Anyone familiar with Marvel would agree with one statement. Making a deal with Mephisto was dangerous. The demon was extremely powerful. Plus, his agreements were very difficult to get out of once you agreed to them.
Forget about Marvel fans. Any sane person would be wary of making a deal with the devil.
Of course, Mephisto was not the devil, but in strength and appearance he was similar to him.
The demon was the one who whispered in Eve's ear. Mephisto, in the form of a serpent, tricked Eve and Adam into eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which led to their expulsion from the biblical Garden of Eden.
Later, the demon participated in various events that have entered the history of mankind to this day.
Even the Ancient One couldn't detect him most of the time. If he could. He would probably stop the deals with various people, or confront Mephisto, interrupting his meetings. Or simply banish the demon back to his dimension.
Perhaps Mephisto had a way to hide his presence from the Ancient One. He would ask the demon about it. It was interesting magic after all.
Perhaps he was trying to entice him with his offer. And yet he was right in his calculations. Knowledge of the mystical arts would not be so easily obtained. Especially that which he wanted for his own use.
He doubted that the Ancient One would want to teach him necromancy or magic from the Dark Dimensions.
Speaking of the Ancient One, he also had no idea about him or her. Was the Ancient One a man like in the comics. Yao was his name if he remembered correctly. Or was she a woman like in the MCU version.
The male version was prejudiced against Strange. He literally rejected Damon Hellstorm for Strange. His faith in the latter's hidden potential was much greater than that of the Son of Satan.
Lex wasn't a fool. He didn't just agree to the contract between them. Mephisto had the ability to move between different dimensions and realities.
Lex could use this to his advantage. With the help of dimensional travel, he could bring him many mystical relics or arcane and occult magic books from other dimensions or realities. Of course, convincing the demon of this would not be easy.
But again, he agreed to the contract after much deliberation. The demon was not thrilled that he had managed to establish a few more clauses in Lex's favor. However, there had been no negotiations over payment yet. He was quite favorable to that.
The demon didn't even suspect that he was the one in a less advantageous position.
The second part was difficult. However, here too he will find a way out. Doctor Strange managed to break Mephisto's contract. He freed many people from the clutches of the demon.
Of course, he could do it too. Only after years of training in the mystical arts. If he couldn't do it, Strange could do it for him. He would manipulate the future Sorcerer Supreme to his advantage.
There were various powerful Mystic Arts users on Earth. People who had mastered various Mystic Arts over time. Some had done so through patience and hard work. Others had used relics or were naturally gifted. Regardless of the method, he would have to confront some of them in the near future.
He decided to take a cue from Batman. He was going to prepare to the utmost.
There were beings like Loki, Doctor Doom, the Ancient One, Stephen Strange, Wanda Maximoff. They were all insanely powerful for him now. But with time and trickery, he would be able to overcome them.
For now, his main focus was magic. He had access to another superpower that was just waiting to be used. However, to do so, he needed to develop his body a bit. This power would attract a lot of attention to him once he used it.
Creatures that had previously ignored him will become wary and will closely monitor his actions.
For now, he didn't want to attract attention from people out of his league. He needed peace. Peace to enjoy. To enjoy this time of solitude and planning. Because in the future, his life was going to be even more hectic than before.
Because of this, he turned down the offer of adoption. The fact that Lex Luthor was sane must have affected him. He didn't realize how much that effect would be.
His behavior, his intellect, his way of thinking, his emotional reactions. All of this was greatly changed from his former self. In his former life, he believed in God and led a simple but good life. He had morals that he followed.
Now everything had changed. He no longer had a fixed morality. He had become more rational. His morality had changed. Now he could sacrifice people for his own benefit.
He hated to admit it. But it was the truth. He was more selfish. He was colder in his logic. You could call them his vices. The ones he tried to tame.
These were the things he worked on. Over time, he began to struggle with Lex Luthor's pride.
Lex Luthor's damned pride caused him to refuse the Drakes' offer of adoption.
Robert noticed these changes only a year ago. He immediately began to work on these negative qualities.
At first, he simply brushed them aside. Thinking that they were the ever-changing thought processes of a child's brain. However, as he entered adolescence, he gradually became aware of them. He discovered that his mind automatically adapted these qualities to any situation.
Gradually he began to work on it.
Pride and self-love were one of Lex Luthor's limiting factors. He would not allow himself to do that.
Magic was now available to him. This couldn't help but make him happy. Now he had a power he could rely on. After all, he couldn't rely on his mind alone.
And there was one thing that remained constant at Marvel. Time and again, the egotistical and the proud were brutally knocked down from their high positions. The same could happen to him.
Better to be prepared.
Train in the shadows. That was the only thing he was going to do at the moment.