"Where is Yinsen now?"
"After asking him what he wanted, I arranged for him to become a professor at a university. He said that after going through those things, he needed to immerse himself in new knowledge to catch up with this era."
Morin played a pre-recorded video in front of Tony.
[Hello, Tony. It's Yinsen... When you see this, I'm clearly not speaking from heaven or hell or somewhere like that. I'm in a university lab. Being on the brink of death and then coming back... it's a very strange feeling. I don't really know how to describe it, but I definitely don't want to experience it a second time... I hope you never have to either... Uh, I don't mean you should just die and not come back, I mean... anyway, you know what I mean.]
Yinsen spoke awkwardly, waving a test tube as he talked. He was clearly uncomfortable in front of a camera.
[What I want to say is... cherish your life. It's an old saying, right? But that's exactly what I want to tell you. You have the intelligence and ability to change the world. Don't waste it. Use it to push the world toward a better future, to lead a technological evolution. That's something countless scientists dream of, including me. So... as you can see, I'm working hard to learn. Hopefully I can help you someday... That's probably all I have to say. I'm at-]
"...Which university?" Tony asked as the video ended.
"Culver University in Virginia," Morin replied. "I used some small tricks to get him in as a professor, but his knowledge was more than sufficient anyway. You can visit him if you want. Just don't let anyone notice your movements. You're in the spotlight right now. With what you've built, the headlines for the next few months are basically reserved for you."
"Do I really like showing off that much?" Tony felt slightly offended.
Morin stared at him silently.
The look clearly said: Are you serious?
"...Alright. Maybe a little," Tony admitted. "But that's because I actually have talent."
"True," Morin said. "But magic is something you should use sparingly after learning it. Even if you're the future Sorcerer Supreme."
"Do we start now?" Tony asked.
"One hour a day," Morin said with a smile.
"How do you have more confidence in me than I do?" Tony complained.
"I mean one hour in the real world," Morin yawned.
Tony: "??!"
Tony understood instantly.
The Time Stone.
An hour in the real world meant-
A day?
A month?
Good grief.
At this pace, wouldn't he age prematurely?
"First, study," Morin said seriously. "Once you have enough skill, I'll take you to other worlds. Since you agreed, I'm your teacher now. Oh, by the way, there's a saying in China: 'A teacher for a day, a father for life.'"
Tony: "???"
What was that supposed to mean?
"Well, you're a foreigner, so it doesn't really apply," Morin thought for a moment and then waved it off. Forcing cultural concepts wasn't good. He'd just think of Tony as a son in his own heart.
No big deal.
Providing protection. Teaching top-tier magic.
That was basically the same treatment, wasn't it?
After chatting for a bit, Morin opened a portal and sent Tony back.
Then he returned to his own grueling study life.
As a teacher, he naturally had to share the pain.
He converted the books into electronic format and sent them to Tony, telling him to read whenever he had time so he wouldn't be illiterate later. Formal teaching would start tomorrow, from 3:00 to 4:00 a.m., when there was basically nothing going on.
Tony asked whether that schedule would cause excessive fatigue and suggested moving it earlier.
Morin rejected it immediately.
What?
You want to be the Sorcerer Supreme and still rest?
Didn't you see Doctor Strange reading by candlelight, even using his soul to read while dreaming?
Other people's kids worked that hard.
How could you fall behind?
Of course, Morin was much better than the Ancient One in the original story, who basically let Doctor Strange teach himself.
For example, Morin had already prepared a composite array set for Tony.
This set combined multiple arrays so their effects perfectly overlapped.
[Mental Clarity]
[Physical Recovery]
[Blood Circulation]
[Body Healing]
[Anti-Aging]
And more.
Combined with the Time Stone's amplification, one hour of study could become a day.
A month.
Even a year.
Super-efficient learning.
Morin had used this set before.
On Magneto, in the X-Men world.
The results were outstanding.
The "Master of Magnetism" had successfully transformed into an electromagnetic physicist controlling one of the four fundamental forces.
Compared to the original story, the difference wasn't small.
Thinking of the X-Men reminded Morin of the little red socialism books he'd given to Magneto and Professor X.
He hoped they'd mastered them and built a mutant nation.
Just thinking about it made him excited.
He should find time to go back and check.
Wait.
X-Men were originally part of the Marvel Universe.
