Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 684 The Fighting Style of the Mighty Men of Kamar-Taj (First Update)

"I hope you're having a good time here, Wanda," the sorcerer said to his simply dressed apprentice. Normally, such scenes were filled with warmth and care, but his face held a mischievous grin as he watched the apprentice angrily pull her head out of a book nearly half a person's height. Wanda sneezed, irritated by the fine dust kicked up by the turning pages. She opened her eyes hastily, worried about spilling ink and soiling the ancient books.

Salomon had long heard that Wanda required her to complete a full course of spellcasting general education. Even though someone had warned her that it would be difficult, she didn't intend to change her mind. She had heard from her teacher that he had completed the course in a very short time, so she thought the course wouldn't be difficult—and then she tasted the bitterness of failure—not everyone could read the entire books "Monster Identification" and "School Overview" in a month and recite them fluently. Even in the magical world full of freaks, Salomon was considered abnormal.

"I'm looking at the entry for 'Vampire Monsters,' and it doesn't mention that vampire corpses rot into worms," ​​Wanda said. "Vampires, werewolves, and ghouls don't. The 'Insect Monsters' section doesn't mention where monsters made up of worms come from either; it only has a formal name and a weakness, and..."

"...And the remaining entries are all newly written, the ink is fresh because I wrote them. Do you think anyone could write down every monster in this universe all at once? Whenever we discover a new and unusual monster, we record it, describing its appearance and physical characteristics as much as possible, and most importantly, its weaknesses and where it appears. This will be helpful for future arcane mages. You don't need to study every single monster in such a short time; you only need to memorize a few major categories." Salomon shrugged. "In contrast, you should learn more about the general knowledge of addictive drugs in the magical world, including alchemy. Although I've never mass-produced addictive drugs, they are actually very common in the magical world, mainly used to enhance mental abilities. You need to understand some of the more common addictive drugs so you don't unknowingly ingest them."

"Does the magical world also have drugs?"

"Yes, and there are many kinds, mostly made by mages who can't afford the bills. For those guys, death is the best ending; they don't care if Kamar-Taj will take their lives tomorrow." Salomon blinked awkwardly. "I discovered those things during my exploration of alchemy, so I started imitating and creating. The types of addictive alchemical drugs I invented had significant enhancement effects, making them popular on the black market. For example, syrups that boosted confidence, powders that temporarily made one smarter, or injections that resisted diseases. Although they were all effective, without exception, they were all addictive drugs, and due to my lack of skill, the drugs were extremely harmful. In the end, I could only feed them to manta slugs, and those highly resistant little guys caused a disaster... You should be able to see my punishment in the files because I tried to use those things to make money in the dimensional market to exchange for more alchemical materials."

Salomon recalled the trouble caused by the giant slugs that had formed from the mutual devouring and fusion of demon-eating slugs in Vandazar Fo's sewers. Although the supervisor's negligence played a part, the mutated demon-eating slugs he bred still granted the soft-bodied monster new abilities. When those colorful slugs surged out of the sewers and began frantically spraying a gas that could induce dreams, the supervisor realized that the usual insecticides were ineffective. The real solution was simple: the supervisor summoned a massive amount of salt to fill the sewers. These pickled mutated slugs later became a trade commodity, primarily consumed by soaking them in a certain kind of oil and heating them.

"I thought Kamar-Taj wouldn't punish its own sorcerers," Wanda said, somewhat surprised.

"The precepts are inviolable, even for me. It's just that I was young at the time, so I didn't suffer much punishment."

The apprentice blushed. "I thought you were perfect, teacher."

"How could that be! There is no such thing as perfection in this world, never!" Salomon couldn't help but laugh. "Pursuing any kind of extreme means falling into a trap. That's why Kamar-Taj makes asceticism its main philosophy, to prevent arcane mages from pursuing any extreme ideals. Many people believe that only by restraining desires and emotions can one avoid falling into depravity, and that's true. I'm sure you've already found many books advocating asceticism on your bookshelf. But there's no need to worry too much, because it's difficult for ordinary people to experience extreme emotions, and falling into depravity is not common."

"It's not common now, at least not now," he added quietly.

Wanda's mind is influenced by Sithon, causing her emotions to fluctuate much more dramatically and become extremely difficult to control than those of ordinary people. Salomon had already noticed this during their previous interactions; Wanda often experienced intense emotional swings without warning over trivial matters. What might only cause minor inconveniences for an ordinary person was a terrible thing for a spellcaster.

Kamar-Taj's tranquil atmosphere was the perfect place for Wanda to recuperate, but she was not a Kamar-Taj sorcerer and could only stay in the guest rooms for short periods. Therefore, Salomon could only allow Wanda to attend introductory courses on temperance with the sorcerer's apprentices as much as possible.

This wasn't an emotional management course for urban white-collar workers; it was about mystical knowledge, about achieving inner peace by regulating one's consciousness and body. After Wanda attended the course for the first time, she realized she had already studied some of the material. However, Professor Salomon's course didn't mention anything about taking drugs, and Master Mordo only mentioned that some radical sorcerers in Kamar-Taj used drugs to control their minds in the past, without going into much detail.

In simple terms, it's a chemical brainwashing method combining drugs and magic. The specifics were hidden deep within the library, but were unearthed by the well-read Salomon. One of the brainwashing techniques used in the Immortal City is derived from this method and has been incorporated into standard procedures as one of the optional techniques for agents.

"Have you participated in martial arts training?" Salomon changed the subject. "It's the daily morning activity at the training ground."

"That's too difficult!" Wanda frowned immediately, as if the thick books in front of her were nothing compared to the task at hand. "I only participated once, stood there for a whole morning, and my muscles ached all day!"

"A wizard needs a strong physique too. How can you be considered a qualified wizard if you can't kill a bull with one punch?" Salomon lectured Wanda, quoting Mordo's words from years ago. Wanda stared blankly at her teacher, who was grinning like an idiot. "Starting tomorrow, you'll participate in morning Tai Chi training. I'll pass on the message," he said. "After completing the course, I'll continue teaching you martial arts until you can subdue an adult male with your bare hands."

"That's impossible!"

"Believe me, it's possible. Natasha Romanov could do it, and it won't be a problem for you after your magical enhancements." The sorcerer nodded. "I started learning martial arts when I was five, and my first mission involved solving problems with my fists. Do you remember those statues next to the training ground? Those were the spoils of my first mission. Those statues were actually living people—two mortals, a werewolf, and a vampire."

Are they still alive?

"Yes, they have to bear the sin of treating the ordinary people of a small town as blood slaves."

"Tell me the story." Wanda closed the book and shifted her body to make herself more comfortable.

Salomon sat down as well. "Let's talk about it slowly, and then you'll realize how important melee combat is, because we have another mission to complete..."

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(End of this chapter)