Those time travelers that year

"In a sense, YES!"

"YES?! OK, OK... Well, I'll make a phone call first..."

"please……"

Three shifts

156. I don't know what title to give it!

When Charles first learned of the existence of the Sorcerer Supreme from the souls of those two melee-specialized sorcerers, he was devastated. The term "Sorcerer Supreme" came from a world of limitless erratic behavior. And that world was none other than the infamous Marvel Multiverse, so infamous that as long as there's a market, Marvel's editors will constantly arbitrarily change the established rules, add unnecessary power-ups, and create nonsensical storylines. It's so chaotic that even one of their characters has become impatient. But what can you do? They're the editors, after all. Even if that guy who's always spouting nonsense is dissatisfied, as long as there's money to be made from stupidity, we shouldn't trust the editors' integrity.

Think about it: the Marvel universe is full of overpowered characters, incredible technology, and all sorts of absurd plot points. Even the poor universe is constantly repeating the cycle of destruction-rebooting-destruction-rebooting. And the editors are even enthusiastically calling it a parallel universe. Screw the parallel universe concept! All this talk of parallel universes is just a money-making scheme!

Of course, if he could, Ciel would love to completely shut down Marvel's editorial department, but unfortunately, that's impossible. So, Ciel's first thought was to get out of this wretched world as quickly as possible; otherwise, who knows if he'd be caught in the crossfire of a battle and die, only to be resurrected by someone else.

However, after calming down, Ciel gleaned some new information from the minds of the two sorcerers he had killed. First, the current Sorcerer Supreme was not the future Doctor Strange, but merely the Ancient One. Also, this Ancient One was not the old man from the comics and anime, but a nun, a nun who had lived for hundreds of years…

Alright! Once Ciel realized this, he understood that he hadn't arrived in the Marvel universe as depicted in the comics, but rather in a Hollywood movie world created by the editors to make money. Upon learning this, Ciel breathed a sigh of relief; the Marvel of the movies and the Marvel of the comics were two different concepts. And naturally, if it was the world of the movies, then this wasn't the time for the Infinity War to break out, or for a direct confrontation with Thanos.

At that moment, Ciel remembered who that down-on-his-luck middle-aged man was when he first arrived in this world, severely injured and alone, in the desert! The one with the energy core embedded in his chest—wasn't that Iron Man, Tony Stark?! However, recalling that pitiful state in the desert, this time was probably back in the first season of Iron Man. At that time, all the supernatural beings hadn't yet descended upon this world, Thor hadn't been kicked off the throne, Loki hadn't betrayed the Revolution—oops, I mean, betrayed Asgard and sided with Thanos, Captain America was still a popsicle, and the Tesseract was still safely lying in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret base, being studied by a large group of research experts.

Those experts were truly incompetent. Hydra had already developed energy guns using the Tesseract's advanced technology during World War II—weapons that would be excellent even in interstellar warfare—and were even preparing for mass production. Meanwhile, those useless SHIELD agents, after all that time, only managed to create a portal, which Loki had to open with their help.

In other words, in this era, before the full emergence of superheroes on Earth, only a handful of powerful figures could truly threaten the Shire. One of them is the current Ancient One, the sorceress, and the Time Stone, one of the Infinity Stones, preserved within her order. Others are the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants… Yes, that's right. Although in the movies, due to copyright issues, the X-Men's timeline wasn't fully connected to the Avengers' timeline, mutants do exist in the real world.

In other words, Professor Charles X, the mind-controller; Magneto, the magnetist; the split-personality Dark Phoenix; and Apocalypse, who knows where he's sleeping in the desert. These are the individuals who could threaten the Ciel in this era. However, in a movie version, they wouldn't be as overpowered as in the comics. At least, none of those mutants are like the Hulk, capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion with their bare hands. Unfortunately, the Ciel can now unleash a forbidden spell of nuclear blast magnitude to cleanse the situation, and with a bit of risk, he might even be able to trigger a scaled-down version of a cataclysmic event, perhaps even opening a hole in the already tragic Earth.

