Chapter 188: MD-Chapter 187 Where’s Your Stars and Stripes?
After that lesson, Arthur realized something important.
Although the Space Slash was incredibly powerful, it was useless against an entity like the Ancient One.
So, he couldn't rely on it as his trump card; otherwise, if he ended up facing the Ancient One and she was unharmed while he was knocked to the ground due to using his own skill, it would be quite embarrassing.
Arthur spent some time delving deeper into his research and discovered that the reason Space Slash only worked within three meters was due to his insufficient mental training to support the ability over a longer distance.
In other words, with persistent practice, the range of this skill could be improved.
As for other potential changes, he couldn't predict them for now.
Realizing these things, Arthur felt that staying at Kamar-Taj no longer held much meaning for him.
It had been at least a month since he arrived here.
It was time to return to New York and face what he had to face— this was also a form of personal growth he couldn't avoid.
Before leaving, Arthur had considered whether he should steal a Sling Ring or ask the Ancient One for one.
But ultimately, Arthur decided against it.
The Ancient One had been good to him, and stealing from her didn't seem right.
Asking the Ancient One for one felt unjustifiable; he couldn't use Kamar-Taj's magic anyway, so what would he need a Sling Ring for?
As for saying that he would keep it as a souvenir, that was even more absurd— he could return here anytime by drawing a teleportation circle. A souvenir was unnecessary.
In the end, Arthur respectfully said his goodbyes to the Ancient One. However, the Ancient One insisted on escorting him to the door: "You are always welcome here. Don't hesitate to come here whenever you want."
Arthur rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward, and asked, "Um, can you keep my room reserved? You know, I left a teleportation circle there. It'd be quite embarrassing if someone else used it when I come back. If it's a man, that's fine, but if it's a woman, or a man and a woman…"
The Ancient One sighed deeply, feeling a bit uncomfortable: "I can now understand why the All-Father would sometimes want to just poke you with a finger."
"Wow, that old man is really unpredictable," Arthur said, astonished. "He said he wanted to marry his daughter to me in front of me, but now says he wants to poke me to death— what a fickle old man."
"Oh? The All-Father's daughter?" The Ancient One's gaze became peculiar. "Would you dare?"
"Dare? Why wouldn't I?" Arthur retorted. "But I don't want to!"
"Why not?"
"Because of the age difference!" Arthur declared solemnly.
The Ancient One scowled and shooed him out.
Standing at the door, Arthur was speechless for a moment: "Women, regardless of their status or power, are always so heartless. Speaking of which, I didn't get to meet that Doctor Strange's senior this time. When did Doctor Strange come to study under him?"
As he pondered these things, he gradually walked away…
…
…
Inside the room, the Ancient One's expression was calm as she spoke softly, "He's even more special and interesting than I imagined."
"His future is unpredictable," Odin's voice echoed from the void. "He could be hope or destruction."
"But we cannot guide him," the Ancient One said. "We must not distort him with our will, or we might end up with the worst possible outcome."
"Everything must rely on him alone."
"I actually have a lot of confidence in him," the Ancient One said with a grin. "Although he is indeed quite a handful."
"Very much so!" Odin agreed wholeheartedly.
They reached a consensus on this matter. If Arthur knew that they had come to an agreement about his behavior then he would have quite an interesting expression on his face before cursing them both in his mind.
…
Two days later, a plane landed at New York Airport.
Arthur had changed his look: he was dressed in a black suit, black sunglasses, and a round-brimmed hat, he looked every bit the gentleman.
However, his swaggering walk and the odd sense of arrogance gave people an impression reminiscent of the "Read as a gentleman" meme.
But once this "gentleman" disembarked, his once-arrogant expression froze on his face.
A black car was parked right in front of him, and two people he had anticipated meeting but didn't expect to see now, were standing in front of the car, looking at him.
Arthur glanced around helplessly and approached them: "So, the privileged class is really annoying. This is the airport's restricted area, and outside vehicles aren't allowed in!"
"There's probably no airport that SHIELD can't access," The woman with wavy long hair said while smiling slightly. Her stunning figure attracted the attention of passersby.
Arthur, however, didn't acknowledge her and instead focused on the other person.
This person was tall and stood there with a serious expression on his face while his eyes seemed moist, as if he was on the verge of tears but was trying hard to hold them back.
"Instructor…"
The two syllables that came from his throat were slightly trembling.
Arthur removed his sunglasses and looked at the man with a complex expression on his face before saying: "Steve, where's your Stars and Stripes?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the nearly 6'3" man in front of him suddenly embraced Arthur.
He patted Arthur's back vigorously: "It's so good to see you. I thought… I really thought you were… This is the best news I could hear after waking up."
Arthur coughed up blood: "Please be gentle, otherwise, I might actually be killed by you!"
Steve quickly released him and looked at Arthur with a helpless expression before saying: "Instructor, I know your physical strength so don't lie."
"You know too much."Arthur made a 'pistol' gesture toward Steve's head: "Be careful, or I might silence you."
Beep! Beep!
The car horn sounded, accompanied by a woman's voice from inside the car: "How long are you two planning to chat?"
"Get in the car." Steve opened the car door.
Arthur shrugged and got into the car.
…
…
As the car drove along the highway, Steve's excitement settled down.
He looked at the pedestrians on the street, then turned to Arthur: "Instructor, how did you adapt to today's world? I can't even imagine waking up and finding the world like this."
"You need to learn to adapt."
Arthur threw himself onto the leather sofa in the car, glanced at Black Widow who was driving, and said, "Otherwise, if you had to experience all the mess I've been through, you'd probably be even more overwhelmed than I am."
