Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

As a result, Wanda and Mordo inexplicably became tanks, while Stephen, who should have been a tank, was relegated to a support role, only occasionally providing crowd control.

Similarly, the scene was completely different in the eyes of Sherlock and the Ancient One on the other side, especially Sherlock, whose face turned as black as the bottom of a pot when he saw Wanda charging forward with her staff.

It's important to understand that both Sherlock and the Ancient One were certainly capable of recognizing the potential of the magic Gandalf taught Wanda.

To put it simply, Kamar-Taj's magic sacrifices a small portion of ranged combat power in exchange for becoming an absolutely well-rounded, all-around fighter. Gandalf's magic, however, is the complete opposite; he sacrifices melee combat for absolute firepower and ranged damage output.

Logically speaking, Gandalf should have been just a fragile mage, but he had a special constitution and a love and dream of melee combat, which is why he became the all-around warrior he is today.

But Wanda is different. She doesn't have Gandalf's special physique, nor can she learn warrior skills in between studying magic like Gandalf did.

Sherlock initially thought that Gandalf was only training Wanda in melee combat to give her some self-defense capabilities when enemies got close. But now, he realized that if he didn't intervene, Wanda might become the next Gandalf.

Of course, Sherlock is not denying that Gandalf's skill point allocation method is bad, but because of physical differences, Gandalf's method may not be suitable for Wanda.

On Earth, Gandalf's set of skills, combined with his magic, would allow Wanda to run rampant. However, in space, facing physically powerful aliens, they could easily kill Wanda if she tried to engage in close combat.

In other words, Wanda might be putting the cart before the horse these days, which is something Sherlock definitely doesn't want to see.

Meanwhile, the Ancient One's expression was equally grim. Regardless of whether Gandalf was affected by the intense melee mage atmosphere of Kamar-Taj, Stephen's performance alone infuriated the Ancient One.

She had never seen such incompetent control!

What angered her even more was the battle between Mordo and Casillas.

Mordo is even inferior to the corrupted Kaecilius! It should be noted that Kaecilius, having come into contact with the power of the Dark Dimension, is not actually still maintaining the fighting style of Kamar-Taj. Although the core may not change much, changes in technique have begun to appear.

Mordo, this old-fashioned man, stubbornly adheres to everything the Ancient One once taught him, and occasionally, if Kaecilius on the other side encounters any changes, Mordo will be caught off guard.

It's like a pre-programmed sequence, running 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and Kaecilius, who occasionally switches to moves like 1, 3, 2, 4, 5 when he activates his second form, is a bit of a handful.

In the Ancient One's view, Mordo should actually be superior to Kaecilius in terms of close combat skills and the application of magic, but in reality, Mordo was being overwhelmed by Kaecilius.

It's no wonder that the Ancient One never considered giving up the position of the Supreme Ox and Horse to the two of them. In more popular terms, the two of them had a really strong human-machine chemistry.

As the battle gradually became chaotic, with neither damage dealers able to deal damage nor control the situation, the trio began to fall behind against the second-form boss, Kaecilius. Finally, the Ancient One could no longer sit still.

After letting out a helpless sigh, Gu Yi downed her beer in one gulp and stood up. Sherlock quietly checked the substitute doll he had made for Gu Yi once more, then said nothing, just glanced at Gu Yi silently, as if praying that Gu Yi would come up with some kind of trick.

The Ancient One didn't bother explaining to Sherlock. After standing up, she simply opened a portal and went inside.

The next second, Kaecilius, who had been dominating the three, was kicked away by the Ancient One.

Facing Kaecilius in his second form, the Ancient One showed no mercy and revealed her trump card: a mark of dark dimension power identical to the one on Kaecilius's forehead appeared on the Ancient One's forehead.

However, compared to Kaecilius's deep, ferocious mark that resembled a bleeding wound, the mark on the Ancient One's forehead was extremely faint, almost like a small, healed scar.

If you were a little further away, you might even suspect that the mark on the Ancient One's forehead was just a mark left by her frowning.

However, for the few people on the battlefield, it was enough to understand what that symbol represented. Apart from Wanda, who did not belong to the Kamar-Taj system, both Stephen and Mordo looked at the Ancient One with incredulous expressions.

Stephen's face showed disbelief, while Mordo on the other side felt betrayed, his expression a mixture of disbelief and even a hint of ferocity.

On the other side, Kaecilius looked delighted, staring fiercely at the Ancient One's forehead. His smile became increasingly twisted as he spoke to the Ancient One, who was standing in the Mirror Dimension, in an almost obsessive and insane tone.

"Ah~ You hypocritical woman, you finally couldn't resist standing up? My dear, utterly deceitful teacher~"

Chapter 706 The Ancient One's Perverse Pleasures

Faced with Kaecilius's mockery, the Ancient One did not refute him, nor did she even offer Mordo and Stephen a single explanation. She merely glanced at the two of them and then gently raised her hand.

