The next morning, Noah walked out of his office in high spirits.
The smile on his face made one thing very clear.
He was in an excellent mood.
The sorcerers didn't know what the Sanctum Guardian had been up to, but that hardly mattered.
A good mood was a good omen.
At least, for everyone else.
For Strange and Wanda, it was absolutely terrible news.
Because Noah had already announced the time and scope of their assessment.
And after recalling the details, both of them looked grim.
The test content was extensive.
And difficult.
Things that were trivial for Noah were brutally hard for them.
Their foundation simply couldn't compare to a sorcerer who had studied magic for decades.
Worse still, the assessment included combat.
And willpower.
That part alone felt like a death sentence.
The combat test would be conducted by Noah personally.
And they both knew exactly how terrifying Noah was in a real fight.
The footage of Kaecilius being killed had been recorded.
And replayed.
Again and again.
Kaecilius was famous in the magical world.
A sorcerer above the Seventh Tier.
Even though he had failed the Master's assessment, no one dared underestimate him.
His restrained fight with Mordo had nearly leveled a city.
Anyone with half a brain knew he wasn't someone to provoke.
And yet-
He had been killed instantly by Noah.
In a single encounter.
While Noah looked exhausted.
That level of disparity was hard to accept even for sorcerers.
Let alone ordinary people.
It was also the only confirmed high-level sorcerer kill captured on video.
High-level sorcerers were notoriously difficult to kill.
As long as they didn't actively seek trouble, they were usually safe.
Especially with Earth's magical environment being relatively peaceful and Kamar-Taj maintaining order.
That video was a warning.
To the entire magical circle.
It made one thing clear.
Looking for trouble could lead to death.
Even for a high-level sorcerer trained by Kamar-Taj.
At the same time, it was an overwhelming display of power.
A reminder of just how terrifying Noah Finniel was.
Master of the London Sanctum.
Successor to the Sorcerer Supreme.
Strictly speaking, none of this should have affected Strange and Wanda.
But during the New York incident, Noah had resurrected everyone who died in the battle between Mordo and Kaecilius.
That was what unsettled them.
They didn't know how it worked.
And they didn't want to know.
They were just worried that during the combat assessment, Noah might kill them-
And then bring them back.
If Noah had known what they were thinking, he might actually have put a time loop on them.
And killed them repeatedly.
But in reality, Noah had no such thoughts.
He didn't even consider Strange and Wanda as opponents.
The gap between them was too vast.
An immeasurable chasm.
Even ignoring the difference in their level of existence, the power gap alone was overwhelming.
And unlike Thanos, Noah had no interest in "having fun" with weaker opponents.
He wouldn't relax.
He wouldn't slip.
No matter how anxious they were, the assessment couldn't be avoided.
Unless they forfeited.
Which neither of them would do.
As for the willpower test-
That one was rumored to be even more brutal.
It was the same Dreamscape used in the Master's assessment.
Kaecilius himself had failed there.
A Seventh Tier sorcerer had collapsed under it.
That alone spoke volumes.
However, while they were dreading the last two stages-
They never expected the first one to go so badly.
The written exam.
The part they thought would be the easiest.
Noah's expression turned dark the moment he saw the results.
Extremely dark.
"Look at this."
"Just look at this!"
Noah slammed his hand on the desk.
"Why would anyone get the elemental sequence wrong?"
"Why?"
"Tell me!"
Strange and Wanda lowered their heads.
Neither dared say a word.
This was new for Wanda.
Making a teacher angry was unfamiliar.
And deeply uncomfortable.
Strange wasn't used to it either.
Back in school, he'd only seen this happen to others.
Now that it was happening to him-
It felt awful.
Noah didn't care.
He picked up the papers and continued.
"And this one."
"Calculating mirror-space distance."
"You used your intuition?"
"Are you sorcerers?"
"Do you use intuition to make judgments?"
They were scolded into near self-doubt.
The mistakes were undeniably bad.
As for complaining that the content exceeded their level-
They didn't dare.
With Noah as a mentor and full access to a Sanctum library, no one would blame Noah for poor results.
They would only blame the students.
And they knew it.
Having failed the written exam, they could only hope to redeem themselves in combat and willpower.
Even though they knew-
Those would be worse.
And they were.
In front of Noah, both of them were completely crushed.
He showed them what real power looked like.
And what an experienced sorcerer did in combat.
"Attack me with everything you have."
Noah stood calmly before them.
"One at a time."
"Treat me as your enemy."
"Fight with the mindset that you must kill me."
"And that failure means death."
"Do you understand?"
"We understand, Mentor."
Their voices weren't very confident.
"Good."
"I will suppress my strength to around the Seventh Tier."
"Roughly your level."
"So you have a chance."
"Understood?"
"Yes."
Wanda went first.
Her mind control combined with her unique energy manipulation was impressive.
Terrifying red energy flooded the Mirror Dimension.
And then-
She was defeated.
Elemental Magic.
Space Magic.
Clean and decisive.
It wasn't that Wanda was weak.
At the same level, Noah actually felt pressured.
That red energy nearly controlled him more than once.
Unfortunately for her, mental power meant nothing to Noah.
Just like in the original timeline against Thanos, she abandoned mental interference and focused on raw energy.
The only regret was that she hadn't reached her future peak yet.
No tragedy.
No loved one dying before her eyes.
Her power hadn't fully erupted into the Scarlet Witch.
Still, Noah gave her high marks.
If his own mental strength hadn't been so absurdly high, an ordinary Seventh Tier sorcerer would have collapsed.
The red energy burst was excellent.
But Noah's combat experience was overwhelming.
And after fighting Dormammu, he had learned to discard flashy techniques.
That was why Wanda lost so quickly.
Strange was next.
He donned the red cloak Noah had given him.
Noah didn't object.
The cloak was already fully bonded to Strange.
Strange's performance surprised him.
Hearing reports from Wong was one thing.
Facing him directly was another.
Noah finally understood how terrifying Strange's micro-level control was.
Foundational spells.
Sectumsempra.
Confringo.
Elemental magic.
Wind Blades.
Ice Spikes.
Fireballs.
Earth Spikes.
Strange always found the most unexpected angles.
The most efficient paths.
Coupled with his excellent use of Space Magic, he genuinely forced Noah to take him seriously-within that limited level.
In the end, he still lost.
But not without making Noah work.
Once Noah understood Strange's habits, he changed tactics.
Strange excelled at precision.
So Noah set traps inside those patterns.
Just as Strange thought he had found an opening-
Noah shattered the surrounding space.
And subdued him instantly.
After the fight, Noah smiled.
"Overall, I'm very satisfied."
"You both showed clear strengths."
"You lack experience, but your performances were excellent."
"Congratulations."
"You are now qualified sorcerers."
"Thank you, Mentor."
Both spoke sincerely.
They knew Noah hadn't gone all out.
"Alright."
"The final assessment is next."
"Rest a few days."
"Then we go to Kamar-Taj."
"Mentor..."
Strange hesitated, then asked.
"What... is the final reward?"