Chapter 62: Kamar-Taj

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Kamar-Taj

"I’m heading out for a bit."

Daniel tossed out a single sentence before vanishing once again. The three people left on the rooftop stared at the sofa cushion that was still slowly rising from the gust of wind he’d left behind.

Even Susan, who normally had the best temperament among them, suddenly felt the urge to say a few colorful things about Daniel.

"We’re over here helping you think of solutions, and you just disappear?"

"Just because you’re fast?"

"Tch! Speed freak!"

After a long silence, Susan turned toward T’Challa.

"Is he always like this?"

Among the three of them, T’Challa was the only one who had known about Daniel’s abilities for a long time.

Daniel rarely hid anything from him. Well... except for that one time he stole his motorcycle.

Seeing Susan and Tony both looking at him expectantly, T’Challa shrugged helplessly.

"Faster than this, actually. Most nights he doesn’t even stay in the dormitory. He flies into space to sunbathe."

He spread his hands with a resigned expression.

"I’ve gotten used to it."

Susan "..."

A man being too fast wasn’t a good thing. For some reason, Susan suddenly found herself a little worried about the future.

...

Daniel truly lived up to the title of "speed freak."

He had absolutely no interest in the scenery rushing past him.

Mountains, rivers, oceans... everything blurred beneath him. In an incredibly short amount of time, he arrived at the foot of the Himalayas.

More specifically, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The location of Kamar-Taj.

The sky was bathed in the golden glow of dusk as Daniel set foot on the ancient land.

Kathmandu was still lively at this hour. The streets were crowded with people coming and going. There was a unique atmosphere in the air, something mysterious, something ancient.

As Daniel walked through the city, the anxiety that had been weighing on his heart gradually began to settle. Following the flow of pedestrians, he strolled through the bustling streets while searching for Kamar-Taj.

Because of its proximity to Mount Everest, tourism flourished here. People from all over the world could be seen wandering the streets.

Daniel knew Kamar-Taj was somewhere nearby. The problem was that some kind of magical barrier appeared to conceal it. Even with his super vision, he couldn’t locate it.

From what he remembered, Kamar-Taj was hidden behind an ordinary-looking door. The issue was that there were countless ordinary-looking doors around him.

Within just a few minutes, he’d already seen more than a dozen that looked like possible entrances.

’Don’t tell me I have to knock on every single door...’

The thought made him sigh. At that moment, he was sorely tempted to fly into the sky and shout Ancient One’s name.

There was no need to doubt it, if Daniel really wanted to, his voice could probably be used as a sonic weapon. He simply never used it that way, but after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

The streets were packed with people. If he caused a panic and triggered a stampede, things could get ugly very quickly. He had come here seeking help, so being polite seemed like the better option.

Just as Daniel was preparing to start checking doors one by one, a hooded man approached him.

"Follow me."

The man spoke calmly before turning around. Daniel obediently followed, they moved through the crowd for several minutes before arriving at an unremarkable wooden door.

"Come in."

The hooded man pushed the door open and glanced back at Daniel. The moment Daniel stepped through, his eyes widened. The interior was completely different from what he’d expected.

From the outside, the building looked small and ordinary. Inside, however, it was spacious and serene. The place carried a scholarly atmosphere. Incense burned quietly throughout the room. Golden sunlight filtered through the windows, mixing with drifting wisps of smoke to create a tranquil scene.

The hooded man already looked unusual enough. Yet Daniel soon spotted another man wearing glasses and a traditional robe.

The man was holding a book and reading attentively. He briefly glanced at Daniel before calmly returning his attention to the text in his hands.

"My name is Kaecilius."

The hooded man extended a hand.

"Daniel."

The two shook hands.

"The Sorcerer Supreme instructed me to bring you here," Kaecilius explained.

"However, you’ll need to wait a little while. She is currently occupied and won’t be able to meet you immediately."

"That’s fine. Thanks for the trouble."

Daniel nodded politely.

"You can sit over there and wait."

Kaecilius smiled.

Daniel followed the arrangement without complaint and sat down. Now that he had finally reached Kamar-Taj, he wasn’t quite as anxious as before.

