According to the plot, the origin story of the standard Doctor Strange is that his hands were crippled, he could no longer be a Doctor, and then he sought out the Ancient One.
But when it came to nerve damage in the hands, Osborn had almost completely conquered this type of disability caused by accidents.
Not to mention anything else, the improved Extremis could heal nerve damage and regenerate necrotic tissue. Combined with proper care and rehabilitation, Harry was fully confident he could return to Strange a pair of hands comparable to the originals.
In a certain comic, Strange's hands were treated in a roundabout way, and the title of Sorcerer Supreme was passed to someone else, but in this Marvel Universe, this matter seemed immutable.
The next Sorcerer Supreme had to be Strange, and some things were best left unchanged—Harry read that much into it.
Therefore, Strange was predestined.
"Is it also something related to magic?" Harry asked feignedly.
"More or less, this is very important."
"That's fine, but..."
"You won't be doing it for nothing. I can see that you possess a certain energy, like a form of personal energy, and it just so happens that I have some books on these things; or would you prefer information on Asgardian Runes?"
The Ancient One was very generous and gave Harry two choices.
The fact that the Ancient One could see the special energy within him wasn't particularly surprising; after all, the title of Sorcerer Supreme wasn't won in a lottery.
In the Marvel Universe, the sources of magic are mainly divided into four categories: The first is personal energy, such as Harry's psionic power or Iron Fist's Chi.
The second: magical energy from the cosmic environment. Using this type of magic is similar to humans using technological means to achieve things, such as the Runes that Odin realized.
The third: extra-dimensional magical energy, such as the Vishanti and Dormammu, the primary sources of the Ancient One's power in this World.
The last type is various kinds of magical objects.
Returning to the Ancient One's choices, what she offered surely couldn't be books involving dangerous techniques. The first choice was likely just about meditation or similar things, which the System also provided, though the Ancient One was clearly unaware of that.
By comparison, the second option seemed more practical for the time being. He happened to have an Asgardian magical object on hand, and Osborn could develop some Rune studies.
So Harry said, "The second one."
Upon hearing this, the book in the Ancient One's left hand disappeared, leaving only the one in her right hand. However, she seemed somewhat surprised: "I thought someone with your spirit of exploration would choose the first option."
"Actually, I wanted both," Harry added.
"That is closer to what I imagined. Then, let us end our conversation here. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Osborn."
The Ancient One stepped into a portal, and the surroundings instantly returned to their original state. Harry knew he had returned to normal space.
Harry rubbed his temples—he had been channeling his psionic power the entire time in that space, partly to help himself adapt to the Mirror Dimension, and partly in hopes that he wouldn't have his thoughts read by the Ancient One without realizing it.
Judging by the result, the Ancient One didn't seem to have read his thoughts.
"Sir, Mr. Kast has returned to the company," UIS's voice rang out.
"I know. Did anything unusual happen in the room just now?"
"No, sir, everything is normal. However, I noticed that your vital signs changed; you seemed very nervous."
Harry sighed. When it came to supernatural powers, he really still had a lot to explore.
Thinking of this, he took the book left by the Ancient One and the Berserker Staff, and headed toward the laboratory.
Harry first performed a full-body physical examination on the 15 angry young men. The instruments didn't detect anything Strange, nothing more than excessive adrenaline, abnormal heart rates, and heavy activation of the liver's β2 receptors. Overall, there was nothing amiss from a biological perspective.
To his surprise, the System still counted this examination as 10 points of progress; he only needed to find 5 more special talents to complete the task.
Then, these young men were locked in prison—once the effect of the Berserker Staff wore off, they would lose this power, and a prison sentence of 3-5 years would be enough for them to return to normal.
Scanning the Berserker Staff, the material came from Asgard. It mainly contained silicon, carbon, iron, and some peculiar elements not yet discovered by humans. It was unrealistic to try to reverse-engineer this; the quantity was too small, and even the extraterrestrial materials laboratory couldn't do it.
Its greatest value lay in the Runes carved on it. If he could master this magic, he could upgrade his armor on the magical side.
The function of the Runes was similar to circuits; by carving these Runes onto suitable materials, one could mobilize the magical energy existing in the Universe. In Asgard, magical energy was abundant and contained many magical minerals, so they could easily notice this interaction and utilize it.
But it wasn't the same on Earth. First, it was limited by the environment; second, by the materials; and third, by the "protectionism of the weak" practiced by these extraordinary individuals.
With the Ancient One's materials and the craftsmanship techniques left by Randolph, Harry quickly replicated some simple Runes. These Runes possessed the ability to slightly change the user's mood, such as making someone feel better or lifting their spirits.
If this could be mass-produced, it would truly be a useful little technology for human society.
After researching for a while, limited by material issues, Harry had to put aside the decryption of the Runes and focus on the company's next strategic deployment.
The second exploration of Alfheim was being prepared in an orderly fashion. This exploration would very likely encounter the local inhabitants—the Light Elves—so he had to lead this exploration himself.
But Harry couldn't lead every exploration; he had to cultivate someone who could lead the exploration team.
This person needed to have a certain ability to adapt to changing circumstances, preferably be biologically enhanced, have an outgoing personality and love for exploration, and their personality shouldn't cause resentment from the Light Elves.
Thinking it over, Harry did know such a person—on second thought, he was indeed very suitable.
"UIS, help me contact Peter Parker—where is he now?"
"Mr. Parker is in London, by the River Thames with his girlfriend. The call is connected."
With the recommendation of Dr. Otto and Dr. Connors, Peter successfully obtained an exchange opportunity at Oxford University, allowing him to live with his girlfriend, Gwen.
Before coming to London, Harry had intended to find Peter for a chat, but he had forgotten because he was busy dealing with the Dark Elves.
It seemed he was out playing in London with Gwen when the incident happened, so he didn't need to go out of his way to find him now.
"Peter, I have a job on hand that would suit you very well. Would you like to come over for an interview?"
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"