1,276Chapter 31. Time passes
"You certainly are full of surprises, Mr. Hunt," the Ancient One said as she glanced at the large portrait wrapped in a blanket. "I was prepared for a lot, but not this."
I didn't even bother to reply; Sal did it for me, his voice muffled thanks to the blanket. "You must forgive me for meeting you like this, Ancient One. I would rather that no one aside from you knew about my presence in Kamar-Taj. That is, of course, if you have nothing against me going with those two."
"Not at all, Master Slytherin," the woman smiled. "I'm looking forward to learning many interesting things from you. Your pupil has already turned the tides of fate; I can only wonder how your presence will affect it."
The old wizard snorted. "Hopefully, not too much. My time has long since passed. Taking the role of a teacher for those two brats is more than enough for me."
"We will see about that," the Ancient One responded as if she knew something we didn't. Which honestly might be the case. Time stone fuckery and all of that.
I cleared my throat to catch everyone's attention. "We should get going. Someone might see us if we stick around for too long."
"I made sure it won't be an issue, but you are right, Mr. Hunt. Let us depart. Kamar-Taj is waiting." As the ancient woman said that, she swung her hand, summoning a large blazing portal before us. "Shall we?"
After a quick look at the completely alien room on the other side of the portal, I nodded at Laura. She nodded in return, and we picked up Sal's portrait.
"Say goodbye to Hogwarts; we won't be back for a while," I chuckled.
"Bah!" Salazar scoffed. "I have been sitting there for centuries. You won't hear me complain anytime soon. Now go brat! Stop delaying."
I rolled my eyes while Laura wore a big grin on her face. "Why does it sound like you are more excited about this than us?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, brat."
"Sure, sure," I chuckled and passed through the portal with Laura. I scanned the room and laughed again when I realized that this was the same place where the Ancient One taught Doctor Strange.
"Something's wrong, Mr. Hunt?" The sorceress asked as she joined them, closing the portal behind her.
I shook my head, a grin still on my face. "Nah. I just can't believe that I'm really here. Kamar-Taj, the main headquarters of the Masters of Mystic Arts. I was supposed to be at Hogwarts for another few years, yet here I am."
The Ancient One smiled. "The path of life is often unpredictable. You can never truly know what will happen next."
Ironic coming from someone who abuses the hell outta the Time stone, but okay. I shrugged, pushing those thoughts out of my mind. "So what now? Where do we begin? Laura is still on a timer, so there is no time to waste."
"Oh, relax, lad," Sal grumbled from under the cover. "You have just arrived in a completely new country, full of secrets to discover and culture to experience. Settle first and then get to work. Like I told you, stop worrying so much; a few hours or even days isn't much."
Before I could argue, the Ancient One added. "As Master Slytherin said, for now, we will do nothing. Today and tomorrow are for you two to settle and adjust to life at Kamar-Taj. After that, we can start your training. So please follow me, and I will show you your rooms."
Again, I opened my mouth, trying to say something, only to be cut off again. "And Mr. Hunt? When was the last time you and Ms. Kinney had some time to truly rest?" I blinked and closed my mouth. "Exactly my point. Enjoy this break, children. Now please, after me."
My shoulders slumped as I silently followed the old woman. Laura giggled next to me, but I just decided to ignore her. Had to try to save at least a bit of my dignity.
Who the hell wants to relax anyway...
"Gotta be honest, I expected a bit more," I muttered, scanning the short magical street from top to bottom.
While Diagon Alley was anything but ordinary, this place could almost be mistaken for a mundane shopping district. The only things that made this street stand out were the crowd of people dressed in various robes and the strange items visible through the shops' windows.
"This magical community is much smaller than the one in Britain, child. You came to the wrong country if you were looking for something special," noted a portly man wearing traditional sorcerer attire.
I sighed, knowing well I should have expected an answer like that. Master Wong definitely wasn't one for small talk, at least not with a kid a few decades younger than him. He also didn't look too happy to be acting as a guide and translator during my trip to the magical district of Nepal.
Still, can't say I expected to meet another important character so soon. Now if only he didn't have such a big stick up in his ass.
Not that I was complaining. Despite the man's passive-aggressive attitude, he was quite helpful regarding the culture of both mundane and magical Nepal. This was most likely also the reason why the Ancient One chose him to help me.
