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Ch. 242 Mage Russell vs The Cloak of Levitation
🕑 Added 2023-12-31 16:01:01 +0000 UTCRussell didn't believe that his magical talent was lacking.
But he never expected his magical talent to be this exceptional.
No, this wasn't merely a matter of good magical talent; he was now nothing short of a magical prodigy.
If he didn't know for sure that the evolutionary reward he had received was "The Marvelous Superman," he would have doubted whether he had received the rewards of "Dark Doctor Strange" or "Doctor Strange."
After sizing up the peculiar "wall" in front of him, he didn't hesitate and walked right in.
The moment he crossed the "wall," he felt a strange sensation that defied description.
Though he couldn't quite put his finger on it, he could unmistakably sense that he had entered a unique space he had never been in before.
Inside the mirrored space, he first surveyed his surroundings.
Apart from some peculiar shattered glass-like images around him, the mirrored space didn't appear any different from the real world.
Once inside the mirrored space, his eyes emitted a red glow.
Soon after, he fired high-temperature heat rays akin to red lasers.
He continuously fired these heat rays, wreaking havoc on everything in the office.
After thoroughly destroying the office within the mirrored space, he cast a teleportation spell and left the mirrored space.
Back in the real world, he examined his office.
Despite the chaos he had caused in the mirrored space, his office in the real world remained unchanged.
Everything that happened inside the mirrored space had no impact on the real world!
He was beginning to grasp the meaning of this.
Although the office inside the mirrored space was identical to his real-world office, the items inside the mirrored space were evidently independent.
With this in mind, he once again invoked the mirrored space magic.
Upon stepping into the mirrored space again, he found himself in the same neat and clean office, as if it had never been destroyed.
Interesting!
Looking at the immaculate office before him, he went to the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of whiskey, uncorked it, aimed the bottle's mouth at his lips, and began pouring it into his mouth.
He expected to taste the whiskey, but reality proved otherwise.
The whiskey indeed poured out of the bottle but disappeared the moment it entered his mouth.
Hmm...
Realizing this, he went to the sitting area, picked up an apple from the table, and took a hearty bite.
Just like the whiskey, he did bite into the apple.
But he couldn't taste the apple; the apple that entered his mouth also disappeared.
Are they all fake?
Or perhaps, they are real, but because he isn't a native of the mirrored space, he can't consume anything from it.
Looking at the apple he had taken a bite of, he once again cast the teleportation spell and then threw the apple he held toward the other side of the portal.
The apple with a real tactile sensation followed a standard trajectory, then disappeared in front of the portal, as if it had simply vanished into thin air.
Witnessing this unscientific scene, Russell gave up trying to understand.
Using science to explain things in the realm of magic was clearly an unwise decision.
After destroying the mirrored space office once again with his heat rays, he stepped through the portal and returned to the real world.
Back in the real world, he went to the sitting area, picked up an apple from the table, and took a bite.
This time, he finally tasted the apple.
As he enjoyed the apple, he recalled a warning from one of the magic books.
"To understand the endless multiverse is to understand boundless danger!"
Although mirrored space magic was auxiliary in nature, it was evidently different from regular spatial magic.
If he simply treated the mirrored space as a parallel independent space, he might encounter unexpected dangers at any time.
After finishing the apple in his hand, Russell decided to be more cautious when inside the mirrored space in the future.
"Being a little careful is not a bad thing."
Who knows if evil gods or demons from other dimensions might suddenly invade the mirror space?
In this world, there are many people who can use magic, and Kamar-Taj is just one of the mage organizations.
After taking a break in the office, Russell left and headed back to his apartment.
Even though it's not yet time to finish work, for him, the end of the workday is entirely up to him.
Only he can make others work overtime; no one can make him do so.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be a very responsible capitalist.
In the evening.
When Diana finished work and returned home, Russell had already prepared dinner.
Because he had nothing else to do, and it had been a while since he had personally cooked.
After returning to the apartment, Russell personally prepared dinner for tonight.
Seeing the few home-cooked dishes on the table, Diana's flawless face showed a gentle smile.
After taking off her coat, Diana quickly approached and gave Russell a hug and a kiss.
Afterward, Russell and Diana enjoyed their dinner for the night.
In terms of cooking skills, Russell's skills were average at best, just enough to make some home-cooked dishes.
In terms of cooking, Diana was clearly several levels above him.
The difference in their cooking skills was like the difference between a street-side restaurant and a gourmet chef.
Although his cooking skills were nothing special, Diana was very satisfied with the meal.
After finishing their meal and leaving the dishwashing to the dishwasher, Russell and Diana sat on the sofa in the living room, sharing what they had done today.
Diana didn't have anything special on her end; she mainly worked on her daily tasks related to antiques.
Russell briefly told Diana about his visit to the Ancient One and how he quickly learned the magic of teleportation and mirror space.
When Diana heard that he had successfully learned teleportation and mirror space with his first attempt, her expression changed, and she looked at him in a strange way.
"When did your magical talent become so good?" Diana may not know magic, but one thing she was certain of was that Russell hadn't shown any magical talent before.
