After examining the artifacts, Marcus waved his hand, creating a swirling vortex in his palm.
As the vortex expanded, the surrounding magical weapons were drawn toward it, gathering around him.
With a slight turn of his other hand, Marcus opened a light blue portal rimmed with dancing sparks. The cabin of his spacecraft appeared on the other side.
"In you go," he commanded.
Under the control of his vortex, all the magical weapons flew into the cabin.
After transferring the artifacts, Marcus frowned as he looked at the swift ship. Though not enormous, it already exceeded what his spacecraft could accommodate. There was no way to take the ship with him.
"I can deliver this ship for you," the Ancient One offered with a smile, seeing Marcus's predicament.
"Thank you, then."
With the Ancient One handling the clipper's transport, he didn't need to worry about it anymore.
Though Marcus wanted the Aya from both the weapons and the ship, even after he drained their power, they could still be useful to Tony. For Marcus, these items lost their value after extraction, but they would still be valuable to his friend.
"Did you create that spell just now?" the Ancient One asked as they exited the secret room.
Marcus's technique had piqued her curiosity. Though she could perform similar feats, such spells weren't included in the Vishanti teaching she had traded with him. She wondered where he'd learned this.
"Well, it's just my way of using the Void—a small trick, really."
Marcus smiled in response, not mentioning the Void School. After all, he was currently its only practitioner, so discussing it seemed pointless.
The subject, however, sparked an idea.
"Speaking of this," Marcus said, "I'd like to ask the Sorcerer Supreme about energy manipulation. You've probably noticed my approach is rather crude."
The Ancient One nodded her agreement. Marcus's energy use was indeed unrefined.
With the same amount of energy, she might affect an entire mountain, while Marcus could only influence a small hill.
Since Marcus showed interest in learning, the Ancient One didn't refuse. It didn't involve Kamar-Taj's core secrets, so she could teach him some basics of energy manipulation.
As the supreme defender against countless dimensions, the Ancient One used her energy with remarkable precision.
By comparison, Marcus's approach was rudimentary, wasting considerable energy with each use.
His inefficient method made the Ancient One frown, while Marcus's brute-force approach surprised her.
If energy were like paint, the energy in the Ancient One's hands was like a fine brush, carefully drawing and shading until a beautiful scene emerged.
Marcus, on the other hand, simply dumped the entire paint bucket onto the canvas. The blueprint got filled, but with little finesse or efficiency.
"Perhaps you should start from the beginning," she suggested.
With a light wave of her hand, several magic circles of different sizes appeared instantly, each one intricately detailed.
"Try this—use energy to construct a refined magic circle."
Looking at the circles hovering above the Ancient One's hand, Marcus extended his arm and made a similar gesture. A comparable magic circle appeared along his forearm.
However, compared to the Ancient One's exquisite work, Marcus's creation looked rough—like ink on paper that had been smudged by water.
"What effect does this magic circle have?" he asked.
"None at all—it's merely an auxiliary pattern," the Ancient One replied lightly.
For practice, it made sense to avoid offensive spells. Though this auxiliary pattern had no practical effect, it was excellent for practicing energy control.
Kamar-Taj's regular students didn't practice this way. Once they mastered creating portals, they could generally use energy effectively.
Not everyone was like Marcus, able to force various spells into existence through sheer power.
With focused effort, the magic circle on Marcus's arm gradually became clearer, less blurry than before.
"That's my limit for now," he admitted.
This was his first attempt at such fine energy manipulation. Though still distant from the Ancient One's mastery, his control had certainly improved.
The exercise gave him new insight into Void energy manipulation. Through refined control, he could accomplish things previously impossible.
Filling his body with Void energy, Marcus gradually lifted off the ground, hovering in mid-air.
"An unexpected benefit!" he exclaimed.
By saturating his body with Void energy, he'd accidentally discovered how to levitate. Combined with his Void dash, he could now effectively fly.
Slowly descending, Marcus smiled at the Ancient One.
"This levitation ability is really useful."
Independent flight was something Marcus had never anticipated. Previously, he could use Void dash to move quickly through the air, but would fall the moment he stopped.
Now, he could combine these abilities for true flight. Even without using Titania, he could move freely through the air.
"Thank you for your guidance. I'll practice more when I return."
After spending more time at Kamar-Taj, Marcus bid farewell to the Ancient One and piloted his spacecraft back to New York.
He needed to process everything he'd gained over the past few days, especially regarding energy usage. He felt he could accelerate his mastery of the Vazarin School through continued refinement of his control.
...
After returning to New York, Marcus spent several days immersed in perfecting his energy manipulation.
The magic circle on his arm now appeared much clearer, greatly improving his Void energy control.
Still, he couldn't construct a magic circle with the Ancient One's precision. This became his focus—controlling energy at its most delicate level.
"Jarvis, hasn't our friend Marcus come out yet?" Tony asked.
Sprawled in a chair while designing new weapons and equipment, Tony addressed his AI assistant.
Marcus had disappeared for a while, then returned only to lock himself in his room. Tony had no idea what he was doing.
"No, sir. Mr. Marcus hasn't left his room," Jarvis reported.
Tony's chair spun as he kicked his feet against the floor. "Could something have rattled him?"
He didn't understand why Marcus had suddenly secluded himself, as if his personality had changed overnight.
Rising from his chair, Tony grabbed a handful of blueberries from the table, popping them into his mouth as he walked toward Marcus's room.
Knock knock knock
"You okay in there? It wasn't my nano suit that freaked you out, was it?"
Tony couldn't let go of his pride in the nano suit. The ability to transform into Iron Man at any moment meant he could enter battle instantly.
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