"Master Wong… are you ready to practice in the morning with me, Doctor Strange?"
Master Wong's eyes widened when he heard me ask back in Mandarin.
He blinked his eyes frequently as if he wanted to get rid of the dizziness and blurred vision that might be due to morning drowsiness, but the image in front of him was still the same.
His nostrils trembled with every breath he took in and out in excitement and shock as he confirmed to himself that…
Stephen Strange, who had come to Kamar-taj for the first time yesterday, just one night… one night!
He had studied the Mystic Arts and had created a perfect mandala diagram!
The balance of the magic flow was flawless. There was no shaking like the image on a TV screen with a bad signal, which was a normal symptom that people who had been practicing for a few months would have even a little bit.
"Strange… How did you do it?" He asked in a voice filled with curiosity, confusion, but also amazement. A little admiration was mixed in.
"Practice… something special and STRANGE from others."
"A STRANGE than others… huh… Huh. Let's see how good your strangeness is."
Wong shook his head after hearing the somewhat teasing answer before waving and inviting me to join him in the Mystic Arts competition at the field near the library.
At 7 o'clock this morning, many Mystic Arts students were waking up to exercise in the morning. Many were practicing opening dimensional portals. Many were learning Mystic Arts and summoning golden chains and whips to practice hitting wooden puppets.
Of course, I was the one who stood out from the others. Being the one who got invited by Ancient One to study Mystic Arts on my own, the first person in hundreds of years, everyone turned to look at me with interest.
But not in a good way. I could feel their gazes. Clearly radiating feelings of jealousy, envy, dissatisfaction, and annoyance.
"Are you ready?" Wong asked after leading the way, bringing me to stand in an open arena. After standing face to face, I arranged my posture to be ready to compete.
"Ready," I answered confidently, raising both palms to clap, clasping them against the center of my chest in a prayerful position, before twisting my left palm so that the tips of my fingers point forward, rubbing my right palm up to my forehead.
Shhh, shhh.
The sound was like a hot object being splashed with water, causing its temperature to drop. But what was happening was not metal that had been dipped in water.
Instead, it was a wave of golden-yellow energy, weaving lines according to the movement of my two palms, like a conductor flicking a stick, directing the progress of the orchestra.
In just 3 seconds, a mandala diagram measuring 1 meter in diameter and 30 centimeters thick appeared in front of me, but it was transparent, like a giant shield ready to withstand any kind of attack. And let me, who was standing behind the shield, see the enemy's attack, so I can think, analyze, and find a way to deal with it.
"Hey, hey, isn't that a new kid?"
"Just came in yesterday, but why..."
"The Dao Mandala is so big and thick, some masters can't even do it."
"Plus, the casting time is so fast, I can't even see the hand drawing the pattern!"
"This kid with connections is really a kid with connections. Ancient One must have taught him and passed on secret technique."
The gossip was loud. Normally, I shouldn't have heard it because the audience was on the outside, tens of meters away.
But for some reason, I could hear it very clearly. It was as if they were gossiping at close range.
'If it's not a special ability from DEATH, then it must be an upgraded Observation Haki?'
I guessed while watching Master Wong's reaction, who opened his eyes wide in shock before shaking his head back and forth and speaking in a voice loud enough for the crowd around to hear.
"It's unbelievable, reading books overnight in the library, from the time I got here until morning. Studying theory all night and still having the energy and power to put the knowledge into practice, it's no wonder Ancient One invited you here."
These words caused another wave of excitement, but I didn't care about listening to the voice of birds and crows anymore because as soon as Master Wong finished speaking, he flicked his wrists lightly and summoned a pair of Mystic Arts weapons in the form of a pair of swords.
"Don't think that you can win immediately by opening a mandala, Yarghhhhh."
It was me who was a bit shocked. At first, I was preparing to separate the large magic shield in front of me into 4 parts, with two parts moving to receive the attack, while the other two parts would be compressed into a cone shape, similar to a Chinese fan, to be used to slash and strike the fan.
But this plan was in vain when the melee weapon in Wong's hand rushed in to attack from a distance instead. The pair of magic swords rushed in like spears being thrown quickly, causing me to raise my shield to defend.
Chinggggggggggg
The sound of the pair of swords piercing the shield before they transformed into spears that twisted their heads into a spiral, acting as a drill, piercing the shield. Sparks scattered everywhere.
"Strange, if all you have is a shield, prepare to lose," Master Wong said with a calm tone, expression, and manner, giving the feeling of a world-experienced teacher testing his disciple.
'It's a strange feeling. Wong hasn't taught me anything yet.' I thought to myself, before staring at the spiraling spear drill that quickly pierced through my 30-centimeter-thick shield, before the tip of the drill changed into a series of prongs that at first glance reminded me of a fish spear.
Then, a golden chain woven at the tip of the harpoon appeared, flowing like a snake towards Wong, who was holding the chain with both hands. Then, he pulled my shield with force. He probably intended that if the Mandala Shield that was spread out to protect the caster got away from him, it would lose control and dissipate?
My guess was the same as what the people around him had guessed. Many people were praising Wong, saying that he was worthy of being a master, finding a way to deal with the giant Mandala Shield so quickly.
Some people were scornful, saying that a new kid who had only been studying the technique for a day could only spread out a shield, how could he think of fighting against Master Wong who had been studying magic for so long?
'Huh… because I've only been studying the technique for a day, I still lack experience in fighting with magic. But… that doesn't mean that I will lose immediately.' I thought to myself, before moving all ten fingers to control the shield that was being pulled, to fly towards Wong faster.
"Huh?"
"What the heck??"
"What exactly do you want to do, new kid?"
"No way, it's so far away. Shouldn't be able to control such a complicated mandala?"
"Your control skill is higher than I thought?" Wong widened his eyes before trying to swing the harpoon chain that pierced my shield to control the direction, but found that he couldn't swing the shield even a little bit. And the second he tried to jump away... it was too late.
Winggggggggg
"The Shield of Seraphim, in addition to protecting yourself in all directions, can also be used as a cage to capture"
I said softly as I watched Wong being enveloped by the Taoist Mandala Shield, making him look like an egg yolk in the shell, trying to use the magic sword in his hand to crack and knock the shell off.