Chapter 92: Here Comes Little Hela!
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After hearing Hela's instant apology, Lorien chuckled lightly and released her ears.
Once Hela got down, she immediately hid away, holding her ears, but she still held onto a hard thought in her heart.
"Dare to do it next time!"
The Ancient One smiled helplessly after witnessing this. It seems even gods were mischievous as children. Hela, who was once as powerful as a deity, had now become a loli and was no different from a child. Although her combat power hadn't fallen from the sub-god level, her mentality clearly had.
Then, Lorien and the Ancient One continued their conversation in the temple. The topic the Ancient One wanted to discuss was the life and death of Earth—whether it should be active or passive, meaning whether to take the initiative to change or passively accept failure. The question was simple, and Lorien's answer was clear.
"Doing what you want doesn't make you strong, but not doing what you don't want to do makes you truly powerful. The same applies to Earth. Wanting to change the Earth isn't truly changing it. But not wanting the Earth to become what you want is real strength. Being able to say no is truly powerful."
To this, the Ancient One smiled, nodding and shaking her head. "I can't predict the location of the enemy. There are too many unknown powerful beings in the universe. Just the Celestial Group that I know of is already an irresistible force for both me and Odin."
Both the Ancient One and Odin are at the level of god-fathers, but against the Celestial Team, which is at the single-universe level, they are clearly outmatched. The difference between them is an order of magnitude, like the difference between a house and the entire Earth, and maybe even more than that. At this point, the Ancient One understood. Lorien didn't need to tell her anymore. When the cognitive gap is too large, knowing too much can be disheartening. It's like being aware of too many things but being powerless to change them, leading only to despair.
And behind the Celestial Group, there are beings even more powerful, such as the five great gods. But these details were useless to the Ancient One, and she knew it. So, they stopped discussing it. This is the wisdom of the wise.
After a while, Wanda returned with several female magicians. As soon as she entered, Lorien noticed she was wearing two Sling Rings on her hands, but they were different from the usual ones—these were scarlet, matching the Scarlet Witch perfectly. This must have been specially made by the Ancient One after learning about her powers. Lorien glanced at the Ancient One, who nodded in acknowledgment.
"Lorien, look quickly!" Wanda came to Lorien's side, showing off the Sling Rings. "These help me mobilize mana quickly and control it more precisely, probably increasing my power by more than half!"
Lorien examined the Sling Rings. "Good." Then he returned them to Wanda. "When you become a full-fledged magician, I'll give you even better magical equipment."
"Really?" Wanda smiled happily. "That's great!"
Lorien wasn't offering this randomly. It was part of a reward mechanism that would allow Wanda to learn faster. And what he intended to give her was the Darkhold, which was located in Westview. He just needed to take Wanda to retrieve it.
After chatting with Wanda, Lorien checked the time and stood up. He spoke to the Ancient One, "Wanda will stay here to study under you. Once she masters teleportation, she'll have the freedom to move around Kamar-Taj and the outside world. Until then, she'll live here. It's her choice."
Hearing this, the Ancient One looked at Wanda with slight surprise. She had thought that with someone as powerful as Lorien by her side, Wanda might only be learning magic to pass the time. But she hadn't expected Wanda to be so determined. If she didn't master teleportation, she wouldn't leave! It's worth noting that many magicians struggle to learn teleportation in their entire lives. Though Wanda had a magical foundation, her dedication earned the Ancient One's serious commitment to teaching her.
So, the Ancient One nodded seriously and replied, "I will."
With the conversation concluded, Lorien turned around and hugged Wanda, who was eagerly awaiting one. He patted her on the back and encouraged her, "With your abilities, we might meet again sooner than you think. Believe in yourself, Wanda. Even the number one magician in the Nine Realms can't compare to you. You have no idea how much potential you hold."
Wanda wrapped her arms around Lorien, feeling a bit down. "You're lifting me up to the sky."
"No, I'm just telling you the truth." Lorien patted her shoulder. "When you look back later, you'll realize how easy these matters are now."
"Mm."
After a while, Wanda gently pushed Lorien away. "You should go back. Stay safe. If you're bored, have Gwen come to keep you company, or let that little loli tease you."
Lorien smiled. "Okay."
But little Hela on the side wasn't pleased. "Who do you think is funny~?"
"Hi~!"
"Alright, alright." Lorien grabbed Hela, then nodded to Wanda and said, "Goodbye. I expect you to surprise me."
"I will!"
Finally, under Wanda's gaze and Hela's slightly annoyed expression, Lorien snapped his fingers, and he and Hela vanished from the spot.
Inside the temple, Wanda took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and after a moment, opened them with a newfound thirst for knowledge. She turned to the Ancient One, determined. "I'll devote all my energy to studying spells when I'm not sleeping or eating!"
The more the Ancient One looked at Wanda, the more she liked her. She nodded and smiled. "And I will do my best to help you."
On the other side, after snapping his fingers, Lorien and little Hela instantly returned to the entrance of the penultimate floor of the northern building. Hela suddenly became unusually quiet.
"Hm?" Lorien looked at Hela curiously. "Why did you suddenly become so strange?"
Little Hela glanced at Lorien, then crossed her arms and said with an air of superiority, "Hmph~! You're so clueless~! I was just helping you put on a show for Wanda. This way, your Wanda won't worry about you!"
Lorien was momentarily taken aback by little Hela's words, but he quickly realized and praised her. "Not bad, you've finally done something right, little Hela."
"Hmph~!" Little Hela pouted after hearing this, "Just kidding, I'm very smart, okay?"
Even though she said that, the corners of her mouth were practically reaching her ears, so her pout ended up looking more like a crooked smile.
As Lorien opened the door to the office, he remarked, "Today is Monday, let's get to work."
"Ah~?" Hela dragged out her response, "What's so fun about that?"
Lorien walked in, dusting off his coat as he spoke. "There's a PS5 here, top-end PCs, iced milk tea, and all sorts of snacks and desserts. If you're too lazy to cook, you can order takeout. In short, it's got everything except being home."
Just as he finished speaking, Lorien saw a green-haired loli in a skirt rush in. "Little Hela is here~! "