Chapter 35: What Happened?

“Oh! Young man, you certainly have a strong sense of revenge!” Standing right beside the portal that Meimu had conjured upon the stone floor, so close that the magical sparks shooting from its rim landed on her training shoes, the Ancient One gazed at Meimu with a sly, almost mocking smile—her eyes truly resembled those of a fox.

“Uh, no, this... Right! This was just a beginner’s careless casting mistake.” If the Ancient One had truly been his enemy, the situation would have instantly reversed, and Meimu, who’d failed in his attempt at revenge, wisely chose to admit defeat.

It was obvious that the Ancient One possessed some method of peering into minds; of course she could tell Meimu was lying.

But such a lie was harmless.

“Heh! Since you’re a ‘beginner,’ I’ll let such a mistake slide this time. Don’t let it happen again.”

The Ancient One’s unspoken message was clear: since she’d bullied him first, she would generously chalk up Meimu’s petty act of revenge to a mere casting mishap.

Just then, another portal suddenly opened. Out charged Mordo, exuding the stench of sulfur. “Pah! Meimu, you bastard, were you trying to kill me? You actually sent me to the mouth of a volcano in Hawaii?!”

The Ancient One teased, “Oh? To think you managed to pinpoint such a distant location while escaping. It seems your talent for spatial magic is quite impressive, Meimu!”

Nonsense—Khadgar, after all, was the disciple of Medivh, the demigod and guardian of Azeroth, a legend renowned for his mastery of spatial magic.

But now, Meimu resolved to follow his instincts.

When in doubt, know when to retreat!

“Um, didn’t you just say, Master Ancient One, that it was a casting mistake?” Meimu lowered his head sheepishly.

Mordo cast a sidelong glance at the enigmatic Ancient One and said no more.

Given his personality, he would most likely jot this down silently in his little black book of grudges.

Yet, before he could put this thought into action, he was forced to abandon it.

“Meimu, you performed very well. Your mental strength is exhausted for now, so go and rest. Whether physical or mental, overexertion is a bad practice and will affect your future training.” The Ancient One’s pardon was all Meimu needed to dash off in relief, not realizing she immediately turned to instruct Mordo.

“As for that little incident, don’t take it to heart. I had already set the coordinates in the magic array for the volcano in Hawaii as a test. I would have pulled him back myself.”

Mordo was left speechless.

So, if Meimu had used the Sling Ring to cast the spell as instructed, he would likely have leapt straight from the tiger’s mouth into the wolf’s den. Even so, teleporting with the Sling Ring would have been far easier than the effort it took to teleport himself back to Kamar-Taj unassisted.

No one had expected Meimu to be so vengeful. Not only did he try to run before he could walk, but he even attempted to send both the Ancient One and Mordo to a Hawaiian volcano. Truly, he was petty and vindictive!

“But Meimu’s character...”

“That was only a small protest. It’s fine. Being clear about one’s grudges and affections is actually a good thing. At least he cares about the feelings of others and won’t go too far.”

The Ancient One left it at that.

Meimu was, after all, the polar opposite of Kaecilius, the great traitor. It was Kaecilius’s pride, arrogance, and insatiable greed that gave birth to a formidable villain.

Meanwhile, Meimu had stumbled back to his room, brushed the snow from his clothes, and collapsed onto his bed, panting heavily.

Teleportation was a high-level spell, akin to walking a tightrope.

Without the Sling Ring’s assistance, simply mimicking and copying the spell was hundreds of times harder than he had imagined.

Atop Mount Everest, every second, even every tenth of a second, the flow of magic was wildly turbulent.

One instant, the magical energy was as forceful as a great river; the next, it dwindled to a trickle, as unpredictable as an IV drip. The erratic surges of power were enough to drive anyone mad.

Meimu glanced at the Sling Ring on his hand, the one issued to every disciple, and sighed softly, “Now, perhaps the Ancient One truly believes I have the potential to become a proper mage.”

Having surmounted the greatest challenge, Meimu finally relaxed.

Don’t underestimate a single portal; for Meimu, it was more exhausting than using the “Khadgar the Apprentice Mage” character card at full power for three hours. It was a double assault on both mind and body.

He soon sank into a deep sleep.

Half-conscious, Meimu seemed to smell a strange fragrance. He paid it no mind. Kamar-Taj always burned sandalwood incense, a subtle, elegant scent that was never overpowering, and he had grown used to it.

“Did they change the incense tonight?”

He ignored it, and drifted into an even deeper sleep.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he slowly began to awaken.

No, it couldn’t be called waking, for it was an exceedingly strange sensation.

It was as if he had awakened, yet not awakened. His chest felt the heavy, oppressive weight of sleep paralysis, while at the same time, his soul seemed to float free of his body.

Everything in the room was coated in a thick layer of white dust.

Upon his bed lay a human figure identical in shape to himself, as though he had been asleep there for centuries.

On the wooden desk, his high-end computer was buried under dust; even the crevices of his mechanical keyboard were choked with it.

All was covered in dust. Every piece of wooden furniture had become decrepit, faded, and even begun to rot.

The sight filled Meimu with intense discomfort!

“Have I traveled through time again?”

Or had some calamity struck Kamar-Taj?

Meimu refused to believe that the Ancient One could be so easily killed in her own sanctum. After all, among Marvel fans, it was a common belief: if Odin hadn’t grown old and died, and the Ancient One hadn’t met an untimely end, Thanos would never have dared to set foot on Earth, no matter how bold.

At this point in time, Odin’s Asgard was still a mighty force.

So what in the world had happened?

“Creak—” Meimu gently turned the handle and opened his bedroom door.

Pale light streamed through the corridor windows, a bone-white glow that fell across his face, leaving his complexion as pallid as a corpse.

“Master Ancient One? Mordo?” Meimu’s room was in the apprentice quarters. A few steps would bring him to the training courtyard outside. Walking down the corridor, he saw room after room, all empty and dilapidated.

Reaching the entrance, Meimu stood in the doorway and looked out. The sky was a heavy, ashen white, as if weighed down with lead, filling him with an oppressive feeling. Thick white mist shrouded the entire compound of Kamar-Taj, allowing him to see only a few meters ahead.

Even the vast training yard was only partially visible.

A sense of foreboding crept over him.