"It seems that this magic cloak has chosen its new master!" For once, the usually serious Ancient One showed a rare, teasing smile as she looked at Josh's very disappointed expression.
"My lord, actually I can..." Seeing Josh's unhappy look, Lina quickly tried to give him the cloak. But once the cloak had chosen her, it wasn't going to be that easy to let go of it.
"No, no, no. This is fate. Since it chose you, it's yours now. Just carry it well..." Josh waved his hand.
Although he was a bit annoyed that the cloak hadn't chosen him, he wasn't petty enough to blame his subordinate for something like that.
Besides, if it belonged to Lina, it was basically the same as if it belonged to him.
Well, even before the Ancient One had said anything, Josh had already considered the cloak to be his.
The Ancient One had no objections—after all, as the greatest "hoarder" of the Marvel Universe, her belongings weren't that easy to get.
But just because she didn't mind didn't mean others didn't.
Like the sorcerer Daniel, who had objected to opening the display case earlier.
"Mr. Kahn, miss, this magic cloak is the property of Kamar-Taj. Please return it to its place," Daniel said coldly.
Hearing this, Josh gave him a strange look. Really? Out of all the people here, you're the one talking the most?
Even the Ancient One, who is in charge, hasn't said anything. Who do you think you are?
"Daniel, sacred artifacts have a mind of their own. Since the cloak chose this lady, that means she is its destined master," the Ancient One said.
"But they are outsiders. This goes against the rules of Kamar-Taj!" Daniel stubbornly argued.
"Rules? Whose rules?" The Ancient stared at him.
This question immediately silenced Daniel.
Yes, the Ancient One might not have been the first Sorcerer Supreme, and Kamar-Taj had existed for thousands of years, but there was no doubt that the rules of the past few hundred years had been made by her. Most of the magical items in the sanctums had been collected by her.
He had only been a sorcerer for ten years. What right did he have to question her decisions?
"Forgive me, Supreme One. I'm not feeling well. I'll excuse myself," Daniel said in a low voice and turned to leave.
In truth, he was just upset. He had carefully managed these artifacts in the New York Sanctum for over a decade, and not once had any of them chosen him. Now, some unknown outsider would come along and be chosen by the Cloak? Of course he wasn't happy.
"Josh Kahn, come with me. Let's talk in the meditation room," the Ancient One said, inviting him as if nothing had happened.
"I must say, the foundations of Kamar-Taj are deeper than I expected. But when it comes to recruiting new sorcerers, I think the Supreme One should pay more attention to their character," Josh said on the way.
Hearing that, the Ancient One gave him a strange look.
Coming from Josh, the word "character" just didn't sound right.
"It's true that the character needs more attention. And since things are getting more chaotic in the Middle East and Africa, perhaps sending those less disciplined sorcerers there to experience human suffering might help them grow," said the Ancient One.
…Josh instantly understood what she meant. After all, the Middle East and Africa were key development areas for the Ten Rings.
This Sorcerer Supreme was ruthless too.
"That's an excellent idea," Josh nodded.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the meditation chamber. Only Josh and the Ancient One were allowed inside. None of the elf mages or Kamar-Taj sorcerers joined them.
It wasn't until two hours later that the door opened again. Josh and the Ancient One walked out with calm and friendly expressions.
Immediately afterward, the Ancient One announced that Kamar-Taj and the Kirin Tor would form an alliance and begin regular magical exchanges.
The Kirin Tor was an ancient organization of high elves and human mages from Azeroth, led by a Council of Six.
Including Vereesa, there were six elves in total. So Josh just used the name for his own group.
Most of the Kamar-Taj sorcerers found this sudden "Kirin Tor" a bit odd, but since it was the Ancient One's decision, they went along with it. Who knew—maybe they'd get to learn new magic from it. Like the mages of Azeroth, most Kamar-Taj mages loved knowledge. Only a few truly chased power.
But not everyone was ready to embrace this new alliance.
For example, the same sorcerer, Daniel.
He said he'd never heard of the Kirin Tor, and he didn't think this new group had the qualifications to share magic with Kamar-Taj—unless he could test them himself!
In other words, he was officially challenging the mages of the Kirin Tor.
This time, his words gained some support from other sorcerers too.
Seeing this, the Ancient One looked at Josh.
"This is great. Magical exchanges can't just stay on paper. Fighting is the real essence of magic… What do you think, Lina?" Josh smiled when he heard the challenge.
"Of course, I'm looking forward to it!" Lina also smiled—happily.
When it came to magical duels, she was never one to back down. The nearby Orosania didn't even dare to compete.
Don't let the soft and gentle appearance of this elf girl fool you—she was a real fighter.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have stormed into a troll camp all by herself—only to run into Malacrass, a much stronger troll priest. That's how she ended up being captured, despite being such a valuable battle mage.
Seeing all this, the Ancient One couldn't help but sigh.
No one, not even within all of Kamar-Taj, could match the strength of that small, delicate-looking figure—except herself.
Daniel had basically just kicked a vibranium wall.
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