Solution

Compared to the magic of the Muya Continent, the magic of the Marvel Universe could not really be called stronger or weaker. But if they were talking about greater destructive power, then the Muya Continent’s magic was undoubtedly stronger.

This was the conclusion Josh and Master Ancient One had reached after discussing the matter for some time. However, in terms of adaptability, the magic of this world was probably more adaptable. Magic attributes and Magic elements did not seem all that important here, and the people of this world had unique ways of refining their own magical power.

Josh could not help but sigh at that. If he had arrived in this world earlier, he probably would not have had to endure so many years of miserable experiences. But then again, he had not seemed to possess the Void inheritance back then, and he was doing quite well now. So Josh could not be bothered to dwell on it.

Kamar-Taj’s magic was rather varied, and much of it was performed through hand gestures combined with magical power. Of course, none of that really mattered. Josh had an ancient dragon helping him, after all, so slowly picking out what he needed from it would not be difficult.

As for Garen, he cared even less. Though he was somewhat disappointed at not finding his own world, the environment here was not bad. He found a place to stay and focused on training his Battle Qi. He felt that he was about to reach the third tier, matching his physical strength.

Perhaps only the future Black Widow, Natasha, was completely at a loss right now. She had no idea how to describe what she was feeling. A little pride, a little disappointment, and a little uncertainty about the future? In any case, her thoughts were a complete mess, but Josh had no time to concern himself with her.

At that moment, Josh was chatting with Master Ancient One in the library.

"So, where did you learn about this world’s future?"

Master Ancient One had been rather baffled by Josh’s spoilers before, and had even used the Time Stone to capture traces of the future. To her surprise, she discovered that the future timeline had become incomparably chaotic. Yet only one timeline contained Josh’s shadow, which made her deeply curious.

"Well, how should I put it? You understand the theory of parallel worlds, right?"

"Of course. I have been to a parallel world. I have to say, it was far more frightening than ours. I even met myself there—though he was a man."

"Alright, I understand. In that case, it won’t be hard to explain."

Josh gave Master Ancient One a surprised look. He had not expected this bald mage to be so formidable that she had visited another world in a parallel universe and even met her comic-book counterpart. Then again, that made sense. No matter which version it was, the Sorcerer Supreme was never weak.

"I saw this world’s story in another plane, so I know quite a lot about it. For example, Natasha, whom I rather forcibly brought here—in the future, she is an outstanding agent. My team needs talents like her, so I came here. Well, although I came a little early."

"You have already explained that, Josh. I saw those things in fragments of the future as well." Master Ancient One nodded. She did not care what would happen because Josh had taken Natasha away; she was more concerned about something else. "I cannot see my own fragments clearly. Everything is uncertain. I believe you know about my physical condition, correct?"

"Of course."

Josh nodded. Master Ancient One’s condition was not a secret at all to many transmigrators. Her body was being eroded by Dark Magic. If nothing unexpected happened, she would likely die in a few decades and pass the title of Sorcerer Supreme to Doctor Strange.

In a sense, Dark Magic was more widespread and more infamous than things like Void Magic. It seemed that anyone who came into contact with or accepted Dark Magic would, without exception, become someone the Champions had to defeat together, no matter how noble or great they had been before.

Unfortunately, in Josh’s eyes, Dark Magic was merely a form and application of power. It was widely accepted that Dark Magic could corrupt the heart, but Josh found that laughable. Both darkness and light were merely manifestations of extreme energy. How could they possibly be so easily wielded by people?

"Just look at the so-called Holy Light. Haven’t all those Blood Elves suffered terribly from it?"

Holy Light was considered an exceptionally sacred power. If Josh was not mistaken, it belonged to light-element magic. Yet this magic had caused no small amount of trouble as well. It was said that the power of light required faith, but the proud Blood Elves had drawn out and used Holy Light through arcane methods, training the first Blood Elf paladins.

That proved that Holy Light was still energy at its core. In some respects, it was no different from magic. All that talk about having to offer up one’s faith in order to use it was nonsense. Yet after using that power for a long time, those Blood Elf paladins actually began to embrace the Way of the Holy Light, eventually offering up their faith.

That was enough to make one think deeply. In a way, it did not seem much different from having one’s will eroded by Dark Magic. On the Muya Continent, Josh’s world, there was no such thing as faith, because mages always believed that if they reached the end of the path, they too could become gods!

