American comics: Incredible comprehension, hand-crafted forbidden spells

In the stillness of the night, at Kamar-Taj.

Carter sat slumped on the cold bluestone slab of the training ground like a wooden stake.

He tilted his head back, his dead fish-like eyes staring blankly at the dark night sky.

There wasn't a single star, not even a breeze; it was so stifling it was hard to breathe.

In the empty square, only his sighs could be heard.

"well--"

"well--"

Carter shook his head like a rattle-drum, exuding an aura of utter despair.

Suddenly, a series of light footsteps broke the silence.

A chubby figure strode quickly out of the darkness.

"Carter?" the newcomer called out in a low voice, seemingly with a hint of probing.

Carter turned his head slowly, and it took him several seconds to recognize that the person who had come was actually Master Wang.

"Master Wang..." Carter groaned like a deflated balloon.

He didn't even have the energy to move, let alone stand up and bow.

He just sat there slumped over, looking like a beggar.

This would be considered extremely disrespectful under normal circumstances.

But surprisingly, Master Wang didn't care about these rules today.

He strode up to Carter, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.

"Have all the apprentices you took out returned unharmed?"

Master Wang's voice carried an unusual air of anxiety.

Carter slowly raised his head, his empty eyes meeting the anxious gaze of the mage. He opened his mouth and uttered an "ah," as if he hadn't understood.

Seeing his lifeless state, Master Wang frowned even more deeply and raised his voice:

"Something big happened on Mount Everest today! During the day, a terrifying magical fluctuation erupted."

"Immediately afterwards, half of the entire mountaintop was sheared off with a sharp tool!"

"This place is too close to our Kamar-Taj, it's definitely not an accident!"

"I strongly suspect that Dormammu's high-ranking fanatics are causing trouble and establishing their authority in the vicinity. I estimate that even the Sorcerer Supreme, who is traveling around, has sensed the commotion."

"Didn't you ask me this morning if you could take the apprentices on a training trip near the Himalayas?"

"I was worried you might have run into those monsters, so I came quickly to check on you. Also, did you spot any suspicious figures on the mountain?"

Master Wang finished speaking in one breath, his face so solemn it was almost dripping with water.

You should know that the King is the guardian of the library, equivalent to the elder of the library in Kamar-Taj.

Unless it's something extremely important, he won't even step out of the library.

The fact that he specifically came out to find Carter shows just how serious this matter has become in the eyes of the higher-ups at Kamar-Taj.

If it were the usually shrewd and worldly Carter, upon hearing that terrorists were causing trouble nearby, she would have jumped up and run away in terror.

But Carter didn't even blink.

He collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, waving weakly at Master Wang: "Great Master, could you please press the pause button for me? I'm really too tired."

"???"

Master Wang was completely dumbfounded.

With the situation so dire, what nonsense is this kid spouting?

Before Master Wang could get angry, Carter uttered a somber remark: "I'm sorry for being born. I'm just a piece of trash."

"..."

Master Wang's patience finally ran out, and a surge of anger rushed to his head.

"Carter! Wake up!"

Master Wang rebuked him sternly.

Carter seemed to snap out of his daze after being yelled at like that.

He nodded heavily and said expressionlessly, "Grand Master, I know who did it."

Master Wang's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed on, "Who was it? Did you really fight Dormammu's fanatics? How many of them were there?"

Carter shook his head blankly.

Master Wang grew impatient and almost couldn't resist kicking him: "What the hell are you doing?! Tell me, who did it?!"

Carter looked up, his face contorted in pain, tears welling up in his eyes.

He looked at Master Wang, his voice trembling, and uttered a sentence that nearly made the other man faint:

"Grand Master...Mount Everest...was split by Lin Jie."

The air suddenly became quiet.

It was as if even the wind had stopped flowing.

Master Wang stared intently at Carter with his large, bell-like eyes, his face clearly saying, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"How is that possible!"

Master Wang suddenly raised his voice, interrupting Carter without any mercy.

"Lin Jie has only been learning magic for a few days? At most, only three days!"

"Where did he get such a massive amount of magical energy? And how could he split the world's highest peak in two with a single stroke? Are you out of your mind?!"

Master Wang is very angry now.

He felt that Carter was insulting his intelligence.

"To cause this level of destruction, one would need at least a top-tier archmage who has cultivated diligently for decades!"

"If Lin Jie can do it in three days, then are you suggesting we send all the hundreds of mages in Kamar-Taj to jump off a cliff?!"

Master Wang's words sprayed at Carter's face like a machine gun.

This is not something Master Wang is making a fuss about.

Neither in the basic theories of magic nor in the countless ancient books and fragments he had read had anything so outrageous ever appeared before!

Splitting a mountain in three days? Even storytellers wouldn't dare to make something like that!

"High Mage... I'm not lying to you... really..."

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned other people jumping off cliffs, but as soon as he did, the pent-up resentment in Carter's heart erupted like a flood bursting its banks.

His eyes were red and swollen, and he cried out in a voice choked with sobs, "It wasn't just me... Lilia and the others were all there... They all watched him cleave the mountain in two with a single stroke..."

Seeing Carter's miserable state of breaking down and crying, Master Wang's words were stuck in his throat.

He stood there, stunned, feeling his worldview crumbling madly.

No way?

Could this whole mess really have been done by Lin Jie, that newbie who's only been here for three days?!

In three days, they accumulated enough magic power to split Mount Everest in two...

What kind of freakish being has Kamar-Taj summoned?!

The night wind blew across the training ground, but it could not dispel the turbulent waves in Master Wang's heart.

"Don't try to fool me," Master Wang retorted, his brow furrowed. "Didn't you promise me you'd been teaching haphazardly these past few days? You think you can impart the power to split Mount Everest with just some random rambling? Why haven't I seen you teach like this before?"

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing Carter's lungs with pinpoint accuracy.

Carter broke through the defense.

He clutched his head, wailing in a tearful voice, "Great Master! I'm innocent! I was just making things up!"

"I deliberately threw them on the top of the Himalayas to freeze, tricking them into thinking they were going to experience the energy of nature. And what happened? Lin Jie only stood in the cold wind for fifty minutes, and not only did he become immune to the freezing cold, but he also accumulated enormous magical power within his body!"

"I was being cheeky and challenged him to try wielding a knife. Who would have thought he could slice off half of Mount Everest, which is eight thousand meters high, with just a basic, glowing line!"

At this point, Carter suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his voice trembling like a leaf: "The worst part is, I saw it with my own eyes today... when Lin Jie opened the portal, he wasn't wearing a slingshot ring at all!"

"Opened the door completely empty-handed! Can you believe it? This kid's concentration is absolutely insane!"

Carter's series of screams came crashing down, completely stunning the mage.

Seeing Carter's miserable state, filled with existential doubt, Master Wang finally understood that the matter was probably true.

But... this doesn't even respect the basic law!

Is it possible to accumulate the magic power that others have cultivated over decades by simply blowing in the cold wind for fifty minutes?

A broken line cleaved the world's highest peak?

Open a portal instantly without wearing a slingshot?

Any one of these things alone would be enough to be talked about for a lifetime in the history of Kamar-Taj!

Did it all happen to the same newcomer?

Master Wang gasped.

Could this kid be Vishanti's illegitimate son?

It is important to know that the source of Kamar-Taj's magic is entirely bestowed by the Triune God of Magic, Vishanti.

If Lin Jie wasn't related to any deity by blood, how could an ordinary human be so twisted?!