Chapter 420: Ancient One is gone Again, This Time She Really Left

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Ancient One is gone Again, This Time She Really Left

Ancient One did not speak, only lowered her head to look at her abdomen.

Darian followed her gaze and froze on the spot.

A pitch-black long spike was seen piercing straight through Ancient One’s abdomen, protruding from her back.

The surface of the long spike surged with a layer of thick dark energy, the flesh around the wound already corroded into a bloody mess, and fresh blood continuously flowed down her robes, dripping onto the ground beneath her, looking quite severe.

Darian said in shock: "Sorcerer Ancient One, who injured you like this?"

He wanted to know who was so badass that they could actually beat Ancient One into this state.

Ancient One’s expression was calm: "Dormammu, the Lord of the Dark Dimension, recently attempted to tear open the dimensional barrier to invade the real World. I went to stop Him and was severely injured by Him during the fight, barely managing to escape back."

Darian was startled: "Dormammu is actually this strong? A single strike injured you to this extent?"

Ancient One shook her head: "No, this is just a flesh wound. The reason I became like this is because when I opened a portal to return to the real reality dimension, my positioning had a slight deviation. I wasn’t paying attention at the time, and accidentally misstepped, falling to the ground from a height of dozens of meters."

Darian: "... "

As the dignified Sorcerer Supreme, an existence who could go toe-to-toe with a Dimensional Demon God, she ended up missing a step and almost falling to her Death?

Are you fucking kidding me?

Darian was somewhat speechless: "Sorcerer Ancient One, even if you want to make up an excuse to fool me, at least make it slightly more reasonable."

Ancient One’s expression remained unchanged: "Anyway, that’s how it is. Now my body is riddled with holes, and I’m afraid I don’t have much time left."

Hearing this, Darian immediately pulled out a bottle of life potion: "It’s just a mere fatal wound, what a big deal. As long as you drink this bottle of life potion, as long as you still have one breath left, you can be pulled back."

With that, he stepped forward and was about to force the life potion down Ancient One’s throat.

However, Ancient One reached out and pressed down on his wrist, shaking her head: "No need, I know my own condition best. There’s no saving me, there’s no need to waste things on me."

Darian was stunned for a moment.

He found that Ancient One’s grip strength was really not small.

His own strength attribute had broken past a hundred after all, and although he didn’t use much force just now, for Ancient One to be able to stop him so easily, this strength far exceeded the vast majority of transcendents.

Could it be that Ancient One was a Sorcerer Supreme on the surface, but secretly a superhero named One-Punch Man?

Darian looked at Ancient One with suspicion: "But how do you look quite energetic to me?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Ancient One suddenly coughed violently, coughing up a large mouthful of blood. Her complexion visibly turned pale, and her whole body looked precarious, as if she would fall apart in the next second.

She said in a weak tone: "What you see is only the surface. In reality, I am solely relying on magic to barely maintain my last breath so I can stand here and talk to you."

Darian twitched the corner of his mouth.

Just a moment ago she was full of vigor, and in the blink of an eye she suddenly couldn’t go on—this acting was way too fake.

Ancient One probably also felt that her acting was a bit over the top. She coughed a few times more, her expression turning solemn as her gaze looked straight at Darian.

"If I leave, I hope someone can take over the heavy responsibility of maintaining the real dimension. Therefore, I have decided that starting today, you will be the new Sorcerer Supreme, and from now on, Kamar-Taj will be handed over to you to manage."

Darian had a blank look on his face: "No, is it this sudden?"

You really couldn’t blame him for not reacting in time; this plot progression was simply too absurd, without any foreshadowing at all, directly passing on the position right off the bat, even more sloppy than America electing a President.

Ancient One held Darian’s wrist without letting go, saying in a serious tone: "It’s not sudden at all. Your talent far exceeds ordinary people, and you are the most talented sorcerer I have ever seen. Handing the position of Sorcerer Supreme over to you is a choice I made after careful consideration, and it’s also the most appropriate choice."

Darian blinked: "Wait, isn’t there still a guy named Stephen Strange?"

He had read Marvel comics, so he naturally knew the character Doctor Strange.

According to the original plot progression, Strange was Ancient One’s closing disciple, with a status even higher than Mordo’s, making him the best candidate for the next Sorcerer Supreme.

"Strange is indeed exceptionally talented. In time, he will become a truly remarkable sorcerer, and he will also be my most outstanding disciple."

When Ancient One heard Darian mention Strange, there wasn’t a trace of surprise on her face, as if she had expected him to ask this.

