"...Make me the Sorcerer Supreme?" Tony looked genuinely confused.
"Yes. Sorcerer Supreme." Morin nodded. "With your talent and wisdom, you just need some guidance from me. It'll be easy."
It wasn't that Morin wanted to clock out the moment he started working.
Although... there was a clause in that ten-year contract allowing him to transfer the title early if he found a suitable successor.
But was Morin really that kind of person?
Was he the type to slack off?
The type desperate to clock out?
The type to grab the benefits and run?
...Yes.
Very much yes.
Otherwise, why include that clause at all? Decorative purposes?
Working for others was impossible. The correct path was to freeload all the benefits, find the next successor, and then leave gracefully.
And coincidentally, Morin thought of Tony.
His biggest financial backer.
It wasn't irresponsibility. In the Marvel Multiverse, there were universes where Tony Stark did become the Sorcerer Supreme.
It was canon.
Which meant Tony could absolutely do it.
After remotely checking Tony's compatibility with magical elements, Morin confirmed it immediately.
Magical genius.
Tony simply hadn't developed it yet.
But some facts were already obvious. His physical resilience was abnormal. Ignoring inertia to a certain degree, for example.
Flying out of a cave and crashing into a desert.
Falling from tens of thousands of meters, nearly free-falling, rebooting mid-drop, then stabilizing near the ground.
And staying conscious through all of it.
Even if Tony kept fit, his body shouldn't be more ridiculous than a top-tier pilot.
Magical elements had been reinforcing him all along.
Top-tier magic physique.
Add his IQ, and Morin felt confident.
Tony was perfect.
The butterfly's wings had already flapped countless times. One more wouldn't matter.
At worst, Tony would go from Iron Man to Iron Man who knew a little bit of magic.
His combat power would increase.
His enemies would go from "can't beat him" to "absolutely can't beat him."
No real difference.
After convincing himself, Morin began convincing Tony-with a clear conscience.
"Why me?" Tony asked.
"You have wisdom. Talent. And a heart that wants to change things," Morin said. "Compared to being the Sorcerer Supreme, I value freedom more. The responsibility is too heavy for me. But for you..."
He paused.
"It fits."
"Magic isn't supposed to be used on ordinary people," Tony said carefully.
"That restriction exists to prevent malicious interference," Morin replied. "Magic is far more destructive and harder to control than technology. As long as it's not used for evil, the magical world doesn't really care-even if they find out."
"Like using it to film videos?" Tony's expression darkened.
"As a photographer, using a little magic to assist filming is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Tony ignored him.
No problem?
It would be a miracle if there weren't problems.
Still, he mentally bookmarked that phrase.
It sounded boring-but saying it himself later would be extremely entertaining.
For example:
[As a billionaire, having a few-hundred-million-dollar suit of armor for commuting is normal, right?]
Or:
[As a scientist, I studied a little magic and can use it. That's normal, isn't it?]
Flat tone. Calm face.
Instant existential damage to others.
That scenario-normal to oneself, incomprehensible to everyone else-had a name.
Showing off.
"In short," Morin continued, "you have the arc reactor and the Mark suits, yet you haven't built an army. You do everything yourself. Even as Sorcerer Supreme, I don't see you thinking about destroying the world."
He lowered his voice.
"At most, you'd think about clocking out early."
"What... clock out?" Tony blinked. He hadn't heard that part clearly.
"Oh, I mean it's time for me to clock out." Morin smiled. "So? Want to say yes? First, I don't want the position because I prefer traveling and taking photos-not because I'm plotting against you."
"That sounds reasonable." Tony thought for a moment, then pointed at the stack of books beside Morin. "Do you usually learn magic like that?"
The pile was over a meter high.
Tony trusted his intelligence.
Which was exactly why he knew that if he tried reading like that-even finishing wouldn't mean understanding.
"No, no." Morin quickly explained, afraid of scaring him off. "Normal people learn under a mentor, one spell at a time. These books contain thousands of spells."
