My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Previously, with no one else to do the work for him, Phil gritted his teeth and racked his brains to translate "How to Meditate and Feel Magic" and several formulas for zero-level magic tricks, but then refused to continue translating.

As for how Captain America learned higher-level magic, Phil simply tossed him the original spellbook and cast the [Language Proficiency] spell on him. Once Captain America could cast [Language Proficiency] himself, Phil no longer needed to teach him.

Conversely, Captain America could use the same method to grant other trainees the ability to "understand languages," but learning magic from a magic textbook filled with unfamiliar alien scripts is ultimately not a long-term solution, as governments around the world hope to obtain Earth language translations of these textbooks.

Because Captain America had to give lectures, Tony Stark had to show off everywhere, and Phil wanted to slack off, they dumped the arduous task of translating the textbook onto Stephen Strange, who also had an overpowered aura (giving him the "Language Proficiency" buff), thus taking up a lot of his study time.

As a result, Strange's magical learning progress has remained at the beginner level, where he can use level zero tricks.

However, this also had its advantages for Strange, as it allowed him to preview the later magical knowledge before his classmates. Furthermore, Phil agreed to let him be credited as the translator in the textbook, so Strange didn't have many complaints.

In short, in this Marvel Cinematic Universe dimension without mutants and X-Men, Xavier's School of Magic replaced the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters (a mutant school) that would appear here in another parallel dimension, and was born in this beautiful, idyllic suburb of New York.

However, although Phil didn't want the school to become as cutthroat as Hogwarts, after Tony Stark returned from his trip to Kamar-Taj in Nepal, the students and teachers of Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry inevitably split into two distinct factions...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

It has been two months since the hole in Tony Stark's chest, which was dug to install the Arc Reactor, was healed.

After solving this problem, Phil was like a cat lying flat on the ground under the sun, always listless and unable to muster any energy. He just spent all day lying on the sofa on the balcony, eating dried fish and potato chips while watching movies, playing games, and occasionally reading newspapers and magazines.

Because of his emergence as such a huge variable, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe's plot has gone into chaos. It seems that it will no longer develop according to the original timeline, but has fallen into a state of confusion, leaving Phil somewhat at a loss and unable to figure out what to do.

For example, one of the headlines in the New York newspapers a few days ago was about the bankruptcy of AIM (Advanced Technology) and the suicide of its founder, Aldridge Killian, who was suspected of multiple charges and committed suicide by poisoning himself while in custody... The plot of Iron Man 3 has already fallen apart before it has even begun!

Third long-term brainstorming idea: "Riding a Pig on an Adventure"

Arriving in the Greek peninsula of early 16th-century fantasy Europe, he is an orphan with a car and a house, a young genius magician, and has a noble mother-in-law who is a high priestess of the cat god and a childhood sweetheart and fiancée who is a druid...

For a time traveler, this should be considered an ideal start!

But why is the fiancée's transformation during the promotion ceremony not the traditional bear, deer, and eagle, but a plump sow?

Even more critically, Greece at this time was part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire!

So, with tears in his eyes, the protagonist had no choice but to abandon his vast fortune in the manor, ride his fiancée who had turned into a pig, and have his mother-in-law who had turned into a cat on his head, and embark on a journey of escape before the Turkish cavalry who were "slaying the demon" arrived...

A magnificent and stirring picture of the era slowly unfolded before him.

—The charismatic Sultan Hurrem, the brilliant and ambitious Suleiman the Magnificent, the all-powerful Martin Luther, the wife-killing Henry VIII, the unwavering Knights Hospitaller, the cannibalistic Aztec chieftain, the Spanish explorer who conquered the Americas…

There was also Queen Juana, the mother of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Empress Dowager of all Europe, who turned her husband into a zombie.

"...Mother-in-law, are we really going to side with this mad queen? Her status is indeed noble, but she might be difficult to serve!"

"...Don't be afraid, she and I have been friends for decades. You all just need to play dumb with me, meow!"

Chapter 282, I think I'm nine years old this year.

