[Starting as a Class 5 Mutant] Chapter 313/314 (Patreon)

"Lord Dormammu will grant us the power to destroy the entire world!"

A group of black-robed sorcerers, led by a middle-aged man, was conducting a magical ritual.

As Morris waved his hand, red magical lines formed a symbol in midair.

Together, the sorcerers began chanting incantations from the fragmented pages of forbidden texts.

"We summon you, Dormammu…"
"Hear our call and come to us…"
"Reveal your true form…"
"We summon you, Dormammu…"

The red symbol in the air rotated continuously.

With the final chant, the ground beneath them transformed, its tiles shifting like the patterns of a kaleidoscope.

In an instant, a vision appeared in everyone's mind.

They saw a strange, dark dimension flickering with vibrant colors, and a massive black entity composed of pure dark energy—a colossal figure.

They immediately recognized it as the Dark Dimension, and the enormous figure as Lord Dormammu himself!

As they beheld Dormammu, he, too, took notice of them.

"I shall grant you power. Destroy the Sanctums for me!"

Dormammu's greedy and malevolent voice echoed in their minds.

"Once the Sanctums are destroyed and Earth's protective barrier collapses, the entire planet shall belong to me, Dormammu!"

At that moment, dark energy surged through the connection into Morris's body.

In mere seconds, he felt an unprecedented surge of power.

However, this newfound strength came with a price—his body and soul began to corrode.

The signs of corruption were evident. The skin around his eyes darkened, resembling charred coal.

This phenomenon occurred in varying degrees among all the sorcerers, with Morris receiving the largest influx of power.

"Hahaha…"

Feeling the immense power coursing through him, Morris was overwhelmed by a sense of omnipotence.

With a casual wave of his hand, the surrounding buildings warped and twisted, flipping upside down and transforming into grotesque shapes.

"Lord Dormammu's power is indeed magnificent!"
"He is the greatest!"

Seeing this display, the male and female sorcerers were filled with awe and excitement.

Morris declared loudly, "Lord Dormammu, we will fulfill your command!"

After experiencing their newfound power, they immediately began planning the destruction of the Sanctums.

Once the Sanctums were destroyed and Earth's magical barrier was gone, Dormammu would be free to invade and consume the planet.

...

Meanwhile, at Kamar-Taj, Stephen Strange was diligently practicing magic alongside other apprentices.

Time passed, and soon it was morning.

Stephen, standing among the apprentices, struggled to produce even a spark of energy while others easily conjured intricate magical lines.

Each failure left him feeling increasingly awkward and frustrated.

Kaecilius's words from earlier kept resurfacing in his mind, tempting him.

As Stephen trained, Syd, observing through the faith threads of one of his sorcerer followers, took note of the events unfolding at Kamar-Taj.

In the courtyard, Mordo continued his lecture.

"Mastering the Sling Ring is crucial in magic. It allows us to travel freely across the multiverse."

"You must focus intensely, visualizing your destination in your mind. Imagine every detail vividly. The clearer the image in your mind, the faster the portal will appear!"

Watching the glowing sparks forming portals in front of the other apprentices, Stephen glanced at the pitiful sparks he managed to summon and fell silent, unsure of what to say.

Peering through his connection, Syd observed with growing curiosity.

"Portals, huh…"

He had seen this magic before in Kaecilius's memories.

With that thought, Syd decided to give it a try.

Thanks to his frequent use of the Tesseract and his divine mental clarity, imagining vivid scenes was no challenge for him. Energy was also not an issue, though he lacked the essential Sling Ring.

Normally, casting a portal spell without the Sling Ring would be impossible.

However, as he attempted the spell, Syd immediately sensed something unusual and couldn't help but feel surprised.

This was his first time using magic after fully activating the Orochi template, with all abilities at maximum level.

In that moment, his sensitivity to spatial anomalies was extraordinary.

With a mere thought, golden sparks formed a circular portal before him.

Without a Sling Ring, he had managed to create a portal.

Syd was astonished.

He carefully analyzed the phenomenon and compared it to Kaecilius's memories, quickly identifying a significant difference.

Compared to Kaecilius and others, his affinity with space was overwhelming. While their connection to space could be measured at 1%, his was at 100%.

As he marveled at this revelation, a thought struck him.

"Could it be because of Orochi's nature?"

He recalled that Orochi wasn't merely a surface-level character. As a deity with dominion over space, Orochi possessed immense spatial manipulation abilities.

Though his version of Orochi was modeled after the game character, which limited such powers, it seemed the innate affinity for space remained intact.

Perhaps, as his abilities reached their peak, his spatial manipulation skills were slowly unlocking.

Acknowledging this hidden potential, Syd set the thought aside and turned his attention back to the portal spell.

"This portal can connect to other universes, right?"

After some hesitation, Syd refrained from experimenting further.

He had concerns—stepping into another universe and leaving traces might trigger an attraction between universes, potentially causing a collision.

This kind of multiversal collision, hinted at in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was a future event that could devastate the Avengers.

Syd had no intention of facing such a disaster before reaching a certain level of strength.

Shifting his focus away from the portal, Syd redirected his attention to Stephen Strange.

