Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 84 The Doorless Bar and Parallel World Interference

It was utterly impossible for the Sorcerer Supreme to get Salomon to accept the life of an ordinary person. This was not because Salomon was unwilling to accept it, but because life in the magical world was so different from that of ordinary people. Bizarre things filled the entire life of a wizard, and even a fleeting glimpse of the magical world could push an ordinary person to the brink of madness.

The human body is like a petri dish for microorganisms. Whether humans are aware of it or not, thousands of bacteria reside on the body, and the soul also attracts parasites. When a sorcerer opens their true eyes, they will see these extradimensional bacteria parasitizing the soul. Of course, not all of these little monsters are harmful; some are even beneficial, although some extradimensional bacteria can cause mental burden. But in any case, when a beautiful young woman greets you with a head full of brightly colored parasites, no one will be interested—not even a hormone-fueled teenager.

"That's why I don't date my female classmates." Salomon put his glass on the table, downing half of the ice-cold beer in one gulp. "I didn't even get a good look at their faces today."

"Shit!" The other people in the bar shook their heads and swore.

"Merlin's underwear!" This was a British wizard.

This bar was brought to him by Kasirius. Like the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter, it's a doorless bar hidden deep within New York City, open only to the wizarding world. Wizards from all over the world come here when they have free time, including the mystics of Kamar-Taj. Only here can Salomon avoid being arrested by the police for drinking beer.

"See, Salomon? This is no excuse." Kasirius sat opposite Salomon and said with a smile, "Ordinary people and arcane mages can combine their powers. The guardians of the Hong Kong Temple are a case in point. Those parasites are no excuse at all. You can eliminate them if you want."

"I think I was being kind; I even helped those guys eliminate the extradimensional bacteria on their heads while they were fighting," Salomon said. "But I don't think there's any need for His Holiness to make me adapt to human society; we're too strange to ordinary people."

"That's right!" A burly man, as big as a bear, squeezed in, pushing Salomon from one end of the sofa to the other. His strong body odor almost made Salomon faint. But the burly, furry man seemed oblivious. He even put an incredibly thick arm around Salomon's shoulder and forcibly buried him in the bearskin scarf.

"When I, Kooz, helped them clear out the Croatian demon boars with my spittle, all I got was being driven away," the burly man shouted. "They're all ungrateful bastards; they wouldn't even buy me a drink."

This is Count Kooz, who killed and ate a magical bear when he was nine years old. From then on, his intestines were infested with magical power and trichinella. Locals call him the Siberian Prophet, even though he doesn't possess any prophetic magic, he is still the most charismatic magician on the entire land. Count Kooz's breakfast is enchanted tree bark, and he must drink poison after each meal. His saliva is also highly poisonous, so the No-Door Bar only allows him service if he promises not to spit indiscriminately.

"Kooz, this is the Sorcerer Supreme's disciple, so please don't instill any strange ideas in him. Besides, do you really think people will thank you after you help them with your saliva?" Kasirius said. "But you're probably the only person in this bar who dares to object to the Sorcerer Supreme's methods."

"Damn it! How did I end up here?" Count Kooz seemed to wake from a dream. He loosened his grip, freeing Salomon from his bearskin scarf. "Hmm? What did I just say? Never mind, I still have wine to drink."

"Phew—" Salomon breathed in the fresh air he'd been missing for so long, "I almost suffocated. Kasirius, why didn't you help me?"

“I think you can handle this yourself,” Kasirius said. “And I think you should be familiar with Kooz; the Sorcerer Supreme had him organize his magic and put it in the New York Sanctum. Haven’t you read that book?”

"You mean that book on shelf number 640, the one covered in black mold?" Salomon asked. "No one in their right mind would go near that book. The alcohol level around it is dangerously high; the air smells like vodka everywhere."

"If you've read that book, you'll see Kooz's image printed on it. Even if you haven't read it, that image can tell you who to stay away from," Cassirios said. "Be careful, the Magic Prince is back, chasing after people to pay their bills."

"Your bill hasn't been paid yet, Kasirius." Monak was probably the most unpopular person in this bar. He was a strange old man with a full head of white hair, an eyepatch over one eye, and dressed like an old Western cowboy. When the Venerable explained the price of using magic to Salomon, he used Monak as an example. He was the most typical type of magician. Although he was a user of dark magic, he was an absolutely good person.

His parents were killed by a local tribe practicing black magic while they were missionaries in India, and Monak was adopted by the tribe's chief. After learning black magic, Monak returned to England, but the tribe was wiped out by the British colonists. Afterward, Monak returned to India, attempting to atone for the tribe's past mistakes. Once all that was over, Monak began wandering the world, helping others in his own way.

