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Chapter 238 - Chapter 238 – Tony Stark Comes Knocking

The system's notification chimed just as Mordo began to laugh.

Yamanaka Shinno glanced over at the other side, where Kaecilius had already stood up. He raised his hand slightly, signaling that Kaecilius could ask his question.

"Supreme Sorcerer, Your Eminence… You said just now that magic can do anything. Does that include resurrection?"

Kaecilius clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles pale from the pressure.

The only reason he had pursued the mystic arts was to bring back his wife and child.

If that wasn't possible…

Then what had he been working so hard for all this time?

"It can," Shinno said calmly. "And it's even easier than most people would imagine. I know at least five or six types of magic that can bring the dead back to life. However, everyone—every spell comes with a cost. Even the one with the lightest price… will cost you over a hundred years of your lifespan."

He deliberately exaggerated the consequences.

Still, the revelation that resurrection was even possible left many sorcerers utterly stunned.

Just the lightest price was a century of life?

Most sorcerers gave up the idea on the spot without a second thought—some didn't even dare tell others this kind of spell existed.

If someone with bad intentions threatened them with the lives of their loved ones, forcing them to perform resurrection magic…

Then wouldn't they be dead on the spot?

"Supreme Sorcerer… may I… may I learn it?" Kaecilius asked, his eyes glowing with a fervent light.

He was already a seasoned sorcerer; living another hundred years was no issue for him.

He probably couldn't afford to revive both his wife and child at once.

But even if he had to go to the underworld with his wife in exchange for their child's life—he was willing.

He'd repay his debts to her in the afterlife.

"You may. But I don't want Kamar-Taj to lose an excellent sorcerer like you… and I don't want to see a child who's lost both parents kneeling in front of me, begging to learn how to bring them back."

Shinno gently rubbed the Eye of Agamotto hanging from his chest.

The green light of the Time Stone shimmered, and Kaecilius instinctively believed that the Supreme Sorcerer was looking directly into the future—into what would happen if he followed through on his current thoughts.

And with that, Kaecilius realized just how cruel those thoughts were from a child's perspective.

"Supreme Sorcerer…" he murmured, at a complete loss for words.

"Then let's make a vow under the binding laws of the Oath," Shinno said. "Once your lifespan reaches 300 years, I'll teach you the resurrection magic that can bring your wife and child back."

With a wave of his hand, he summoned a replica of Gungnir and drove it into the ground in front of Kaecilius.

As the supreme contract from the spear reached deep into his soul, Kaecilius let the tears fall freely, laughing and crying as he dropped to his knees and bowed in gratitude.

After all these years of desperation, he had finally found hope.

And under the law of oaths, they had formed an unbreakable bond.

His emotions were in turmoil—grateful, overjoyed, overwhelmed. He didn't even know how to express himself.

[ Ding—Major alteration of a notable supporting character's fate. Minor interference with the worldline's progression. Reward: 1× Purple Trait Copy & Transfer Opportunity, 1× Green Trait Upgrade Opportunity. ]

Purple Trait Copy & Transfer Opportunity: Allows you to copy a purple or lower-level trait from yourself or another person, and apply it to someone else or back to yourself.

Another system prompt chimed.

Shinno glanced at the new reward and raised an eyebrow slightly.

So it was basically a combination of Trait Copy and Trait Gift.

If you found someone with a trait you liked—but didn't need for yourself—you could use this to send it directly to someone else. No need to extract it and then gift it manually.

Huh…

"Purple or lower-level traits, huh? Not bad."

Shinno gave another look to Kaecilius, who was still weeping and unable to calm down.

Well, that checked out.

In the movie universe, Kaecilius was powerful, sure—but at the end of the day, he was still just a minor villain. Not worthy of a high-level reward.

To really earn big rewards…

He'd have to look to people like Tony Stark—Iron Man himself.

...

Malibu, California – Stark's seaside mansion

"Sir, we've detected a sudden surge of terms like 'magic' and 'Supreme Sorcerer' on the communication network. Over 60% of the locations associated with those terms shifted by more than a thousand kilometers in under thirty seconds. All signals reappeared at the foot of a snowy mountain. Unknown organization activity suspected, sir."