Ah whatever. I shook my head and looked at the Master of Mystic Arts next to me. "So, which one is the apothecary?"
"Follow me," Wong said and stepped forward, joining the busy crowd of the small magical street with a name I couldn't even pronounce. "Do you have a list of ingredients?"
I nodded, reaching into the pocket of my pants and retrieving a small note. "Here."
The Sorcerer accepted the paper and scanned it from top to bottom. As he finished, his brow furrowed. "That's quite the list. Many of those are dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced potioneer."
"Ancient One verified it and agreed to provide me with the funds to buy everything," I explained, even though the man already knew that. "No worries, Master Wong, everything I plan will be done under supervision."
Even if it's just a portrait that can't do much if something goes wrong. I added in the safety of my mind. And the less said about the many rituals Sal has planned for me, the better.
"I see," Wong muttered. "Stay close to me and let me do the talking. People here don't like foreigners. Even less those who can't speak the local language."
Why am I not surprised. I withheld a snort and nodded. It wasn't like the British magical community was any better. Casual racism was everywhere, it seemed.
After a bit more walking, we stepped into a small dusty shop. It was filled with shelves full of all kinds of ingredients that instantly caught my eye. I almost approached one of the walls, but a sharp look from Wong stopped me.
Fine, fine. I rolled my eyes and followed the Sorcerer to the counter. The shopkeeper there greeted Wong with a big smile. They talked for a bit in Nepali before my list of ingredients finally came into play.
The old man behind the counter spared me a short glance, but aside from that, it didn't look like there were any problems. At last, the shopkeeper disappeared into the backroom, giving me a chance to speak.
"So, how did it go? Can we get everything here?"
Wong nodded. "We should. Old Aadi is the best supplier in the whole country. If he doesn't have it, I doubt anyone else will."
There is always the black market. I noted but wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud. The Sorcerer already thought I was an arrogant brat. No reason to make his opinion of me even worse.
Once a few minutes passed, maybe less, the shopkeeper returned with a large cloth sack in hand. He placed it on the counter and addressed Wong again. It was obvious what they were talking about as a moment later, the Sorcerer passed a bag full of coins to the older man. Then, they both checked the contents of each pouch and nodded at each other.
With that, Wong spun on his heel and walked towards the exit with the sack in hand. I quickly followed, joining him on the street outside.
"That was fast," I admitted.
"As I mentioned, Aaid knows what he is doing," the Sorcerer said before giving me a firm look. "Can we return now, or is there anything else you need?"
I scratched my head, looking around the alley. "I would love to browse through the local bookstore, but there ain't much point in that if I can't read the language... So aside from that, I need only one more thing, a wand."
"Not happening," Wong stated right away.
My eyebrows jumped towards my hairline. "What?"
"I said, not happening. Nobody here will sell a foreigner a working wand. It goes against their tradition."
The sudden anger in my veins vanished with Wong's explanation. However, it did nothing to fix my problem. I had to get a wand. Wandless magic could only get me so far if I couldn't practice spells with a proper focus beforehand.
"Fuck," I muttered. "So you're telling me I need to go to another country to get a proper wand?"
"Not necessarily," Wong shook his head as we walked towards the alley's exit. "Our Order has gathered quite a few wands over the centuries. I'm sure that if you ask, the Ancient One will allow you access to the storage. You may find a suitable focus there."
"But not perfect one," I grumbled.
"Indeed," the Sorcerer said, and that was the end of our conversation.
Soon, we left the magical district, and once we found a spot away from the public, Wong created a portal for us to go back to the temple. I stepped through right away, my head full of plans in the face of this new complication.
Of course, not everything could have gone smoothly...
I sidestepped another jab at my shoulder, twirling away and trying to deliver a sweep to my enemy. The woman in front of me barely moved as she blocked my leg and pushed it away.
I stumbled but, with a quick roll, dived out of the way of a lunge that would have probably ended the fight at this moment. With sweat rolling down my brow, I jumped back into the fray, throwing a quick punch and following it with a low uppercut.
The woman just smiled slightly and evaded it all, flowing between my attacks like water. I scowled and continued my assault, kicking, punching, and even trying to go for a grab. And yet, nothing worked. Hell, my foe moved only a single step during this entire exchange.