"Back in my day, whenever I used a spell to defeat a bunch of sorcerers and save a poor blonde girl's life, I would go home that night and drown one of my rabbits..." Monak rambled on about his experiences. The strange old man had repeated this story countless times, and the audience in the bar was tired of hearing it.

"I think I've already paid my bill." Kasirius's smile vanished. "I already paid it, Monak, before I even entered Kamar-Taj, though the price was unbearable."

"The bill isn't so easy to pay. You'll have a lot to pay." Monak stared at Salomon with his only remaining eye, his sharp gaze like a revolver about to be fired, his piercing eyes like bullets that could pierce through any body at any moment. "Boy, did you hear that? Even if you're the Sorcerer Supreme's disciple, you still have to pay the bill. No one is an exception."

"I already paid for it, back when I did my first mission," Salomon said. "After all, some things can't be paid for by a rabbit, can they?"

"Well, at least you have some courage." Monak walked away from the table. "Remember, pay the bill..."

After Monak left, Cassirios remained silent. After a long while, he finally spoke, "He was quite annoying, wasn't he?"

"I think it's pretty good." Salomon picked up his glass and finished the remaining half of his beer. He burped. "It's good that someone reminded us of the price we should pay. The Venerable One can't remind us all the time that some things can't be replaced by spellcasting materials."

"You are a well-behaved child. His Holiness must be very pleased, because the hardest thing in Kamar-Taj is not learning magic, but learning the rules." Kasirius took a deep breath and downed the last of his whiskey. "You did very well, really very well."

----------------

"The smell of wine." Athena sniffed around Salomon, a cryptic smile playing on her lips. "The smell of womanhood, and the smell of demons. Little fellow, have you finally come to your senses and want to drink with women? But you don't really need to summon succubi from the abyss, do you? Are human women no longer enough for you?"

“I only had one beer,” Salomon said. “If you’re talking about the perfume… I just went to my partner’s for dinner, nothing else happened.”

"Are you referring to the time not long ago when the Sorcerer Supreme enveloped Earth in the Mirror Dimension?" Athena said. "I smelled a strong stench of demons back then. Could that be related to you? Was that why you took so much leave during that period?"

"I'm one of the participants," Salomon said, "but I'm here to catch up on my studies; my sculpture course isn't finished yet. I have to go to school tomorrow."

"The children at the orphanage haven't seen you in so long, Salomon," Athena said, pulling Salomon away. "Your magic tricks captivated them. Do you know how difficult it is for me to put them to sleep when you're not around?"

"While I shouldn't interfere in matters outside the realm of magic, I still don't understand why you adopted these exceptionally gifted children." As Athena led Salomon downstairs to the back door of the orphanage, the sorcerer said, "I've also never seen you train them to develop their abilities."

"Because they shouldn't exist in this world." Athena turned to Salomon, looking into his eyes. "Their abilities have no source. Even I don't know who tampered with their genes. That abnormal gene gave them power, but their parents were ordinary people. Even the Sorcerer Supreme couldn't say who did it. So I collected them, the abandoned ones, and taught them to suppress their nature so they wouldn't cause any major chaos—you know how humans treat those who are different. Even among humans, there are different classes. If they were exposed to ordinary people, I can imagine their fate: prison or a laboratory, neither of which would be good. But there's one good thing: this ability comes and goes. At certain times, their abilities disappear completely, and they become truly ordinary people."

"It might be due to interference from parallel worlds. This interference will eventually disappear, and they will become truly ordinary people. Even that abnormal gene might be repaired," Salomon said, opening the door. "They shouldn't have appeared in this world, but they still did. Perhaps because they are counterparts from parallel worlds, their power was awakened by the same individuals in those parallel worlds, which is why they have all sorts of abilities."

"What do you mean?" Athena asked.

"This is my ultimate research topic," Salomon said. "Parallel world interference is also one of my goals."

"That sounds difficult. Was it assigned to you by the Sorcerer Supreme?" Athena said. "Also, remember to call me Minerva in front of these children."

"Of course not, this was inspired by the last incident." Salomon was unwilling to elaborate on his thoughts, so he changed the subject, "Don't you dislike the Romans? Why do you insist on using this name?"

"It's better than telling people my name is Athena," said the goddess of wisdom. "It's easier for people to accept that my driver's license says Minerva than Athena. Now, you need to perform magic tricks for the children; they miss you."

"I can tell." Salomon picked up a little girl who was clinging to his legs. The little girl hugged Salomon's face and kissed him hard. "Good evening, Lorna. What do you want to see tonight?"

"Tom and Jerry!" the little girl shouted.

"Then we'll need to get some other people's opinions," Salomon whispered. "But as long as you don't tell anyone, I'll show you Tom and Jerry."

Please vote for me!

Thank you to the reader from Old City for the 200-point reward.

Thank you to reader 20180515101258867 for the 200-point reward.

(End of this chapter)