If he had such amazing magical talent, he would have found a way to use his divine power long ago, instead of struggling with it.
"I don't know what happened. I just intended to practice a bit, but I ended up mastering it right away," Russell replied, furrowing his brow.
He couldn't explain why he suddenly had such incredible magical talent. If he had known about it earlier, he wouldn't have waited for the Ancient One to approach him; he would have sought out magical training on his own.
"Maybe you should ask the Ancient One about it when you have the chance. She's your magical mentor, and she might know what's going on," Diana suggested.
"I'll do that later," Russell said. "Although I don't know why I suddenly have this extraordinary magical talent, it feels pretty good."
"Be careful when you're learning magic in the future. Magic is different from superhuman abilities. If you're not careful, you could easily attract the attention of evil gods or demons from other dimensions," Diana said seriously.
Back in the DC world, Diana had dealt with many evil gods and demons trying to invade the DC world. While she didn't know much about magic itself, she knew more about it than Russell.
"Yeah, I'll be careful," Russell replied quietly.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, five days had gone by.
During these five days, Russell had focused most of his energy on learning magic. With his inexplicable magical talent, his progress was incredibly fast. In just five days, he had learned all the magic from the three magic books.
After completing the magic from these three books, he went to the Sanctum Sanctorum to talk to the Ancient One. When he mentioned that he had learned teleportation and mirror space with his first attempt, the Ancient One also looked puzzled.
While the Ancient One had examined his future with the Time Stone and knew he had better magical talent than most, none of the futures she saw indicated such astonishing magical talent.
Sanctum Sanctorum. Meeting room.
"I don't know why you have such incredible magical talent, but for now, it doesn't seem like a bad thing for you," the Ancient One said slowly.
"Can I start the next stage of my training now?" Russell asked.
"Let's pause for a moment. Your progress in learning magic has far exceeded expectations. Other mages would need two to three years to learn the magic you've mastered in just five days," the Ancient One said with a furrowed brow.
If she hadn't been sure that Russell wasn't possessed by evil gods or demons, she might have suspected that he had been influenced by them to gain this unbelievable magical talent.
"So, what should I do next?" Russell continued to ask.
"You don't need to do anything special for now. Just continue living your life as you see fit," the Ancient One replied.
"Alright."
Since the Ancient One had said so, Russell had to temporarily put aside his magical studies. While learning magic had been enjoyable, especially as he watched the number of spells he could cast increase, magic was still just his secondary power. It wouldn't become his main focus.
Regarding fancy magic, he preferred the straightforward approach of using his fists.
"By the way, I read in a book that every qualified Kamar-Taj mage can gain the recognition of a magical artifact. I only have a ring for casting teleportation magic at the moment. Do you have any unused magical artifacts that I could borrow for a while?" Since he couldn't learn new magic for the time being, Russell had set his sights on magical artifacts.
He knew that Kamar-Taj had many powerful magical artifacts, but he wasn't sure how many or which ones were available.
However, there was one magical artifact in the Sanctum Sanctorum that had piqued his interest: the Cloak of Levitation.
He was intrigued by Doctor Strange's signature artifact, the Cloak of Levitation. While he had never been a fan of capes or cloaks, the Cloak of Levitation was different. Its ability to fly wasn't his main interest; he was more intrigued by its sentience.
A magical cloak with its own consciousness and unwavering loyalty was a fascinating magical artifact, and he couldn't resist the urge to try it out.
"Do you want a magical artifact?" the Ancient One asked.
"Yes," Russell replied seriously.
"Do you want the Cloak of Levitation?" the Ancient One continued.
"It seems like I'm not the first person to talk to you about this," Russell said with a smile.
"You're right; you're not the first," the Ancient One replied calmly.
"In all the futures I've seen, the Cloak of Levitation has never chosen you."
Although the Ancient One had already given her "answer," Russell was not ready to give up.
He might not be Doctor Strange, but he believed that he could earn the Cloak of Levitation's approval.
Even though the Cloak of Levitation had never chosen him in the futures she had seen, he believed that he could change that.
"If you're so confident, go ahead and try. It's better than you constantly longing for it," the Ancient One said, looking at Russell for a few seconds.
"Good!" Russell nodded with a smile.
Then, he followed the Ancient One to the third-floor chamber where the magical artifacts were kept.
It was more of a display room than a storage room. Various magical artifacts were neatly arranged in cabinets or hung on the walls.
Standing in front of the cabinet containing the Cloak of Levitation, the Ancient One said, "The Cloak of Levitation has a somewhat haughty personality, and gaining its approval is not easy. Since you want to try, go ahead."
With that, the Ancient One opened the glass door of the cabinet, and the floating Cloak of Levitation flew out. The cloak circled around Russell a few times before stopping in front of him, with one corner of the cloak raised as if it were waving.
Hmm... Not approved yet?
Russell wasn't surprised by the cloak's reaction. He might not be Doctor Strange, and he didn't expect the Cloak of Levitation to immediately accept him.
However, he wasn't about to give up. Even though he didn't look like a typical mage, he was now a mage with considerable skills. In terms of magical theory and the number of spells he had mastered, he was not inferior to the mages who had received formal training from Kamar-Taj.