"However, he is not mature enough yet, his temperament is unsettled, and he cannot yet shoulder the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme. And I don’t have that much time to slowly train him, so I can only hand it over to you."

[NPC Ancient One has issued a new quest for you]

[Quest: Negotiation Expert of Kamar-Taj]

[Objective: Cultivate Stephen Strange into a qualified Sorcerer Supreme]

[Reward: Determined based on Stephen Strange’s comprehensive score]

What the hell is the Negotiation Expert of Kamar-Taj?

Darian muttered inwardly, and before he even had time to speak, he caught a glimpse of the health bar above Ancient One’s head, which was red down to the bottom.

"Everything is up to you, Sorcerer Darian."

Having said this, Ancient One tilted her head and collapsed completely, her expression exceptionally serene.

"Don’t die yet!"

Darian hurriedly squatted down, shaking Ancient One’s shoulders vigorously: "You could at least leave the Time Stone for me! If nothing else, giving me a dozen artifacts would work too!"

"Most importantly, the dance you owe me hasn’t been repaid yet!"

Darian felt very distressed.

After waiting for so long, he finally managed to wait for Ancient One to reappear, only for her to inexplicably go offline.

Weren’t these days of waiting completely wasted then?

He had reason to suspect that Ancient One did it on purpose, using Death as a cicada shedding its shell to escape the fate of awkward dancing.

For a big boss of Ancient One’s caliber, physical Death was far from the end; at most, it was just changing into a form to continue existing.

Perhaps by now she had already used this to shake off that huge debt owed to the Dimensional Demon God, retired in style, and run off to follow that Eternity big boss to live freely and leisurely.

The more Darian thought about it, the more unsettled he felt.

At this moment, the doors of the hall were pushed open, and Mordo walked in from outside.

Seeing Ancient One lying on the ground, a trace of grief flashed across his eyes, and then he turned to Darian: "Sorcerer Darian, Master Ancient One gave instructions before that if anything unexpected happened to her, you would inherit the position of Sorcerer Supreme. Starting today, the entire Kamar-Taj is officially handed over to you to manage."

With that, he bent down and bowed respectfully toward Darian.

This was the ancient custom of sorcerers; upon meeting the Sorcerer Supreme, one must bow to show respect.

[Congratulations to player for unlocking achievement: Sorcerer Supreme]

[Achievement effect: After obtaining this title, the player’s physical attributes are permanently increased by 10%, and magic damage, magic resistance, and mana are permanently increased by 30%]

A sorcerer’s title increasing physical attributes was very reasonable.

Things having reached this point, Darian had nothing left to hesitate about.

He waved his hand, his tone casual: "Little Mordo, although I now hold the title of Sorcerer Supreme, we are all friends. Call me whatever you called me before, no need to be so formal."

Mordo: "... "

From Sorcerer Mordo at the very beginning, to Little Mordo later on.

Darian stood up and said to Mordo: "Hand Master Ancient One’s remains over to you to handle, and then call all the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj together. We will properly celebrate for Master Ancient One."

"Celebrate?"

Mordo was stunned for a moment, thinking he had heard wrong.

"That’s right."

Darian nodded with a straight face: "Master Ancient One’s physical body is just gone, it’s not like she truly vanished. Reaching her level of realm, Death is no different from changing an ID card; perhaps she is still watching us from somewhere right now."

"Master Ancient One went to pursue a higher realm, this is a good thing! Of course we must celebrate properly. The funeral will be held as a joyous occasion, with continuous flowing-water banquets for three days, letting everyone lively send her off. If Master Ancient One’s spirit in heaven can see this, she will definitely be very gratified."

Mordo felt something was a bit wrong.

But Darian was now the Sorcerer Supreme, and it wasn’t his place to refute, so he could only take the order and execute it.

Considering that the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj came from all over the World, with Westerners accounting for a sizable proportion, Darian did not copy the traditional Eastern flowing-water banquets, but instead mixed Chinese and Western elements, combining the concepts of a flowing-water banquet and a party.

He set up a stage, sound system, and lighting in Ancient One’s mourning hall, and even adapted the dirges into DJ versions, directly transforming the mourning hall into a dance hall.

Since the awkward dance owed by Ancient One couldn’t be reclaimed, they might as well have a collective mourning hall rave, getting high for three whole days and nights, which could also be considered fulfilling a wish in Darian’s heart.

Darian originally even wanted to host a dance king competition to select the strongest dancer in Kamar-Taj, but unfortunately no one signed up.

