5 Ancient One

"So, you're saying you found it on our doorstep, and because you like cats, you adopted it without asking me?" Pepper said after hearing Max's explanation.

Max nodded. "So, can we please keep it?" (pleading eyes effect)

"We can keep it, but who will take care of it? You have to go to school, and I have a job to do," Pepper said, averting her eyes from Max's cute face, which is lethal for her girly heart.

"Oh, then there's no problem. He's a very intelligent cat. Let me show you," Max said happily, then turned towards Tom with a pistol made of his fingers. "Bam."

Tom got the clue, clutching his chest while standing swayed here and there, grabbing his chest for 10 seconds, and then fell into Pepper's lap. He stretched his hand towards her face, but halfway, he transformed into a dead cat with his tongue out.

Max's lips twitched, seeing Tom's acting. 'He is more dramatic than my previous lives' K dramas.'

"Wow, what a trained cat," Pepper exclaimed, seeing Tom like this.

'You believed that?' Max's face expressed disbelief.

"Okay, we can keep Tom. Let me get some cat food for him," Pepper said, rubbing Tom, then left him and went out.

After Pepper left, Max sighed in relief. But then his lips twitched when he looked back at Tom.

Tom was now standing upright with a cigar in his mouth and shades on his eyes. The smoke coming out of the cigar formed the words, 'Wanna learn it, Acting?'

Seeing the words, Max didn't know what to say.

"What a mystical cat?" ???

Suddenly, Max heard a voice. Swiftly turning his head towards the location from where it came from, he saw a yellow-robed figure standing near the window.

"Who are you?" Max created an Ice Sword facing towards the stranger.

"Hmm, interesting," the stranger said and removed her hood.

'Ancient One!' Max exclaimed in his heart but kept his face serious.

"I sensed energy of a different dimension from here. Turns out, it came from the cat. As for you, you have the same energy signature I sensed a year ago. So, explain to me what's the relation between you and this cat, or I will banish you from this dimension," the Ancient One said while conjuring a chair and sitting on it.

'Darn, wasn't the female Ancient One reasonable? So what's with this banishment?' Max felt nervous as the entity in front of him could suppress Dormamu. There was no way he could get away safely if she got serious.

*foooh* Max exhaled sharply to calm himself. 'Thankfully, I already thought of an excuse if such a thing happens.'

"And why should I tell you?" Max said, conjuring another dark sword in his left hand.

The Ancient One looked at the dark energy emanating from the sword for a few seconds and then looked at Max. "My work is to protect Earth from Dimensional threats. So, if a being from a different dimension appears, I have to know whether it's dangerous or not for Earth."

"You can think of me as a superhero," she said after a pause.

Max put away his elemental swords. 'It's going in a good direction.'

"Then you don't have to worry. Tom is just a silly cat; he won't be a threat," Max said while sitting on his bed.

"I can see that. It's weak, not much of a threat, plus he's not evil. But how did it come here?" She asked with a smile, wanting an answer to the main question.

"It's kind of a superpower I awakened a year ago. It allows me to randomly summon stuff or beings with their permission and a loyalty contract," Max said, using the excuse he had prepared long ago.

"Hmm, demonstrate it for me," the Ancient One said.

"This..." "Do it. I have to see it myself if it's dangerous or not," Max was going to deny, but he met the Ancient One's order.

'System, can you create some effects that can be visible to others?' Max mentally asked while acting like he was summoning something.

[It will cost 50 UP]

'Damm it, my life at risk here,' Max cursed.

[Take it or leave it. It's not my life at risk anyway.]

'Okay, take it, and do one 100 UP draw,' Max mentally said.

[Rolling...]

Max opened his eyes, and then on the floor in front of him, a magic circle started forming and then shined brightly. After the light dimmed, a book lay there.

The Ancient One picked up the book and looked at the title, which said "Perfect Aim."

"What does this 'Perfect Aim' book do that you summoned?" She asked after trying to open the book, which didn't budge an inch.

"This is a skill book. If you stick it to your chest, you will learn 'Perfect Aim' instantly, and your aim would be perfect even if you haven't touched a gun in your life," Max explained the skill book's function.

"By the way, it's random. I can't control what I summon, but even if I summon a living being, they will never disobey me," Max said to assure the Ancient One.

The Ancient One nodded as she had already seen the future with the Eyes of Agamotto, and it was moving in a good direction, even better than the original one.

"Do it one more time," the Ancient One said, tossing the skill book to Max.

"This is difficult to do," Max made an excuse as he didn't want to waste UP on common draws.

"Do it one more time, and I will allow you to learn at Kamar-Taj. It's where I teach about magic or mystic arts. There are many books collected from ancient times that have tons of magical knowledge," the Ancient One said, seeing Max's hesitation as she wanted to learn about the summoning circle, which she failed to learn as she wasn't able to see it, like it was shrouded in a magical mist.

"Okay, I will do it, but it's the last time," Max agreed as Kamar-Taj is a place worth more than a mere 100 UP.

'System, one more 100 UP draw,' Max mentally said. Once again, a magic circle appeared, and this time, it was an egg.

'I still can't see it,' the Ancient One thought after seeing the magic circle shrouded in mist.

"This time it's an egg, but I can feel elemental energy from it," the Ancient One curiously looked at the random Pokémon egg that Max got this time.

"If you drop your blood on it, an elemental companion will come out. You can have it, but please do allow me to read all of Kamar-Taj's books," Max proposed the deal, knowing there are some forbidden books in Kamar-Taj's library.

"Okay, I am also interested in it," the Ancient One said, taking the egg. She then created a fire ring portal and went inside.

"Thankfully, nothing bad happened. Instead, I gained entry to Kamar-Taj," Max lay on his bed in relief, as facing the Ancient One was nerve-racking