After that lesson, Arthur realized something important.
Although the Space Slash was incredibly powerful, it was useless against an entity like the Ancient One.
So, he couldn't rely on it as his trump card; otherwise, if he ended up facing the Ancient One and she was unharmed while he was knocked to the ground due to using his own skill, it would be quite embarrassing.
Arthur spent some time delving deeper into his research and discovered that the reason Space Slash only worked within three meters was due to his insufficient mental training to support the ability over a longer distance.
In other words, with persistent practice, the range of this skill could be improved.
As for other potential changes, he couldn't predict them for now.
Realizing these things, Arthur felt that staying at Kamar-Taj no longer held much meaning for him.
It had been at least a month since he arrived here.
It was time to return to New York and face what he had to face— this was also a form of personal growth he couldn't avoid.
Before leaving, Arthur had considered whether he should steal a Sling Ring or ask the Ancient One for one.
But ultimately, Arthur decided against it.
The Ancient One had been good to him, and stealing from her didn't seem right.
Asking the Ancient One for one felt unjustifiable; he couldn't use Kamar-Taj's magic anyway, so what would he need a Sling Ring for?
As for saying that he would keep it as a souvenir, that was even more absurd— he could return here anytime by drawing a teleportation circle. A souvenir was unnecessary.
In the end, Arthur respectfully said his goodbyes to the Ancient One. However, the Ancient One insisted on escorting him to the door: "You are always welcome here. Don't hesitate to come here whenever you want."
Arthur rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward, and asked, "Um, can you keep my room reserved? You know, I left a teleportation circle there. It'd be quite embarrassing if someone else used it when I come back. If it's a man, that's fine, but if it's a woman, or a man and a woman…"
The Ancient One sighed deeply, feeling a bit uncomfortable: "I can now understand why the All-Father would sometimes want to just poke you with a finger."
"Wow, that old man is really unpredictable," Arthur said, astonished. "He said he wanted to marry his daughter to me in front of me, but now says he wants to poke me to death— what a fickle old man."
"Oh? The All-Father's daughter?" The Ancient One's gaze became peculiar. "Would you dare?"
"Dare? Why wouldn't I?" Arthur retorted. "But I don't want to!"
"Why not?"
"Because of the age difference!" Arthur declared solemnly.
The Ancient One scowled and shooed him out.
Standing at the door, Arthur was speechless for a moment: "Women, regardless of their status or power, are always so heartless. Speaking of which, I didn't get to meet that Doctor Strange's senior this time. When did Doctor Strange come to study under him?"
As he pondered these things, he gradually walked away…
…
…
Inside the room, the Ancient One's expression was calm as she spoke softly, "He's even more special and interesting than I imagined."
"His future is unpredictable," Odin's voice echoed from the void. "He could be hope or destruction."
"But we cannot guide him," the Ancient One said. "We must not distort him with our will, or we might end up with the worst possible outcome."
"Everything must rely on him alone."
"I actually have a lot of confidence in him," the Ancient One said with a grin. "Although he is indeed quite a handful."
"Very much so!" Odin agreed wholeheartedly.
They reached a consensus on this matter. If Arthur knew that they had come to an agreement about his behavior then he would have quite an interesting expression on his face before cursing them both in his mind.
…
Two days later, a plane landed at New York Airport.
Arthur had changed his look: he was dressed in a black suit, black sunglasses, and a round-brimmed hat, he looked every bit the gentleman.
However, his swaggering walk and the odd sense of arrogance gave people an impression reminiscent of the "Read as a gentleman" meme.
But once this "gentleman" disembarked, his once-arrogant expression froze on his face.
A black car was parked right in front of him, and two people he had anticipated meeting but didn't expect to see now, were standing in front of the car, looking at him.
Arthur glanced around helplessly and approached them: "So, the privileged class is really annoying. This is the airport's restricted area, and outside vehicles aren't allowed in!"
"There's probably no airport that SHIELD can't access," The woman with wavy long hair said while smiling slightly. Her stunning figure attracted the attention of passersby.
Arthur, however, didn't acknowledge her and instead focused on the other person.
This person was tall and stood there with a serious expression on his face while his eyes seemed moist, as if he was on the verge of tears but was trying hard to hold them back.
"Instructor…"
The two syllables that came from his throat were slightly trembling.
Arthur removed his sunglasses and looked at the man with a complex expression on his face before saying: "Steve, where's your Stars and Stripes?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the nearly 6'3" man in front of him suddenly embraced Arthur.
He patted Arthur's back vigorously: "It's so good to see you. I thought… I really thought you were… This is the best news I could hear after waking up."
Arthur coughed up blood: "Please be gentle, otherwise, I might actually be killed by you!"
Steve quickly released him and looked at Arthur with a helpless expression before saying: "Instructor, I know your physical strength so don't lie."
"You know too much."Arthur made a 'pistol' gesture toward Steve's head: "Be careful, or I might silence you."
Beep! Beep!
The car horn sounded, accompanied by a woman's voice from inside the car: "How long are you two planning to chat?"
"Get in the car." Steve opened the car door.
Arthur shrugged and got into the car.
…
…
As the car drove along the highway, Steve's excitement settled down.
He looked at the pedestrians on the street, then turned to Arthur: "Instructor, how did you adapt to today's world? I can't even imagine waking up and finding the world like this."
"You need to learn to adapt."
Arthur threw himself onto the leather sofa in the car, glanced at Black Widow who was driving, and said, "Otherwise, if you had to experience all the mess I've been through, you'd probably be even more overwhelmed than I am."
**(End of Chapter)**
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