Mordo looked at Alaric with a slight feeling of unease on his face.
As soon as he heard that Alaric was really leaving Kamar-Taj, his heart became restless and forced him to speak more honestly than he intended.
"Do you expect me to leave?"
Alaric was left confused.
Really? This guy with thick eyebrows and a serious look actually had dark thoughts behind his back?
He had done nothing to deserve Mordo's resentment.
At most, he sometimes acted as if he outshone him too much, but that was never done with the intention of belittling him.
"No! You misunderstood! That's definitely not what I meant!"
Mordo immediately, almost frantically, denied it three times.
"So what do you mean then?"
"I mean… Well, your power is already immense and fully meets the requirements of the Supreme Sorceress. It's time for you to take on certain responsibilities."
Mordo's face grew warm, he felt shame as he spoke.
Lying was not in his nature.
Luckily, his face was already darker in complexion, so the blush could not be clearly seen.
"I… like the Supreme Sorceress, I believe in you."
"Alright."
Alaric nodded.
"By the way, you are now teaching the apprentices ancient martial arts?"
"That's right."
"Then can you teach me as well?"
Alaric suddenly remembered that, although he had mastered most of the magic of Kamar-Taj, he had never thoroughly studied the martial arts that were passed down as carefully as the magic itself.
Perhaps they were not crucial to him at the moment.
But it's never bad to know more.
"This… I… I'm not really suitable!"
As soon as he heard that Alaric wanted him to teach, Mordo felt an overwhelming urge to escape.
How could he teach someone who was himself like a demon among mages?
Didn't even the Ancient One let Alaric learn by himself, knowing that no one could keep up with his pace?
If he got involved, he would only further emphasize the difference between them.
But if he just turned his back and left now, in front of his students, he would look like a coward.
"It's suitable!" Alaric said seriously.
"I'm not talking about magic, I'm talking about martial arts. That doesn't depend only on talent, but on the willingness to endure hardship and persevere. Tell me if I'm wrong?"
"Well… actually, you're right."
Mordo nodded.
Martial arts were not the same as magic.
They did not require a special gift, but persistence and hard work.
Perhaps he would not become a master overnight, but he could acquire enough skill for combat, for self-defense, and for survival in difficult situations.
"Besides," Alaric added,
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Today I just want to see the basics. I'll be attentive, you won't refuse me, will you?"
Mordo was silent for a moment, then clenched his teeth and nodded.
"Alright, I'll teach you."
In any case, Alaric would go to the New York temple tomorrow, and in the future, he would remain in New York. His returns would become rarer, there was no more discussion about it.
Thinking this way, Mordo could not hide the excitement in his heart.
In the future, he would no longer have to be on guard, nor fear coming into contact with Alaric.
Moreover, Alaric was extremely talented in magic, and now he was also learning ancient martial arts.
Without a year or two of hard training, it would be almost impossible for him to succeed.
Mordo absolutely did not believe that Alaric would truly succeed in this.
If, by chance, he learned something today, or even surpassed him, Mordo knew that in the future, when he saw him, he would have to address him differently… He would have to call him elder brother!
Within himself, Mordo made a secret but determined vow.
"Alright, Alaric, join the team first."
Mordo pointed at the group of mages as he spoke.
"Alright!"
Alaric quickly ran to the back row and found his place.
"Since we now have a new student, we will start from the beginning. Go through all the movements, don't relax. The techniques I taught you earlier must be applied, every force must be in its place! Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
After that, Mordo did not stay aside, but personally led the apprentices of magic through the ancient martial arts of Kamar-Taj, passed down for centuries.
All so that Alaric could start from the very beginning.
The movements were not fast, and if Alaric learned at a normal pace, he would barely manage to master one or two movements.
Of course, that was only Mordo's assumption.
The actual situation was completely different.
Alaric, who had opened his all-seeing eyes, was able to perfectly copy every movement.
His powerful spiritual strength was enough to perfectly sense every part of his body and control it at will.
Half an hour later, the entire set of movements had been performed.
All the students were drenched in sweat, their muscles ached, and with that, their training for the day was finished.
The rest of the day they could spend practicing magic or going to the library to read books, their free time was at their disposal.
"Phew! It's over!"
"I don't know how Alaric managed to do that… What!? Again?!"
Mordo, who had just stopped, took a deep breath to catch his breath, and then turned toward the last row.
And then his heart skipped a beat for a moment.
Because he saw Alaric standing with his eyes closed, as if in deep meditation.
That scene was all too familiar to him.
He remembered how last time, after he showed him the portal, Alaric closed his eyes, fell into a state of comprehension, and then used magic without the ring to open a portal.
Directly teleporting and sending him through it, right to the end of the hall!
Mordo bitterly regretted it in that moment.
Why had he allowed Alaric to outwit him and persuade him?
Why had he even promised to teach him martial arts?
Please, he thought desperately, don't pull out some new magic again!
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