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Chapter 220: Ch.219 Price of Magic

Since the people of Kamar-Taj looked almost identical to their movie counterparts, Su Ming quickly spotted Mordo, his dark skin making him stand out in the crowd. He looked young and skilled, wielding various spells with impressive proficiency.

However, his opponent was a flamboyantly dressed eccentric, a man in a skirt who was just as adept with magic. They, too, were at a stalemate.

After surveying the battlefield, Su Ming mentally mapped out the key players and their movements. The Ancient One and her opponent were at the center, with other sorcerers engaged in duels around them, like a medieval melee with magical energy instead of swords.

In battles like this, formation was critical. Key points had to be manned by powerful individuals to hold the line—flanks, rear, and center. If someone unsuited for close combat magic was placed in the front lines, it was a death sentence.

One particularly intense duel caught Su Ming\'s eye. Amidst flashing lights and flying spells, the combatants shouted each other\'s names, giving Su Ming valuable intel.

One of the opponents was an older man with a bizarre "flying saucer" hairstyle—bald on top, with hair on the sides flaring out like wings. His name was Master Gibbor, the Ancient One\'s first disciple. But he had fallen deep into the allure of black magic, which clashed with the Ancient One\'s philosophy of using it sparingly. So, he left Kamar-Taj long ago, becoming an early traitor.

No one knew where he went, but a sorcerer of his caliber could perform rituals to travel to any parallel world.

It seemed like these people were his recruits—a group of sorcerers from another dimension, possibly led by a Supreme Sorcerer of that realm.

Judging by their appearance, that dimension must have been steeped in black magic, as many of the sorcerers were twisted by its effects, bordering on madness.

In the Marvel Universe, magic isn\'t like in Harry Potter. Here, using any spell comes at a price. That price balances out the disruption to the universe caused by wielding magical energy, or it settles debts owed to dark gods.

This isn\'t something you can escape. The universe\'s rules will always come after a spellcaster, using various means to reclaim the energy they borrowed.

The Ancient One was incredibly powerful, but she rarely used black magic.

At Kamar-Taj, there was a group called the "Nameless Ones" who bore the price of the Supreme Sorcerer\'s spells. These monks saw it as an honor to sacrifice themselves for the world. Through rituals and incantations, they diverted the magical costs onto themselves, suffering excruciating deaths in the process.

But when Doctor Strange became the Supreme Sorcerer, things changed. He didn\'t shy away from using both white and black magic, casting spells with such frequency that even the Nameless Ones couldn\'t handle the side effects.

In the comics, Strange once remarked that after taking on the role of Sorcerer Supreme, he developed a hole in his stomach the size of a subway rat. He could only sleep three hours a night or else be consumed by endless nightmares. He had constant terrifying hallucinations, lost his sense of direction, grew mushrooms on his face that oozed pus, and his kidney stones gained sentience, causing him to urinate blood.

And those were just the side effects of using white magic.

The consequences of using black magic were even worse. Strange was kidnapped by various dark gods multiple times, and though he had the Time Stone, he often returned on the verge of death.

Outwardly, Strange appeared powerful and respected, but in reality, he was like his counterpart John Constantine, buried under an insurmountable pile of debts. His creditors weren\'t just gods—they were hell lords. And their methods of collecting debts were far more creative than Su Ming\'s straightforward approach.

The longer a sorcerer lived, the more spellcasting debts they accrued. The Ancient One found a way to secretly pass off her black magic debts onto Dormammu, even taking some of his power in return.

But even that only allowed her to last another hundred years or so.

Magic\'s price had drained her. Each time she defended against external threats, casting spells was a torturous ordeal for her.

Of course, her enemies had it worse. The white magic of the Vishanti was one of the gentler forces, allowing you to pay your debts in installments. But Chthon\'s black magic? That price was brutal.

Perhaps the name Chthon (pronounced "Thon") was unfamiliar, but knowing he was called the "Dark Lord" and "God of Black Magic" might ring a bell. If not, you only need to know that when beings like Dormammu and Mephisto hit rock bottom, they prayed to Chthon for power. That should give you an idea of his stature.

He was also the source of Scarlet Witch\'s chaos magic. For him, altering reality was as simple as a passing thought.

However, Chthon had been lying low for a while after being defeated by an ancient god who specifically countered him. Now, he was hiding out in an unknown dimension.

Black magic had more power, but it also had greater recoil. Users of black magic needed to perform regular sacrifices or mass killings to shift the cost onto others. If they couldn\'t find victims, they would bear the burden themselves, often ending up insane or worse.

That\'s why Kamar-Taj emphasized physical fitness and close-combat magic. A strong body could better withstand the costs of spellcasting.

Dr. Anthony Druid was the sorcerer battling Master Gibbor. No, not a druid like the ones who play with plants and animals—his name was literally Anthony Druid.

He was the Ancient One\'s second disciple, formerly a psychiatrist, which made him a peer of Doctor Strange. He was incredibly talented and skilled with white magic. Kind-hearted and gentle, he was a perfect candidate for the role of Sorcerer Supreme.

But he had no interest in competition and chose not to participate in the race for the title.

He left Kamar-Taj early on and now lived in seclusion in a major city, where his psychic abilities were better honed.

He lived a long life and was considered a backup Sorcerer Supreme in the comics. Whenever Strange went missing—usually kidnapped by some entity—Druid would step in temporarily to protect the Earth.

Later, he even joined the Avengers, again as Strange\'s backup.

Tony Stark called him "Sorcerer Number Two" or "Substitute Doctor," making things awkward.

From the way he was fighting now, his white magic skills were impressive. Combined with his hypnotic and telepathic abilities, he was holding his own against Gibbor.

However, the problem was that Gibbor had likely shifted the cost of his black magic onto sacrificial victims or had some dark god footing the bill.

On the Kamar-Taj side, except for the Ancient One, everyone else had to pay the price themselves. Naturally, they couldn\'t outlast the other side.

Things were manageable for now, but if the battle dragged on much longer, the Kamar-Taj forces would crumble.

Su Ming\'s mission was clear: protect the Ancient One to steer the magical storylines toward the familiar paths of movies or comics, which would ultimately make his future safer.

The Kamar-Taj sorcerers were in the thick of the fight, without armor or healing abilities.

Su Ming, as a warrior, could launch a surprise attack from the shadows. He was confident he could take down one of the archmages instantly—except for the mysterious figure using time-based magic.

Holloway couldn\'t help in this fight. He had no magical resistance, so he\'d have to snipe from a distance.

Su Ming had picked his target: Master Gibbor. Taking him down would free Druid, and with Druid\'s telepathic powers, they could coordinate a unified strategy to win the battle.

The Ancient One was too busy, so it made sense for Su Ming to take command.

However, Gibbor was no easy target. As a master of both black and white magic, defeating him would require stealth, getting close enough without being noticed.

Su Ming formed a plan, hiding behind a broken wall. He motioned to Holloway, who had just arrived, to come over quietly.