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Before setting out to find Kamar Taj, Kevin first allocated his skill points.
He gained ten points for saving Earth and one point for meeting the Avengers, totaling eleven skill points.
Combined with the previous three points, Kevin had a total of fourteen skill points, all of which he had already distributed.
First, he upgraded Deep Sea Immortality from Level 2 to Level 4.
The Level 4 Deep Sea Immortality did not disappoint Kevin.
The prerequisite for resurrection changed from "only in the sea" to "as long as there is a water source."
This means that from now on, as long as Kevin carries a bottle of water with him, or there is water nearby, even if he dies by being pulverized, he will be reborn in water.
This truly made it 'spring water everywhere in the world' for him.
Additionally, the cooldown for resurrection was drastically shortened; the Level 3 cooldown had already changed from half a year to one month.
Level 4 shortened it even more, reducing the cooldown to 72 hours.
That is, three days.
One life every three days—Kevin felt that these skill points were well spent.
As for the remaining two points, Kevin put one of them into Martial Arts.
The battles against Thanos and Ultron also made Kevin realize his current shortcomings.
His combat skills were still theoretical knowledge learned at Godolkin University, and they were a complete mess in actual combat.
Without a strong physique to support him, Kevin might not even be able to defeat Maeve if he returned to the The Boys world.
Therefore, combat skills were of paramount importance.
Level 1 Martial Arts didn't allow Kevin to master much; it simply meant that a lot of miscellaneous basic combat techniques entered Kevin's mind.
It seemed like Kevin still had to practice this himself to master it.
The remaining skill point, Kevin put into Fighter's Dance.
Fighter's Dance: The exclusive combat technique of the Deep Sea Fighter. When used, water currents surge.
The description was simple; essentially, when fighting, some automatically flowing water would appear around Kevin to assist him in attack and defense.
And Kevin could wield these water currents, attacking enemies as if swinging whips or other weapons.
Level 1 Fighter's Dance had limited abilities; it merely caused two encircling water lines to appear around his body when the skill was used, and these lines would passively attack enemies.
It also couldn't perform automatic defense.
That would probably have to wait until Level 2 or 3.
After allocating these two, Kevin's skill points were all used up, but it did unlock subsequent skill paths.
Kevin could choose to learn Swordsmanship or Runes.
"Swordsmanship, as expected, is still… hmm, not needed, right?"
After hesitating for a moment, Kevin finally decided to go the 'Rune' route in the future.
Kevin didn't use swords and didn't particularly like them; compared to swords, he preferred heavy, powerful weapons like broadswords.
Or weapons that were inherently long and could give him a distance advantage.
Moreover, most of Kevin's current system was close-quarters combat; using a sword really wasn't something he was used to.
Conversely, Runes, which had some connection to magic, were quite interesting.
Creating runes to attach to various items, or creating runes to launch as projectiles, and even using various peculiar abilities through runes…
"...Holy crap, Battle Mage!?"
Kevin had felt that this Rune system looked a bit familiar before, but only after carefully examining it now did he realize it somewhat resembled the Battle Mage system in DNF.
Runes were like Chasers.
Although many aspects were different, Kevin could indeed understand it this way.
Runes… sounded like they should have similarities with magic. Kevin thought that if Kamar Taj couldn't open a second profession, perhaps he could start with Runes.
However, the issue of Runes was put aside for now; without skill points, even if Kevin coveted Runes, he couldn't learn any skills from them.
Finding Kamar Taj was the immediate priority.
Actually, Kevin had initially thought about contacting the Kamar Taj mages at the New York Sanctum, but after some thought, Kevin felt that directly showing up and saying 'I want to learn magic' lacked sincerity.
Going to their Sanctum with the Reality Stone would look more like someone trying to cause trouble.
That's why Kevin decided to be a bit more 'sincere' and personally came to Kathmandu, Nepal, just like Doctor Strange in the movie, bringing a pilgrim's heart to search for Kamar Taj.
Despite saying that, Kevin's mood was quite relaxed.
In his opinion, it didn't matter if he couldn't find Kamar Taj; at worst, he would just go back to New York and 'cause trouble' at the New York Sanctum.
Anyway, he wasn't very interested in Marvel's borrowed magic; he just wanted to see if he could unlock his second profession through the magic here.
Incidentally, Kevin also wanted to relax.
Thinking about it, from the moment he arrived in the Marvel World until now, Kevin seemed to have never truly relaxed seriously.
First, he went to prison, then he escaped, fought Ronan and Thanos, and then Ultron.
There was hardly any opportunity to relax during this time.
Now, he could truly travel the world as a traveler.
To become a true traveler.
Kevin wandered around Kathmandu. Based on his impressions, he went to places related to Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, hoping to try his luck and see if he could enter Kamar Taj.
But unfortunately, Kevin found nothing.
His perception of energy, while not entirely absent, could be described as extremely weak.
