Early the next morning, Strange began his life as a mage, diving into obscure and difficult magical studies.
Starting from the construction of magical runes all the way to the execution of complete spells, Strange felt as though he had opened the door to an entirely new world. It was a novel experience unlike anything he had ever encountered before—completely at odds with everything he had previously learned, overturning his understanding of how things worked.
The mornings were spent studying rune structures and the theoretical foundations of basic magic, while the afternoons were reserved for putting that knowledge into practice.
Standing in the courtyard, surrounded by fellow apprentices, Strange watched as each of them practiced with confidence. He lowered his gaze to his own trembling hands, utterly lacking confidence in the afternoon session—for one reason alone: his hands.
Just as he stood there staring blankly, Karl quietly walked up beside him.
"What are you hesitating about?"
Hearing Karl's question, Strange looked up. His expression—and even his eyes—were filled with self-doubt.
Karl had been bored, so the Ancient One had sent him to the courtyard to supervise the apprentices' training. Although his magic differed greatly from that of Kamar-Taj, the end result was the same. Teaching was out of the question, but acting as a supervisor was well within his abilities.
The moment Karl arrived, he spotted Strange immediately. There was no helping it—he stood out the most in the crowd. His hands trembled constantly as he tried to construct a magic circle before him. But his mind was restless, cluttered with distractions, making it impossible to form a stable spell. No matter how hard he tried, all he produced were a few scattered sparks—like a lighter that just wouldn't ignite.
Karl watched him with a hint of amusement. It reminded him of the Strange from his previous life's movie—desperate to master magic quickly so he could return to the operating table. But whether in fiction or reality, that was no longer possible.
"Your mind isn't calm~~"
Karl strolled over and stopped in front of him, watching his strained attempts.
Strange halted and looked at him.
"I need to heal my hands as soon as possible. I don't have that much time."
He spoke as if it were only natural—but the more urgent something was, the harder it became to achieve.
"Go read. You won't be practicing magic this month."
Karl made the decision on the spot. Without waiting for Strange's response, he waved his hand. A gust of wind formed instantly, lifting Strange and tossing him right out of the courtyard.
He had promised the Ancient One he would help Strange. But in his current state, Strange simply wasn't capable of learning magic. His mind was still bound by his old ways of understanding the world—frameworks that were fundamentally incompatible with magic.
In Karl's view, Strange needed to completely discard his current mindset and fully accept the existence of magic. So his solution was simple: read. Learn the philosophy of Kamar-Taj through books.
The magic of Kamar-Taj was fundamentally different from Karl's.
Karl could generate his own magical source within his body and store magical energy naturally. But Kamar-Taj's mages were different—they couldn't produce their own magical source. Instead, they had to draw power from the Vishanti, borrowing magic and storing it within themselves.
In that sense, it was less "magic" and more akin to gaining power through faith. Even the Ancient One was no exception. Aside from borrowing power from the Vishanti, she also drew strength from Dormammu—the Dark Dimension. In essence, it was all borrowed; none of it was self-generated.
That was why Karl, whose body itself was a self-sustaining magical source, couldn't learn Kamar-Taj's system. Their foundational logic was entirely different.
Wanda, however, was different.
She possessed both a self-generating magical source and the ability to draw external power like the mages of Kamar-Taj. This was all thanks to Chthon's blessing. By granting her his power, Chthon allowed Wanda to access Chaos Magic at will, while also forming a Chaos Magic source within her body.
Because of this, Wanda could learn part of Kamar-Taj's magic. But most of her abilities came from studying the Darkhold—the grimoire originally compiled by Chthon's earliest followers, making it perfectly suited for someone wielding Chaos Magic like her.
Thus, the fundamental logic of magic differed, and so did the mindset required to wield it.
What Strange lacked wasn't control—but a transformation in thinking.
Ignoring Strange's struggles entirely, Karl waved his hand again, binding him with wind and sending him straight toward the library.
"Come back to magic when your mind is calm."
Karl's words carried the same authority as the Ancient One's. This had been her instruction. She knew her time was limited, and Strange had yet to fully grow into his role. For now, she needed Karl to guide him—and Karl had readily agreed.
After all, Kamar-Taj's duty of defending Earth against the Dark Dimension was far more important than anything the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with.
—
With no other choice, Strange spent his days holed up in meditation rooms or his quarters, reading constantly. Occasionally, he would go to the courtyard to watch the apprentices practice—but for the most part, he simply observed.
One day, Strange approached Wong with a stack of books in his arms.
It was worth noting that after the previous librarian had been turned into "Louis XVI" by Kaecilius, Wong had taken over the position. As one of Kamar-Taj's top fighters, he had been appointed by the Ancient One to guard the Darkhold and prevent further theft.
"Mr. Strange, are you settling in well at Kamar-Taj?"
Seated at a long table in the library, Wong was reviewing borrowing records. Anyone could freely read the books here, but they had to register them—except for a few that were bound with magical chains.
"Uh… and you are?"
Strange had seen Wong before, of course—but he had never asked his name. Previously, he had been too impatient to heal his hands to bother with socializing. But recently, he had begun to calm down and get to know people.
"Wong."
Simple and direct.
"Oh—Wong? Just Wong? That reminds me of Beyoncé… or Aristotle. They only have one name too."
Wong ignored Strange's rambling and took the books from him, flipping through them.
The Book of Cagliostro, A New Compendium of the Cosmos, The Key of Solomon…
"…The Codex Supreme?"
He picked up the last book. The Codex Supreme recorded the legends of past Sorcerer Supremes, including even the Vishanti—the primordial trinity at the beginning of the universe.
"You've… finished all of these?"
Wong looked up at Strange in surprise. He had assumed Strange was here to borrow books—but judging by the records, he had come to return them.
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