Marvel: Little Genius - Chapter: 370 (Patreon)

As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Just as Doctor Strange reignited the intense flames of hope within himself for the possibility of recovering his hands, Ancient One and Mark's response of keeping him out hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water, making him instantly feel as though he had been drenched from head to toe, inside and out, with a chilling sensation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Open the door, please! Open the door, please! I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have speculated about things I don't know and spoken out of turn. Please forgive me, let me in!"

Having been expelled from the gates of Kamar-Taj, Doctor Strange didn't leave disheartened. Instead, he stood before Kamar-Taj's doors, relentlessly pounding on the door and shouting, hoping to be given another chance.

"You're quite heartless, Master Ancient One. Your chosen successor has been shouting outside for nearly five hours. Aren't you planning to let him in?"

Inside the temple, Mark put down his teacup and addressed Ancient One, who was meditating.

"Aren't you the same, Master Mark? Don't forget, it was you and me who refused to let him stay at Kamar-Taj to learn. How can you now accuse me of being heartless?"

Ancient One opened her eyes, coming out of her meditative state.

"I'm not the Supreme Sorcerer, and my decisions don't hold weight in Kamar-Taj. Plus, it was just because he called me a foolish millionaire moments ago that I got annoyed. I just intended to tease him for a while.

If you're really not planning to let him into Kamar-Taj, then I can consider my mission for coming back here complete."

Ancient One picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip of the hot tea. "I'm not actually refusing to let him learn magic at Kamar-Taj. After all, Kamar-Taj's rule is that anyone capable of finding this place has the opportunity to learn magic to varying degrees.

However, as you mentioned earlier, you were angered by his impoliteness. Arrogance, stubbornness, and an ambitious nature—these are just a few of his faults.

I hope to use this trial to make him understand the importance of showing proper respect when facing the unknown and to cherish the opportunity to broaden his horizons and learn magic."

"Are you worried he'll become another Kaecilius?"

Upon hearing Ancient One's reasoning, Mark immediately understood the significance behind the trial she had set. It was only today, after returning to Kamar-Taj, that he learned from Master Mordo that Dormammu had once again violated the agreement he had made him and had once again harbored ambitions for Earth.

Furthermore, in order to deal with the threat he posed, Dormammu had paid a significant price, enticing Kaecilius to fall into the dark camp.

Once Kaecilius completes the magic circle he stole from the Book of Cagliostro to summon the Dark Dimension, Dormammu's true form will be able to descend upon Earth.

At that point, Dormammu, who would be able to unleash his full power, will undoubtedly launch a frenzied attack on Earth.

It is precisely due to this fear that Ancient One treats Doctor Strange's instruction with such caution. She also brought in Mark as a guide for Doctor Strange's path of learning magic, believing that communication between Mark and Doctor Strange, both being geniuses, would be more efficient and fluid, preventing a tragedy like Kaecilius from happening again.

"It was my negligence in paying attention to Kaecilius that allowed him to be trapped by his own obsession and fall into Dormammu's trap. But this time, I won't make the same mistake again."

...

"Please, let me in, don't leave me outside. I can't go anywhere now..."

Zi-er—

Doctor Strange, who had been pleading in front of Kamar-Taj's gate for nearly five hours, looked at the faint light that leaked through the opened crack and felt as though he were bathed in the radiance of an angel. For him, this was the sensation of hope being rekindled.

"Thank you!" Doctor Strange had never been so heartfelt in his expression of gratitude.

"You don't need to thank me. If you want to thank anyone, thank Master Ancient One. I just accepted her request to bring you in. After all, I'm just a foolish millionaire whose eyes were blinded by money."

"No, no, Mr. Stark, please allow me to retract the judgment I made about you this afternoon. I was too arrogant, too self-centered, and had a narrow perspective. I'm very sorry.

You have achieved unparalleled success in fields such as medicine and various other technologies, contributing greatly to human progress and development. I genuinely respect you.

