Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1005, Part 1001: The Heir to the Merlin School (First Update)

Viktor von Dum's accusations against him were justified, and Salomon willingly accepted them.

If the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't returned, he might very well have ventured into the Dark Dimension because of the Dark Tome, but the news the Sorcerer Supreme brought back disrupted his plans. This news was so important that Salomon had to halt his preparations to meet him and hastily modify parts of his plans to accommodate the Sorcerer Supreme's methods—Victor von Doom glanced at the small figure huddled behind the shield-bearing guards. Compared to the giant-like figures of the guards, this man not only appeared tiny, but his expression was also one of utter confusion and fear, as if his soul did not exist in this world.

Victor von Doom immediately recognized the man's condition; those obsessed with extradimensional power often wore such idiotic expressions. He planted the heavy, winged eagle staff he held on the ground and activated many of the functions on the battle banner. In an instant, the winged eagle statue at the top of the staff began to heat up, a dense crackling of electricity swallowed the noise coming from below the valley, and the air rapidly expanded outwards, the low pressure even making one feel as if their eardrums were bulging out.

However, the dull thud, drowning out the noise of the tracked vehicle's engine below, failed to rouse the young man. It was as if the dazzling, colorful outer dimensions were far more captivating than the material universe. Viktor von Doom often encountered such individuals among those unrestrained elementary schools of thought, individuals who, without exception, would become targets of Kamar-Taj's purge in the future, sooner or later.

"Who is this person?" He looked at the dreamy illusion in the young man's eyes and questioned Salomon with disgust. "How could you allow someone like this to be around you?"

"This is the heir of the Merlin school, my swordsman, who has just returned from studying at the Druid school," Salomon said. "This is probably a side effect of the forced indoctrination of knowledge; after all, everyone is in a hurry, including you and me. Don't worry, he can be trusted, but not too much. Who knows what kind of earth-shattering joke Merlin is up to this time?"

Salomon's voice seemed to interrupt Dave's reverie, pulling his soul back to the real world.

Hammurabi and Supiluliumas moved aside the massive, high-tech shield, taller than a man and so magnificent it was dizzying, making way for Dave to reach Salomon. Even so, they remained vigilant. Their greatswords, each hilt equipped with a miniature bomb musket, hung beside their shields. A century of training had kept them constantly on high alert, their greatswords ready to strike at any moment. Although the training had only taken a month on Earth, due to the strange flow of time in outer dimensions and the influence of gravity, they discovered upon completing their first training session that the time displayed at the training camp was six months prior to their departure. Therefore, the training duration could only be calculated using the power armor's built-in timing system. But wherever they were, the Monarch could always find them immediately and offer his voice and advice when necessary, as if he held a spiderweb pulling at the entire Praetorian Guard.

Starting from the lowest-level training planet, the two Royal Guards are deployed to the most dangerous locations and then charted routes to rendezvous points marked on the map. The Royal Guard who achieves the objective first is entitled to a short rest and the right to depart first, until the other Royal Guard also achieves the objective, at which point they are deployed to another training planet. This delicate relationship creates a competition between Hammurabi and Superuliumas—although they undergo accelerated growth in incubation chambers, chemical brainwashing, and mind indoctrination, only to be returned to incubation chambers for further modification in a continuous cycle until maturity, and the modification process enhances different traits based on their genetic characteristics, their combat abilities are roughly equal. Superuliumas is more conservative and prefers to be well-prepared, while Hammurabi is sometimes more emotional, a trait that Superuliumas immediately exploits after noticing it.

However, in these arduous battles for survival, the various traits in their designed genes began to guide them towards different modes of action. Hammurabi and Supiluliumas finally understood the purpose of this training. This was not a physical battle, but a battle of wits—how to gain more advantages and secure more rest and sustenance when equipment was equal.

For example, Superuliumas would use his spoils to create a pattern to taunt Hammurabi on the path to the gathering point, then lay a trap to catch Hammurabi, thus gaining more time to rest. Similarly, Hammurabi, having learned from this experience, adopted a different strategy to outmaneuver Superuliumas, gaining a greater advantage. For instance, upon arriving on the planet, he would first employ game theory logic, calculating his opponent's movements and then guiding his prey to Superuliumas's location.

In the next training session, having fully experienced his opponent's computational abilities, Superuliumas used primitive materials from the planet's indigenous civilization to construct a rudimentary yet incredibly well-hidden bunker and trap. When Hammurabi led his prey to ambush him, Superuliumas simply imprisoned Hammurabi and the monsters together. However, only the beasts were imprisoned; Hammurabi was not there—the seemingly reckless creature had smeared the fluid from the female beasts' reproductive glands onto a leading male creature and then run off to the rendezvous point, leaving Superuliumas there to build the bunker and wait for prey that would never take the bait. Overall, the competition between the two became increasingly fierce in this training, and simultaneously, their combat skills and strategic thinking improved in tandem through mutual learning.

After passing the examination, Hammurabi and Supiluliumas were allowed to learn some forbidden knowledge. Although they didn't know as much as Constantine, the secrets Salomon revealed to them were enough to astonish them for a long time. Following this, Salomon personally presided over a ceremony, bestowing upon them shields and greatswords, thus forming the initial organizational structure of the Praetorian Guard.

"Good morning, Dave. I'm sorry to have you teleported here at this time, but I think you need to know what kind of situation you'll face after returning from the outer galaxy." Salomon nodded to his old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years, his tone as casual as if he were asking if he wanted a cup of tea. "This is Victor von Doom. He left Kamar-Taj before you even started learning magic."

Viktor von Doom's iron mask concealed all his expressions, but his body language made no attempt to hide his disgust. Dave, however, paid no heed. He was indifferent to everything now; the training on N-Gara had long since worn down his emotions. He was no longer the boisterous, shouting nerd he once was. Gradually accepting the abnormal reality had made him more composed. If he were so easily swayed by emotions, he would have died there long ago.

"I hate magic," Dave said with a long sigh.

Merlin's educational plans completely disrupted his life. If it weren't for Kamar-Taj's kindness in helping him get a leave of absence certificate, and his girlfriend, whom he had only dated for two days and who was also a decent person, he would probably have ended up drinking heavily in his small apartment after returning to Earth, then suffering from depression and taking drugs, and finally committing suicide by cutting his wrists in the bathtub.

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(End of this chapter)