Yamanaka Shinno stepped out of the dimensional portal at the head of the group.
Mordo and Kaecilius stood to his left and right, with Wong close behind him.
Tony Stark had been slightly on edge seeing the lineup—like a mafia entourage escorting their young master. The sheer presence and aura they gave off were leagues beyond what Happy could pull off.
But when he caught a bit of Wong's murmured words, something shifted.
Abstinence? Cultivation?
Hell no.
A man lives for those two glorious moments in bed, doesn't he?
Take that away, and what's even the point? How boring would life be?
Poor wizards.
Especially this Supreme Sorcerer who looked just as good as he did—no wonder he didn't even flinch earlier when those gorgeous witches had been throwing out very obvious signals.
So that's why—he was abstinent?
What a waste of top-tier resources.
Tony had caught sight of several stunning witches earlier. That air of mystery, those sultry curves...
No, no, no. Not the time.
Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Tony focused on the man in front—Yamanaka Shinno. After a moment's thought, he decided against stepping forward to shake hands.
They didn't seem hostile, sure. But still—better safe than sorry.
"Supreme Sorcerer… Shinno?"
"That's me. These are Mordo, Wong, and Kaecilius."
Shinno raised a brow and casually greeted Tony, then gestured to the three behind him before turning and strolling over to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the mansion, leaving the conversation to Mordo.
Outside the window, the vast, endless sea shimmered under the morning sun.
Just looking at it could put anyone in a better mood.
Some people, as they say, are just born in Rome.
"I know who you are, Iron Man. But what you did earlier—seriously disrupted the confidentiality code we wizards live by..."
Mordo's face was stern, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He wasn't fond of playboys, but the man had guts. He'd shut down his weapons manufacturing division, stopped arms exports, and even taken a public stance against crime. Mordo could respect that.
"Oh~ buddy! I heard you back there. You guys were planning to bleed me dry, huh? Just saying—I reserve the right to say no if it's too outrageous."
Tony wore his trademark smirk, full of mischief.
Mordo chuckled despite himself and reached out.
"Nice to finally see this hidden side of the world, wizard friend."
"You might be celebrating a little too early."
Mordo grasped Tony's hand in return—and then, using the same technique he and Shinno had used on him earlier, fed magic straight into Stark's system.
"A beach party takes some prep time. Mind giving me a crash course on magic? Y'know... it's been blowing up my entire scientific worldview."
Tony shrugged, his expression an odd mix of curiosity and internal conflict.
"Scientific worldview? According to the Supreme Sorcerer's philosophy, magic is a kind of science. Kaecilius, play the footage."
Mordo turned to the still-stony-faced Kaecilius.
"Magic is the power that protects this world. Abuse it—and you risk unimaginable damage."
Kaecilius retrieved the memory card from a digital camcorder.
Tony tried to snatch it, tugging twice, but Kaecilius wouldn't let go.
"C'mon, trust me. I'm a good guy! Iron Man, defender of world peace."
"You'd better be."
Kaecilius finally let go.
"I'll hook you up with the hottest girl at the party later."
Tony muttered as he inserted the card into the smart control console nearby.
"Not interested."
Kaecilius's expression darkened further.
"Oh~ right, right. You're on your own spiritual journey. That takes some serious willpower—especially for a guy in peak physical condition…"
Tony rambled as he booted up the footage.
With JARVIS's help, the video was rapidly converted into digestible documents.
Tony skimmed through at lightning speed.
As the foundational magical structures scrolled past, his voice trailed off.
Science?
Yeah. Science!
If "mana" was treated like electricity, then these "basic magical runes" were just components—electronic parts in a circuit. And the result?
A scientific form of magic!
"JARVIS, analyze mana composition… Looks like I'll have to delay the project."
Tony paused his scrolling on the mana breakdown page.
His expression had turned surprisingly serious.
People always said the end of science was theology. He'd laughed at that—until now.
Those idiots… might've actually gotten something right for once.
"Sir, current processing load is over 90%. Cannot run high-power calculations."
JARVIS's voice came through.
"Over 90%? Even hacking the Pentagon doesn't use that much... Whoa—what the hell is that...?"
Tony had been about to ask what JARVIS was doing to hog so many resources—until he looked up.
A layered, planet-like cluster of magic patterns hovered in front of Yamanaka Shinno, projected in 3D by JARVIS.
Tony immediately recognized many of the runes he'd just seen.
Mordo, Wong, and Kaecilius stood on one side of the "magic planet," staring intently, trying to memorize every detail.
"JARVIS, what am I looking at?"
Tony licked his lips unconsciously.
With his current level of magical understanding, he couldn't grasp the thing's purpose.
But the constant movement of a glowing point through the spherical formation showed it could at least run basic calculations smoothly.
"Sir, as described by Mr. Shinno, this is the equation for transforming lower-tier energy into higher-tier energy forms."
As JARVIS spoke, Yamanaka Shinno stood from the couch, leaving Mordo and the others to continue studying the conversion equation.
Honestly, JARVIS was far more useful than Shinno had expected.
He just had to outline the concept and basic structure, and JARVIS would simulate and refine it, adjusting errors until the perfect solution emerged.
Way easier than manually demonstrating everything to the others.
Glancing at Tony—who stood frozen like a statue—Shinno smirked and asked,
"JARVIS, how's the party prep coming?"
"Sir, in approximately three minutes, the event staff will arrive at the villa. Shall I send electronic invites to contacts in the categories of 'models,' 'actors,' 'journalists,' and 'other industry beauties'?"
"You really go all out."
Shinno turned toward Tony.
This guy had probably slept around the world and still hadn't caught anything. Talk about lucky.
"Brains, looks, charisma, status, wealth—people can't help falling for me. It's the curse of every successful man. A blissful burden."
"Not one of them is sincere."
"Supreme Sorcerer, you're just jealous. We're both men—I get it."
Tony spread his hands and grinned in that cocky, punchable way of his.
"Wanna bet?"
Shinno chuckled darkly.
In his past life, he'd loved the character of Iron Man.
A mortal who dared rival the gods.
That final "I am Iron Man" in Endgame—he'd never forgotten it.
Though this version of Tony wasn't yet the mature, self-sacrificing hero of the future—and his trait interface still proudly displayed "Playboy" in flashing lights—he definitely had a unique charm.
"My instincts say this is a bad idea. But a successful man never fears a challenge."
Tony adjusted his collar with both hands, radiating pure swagger.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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