"Get up."
Edward opened his eyes, "You must be Mordo. The Ancient One talked about you."
"Likewise."
"Oh, what did she say?"
"She claims she found a natural prodigy of the mystic art."
"You don't sound convinced," said Edward, standing up from the small bed.
"Your abilities have yet to be known or tested," Mordo explained calmly. "Please change into the appropriate uniform. I'll wait outside."
'I forgot how rigid this man's ideal and thoughts were,' thought Edward as his magic robe turned into the Kamar Taj' gray uniform. Mordo is the kind of person who cannot get along with someone like him who constantly disobeys the rules to push boundaries. Edward walked out while thinking of ways to ensure his relationship with these people.
"So fast?"
"I didn't want to be late."
"It seems you are at least very disciplined; that's good," nodded Mordo, leading them to a group of students dressed in horrible-looking clothes. Mordo then began to speak to the young sorcerers.
"You must go beyond your normal senses to feel the energy coming from those dimensions and harness them for use. You must…" He gave a thirty-minute explanation, making some students wonder why he was telling them this again. Mordo then ended the lecture with a few demonstrations.
'Interesting,' thought Edward. 'They change their brain and soul frequency to perfectly attune to the surrounding dimensional seas and harness the energy from them. Their meditation technique is genius and perfectly fitted for humans.'
Edward closed his eyes and followed Mordo's method; he found himself in a sea of colorful lights rushing in all directions.
'Those should be dimensions,' thought Edward, feeling how absurdly easy it was to access the energy from these dimensions. When he compared Sorcerer Magic in the Empire, which requires a Gate of Truth and so much effort, it was truly baffling how easily this method made things.
'This method makes it so easy that 90% of humans can do it after the right training," concluded Edward. Of course, talents would dictate how long it takes, but as long as someone perseveres, even with the worst talent, they can succeed in 5 to 8 years.
Edward sighed as he continued praising this method, thinking how much it would help the Empire. He made the motions with his hands to draw the energy, creating a shield that resembled yellow runes before him.
'So, that's eldritch magic,' thought Edward, slightly intrigued. 'Because of how weak a human's body is, they cannot channel too much energy from other dimensions, so they must rely on skill mastery or Relics.'
The Ancient One is a great sorcerer because of her skill and because her body is strengthened by energy from the dark dimension.
'I do not have such restrictions on my body, but I should learn their skill mastery of using and manipulating interdimensional energy,' he concluded.
"Excellent," said Mordo, who walked by him. "You succeed on your first try." Edward just nodded to him. "In that case, let's try a few more advanced spells." He had the students practice conjuring weapons like whips and others, and none of these tasks bothered Edward as he easily learned them.
Everyone took a break for lunch, and the students looked at Edward oddly. However, he quickly joined them as he was a master of conversation. Since he wanted to gather support to prevent rejection for being chosen as the next Sorcerer Supreme, he knew the importance of being well-liked. So, he put on his Emperor Smile to charm people.
"The afternoon lesson is hand-to-hand combat," said Mordo. "As a sorcerer, you must train your mind and body. Now, on your guard." Edward fought with him for a minute before restraining him. Mordo could not accept this easy defeat and chose a second round with weapons, so he handed him a short baton while using one. The result was the same.
"You were trained?"
"Yes," nodded Edward, making Mordo sigh. "I felt guilty for doubting the Ancient One's words, even for a moment, but now, she's proven that her visions are beyond what I can understand."
Edward's lips twitched. He loved it when his followers were this devoted to him, but in this situation, Mordo's devotion was a problem; it was one of the reasons he left Karmar Taj after finding out the Ancient One was not who he thought she was.
'Maybe it's not bad to lose people like Mordo and Kaecilius,' thought Edward. As long as he prevented them from doing anything reckless, losing one or two Sorcerers, even if they were talented, should not be an issue.
The third training session of the day was on how to use the Sling Ring, another discovery Edward found very useful. This Relic made it easier to control a specific type of energy that allowed for opening portals to any dimension. He had the idea of augmenting this thing to function for all spatial energy.
There will be many benefits and advantages if Space Magic becomes more common in the Empire. Of course, there will also be more chaos and danger, but he will prepare for these eventualities before releasing this knowledge or technology.
At night, Edward did not have time to head to the library when the Ancient One summoned him.
"How was it?"
"Fine. Little slow for my taste, but many things in your magical system are valuable to mine."
"I'm glad," she nodded. "I wanted to wait a few days, but after seeing you in action today, I figured I might as well get it over with." She then removed the Eye of Agomoto from her neck and handed it along with a book. Edward took thirty minutes to read the entire book and absorb all the knowledge.
"Understand?" the Ancient One asked.
"Yes."
"Questions?"
"A few," said Edward. In the next thirty minutes, he asked questions, and she answered. After that, they spent an hour discussing time magic and losing track of time.
The Ancient One sighed, "It's been a while since I had such a captivating conversation about the mystic art." The last time was when she talked to Odin and his wife, Freya, a few hundred years ago.
"Let's get back on track." She took a bite from an apple and placed it on a counter before them.
"Is this necessary?" asked Edward.
"For my peace of mind," she explained. So, Edward used the Time Stone to manipulate time and return the apple to different states. Then, the Ancient One tried a few more difficult tests before she allowed him to peep into the future.
He wondered what she saw and what he needed to prepare for, so he got into positions and peeked into the future. An hour later, Edward woke up without saying a word.
"What's on your mind?"
"I want to cuss."
"By all means."
"(&&*^^%^%$(08," he went on a 20-minute tirade, cursing in more than a hundred languages, some of which did not exist in this universe. Finally, he exhaled and said: "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. You lasted less than I did." The Ancient One had the same reaction as her; she cussed for the first time in hundreds of years, and she did not stop after 20 minutes.
So, what did Edward see that made him react like this? A Multiverse Convergence: All infinite timelines and dimensions crash and fuse into each other until only one timeline remains. And in the process, countless terrifying creatures emerge, including those who defy common sense. On top of everything else, many of these creatures are Tier 11 and maybe beyond.
In fact, the only reason these creatures did not kill his peeping self across space-time was due to the protection of the Time Stone and his swift actions to evade them.
"So, what are you going to do?" asked the Ancient One, and Edward stared at her. She's the one who brought him into this mess. "You can't blame me for your decisions."
Edward exhaled, 'There is no need to freak out and lose my calm. If this is enough to rattle me out, I won't survive the upcoming war.' He returned to his cool and logical side.
"We have a lot of work to do, and I'm telling you beforehand, it will not be pretty ."
"That's why I chose you," she replied with a smile.