Then he'd just take Tony there later during training and see how their socialist construction was going.
See if they lived up to his teachings.
While learning at a hundredfold speed, Morin was also planning his future.
-
Tony returned home and stood there in a daze.
Too much had happened.
Magic.
A completely new path.
The position of Sorcerer Supreme.
Before this, he was only thinking about cleaning up the mess his weapons caused.
Compared to this?
That was nothing.
Tony suddenly felt like a frog at the bottom of a well, staring at a small patch of sky and feeling satisfied.
A huge mistake.
A man's dream should be the sea of stars.
So many worlds.
So many people.
So much unknown knowledge.
It felt like an intense rhythm was pounding in his ears, making his heart race.
The future spread out before him like a scroll.
A pen had been placed in his hand.
Everything was left for him to write.
How could he refuse?
"Sir, your heart rate is abnormally high. Should I prepare medication?" Jarvis asked.
"No," Tony said. "I've never felt better. Let's do something big. But step by step. Pull up the Mark II model. I have new ideas."
"Should the previous Mark II modification continue?" Jarvis asked.
"Continue. We're not short on that little bit of money."
Even if it became obsolete, it would still be a great collectible.
With the arc reactor and the armor, Tony couldn't imagine being short on money in the future.
This was new energy.
Every shift in humanity's energy source triggered a societal revolution.
And he had one in his hands.
If he weren't worried about losing control of it and causing chaos, he would've announced it already.
Now, he was even less rushed.
Learn magic first.
Then study the principles.
Then merge magic and technology.
A magical Mark suit?
Tony's inspiration exploded.
-
The next day.
Morin watched Tony fluently read the magic book in his hands and felt genuine amazement.
"Cursed with knowledge," indeed.
This speed was ridiculous.
That was an entire writing system.
Morin gave it to him last night.
This morning, Tony had already mastered it.
Then again...
In Avengers 1, Tony learned two entire branches of physics to a master level in hours.
Learning a language in a day...
Totally reasonable.
As if.
The more Morin thought about it, the more excited he became.
For a teacher, the greatest joy was a monstrous student.
Especially one who could immediately apply what they learned.
Tony was exactly that.
With such a student, the only concern was whether the teacher knew enough.
For Morin, that wasn't an issue.
He had knowledge from countless worlds.
Unless Tony secretly had a Mind Stone in his head.
At least, Morin hadn't found one yet.
So Morin increased the training load.
The [Faster, Better, Stronger Learning Array: Plus Version] was directly applied.
With so many arrays supporting him, Tony didn't need to worry about fatigue or physical strain.
He just needed to learn.
Longevity issues from time acceleration?
Not a problem.
Morin knew plenty of life-extension methods.
Before Tony's magic matured, he could supplement it.
Later, when his magic reached near-divinity, the body wouldn't matter anyway.
At Tony's current pace, Morin only had one concern.
Should he delay clocking out as Sorcerer Supreme?
Wouldn't it look bad if the new one lasted less than a month?
Learning this fast under forced-feeding education was already scary.
What was scarier was that Tony could perfectly use the magic.
After one day of study.
One hour in the real world.
Tony lifted his head weakly from the pile of books.
"That's enough for today," Morin said. "You need to adapt to your power."
"I feel like I've been studying for a very long time."
"Not really. Just an hour."
"I mean the actual time!"
"...A week," Morin coughed lightly, fiddling with the teacups. "If you can handle it, the capable should do more."
"I really need to thank you," Tony sighed. The more he learned, the more terrifying Morin became. Revenge wasn't even a thought. "But I think I can use these spells."
"Using them and using them well are different things," Morin said. "You need real combat. Time to test it."
"I choose my own targets?" Tony asked.
"Of course. But don't get cocky. Wear your Mark suit," Morin said. "Your suit and arc reactor are being watched by many forces. Some aren't friendly. This is a good opportunity."
"Hydra?" Tony frowned. He'd looked through Howard Stark's materials and learned about them.
"A photographer never misses a chance to sell footage," Morin said. "Just prepare the money."
"Actually, as payment for teaching me-"
"Stop." Morin interrupted sharply. "I don't take money for teaching magic. This is an exchange of interests. I want to clock out. You want power."
"Photography is my personal hobby. Only money earned from that matters."
What was money without experience points, if not waste paper?
Nineteenth