In short, the plot of Iron Man 3 is about Tony Stark's enemy, Aldridge Killian, a scientist who was once poor and struggling, finally turning his life around and teaming up with Tony's old flame, Maya Hansen, to invent the Extremis virus, which can rewrite the DNA sequence of living organisms, allowing people to regenerate severed limbs, resist any disease, and possess powerful superpowers such as fire-breathing.

This invention garnered favor and generous financial support from many high-ranking military and political figures in the United States. Even the Vice President of the United States became an active supporter of the Extremis virus research program because he wanted to treat his daughter's leg. In addition, many wounded soldiers who had left the battlefield became volunteer test subjects, advocates, and private armed forces for Killian in order to restore their lost limbs.

Thus, Killian, having turned his fortunes around, founded AIM (Advanced Technology), while simultaneously conducting experiments on the Extremis virus on wounded veterans. His plan was to grow the company into a major competitor to Tony Stark Industries and see who came out on top.

However, Killian and his supporters soon discovered that while this extremist virus was incredibly effective, its performance was unstable, and the fragile human body simply could not withstand such violent torment. Although it could regenerate limbs of wounded soldiers who had lost their hands and feet, it also transformed their bodies into powerful human bombs, generating temperatures high enough to melt steel within their bodies before exploding with a deafening roar, leaving no trace of their remains... Therefore, they needed to be injected with inhibitors to allow them to barely maintain a normal life.

Even worse, even with inhibitors, due to individual differences in constitution, some people experience poor results after receiving the inhibitors. They may seem fine at first, but they will eventually break down again. This is understandable, considering that some people are allergic to penicillin and lactose intolerant to milk. How could such a sophisticated and advanced technology as the Extremis virus possibly be suitable for everyone?

To make matters worse, by the time the military and Killian discovered the problem, many of the wounded U.S. soldiers who had received Extremis treatment and had their limbs regrown had already gone home, completely unaware that they could explode at any moment. As a result, before AIM and the military could find those unfortunate suicide bombers and send them the new inhibitors they had developed, some of the former wounded soldiers who had their limbs healed by Extremis had already detonated themselves one by one across the United States, causing a series of tragedies and attracting media attention.

In a desperate attempt to cover up the suicides of these wounded soldiers, a desperate Killian came up with a brilliant idea: he fabricated a non-existent anti-American terrorist organization and hired a down-on-his-luck stage actor, Trevor Slate, to play the leader of the organization, "The Mandarin." They filmed a series of horrific documentaries, claiming war on the United States and pinning the deaths of the soldiers who committed suicide and the unfortunate bystanders on the terrorists.

However, Killian, still greedy, had another idea: to turn the fake "Mandarin" into the real thing... But due to his poor skills, Iron Man Tony Stark saw through his deception. After a farcical battle, Tony's villa was blown up, Maya Hansen, caught in a moral dilemma, perished, and the villain Killian was ultimately defeated and killed, with his allies also suffering the consequences...

However, in this Marvel world with otherworldly visitors like Phil, AIM's situation has deteriorated ahead of time. In the eyes of the US military leaders, since they already have safe and reliable healing magic, why do they need the Extremis virus that can turn living people into bombs?

It's impossible that they developed the Extremis virus specifically to turn soldiers into suicide bombers for suicide terrorist attacks, right? My mighty American army has always been rich and powerful, how could we possibly be interested in such low-level things as human bombs and kamikaze pilots?

As a defender of freedom, democracy and human rights, how could the US imperialist army learn the despicable tricks of poor Japan and madmen in the Middle East desert?

Then, when the US Vice President learned of Tony Stark's miracle of curing a thousand people in a single day at New York Central Hospital, he shamelessly brought his lame daughter to Xavier's Castle, begging Tony to heal her legs. AIM's political supporters then fell silent.

Instead, they threw themselves into recruiting and wooing the first batch of magic apprentices with great enthusiasm, persuading them all to learn healing magic and not waste time on spells like transmutation, necromancy, and evocation—being a doctor is so respectable! It's prestigious too!

