Dormammu.
Both Karl and the Ancient One were, in truth, somewhat uneasy about him.
This incomparably powerful lord of the Dark Dimension could be said to be the strongest enemy Karl might face at this stage.
Karl was a cautious man.
Before any battle, he always had to probe the truth of things and prepare early.
He frowned, thinking quietly.
Dormammu's threat, strictly speaking, wasn't that great.
It wasn't that Dormammu wasn't strong.
It was that this guy generally wouldn't show up in the real world—he stayed in the Dark Dimension.
That old monster had offended plenty of people.
If he appeared in the real universe, there was a good chance he'd get jumped by all sorts of heroic powerhouses.
So even when he made a move, he could only drag a region of space into the border between reality and the Dark Dimension to properly exert his power.
That was also why, with the Three Sanctums in place, Kamar-Taj had the confidence not to fear a direct invasion from Dormammu.
Right now, the real issue was how to protect the Sanctums, and how to prevent sorcerers from defecting.
Karl continued thinking.
In Kamar-Taj, only two people could remain completely immune to temptation and corruption.
One was the Ancient One.
The other was him.
As for Karl, it was entirely because he had foreknowledge—he knew exactly what kind of creature Dormammu was.
As for the Ancient One, it was simply because her will was unshakable.
For so many years, she had continuously drawn upon the Dark Dimension's power to prolong her life—constantly resisting Dormammu's terrifying will.
Yet there was still nothing at all to show for it in terms of corruption—no trace of it, anywhere.
That kind of willpower… Karl couldn't help but admit he fell far short.
Leaving strength aside—
In terms of willpower, the Ancient One and Doctor Strange were absolutely among the most top-tier existences in this world.
And that was precisely the hard part.
Ordinary sorcerers weren't strong enough, and their willpower could never be that steadfast.
Dormammu could easily find cracks to exploit.
Magic was easy to cultivate.
But willpower—trying to increase that—was painfully difficult.
Without enough tempering, even if you lived for hundreds or thousands of years, you'd merely be forcibly nailing your soul into a shell.
"…Wait."
"Why am I even trying to raise every sorcerer's willpower?"
"All we need is that the moment any sorcerer is invaded, we detect it immediately."
"If we can tell which sorcerer shows signs of falling, could they really do anything to Kamar-Taj?"
The more Karl thought about it, the more it made sense.
They didn't need to ensure nobody could ever be tempted.
They only needed to discover it in time.
Dormammu might be able to forcibly bewitch ordinary sorcerers, but he generally wouldn't do it that way.
It cost too much power, and it was too easy to expose.
Most "corruption" happened because sorcerers themselves couldn't withstand the lure of power and longevity.
In that case, if someone brought disaster on themselves… it wasn't on him to save them at all costs.
Thinking that, Karl had another thought.
"The Ancient One and I can't watch every single sorcerer every moment."
"Even if we had the ability, we still have to respect their privacy."
"But what if there were some kind of artifact that could actively detect a sorcerer's will and the presence of Dark power?"
The more he considered it, the more feasible it sounded.
The Ancient One was an extremely powerful alchemist.
The Sling Rings and many of Kamar-Taj's artifacts had been forged by her—maybe she could craft something like this.
And even if she couldn't… wasn't he here?
So Karl spoke directly.
"Ancient One, could I ask you to forge an artifact that monitors the state of every sorcerer inside Kamar-Taj?"
"It doesn't need to be complicated—just detect the Dark Dimension's power and alert us immediately."
"When the time comes, whether we save that sorcerer or use it to set a trap for Dormammu, it'll be effortless."
"An artifact?"
Hearing that, the Ancient One pondered for a moment.
Then her eyes lit up.
What Karl said really was feasible.
But the only problem was—
She might not be able to forge such an artifact.
Outsiders all said her alchemy was superb, but that was mainly because she was old.
Her alchemy came from that—time.
Compared with ordinary sorcerers, her alchemy was naturally far higher.
But compared with true masters of that path… she could only be considered average.
An artifact like this was exquisitely delicate; with her methods, achieving it would be extremely difficult.
Dark power was everywhere.
Every night, the world brimmed with darkness.
The key was how to distinguish ordinary darkness from Dormammu's Dark power—and have an artifact monitor it accurately.
Just thinking about it made her head ache.
After a moment, she stopped hiding it and spoke plainly.
"My alchemy isn't that good. Even if I forged an artifact, it wouldn't be able to deal with an existence on Dormammu's level."
Karl: ???
Even the Ancient One couldn't do it?
"In that case, Ancient One—why not teach me some alchemy, and I'll research it myself?"
"Of course I'm not saying you're inferior to me—just that every craft has its specialists."
Karl smiled awkwardly.
The Ancient One merely smiled back.
"You don't need to put it like that, kid."
"You truly are the most gifted among us. I know my own talent—far inferior to yours."
"A sorcerer's cultivation has never required comparing oneself to others. The only one you must surpass is yourself."
She spoke lightly.
"Thank you for the guidance, Ancient One. I understand."
Karl cupped his hands, sighing inwardly.
The Sorcerer Supreme really was the Sorcerer Supreme—strength aside, even her breadth of mind and bearing made people admire her.
"Then I'll teach you alchemy."
"I want to see whether your talent in alchemy is the same as your talent in magic."
"These are two completely different roads. Your magical talent may not help you at all."
"Sometimes, that very talent might even become an obstacle."
The Ancient One looked at Karl with a smile.
She wanted to see just how monstrous he really was.
In magic, she had already conceded—Karl's talent could be called unprecedented.
But what about other fields?
Alchemy was entirely different.
Even she was only barely at the threshold—just a bit stronger than ordinary sorcerers.
The artifacts she forged relied purely on good materials.
In Odin's eyes, they wouldn't be worth mentioning.
That was the gap in alchemical attainment.
"Karl, listen carefully."
"The path of alchemy lies in using the laws of the world—or magical runes—to shape, forge, and empower objects."
"It's similar to setting up spell arrays, but there are enormous differences."
"Whether it's material ratios or the structure of their properties, everything requires precise calculation."
"Every artifact's creation demands extreme focus and effort."
"Take the Sling Ring for example—those alone are something I accumulated over centuries."
The Ancient One taught Karl almost word by word, slowly imparting the knowledge.
Some knowledge she even transmitted through magic.
Karl listened with absolute seriousness.
(End of Chapter)
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