Ronan's comment was truly a sneaky move.
In a way, the Sorcerer Supreme is indeed the leader of all the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj. Calling them a boss isn't exactly wrong.
But the key issue was that Wong and Strange had a pretty good relationship. Their friendship was stronger than any "workplace" hierarchy, especially considering that Wong had taught Strange his spells when he first joined Kamar-Taj.
Wong never expected that the apprentice sorcerer he once taught, who was struggling to cast basic spells, would not only surpass him in power but also take the position of Sorcerer Supreme.
There's a certain irony in it.
"Yes, I'm Stephen Strange," Strange said with a faint smile, though his eyes glanced at Wong.
The look he gave was something like that of a partner, trying to maintain appearances in front of others—a close bond... ahem, friendship.
"I must say, you're impressive as the Sorcerer Supreme," Ronan continued, moving to "compliment" Strange's Cloak of Levitation.
"When I tried interacting with it before, it didn't want to listen to me. It just wanted to get close to me. Compared to you, our bond is far less impressive."
While it sounded like praise, Strange couldn't help but feel like something was off.
But... what could he say?
"Thank you. You're a very talented sorcerer yourself," Strange forced a smile, but the more he thought about Ronan's words, the more they seemed wrong.
What did he mean by "it didn't want to listen to me, only wanted to get close"?
Suddenly, Strange had an image in his head of himself as some kind of horned fool.
"Alright, enough," Wong interrupted, "we're in the middle of a battle. Let's save the talk for afterward."
Wong wisely broke up the conversation, sensing that if it continued, one of them might fall—not to Thanos, but to a verbal takedown.
Ronan smiled, and with all eyes on him, he slowly lifted off the ground, flying into the air.
He can fly!
Strange stared at Ronan's floating figure, then glanced at Wong.
Why can't we fly?
"Don't look at me. The Ancient One never taught us flight spells," Wong said, his expression darkening.
Same Kamar-Taj, but why can he fly, and we're stuck walking?
Besides, Strange should be happy—at least he has his cloak to fly with.
Wong, on the other hand, has to rely on good ol' public transportation: his legs.
If you want to know why Ronan can fly, go ask the Ancient One!
As for the exchange between Strange and Wong, Ronan didn't see it.
His flying ability wasn't exactly top-tier flight, either—it was more like hovering.
There's no question the Ancient One could fly, but flight spells weren't as simple as they appeared. They weren't something one could cast at will.
That's why other sorcerers at Kamar-Taj couldn't fly.
Ronan had an innate talent. After just a few lessons from the Ancient One, he could hover briefly, but he couldn't stay in the air for more than a few minutes before having to land.
So, his "flight" hadn't been fully recognized as a skill by his system.
Ronan gently landed next to Steve Rogers.
Though he wasn't planning to face Thanos head-on, he couldn't resist standing front and center.
Gotta get some screen time, after all.
Seeing the sudden assembly of so many Earth forces, even Thanos's calm expression showed a hint of surprise.
But he wasn't ready to make his move yet.
Steve Rogers stepped forward, raising his right hand toward the horizon.
"Avengers..."
With Steve's shout, it was as though a buff had been cast on everyone present.
Then, Mjolnir flew into Steve's hand.
"Assemble!"
With that, it was as if everyone's battle stats skyrocketed:
Army Power +100%
Morale +100%
Enemy Morale -50%
[The whole army is in a state of fervor, mental strength doubled!]
Of course, this was all in Ronan's imagination, but the scene was incredibly epic.
If only it had a background soundtrack—then it'd be perfect!
"Ahhhhhh!"
With Steve Rogers' command, the roar of battle shook the heavens as the united forces charged toward Thanos's army.
Thanos, however, wasn't one to be underestimated.
He had conquered countless worlds and seen every type of battle imaginable.
To him, these were just the last gasps of the defeated.
Raising his double-edged sword, he ordered his army to attack.
And so, the battle began!
As everyone charged forward, Ronan quietly sidestepped the frontlines, avoiding the champion-tier battle and heading for the bronze division.
High-stakes battles? Nah, Ronan didn't want to be misunderstood for making the wrong plays.
As for the bronze division?
Come on, he was just a sixteen-year-old high schooler. Fighting in the lower tier was totally fine, right?
Boom!
Ronan activated "fish frying mode" (clearing small mobs) among the enemy forces.
His right hand shot out an energy whip, grabbing a Chitauri soldier, and he began spinning rapidly like a human tornado.
"Witness my ultimate technique—Tornado Destroys the Parking Lot!"
As Ronan shouted, the spinning Chitauri soldier became a wrecking ball, sending enemy after enemy flying.
Screams echoed as they were hurled away, leaving Ronan's opponents unable to get close to him.
The enemy quickly realized they needed another strategy: long-range attacks.
And so, following an unknown command, the remaining soldiers aimed their guns at Ronan in unison.
With no warning, they emptied their clips at him!
But what they didn't know was that Ronan had a counter for this as well.
"It's not over yet!"
"Let me show you a secret technique from the Hyuga Clan... Golden Revolving Heaven!"
In his left hand, a familiar Raggadorr's Ring appeared, but this time, it was much larger than before, covering his entire body.
As Ronan spun rapidly, the Raggadorr's Ring formed an impenetrable shield!
Bullets rained down on the spinning shield, barely causing ripples before being deflected back at the shooters.
Some unlucky bullets managed to slip through, but Ronan dodged them with inhuman precision, using evasive moves like the "Wood" pose.
To make matters worse for Thanos's forces, some of the deflected bullets even hit their own soldiers.
Classic "I shoot myself."
Compared to the enemies' frustration, Ronan was absolutely ecstatic.
His screen was filling up with experience points!
[EXP +150]
[EXP +200]
[EXP +170]
[EXP +140]
All sorts of numbers popped up in front of him, and none were below three digits.
Every now and then, a rare [EXP +300] would appear, making Ronan's eyes light up.
If there was one word to describe his current state:
God Mode!
Blasting away weak mobs—it was so satisfying!
But now, Ronan was filled with regret.
How had he not learned the "Images of Ikonn" or "Winds of Watoomb"?
Those moves would've been perfect for farming more experience!
With "Images of Ikonn," he could've made hundreds of clones, each performing the "Tornado Destroys the Parking Lot" move. Imagine how much experience that would rack up!
And the "Winds of Watoomb" combined with the Raggadorr's Ring —wouldn't that be just Shinra Tensei?
Perfect skills for clearing the field!
Now, Ronan truly understood the saying:
You only regret not learning enough spells when you actually need them.