Blake couldn't answer either of the questions the Ancient One asked.
He could only play dumb and say, "Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."
Meanwhile, he was frantically calling out to the system in his mind.
'System, wasn't my identity supposed to be secure after crossing over? Why did the Ancient One say I shouldn't be here? Hurry and come up with something!'
The system completely ignored Blake's question and instead began speaking in his mind on its own.
'Congratulations, host, for making contact with the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, and leaving a strong impression on her. You are awarded 500 points!With the system upgrade, the Level 2 store is now open. System upgrade starting now!'
Then a countdown appeared: 47:59:59!
'Hey! Hey!'
Blake shouted in his mind a few more times, but the system remained in countdown mode.
'Damn it!' Blake cursed inwardly.
When he snapped back to reality, he found that the Ancient One had somehow leaned in closer, her face just inches from his.
Their faces were so close that if their eyelashes were just a bit longer, they would have touched.
"Ah! What are you doing?"
Blake was startled, then immediately yelped and pulled back.
What's going on? The Ancient One has lived for at least a thousand years; surely she doesn't have any inappropriate thoughts about me, right?
"Who were you talking to just now? I could sense your mental waves; it felt like you were communicating with someone, but there's only the two of us here! How curious."
The Ancient One ignored Blake's outburst and asked her question.
Blake was shocked to his core. He knew the Sorcerer Supreme was powerful, but he didn't expect her to be so powerful that she could sense him communicating with the system in his mind.
"I really don't understand what you're talking about. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now!"
The current Ancient One was not someone to mess with—Blake couldn't fight her, and there was a real risk she might uncover his secrets.
Blake decided it was best to make a quick exit. In fact, for a brief moment, he even regretted taking on Thor's mission. After all, Odin was also a Skyfather-level powerhouse, who knew how many mysterious methods he had up his sleeve?
If these people figured out he didn't belong in this world, who knows what they might do to him?
In a situation where he couldn't be sure of friend or foe, Blake's choice to retreat was undoubtedly the right one.
But the difference in power was just too vast—leaving wasn't as simple as he had hoped.
"Interesting. Let me see for myself."
The Ancient One spoke to herself, and as soon as she finished, her hands moved like lightning, pressing directly against Blake's forehead.
Blake felt his entire body stiffen as if he was experiencing sleep paralysis, unable to move at all.
He was fully aware of his surroundings, knew the Ancient One's hand was on his forehead, and his senses were all intact, but he was completely paralyzed.
'Damn it, they say having a system makes you invincible—am I really going to bite the dust here? If I have to die, at least let it be after a fight with Thanos or some other big villain, not here at the hands of the Ancient One! What a lousy way to go!'
I still haven't spent my three billion dollars or slept with Black Widow!
Blake couldn't even move his eyes and could only mentally rant about how unfair it was to die like this.
Fortunately, the Ancient One only examined Blake's soul and mental waves. The feeling of being paralyzed came quickly but also disappeared just as quickly.
In almost an instant, Blake regained his freedom and collapsed onto the sofa, the sensation of being unable to control his body leaving him deeply uncomfortable.
He took a couple of deep breaths, and since he couldn't fight and couldn't leave, the mischievous streak in Blake started to flare up.
"What the hell do you want? If you've got something to say, just say it. All this touching and talking in riddles—if you want to fight, let's fight!"
In his excitement, Blake blurted this out in his native tounge.
To his surprise, the Ancient One replied even more fluently than he did.
"Well, you've got quite the temper for someone so young. You're hiding so many secrets; of course, I have to uncover them and take a good look. Are you sure you want to fight me?"
As soon as she started speaking in his native tounge, the Ancient One's entire demeanor seemed to change. Gone was the mysterious and cryptic attitude from before. Instead, she skillfully rolled up her sleeves, gave her right hand a slight flick, and a golden energy whip snapped into existence.
With her left hand, she formed a hand sign, and a faint green energy ring appeared around her wrist.
"Crap!"
Those words slipped out of Blake's mouth. He had just crossed into the Marvel universe, and they hadn't even dug up Captain America yet. And here was the Ancient One, disregarding her status and making a move, even bringing out the Time Stone right from the start—was that really necessary?
Blake had only seen the green energy ring on the Ancient One's left wrist a few times in the movies, but it left a lasting impression. This was the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones.
No matter what Blake was thinking, the Ancient One heard him blurt out "Crap," and a knowing smile appeared on her face. She raised her left wrist and said, "You recognize the Time Stone, after all."
Blake cursed inwardly, realizing he had been tricked. Unfortunately, the Infinity Stones were too much of a threat to him right now, and he had acted in a moment of panic. At this point, playing dumb and pretending he knew nothing would just make everyone look foolish.
Since that was the case, Blake stiffened his neck and boldly said, "What's so special about knowing what the Time Stone is? Do you think you're the only one who can see the future? I can calculate and see hundreds of years into the past and hundreds of years into the future."
Seeing Blake admit the truth and then start spouting nonsense, the Ancient One smiled slightly and dispelled the energy in both her hands.
"Stubborn as a mule. Don't worry, since I couldn't detect anything unusual about you just now, I won't force you to reveal your secrets. But your presence here does indeed violate the laws of this universe, even…"
She began to speak but then suddenly stopped.
"Even what? Do you dare to finish your sentence?"
Although the Ancient One had withdrawn her magical energy, Blake still took a small step back, keeping a wary distance as he asked.
"If you won't reveal your secrets, I have to keep some cards up my sleeve as well. So, kid, are you interested in working with me?"
"Working together on what?"
Blake couldn't figure out what the Ancient One was thinking, and this uncertainty left him feeling uneasy.
"I can't tell you what just yet, but are you interested in learning magic from me?"
The Ancient One sat back down on the sofa and smiled as she spoke.
"Why should I learn magic from you?"
Blake remained standing behind the sofa. Of course, he was interested in the Ancient One's magic—especially that portal spell, which was incredibly convenient. But at this moment, Blake was still highly suspicious of the Ancient One's intentions and wasn't about to agree so easily.
"Yeah, why should you learn magic from me? That's a good question."
The Ancient One stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Suddenly, she formed a hand sign with both hands, and the pendant on her chest began to emit a brilliant green light before slowly opening.
A bright green gem appeared in the Ancient One's right hand.
"Is this reason enough?"
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