Taking the Ancient One as a Disciple?

"It seems you not only know who I am but are also familiar with me and Kamar-Taj," the Ancient One calmly looked at Russell and slowly spoke.

"I only know, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly familiar," Russell replied calmly, placing his glass of whiskey on the nearby table.

He spoke the truth; he couldn't really claim to be very familiar with the Ancient One and Kamar-Taj. Of course, compared to most people, he knew a bit more.

Observing Russell's completely unruffled demeanor, the Ancient One fell silent for a few seconds before continuing, "Since you know about me and Kamar-Taj, I won't explain too much. The main reason for inviting you here this time is to ask if you're interested in magic."

"If you are, I can serve as your magic mentor."

Upon hearing the Ancient One's words, Russell was momentarily stunned.

Wait a minute!

Did the script get mixed up? This sounds like a Doctor Strange script, right?

Russell furrowed his brow, looking at the Ancient One with suspicion.

"No need to be so skeptical. Although I can't see your past, I can glimpse your future," the Ancient One continued.

"From the perspective of Earth's humanity, you possess great power, but you're also aware of your weaknesses, aren't you?"

While the Ancient One wasn't one to make jokes, Russell felt that the Ancient One's decision to teach him magic was somewhat hasty.

Others might not know that he came from another world, but the Ancient One definitely could. With the Time Stone at her disposal, confirming whether someone came from another world was as simple as checking if they had a complete past.

"Um... I do have some interest in magic, but don't you think your decision is a bit rash? Aren't you worried that I might become a threat to Earth after learning magic?" Russell used formal language as he asked the Ancient One.

"Although I haven't seen all your futures, you won't become a threat to Earth. You will strive to protect it," the Ancient One stated firmly. "Since your future self will protect Earth, it's reasonable for me, as one of its protectors, to help you overcome your magical shortcomings."

While the Ancient One's words sounded reasonable, and Russell indeed had no intention of harming Earth, he still felt that her decision was a bit too hasty.

He knew that the Ancient One would continue to take on disciples to pass on her legacy, but the issue was that he wasn't supposed to be that person. The Ancient One's successor was Doctor Strange, the renowned neurosurgeon Stephen Strange.

"From my perspective, learning magic from such a great sorcerer like you would be a good thing," Russell conceded. "However, you should also be aware that I'm not an ordinary good person. People like me are susceptible to dark magic."

"After learning magic, I might be tempted or influenced by demons from Hell or other malevolent beings from different dimensions. If you help me overcome my magical shortcomings, there might be no one to stop me if I were to fall and turn to the dark side."

Russell spoke seriously. He wasn't joking. Although he didn't possess the incredible magical talent of Doctor Strange, he had something even more unconventional: the System.

In the first update of the System, there was a reward called "Dark Doctor Strange." Although this reward had remained unopened, just by looking at its name, one could guess what kind of reward it was.

"You won't have the chance to fall to the dark side," the Ancient One said firmly.

"Why are you so sure? You just said you haven't seen all my futures," Russell retorted.

"Indeed, I haven't seen all your futures, but there's absolutely no way you could become that," the Ancient One's tone remained resolute, as though it were a fact.

"Why is it impossible?" Russell continued to inquire.

"Because of Diana!"

Diana?

Uh...

Upon hearing the Ancient One's response, Russell fell silent.

Well, the Ancient One was right!

With Diana around, he was indeed less likely to turn out like that. The opinions and feelings of others didn't matter to him very much, but Diana was different. As someone who believed in repaying kindness, he was unlikely to do anything to make Diana sad.

However, if Diana fell to the dark side before he did, then it might be a different story. If Diana became an evil god, he would probably follow suit.

Thinking about this, Russell's gaze toward the Ancient One became skeptical once again.

"Are you trying to say that Diana might turn to the dark side before you do? You've asked me this question from your current position 1,827,452 times," the Ancient One said calmly.

Uh...

'I'm starting to dislike the Time Stone!'

Russell didn't say anything, but he continued to look at the Ancient One with a furrowed brow.

"Since we've come to this point, I can tell you about your future, at least the ones I've seen," the Ancient One said. "Out of the 7,456,873 futures I've seen for you, you have about five possible choices."

"81% would be an immediate acceptance, 13% would be an acceptance after you discuss it with Diana tonight, 4% would be an acceptance a week later, 1.5% would be an acceptance a month later, and the remaining 0.5% would be an acceptance within half a year."

As the Ancient One listed the possible choices Russell might make, he found himself growing increasingly annoyed with the Time Stone.

'It's like she's peeking at the script!'

After the Ancient One finished, Russell sighed in resignation.

"Fine, since you've seen over 7 million of my futures, may I ask: how many of those futures involve me inheriting the position of the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"None, not a single one," the Ancient One replied.

"Not a single one?" Russell found it hard to believe.

Although he wasn't particularly interested in becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he couldn't fathom that not a single future out of over 7 million would lead to that outcome.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course. Becoming the Sorcerer Supreme is Doctor Strange's destiny. While the process may differ, the one who ultimately inherits the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme from me is always Doctor Strange."

For some reason, the more the Ancient One spoke like this, the more Russell felt the urge to beat Doctor Strange to a pulp.

However, he quickly suppressed that urge with reason. Defying fate wasn't something to take lightly, especially in a world where extraordinary powers existed. Doctor Strange, or Stephen Strange, was an excellent example. In order to save his universe's Christine, Dark Doctor Strange had unwittingly doomed his entire universe.

Currently, Stephen Strange hadn't become Doctor Strange yet, but Russell didn't want to risk challenging so-called fate, not when there was a possibility of losing everything.

Unless he possessed far greater power right now. But if he did, this conversation with the Ancient One wouldn't even be happening.

That kind of power would be orders of magnitude greater than the Ancient One's. If he had that power, maybe it would be the Ancient One seeking to become his disciple?