was there, a quiet, dedicated mage who, after Kaecilius's betrayal and the murder of the previous guardian, had taken over as the main archivist.
Since then, Wong had officially assumed that duty, but Emir had remained as his assistant.
"Alaric," Emir said with a gentle smile, "I haven't seen you for some time."
"Mr. Emir, I'll just borrow a few books, nothing special," Alaric replied, browsing the shelves.
"Go ahead, take whatever you need. Just let me know when you're done," said Emir, visibly relaxed.
It didn't even cross his mind to worry about Alaric's actions. If anyone understood and controlled magic, it was him.
"Understood," Alaric replied and immediately began scanning the titles, looking for books on magic circles and protective arrays.
After taking about a dozen volumes, he was about to leave, but something caught his eye.
On a stand, within a protective field, lay the Eye of Agamotto.
"You again," Alaric murmured, approaching it. "How come you're here again, displayed so peacefully?"
He paused, looked over his shoulder to make sure Emir wasn't paying attention, then discreetly extended his hand, took the Eye, and quietly activated true magic.
In an instant, a perfect replica formed in his hand, an identical Eye of Agamotto, while the real one was carefully returned to its place.
"I used it when I fought Dormammu… I only borrowed it temporarily. I promise!" he whispered to himself, justifying the theft with a half-smile.
He knew it would be a long time before anyone noticed anything suspicious.
If no one dared touch this relic, why would anyone check it?
Plan successfully executed.
"Mr. Emir!" Alaric called out cheerfully, hiding his small sin behind an innocent tone.
"I found the books!"