He coughed.
"As a photographer... cough-as someone with a deep foundation in magic, I can self-study. If you're willing, I'll teach you personally."
"...Does being Sorcerer Supreme require paying some kind of price?" Tony asked.
It felt too good.
There had to be a catch.
"Everything has a price," Morin said. "Time. Energy. Resisting invasions from other dimensions. Occasionally helping Sorcerer Supremes from other universes."
He paused.
"By the way, don't you want to see what you look like in other universes?"
"I don't." Tony answered instantly.
After two seconds, he asked, "Have you?"
"I haven't. But there are infinite universes. Infinite versions of you. Some evil. Some kind. Some pure-hearted..."
Morin smiled slightly.
"...There might even be a blonde, blue-eyed hottie named Toni Stark."
"What the hell?" Tony shivered. "That makes me want to see it even less."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't him. Just multiversal overlap.
Still.
A blonde version of himself?
"...Is she pretty?" Tony thought.
"Of course," Morin said. "The men are handsome. The women are beautiful. No matter the universe, your looks are top-tier."
"Thanks. Still not interested." Tony shivered again.
"Being Sorcerer Supreme is tiring," Morin continued. "But before you're strong enough, I'll guide you personally. Time isn't an issue."
He lifted the Eye of Agamotto and removed its protective casing.
The Time Stone was revealed.
"A gem?" Tony examined it. "Nice color. Valuable."
"Not because of quality," Morin said. "Because of power. Time."
He produced an apple and placed it on the table.
"This is the condensed product of this universe's time laws. With the right method, you can alter time-within limits."
Green light bloomed in his hand.
Silken threads formed rings around the apple, spinning clockwise.
The apple aged.
Skin wrinkled. Color faded. It shrank, blackened, and crumbled into dust.
The rings stopped.
Then reversed.
The apple reformed.
Time reversal.
"...What's the principle?" Tony asked faintly.
"Time is a dimension running through all matter," Morin said. "I extracted the time axis of this apple and controlled it-like playing a video."
He continued calmly.
"From a scientific view, the Time Stone manipulates the quantum realm. I only adjusted the region containing the apple."
"Thanks," Tony said slowly. "I understood neither explanation."
He pointed at the stone.
"This controls time?"
"You built an arc reactor in a cave that outputs six billion joules per second without heat," Morin replied. "To me, that's equally absurd. Science is unreasonable too. If you don't understand it, it's a miracle. If you do, it's logical."
"...That makes it feel more understandable," Tony murmured, staring at the stars.
"Right?" Morin smiled. "I told you-you'd accept this easily."
"It still feels weird hearing a magic user explain things scientifically."
"That's irrelevant," Morin said passionately. "Magic is just another way to use energy. Anything science can't explain yet is just because tech isn't advanced enough."
Tony: "..."
Annoyingly.
He agreed.
And that made it worse.
Faced with a completely new, viable research path, a scientist had two reactions.
Reject it entirely.
Or throw themselves into it.
Tony wasn't a rigid pedant.
Even if he refused now, he'd dream about it later.
So instead of suffering and crawling back...
He might as well agree.
As for danger?
Tony knew how to judge situations.
In the cave, he pretended to comply until he could turn the tables.
Now wasn't the time.
Even with the Mark suit, he couldn't win.
Whatever Morin wanted, agreeing was the correct move.
"I agree-wait."
Morin's heart skipped. "What's wrong?"
"You've known magic for a long time?"
"Yes."
"So those videos... were all filmed using magic?"
"Yes."
"The one with the cave location-using invisibility?"
"Correct."
"...Then what about Yinsen?" Tony asked quietly. "Did you save him?"
"I'm not a god," Morin said. "I can't resurrect the dead."
The flame in Tony's chest dimmed.
"...Okay."
"But," Morin added, "as long as someone isn't dead yet, I can save them."
"DAMN IT." Tony nearly missed a breath. "Finish your sentences next time!"
His eyes widened.
"...He didn't die?"