J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice echoed through the luxurious villa.

Tony Stark paused his design work on the leg joints of the Mark VII armor. He stood up straight and stretched.

"How short are we talking when you say 'under thirty seconds'?"

"Excluding reconnection delays and interference—under ten seconds, sir."

"You sure it's not a glitch in the signal towers?"

"Sir, this involves seven continents, forty-nine countries, and over 8,000 towers. The probability of a coordinated signal error or a coding fault is below 1%."

"So instead of Hammer, we've found some organization with unknown powers? Hack their phones. Let's see what's going on."

"Sir, I must remind you that our actions—"

"Stop right there, J.A.R.V.I.S. There's no legislation on this yet. I'm not stealing their lunch money or spying on their wives in lingerie, okay? Just borrowing their cameras. Chill."

...

"Understood, sir."

As J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice faded, the 3D display before Stark morphed—showing images from inside the temple of Kamar-Taj.

Across the globe, sorcerers were thanking Yamanaka Shinno for his lecture. Then, using their Sling Rings, they opened glowing golden portals and returned to their home countries.

Some of the more enthusiastic female sorcerers even gathered around Shinno to ask for selfies.

The images kept shifting.

Using Kamar-Taj's Wi-Fi and predictive algorithms, J.A.R.V.I.S. quickly locked onto Shinno's position, labeling him onscreen as "Supreme Sorcerer Shinno."

"God… J.A.R.V.I.S., if this is some kind of deepfake, I swear I'll dismantle you myself."

Tony's jaw slowly dropped as he watched sorcerer after sorcerer vanish into glowing portals.

What the hell was this?

Magic?!

There's magic in this world?!

...

Far away at Kamar-Taj, Shinno had just finished his talk and was happily taking pictures with several enthusiastic witches.

Yet throughout the process, he kept feeling a faint sensation—like someone was watching him. And it was always coming from phone cameras.

He'd taken pictures before with Tsunade and the others using smartphones, but never felt this strange pressure.

Interestingly, when the witches used digital cameras instead of phones, the sensation vanished.

Remote access through mobile phone cameras.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe of 2011, there were only two individuals capable of something like this.

One was J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark's artificial intelligence.

The other was Arnim Zola, the HYDRA scientist who had uploaded his consciousness into a supercomputer.

Zola, mastermind of Project Insight, was too cautious to make a move this early.

Even if he were curious, he'd send HYDRA agents or use some front organization to snoop around—not dive in headfirst like this.

This bold, arrogant behavior?

Only one man fit that bill.

"Man, speak of the devil…"

Shinno kept his smile as he waved goodbye to the eager witches.

But he had a pretty good guess now as to why Tony Stark had suddenly found the location of Kamar-Taj.

At the end of the day, while the temple looked ancient and half falling apart, it wasn't some isolated tribe in the jungle—they had Wi-Fi.

And in the age of the internet, it's not easy to keep something completely under wraps.

In the original timeline, the sorcerers didn't start gathering in large numbers until 2016, after the Ancient One's death.

This kind of global-scale sorcerer assembly?

Way too flashy to go unnoticed.

After seeing the last of the departing sorcerers off, Shinno pulled out the smartphone in his pocket.

Feeling that same faint surveillance once more, he looked directly at the camera and spoke.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., how's the weather in Malibu today? Good for surfing?"

...

Back at the California mansion, Tony slapped his forehead.

He'd been made.

No question about it.

The guy had already figured out who he was and what he was doing.

With a sigh, Tony waved his hand for J.A.R.V.I.S. to respond.

He bit his thumb as he watched the screen, trying to glean as much information as possible from the exchange.

"Sir, today's weather in Malibu is warm and sunny. Temperatures range from 13 to 21 degrees Celsius. Waves are calf- to thigh-high—ideal for hosting a beach party."

"Beach party, huh? Sounds like a plan. Tell Stark to prep the place. Four people, two—"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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