The next second, control of the mirror space, which was originally Kaecilius's domain, fell directly into the hands of the Ancient One. Under the Ancient One's manipulation, the entire mirror space continued to twist and deform, and ripples similar to ocean waves appeared on the ground.

This change turned the original battlefield rhythm into a joke. With the center of gravity unstable, no one could continue to attack. In fact, because of the fear of being attacked or losing the initiative, everyone chose to defend and adjust their center of gravity.

Once the entire mirror space had quieted down, the Ancient One had completed the transformation of the mirror space.

The entire mirror space was transformed into a circular arena with a diameter of only about 20 meters. The Ancient One did not choose a large-scale mirror space like Kaecilius's, but instead opted for this small-scale mirror space.

The result was that the Ancient One gained absolute control over this small space.

It is no exaggeration to say that if the mirror space in Kaecilius's hands could be considered a simple domain, then the mirror space in the hands of the Ancient One is a true domain.

In this realm, the Ancient One is a god. Any spatial ability, if the Ancient One doesn't want it, the opponent absolutely cannot use it at all.

In other words, if the Ancient One wanted to, neither the portal nor the two space-distorted daggers that Kaecilius used as weapons would be usable. In fact, it's quite possible that such spatial magic could become a weapon to reap the enemy.

Most importantly, by having absolute control over this small mirror space, the Ancient One was actually able to perform space swapping or splitting, or even use space itself to attack, similar to 'Injustice Game'.

Putting everything else aside, her absolute spatial mastery, which is similar to a domain, is enough to prove the value of the Ancient One as Earth's strongest sorcerer, capable of challenging Odin.

Even Sherlock, who wasn't actually in that 'domain,' could see this clearly.

Even Sherlock, an 'outsider,' could see this clearly, but Kaecilius, Stephen, and Mordo, who were involved, didn't realize it at all.

This has nothing to do with mastering magic, but is merely a matter of perspective regarding the understanding of power, or perhaps an illusion of being so engrossed in something that one is unaware of its true extent.

After all, the Ancient One wanted to act, not fight. If she had used this move at the maximum power level, poor Kaecilius probably wouldn't have even had a chance to fight back.

Sherlock watched helplessly as Kaecilius once again conjured two spatial daggers in his hands, letting out a sigh of resignation.

"Ah, the ocean, it's all water!"

Sherlock watched almost as the Ancient One toyed with Kaecilius, truly toyed with him, always maintaining a slight edge over Kaecilius, yet never instilling any sense of despair in him.

Most importantly, the Ancient One's attack on Casillas was less of an attack and more of an insult.

Gu Yileng, who had somehow produced a folding fan, used it as a magical artifact, relentlessly slapping it at Kaecilius's head, making Sherlock's mouth twitch incessantly.

What kind of battle is this? This is clearly a petty, black-hearted boiled egg secretly taking revenge on the unlucky guy on the other side.

However, relying on their understanding of magic and rich combat experience, the four novices on the scene failed to see that the Ancient One's 'attack' was essentially 'humiliation'.

Ultimately, with the sea at her back, the Ancient One slapped Kaecilius away with her fan, and pretending not to notice that Kaecilius was faking unconsciousness, she turned around to explain to Mordo and Stephen what the mark of the dark dimension power on her forehead looked like.

Kaecilius, the unlucky fellow who had always been manipulated by the Ancient One, actually believed that the Ancient One hadn't noticed his feigned unconsciousness. He then unleashed a spatial blade that pierced right through the Ancient One before she could even utter a word.

Then came the fun Sherlock had been waiting for.

It's unclear what the Ancient One was thinking, but she actually followed Sherlock's script, looking down at the wound on her abdomen with disbelief in her eyes, and then slowly turning back, like an elder seeing a misguided junior.

With tender affection, she gently cupped Kaecilius's cheeks, and after shedding a single tear, Ancient One collapsed as if all her strength had been drained.

As the Ancient One collapsed, the mirror space shattered simultaneously, and the group fell from it. Just as the original script had planned, the Ancient One fell from a high-rise building and was rushed to the hospital by Stephen and Mordo.

He was eventually pronounced dead at the Presbyterian Hospital, the First People's Hospital of New York. He used his spirit to educate and admonish Stephen, and also explained the reason for the mark of his dark dimension power, so that Stephen, his successor, could understand the truth.

The Ancient One's remains, along with her soul, transformed into countless specks of light that dissipated into the air.

Meanwhile, in the 'fun space' on the other side, the Ancient One's figure reappeared opposite Sherlock, as if she had finally finished her work and let out a sigh of relief.

Amidst Sherlock's expression of utter boredom, he casually plopped down opposite him, picked up the beer on the table, and began chugging it down, exuding a relaxed vibe like a corporate slave finally off work.