**(End of Chapter)**
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Chapter 189: MD-Chapter 188 First Meeting
You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
As long as I reach 200 dollars on my Patreon, I will post 10 extra bonus chapters per month in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 300 dollars then I will post 15 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 400 dollars then I will post 20 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. So come and support me.
"Instructor." Steve looked at Arthur before speaking: "What exactly happened? When I got back to that damned plane, I saw you disappear right in front of me. Now you're alive, but what about Schmidt?"
"He… probably didn't die either." Arthur gazed upward as he spoke. Even though the car roof was between them, he spoke as if he could see through the entire sky, saying calmly: "He might still be alive somewhere in this universe…"
Steve's fists clenched suddenly upon hearing that.
Arthur patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Don't worry, even if he's still alive, it'll be hard for him to come back."
"The Tesseract… where did it take you?" Black Widow, who was sitting in the front, couldn't help but speak: "Your disappearance was indeed related to that, wasn't it?"
"Do you really want to know?" Arthur smiled before he continued to speak: "Then we'll need to have a proper discussion about it. First, are you speaking on behalf of SHIELD or just yourself?"
"I represent… the Avengers!" the Black Widow glanced at the rearview mirror as she spoke with a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Are you trying to scare me with big words," Arthur shook his head: "The Avengers have been established? Even if it has, am I supposed to be afraid?"
Steve looked at them, puzzled: "What's going on?"
"Nothing much, just a little personal history," Arthur smiled: "And it has nothing to do with her. Mainly, it seems I have a grudge against this country…"
"How so?" Steve quickly said: "Instructor, you're a hero!"
"Have you heard of my particular brand of heroism?"
Arthur chuckled as he spoke: "There are pictures of you in the National Memorial, and every year many people go to see 'You', to honor their hero. But what about me? How many people remember me? Hero? That term doesn't quite fit me, Steve. I'm more of a 'legend,' a legend passed down by a very few people."
Steve was stunned when he heard that.
Black Widow spoke from the front: "There's a reason for that."
"Ahem," Arthur waved his hand: "The reasons are actually secondary. In fact, it's for the better. I never intended to be your hero. Back then, that red-faced fucker wanted to blow up half the world to achieve his ambitions. If I hadn't resisted, I would've ended up dead too. So, it wasn't about saving the world; I was saving myself, and more so, I was probably just avenging that foolish old man. Heroes, achievements— these things don't really mean much to me."
"And speaking of heroes…" Arthur looked at Steve again: "You're the true hero."
Steve lowered his head: "Instructor…"
Arthur smiled: "Honestly, I didn't expect it to be you who came to pick me up. In fact, it's a pleasant surprise to see you in this era."
"Instructor, no one can erase your achievements!"
Steve took a deep breath: "We both lived through that era, saw many… many comrades die beside us. If it weren't for you, Schmidt's ambitions would have come true, and there would be no peace now. It was your bravery and struggle that saved countless lives, and no one can erase such achievements! They… don't deserve to!"
Screech!
The sound of brakes came on, and Black Widow turned around to look at the two men: "You two fossils, can you stop your grandstanding for now? Fury is waiting…"
Steve looked at Arthur, remaining silent and showing no intention of getting out of the car.
Black Widow also turned her gaze to Arthur.
Arthur smiled: "Sure, Fury is the Director of SHIELD, right? Actually, I was planning to find an opportunity to pay him a proper visit when I came back. Since we're meeting today, that's great."
He opened the car door, got out, and stretched his muscles, saying: "Steve, let me treat you to a good meal later. Not just steak and lettuce, but something truly delicious that will really satisfy you."
"You know a place like that?" Steve asked in surprise: "Is it really that good?"
"You won't find that kind of taste in a restaurant…" Arthur shook his head: "But my landlord can make it. She's on vacation right now and her cooking skills are simply top-notch!"
"That sounds great."
Steve's face lit up with a broad smile.
Black Widow's expression was subtle as she gestured: "Please, both of you."
They entered a building and went to the elevator.
When the elevator opened, there was another layer of security with a password. After the identity verification, the floor buttons appeared.
The next moment, the entire elevator descended with a loud rumble, but the number display showed the correct floors.
"This is a SHIELD substation."
Black Widow explained.
After that, the three of them remained silent. When the elevator reached the designated floor and dinged, the elevator doors opened.
They were greeted by a busy office scene.
Everywhere were staff members moving around with documents, most of whom were armed.
The Black Widow led the two of them through the office to the deepest part, arriving at the door of an office.
She knocked, and a voice from inside said: "Come in."
They entered to find a one-eyed man in a black trench coat and black face looking up from his paperwork at Arthur and Steve.
He stood up: "I really wanted to come and pick you up personally, but there's just too much work on my plate. A month ago, a hammer fell in New Mexico, and Coulson still hasn't finished the report on it. Not only that, the trouble caused by this hammer isn't just because its origin is unknown. More importantly… we've discovered that beyond our imagination, there are entities in this universe that surpass even our expectations!"
"No one knows the extent of the threat they pose to humanity."
As he spoke, he personally poured two cups of coffee and brought them to Arthur and Steve, saying: "So, I've been sorting through the relevant materials recently, and we need a more detailed report."
After finishing his long explanation, he looked at Arthur and Steve with an incredulous expression, then suddenly smiled: "The legendary Assasin of Decapitations Missions. Honestly, if Coulson hadn't shown me your photo, I would've thought he was making it up."
As he spoke, he extended his hand to Arthur: "Finally, we meet."
**(End of Chapter)**
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