We've prepared a quota for you. Graduate from magic school and you can continue your studies at an Ivy League university, then directly obtain a license to open your own clinic. Five social insurances and one housing fund, a million-dollar annual salary, and a company car are all basic amenities. If you really enjoy excitement, you can also become a military medic. I believe that no matter which overseas military unit you're stationed in, they'd be begging for a therapist who can replace an entire field hospital.

In contrast, transformation magic is basically only suitable for the entertainment industry, or even just busking in bars like a guitarist. Want to go to Hollywood? Magic alone without acting skills is useless. Want to be a prop master? Have you even asked those special effects companies? Audiences don't care whether their scenes are created by magic or computer-generated. Besides, prop masters' salaries are really meager…

Evocation magic is also impractical. Throwing a small fireball looks cool, but firstly, it's not concealable enough for sniping—such a bright fireball is impossible to hide, and its range is shorter than a pistol, with a rate of fire comparable only to a slingshot. As for magical missiles, frost rays, etc., they all fall short of firearms and rocket launchers in actual combat, making them only suitable for playing around in gangster street fights.

But you finally became a magician, and now all you want to do is become a gangster, fighting and killing a bunch of muscle-bound thugs who didn't even finish high school? That's so low-class! It's as degrading as a Harvard PhD student trying to scam retired old ladies out of their pension money!

Necromancy is even worse. You manage to create a few skeletons and zombies, but when they actually go to the battlefield, they're just going to be shot down. You end up covered in the stench of decay, hated by everyone and even dogs. And supposedly, it also shortens your lifespan... Since you have a choice, why treat yourself so badly?

As a result, four-fifths of the first batch of students at Xavier's School of Magic chose to become healers... Once they mastered advanced healing spells and equipped themselves with a cheat-like magical version of the Arc Reactor, they could instantly unleash 100 or even 1000 consecutive Holy Heal spells, essentially impersonating God to save the world! With such a cool and awesome ability, where in the world couldn't they go? What girl couldn't they get their hands on? No matter how tough or frustrating it was, they had to study it relentlessly!

At the same time, AIM, which had instantly lost its usefulness, was hit by a series of blows, including the military withdrawing its investment, banks coming to collect debts, and the court sending a summons. Killian's past criminal record was also brought up after he lost political protection.

—Scientific progress, especially in medicine, inevitably comes with numerous sacrifices. The American medical community once deliberately relocated large numbers of Pacific Island natives to areas affected by nuclear radiation to observe the effects of radiation sickness on living people and the human body's tolerance to radiation. Their methods were almost identical to those of Unit 731. They also used fake vaccines to infect poor people in Central America with syphilis in order to test newly developed syphilis treatments.

Given the extreme danger of something like the Extremis virus, and the fact that the mastermind behind it is Killian, a villain lacking both integrity and emotional intelligence, the early stages of its development were bound to be fraught with bloodshed, such as false advertising and the illegal recruitment of "volunteers" for drug trials through gangs.

Previously, AIM was protected by powerful figures, so it was naturally safe. Now, without the backing of bigwigs in the military and political circles, and with a group of competitors always ready to cause trouble, how could it possibly cover up these dark histories?

So, as expected, Aldridge Killian went bankrupt and committed suicide—whether it was a real suicide or the kind of "forced suicide" everyone knows about, we don't need to delve too deeply into that. And the plot of *Iron Man 3* was effectively over before it even began.

Poor Iron Man Tony Stark won't have to struggle through the snow-covered wilderness of Tennessee in late December this year, dragging his out-of-power Iron Man suit, and his sci-fi-style Malibu, California villa won't be blown up and fall into the sea.

Treve Slate, who was originally supposed to play the "Mandarin," continued to be a miserable extra in stage plays, occasionally taking a few hits of drugs to relieve his sorrows, but at least he didn't have to go to jail or be kidnapped by the real "Mandarin's" henchmen.

