Despite how pissed he was, I had to hand it to the guy. Mordo kept his calm and didn't rush me like an idiot. With the look he had, I honestly thought he'd go berserk.
"Not gonna—"
A sharp tingle snapped down my spine. Instinct kicked in, and I jumped back just as his staff swept through the space my ankles had been. The wooden tip whistled past almost too fast to see.
Close. Too close.
Even with Thunder Breathing, I'd only dodged by a hair's breadth. Mordo stayed locked somewhere between focus and outright fury. Suppose he wanted to take this seriously, good.
Means I can finally have some room to stretch my legs and see what I could do.
I rushed in again.
This time, he was ready. My fist shot toward his gut and slammed into an orange-and-gold mandala shield. The impact rattled through my arm. Mordo's eyes narrowed as the sigil held firm.
"Chi?"
"Who knows?" I grinned.
I threw punches as fast as my body could move. I barely knew how to fight, but speed and power made up for terrible form. Even so, every time I cracked one shield, Mordo's hands shifted, and two more replaced it. Sparks of magic jumped around him as he weaved his hands forming symbols and eldritch shapes.
Why let him finish whatever he was lining up?
I slotted in Blessing. Power snapped through my limbs, sharp and clean. The air crackled as I took a deep breath in.
One moment, I was in front of him.
Next, his back filled my vision.
Credit where it was due—he sensed me. He flinched and started to turn. But to me, it was as if he were in slow motion.
I tapped a fist lightly to the back of his neck.
He stiffened, a low, frustrated sound slipping out as the spell he was forming sputtered into half-born sparks.
"Two points for Jack," the Ancient One said.
We reset. Mordo grounded himself with one steady breath. I shook out my arms, still buzzing from the rush. Something settled behind his eyes, like he'd reached a decision he wasn't thrilled about.
The Ancient One raised her hands.
I didn't wait. The moment they fell, I sprinted.
The world lurched.
A shimmer cut across my vision as the training hall folded in on itself, edges of reality bending like someone was tugging the place into a knot. Walls twisted. Floors warped. My reflection shattered into a thousand panes. Mordo stared back at me from every angle.
"The Mirror Dimension!" I laughed. It was freakier and way cooler than I remembered it on screen.
My fist hit empty air.
A whip lashed from my right. I dodged, only to take a sting on my left. I dropped to a knee before catching myself. Another clean tap to my ribs followed.
"One point to Master Mordo," the Ancient One said.
I blew out a breath. "Okay… that's cool. Annoying, but cool."
Mordo didn't smile. "You're aware of the Mirror Dimension?"
"A bit," I said, still grinning. "Didn't know you could do that misdirection thing. Why not just trap me in it outright?"
"To rely on it fully would be unjust in a spar," he said. "Your abilities are more fantastical than expected, so I will concede that. But going further would be shameful on my part for a simple exchange. Consider this explanation my apology. The spell does not make me untouchable. I am still within our dimension when I use it."
"Fun!"
The crack of thunder filled the training grounds as I moved once more.
The fractured world appeared again.
This time I didn't charge. I eased in, testing his guard with short feints and weight shifts. Mordo's answers were immediate and way more creative than anything the movies ever showed.
A golden whip cracked through the air.
A spinning disc sliced for my chest.
A pressure wave rolled across the floor and almost knocked me off my feet.
I ducked under the wave and let out a low whistle.
Mordo ignored that and conjured another sigil. A swarm of glowing projectiles burst outward. I slipped between them, feet skimming across the mats. Every strike I threw met a shield or thin air. Every angle he took left me dodging by inches.
We fell into a rhythm of near misses and short bursts of speed. Thunder Breathing kept my lungs burning. Mordo stayed controlled, but the tension creeping into his shoulders said he wasn't cruising either.
If we kept this up, I would gas out first.
I slotted in spatial displacement.
The world flexed like someone tugged reality taut. Mordo lunged for my knee. I blinked out of his path, reappeared beside him, then blinked again. Space warped around each step, snapping me forward faster than I could fully process.
Reflections stuttered with every shift. I stopped aiming with precision and started throwing blows near every version of him I saw, chaining teleports back to back.
Mordo's eyes widened.
One strike connected. My fist tapped his sternum, clean and undeniable.
He froze and looked down at the point of impact. His jaw clenched before his expression flattened into something neutral.
The Ancient One lifted her hand. "Three points to Jack. Winner."
Relief hit at once. I leaned back and almost fell as the vertigo caught up, breath coming sharp and uneven.
