Chapter 44: Chapter 28: Hermit IV

Duncan, dressed in his sorcerer robe, was traveling through the corridor of Kamar-Taj, greeting everyone he saw along the way. He held a stack of books he had finished, which he intended to return to the library together with the two books handed to him by the Ancient One.

Duncan saw that people appear to be on edge around Kamar-Taj. A lot of half-smiles, a pervasive sense of anxiety, and general suspicion appear to be at an all-time high.

As Duncan entered the library of the Kamar-Taj, he quickly noticed that something was different. One is that there are a lot more guards stationed around the place, and the librarian is different than last week.

"Hi." Duncan greeted the new librarian as he dropped off the books on the table. "I’m here to return all this...

The new librarian took a book that records borrowing time and looked at Duncan.

Once the new librarian saw the records, he raised his brow. "You borrowed all this a week ago. Are you really finished with all this?"

"Yeah…" Duncan said awkwardly, stepping back a bit. "You’re new. What happened to the last one?"

"You didn’t know?" The new librarian raised his brow. He then finally noticed Duncan’s robe. "Oh, it’s you. Of course you didn’t. He’s dead. Head chopped off."

"Oh." Duncan simply said. Duncan had already guessed what had happened. "The Zealot?"

"Yes," the new librarian grumbled.

"My… condolences." Duncan murmured. "I don’t even know his name."

"Well, my name is Wong, and I’ll be your new librarian," he said. "How did you finish all this?"

"Time works differently in the astral plane." Duncan hummed. "Quite useful." 

"I see." Said Wong. "Don’t use it too much; you’re still young."

"The last librarian said that to me too," Duncan murmured.

As Wong tidied up the books that Duncan had read, he noticed two books that were not registered in the library.

"Whose book is this?" Wong asked.

"It belongs to the Ancient One. I’ll return it myself if you don’t want to."

Wong looked at the titles of those two books, and raised his brow. He then turned the books towards Duncan. "Study of the Mirror Dimension and the Astral Plane? You’ve just learned the astral plane this week?"

"Yes… is there a problem?"

"No… just, surprising." He said, taking the two books to his own desk, to return it later. "You want to borrow more books?"

"Yeah, do you have recommendations?"

Wong just hummed. "Follow me."

Wong then walked away from the table, towards the back of the library. Duncan naturally followed him to see what he would give him.

"You’re still young, so it’s better for you to read theoretical things that are relevant to you." he said, searching for something on the shelves. "The Ancient One has told me about your circumstances, and I believe you should read about the study of your power."

"You mean the Velvet Room?" Duncan said.

Wong just grumbled in confirmation. He then took a piece of paper that was slipped between two books before giving it to Duncan.

"Here." He said.

Duncan took the paper, confused. "A piece of paper? That’s it?"

"That’s it." said Wong, nodding. But then he took out another book. It was quite thin, but at least it was not a piece of paper.

"What’s this?" Duncan asked again.

"It’s a record of human beings that had and have been able to harness the power of a specific dimension. Though the majority of them have already died."

"Thanks, I guess…" Duncan said.

"No problem. You can borrow anything you want here, except the books in that rack." he said, pointing at a chained rack in the corner. "You can only read those books here; no borrowing."

Duncan just looked at the books there. "Got it."

—

Duncan was now standing in front of his martial arts instructor, Mordo. Because it had been pouring for the last few weeks, Duncan could only now practice martial arts outside on the training grounds.

They were both ready with their positions, circling the engraved stone underneath them. Mordo, a master in a gray robe, appeared focused, whereas Duncan's vision was scattered, looking towards Mordo's foundation.

Meanwhile, The Ancient One was watching the sparring from afar, holding her fan as she scrutinized every move that both of them made.

“The key is to concentrate,” said Mordo. “You are not concentrating.”

“I am.”

“Your eyes are everywhere, Duncan.” Mordo stated. The man quickly launched a quick strike towards Duncan’s chest, his fist clenched tightly.

Duncan shoved Mordo's fist aside, lifting his left arm to protect himself. The boy retaliated by grabbing Mordo's right arm and twisting it.

Mordo twisted it the other way before he could do so, using his feet to assault Duncan's weak position. The boy defended once again with his right arm, knocking Mordo's leg, making his foundation shaky. Duncan saw an opening and clenched his left fist fiercely, launching it at Mordo's face.

