285 Chapter 285: Preparing for Battle(Bonus Chapter)

Stark seaside villa-

In the underground laboratory, Tony looked at the final set of data in front of him and angrily threw the cup on the ground.

Failure, again!

Tony sat despondently in the chair. During this period, he had delegated all company matters to Pepper, while he focused entirely on trying to find a substitute for palladium in the Arc Reactor.

Despite occasional outings as Iron Man to fulfill his superhero duties and helping some disaster-stricken people, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to researching alternative elements for palladium.

In order to find a suitable replacement as soon as possible, Tony had abstained from his usual activities, even refraining from indulging in playboy activities with cover girls for these past few months.

He wondered who had taken advantage of these opportunities for the recent cover girls.

However, despite his dedicated efforts, after trying all known elements, Tony, in his despondent state, found that none of them could replace the palladium in the Arc Reactor, which was now miniaturized with the latest technology.

Tony, slouched in his chair, stared at the ceiling, feeling a sense of desolation. Giving up the identity of Iron Man could save his life, but taking on the responsibilities of Iron Man meant he couldn't live for much longer.

Unable to think of any good solutions, Tony thought about chatting with Charles, taking a ride on his blue snake to relax his mind.

"JARVIS, call Charles Doyle's phone."

"Okay, sir!"

"Sir, he's not in the server area, and the call cannot be connected."

Hearing that he couldn't reach Charles, Tony sighed.

"Forget it, I'll figure something out."

Tony then got up and started going through the documents, looking for breakthroughs in any area.

...

A night passed.

Charles, after practicing in the training ground for the entire night, had gained a certain level of proficiency with the newly learned ninjutsu.

Sensing that it was already the next morning, Charles left the training ground and proceeded to perform the system check-in.

Ding! Check-in successful, obtained 200 Ninja Points!

Charles collected the check-in reward, deciding not to check the Ninja Fragment Store for now. He needed to save his coins for opening more battle slots and control his expenses.

Exiting the system space, Charles had just finished freshening up when a house-elf knocked on his door, informing him to come downstairs for breakfast.

Following the house-elf, Charles arrived at the dining area. A large dining table was set, with his subordinates, teachers, and junior disciples seated on both sides—12 people in total.

After Charles took the main seat, a group of house-elves brought out the prepared food and placed it on the table before withdrawing, leaving everything ready.

"Let's start."

As Charles spoke, everyone began to eat breakfast.

After everyone finished their meal, Charles spoke, "Teacher Balthazar, I wonder if Ginny and the other three have the aptitude for learning magic."

At this point, Ginny and the others looked at Balthazar with hopeful eyes. In these days, they had gained some understanding of magic, and becoming a powerful mage was an appealing option for them.

After all, they increasingly felt their own shortcomings. Even the father-son pair were experiencing a lack of firepower; firearms were no longer sufficient for them.

Balthazar looked at Charles and shook his head regretfully.

"I have tested them, and none of them has the talent for magic. On the contrary, a few others have the potential to become wizards if they are willing."

Upon hearing that Tsunade, Shizune, and Iruka, who were determined not to become wizards, had the potential, Charles felt a bit regretful.

However, considering the requirements of the Merlin lineage, having magical power, and the fact that chakra could be considered as magical power, he understood.

At this moment, Tsunade and the others declined Balthazar's kind offer. They had no intention of becoming wizards; the path of a ninja was sufficient, and they saw no need for a change.

However, Ginny and the others, who were judged to lack magical talent, revealed a hint of disappointment. Seeing this, Charles spoke, "Don't worry; there will be a power suitable for you."

Encouraged by Charles, Ginny and the others put away their sadness. Since they couldn't become wizards, they focused on the serum being developed by Tsunade, holding hope for the future.

Becky, who had been sitting next to David, asked, "What about me? Do I have a chance to become a wizard?"

Balthazar looked at Becky and shook his head again, silently informing her of the result.

"Okay, I knew it would be like this. David, you have to protect me in the future."

David, doting on his girlfriend, looked at her and expressed that he would definitely protect her and prevent her from getting hurt.

Charles looked at everyone and then at his teacher Balthazar. With a serious expression, he said, "There is some bad news that I need to inform everyone in advance. This matter will require the efforts of both the teacher and David."

Upon hearing that they were needed, David's expression became blank for a moment. Sitting beside him, Balthazar directly asked, "What happened?"

"Yesterday, the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One found me and informed me that the defense area originally belonging to the Supreme Merlin would be transferred to us after a certain period."

"At that time, we will need to lead the wizards to defend against the invasion of the Lord of Hell, Mephisto."

Balthazar nodded. "This is indeed our responsibility. Previously, it was handled by my teacher, Merlin. Now that you have succeeded, this defense work, Kamar taj will definitely not continue to help us."

Except for Balthazar and Veronica, who were more informed about this matter, others were puzzled.

"Sorcerer Supreme? Lord of Hell?"

"Does this world really have hell?"

At this point, Tsunade and others were attracted by the topic of hell and looked at Charles and Balthazar.

Seeing the curious gazes, Charles briefly explained the dimension of hell and the Lord of Hell, Mephisto. In Charles's description, Mephisto was a powerful cultivator in the hell dimension, and the hell dimension was a world with extremely poor conditions.

In Charles's words, it was like people from another planet wanting to attack them and occupy this world.

Learning that hell was different from what they imagined and not the afterlife that bad people had to go to, but rather an extraordinary world similar to the magical world, the worries in everyone's hearts were significantly reduced.

"What do we need to do?"

"Teacher Balthazar, because the transfer work by Kamar taj also requires some preparation time, so during this period, I need to trouble you to organize a team of wizards."

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