However, even if this is just the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the movies, and not the comic book version, trying to survive in this world isn't a good thing. You see, even without the overpowered abilities of the comic book versions, the supernatural powers aren't as monstrous as they are in the comics, constantly requiring the rebooting of the entire universe. But, of course, the characters will likely be there. At least, Ciel doesn't think he can directly annihilate the entire human race, even with external assistance, but Professor X can do that. Moreover, there's the even more monstrous Dark Phoenix.

……

"It's foolish not to take advantage of a bargain," and knowing this was the Marvel universe of the movies, Ciel had been considering how to gain something from this world. However, after thinking about it, the powerful items in this world were either the Infinity Stones—powerful enough but probably useless outside of this world—or other kinds of advanced technology. But now that this new era has just begun, many more advanced technologies probably haven't truly been unleashed yet.

If Richard were to name his most recent and most familiar piece of cutting-edge technology, it would undoubtedly be Iron Man's armor. While it might only be the initial version, there's still the Arc Reactor, after all! However, in Richard's view, what's truly valuable is probably the technological development trajectory of this world. Keep in mind, the main universe is still in the Industrial Age. The level of technology is only approaching that of World War I. Forget the supernatural, groundbreaking technology of the Marvel universe; even a typical World War II world is far superior to the main universe.

Therefore, Xia Er is now considering whether to create a technological development path in this world that spans from before World War I to the modernization of the 21st century. This way, upon returning to the main world, he could create an era of technological explosion. Although the main world still possesses various extraordinary powers, the weakened power of those extraordinary societies is probably less than the saturation bombing of a modern nation, let alone the so-called "mushroom bombs" capable of pacifying the entire world.

四更

157. Identity and Contact

However, just like in the worlds he'd experienced before, Ciel exists entirely as an undocumented individual. In the previous worlds, this wouldn't have been so bad, but in this unscientific world teeming with advanced technology, where the cinematic world's technology rivals that of the interstellar era, being undocumented presents Ciel with many limitations. For example, if he wanted to work with advanced technology, he would inevitably be targeted, especially by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, which has always been lurking within them. While Ciel isn't currently afraid of either of them, there's a saying: "If you beat the weak, the strong will follow." If he attacks S.H.I.E.L.D., they have every right to bring in a large group to gang up on him. For instance, Professor X and his X-Men, who have always tried to improve relations between humans and mutants!

Moreover, he wasn't just an ordinary undocumented immigrant. He was undocumented in every circle and region of the world. And from the memories of those two unfortunate sorcerers, they learned that when Ciel accidentally landed in this world's desert, it attracted worldwide attention. At least, the Sorcerer Supreme had noticed his existence. If it weren't for the betrayal and departure of the Ancient One's disciple, plunging them into chaos, they would have already dispatched a vast number of sorcerers to search the world for Ciel, this unexpected visitor.

However, after thinking about Thor being thrown to Earth and stripped of all his divine powers, Ciel suddenly had a great idea. Although he was indeed an undocumented immigrant, he could fake it! Thor was thrown from Asgard, and this world isn't just Asgard. Aren't there nine realms? Who says Ciel isn't from another realm? Besides, Ciel found the name Mephisto in the memories of those sorcerers, and in Marvel, that name also represents the anti-hero Ghost Rider.

At worst, we can just assume he came from the hell of evil spirits. Anyway, his warlock spells can be linked to devils or demons no matter how you look at it.

And so, Ciel, with his alien identity, made his grand entrance, using this identity to make contact with the future Iron Man, Tony Stark, while also boosting his reputation with S.H.I.E.L.D., and hoping to find an opportunity to access the Tesseract. Although he couldn't take it with him, he could use the Tesseract's infinite energy to complete his Third Ability! However, it seems that at this point, the Third Ability won't bring him much improvement in strength, but every little bit helps.

——————————Divider Line——————————

Malibu, California.

This is a scenic place, especially the beaches and the wealthy people who have built various villas here, including Tony Stark, the infamous playboy and recent news figure. However, Tony Stark, who has once again become a news figure in American magazines and other social media, has been living a very low-key life, staying in his villa, which has frustrated many intelligence agents monitoring him nearby.

