Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 529 Winner Takes All (Second Update)

Wanda lacked practical training, a drawback of her time at the Hydra base. While there was ample food and a warm environment, the training equipment Pietro and Wanda needed was lacking. Hydra hadn't grasped the true nature of the Maximoff siblings' abilities; they were still arranging for experimental subjects to come into contact with the Mind Stone in an attempt to acquire more superhumans. When Salomon expressed regret and intended to end the course, Wanda immediately and proudly showed her teacher her recent progress.

Mind control was her major course.

A series of rustling footsteps echoed through the rough stone corridors of the ancient castle. It was the sound of leather shoes scraping against the cobblestones, accompanied by the dripping of snowmelt, melting in the warm air as it seeped into the cracks of the stones. The intermittent footsteps and the dripping water blended together, and the neglected castle windows, like neatly arranged eyes in the darkness, watched the passing shadows with a stern and displeased expression. Those shadows moved stiffly, as if an invisible thread had hooked their limbs, penetrating deep into their muscles. These puppet-like figures were being pulled forward by an unseen force.

The Baroque columns bore witness to everything, and shards of glass in the windows reflected moonlight into the eyes of a shadowy figure. They were chaotic eyes, bloodshot eyeballs trembling incessantly, filth accumulating at the corners, the eyeballs nearly dry. The dilated pupils were murky, like a filthy soul, and a parched, broken throat emitted a constant gurgling sound, a mixture of foul-smelling phlegm and nearly congealed black blood. Only the crimson smoke illuminated the withered soul, burning its remaining life force, dragging worn-out shoes across the dusty, grimy mosaic floor, leaving a nauseating, winding trail.

A gargoyle perched on the broken window, its evil eyes gleaming with a crimson light, mocking the life in the corridor with malice.

No, that's not life. Salomon thought. He drew the long and short swords from his waist.

wrong--

"Well done, Wanda." Salomon opened his eyes, gently patted Wanda Maximov's head, and ruffled her red hair. "You used the spell 'Hellish Illusion' quite well, and even made your own improvements," he said. "Your talent in enchanting spells is amazing, but this spell is for expanding your spell pool; there's no need to study it in depth. You should focus on the magic of the Coercion school, not the Charm school; that's where your talent lies."

"Where did you first realize something was wrong?"

Wanda was also surprised that Salomon could see through her magic at a glance, and she was immediately discouraged.

“You haven’t seen Haitian zombies. Those walking undead don’t look like that. The local Voodoo zombies are actually living people, but they become corpses after taking drugs. You haven’t seen a real zombie either. There are many variations of black magic for creating zombies, but the most basic zombie-making technique uses materials that determine the degree of decay and smell of the corpse. The mental illusions you’ve created are quite realistic, just lacking some authenticity. Real zombies are completely different from those in TV dramas,” he said. “We have time to create a permanent zombie that can execute simple commands, or to temporarily awaken a corpse from a cemetery. Then you’ll see the difference. That’s why I said you should focus more on the coercion school, rather than studying the charm school to create mental illusions.”

Salomon saw through the illusion through a magical fallacy because his primary attribute was Intelligence. Wanda, on the other hand, had genuine Charisma as her primary attribute; she tried her best to create an atmosphere, but still slipped up at crucial details. While her primary attribute for the Manipulation aspect of the spell was Intelligence, she was a novice Manipulator, so her poor performance was understandable.

After all, not everyone is like Salomon, able to readily pull out a bunch of strange spells to deal with any situation. So far, Salomon hasn't encountered a situation that his magic can't handle. Wanda, or rather most spellcasters, always try to maximize the use of the magic at hand. In critical moments, they don't think about what spells can deal with the current situation, but rather what posture and timing to use to cast the spell to solve the problem.

Although Salomon had given Wanda a wand, it didn't solve the problem. Besides, the wand wasn't particularly rare; its powerful offensive capabilities were enough for Wanda to survive in battle. Salomon focused on theoretical foundations, just like when he studied at Kamar-Taj. Theoretical knowledge was paramount—without realizing this, he couldn't have settled down to study the fundamentals for years without ever using a single spell.

Watching others perform spells every day while you can only read books is a torment that most people can hardly imagine.

Patience is the only virtue, and spiritual cultivation is more important than magical cultivation.

When Salomon wanted to share this insight with Wanda, he realized he had made a mistake.

For Wanda, magic was like a toy. Each new spell she learned was like acquiring a new toy, and Salomon's endless stream of new spells brought Wanda a perpetual sense of excitement. This novelty was deadly to a spellcaster; it made them forget caution. For Kamar-Taj, which possessed almost all the traditions of Earth, this problem could be overcome, but for Wanda, she would never know, nor could she learn, the prerequisite courses that Kamar-Taj sorcerers had to learn before they could learn magic.

"I think I'll pass." Wanda thought for a moment, then shook her head and declined the invitation to the cemetery. It was a bit hard for her to accept. Although she hadn't learned any spells for creating zombies or reviving corpses, she could guess with her toes that they were extremely evil dark magic. Today's lesson mainly focused on identifying dark magic; she didn't actually get to practice much, nor did she have to distinguish dark magic materials—such as rotting fingers, shrunken heads, or bloody entrails—so it was still acceptable.

Salomon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Teacher, what are you laughing at?"

"No," he said, "I'm just very happy with you."

He was pleased with Wanda's aversion to dark magic and her ability to suppress her curiosity. It seemed the dark magic had little effect on Wanda, proving that this risky step had been worthwhile. Next, he needed to strengthen Wanda's education in dark magic, teaching her what she shouldn't touch.

As long as Wanda remains clear-headed, Sithon's corruption will never be complete.

"That means I've won, Great Shadow." Salomon nodded in satisfaction, awaiting the reward from Gaia, the Earth Mother. He hoped to use this achievement to meet with the Earth Mother and resolve the problems within the biological laboratory. Although he had already traded knowledge with Yog-Sothoth, he couldn't complete such a large project on his own; he needed to request the Earth Mother's assistance.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)