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As he stepped onto the stage, Morin checked his current [Magician] job panel.
[Magician · Intermediate (900/1000)]
[Title: Adept]
[Attributes: 110]
[Skills: Intermediate Golden Cicada's Escape, Intermediate Mind Control, Intermediate KatĆ's Hand]
Magic performances weren't something you could hold on a whim.
Especially large-scale stage shows like this-broadcast on television and reported in newspapers-required extensive preparation. Scripts, venues, coordination with the audience. Every detail mattered. As a result, the interval between performances was relatively long.
This was also necessary to maximize the effect of endorsements.
If you took someone's money, you had to do the job properly. If you didn't, no one would work with you again.
If you did well, you didn't even need to promote yourself. People would come to you on their own.
That was the most basic business principle: get paid, do the job.
Trying to be clever might bring short-term gains, but in the end, strength decided everything. In the long run, those with real ability always developed better than those relying on dishonest shortcuts.
So over the past year, Morin and Daniel had only performed nine shows together.
Today was the tenth.
They lacked quantity, but they more than made up for it in quality. The returns were more than sufficient.
That was clear from Morin's job panel.
He was about to break through to the advanced level.
After this performance, Morin was almost certain he would advance.
However, he didn't plan to leave this world yet.
As a transmigrator, he had to squeeze every bit of value out of each world.
In the Fast & Furious world and the spy world, there was nothing to gain beyond money and status. Once he reached the advanced level and enjoyed enough benefits, he left.
The Assassin's world was different.
He'd planned to push the Templar Knights to their limit and farm a continuous experience buff. Instead, he'd accidentally dropped into the Assassin's Creed world.
Morin was still furious about that.
He'd sealed that memory away. When he was strong enough, he'd bring a starship fleet back and blow those pretentious Isu to pieces.
That was for later.
For now, his attention was on the current world.
The world of Now You See Me.
If it were purely comedic and relaxed, that would be fine. He could've treated it as a vacation world-eating, drinking, fooling around-to wash away the psychological residue of excessive killing.
Then he'd leave once he advanced.
But this world wasn't like that.
Magic existed here.
And more importantly, the Eye existed.
Magic in this world wasn't primitive or undeveloped. An entire organization had already formed around it.
Based on the information Morin had gathered over the past year, he was certain of one thing.
The Eye-this so-called holy land of magicians-was full of people who genuinely believed it was "normal for a magician to know a few magic tricks."
The organization had a long history.
If someone claimed there were no systematic teachings, no mentors, no spellbooks-
Did they think Morin would believe that?
Whether they admitted it or not didn't matter.
Morin decided they had them.
So his plan was simple.
After this performance, he would end his partnership with Daniel.
He would enlighten Daniel, who had been blinded by money, and give him a chance to return to his original path.
As for Morin himself, he would seek out the Eye.
And see if they were harvestable.
He had no intention of contacting Dylan Rhodes.
Dylan Rhodes-played by Mark Ruffalo, the actor who portrayed the Hulk-was an FBI agent in this world and the son of magician Lionel Shrike.
In Now You See Me 1, Dylan was the mastermind behind everything.
As a supposed member of the Eye, he tested Daniel and the Four Horsemen. He tasked them with scamming Arthur Tressler, the insurance company CEO, and returning the stolen money to the rightful policyholders.
He also intended to send the magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley to prison.
But within that scheme was a larger one.
The truth was that Dylan wasn't a real member of the Eye.
He was a fake.
He lacked the qualifications, but through certain information, he learned of the organization's existence.
Driven by revenge, he chose to impersonate a member of the Eye.
Using the guise of a "test," he manipulated Daniel and the Four Horsemen into carrying out his revenge for his father's death.
Lionel Shrike died during a performance-locked in a safe and dropped into a river, failing to escape.
In Dylan's eyes, Thaddeus Bradley bore much of the responsibility.
Lionel had a new trick, and Thaddeus would debunk it.
Cornered, Lionel attempted a trick he hadn't fully mastered.
And died.
Of course, there was more to it.
For magicians, exposing a trick was unforgivable.
But what Dylan never knew was that Thaddeus Bradley was actually a member of the Eye-and Lionel's partner.
Their routine of "I perform, you debunk" was simply a unique way to make money together.
Out of guilt, Thaddeus never told Dylan the truth. He allowed Dylan to send him to prison without resistance.
He even vouched for Dylan, leading the Eye to tolerate Dylan's impersonation and arrange further tests.
Those events would eventually lead into the second movie.
As for Dylan being a fake member of the Eye, Morin wasn't speculating.