Maya Hansen also survived, and seemingly due to a small buff called "Marvel's world-famous supporting character halo," despite her advanced age, Maya Hansen was still found to have a rare aptitude for learning magic—thus she was spared imprisonment and was protected by the military, sent to Xavier's School of Magic to study healing magic, at the cost of signing a ten-year employment contract with the Navy.

Unfortunately, the supporting character's halo is not as powerful as the protagonist's halo. Ms. Maya-Hansen has been studying for a month and has barely learned meditation. She hasn't even mastered a single level zero spell. It seems that the day she completes her studies is far away. Even if she does complete her studies, she will probably just be an ordinary person.

In the same amount of time, Tony had already learned seventh-level magic and become a Grand Wizard...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Then, besides the abrupt end of the Iron Man 3 storyline, the Doctor Strange storyline has also completely collapsed. Not long ago, Tony Stark, the eternal chosen one protected by the seven gods and a "hero of two worlds," went to Kamar-Taj in Nepal at the invitation of the Ancient One, and upon his return, he announced that he had inherited the mantle of the Ancient One and become "Sorcerer Stark the Sorcerer Supreme"!

The levitation cloak, originally Doctor Strange's standard equipment, and the Eye of Agamotto, which contained the Time Stone, are now with Tony Stark. As for Dr. Stephen Strange, who lost his chance, even if he learns healing magic at Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he'll probably just have to return to his New York Central Hospital and continue being a traditional German orthopedic surgeon specializing in treating all sorts of difficult cases.

Thinking of this, Phil couldn't help but lift her head from the sofa and look at Dr. Strange, who was buried in a pile of magic books and scrolls at the desk behind her, and the cloaked boy Tyrone and the dagger lady Tandy, who were sitting next to him with a worried look on their faces as they copied and wrote. Translating magic textbooks was a very complicated task, and if Strange were to translate them alone, nine out of ten people would probably not be able to understand what he translated.

Top students are incredibly irrational beings. They can answer questions about things that others struggle to understand with just a glance.

The problem is that what top students write is often just as incomprehensible as their thought process, appearing like gibberish to ordinary people.

—If they are just ordinary notes and papers, that's fine; as long as they make people feel impressed but don't understand them, that's good enough.

But if it's a textbook, how can we use a textbook that ordinary people can't understand to mislead students?

Therefore, in order to prevent Strange's English translation of the magic textbook from becoming an obscure manual that only he could understand, Phil arranged for the cloaked boy Tyrone and the dagger girl Tandy, two transfer students who had fallen into homelessness after the New Orleans zombie incident, to work as Strange's assistants instead of relying on their "language proficiency" to learn magic. They were responsible for reviewing the manuscripts that Strange translated.

The review criteria were simple: as long as the two reviewers could still understand Strange's translation, it would pass.

If the original manuscript of the textbook translated by Strange is so obscure and difficult that neither of them can understand it, then it will have to be sent back for retranslation.

As you can imagine, this was clearly a painful task. While Talon and Tandy possessed the "Marvel universe protagonist halo," unfortunately, this buff didn't seem to extend to their intelligence. And Strange wasn't exactly a mild-mannered good guy. Faced with Talon and Tandy, these two "lower beings" whose "brains consisted only of a mixture of cola and potato chips," Strange unleashed a barrage of sarcastic remarks and sarcasm, relentlessly attacking them in countless ways, leaving Phil in awe. Meanwhile, the cloaked Talon and the dagger-wielding Tandy were left speechless, staring at the sky, questioning their very existence…

But there was nothing they could do; no matter how harsh and sarcastic Strange's insults were, the two high school students simply couldn't understand them.

So Strange had to suppress his frustration and keep revising the manuscript, while Tyrone and Tandy continued to study hard and get scolded.

"...How's it going? When will all thirty commonly used level zero tricks be translated, meow?"

After calculating the time, Phil realized that the [Language Proficiency] buff he had given Strange last time was about to expire. So Phil lazily jumped off the sofa, strolled to the desk, gave Strange another [Language Proficiency] buff, and then asked the following question.

"...I finished translating thirty commonly used level zero tricks last month, but the problem is, those two idiots..."