Instead, he began looking around curiously. After observing the surroundings for a while, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’As expected of an old lady who’s lived for centuries. The taste here is pretty impressive.’

He could tell at a glance that many of the furnishings around him were extremely old. Whether they were historically significant or worth a fortune, he didn’t know, but they were definitely antiques.

Compared to Ancient One, how many years had he himself been around? The woman had been accumulating wealth and treasures for hundreds of years, so her collection was bound to be extraordinary.

Daniel suddenly felt that the overall style and atmosphere of the place was incredibly classy.

He silently made a note to himself. One day, his own house couldn’t look any less impressive than this.

’Hmm... maybe I should build a house on the Moon.’

’Then another one on Mars.’

’Actually, why stop there?’

’I’ll put one somewhere in every corner of the Solar System.’

The longer he thought about it, the more excited he became.

’Then I can honestly tell people I own real estate throughout the entire Solar System!’

Just as Daniel was entertaining his increasingly ridiculous thoughts, Kaecilius interrupted him.

"Tea?"

Daniel looked up. Kaecilius had walked over carrying a cup.

"Thank you."

Taking the tea, Daniel took a sip, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Not bad."

"I’m glad you like it."

Kaecilius smiled, and another period of waiting passed.

Ten minutes.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Eventually, Daniel couldn’t take it anymore.

"When exactly will I be able to meet the Sorcerer Supreme?"

He looked toward Kaecilius.

"It’s already been over half an hour."

Very few people had ever made him wait this long. Kaecilius just shook his head.

"I don’t know. The Sorcerer Supreme’s whereabouts are unpredictable."

"At this moment, she may be traveling through other universes."

"As for when she’ll return, I can’t really say."

Daniel immediately raised an eyebrow.

"I do that all the time too."

In his mind, the Ancient One was clearly showing off. Wasn’t this just another way of saying how powerful she was?

Well, he wasn’t weak either.

"I understand completely."

Daniel nodded solemnly.

"Sometimes when I’m sunbathing in the core of the Sun, I lose track of time too."

Kaecilius glanced at him.

"The Sorcerer Supreme traverses the multiverse with her spirit."

"Same thing, same thing."

Daniel waved dismissively.

"I bring my physical body with me."

"Seriously, the center of the Sun is amazing. Beautiful scenery. If you ever have time, I’ll take you there."

"Trust me, once you go, you won’t want to come back."

Daniel smiled warmly. Inside, however, he was thinking something entirely different.

’You’ll be roasted alive.’

’So, what if you’re a sorcerer?’

’A bunch of fragile glass cannons.’

’Let me get into melee range and I’ll knock you apart with one punch.’

’If it takes a second punch, it might be a problem.’

Then another thought crossed his mind. Wait, didn’t the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj actually like close combat?

Now that was interesting. A grin slowly spread across Daniel’s face. He had already decided that if Ancient One refused to help him find Carol, he was flipping the table.

At this moment, he was seriously calculating whether he could win. The only thing that worried him was one particular spell.

What if the Ancient One knocked his soul out of his body? He had never experienced astral projection before.

’Forget it.’

’If a fight breaks out, I won’t try to box with them.’

’I’ll just laser their faces off.’

Daniel silently finalized his battle plan. He wasn’t sure whether the Ancient One could separate his soul from his body and frankly, he didn’t want to find out.

’Besides, I’m not limited to close combat only. With my heat vision I can fight from range just as well.’

After hearing Daniel’s comments, Kaecilius’s body visibly stiffened for a moment. Then he calmly refilled Daniel’s teacup as though nothing had happened.

He made a decision, he wasn’t speaking anymore. This conversation was impossible. Just as an awkward silence settled over the room, a warm and gentle voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

"Kaecilius, you may leave now."

"Allow me to have a few words with our guest."

The moment Kaecilius heard that voice, he immediately bowed. After bidding farewell to Daniel, he turned and left the room.

Silence returned to the place. Daniel raised his head and looked towards the newcomer.

The first thing he noticed was not her face. It was her smooth, bald head and the way the light reflected off it.

The Ancient One stood there quietly, a faint smile on her lips.

"You’ve come."

Her voice was gentle and calm, carrying a soothing warmth that seemed capable of easing even the most troubled heart.

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