Facing Ancient One's invitation to become the next Key Figure of Kamar-Taj, Daniel neither agreed nor refused.
Ancient One kept her promise, still allowing Daniel free access to the Library.
Not only that, she also arranged a residence for Daniel in Kamar-Taj. It was also covered by Wi-Fi and equipped with a charging outlet, which was perfect for charging his phone.
In the following days, Daniel continued to stay at Kamar-Taj, improving his magical knowledge and, incidentally, opening up the map for Kamar-Taj.
During this time, he returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters once, only to find that Nick Fury was still not in his office, and he couldn't reach him.
With no NPC to give out daily quests, Daniel simply spent all his time at Kamar-Taj.
As time passed, Daniel gained a deeper understanding of Kamar-Taj.
As the Queen of theAsgard, Frigga, had once said, most sorcerers need to borrow energy from Dimensional Archfiends to cast magic, and the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj were no exception.
The only difference was that they generally practiced a form of White Magic, with their energy sourced from the Vishanti—a Triune of Divine Beings. This magic was relatively gentle, the cost was smaller, and the debt was easier to repay. They were essentially the conscientious representatives among the Dimensional Archfiends.
As for Ancient One, Daniel simply could not fathom the Supreme Sorcerer's background.
He suspected that she was likely practicing more than just White Magic, possibly dabbling in other, more costly Forbidden Arts.
After all, she still had the title of 'Multiversal Famous Deadbeat' attached to her name. She hardly seemed like someone who only got by with White Magic.
But this was also testament to how incredible Ancient One was.
Daring to default on a Dimensional Archfiend's debt meant either extraordinary power, a profound background, or both.
Time slipped quietly by.
After a period of diligently watching videos... reading books, Daniel finally managed to meet the learning requirements for a few basic spells.
It was worth noting that he didn't need to borrow energy from Dimensional Archfiends like other sorcerers. Instead, he directly used magic by consuming MP (Mana), though the effects differed slightly from the original spells.
Perhaps because his Mana Bar was unlocked under the influence of the Illumination Spell, the magic Daniel used seemed to carry an Light Attribute.
Daniel raised his hand and attempted to cast the spell he had just learned.
The next moment, pure white energy surged in his hands, gradually condensing into a... lightsaber!
The saber was bright white throughout, looking like an ultra-high-powered fluorescent tube, exceptionally dazzling.
"Why does my magic sword look different from everyone else's?"
Daniel's expression was complicated.
Other people's magic had cool special effects. With him, all that was left was pure light pollution, so bright that the contours of the sword itself were barely visible.
"Is this a spell for lighting?"
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
Daniel turned around and saw Ancient One curiously examining the lightsaber in his hand. He didn't know when she had arrived.
His mouth twitched. "No, this is a magic sword!"
"Where are the hilt and the blade?"
"..."
Daniel couldn't answer that, as even he couldn't tell.
Daniel immediately changed the subject. "Master Ancient One, where were you a few days ago? I couldn't find you."
He wanted to ask Ancient One if becoming the Supreme Sorcerer made her so incredible, and if so, he would just accept the Key Figure position. But he hadn't even seen a shadow of her.
"A guest came recently, and I went to entertain them."
Ancient One offered no further explanation, her gaze still fixed on the lightsaber. She complimented him, "Such a dense Light Aura. I was right about you; you truly have great potential."
Daniel was surprised. "You can sense this energy?"
"No. I can see it. It's so bright, it can't possibly be a Darkness Attribute, that wouldn't be logical."
Daniel: Facepalm
Master Ancient One, please spend more time fighting Dimensional Archfiends and less time playing games.
How did a dignified Supreme Sorcerer become like a geriatric internet addict, constantly spouting game jargon?
Daniel dissipated the lightsaber in his hand and said speechlessly, "Did you come all this way just to see my new magic?"
Ancient One shook her head. "Of course not. I came to remind you that someone outside has been looking for you."
"Someone's looking for me?" Daniel was slightly taken aback.
There was only Wi-Fi in Kamar-Taj, no cell phone signal.
His phone had been out of service the entire time, so naturally, he hadn't received any outside contact.
Ancient One smiled faintly. "Yes. It's time for you to leave Kamar-Taj. It will not be too late to return once you have dealt with your matters."
"Alright then, I'll go back and see what's going on."
Daniel nodded.
He wasn't actually desperate to learn magic; if he didn't have nothing else to do, he wouldn't be leisurely grinding skills here.
He then opened his map and clicked on the coordinates for S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters to teleport directly.
Watching Daniel disappear on the spot, another figure suddenly appeared beside Ancient One—a white-bearded old man with a face full of wrinkles.
The white-bearded old man stroked his beard and said cheerfully, "How about we discuss this again? You give him to me, and I'll give you my Strange from my side. That way, you'll have two Stranges, double the happiness. What do you think?"
Ancient One shook her head. "I don't think much of it, and your Strange still won't have his car accident for a long time. By then, I will already be offline."
The white-bearded old man waved his hand. "No problem. I can control the car to hit him early. If that doesn't work, I can personally drive and hit him."
Ancient One: "..."
"If that still doesn't work, he stays with you on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and comes to me on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sunday is his day off. How about that?"
Ancient One: "..."
Seeing Ancient One remain unmoved, the white-bearded old man shook his head regretfully.
"Sigh. You really struck gold this time. I wish he had come to me first. But you'd better guard him closely. There are now 14 million Ancient Ones waiting in line. Ancient Ones like me, who don't like to steal people, are truly a rare breed."
Ancient One: "..."
You are the one I need to guard against the most among all the Ancient Ones.
When Daniel returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere was wrong.
In stark contrast to usual, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were all looking solemn and moving quickly, as if they were facing some major assignment.
Daniel casually stopped a passing agent and asked, "What's going on?"
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent didn't recognize Daniel and instinctively tried to pull away, only to find he couldn't break free at all.
Just as he was about to get angry, he saw Daniel flash his Level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent badge and immediately stood up straight with respect.
"Apologies, Sir. I didn't recognize you."
Daniel urged, "Stop with the pleasantries. Tell me quickly, what happened?"
The agent looked slightly surprised. "Sir, didn't you receive the notice? S.H.I.E.L.D. has issued a Level 8 Incident Alert. The entire organization is on war footing."
As the saying goes: The bigger the matter, the fewer the words.
A S.H.I.E.L.D. general alert meant a major event had occurred, and the higher the alert level, the more severe the situation.
Daniel had been playing this game for so long, and he had never encountered an incident alert higher than Level 5.
A Level 7 Incident was already a global crisis, requiring the deployment of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s large-scale wartime equipment to handle.
As for a Level 8 Incident... it was unimaginable.
Could it be aliens attacking Earth?
But this agent only had Level 4 clearance and knew nothing more.
Daniel simply let him go and checked his phone; he had dozens of missed calls, most of them from Coulson.
He immediately called him back, and Coulson answered almost instantly.
"Coulson, I need to ask you about—"
Daniel's opening was interrupted by Coulson's urgent voice: "Agent Daniel, it's an emergency. I urgently need your assistance right now!"
Coulson's tone carried an unprecedented level of anxiety and urgency.
Daniel grew even more curious. "First, tell me, what exactly happened?"
Coulson took a deep breath and said gravely, "The Director has betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Daniel: "???"