In a slightly arrogant tone, he was currently one of the most outstanding mages among the Kamar-Taj members.
Even Casilius and Mordo, who had become students of the Ancient One earlier than him, were slightly inferior to him in terms of magical talent and power. They couldn't have learned all the introductory spells of Kamar-Taj in just five days.
When the Cloak of Levitation put down its waving corner, Russell raised his hands, clasped them together, and then quickly separated them.
The Ring of Raggedor!
At the moment his hands separated, two small golden magical shields appeared in his hands.
The Ring of Raggedor is one of the signature magics of Kamar-Taj's mages, or one could say, one of the introductory magics.
Any mage from Kamar-Taj is proficient in it.
Russell could easily cast the Ring of Raggedor, and the Ancient One wasn't surprised.
However, when she saw Russell wanting to spar with the Cloak of Levitation, she raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Don't engage here."
After saying that, the Ancient One lifted her left hand, and then gently pressed it downward.
Mirror Space!
In just an instant, Russell and the Cloak of Levitation were forcefully pulled into the Mirror Space by the Ancient One.
Even though it was the same Mirror Space magic, the Ancient One's proficiency in casting it was evidently superior to Russell's. She completed the spell in an effortless manner, with an extremely brief prelude.
The Ancient One had pulled Russell and the Cloak of Levitation into the Mirror Space, partly because she didn't want them to cause damage to the third-floor display hall.
On the other hand, she also wanted to see how far Russell could currently take his magic.
It wasn't that she didn't believe Russell's words; she was just a bit curious about how Russell, who excelled in physical combat, would adopt a magical fighting style.
After being pulled into the Mirror Space by the Ancient One, Russell didn't hesitate at all and launched an attack on the Cloak of Levitation first.
Shield Strike!
The small magical shields formed by the Ring of Raggedor were treated by him as real shields, and he executed a move that no action game player would be unfamiliar with - Shield Strike.
In the blink of an eye, Russell appeared in front of the Cloak of Levitation, and he swung the magical shield in his hand forcefully towards the cloak.
Although the Cloak of Levitation was just a piece of clothing, Russell was treating it as a real adversary now.
While the Cloak of Levitation hadn't learned any close combat fighting techniques, it evidently had its unique fighting style.
Just when those two small magical shields were about to hit it, the Cloak of Levitation floated backward swiftly, attempting to evade Russell's Shield Strike.
However, at that very moment, the small magical shield in Russell's left hand disappeared instantly.
The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!
Five or six beams of magma-like dark red energy, resembling tangible bands, shot towards the Cloak of Levitation at high speed.
The flying speed of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak was swift, no less than that of the Cloak of Levitation.
Under Russell's control, the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak coiled around the Cloak of Levitation like the tentacles of an octopus.
Got you!
After binding the Cloak of Levitation with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, Russell didn't hesitate at all. He pulled it forcefully towards himself with his left hand.
At the same time, the magical shield in his right hand was swung fiercely towards the Cloak of Levitation.
Boom!
Although the Cloak of Levitation was just a garment and not a real living being, the moment it was struck by the magical shield, it exhibited extremely anthropomorphic movements. The hem and hood of the cloak fluttered up and down, as if a human had been hit.
After the magical shield hit the Cloak of Levitation, Russell promptly dispelled it with his right hand, and then he invoked his third spell.
The Sacred Sword of Vishanti!
A golden magical longsword, shaped like a machete, appeared instantly.
Subsequently, it swung fiercely at the Cloak of Levitation.
Sizzle!
The magical longsword, like a bolt of lightning, cut across the Cloak of Levitation.
Although there was no way for the Cloak of Levitation to dodge, its defensive capabilities were evidently not weak.
The Sacred Sword of Vishanti didn't cause any harm to the Cloak of Levitation.
However, Russell didn't expect the Sacred Sword of Vishanti to tear the Cloak of Levitation apart. While it hadn't performed well in the cinematic universe, in the comics, the Cloak of Levitation was nearly indestructible. In a battle between Doctor Strange and Adam Warlock, for instance, the cloak had grown large enough to envelop the entire solar system.
After the Sacred Sword of Vishanti's slash passed through the Cloak of Levitation, Russell immediately dispelled both his magical attacks.
With the disappearance of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and the Sacred Sword of Vishanti, the Cloak of Levitation, like a frightened little beast, flew more than twenty meters away in an instant.
"Do you want to continue?"
Looking at the Cloak of Levitation floating in the distance, Russell asked calmly.
The Cloak of Levitation didn't respond immediately.
After a "silence" of five or six seconds, the Cloak of Levitation flew towards him and voluntarily draped itself over him.
Seeing this scene, the Ancient One shook her head helplessly.
Though the Cloak of Levitation had a somewhat haughty personality, it seemed that Russell had managed to persuade it with "reason."
While Russell had indeed used magic in his combat just now, he didn't fight like a typical mage.
But then again, the fighting style passed down by Kamar-Taj wasn't much better, it was a group of people who were essentially spellcasters but presented themselves as warriors.