At that moment, Stephen was in conversation with the Ancient One about his hands.

(End of Chapter)

Strange believed his inability to use magic stemmed from his injured hands, but the Ancient One dismissed this notion.

To prove her point, she introduced Hamir, a one-handed sorcerer, who effortlessly cast a spell.

This scene left Stephen stunned.

Under Syd's watchful gaze, the Ancient One created a portal and transported Strange to the snow-covered Mount Everest.

In such extreme conditions, a normal person could endure no more than thirty minutes before facing life-threatening danger. Without warm clothing, Stephen might not even last two minutes.

After explaining briefly, the Ancient One left Stephen on Everest and returned alone to Kamar-Taj's courtyard.

Kamar-Taj Courtyard

"How is he doing?" Mordo asked.

The Ancient One replied calmly, "You'll know in a few seconds."

As expected, in the face of a life-and-death crisis, an unstable yellow portal appeared, and a frostbitten Stephen Strange stumbled through it.

Time passed quickly.

Once Stephen overcame his doubts, his photographic memory and natural talent for the mystical arts allowed him to progress rapidly in magic.

One day, in the courtyard, Stephen and Mordo discussed the Ancient One.

"How old is she, exactly?" Stephen asked curiously.

"No one knows the Sorcerer Supreme's age. All we know is that she is Celtic, but she has never spoken of her past," Mordo explained.

"Why would you follow someone so mysterious?" Stephen asked, astonished.

Mordo smiled and replied, "I know she is resolute, steadfast, and kind…"

"Trust your master, and don't stray from the path."

Stephen, having learned more about Kamar-Taj's secrets during his time there, asked cautiously, "You mean Kaecilius, don't you?"

Mordo's expression darkened as he answered, "Yes."

"When he first arrived here, he was broken, lost, and desperate, seeking answers in the mystic arts."

"He was gifted, but arrogant and stubborn, even rejecting the Ancient One's teachings."

"Eventually, some sorcerers followed him, seduced by his false doctrines."

Stephen frowned and asked, "So he's the one who stole the forbidden pages, right? What was on them?"

"You're wrong. He didn't steal the forbidden pages. I thought so too at first," Mordo said solemnly, before adding, "But that's not something you should concern yourself with."

Later that night, as Stephen was reading in his room, a knock interrupted him.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened, revealing Kaecilius, the braided, yellow-robed sorcerer.

Kaecilius glanced at him and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Stephen frowned and replied, "Kaecilius, I've heard about you. I need more time to think."

Kaecilius detected a note of pride in Stephen's tone.

It was clear that Stephen didn't believe in his so-called Heavenly Father and Savior and had confidence in his own magical talent. He seemed to think he could achieve his goals without Kaecilius's help.

"Very well. I hope you'll always feel that way," Kaecilius said before turning and leaving the room.

To him, Stephen's lack of faith was his own loss, not Kaecilius's.

Watching Kaecilius leave, Stephen's expression remained unchanged.

After weeks of studying magic and reading numerous texts, Stephen had come to understand what dimensional entities were.

But he didn't care.

What difference did it make if he joined their group and worshiped their so-called dimensional god?

Would a dimensional entity even notice a mere believer?

And even if it did, how much power could it bestow?

Stephen concluded that relying on himself was far more reliable.

Besides, magic inherently involved borrowing power from dimensional entities. If that was the case, what was the point of pledging faith? It wasn't worth the cost.

Kaecilius, who had devoted himself to such a being, didn't even seem particularly powerful to him.

Meanwhile, Syd, watching Kaecilius leave Stephen's room through his faith threads, was both surprised and unsurprised.

Doctor Strange's arrogance and pride were traits he had long possessed, even as a neurosurgeon. Though tempered somewhat during his time at Kamar-Taj, they hadn't vanished entirely.

Syd had no particular feelings about this.

While he found Stephen Strange intriguing, he wasn't inclined to go out of his way to help him.

"It seems there's no need to wait for Strange. I can activate the new mode right now."

"Besides…"

Syd frowned slightly.

Through the faith threads, he had noticed troubling signs within Kamar-Taj.

To prevent Kaecilius—a loyal follower—from being eliminated due to his current weakness, Syd decided to activate the new mode early.

Back in his room, Kaecilius was met with a question.

"Master Kaecilius, how did it go?"

A thirty-something female sorcerer named Tiana asked curiously.

The others in the room, about a dozen sorcerers, turned their expectant gazes toward Kaecilius.

Kaecilius shook his head.

Seeing this, Perry and the others quickly deduced the outcome.

"What an ungrateful fool!"
"Does he look down on us?"

The sorcerers began murmuring in discontent.

"Enough," Kaecilius said, silencing them.

His expression turned serious as he added, "Stay vigilant in the coming days. I sense a dark force stirring."

Having planted numerous spies within Kamar-Taj, Kaecilius had noticed suspicious activities and sensed something amiss.

Hearing this, Perry and the others grew tense, their worry evident.

If even Kaecilius thought the situation was dangerous, how could they hope to handle it?

Would there be casualties?

As they fretted over the unknown threat, a sudden change occurred!

(End of Chapter)

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