Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 176 Divining the Evil Spirit (Second Update!)

After making progress in fourth-circle spells, Salomon even started walking with an air of superiority.

He has reached the limit of his current magical proficiency. The next step is to expand his repertoire and broaden the scope of fourth-circle magic. This is a process that requires time and effort, unlike advancing through the ranks where it was just a flash of inspiration. He needs to spend time exploring a wide variety of spells and selecting the ones that best suit him for learning.

As mentioned before, Salomon prioritizes learning defensive spells. Stone Skin and Dimensional Anchor, two of the fourth-circle spells, were among his first defensive learnings. In addition, as his magical abilities improved, his alchemy skills also gradually increased. Almost every spellcaster with the means learns alchemy; Kamar-Taj has dimensional relay points, Vandazar Fal is a resource provider, and the Sorcerer Supreme teaches alchemy to all arcane mages—however, not many are interested in it, as it's not a means to immediately increase combat power, nor is it closely related to Vishanti magic.

This is the weakness of a spellcaster group like Kamar-Taj, whose primary purpose is combat; no one has ever seen a war-oriented mage study purely theoretical knowledge. Even though the Sorcerer Supreme intended to popularize alchemy, very few young people studied it; most learners were elders from arcane families.

Only someone like Salomon, who is curious about all magic, would enthusiastically and tirelessly wander among glassware and various solutions.

Upon advancing to the fourth ring, Salomon's abilities, honed through exploration of certain schools of magic, were further developed. Previously, due to his innate "command" ability, he could summon a non-magical object whose form he had previously encountered—equivalent to a conjurer's secondary summoning. Now, thanks to his in-depth study of conjurer magic, he could even unconsciously cast Shadowstep.

Because he has learned the most defensive spells, whenever Salomon casts a defensive spell, he can weave a magical barrier around himself, which is equivalent to a protector's arcane protection. Moreover, as his level increases, the energy damage that Salomon's magical barrier can absorb also increases. If Salomon were to learn more advanced defensive spells, he could even use his intuition to counter the enemy's spells. However, this is impossible, because the Sorcerer Supreme would not allow him to limit himself to defensive spells. There are enough defensive spells in the Book of Vishanti.

Finally, with the silver key around Salomon's neck and the Time Stone in the Eye of Agamotto, Salomon has made significant progress in divination magic. He can now glimpse a corner of fate, and time is a mystery he is gradually unraveling (5E Divination Specialization ability). Even so, he is still far inferior to the Sorcerer Supreme. Even though the Ancient One often allowed him to use the Eye of Agamotto to explore future possibilities, Salomon could not process so much information.

But he is making gradual progress and laying a solid foundation.

The Eye of Agamotto gave Salomon some insights, because he couldn't see his parallel self, which was related to the Sorcerer Supreme's mention of his unique nature, a condition Salomon considered necessary for "parallel world interference." At the same time, he also believed that the Sorcerer Supreme might have used the Eye of Agamotto to communicate with his counterparts in different timelines—the Eye of Agamotto observed the possibility of parallel worlds. Before the world's destiny split, the Sorcerer Supreme could see himself in another possibility through the Eye of Agamotto, and that possibility would become a new parallel world after the destiny split.

He specifically consulted the Venerable One about this, and the Venerable One did not deny it. However, she said that communicating with her parallel self was not beneficial, which Salomon found somewhat incomprehensible.

The Venerable One simply pointed to the silver key on Salomon's chest and offered no further explanation.

"Hello, little cloak." It was a weekend, and Salomon had come to the New York Temple after having lunch with Bayonetta. The fiery red cloak kept tapping on the glass, trying to fly onto Salomon's shoulder, but each time Salomon refused it.

"I already have enough red on me, dear little cloak. I feel that my high-necked clothes are seriously restricting the freedom of my cervical spine, and wearing you would make my outfit look much worse, so... sorry, I don't want to wear a red cloak." Salomon used this utterly lame excuse to refuse the invitation from the intelligent magical object.

The levitation cloak is said to attract any highly talented arcane mage, which is why the Venerable One described it as fickle. Even though the cloak showed some attraction to Salomon, he didn't want to wear it, not only because the incredibly thick red cloak was so heavy—Salomon felt it would double his weight—but also because a cloak and a light, flowing cape were completely different garments.

After being rejected, the cloak dramatically covered what appeared to be its face, its thick shoulder pads trembling as if it were crying in distress. Salomon shrugged, offering no apology. This wasn't the first time; the cloak would feign pitifulness every time it was rejected, unless Salomon agreed to let it fly onto his shoulder or he left the New York Sanctuary.

But he still had a way of appeasing the cloak.

"Next time, my little darling. I'll take you to play with the Cheshire Cat after I'm done with my business." Salomon said, dragging the Cosmic Cauldron that was placed to the side. The heavy metal cauldron left two deep, parallel scratches on the dark wooden floor. He didn't care, because the temple floor wasn't enchanted; he could repair it with a trick, without even needing to prepare any spell materials.

"The Cheshire Cat loves to fly. Lately, he's been clamoring to become a feline sorceress so he can brag to the history professor's cat next door. He's told me how much he likes her, but she sounds like a street thug, just like those squirrels—so I refuse to let him waste my magic and aphrodisiacs. Only you can grant his wish. It's better than letting him spend all day idly tearing up rolls of paper."

The cloak suddenly changed its appearance; its two lapels were tightly clasped together, and the collar was askew, making it look like a person holding hands expectantly. Salomon sighed. The cloak was indeed quite charming, but it didn't suit him, mainly because the Venerable had already reserved it for Strange.

Salomon did not harbor resentment because of this; he had received enough, and overall he was quite content.

"But not now." Salomon dragged the cauldron back with all his might; the Great Hall was no good place for divination. The Sorcerer Supreme thought Ghost Rider wasn't that important right now, but Ghost Rider's disappearance still bothered Salomon. Since using the Eye of Agamotto and the Silver Key was too much of a burden, Salomon decided to use the Cosmic Cauldron of the New York Sanctum to search for Ghost Rider's whereabouts.

He would use the Cosmic Cauldron to glean Ghost Rider's approximate location, then use the third-circle divination spell Eagle Eye to pinpoint Johnny Blaze's exact location. The outcome of this task was purely a matter of luck; he might find Ghost Rider in the next second, or he might waste an entire day.

Salomon didn't want the latter, because he needed to free up time to create magical items to fill his vacant magical item slots. Not all magical items could be made by Rodan; after completing the Kamar-Taj order, the fallen angel only accepted halos from beings of higher planes, and Bayonetta didn't have much stock either. Making the Luoyang Twin Blades and the Transformation Staff was already a favor from him.

Salomon still doesn't have a good enough pair of magic gloves—he has a target in mind, not the unremarkable "Apprentice Deception Gloves" or the "Arcane Strike Gloves" commonly used by magic melee classes, but the "Iron Serpent Armguards" that can turn the gauntlets into metal cobras.

However, Salomon couldn't currently cast the fifth-circle Item Animation, sixth-circle Indication, and eighth-circle Location Sense required to craft the "Iron Serpent Armguards." So he changed his target, opting for a glove he could currently craft—the Vampire Gloves—which only required the spells "Hemorrhage" and "Vampire Touch," and Salomon could spend several weekends crafting it.

Therefore, he is very busy now and needs to be quick in everything he does.

"Salomon Damonette! You're looking at me, aren't you!"

"F*uck! Mephisto!"

Please vote for me! I won't post a separate chapter asking for votes anymore, unless I write an end-of-month reflection and a bonus chapter about Nyaruko.

(End of this chapter)