However, ever since my hands were injured, I've become somewhat emotional, often doing irrational things that hurt people who are significant to me.

When I first arrived at Kamar-Taj's gate, Master Mordo warned me not to be confined by what I knew in the past, but unfortunately, I didn't heed his advice."

"Alright, I accept your apology. Your room is ahead. Take a good shower and rest.

If you have time, you can try meditating. It will help you truly learn some very useful things from the first lesson I gave you today. This knowledge will assist you in smoothly navigating the rest of your life at Kamar-Taj.

Later, Master Ancient One will summon you. As for me, I'm going to visit an old friend. So, enjoy your solitude for now, and here's something for you."

Mark handed a note to Doctor Strange and was about to leave.

"Wait, what's this? Is it my spell?" Doctor Strange asked, looking at the note in his hand.

"Don't be silly. You don't even know magic, so where would you get a spell? That's Kamar-Taj's Wi-Fi password."

...

Leaving Doctor Strange's room, Mark navigated through the intricate passages of Kamar-Taj and eventually arrived at a room that seemed a bit more beaten up than the others.

The person Mark came to visit was the library librarian who had previously helped him during his time learning magic at Kamar-Taj. Not too long ago, Kaecilius, under Dormammu's influence, had broken into the library, injured the librarian, and taken the pages from the Book of Cagliostro containing information about summoning the Dark Dimension.

If the story had progressed as it originally did, this librarian would have eventually been beheaded by Kaecilius. However, Mark, who knew his destiny, was well-prepared to prevent this tragedy, and saved the librarian to repay his help.

Before leaving Kamar-Taj, Mark had successfully deciphered the method Kamar-Taj used to create magical artifacts. With this knowledge, he created a protective artifact for the librarian, ensuring his safety even when Mark wasn't by his side.

Thanks to this protective measure, even though Kaecilius managed to take the pages he needed from the Book of Cagliostro, he couldn't take the librarian's life.

However, after this incident, the kind librarian was left with an indelible shadow in his heart. He was also deemed insufficient to undertake the task of guarding the library; he was reassigned to a position translating ancient texts with Ancient One's approval.

Knock, knock, knock! Mark gently knocked on his door. Knowing that Kaecilius's abrupt intrusion had left him with psychological scars, Mark was careful in his knocking, fearing that too much urgency might trigger emotional instability.

"Who's there?"

The door didn't open; instead, a trembling voice came from behind it. Judging by the source of the voice, Mark could tell that the person inside the room was hiding behind the door while asking the question.

"It's me, Mark Stark. Do you remember me?"

"Is it the Master Sanctum Guardian?" After hearing Mark's response, the voice inside the room clearly became more stable. It carried a hint of excitement and anticipation, yet still retained a trace of caution.

Then, the closed door slowly creaked open from the inside, and a careful gaze peered out through the crack in the door.

Only after confirming that it was indeed Mark did the door fully open, revealing the person standing before Mark.

The librarian, whom Mark was familiar with before, now had a completely unrecognizable appearance.

Though he used to come across as reserved and shy, his sincere eyes revealed his eagerness to connect with the outside world.

Now, however, Mark saw him dressed entirely in a yellow robe, his hood covering half of his face, rendering his expression and features invisible. He had become a person wrapped in a cloak, isolated from the outside world.

If Mark's identity had breached the first line of defense, the sealed attire he wore now acted as the second line. The final line, and the most solid one, was the barrier he had intentionally built within himself.

If the first two lines of defense could be gradually overcome with external changes, this last checkpoint could only be breached and improved by his own efforts.

"Master Guardian... I... I... I'm delighted to see you again. Thanks to the protective artifact you left for me, I can now converse with you here.

I wonder if there's anything I can assist you with? Although I'm quite useless, I couldn't even guard the library properly and had the pages from the forbidden books taken away. I almost got myself killed.

But to repay your kindness, I'm willing to put forth all my effort."

Despite the impact of Kaecilius's attack and the resulting psychological scars, his kind-hearted nature hadn't changed.