Especially for a certain meddlesome department, if they could, they would have always wanted to plant all sorts of listening devices in that playboy's house, but unfortunately, he has a human butler named 'Jarvis' who is doing his job very diligently. So, they can only suffer the fate of having the surrounding agents keep a close watch on this place day and night.

Clearly, these agents hadn't wasted their time. On this very day, a Stark Industries car pulled up. Keep in mind, Tony hadn't left the villa. And Pepper Potts, as Tony's representative, was too busy with company matters to return, at least for now. And to top it off, the driver was Tony's bodyguard/driver…

In many cases, very few people visit Tony's villa. And if the visitor isn't a stunningly beautiful woman from a magazine cover, but rather a young man in an old-fashioned trench coat, then things become quite complicated. Of course, no one here would think anything of it.

Compared to those agents who were hiding deep inside, Charles had no intention of paying any attention to them. On the contrary, he was quite interested in looking at the villa.

With a creak, the villa's front door opened automatically, and Ciel stepped into the home of what could almost be called Marvel's richest man.

"Welcome, Mr. Charles Gretel." A charming, synthesized voice rang out as Charles entered the villa. "Welcome to Stark Villa. I am Jarvis, the butler here."

"An artificial soul?" Charles listened with great interest to the words of this artificial intelligence.

"No, Mr. Gret, I am just an artificial intelligence..."

"No, no, no, in my opinion, this 'butler' judges a soul by its own thoughts and judgments. I believe there are few in this world whose understanding of souls can compare to mine." A flash of twilight firelight flickered in his dark golden eyes, and a strange look of amazement appeared on Charles's face. As a sorcerer who manipulated souls, in his eyes, the information permeating the entire house together constructed an incomplete soul, although this soul in Charles's eyes was very strange and inconsistent with those he had seen before. However, this artificial intelligence called Jarvis did indeed have its own soul—an electronic soul. No wonder that in the movie version, Ultron, later created using the Mind Stone based on Jarvis, and Vision, were exactly like real humans. Although the Mind Stone played a role, Jarvis, based on both of these, was indeed a miracle, a miracle of chaotic computation.

"What an amazing creation!" Charles exclaimed.

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Gretel."

"So, alien buddy, you're just here to compliment my butler?" At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing a gray shirt and sporting a buzz cut walked over, holding a wine glass in one hand.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." Charles nodded slightly to the man who would soon become Iron Man.

"Looks like you're quite well-informed as a visitor! How did you find out?"

“Recently, the news about you has been all over the mortal world.” Charles spread his hands. “You know, in this world hundreds of years ago, the people who were known to most were either the rulers of a country or famous heroes and poets.”

"So, as an alien visitor, what exactly do you want from me?" Tony asked curiously.

"It seems you haven't been spreading the word about my existence! I thank you for that, Tony..." Ciel replied. "Otherwise, I would have been in some trouble after being seriously injured."

"Oh, really? You're welcome!" Tony Stark raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "I thought the Men in Black were just a movie plot. I didn't expect there to actually be such an organization on Earth!"

“No, they aren’t men in black, and I’m not afraid of them. It’s just that I’d be in trouble if I really got into a fight with someone.” Charles waved his hand and then said, “So, won’t you invite me to sit down?”

You want the Five Watches Ruri? Bah! You want the Five Watches!!!

158. Talk to Tony

"Honestly, what are you planning to do here, alien buddy?!" Tony poured himself a drink and sat down on the sofa opposite Shire. "Don't tell me you're here for sightseeing..."

“I’m certainly not here for tourism, Mr. Stark,” Charles replied. “In fact, as I said back in the desert, I was beaten up and accidentally fell into this world.”

"Oh, really? I forgot!" Tony tried to appear sincere, but there was not a trace of remorse on his face.

"Because of some things, I may not be able to return to my world for the time being, so I plan to settle here on Earth for a while." Having seen the movie and knowing how awful this future Iron Man was, Ciel wasn't surprised by Tony's attitude at all. You see, if it weren't for his previous experiences and the series of changes that followed, this wealthy playboy would have been even worse.