So much so that Sherlock's expression gradually shifted from that of the old man on the subway to that of Shen Teng.

"No, what's the difference between this and the original script? Where are all your unspeakable plots? Where is your messy storyline? I spent several nights discussing the script with you, and in the end you just gave me the original skin?"

"Gu Yi, what's the difference between this and the awful client who made hundreds of versions of the proposal for you, and then you chose the very first one?"

After waiting for a while without receiving an explanation from the Ancient One, Sherlock's memories of being a corporate slave who was bullied by a stupid client in his previous life gradually came back to him. He broke down his defenses and roared at the Ancient One, who was eating and drinking opposite him.

Faced with Sherlock's broken roar, the Ancient One calmly put down her chopsticks, which she had just picked up with a bite of her drink, and said to Sherlock with a wicked smile.

"Try to understand the feelings of a corporate slave who has worked for hundreds of years and wants to leave work early! Besides, I didn't follow the original 'script' exactly. I did leave a gift for that unfortunate kid Casillas."

Sherlock, who had been on edge, instantly transformed into a spectator after hearing the Ancient One's words, raising his wine glass with an interested expression.

"Tell me more?"

Chapter 707 Casillas Breaks Through His Defense

After 'killing' his mentor, the Ancient One, Kaecilius neither continued to make things difficult for the three people opposite him, nor did he have the ability to do so.

After the mirror space was deactivated, he was in a daze and simply opened a portal to leave, even feeling a bit like he was questioning the meaning of life as he left.

The reason is simple: Stephen and the other two might not be able to smell the Ancient One's scent, but Kaecilius, who fought the Ancient One, could clearly smell the strange smell of alcohol metabolism mixed with the aroma of braised duck neck on the Ancient One.

It was obvious that Gu Yi was not drinking tea or doing anything else like the meticulous and wise teacher he remembered, but was drinking alcohol.

This was something Casillas only dared to confirm long after he left the battlefield.

This alone was enough to break Kaecilius's guard. The taste, as if it had just come from a dinner party, shattered Kaecilius's preconceived notions about the Ancient One.

What truly broke Kaecilius's defenses was that at the end, it seemed like the Ancient One was lamenting that her successor had taken the wrong path.

However, in reality, the Ancient One directly used magic to implant all the contents of the "Manual for the Use of the Eye of Agamotto" concerning the power of the Dark Dimension into Kaecilius's mind.

This is also the main reason why Kaecilius was in a daze after leaving the battle, but he really broke down after he sorted out the content that the Ancient One had instilled in him.

Because although that damned book mentioned the power of the Dark Dimension, apart from the preface, the rest of the book was all about how to steal power from the Dark Dimension and then use that stolen power to beat up Dormammu, the original owner of that power.

In other words, the great sorcerer who created the Eye of Agamotto before the Ancient One, and all the Sorcerers Supremes after him, may have used the power of the Dark Dimension.

This discovery shattered the initial impression that the Ancient One was merely a hypocrite who possessed the power of the Dark Dimension but didn't want others to use it.

After all, the book clearly explains the dangers and potential consequences of contact with the power of the dark dimension.

In other words, this power is definitely not the safe and harmless kind that he imagined the Ancient One would not share because of her selfishness; on the contrary, it is quite dangerous, despite its great strength.

Knowing this was enough to break Casillas's defenses, but what broke them even more was that he now had absolutely no way back.

The reason is simple: if the Ancient One's Dark Dimension power was only stolen in a small amount to sustain life, then his side had already made a completely irreversible deal with the demons using his soul.

In other words, he had absolutely no way out and could only hope that after completing what Dormammu had instructed, Dormammu would allow him to become his eternal slave, rather than the final outcome of merging with Dormammu as described in the book.

This is also why Kaecilius was so wary. If he hadn't stubbornly believed that the Ancient One was hiding something, and if he hadn't judged her as hypocritical after just one glance, he wouldn't be in this predicament now.

While Casillas's defenses were breached, Sherlock was overjoyed.

Especially after learning that the wicked Ancient One had directly foreseen the unfortunate fate of Kaecilius, they couldn't stop laughing.

Of course, after laughing, Sherlock also asked the Ancient One about her plans for the future.

Sherlock's original plan was for the Ancient One to live in his community, but the Ancient One refused and presented a future that Sherlock had never expected.

She, the Ancient One, wants to travel the world! The kind of world travel that doesn't require magic!

Sherlock naturally had no intention of refusing, and the only thing he needed to tell the Ancient One was to keep an eye on the Negotiator's situation before getting up to leave.

What? You're saying Sherlock isn't going to watch the fun of The Negotiator's Birth with the Ancient One anymore?

Well, Sherlock doesn't want to watch anymore. On one hand, the bug of the Time Stone is too hard to resist, and on the other hand, Sherlock has no interest in accompanying Stephen to negotiate with Dormammu thousands or hundreds of times.