Perceiving energy, magic, or other miscellaneous things was basically something Kevin couldn't do.
He could only rely on the passive skill, Deep Sea Heart, to hear some special sounds and increase his perception of certain powers.
So, for him to find Kamar Taj through some ethereal magical emanation was basically impossible.
Therefore, in the end, Kevin could only use the clumsy method.
Asking one by one.
Just like Doctor Strange.
To his delight, Kevin didn't have to ask for long before he saw a mage from Kamar Taj.
"Are you looking for Kamar Taj?"
At dusk, a black man found Kevin and asked him this question.
This black man was a mage, a mage from Kamar Taj.
Kevin had asked many people while searching for Kamar Taj today, and this place was considered one of Kamar Taj's strongholds. Naturally, news of someone inquiring about Kamar Taj would reach the mages' ears.
The black man, Mordo, or rather, Baron Mordo, was the mage responsible for meeting Kevin.
He could be considered the guide for all mages; most Mystery Pryers of magic who came to Nepal would be led to Kamar Taj by him.
Now, Kevin was no different.
Seeing that the mage in front of him was a black man, Kevin guessed his identity.
He smiled slightly and said with a sincere attitude:
"Yes, it's me. I want to go to Kamar Taj to learn magic."
"Then follow me."
Mordo didn't doubt or inquire further.
After knowing Kevin's purpose, he turned and led Kevin out of the crowd, heading straight for Kamar Taj.
Passing through the crowd, through a few not-so-bustling streets, in a small alley, Kevin finally saw Kamar Taj in this world.
Indeed, just like in the movie, it was an inconspicuous, somewhat dilapidated small house.
"Is this it?"
Seeing Mordo stop, Kevin looked at him.
Mordo nodded, then suddenly said with a hint of surprise:
"I thought you would ask me."
"Ask what?"
"Why Kamar Taj looks so dilapidated."
Indeed, Kamar Taj's facade was very dilapidated. Compared to it, the more bustling temple across the street looked more like Kamar Taj.
Kevin, who already knew the plot, smiled slightly upon hearing this and said meaningfully:
"A mountain is not famous for its height, but for it's who lives on that mountain. As long as there are true mages here, what does the appearance of Kamar Taj matter?"
"Hmm, that's the first time I've heard that. It seems you have a strong connection here. Please come in."
Facing Kevin's somewhat pretentious remark, Mordo showed no particular reaction. He simply praised him and then led Kevin into the room.
Kevin, who had put on a show for nothing, scratched the back of his head with a bit of embarrassment.
But he wasn't thin-skinned; he quickly regained his calm demeanor and followed Mordo into Kamar Taj.
Passing through a long corridor, Mordo led Kevin to a very quiet room.
Here, there were no walls blocking the four sides, only grid-like wooden screens connected to the surrounding load-bearing pillars.
The dim yellow sunlight of the evening shone through the screen's grids onto the floor, casting ethereal smoky shadows.
Incense was lit on both sides, and although there were no other visible light sources around, the hall was incredibly bright.
After Kevin entered this room, which resembled a monastic cell, several people came forward to greet him.
His coat was taken off, and a teacup was handed to him.
A bald woman personally brewed tea for Kevin.
"?"
No, wait.
Ancient One personally brewing tea for me? Is something wrong?
Kevin, whose gaze had returned from the room's layout, first saw the bald woman in front of him and quickly recognized her identity.
It was the current Supreme Mage, Ancient One.
She was actually personally brewing tea for Kevin.
This was a privilege reserved for the next Supreme Mage, Strange!
"What? Surprised?"
Kevin's surprised expression was too obvious for Ancient One to miss.
After pouring tea for Kevin, she smiled and asked, extending her hand to motion for Kevin to sit on the chair in the center of the room.
"Indeed, very surprised. You… should know who I am."
Kevin took the tea, sat down on the chair, and asked in confusion.
Mordo might not know, but Ancient One, who had been monitoring the entire Earth, should be well aware that Kevin was an 'outsider.'
Even if Ancient One didn't know Kevin came from another universe, she at least knew Kevin was an alien.
Facing such an 'alien,' Ancient One's attitude was surprisingly kind, which indeed surprised Kevin.
"Of course, I know. And perhaps I understand who you are even better than you do yourself."
Ancient One waved her hand, signaling the bewildered Mordo to leave, and remained alone in the room to converse with Kevin face-to-face.
Seeing Ancient One sit down in front of him, ready to chat, Kevin became interested:
"So, you were waiting for me?"
"You could say that. I also know you want to come here to learn magic, but I can tell you very clearly that the magic here is not suitable for you."
Ancient One finished speaking, then suddenly smiled again,
"But, if it's just as a catalyst, for you, it's just right."
Catalyst…
As soon as Ancient One said this, Kevin understood.
Leaving aside whether Ancient One truly understood Kevin himself.
But at least one thing was certain.
Ancient One, she indeed knew what Kevin needed now.
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