Given this, Mark planned to use this as a breakthrough point to help him overcome his inner fear entirely.

"Well, the thing is, I've been researching magic recently and have developed a secret technique called Illusion Magic. It allows me to directly apply magical influence to the soul of the target, affecting their bodily senses, making them see any illusion I desire.

However, this new technique is still in the experimental stage of transitioning from theory to practice. I need some volunteers to experience its effects firsthand, provide me with more data and feedback, and help expedite its development and application. I'm wondering if you'd be willing to become my volunteer and assist me in perfecting and applying this technique together."

"You can rest assured that the illusions I release through Illusion Magic won't contain anything disturbing. When affected by the illusion, you'll actually feel as if you've had a pleasant dream. It won't burden you physically or mentally."

Mark's explanation of the Illusion Magic technique was indeed true. However, he had developed and perfected the theory and practical effects of this technique long before. Mentioning the need for volunteers in front of the former librarian was merely a pretext to engage him.

Mark's real intention was to guide the librarian in resolving his inner conflicts within an environment Mark specially created, helping him regain his original, albeit shy, sunny demeanor.

"Um... sure, I'm willing to contribute as a volunteer. Should we start now? Could you allow me to go back to my room first, set up a few protective and defensive magic circles, and then..."

Having just agreed to Mark's request, the librarian began to nervously ramble on, his words flowing rapidly as if he had regained some vitality.

However, Mark certainly didn't have the patience to continue listening to the librarian's endless chatter. Without waiting to see if the librarian was prepared or not, Mark looked directly into his eyes and began to cast the Illusion Magic.

"Hope that when you wake up tomorrow morning, your fear and avoidance of the outside world will be completely healed. Good luck."

As the librarian stood in a daze and caught in the illusion Mark had cast, Mark gave him some encouragement.

Mark had done all he could for him at this point. The final outcome, whether it would be favorable or not, depended entirely on how the librarian would perform within the illusion.

As the saying goes, "A person's savior is themselves." All the conditions to help him overcome his psychological shadow were in place. If he couldn't summon the courage to conquer this challenge on his own, no matter how capable Mark was, he couldn't alter a person's will.

Therefore, regardless of whether he succeeded or failed when he woke up from the illusion tomorrow morning, Mark wouldn't provide him with a second round of assistance.

...

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Doctor Strange opened his eyes once again as he woke up from his bed. The first thing he saw was Mark sitting by his bedside, vigorously striking a copper gong.

He didn't know how long he had slept. Since his injury, this was the most restful and comforting sleep he had experienced. Both physically and mentally, the prolonged exhaustion brought about by the suppression had been swept away, making him feel remarkably light today.

"Good morning, Strange. Although I did tell you to take a good rest, you can't just skip setting an alarm! Breakfast time has already passed. If I hadn't kindly come to wake you up for class, you might not even have managed to have lunch today."

As Doctor Strange listened to Mark's sermon-like tone with an apparent "I'm doing this for your own good" expression, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Did he truly forgive me like he said yesterday, or is it all a facade? Why do I feel like he's still targeting me?

If he really wanted to wake me up, couldn't he have come before breakfast ended? And why use a copper gong with such high decibels to wake me up? I was just asleep, not unconscious!"

"It seems like you're secretly badmouthing me in your mind, Strange?" Mark, with keen observation, saw the resentment hidden in Doctor Strange's eyes and immediately guessed his inner thoughts.

"Oh no, not at all! How could it be! It's my honor that you personally came to wake me up. I'll get up right away, no snoozing!" Doctor Strange quickly got out of bed and, with his trembling hands, put on the apprentice attire of Kamar-Taj.

"By the way, you mentioned waking me up for class. So where is the classroom? Who's the teacher? What's the first day's subject?"

"There's no classroom, you can discuss the subject wherever you'd like, and as for the teacher—near and far at the same time." Mark pointed at himself, saying, "I'm your teacher for today, tomorrow, and the day after, until you complete your apprenticeship and meet my requirements."