In Now You See Me 2, it was clear that if Dylan were a real member, he wouldn't be unfamiliar with Thaddeus, the old lady, or Jay Chou-who were all genuine members.
That alone was proof enough.
Soon, Morin stepped fully onto the stage, greeted by thunderous applause.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor to be here with you tonight..."
...
The performance went smoothly.
The only minor incident occurred during the farewell segment, when the audience erupted into chaos.
Morin hadn't announced the news beforehand.
Not even Daniel knew until just before they went on stage.
The end result was that Morin's body-clothes, face, even his pants-was covered in lipstick marks.
The scene was too chaotic. He didn't know who kissed him.
And since they were all fans, it didn't feel right to get rough.
Morin understood their excitement.
He let them do as they pleased, doing his best to protect his clothes.
As for the rest-
A few kisses weren't going to hurt him.
Of course, he firmly rejected the male creatures mixed in.
Though he had the looks and physique to attract both men and women, his values were extremely firm.
...
A few days later.
"So..." Thaddeus Bradley looked at Morin, puzzled. "Mr. Morin, was there something you wanted to discuss with me?"
"Of course." Morin glanced around the room before returning his gaze to Thaddeus. He wasn't in a rush.
"Aren't you going to offer me something to drink?"
There was something interesting about this.
Aside from Jesse Eisenberg-who played Lex Luthor-and Mark Ruffalo, Thaddeus Bradley was another familiar face Morin had seen in a previous world.
In Wanted, he'd played Sloan, the leader of the Assassin Brotherhood.
Morin hadn't interacted directly with Sloan back then, so he didn't feel much.
It was just a bit jarring to see the same face wearing different identities across worlds.
"Of course. What would you like?" Thaddeus smiled calmly.
He knew who Morin was.
Over the past year, Morin and Daniel had become widely known. As a member of the Eye, Thaddeus could clearly see the magical elements embedded in Morin's performances.
But joining the Eye wasn't that simple.
Being able to use magic was a necessary condition, not a sufficient one.
The Eye also valued character.
From the beginning, the organization had been formed by people who used magic to steal from slave owners and feed slaves.
So despite knowing that Morin and Daniel were real magicians, the Eye had no intention of recruiting them.
They'd also noticed Morin's attempts to gather information.
They didn't intervene.
As long as he didn't abuse magic or deceive people maliciously, it was his freedom.
In that regard, the Eye was very relaxed.
But now Morin had come directly to him.
That made Thaddeus curious.
"Hm..." Morin thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
"A glass of freshly squeezed five-spiced carrot and cilantro juice."
Thaddeus froze.
Three invisible question marks floated above his head.
Even if he could somehow make it, first of all-
Wasn't that request just a bit too abnormal?
What was the difference between that and hot-pot-flavored toothpaste or cumin coffee?
Thaddeus was completely dumbfounded.
After a moment, he cleared his throat. "Mr. Morin, your taste is... unique. I don't have that here. How about something else?"
"You don't even have such a common drink?" Morin said, nodding in disappointment.
Thaddeus smiled stiffly.
Two seconds of silence passed.
"Wait-what do you mean common?!" Thaddeus nearly flipped the table.
He took a deep breath. Then another. And another.
So many that his head went slightly dizzy.
Only then did he regain composure. "Sir... how about a glass of wine?"
"You really only have wine?" Morin asked.
"Can't you just make some cilantro and carrots appear? I can provide the five-spice myself."
As he spoke, his hand swept across the table.
A pile of five-spice powder appeared instantly.
Thaddeus stared. "So we're really sticking with this five-spiced carrot and cilantro juice? And why do you carry five-spice powder on you?!"
His long-suppressed urge to rant reignited.
"Mr. Morin..." Thaddeus's expression began to crack.
"Alright, alright." Morin waved his hand, making the five-spice vanish. He leaned back on the sofa, relaxed.
"I won't make things difficult for you, Mr. Bradley."
"I think you already know why I'm here."
"What?" Thaddeus discreetly wiped a trace of edible dye from his palm. He'd planned to show off, but Morin had anticipated it and shut him down.
"Let's stop circling," Morin said, cutting him off cleanly.
"I know you're a member of the Eye."
"The Eye?" Thaddeus remained calm. "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you referring to that organization that doesn't exist?"
"So you do know what I mean," Morin shot back.
"That's not important." Thaddeus paused.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm not here to join the Eye," Morin said flatly.
"You can't join anyway," Thaddeus finally snapped back.
"See? You slipped again." Morin spread his hands. Being invincible was lonely.
"But it's true. I know you're a member, and I'm not here to join."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I want to learn the Eye's magic."