After all, a bald person was sitting in the judges’ seat, who the fuck would dare to participate!

Ancient One had indeed died, but her spiritual body came back and even attended her own banquet, greeting everyone to eat and drink well at her own funeral.

Simply absurd to the extreme!

Because the deceased herself arrived in person, the style of the scene abruptly changed.

The sorcerers who had been raving happily instantly reined themselves in, each showing sorrowful expressions, and even their dancing was filled with sadness, terrified that the bald one would think they were too happy.

A proper mourning hall rave instantly turned into a mourning hall sad dance.

Darian’s mouth twitched slightly, and looking at the Ancient One spiritual body sitting beside him, he said: "Master Ancient One, is it really okay for you to appear here?"

Ancient One smiled slightly: "Life only has this one chance, of course I can’t miss it."

Darian was somewhat speechless.

Eating at her own funeral banquet, Ancient One could be considered the number one person in history.

Ancient One continued: "I came back to remind you of one thing: Stephen Strange has already suffered a car accident, and you might need to step forward to guide him."

Darian raised an eyebrow: "Won’t fate bring him over?"

Ancient One shook her head: "Fate has never been a fixed line. Time possesses infinite possibilities, and every tiny choice will branch out into different paths."

"And these branches ultimately lead to drastically different endings. In some possibilities, Strange will indeed find Kamar-Taj on his own, but in other possibilities, Strange will miss out on magic. Therefore, a promoter is needed to guide him onto the right path."

In other words, her meaning was for Darian to operate appropriately and bring Stephen Strange into Kamar-Taj.

Darian said: "Are you really that confident handing that guy over to me?"

Ancient One nodded: "I have full confidence in both you and Strange."

A benign smile appeared on Darian’s face: "Then I won’t be polite. If I end up ruining his training, you can’t blame me."

Ancient One said calmly: "Go ahead and train him boldly, as long as he doesn’t die, it’s fine."

With that, her spiritual body gradually disappeared.

Darian felt extremely bored by this. He originally planned to hold the banquet for a full three days, but after one day it was hastily ended.

When the deceased becomes the host, who could still eat anything!

After the funeral ended, Mordo found Darian and said respectfully: "Sorcerer Darian, there is a matter that needs to be discussed with you."

"What matter?"

"It’s about the other sanctuaries. Many sorcerers have heard of the power of our magical firearms and all want to request a batch of goods from you."

Darian: "... "

Why did this sound so awkward, making it seem like he was trafficking arms?

Darian nodded: "Alright, I’ll put a new batch of equipment into the warehouse later, you can distribute them according to the actual needs of each sanctuary."

As the Sorcerer Supreme, the three sanctuaries were all his territory, and all sorcerers were his underlings, so naturally they couldn’t be mistreated.

Mordo slightly bowed: "Thank you, Sorcerer Darian."

Darian waved his hand and asked casually: "How is the recent situation?"

Mordo’s expression turned serious: "Overall, it’s still quite stable. With the magical firearms you provided, the threat of monsters has been drastically reduced, and basically no casualties have occurred. All of this is your merit."

His tone was filled with gratitude.

Although Darian had the least seniority in Kamar-Taj, he was designated by Ancient One to serve as the Sorcerer Supreme. However, Mordo didn’t have the slightest bit of dissatisfaction in his heart.

Even the usually arrogant Kaecilius had no objections to Darian serving as Sorcerer Supreme.

Thanks to the magical firearms created by Darian, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj now had these items, giving them the capital to crush monsters, no longer paying the painful price of every battle like before, where large batches of sorcerers suffered casualties every year.

Such a thing was simply unimaginable in the past.

Based on this achievement alone, Darian serving as Sorcerer Supreme was well-deserved.

Of course, there was an even more fundamental reason: Darian’s strength was powerful enough.

The title of Sorcerer Supreme inherently meant the strongest sorcerer; only sorcerers with formidable strength were qualified to bear this title.

"Not bad, not bad."

Darian nodded, then pulled out a photo: "In a few days, this person will come to Kamar-Taj. I need you to train him harshly, train him to Death as long as he doesn’t die."

Mordo swallowed his saliva: "Is this horse-face your enemy?"

Darian shook his head: "No, barring any accidents, he should be the next Sorcerer Supreme."

Mordo: "... "

First there was Ancient One to Darian, and now there was Darian to Strange.

Are you Sorcerer Supremes all so special in the way you treat the next Sorcerer Supreme?

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