"I can't sell this to people in this world. It'd be exposed too easily," Morin thought. "If I sell it to someone from another world, they'd have to hate the Ancient One enough to buy it. But selling it to her enemies just for money... that feels a bit much."
After thinking it through, Morin ran into a very serious problem.
The video in his hand was extremely rare and extremely valuable-but only to people who actually needed it. And as someone who still had a conscience, Morin couldn't quite bring himself to sell it to the Ancient One's enemies.
"Indeed. I'm just too kind-hearted..." Morin sighed toward the sky.
It seemed this chance to get rich overnight would just rot in his hands.
At that moment, his gaze sharpened.
Within the layers of arrays he had set up-electromagnetic fields, telepathic interference, spatial monitoring-he sensed abnormal fluctuations.
Space was distorting.
And not on a small scale.
This wasn't something normal teleportation could cause. Under that level of distortion, the teleport-shielding arrays Morin had arranged shattered like paper.
Morin put the USB drive away and flashed to the front of the distortion. With a wave of his hand, he deployed another set of arrays.
Not to stop the space from tearing open.
But to block ordinary people from seeing it through any means.
This wasn't the future yet. It wasn't the era where Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, and others flew around daily, with small battles every three days and big ones every five. Compared to that time-even with the occasional "Free America, daily shootings" incident-this world was still relatively peaceful.
Morin had no intention of breaking that peace.
"Distortion at this level..." He sensed the spatial warping through magic, frowning slightly. "Who's coming? And from how far away?"
When the distortion reached its limit, space finally cracked.
Green light leaked through the fissures.
Natural-looking.
That green glow came from the spatial tunnel beyond the裂纹.
Morin remained calm on the surface, but his guard rose.
The fissure expanded, then shattered completely.
A man stepped out.
Morin paused.
This guy's looks could actually rival his own.
"Are you... the Sorcerer Supreme here?" The man looked at Morin, hesitated, then asked.
"Not yet, strictly speaking. The succession ceremony is tomorrow. After that, yes." Morin answered calmly, eyes flickering. There was no need to hide it. The fact the man asked before Morin spoke meant he'd already judged it somehow. "I'm Morin."
"Great." The man sighed in relief. "Finally not that damn Ancient One."
Morin: "???"
Enemy?
"Don't misunderstand." The man chuckled, as if seeing through Morin's thoughts. "I'm also a Sorcerer Supreme. I was scammed once, so I don't get along with any version of the Ancient One."
"My name's Russell-hiss!"
Halfway through speaking, Russell suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?" Morin asked.
"Brother," Russell stared at him, eyes practically glowing. "What's your Golden Finger? You're strong. Are we from the same hometown?"
Morin: "???"
What is wrong with this guy?
A short while later.
The two sat facing each other in Morin's temporary residence. Morin had prepared wine, peanuts, and assorted kebabs.
When fellow countrymen meet, their eyes fill with tears.
After a brief chat, Morin learned that Russell was also from Earth.
Not this Earth.
But the real Earth-one with absolutely no supernatural powers.
After checking details, they confirmed they weren't from the exact same Earth, but that hardly mattered.
They were still hometown bros.
What made Morin slightly envious was that Russell could return to his original world whenever he wanted.
The gap between them was huge.
After Morin voiced his envy, Russell shook his head. "Brother, don't worry. You'll definitely have a chance to go home later. Time won't even be an issue then. I'm the unlucky one-my trash system comes with a retarded AI and barely any power."
"Mine isn't great either..." Morin sighed.
"Sigh."
They sighed together, clinked glasses, and drank them dry.
Kindred spirits.
The two Golden Fingers: "Bah! Getting bargains and acting like victims!"
"By the way," Morin said, "you mentioned earlier you were scammed by the Ancient One?"
As a photographer-and a conscientious, professional video merchant-Morin immediately smelled business.
"Scammed doesn't even begin to cover it," Russell shook his head. "It was a massive pit. That old man-or woman-just forced the Sorcerer Supreme position on me. I didn't even know it existed. I nearly died of exhaustion."
"That actually happened?" Morin sucked in a breath.
"You know faces, not hearts." Russell sighed. "Little brother, you probably don't realize this yet. Every single Sorcerer Supreme in that lineage is black-hearted and petty."
Morin: "..."
Did you just insult yourself?
"They look dignified on the surface. Behind the scenes? Completely different."
Morin nodded slightly, recalling the hellish scene he'd witnessed involving the Ancient One. He felt deep empathy.
"So you're taking over tomorrow?" Russell asked. "Succession ceremony?"
"Yeah. Signed a contract with the Ancient One."
"How many years?"
"Ten."
"Being Sorcerer Supreme is exhausting." Russell lowered his voice. "Did she give you compensation?"
"...Do magic books count?" Morin asked.
"I knew it!" Russell slapped his thigh. "Another black-hearted one!"
Morin: "!"
I got scammed?!
How did I not notice?
"Ten years of work. Three hundred sixty-five days a year. No days off. On duty every single day, full shifts. And she offsets that with a few magic books?" Russell shook his head. "Everything she gave you is stuff you should already have as Sorcerer Supreme anyway. Passing the job to you early is just so she can go have fun."
