Fini had imagined many times what it would be like to meet the Ancient One.
After drawing the “Jin Ji Fried Chicken Wrap” back then, when he was worried about his future, he had considered whether he should go find the Ancient One and ask to become her disciple.
But at the time, he was simply too young, and Skye had only recently come to live with him, so he never put the idea into practice.
Later, after discovering that the “Golden Dayan Art” could be trained and improved, he temporarily abandoned the thought.
As the debut of Iron Man drew closer and closer, while his own strength continued to grow at a painfully slow rate, Fini had once again begun thinking about becoming the Ancient One’s disciple.
He had originally decided that if his third skill turned out to be useless, he would go to Kamar-Taj to find the Ancient One.
Ideally, he would even find a way to settle down there.
In Fini’s impression, there was probably nowhere on the entire Earth that was safer than the Ancient One’s side.
Aliens?
Hulk?
She could crush them effortlessly with one hand and leave them unable to fight back.
That was the strength of the absolute pinnacle.
The entire Earth was essentially being protected by the Ancient One alone.
Therefore, in Fini’s imagination, he should have been approaching the Ancient One with a pious heart, taking each step like a pilgrim and wearing a respectful expression as he went to pay his respects.
It would have been a beautiful scene.
But now…
He was lying on the ground without a shred of dignity, covered in dirt, talking behind someone’s back.
And the most embarrassing part?
He had been caught red-handed by the very person he was talking about.
His dream was shattered!
Fini felt that if he knew how to use the Time Stone, he would definitely rewind time to before the Ancient One arrived and tape his own mouth shut.
“You… you…”
The Ancient One’s sudden appearance left Fini too shocked to speak.
He simply couldn’t understand why the Ancient One had appeared here!
“Hello. Nice to meet you for the first time, Mr. Helsez!”
The Ancient One smiled as she looked down at Fini lying on the ground.
Her smile was kind and friendly, but for some reason, Fini felt an inexplicable chill.
Fini struggled to sit up and tried his best to calm himself down.
Then, pretending that he didn’t recognize the Ancient One, he asked nervously, “Who are you?”
“Oh? Am I not the bald woman you were talking about?”
The Ancient One put on a puzzled expression.
She continued looking at Fini with a smiling face, but the amusement in her eyes only made him more nervous.
“…”
Fini didn’t know how to answer.
As far as he knew, the Ancient One was absolutely on the side of good.
With the Time Stone in her possession, not only was she among the strongest beings in terms of power, but her control over the past and future was also unparalleled.
The future!?
Fini suddenly felt that he understood something.
He stared at the Ancient One in front of him and thought carefully for a moment before finally sighing.
“Nice to meet you for the first time, Master Ancient One!”
Judging from the Ancient One’s attitude, Fini felt that if she knew something about his future, then their relationship probably wasn’t an ordinary one.
So having a good relationship with the future Sorcerer Supreme was only natural.
The Ancient One smiled and nodded.
She simply sat there silently, showing no surprise whatsoever that Fini recognized her.
“Um… Master Ancient One…”
The Ancient One remained silent, but Fini couldn’t hold himself back.
He didn’t have the Time Stone, so he couldn’t peek into the future and spoil the plot in advance.
Right now, he desperately wanted to know why the Ancient One had suddenly appeared.
“Did you come here looking for me for some reason?”
Hearing Fini’s question, the Ancient One immediately shook her head and said casually, “Nothing in particular. I was just a little bored, so I wanted to come and see you.”
You’re the Sorcerer Supreme!
You should be properly protecting Earth!
If Dormammu knew you had so much free time, he’d probably be heartbroken.
Fini silently complained to himself.
Although this was technically the first time the two of them had met, somehow, neither seemed to feel the slightest sense of unfamiliarity toward the other.
Since things had already developed this far, Fini felt there was no point worrying about it anymore.
After thinking for a moment, he asked directly, “Master Ancient One, how did you know about me?”
“Exactly the way you’re thinking.”
The Ancient One sat down beside Fini without caring about the dirt at all.
She completely ignored the expression on Fini’s face, which looked as though he had just eaten something unpleasant after hearing her answer.
What the hell does that even mean…?
Fini didn’t even know what he was thinking himself.
There were far too many possibilities for how the Ancient One could know about him, and there was no way he could figure it out.
So he simply asked again.
“Is it because we know each other in the future?”
The Ancient One’s deep eyes studied Fini for a moment.
She neither nodded nor shook her head.
“Perhaps.”
Fini felt exhausted.
The feeling that the Ancient One might know everything about him while he knew almost nothing about her was genuinely uncomfortable.
So he decided to temporarily stop worrying about how she knew him.
The Ancient One was the strongest person on Earth and a supreme powerhouse on the magical side.
Since he had encountered her, not finding a way to cling to her and obtain some benefits would practically be letting himself down.
Once he had made up his mind, Fini immediately put on a sincere expression and said,
“Master Ancient One, I’ve actually admired you for a very long time. I’ve always wanted to learn magic from you. Why don’t you take a look at my aptitude and see how suitable I am for it?”
The Ancient One thought about the question for a moment before nodding.
“It’s just average.”
Fini’s heart sank.
It was like wanting to compliment someone, only to discover that they weren’t particularly handsome or intelligent, leaving you with nothing to say except that they were rather tall.
Although Fini absolutely refused to accept the Ancient One’s assessment of his aptitude, he didn’t argue.
Instead, he immediately seized the opportunity. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“So that means I have a talent for learning magic, right? Can I study magic under you?”
The Ancient One didn’t refuse.
Instead, she looked at Fini curiously and asked,
“Why do you want to learn magic?”
“I want to protect the universe!”
Fini immediately declared righteously.
That wasn’t exactly a lie.
He wanted to become stronger so he could stop Thanos’s “family-planning” project.
Half of all life in the universe would be affected.
As long as he prevented that snap, he would absolutely qualify as a universe-level protector.
A hint of astonishment seemed to flash through the Ancient One’s eyes.
She silently pulled out a smile before changing the subject.
“How has your sister been all these years?”
Hearing the Ancient One ask about Skye, Fini felt somewhat puzzled, but he honestly answered,
“She’s doing pretty well.”
Then he couldn’t help asking the question that had been bothering him.
“Master Ancient One, is there something wrong with my sister?”
“Nothing.”
The Ancient One shook her head.
She seemed to sigh with a trace of emotion as she said,
“I just remembered that, back then, someone actually went so far as to alter the rules of the world simply because he wanted a sister.”
“…”
At that moment, Fini suddenly understood a great deal.
He seemed to realize why his first use of the “Golden Dayan Art” had succeeded, and why it had suddenly produced such a huge amount of experience.
Perhaps—
No. It was almost certainly because the Ancient One had secretly done something behind the scenes.
That was ultimately what allowed him to successfully use the “Golden Dayan Art” with such a powerful effect.
Just how strong was the Ancient One?
Fini didn’t know.
He only knew that she was incredibly powerful.
So it wasn’t at all impossible for her to notice that the “Golden Dayan Art” he had used was something completely extraordinary.
A strange new type of magic she had never encountered before, combined with the fact that what he wanted to accomplish wasn’t inherently bad.
For the sake of understanding it, secretly giving him a little push to help analyze it was entirely within the Ancient One’s capabilities.
However, if the Ancient One could secretly help him, then there was no guarantee that she couldn’t interfere with it either.
The sense of invincibility Fini had previously associated with the “Golden Dayan Art” was gone.
At that moment, Fini suddenly remembered something a certain old man had once said:
Only magic can defeat magic!
(End of Chapter)