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Mordo attempted to protect himself without hesitation. He swiftly grabbed Duncan's fist, but he underestimated the intensity of Duncan's strike, and instead of halting it, he hit himself in the face with his own knuckle.

"You have a powerful punch." Mordo groaned as he wiped the blood from his cheeks and repaired his damaged nose. The man swiftly adjusted his posture, and the spar resumed.

Mordo spun his feet towards the boy in an instant to launch an attack. Duncan ducked and pushed his body towards the man, his palms landing first on Mordo's chest.

Mordo gasped for air as a result of that move, but immediately recovered as he rotated Duncan's body, locking his arms around Duncan’s neck.

"You're progressing at an unprecedented rate." Mordo remarked, chuckling at Duncan's earlier move. "But, like all young sorcerers, you're eager and arrogant. Here's my advice: don't get off track; knowledge is meant to be absorbed slowly; otherwise, you won't understand the full significance of what you've learnt and will be corrupted as a consequence."

“Like… Kae… cillus?” Duncan said in between stunted breaths.

“Exactly.” Mordo said.

Duncan abruptly used his elbow to bruise Mordo's abdomen. As he groaned in pain, the man let go of Duncan's neck, and while he was still against Duncan's back, the boy grabbed Mordo's shirt before flinging him to the ground.

Duncan rubbed his neck to relieve the pain of the grasp while Mordo lay on the floor.

"Your strength... is extraordinary..." Mordo chuckled, still clinging to his anguish. He swiftly rose from the ground, his back slightly arched.

"I’ll take that as a compliment." Duncan sighed and took a long breath.

"Let’s move to close combat magic now." Mordo stated as he took a little stick from the armament rack. "Use any close combat magic you have access to. Conjure a weapon of your choice: a sword, a shield, or a whip."

"And you?" Duncan inquired.

"I'm going to use this." Mordo stated before activating the short stick. The little stick then transformed into a whip, and he smacked it to the ground with a resounding roar.

"That's not threatening at all," Duncan remarked sarcastically.

"This is a relic. The staff of the living tribunal."

"The Living Tribunal himself came to earth to give us a stick whip?" Duncan inquired, humorously. "That’s a bit underwhelming."

Mordo amusedly shook his head as he pointed the stick towards Duncan. "Conjure your weapon."

Duncan only sighed. He instantly waved his hand, summoning a polearm construct from the energy of the velvet room.

"A staff?" Mordo inquired.

"You said anything."

Mordo just laughed. "Very well."

Mordo instantly activated the staff, and the whip shot through the air, generating the loud booming sound that whips are famous for.

Duncan swiftly constructed a magical shield on his left side, and the whip crashed into it. The magical construct trembled; the runes on the shield vibrated to the point that the circles became misaligned and sparks flew everywhere, yet the whip bounced off of it, knocking it down.

Duncan rushed towards Mordo as he could see the man’s eyes widen. He swung his polearm at Mordo, raising it above his head.

The man dodged the polearm as dark blue sparks were thrown everywhere when the construct hit the floor. Mordo was now walking on air, maneuvering around Duncan using his second relic, his boots.

Duncan wasted no time in spinning his body and the polearm toward Mordo in the air. Duncan's polearm immediately turned into a whip, winding itself around Mordo and knocking him out of the air just as Mordo was ready to jump towards the boy.

Mordo collapsed to the ground once more, groaning as the force struck his back.

"That is not how a staff should work." Mordo groaned.

"Yeah, so does this staff." Duncan said, grabbing the staff of the living tribunal from the ground before giving it to Mordo. "I like magic because it can be used creatively, not because of its rigid, man-made rules."

"Rules are there for a reason," said Mordo, grabbing the stick.

"Well, true, sometimes it makes sense." Duncan shrugged, unwrapping the cloth around his hands. "But, who says that a staff should be a staff at all times? Or that a bow should only be used as a bow? It’s magic; we can shape it to our heart’s content."

"I can’t argue with that." Mordo nodded. "You are... something."

"Thank you… Wait, is that a compliment?"

"Your talent is enormous, I can tell you that." Mordo chuckled. "But remember, do not lose your way."

"I’ll remember that..." Duncan hummed.

Suddenly, the sound of chains breaking could be heard inside Duncan’s mind. Confused, his neck snapped quickly toward the Ancient One.

He could see that she was still watching, playing around with her fan and smiling at him.

Duncan just nods at the sorcerer supreme before walking back towards the changing room.

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