Mordo steadied himself. His expression wasn't friendly, but it wasn't murderous anymore.
"Good fight," he said at last. "You won't be a burden."
I blinked. Did he have to sound like an ass all the time?
He turned and walked out, posture rigid. Wong followed, gave me a brief look, then shook his head, trying to signal me not to take it personally, I guess.
"We'll leave in an hour," Wong said before he left.
The Ancient One stepped forward, eyes lingering on the space where the last displacement warped the air. "Your ability is… unconventional. And impressive."
I opened my mouth to reply, but she'd already given a small nod and left after the compliment.
A soft chime rang in my head.
[Feat Achieved! Sorcerer Showoff!]
[+1 Silver Gacha Ticket]
I exhaled. "Neat."
Anna appeared standing over me as I lay on the training ground.
"You alive?" she asked.
"Mostly."
She snorted. "Wong said you're heading out already?"
"Yeah. You wanna come?" I asked, though I knew the answer.
Anna shook her head. "I'm close to figuring out whatever the Ancient One's drilling into me. Leaving would kill the momentum I think." She paused, smirking. "Besides, it's probably going to be a calm, uneventful trip, right?"
"That's the hope."
"Sure…" she said, absolutely unconvinced.
She reached into her pockets and pulled out the pile of magical rings I'd rolled. Instead of joking, she placed them in my hand one by one, her expression going serious.
"Just… be careful, okay?"
"I will."
She nodded, stepped back, worry written all over her despite the thin smile. I gave her a quick hug of reassurance.
I ripped the silver ticket.
[Cosmetic Calibration]
|Common Trait|
While cosmetic calibration is active, changes such as transformations or race changes will not affect your looks in ways you view as undesirable.
So I could get race changes. Wonder what's on the table. Did that mean dragon? Eldritch horrors? Alien nonsense? Could I turn into a humanoid black hole?
…Probably best I got this now.
Still, good to know I wouldn't randomly end up as a fish monster or something. Remaining human sounded nice enough for now.
I shook off the thought of me turning into some giant monster. I needed to get some rest.
—
A cold wind hit me the second I stepped out. Westchester stretched ahead with fields of green and a long strip of black asphalt with nothing resembling a town in sight. Just road, open sky, and a thick line of forest running along the side.
"Doesn't really scream dark magician lair," I said. "I was expecting a crypt or, I don't know, a spooky house with gargoyles. By the way, do actual dark magicians actually stay in places like that?"
"You'd be surprised how stereotypical some of these idiots are," Wong snorted. "Do you remember that sorcerer in Europe? The one who rented a castle dungeon from a renfair association?"
Even Mordo let out a small scoff. "We found him within the day. The fool was arrested because he couldn't pay his rent without using magically conjured fool's gold."
I laughed with them, shaking my head. "So what about this one? Are we dealing with another dark idiot?"
"Unfortunately not," Mordo replied.
His tone was clipped but not hostile. Honestly, the cordiality threw me off. I'd expected more lingering annoyance. Either he was a professional down to the bone, or his rigid code of ethics didn't allow petty grudges. Knowing him, probably both.
Wong adjusted the strap of his robes. "Two weeks ago, a night watchman disappeared along with an exhibit piece. An ancient necklace predating the current era. It wasn't of much note. But it wasn't until a few days ago that we detected a large-scale magical clash near the site. The traces of dark magic trailed here."
"Fantastic," I muttered.
I sifted through my memories, trying to match this to any character or storyline I remembered, but nothing surfaced. There were way too many possibilities, and even then, I had to admit I wasn't exactly an expert on Marvel's magic side.
"If you sense anything off, do not touch anything," Mordo said. It wasn't a suggestion.
"Hands not touching nothing," I repeated.
Seen enough movies to know how that turned out.
We stood there for a moment, the cold wind rustling through the trees. Wong and Mordo seemed perfectly content to wait. I looked between them.
"So… we're not going to move or anything?"
"A master was sent ahead," Wong said. "He found a lead. We're simply here to reinforce him."
A familiar pit formed in my stomach. I had a horrible feeling all of a sudden.
"His name wouldn't happen to be—"
"Kaecillius," Wong greeted as a portal opened in front of him.
Out stepped a stern-looking man with sharp eyes and a surprisingly warm smile. He had that intense visage, an enigmatic quality that could come off as charismatic or unsettling, depending on the moment.
Goddammit.
Is Strange going to pop out for appendix removal or some shit?
Marvel, man…
***
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