Karl returned to Kamar-Taj from space.
What greeted him was a hero's welcome.
He had taken down Galactus and saved Earth.
Even in the eyes of the sorcerers, that was an astonishing achievement.
The sorcerers, who had already held Karl in high regard, now had nothing but admiration for him.
The few discordant voices that had once existed in Kamar-Taj vanished completely.
After all, Karl was far too young.
Back then, he had spent thirteen years without even becoming a probationary sorcerer.
And now, all of a sudden, he had become the Sorcerer Supreme. Naturally, there had been sorcerers from his own generation who found that hard to accept.
It was just that those opinions had been suppressed by the Master Sorcerers.
But now, all of those objections had disappeared.
For a time, Karl's prestige in Kamar-Taj reached its absolute peak.
Other than the Ancient One in her day, there was probably no one else in Kamar-Taj who had ever commanded such overwhelming influence.
After he returned, the sorcerers even wanted to hold a special banquet for him.
A gathering, so everyone could celebrate together.
Ever since Kamar-Taj had reached a partnership with Tony Stark, their finances had become far more comfortable.
There would no longer be humiliating situations where a dignified Master Sorcerer could only scrape together pocket change.
Of course, sorcerers had never cared much for wealth.
But that kind of situation really had been a little too miserable.
With Karl involved, everything had improved considerably.
The Master Sorcerers who had lived through all of this were naturally full of gratitude toward him.
Still, Karl politely declined their enthusiasm.
First, he found it troublesome.
Second, after fighting an opponent like Galactus, he had gained fresh insight.
It was true enough.
Most of the powerhouses in the Marvel universe were straightforward brawlers.
Very few of them possessed especially refined techniques.
When they fought, it usually came down to head-on clashes of power, seeing whose energy reserves ran deeper.
Kamar-Taj was already among the flashiest of them.
But Galactus was still an avatar of a multiversal-level being.
He might not have relied on fancy moves, but his understanding of power itself ran extraordinarily deep.
Naturally, fighting a being like that had given Karl quite a few realizations.
Right now, he was busy comprehending all of it. Where would he find time for social obligations?
"Master Mordo, how about we skip it this time?"
"I really do have something important to deal with."
Karl let out a sigh as he spoke.
"Haven't you already driven Galactus away? What else could there be?"
"Could there be some other trouble?"
Mordo asked in confusion.
Even Wong beside him looked puzzled.
"Karl, this kind of thing is necessary too."
"There are a lot of sorcerers outside Kamar-Taj whom you still haven't met."
"This is the perfect chance for you to meet them properly."
"And let those people witness the dignity of our new Sorcerer Supreme."
Wong chimed in from the side.
Several Master Sorcerers nearby nodded as well.
Why had the Ancient One enjoyed such towering prestige in Kamar-Taj?
Because most of the Master Sorcerers had been taught by her personally, step by step.
Naturally, they respected her.
But Karl had never gone through that process.
Since they wanted to help him consolidate his standing, they naturally wanted the other Master Sorcerers to meet him.
To experience his tremendous power for themselves and confirm Karl's position.
A trace of apology appeared on Karl's face.
"Ahem, Masters, it really won't do."
"This time, after going into battle, I gained some new insights."
"There's a chance I may be able to create a few new spells and add to Kamar-Taj's foundations."
"I really don't have the time."
The moment those words were spoken, the smiles on Mordo and the others' faces vanished.
What?
He'd gained new insight again?
Was this never going to end?
So becoming Sorcerer Supreme still wasn't the end of it?
Then they thought about themselves, and then about Karl.
Had all those years of theirs been wasted?
Why had this kid gained insight again?
They had long known that his talent was monstrous.
But the gap was simply too great.
In the end, Mordo was the first to recover. He forced a smile onto his face.
"If that's the case, then cultivation naturally comes first."
"Go on and cultivate. There will be opportunities like this in the future."
Mordo forced out the sentence.
There was even a faint trace of sorrow hidden in his smile.
That left Karl rather puzzled.
Still, he wasn't the sort to dwell on such things.
After apologizing to the Master Sorcerers again, Karl turned and returned to his room.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, all sorts of profound and mysterious insights surfaced in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Detected that the host gained insight after battling Galactus's avatar. Super Talent — Cosmic Evolution.]
[You have mastered the spell Annihilation Sword (Atum's Sword).]
It didn't take long before the system notification rang out in Karl's mind.
Joy immediately rose in Karl's heart.
As expected.
His god-tier talent had not disappointed him.
He had actually comprehended such a powerful spell.
Atum was a true heavyweight.
He was known as Atum the God-Eater.
Nicknames like that were never given for nothing.
For Atum to carry such a title and remain unchallenged showed just how terrifyingly powerful he was.
In ancient times, Atum had directly brought the war of Earth's Elder Gods to an end. The number of Elder Gods he killed was more than could be counted on two hands.
Those were not half-fledged gods like the ones in Asgard, but Earth's Elder Gods, beings with inconceivable might.
And there had been no shortage of world-shaking giants among them.
Atum had slaughtered a whole host of them all the same. That alone showed how absurdly powerful he was.
And he himself wasn't the only outrageous one in his family.
The Demiurge and Gaea were his parents. Set and other deathly divine beings were part of his extended kin.
The power of an existence like that was impossible to imagine.
His might was also monstrously overpowered.
He could fuse and borrow the powers of all gods, turning them into his own.
The Annihilation Sword was a spell that invoked Atum's power, fused the five great Laws in Karl's grasp, and unleashed a terrifying force of astonishing magnitude.
It was far stronger than any spell Karl currently possessed.
A monstrous spell like that was nothing short of astounding.
"I wonder just how powerful this spell really is."
"I'll go test it out in space."
Karl's figure flashed, and he appeared in the universe.
These days, he didn't even dare test spells on Earth anymore.
If even a little aftershock spread out, Earth would probably be finished on the spot.
The only place he could test techniques now was space itself.
With another flash, Karl appeared directly in front of Jupiter.
Facing the largest planet in the Solar System, Karl waved his hand.
A streak of black light flew from his palm.
Puchi!
The black radiance struck Jupiter and instantly spread outward.
Then everything began to dissolve.
Matter, Laws, space itself—everything melted beneath that terrifying force.
In just a few seconds, the enormous planet Jupiter vanished completely.
Karl froze.
This was bad.
What was he supposed to do if his move was this powerful?
(End of Chapter)
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