And then it began.
She pounced like a tiger, throwing jab after jab. I evaded and deflected some while flinching away from the others as they struck my sore muscles. Every single time she attacked, I had to take a step back, losing more and more ground.
Shit. Gotta do something.
Just then, I spotted an opening in the woman's stance. Knowing it was my last chance at landing a hit, I blocked another jab and slipped past her guard, ready to give her some of her own medicine.
Only that never happened.
Within a blink, I found myself on my back, gasping for breath. My enemy, a short Chinese woman, stood above me, her lips quirked in a slight grin. I closed my eyes and let my head hit the hard ground with a groan.
"That hurt," I muttered.
"It was supposed to," she answered, her thick accent echoing in her every word.
"Yes, yes, pain is the best teacher," I grumbled, opening one eye to glance at the woman. "I think you are just a sadist, Master Yingyue."
"Am I now?" Her smile turned dangerous. "Maybe I should kick up your training a notch."
I snorted and raised myself to a sitting position. "If you do that, I may as well jump off the guard tower. The result will be the same."
"Funny," Yingyue said dryly. "Now, can you tell me what you did wrong, or do we need to go for another round?"
I shivered and shook my head. "Nah, I'm good, thank you very much... I saw an opening and thought I could use it, but it was a trap. Then, well, I somehow landed on the ground. You gotta teach me that."
"Maybe one day," the woman smiled. "But you're right. I let you believe I left an opening. It's a common trick, and tomorrow, I will teach you how to recognize it and use it to your advantage. It doesn't work against experienced fighters, but you saw how..."
"It works on total noobs," I finished for her with a roll of my eyes. Really, I didn't need this to be pointed out to me every single day. Let me have some dignity. I didn't have much of it left.
Master Yingyue sighed. "Yes, you are a beginner, but that's to be expected. You've only been training for a month, Logan. Give it time; you're already progressing much faster than most novices."
"I guess so," I muttered, standing up and stretching a bit. Once done with that, I turned towards my teacher and bowed low. "Thank you for today's session, Master Yingyue. I appreciate your teachings."
She smiled and ruffled my hair. "It's a pleasure, kid. I really want to see what you and your sister will be capable of with some proper training. Now go on. The Ancient One is waiting for you in her study."
I bowed again. "I will see you tomorrow then, Master Yingyue. Have a good day."
"You too, Logan. And please decide finally what weapon you want to learn."
"I will try!" I shouted and dove into the large courtyard full of other novices and apprentices. Some threw a jealous look in my direction, while others still looked, only a bit more discreetly.
I shook my head and ignored them all. I had grown used to this in the last month of my stay in Kamar-Taj, and it wasn't like I could blame them for feeling like this. After all, I and Laura weren't trained like every other novice.
Master Yingyue was one of the best hand-to-hand and weapon fighters in the entire order. Yet, only Laura and I had the opportunity to be taught by her. We didn't ask for it; it just somehow happened. Even I wasn't sure about the details.
Besides that, the two of us had much more freedom than other novices, which, in hindsight, was understandable. Laura had her own training to do when it came to the Obscurus inside her, and I had to practice my normal magic.
Overall, our schedules were packed with all kinds of things, but nobody cared about that, eh? Other novices only tended to notice that we had a private tutor for combat lessons and that the Ancient One paid more attention to us than usual.
At least the apprentices and ranks above aren't like that. I sighed, traversing the long halls of Kamar-Taj. Finally, I stopped before a familiar door and knocked twice.
"Please enter," came from within.
I did just that, stepping into the dim study room and closing the door behind me. I took a seat in the empty chair and looked at the Sorcerer Supreme sitting on the other side of the desk.
"You wanted to see me, Ancient One. Something's wrong?" I asked.
The woman offered me a smile as two cups of tea appeared on the desk between us. "Not at all. I just wanted to talk about your progress. Among other things."
I grimaced. Yeah... progress.
The Ancient One instantly noticed my expression. "I take it you still can't connect yourself to the Eldritch energy?"
"Got it in one," I slumped in my seat. "I tried every exercise in the books Master Wong gave me and then the ones you had told me about during our last conversation. All I feel is my own power. Time, space, and my magic."
