"Yeah, he has a lot of ability."
"I believe it won't take long for him to replace me."
After hearing this, the Ancient One was not stingy with her praise and spoke highly of Stephen Strange.
"Really? He deserves to be the one you chose."
Hearing the Ancient One praise Stephen Strange, Blaine seemed a little dismissive. What ability? People were forced out by circumstance. If his hands had not suffered comminuted fractures, if he could still hold a scalpel, and if he had not become useless without a job, would he have come here? If Blaine were in that situation, he would definitely have come here a hundred times over.
"No, it was not my choice."
"It was fate's arrangement."
"Didn't you say you came to learn magic?"
"To study some advanced magical problems?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any other amazing magic tricks?"
"The kind that can kill Dormammu in one hit."
"I'm not asking for much."
"You don't need to teach me. Just show me and let me see."
The Ancient One casually tossed the book in her hand toward the top of the bookshelf. Although it had been thrown carelessly, the book neatly and automatically returned to its original position. This was the charm of magic. Looking at himself, Blaine also put the book in his hand back intact.
Blaine took a quick look at the magic book he had just picked up. It seemed to be about magical integration. It sounded very high-level, and Blaine had been planning to take it back and study it carefully without anyone knowing. However, this magic book seemed to be incomplete. There was only the first volume, and as for the second volume, Blaine had looked around nearby but found no trace of it on the shelves.
When it came to magical integration, Blaine had actually come into contact with it before. The first time this magic had been used was during the battle against Ultron, during the destruction of Sokovia. At that time, it had been his first time integrating all kinds of magic together to form a powerful magic circle. But that was only a simple mixture, completely uncontrollable, like an unstable time bomb that could explode at any moment. Although it was very powerful, it did have one flaw: instability.
For a long time, Blaine had been exploring true magical integration, but it seemed to have ended in failure. In the past, several magic circles had been drawn on the same object, or arrow, in order to achieve the effect of multiple spells triggering together. However, such an approach ultimately meant that the various magics were still unrelated to one another, each with different properties and functions, and they interfered with each other. It could only be regarded as a forced combination.
Under the Wakandan vibranium meteorite, after Blaine analyzed and copied the circular magic circle, he gained a new understanding of integrated magic, which made him want to further improve and strengthen it.
So, when he saw this book about integrated magic just now, to be honest, Blaine became a little excited. However, now it seemed incomplete and defective, so there was no difference between reading it and not reading it. Aside from stirring up Blaine's interest again, it had no other effect.
What a pity…
Also, what Blaine had said just now had its own deeper meaning. The main reason was that he was afraid the Ancient One would hide her secrets and hold something back before she died. Saying this was merely to let the Ancient One lower her guard. After all, who could eat a fat man in one bite? No matter how talented a person was, if they wanted to master something, they at least had to study it first. With just one request, he could kill three birds with one stone. Why not do it?
However, while it was impossible for others to do it, for Blaine, having the Copy Eye was a super shortcut for copying magic. He was not afraid that the Ancient One would be reluctant to demonstrate. As long as she demonstrated it, Blaine dared to copy it.
"Everything in the world has its own laws."
"All things depend on one another, yet restrain one another. They mutually restrain each other, life continues endlessly, and so the cycle goes on and on."
"Not only people have energy. Magic also has its own magical energy."
"Young man."
"I admit that you are truly excellent."
"To master so many high-level and even Universe-Level magics at such a young age…"
"That may be a height others will never reach in their entire lives."
"However, remember not to aim too high while your hands remain too low."
"Although your magic is very powerful…"
"You only know the second thing. You do not know the first."
"To put it plainly…"
"Your starting point is too high, but your foundation is not solid."
"Perhaps you only know how to use it, but you do not truly understand it."
"Here are all kinds of magic I have collected over hundreds of years, along with their origins."
"Master them first, and then think about the questions you want to know."
With her hands behind her back, the Ancient One looked like a knowledgeable old scholar at this moment, while Blaine was a proud student, one bottle full and half a bottle sloshing around. Facing such a student, the old scholar merely spoke freely and expressed her own opinions. As for whether the student listened or not, that was not her concern. After the Ancient One finished speaking, she walked out without looking back.
Yes, sometimes communicating with professionals could truly bring great benefits. These enlightening words struck Blaine like a thunderbolt. Blaine froze in place, seriously thinking about what the Ancient One had said, and he did not even notice that she had walked out.
The Ancient One's words were now deeply imprinted in Blaine's mind. Thinking about it carefully, they were true.
He only knew the second thing, not the first. That seemed to be Blaine indeed. Although Blaine had truly mastered many Universe-Level magics now, whether copied or purchased, there was one thing they all seemed to have in common: flaws.
Blaine had originally come here wanting to make up for those shortcomings. That was to say, as mentioned before, his mental power was not enough to support using them too many times. There were daily limits, insufficient damage, too small a range, and so on. But now, Blaine did not seem to worry about those issues much. Instead, he carefully thought about what the Ancient One had just said.
Although it was true that Blaine could understand the essence, structure, and composition of these magics, why were there still flaws? Why couldn't he use them like Gali? This was a problem, and one worthy of Blaine's deep thought.
Thinking about it now, it was just as the Ancient One had said: his starting point was too high, and his foundation was not solid. For Blaine, were only Universe-Level magics truly worth using? Even if he could use them, and even modify them flexibly, Blaine still felt that something was missing. There was always a feeling of standing high in the cold.
In that case, Blaine truly had to calm down and properly take a look at the collection of books in this room.
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