Game in Marvel-Chapter 88

Kamar-Taj

A black portal opened in the courtyard, and from inside emerged Liam and Fenrir. The apprentices immediately gathered around Liam again as he carried a bunch of books with him. These were some of the books that Tony and Steve had taken previously and also some books on arcanists.

The apprentices, by now, knew that Tony and Liam were honorary members of Kamar-Taj, and since they had money, everyone would try to curry a bit of favor with them. Tony hadn't actually disappointed them. To improve the place's Wi-Fi speed, he had sent a direct satellite connection, linked to Stark's own satellite. Thus, Kamar-Taj now had very fast Wi-Fi. This already made the apprentices very happy, and they worshipped Tony more than their own teachers.

After all, the internet came free of charge.

"Alright... don't bother him so much. He's here for business," Mordo said as he noticed the bustle around. He had not been happy about Tony being allowed to take some books out, but once he read the arcanist books, he understood why the Ancient One had decided to grant Tony this access.

Though he couldn't use the magic written in the books, one could, however, learn and imbue magical runes into alloy metals and other materials. This meant they could create magical weapons. Though Mordo wasn't very talented in this regard, the weapons created through arcanist knowledge had immense potential.

He referred to it as potential because the magic written in the books was hard to emulate, as their paths differed greatly from the paths described in the arcanist books. Thankfully, this worked both ways: Tony, genius as he was, couldn't even perform the basic magic of Kamar-Taj. Of course, Tony wasn't one to give up easily and had been working hard to learn and master the magic.

"Mordo, is the Ancient One at home?" Liam asked with a smile.

"Yes, she's in her chambers," Mordo replied. Liam nodded and went to the library to deliver the books. Mordo followed him. Liam remained silent during this short walk, but he could sense that Mordo had something to say.

"Is there something you want to say, Mordo?" Liam asked as politely as possible.

"I... I'm sorry for my behavior that day," Mordo said with a hint of embarrassment.

"What are you talking about?" Liam asked, genuinely confused.

"That day... I stopped Tony and you from taking the books," Mordo explained, and Liam remembered that Mordo had indeed done so.

"Hah... you're overthinking. You stopped Tony and Steve. I was just a spectator," Liam replied, as he genuinely didn't care about what Mordo had done. Mordo was portrayed as a villain in the comics to begin with, so Liam always considered anything coming from his mouth to be unworthy of worry.

Even in this world, Mordo would eventually turn against Strange just because he used the Time Stone. What kind of logic was that? By that reasoning, Loki should be his eternal enemy. Liam would love to see a fight between Loki and Mordo—that would show Mordo what true time manipulation looked like.

"Uhh... it was my presumptuous self acting out. I still need to apologize," Mordo said, lowering his head. Liam was slightly impressed and replied,

"It's all water under the bridge. Don't be so rigid, Mordo, because this world wasn't built on structures—it thrives on chaos." Liam offered his advice as he delivered the books to the librarian, who looked very pleased. The librarian was a sucker for books, and new arrivals always made him happy.

Liam's words made Mordo pause. The Ancient One had given him similar advice before, but he hadn't heeded it. Mordo believed those who didn't follow the rules should be condemned. Rules, after all, distinguished intelligent beings from savages.

He said no more on the topic and instead conversed with Liam about his life. Liam, in turn, asked about his magic. Soon, they arrived at the Ancient One's chambers. Mordo didn't follow Liam any further and had already started reading a book when Liam entered.

"Sit," the Ancient One said after closing the book she had been reading and looking at Liam.

"That day when I came here, I was extremely rude. I didn't thank you for saving my life and Fenrir's as well," Liam said. His words brought a smile to the Ancient One's face.

"I didn't save you. I think, in the end, you could have handled him," the Ancient One replied.

"No, you saved me from myself. I would never have forgiven myself if I had lost Fenrir that day," Liam said. The Ancient One simply smiled in response.

"This time, you look particularly happy and bright. Did something happen?" the Ancient One asked.

"Umm... I don't know. Do I?" Liam asked, genuinely unaware of any change in himself as he looked at his hands and checked his clothes.

"No. I meant you look like someone who has shed some of the burdens you were carrying," the Ancient One explained. Liam hadn't expected that answer. "You always seem to carry a sense of responsibility, and since you have some knowledge of how the world works, it makes you worry most of the time. Isn't that right?" she asked.

Liam was speechless. Since the day he had arrived here, he had felt an incessant urge to make himself more powerful and to protect everyone. Anyone could handle street gangs, but when the world was at stake, he would have to step up.

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He didn't want to be one of the 50% who vanished, nor did he want to witness a Celestial being born. He wasn't ready to face any kind of incursion into his world either. And the reason he felt a bit free of worry was because in the next game he would have friends with him. That would mean he wouldn't be alone and although he wouldn't have any kind of power or magical weapons with him, having his friends with him would elevate the loneliness he had been feeling since he had started this whole journey to the game world.