And what about those who had already become gods? The targets of their faith were mostly ordinary people with no cultivation whatsoever. Yet only such ordinary people could offer the most steadfast faith. It was the result of different understandings of the world. Just as Josh himself could only respect magic, but would never worship it.

"Actually, your condition would not amount to much in our world. It can only be said that your world’s understanding of these elements is too shallow, which is why this has happened. If you came to my world and systematically studied our magical theories, this would probably not be a problem at all."

"Your world? Is that possible?"

Master Ancient One was tempted as well. To be honest, the invasion of Dark Magic had always weighed heavily on her mind, because she had always feared that she might one day fall. She had seen many possible endings for herself in fragments of the future, but no matter how she looked at them, the best outcome seemed to be fighting one final battle as the Sorcerer Supreme before dying gloriously.

Of course, passing her position as Sorcerer Supreme to a suitable disciple would be even better. But if she did not have to die, Ancient One certainly would not keep obsessing over fate and destiny. Even ants knew to cling to life, let alone a mage who had already neared the limits of humanity and was approaching the demigod level.

"Why wouldn’t it be possible? It might be extremely difficult for others, but for me, it is no problem at all. We only need to construct a Void Gate here."

Now that he understood this world, Josh naturally had no intention of letting it go. He had also always liked the stories here when he watched movies in the past. Before, he could only imagine coming here, but now that he had the chance, he naturally did not intend to miss something so interesting.

Of course, he had learned his lesson. He would not be like he was in the Wizard World, where he resolved the problem just as the first semester began. That had left Josh spending the entire remaining year there idling around. Although he had gained great fame, Josh felt that it was completely useless to him.

"But there is one thing I must remind you of. I have not yet mastered a way to control the flow of time. The worlds connected to me currently do not share the same rate of time flow as the Muya Continent. It is roughly one day here to seven days there."

Josh had to make this clear to Master Ancient One. After all, he knew the responsibility she bore—Master Ancient One monitored the link between Earth and other worlds. If she left this world for too long, who knew whether some character who had never appeared in the original story might come to Earth and wreak havoc?

"That is indeed a problem. If I went to your world to comprehend Magic elements, how long would it take before I could initially avoid being eroded by Dark Magic elements?"

"I don’t know. That depends on personal comprehension. Perhaps it is a trait of our world, but those of us who understand the truth of the world only believe in the world and ourselves. We merely treat Magic elements as our friends. Different ways of viewing the world produce different results."

Master Ancient One sighed. She understood what Josh meant, because this truly depended on one’s own comprehension. To put it plainly, it might overturn her previous understanding of the world. Dark Magic elements were not as ‘gentle’ as Holy Light. At least with Holy Light, one could resist its assimilation through steadfast faith.

What did corruption mean? It meant forcibly entering your mind, completely magnifying your negative emotions, making you acknowledge it, revere it, and obey your most extreme desires. That was why those who cultivated Dark Magic, if they lacked a clear understanding of the world, basically became evil figures everyone wanted to destroy.

"But you need not worry. I will give you some materials. The effect may not be as good as going to the Muya Continent, since the Magic elements there are extremely active. Here, you can only comprehend them through certain special methods."

"That is already more than enough."

Master Ancient One thanked him sincerely. Though she could not yet spend long periods on the Muya Continent, with the materials Josh provided, she could attempt to study and establish a new worldview. That was far better than her current situation, where she was barely holding on through sheer willpower.

"It’s nothing. When you have time, you can also try taking a vacation. A month, or perhaps a shorter week. I don’t think that would be a problem, would it? Of course, I would prefer that you do not intercept me and my companions again the next time we come here."

Josh smiled faintly. He found changing the course of a world truly interesting. Moreover, he could feel that if he participated in the timeline, his connection to this world would become closer. For Josh, that could not have been better.

There were simply too many future super scientists in this world, especially Tony Stark, whose absurdly advanced technology seemed to come out at the snap of his fingers. Josh had already decided that the next time he came to this world, he would definitely capture that man and have him build his territory.

"But that guy does not seem easy to deal with either. What if I earned enough of his gratitude?"

Thinking of that, Josh rubbed his chin. He felt that his trip home might have to be delayed a little longer.