"That's indeed troubling," she frowned. "Feeling out the energy of dimensions shouldn't be a problem considering your origins... It might be as I feared."
I perked up even if it didn't sound too good. I just wanted to know what the hell was wrong with me. Even Laura could already feel the specks of Eldritch power, and she was a damned Obscurial.
"What is it?"
"Your powers are interfering with your senses," the Ancient One explained. "Your magic alone wouldn't be a problem. Quite the opposite, it should only help you. However, the powers of time and space are wild and dangerous. They affect the fabric of reality even more than the average wizarding magic. As such, when you seek out the connection to other dimensions, your Inhuman abilities step in, blocking you. I have seen it happen a few times during my long life. The circumstances were always slightly different, but there are enough similarities to tell me what the problem is."
Of course. Getting a power like that couldn't be without disadvantages. I grumbled before looking up at the ancient sorcerers. "So what do I do?"
"Learn control," she stated simply. "Your command of magic is almost perfect, as proven by your wandless abilities. Now, you need to achieve at least a small part of that accomplishment with your Inhuman powers. Then, you will be able to hold them back when you seek the energies of dimensions."
I furrowed my brow at that. "Now you got me confused. You were the one who ordered me to stop practicing those powers for the time being."
"And that was my mistake. You have my apology," the Ancient One gave a shallow bow. "I wanted you to start with energy less powerful than time and space, have you learn principles and rules of the world. It would have accelerated your studies in the future; however, now the choice is out of our hands."
"So what? My sorcery education is at a halt, and I should focus on time and space entirely?"
She shook her head. "Not at all. You will continue reading your assigned tomes and learn more about the ways of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. However, the time you have previously spent practicing sorcery will now be used to further your Inhuman abilities."
"Damn it. And here I thought I could get away from all that reading. I swear, I have read fewer books in school than this last month."
"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself, Mr. Hunt," she chuckled.
I shrugged as I couldn't really deny that. Even with all the reading, I missed the peace of normal life. Well, normal by my new standards, at least.
"It's okay, I guess," I said, happy to continue this little game with the strongest Sorcerer on Earth. For someone so important, she was the easiest person to speak to in the entire Kamar-Taj.
I might as well use this chance to ask what I need. I decided and spoke up. "There is something I need your help with, Ancient One. If you don't mind, that is."
The woman raised a lone eyebrow, an amused smile on her lips. "Is this about your plan to inform Albus Dumbledore and Nick Fury about Hydra and the kidnappings?"
"I... yes," I blinked. "How did you know?"
"I had an enlightening conversation with Master Slytherin yesterday. He was kind enough to inform me about your idea and ask for assistance."
Of course, he did. Why am I even surprised? I grumbled. "What did you tell him?"
"That I unfortunately can't help you," she raised her hand before I could speak. "Please, Mr. Hunt, let me explain... I have stayed out of the matters of normal people for most of my life, and I don't plan to change that now. The purpose of the Sorcerer Supreme is clear. You understand that, yes?"
I sighed. "Yeah, I do. Can't say I expected anything else."
"Treat this as another motivation," the Ancient One spoke again. "I won't help you, but I also won't stop you from pursuing your goals. Continue your studies, train hard and soon you will be able to complete your task with your own strength."
"That's the plan. Or I could ask another Master. I'm sure someone would be down to help me out."
The sorceress threw him an exasperated look. "Please don't."
I waved her off, a grin on my face. "Just kidding. I'm gonna do it alone. They can wait another month or two." Glancing at the clock on the wall, I shot up to my feet. "Shit. I gotta go. Wong will have my hide if I'm late again."
The Ancient One chuckled again. "Off with you then. I will see you and Ms. Kinney tomorrow for another session."
I nodded and sped towards the door. Tomorrow's meeting was the last thing in my mind when the prospect of angering Wong again hung over my head.
Not gonna happen. I had enough sparing for today.
That's it for today. Sorry for the longer wait, but I managed to get this chapter out before the end of the month, so that's all that matters.
I'm gonna rotate between stories, so next month's update is Grimm's Evolution, and after that, Road to Power.
Thank ya all for reading, and have a good day.
Also, let me know what weapon you want Logan to wield. I honestly have no idea, so go wild.