Sorcerer Potential

After a month at Kamar-Taj, William got used to the demanding schedule waking up early, training, and doing all the daily routines. He was starting to like it here. He'd made enough friends to hang out with, and he called his parents every evening, which was the most important part of his day. If he ever forgot to call, his mom would give him an earful the next day. That's how much his family loved him.

Today, William was waiting for Mei Ling, ready to join her as a new classmate now that he had been promoted to the Astral Magic classes. Mei Ling arrived, but she wasn't alone. She was with two others. One of them wasn't from around here, just like William, and didn't look like he was from Asia. William recognized him right away: Karl Amadeus Mordo, the same guy who would later train Doctor Strange. The other person, an Asian guy, was laughing and chatting with Mei Ling. It was none other than Benedict Wong, who would become the new librarian and, eventually, the Sorcerer Supreme after the Endgame events.

William broke the fourth wall: "Here we go again. You already know these two, right? Mordo, who turns his back on the Ancient One once he finds out she uses dark magic, and Wong, who is ready to give his life for Kamar-Taj. They don't look like much now, but believe me, when I saw them train, it blew my mind. Mordo can cast two spells at once, both offensive and defensive. He's not just a sorcerer; he's a warrior too.

"And Wong? He's the nerd of the group. He knows almost every book in the library, but when he pulls out those magic whips, he turns into a deadly warrior. That is when I understood why he will be chosen to guard the library against rogue sorcerers to prevent the loss of real treasure of Kamar-Taj which is there knowledge and scriptures.

"What I'm trying to say is, they're strong. Really, really strong. I just hope I can keep up with them."

The fourth wall returns.

Mei Ling greeted William, "Hey! Good morning. What were you mumbling about so early?"

Just as William was about to answer, Mei Ling cut him off, "Anyway, these are my friends, Karl Amadeus Mordo and Wong." Then, she introduced William, "This is William Mendoza. He's from the USA."

William thought to himself, "Does she know everyone here? She's definitely an extrovert." But his thoughts were interrupted again, this time by Mordo.

Mordo said, "Nice to meet you. Just call me Mordo." Wong followed, "Nice to meet you too. You can call me Wong. Are you the one who broke the record for being the second fastest to get promoted to the Astral classes from the basic ones?"

William was surprised and asked, "Wait, I'm the second fastest? Who was the fastest, and by how much?"

Mordo replied, "Yes, that's you. Don't underestimate your achievement, though. But you know our senior, Kaecilius? He's the fastest ever to complete the basic training. He did in a week what took you a month. But don't feel bad; you've done better than most of us. Even I took a month and a half, Wong here took two months, and Mei Ling did it in about a month and a week."

Hearing this, a new sense of competition sparked in William. Even though he had worked hard, he was still behind prodigies like Kaecilius.

Mei Ling chimed in, "Now that we've introduced ourselves, let's head to our training place." With that, the four of them went to their respective groups.

The study of Astral Magic is divided into three levels. In the first level, the focus is on magic circles and complex geometry. This helps students become one with the universe and gets them used to casting spells subconsciously. In the second stage, students start working on more complex spells. They learn to use "Sling Rings" to create portals, manipulate matter, and move toward advanced magic knowledge.

The third and final stage depends on what the student wants to do. They can either choose academics or combat training. If they choose academics, they learn to become scholars in magic, do some basic combat training, and specialize in experimenting with new spells and recovering lost magical knowledge.

If they choose to become warriors, they get intense combat training. They're taught various offensive and defensive spells and are prepared to protect Earth from unknown threats. They're the first line of defense and are ready to give their lives for Kamar-Taj. It's a tough, physically demanding path.

William was now at the first level of the Astral Magic classes. The daily routine was pretty straightforward: physical training, meditation, and then practical magic study focused on magic circles and complex geometry.

The instructor, Rajesh Chauhan, began, "Congratulations to all of you for advancing to the Astral Magic class. Very few reach this level of mind mastery. But now, new challenges await you, and I'll guide you through them." He added, "For the first three days, your task is to materialize two perpendicular lines by resonating with the universe. It might sound simple, but it's not. To resonate with the universe, you must quiet all noise, forget your worries, and reach a state of nothingness. Remember your basic meditation training and, for today, let's see some sparks from your fingers."

He added firmly, "Anyone who fails to complete the task in the given time will be sent back to the basic training. So give it your all. Remember, it's hard to climb but easy to fall. Those who don't work hard will fall."

After explaining, he demonstrated his skill by summoning two perpendicular lines in a split second. To show off, he spun them fast until they looked like a Chakra and launched it at a practice dummy. The dummy's head was decapitated in a blink. Everyone got the message: it was time to focus and prove themselves, or they'd be back to basics.

While everyone was processing what had just happened, William was already sitting in meditation, trying to resonate with the universe. One by one, he blocked out all noise, removed unnecessary thoughts, and tried to forget where he was.

When he reached the state of nothingness, he felt a strange vibration—not the kind you hear, but one that he felt deep in his soul. As he synced his soul's frequency with that of the universe, he felt something different, something he'd never experienced before. His body started to heat up, and when he opened his eyes, he could see two lines forming in front of him.

He got too excited, realizing he was casting his first spell, but his conscious mind took over, breaking his focus and ruining the spell. Instead of feeling down, it fired him up even more. He went back into meditation, focused deeply again, and this time, it worked. The two perpendicular lines appeared in front of him, and he didn't stop there—he started rotating them as fast as he could, then launched them. He missed by a mile, but that wasn't the point. He could cast a spell, and that was a big deal.

Before he knew it, it was late in the evening, and he had lost track of time. The only people still around were his instructor, Rajesh Chauhan, and his three friends: Mei Ling, Wong, and Mordo. They didn't disturb him; they made sure no one else did either when they saw how deeply he was meditating.

Instructor Rajesh Chauhan was the first to speak, "Well done, William! You're progressing quickly, aren't you? To celebrate, here's a special snack Bara from a great restaurant. Your friends kept an eye on you while I went to get it. Eat up, rest, and sleep well. Good job, and good night."

William bowed and accepted the snacks, then shared them with Mei Ling, Wong, and Mordo. The snacks were still hot, as if the instructor had used magic to keep them fresh.

Mei Ling, as always, started the conversation, "You know, William, when we saw you meditating, we could feel the vibrations when you resonated with the universe. We were excited for you but tried not to disturb you. Mordo didn't even let a single leaf touch you, and Wong made a special circle to keep everyone out. And your instructor never took his eyes off you, making sure nothing broke your focus."

William replied, "Oh, that's so nice of you all. Thanks for helping me through it. It was such a new feeling—I'm so excited, but I don't know how to explain it. It's like… well, it's like being intimate for the first time and not knowing how to describe it."

That last line caught everyone off guard, and they all burst out laughing. The conversation quickly took a turn. What can you expect from a group of teenagers? They were more interested in William's "first-time" experience than his magic experience.

William broke the fourth wall again, "I'm just making this stuff up. I'm no expert in that field, and I have zero experience. But I can't back out now—it's about dignity and respect. They're not going to check if it's true or not, so let them think whatever they want."

The training day ended with all sorts of random conversations, and the new friend group finally went back to their dorms to rest up and get ready for another day.