Strange put down his spellbook, turned around and looked at Tyrion and Tandy, who were biting their pencils and scratching their heads. His brows furrowed and his long face grew longer and longer. "...I've revised the manuscript seven times already, and they still can't understand more than half of it! Damn it, even the dumbest nursing intern is smarter than them! Do you know how much time I've wasted practicing spells and how many patients who could have been saved have been delayed?"

"...Uh, well...isn't this to be expected? They're all still high school students! They can't even get into nursing school these days!"

Phil answered, glancing at the spellbook in Strange's hand. He noticed that Strange had already read the contents of level five spells and couldn't help but sigh inwardly—even if this guy seemed to have had his protagonist life stolen by an even bigger cheater, a cheater is still a cheater!

In short, after fully realizing that magic is not a deception or a fake, and having completely reshaped his worldview, Strange, upon arriving at Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, once again demonstrated his academic prowess, learning everything quickly and smoothly. Those hands that once manipulated the most advanced medical instruments in neurosurgery now handled silver powder, salt, snake slough powder, gemstones, various herbs, and the large cauldron for brewing potions with equal dexterity and ease.

Especially when it came to dissecting small animals, he was quick and accurate, almost like an art form, which made the other apprentices lose all confidence.

"...Furthermore, I think, Mr. Strange, you should learn magic step by step. If you learn too quickly, you may easily lose your foundation. Especially some bad habits and verbal tices, they are easy to form, but difficult to correct later."

Phili advised, "...I think you should first master the basic magic before learning more advanced techniques."

After all, according to the original plot, this horse-faced guy only studied magic for half a year before he had to fight Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension, and after studying magic for two years, he had to fight Thanos all the way to an alien planet... while he had studied medicine for at least seven or eight years!

This crazy pace of rapid, unsustainable growth is a bit too much, isn't it?

It's almost as exaggerated as getting a PhD in half a year and becoming a supervisor in three years!

It's almost like a brave young man who used to herd sheep in the countryside and never practiced swordsmanship, who accidentally pulled out a holy sword, excitedly rushed to the demon cave, crushed countless demons, finally killed the demon king, married the princess, moved into the palace, and became a winner in life in less than a month.

"...I don't think my learning speed is fast at all compared to Tony Stark! He's only been learning magic for a few months, right? And he's already a 'hero of two worlds,' a chosen one of the gods walking on the ground!"

Strange curled his lip and replied, "...Of course, a mortal like me can't compare to such a chosen one favored by the gods. But what about you? You don't look very old, do you? Yet you can casually cast level five or six magic...Speaking of which, how old are you exactly?"

Wait, don't underestimate yourself! You are also a chosen one of this world!

Otherwise, how could you have been able to fight Thanos after only learning magic for two or three years in the original storyline?

Besides, how did the topic end up with me? Phil was taken aback, but her mind started working on it instinctively.

In fact, if we include his age before time travel, Phil might be a little older than Strange is now.

However, if we only consider "cat age"...

"...I'm...I should be nine years old this year, right?" he thought for a moment and answered uncertainly.

Since transmigrating to this fantasy world, Firi has spent six years in Totoro Town as the [Silver Dragon's Pet]. Adding the three years before the transmigration when Firi was a two-tailed pet cat, she's exactly nine years old.

As soon as Phil finished speaking, he saw Strange's disdainful look and instantly understood the meaning behind it—you're only nine years old and you've already mastered such profound magic, and you still have the nerve to say I learned too fast? My foundation isn't solid?

In response, Phil could only shrug and sigh.

“…My situation is different from yours, Dr. Strange—not that we are of different races, but it’s a matter of identity and position! You have to slowly read spellbooks to understand and comprehend magic, while I didn’t have such trouble, but I paid a price!”

Phil said that.

"...If you can also find a wise dragon and sign a magical pet contract with it, then you can quickly acquire profound magical knowledge, just like me—note, not to become a dragon knight, but to become a dragon's pet, so that you can share your master's wisdom..."