"Settling down..." Tony rubbed his chin and asked, "Sorry, I'm not a real estate agent, and Stark Industries has never been involved in real estate business, but I can recommend someone if you'd like."

“No! Mr. Stark, there’s something I need to say.” Charles stated earnestly, “I’ve looked into the history and society of humanity on this planet. If I want to live here temporarily, I’ll need a lot of things, the most important of which are identification and money…”

“Oh! Dude, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of aliens being short of money!” Tony exclaimed in surprise.

"No, I don't lack money, but I lack both money from this society and a legitimate social status."

"So you came to me? Sorry, I don't offer fake document services. And what's that saying again? I'm not one of those oil tycoons." Tony said, "If you need help, I can help notify the immigration office."

"..." Charles rubbed his head, realizing that talking to this playboy was really exhausting. "Let me be frank! I want you to help me get a legal identity and let me stay."

"No, no, no... If it were a big-breasted, curvy woman, I'd be happy, but not a man." Tony shook his head and refused. "So, for the sake of my personal reputation..."

"I'll offer something in exchange for temporary residency!"

"What!... Oh, okay! I'll think about it..." Tony raised an eyebrow and continued, "What is it? That quantum teleportation technology or space jump technology that made you suddenly disappear in the desert?!"

“That’s not technology, Mr. Tony Stark…that’s magic, spells.” Ciel said helplessly to Tony’s infuriating attitude, “Let me introduce myself. My name is Ciel Gretel, from Midgard, a kingdom beyond the mortal world. Also, I am a sorcerer, or as you Midgardians would say…a wizard.”

"Wait, you mean you're a wizard!?" Tony's eyes widened as he looked at Shire with a strange expression. "...Oh, is chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) popular among aliens too? And Midgard, what's that called?"

Jarvis, the AI ​​that had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, “Sir, the Midgard that Mr. Charles mentioned originates from the Norse mythology worldview. Midgard is the Middle-earth, which refers to the mortal kingdom where humans live, that is, Earth.”

“I’m only interested in mythical beauties…” Tony said. “So… wait, what’s this?” Suddenly, Tony shouted. The glass of liquor that had been in front of him had floated up and was now steadily suspended in his line of sight. Tony rubbed his eyes, staring at it with disbelief. “Superpowers? You’re a mutant…” As a wealthy man and a genius inventor, Tony was clearly entitled to know things hidden from the government. He was familiar with many different things in this world, but this was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

"Are you sure?!" Charles revealed a delighted smile, and then, to Tony's astonishment, the glass floating in front of him slowly turned golden.

"Jarvis, check this cup!!" Tony shouted.

"...Testing complete...identified as gold, quality 99.9999999%..."

"Pull up the video from 30 seconds ago and compare it, then tell me what happened." With Tony's command, a semi-transparent blue screen appeared in mid-air. On this screen, two different images showed the changes in the cup, and next to the video, a series of data were displayed for comparison. After a while, Tony looked away from the screen and at Shire. "How did you do that? Did you perform molecular recombination in an instant?"

“Magic! Spell… This is just a simple [Transfiguration] spell.” Charles replied. “Of course, it’s not impossible to interpret it scientifically; you can think of it as an overlay of information.”

"I just modified the information for this cup, replacing the glass with gold..."

After staring at Charles in astonishment for a while, Tony finally spoke, "Alright! Magic... alien technology... a wizard from outer space, this world is truly insane. So, this wizard from another planet, what are you prepared to offer in return? Magic, perhaps?"

“No! Mr. Tony Stark…” Ciel said seriously, “You don’t have the talent to learn magic. My personal suggestion is that you should continue down the path of black technology.”

"How do you know I don't have a talent for magic?" Tony Stark said, displeased. "I'm a genius, maybe I'm a genius in magic too!"

“Alright! I can give you a ready-made learning method…” Charles shrugged. “But don’t blame me if you can’t do it. Compared to magic, which you’re unfamiliar with, I think you should focus on other things.”

"for example?"