His expression was pained, like he was watching another innocent hometown bro fall into the same pit.
Petty as he was, meeting someone from home made Russell feel close.
Like seeing his past self.
Just as handsome.
Maybe a tiny bit more.
As a senior, Russell looked at Morin like a fresh newbie. For a moment, he didn't even plan to pull anything sneaky.
"I see..." Morin said slowly.
"But it's too late." Russell consoled him. "Contract's signed. Breaking it's a bigger loss. Just think of it as normal compensation and you'll feel better."
Morin went silent.
Why did he feel fine before Russell spoke, but instantly annoyed afterward?
This wasn't comforting at all.
So he spoke up.
"But I think I have something here. Brother Russell, want to take a look?"
"What is it?"
Morin took out the video.
The edited version.
Before delivery, it was absolutely impossible to show the full video-especially to someone like Russell. A person like him definitely had a way to record it directly.
Ever since Russell appeared, Morin had tried telepathy.
Completely ineffective.
That alone told him this man wasn't weak.
In fact, none of Morin's other abilities worked on him either.
This person is strong. I can't win.
With that realization, Morin adjusted his mindset immediately.
Of course, he still mentally complained about Russell calling his Golden Finger trash.
Who would believe that?
But some of Russell's words hit uncomfortably close to home.
Like the part about ten years of Sorcerer Supreme compensation.
Thinking about it that way...
He really did lose out.
And if he lost, he needed to make it back.
And to make it back, he needed something valuable.
Money.
Money was experience points.
So, under the premise of being scammed by the Ancient One, selling a video of her social-death scene...
That was called returning a pit with a pit.
And the buyer wasn't even her mortal enemy.
Just another victim.
Through the Eye of Agamotto, Morin confirmed Russell's identity. Suddenly, he remembered a name a friend had once mentioned before he crossed over.
Russell.
Didn't that match?
What was that book called again?
The End of All Worlds?
"If I ever get back to Earth, I'll read it," Morin noted silently.
By the time he finished thinking, the video ended.
The frame froze exactly on the "Woooo" moment-when Morin turned the corner and saw the Ancient One raising her hands.
"Good stuff." Russell's eyes lit up.
His evaluation of Morin rose another notch.
Any hometown bro who became a colleague wouldn't be simple.
Used at the right time, shown to the right person...
This video's impact would be unimaginable.
After all.
It was a social-death scene.
"Absolutely good stuff. A true story," Morin promoted confidently. "In your hands, it can create immense value."
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Russell nodded repeatedly. "Price?"
"In the hands of someone who doesn't understand it, it's worth zero." Morin smiled. "In the hands of the right person, it's priceless."
"Then I have to give you a proper price." Russell pulled out a card.
"This is..." Morin checked it, then took it.
"Good stuff." Russell winked. "Very high value."
Morin almost lost his voice.
The moment he touched the card, information flooded his mind.
[Copy Card · Hades, King of the Underworld (Defective)]
[Soul Ownership]: Removes the binding between a designated soul and the laws of that plane.
[I Am Death]: Death is the weapon in your hand.
(Note: Grants power and subordinate authority equivalent to Hades for one hour.
Because the original power is too vast to copy completely, use with caution.
May not defeat Multiversal-level beings, but can easily crush Single-Universe-level ones.)
"That guy was strong," Russell muttered, lips twitching. "Just too flashy. Anyway, this thing's useless to me now. Call it payment."
"Of course." Morin answered without hesitation.
If his mental fortitude were weaker-if he hadn't already guessed-he'd be drenched in cold sweat right now.
From the card alone, it was obvious.
This man was terrifyingly strong.
His Golden Finger was absolutely powerful.
Some kind of card or copy system.
In short, a Multiversal-level existence or higher.
Otherwise, how could he call this useless?
For the first time in a long while, Morin felt like he was dancing on a blade.
People beyond people.
Heavens beyond heavens.
"The full video's here." Morin immediately placed the USB drive on the table.
"Thanks." Russell smiled. "I'll come drink with you again later."
He vanished.
Only Morin remained, holding the card, quietly reminding himself to stay cautious.
Hide first.
Then act.
However...
After waiting a while.
Morin's expression stiffened.
Why didn't his experience points increase?
...
The next day.
Morin returned to Kamar-Taj.
Yesterday, he'd been a tourist.
Today, he was the soon-to-be-official Sorcerer Supreme.
For now, only he and the Ancient One knew.
If anyone else did, it was probably Kaecilius.
Whether he jumped out or not didn't really matter.
Kamar-Taj was unusually crowded.
Morin didn't care.
He had already figured it out.
That amazing payment hadn't increased his experience at all-not even a little.
The card wasn't fake.
It wasn't broken.
It was just that-
Either Russell's strength exceeded his Golden Finger's calculation limit, or there was some kind of conflict.
In any case, aside from serving as an ultimate life-saving trump card, it was functionally useless.
...
Actually.
That wasn't too bad either.