— Clearly, for the Marvel superheroes who highly value freedom and autonomy and prioritize individuality, this practice of bowing down to the strong in exchange for power is absolutely unacceptable to them, and they even see it as the attitude of villainous henchmen.

"...So, you're saying your spellcasting ability was obtained by sacrificing everything? Even if your mistress forces you to eat things you don't like, wear clothes you don't like, pose in various ways you don't like, or even if you're sent for neutering at some point, you, as a pet, can only silently endure it? Or protest by becoming a fat ball? Tsk tsk, this is even worse than the treatment of a slave!"

Strange glanced at Phil with a hint of disdain. "...If it were me, I would have shouted 'Give me liberty or give me death!'"

Phil: "..." — Do you really enjoy poking at people's sore spots?

And do you even know what it means to respect your teacher? I've taught you so much magic!

Okay, it seems that most master-disciple relationships in the Marvel universe aren't great. Leaving aside those who turn against their masters and betray their ancestors, even the seemingly harmonious relationship between the Ancient One and Doctor Strange doesn't appear to have been entirely peaceful…

Author's message

P.S.: After checking Doctor Strange's background in the comics, I was stunned to discover that he actually has a wife! And she's Dormammu's niece! Imagining Dormammu's appearance in the movies, all I can say is, "What a mess!"

Then, the Iron Man comics were initially drawn during the Vietnam War, so the location of his disappearance in the comics wasn't Afghanistan, but South Vietnam. However, his adversaries weren't the Viet Cong, but a group of ethnic minority warlords who switched between North and South Vietnam. Even more strangely, one of these South Vietnamese warlords was named Vuong Thu.

Chapter 283, Hydra Seeks Legitimate Power? (Part 1)

There's a saying in the world: "When people don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much." After completely killing the conversation with Dr. Strange, who had no respect for teachers, Phil lost interest in continuing the awkward chat and instead lay back down on the sofa to continue reading the newspaper and magazine.

Judging from recent news gathered from newspapers and magazines, apart from the cancellation of Iron Man 3 and the plot twist of Doctor Strange, the plot of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, with its imaginative "Project Insight" that uses three S.H.I.E.L.D. airships to precisely eliminate political enemies and troublesome figures around the world, is also unlikely to follow the original plan.

This doesn't mean that Hydra, lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D., will give up their thirst for absolute power and order. Rather, it's because they now have the opportunity to achieve their political goals through legal means, without having to resort to such unseemly methods.

Moreover, even Hydra wouldn't want to watch humanity head towards destruction: otherwise, what would they rule over?

—Ever since Suzuki Satoru, or rather, Ainz the Great Skull, described the horrific scene of the apocalypse on Earth in 2138 in the world of Overlord, as well as the general reasons and process of how human civilization would be destroyed a hundred years later, it was leaked by the news media and mistakenly understood by the people of the Marvel world as the future of their own world, the entire Marvel world has been plunged into a violent ideological upheaval.

After all, no matter how slow or insensitive a society may be, it will still reflect on its actions when faced with a crisis of total annihilation.

Moreover, since World War II, environmental protection, population pressure, and resource issues have become global concerns. Various pessimistic predictions about the future of human civilization have never disappeared from academic circles—and now they seem to be finding compelling practical evidence!

According to Ainz, the current international order and national system on Earth, although it barely managed to hold on until the end of the 21st century, could neither control population growth, environmental pollution and resource consumption, nor lead humanity out of Earth and into space, nor lead a new wave of technological revolution. Ultimately, it collapsed in the early 22nd century and fell into war and destruction.

Billions of people and countless nations and ethnic groups were reduced to ashes within roughly a generation. Major developed countries in Europe and America, as well as the vast majority of Third World countries, will also perish in the short span of the first few years of the 22nd century…

In fact, the fall of a country is not the worst thing. What is worse is that after these countries fall, no new country is born on their original territory, nor is the country annexed by other countries. Instead, they become barbaric lands where civilization has died out, or even no-man's lands devoid of life!

The already overburdened Earth's ecosystem collapsed completely amidst the nuclear war, turmoil, and massacres that destroyed human civilization.