"For example, your life?"

"What did you say?" Tony's expression immediately turned wary.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous!" Charles waved his hand. "I'm serious. As for what it is, you're a scientist, you can't possibly not know that thing in your heart is less about saving your life and more about... a time bomb on a countdown. Mr. Stark, how long do you think you can last with metal poisoning?"

"Where did you find out?" Tony Stark frowned, his eyes filled with seriousness. He was aware of his physical condition, but he didn't understand how Shire knew it. He had only recently discovered this, and besides himself, only the artificial intelligence Jarvis knew about it.

“If you really want to put it that way, you can think of it as the realm of mysticism.” Charles pressed a finger to his closed right eye. “In my eyes, if I want, I can see a person’s soul fire directly. Unfortunately, in my eyes, your soul fire has begun to weaken. Once the flame is extinguished within you, that will be the time for you to go to see the god you worship called Yahweh.”

"Although I can't cure your metal poisoning, I can slow down the spread of the toxins. Believe me, what you need most right now is time, and I can give you 'time'!"

159. Conversation with Tony (continued)

Perhaps for Tony Stark, the miniature arc reactor in his chest was merely a means to sustain his life, a countdown to death. Even though this miniature arc reactor temporarily averted death, palladium poisoning was still signaling the approaching end. Current medical technology couldn't stop this process; the only thing that could be done was to drink a sticky, nauseating chlorophyll solution daily to neutralize the poison. But how long could this last? Tony certainly wasn't sure he'd make it to next year's birthday, even though his birthday hadn't arrived yet.

Although he had ample confidence in his brilliant mind, this genius inventor wasn't entirely certain that he could develop a new element to replace palladium from scratch before dying of metal poisoning. Even if he was certain that given enough time, he could accomplish this feat single-handedly, a goal that would be impossible even with the combined resources of an entire nation.

But there's a prerequisite—'time'!

As long as time is on his side, he has the ability to create a new energy source to replace it. Therefore, when Charles suggested that he could slow down his current physical condition, Tony was tempted. After all, he didn't want to leave this world immediately. Having just created the Iron Man suit, which was still a novelty even for him, and feeling guilty towards Pepper, he didn't want to die from metal poisoning now.

"Alright, you've convinced me. As long as you can solve my problem, you can stay here as long as you want; you'll be the master." Even a genius like Tony had to admit that he wasn't ready to go to heaven so soon. Of course, more than anything, he was worried about Pepper Potts and the inventions she left behind. Knowing what kind of scum the military and politicians were, he was quite concerned that after he left, the Arc Reactor he created would eventually be used for military purposes. If that were the case, then his decision to shut down Stark Industries' weapons development department would have been in vain.

“No problem, Tony Stark. Trust me, I’m far more professional than any of those doctors with credentials when it comes to helping you get the 'time' you need to resolve your issues.” Charles smiled.

Although resolving Tony Stark's problems completely and thoroughly would be easy for him, he didn't want to disrupt S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plans. Besides, Shire was somewhat interested in the new element that could replace palladium, even though he wouldn't need it.

Curing metal poisoning was easy for Ciel; all he did was cast a healing spell on Tony Stark. However, the stunning visual and auditory effects caused the genius inventor's worldview to crumble. The healing spell, shimmering with golden light, enveloped Tony in a radiant glow, as if God himself had bestowed a blessing upon him.

Although the healing spell didn't cure Tony completely, it merely healed his body, bringing his health, which had been deteriorating due to metal poisoning, back to normal, even better than before. After checking his physical condition, Tony emerged from the underground workshop with an incredulous look in his eyes and stood before Ciel.

"You're a priest of God? Oh no, those charlatans don't have your methods!"

“First, I’m not a priest, and I have no interest in becoming a priest or a paladin, much less a monk…” Sitting leisurely on Tony’s sofa, Charles sipped Tony’s expensive red wine, taking small sips of the glass that could easily cost Spider-Man a month’s salary, as he answered Tony’s question, “It’s a healing spell, a kind of magic that can heal a person’s injuries and restore their strength… It’s just a little trick.”