It took several agonizing minutes, but he finally managed to summon the portal.
Before Harvey could even brag to Hermione, a terrifying suction force yanked them both inside.
Whoosh—
A violent wind whipped through the room, dragging pillows, sheets, and furniture into the black-hole-like portal.
"Aaaah!"
Inside the tunnel, Harvey and Hermione screamed as a suffocating sensation overwhelmed them.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Granger heard the commotion upstairs, dropped her dishwashing, and bolted to the second floor.
"Good heavens!"
Her mouth hung open in shock.
Harvey's room looked as if it had been shredded by a tornado; there was a massive hole in the ceiling where she could see the bright blue sky.
"Did... did a tornado just hit our house?"
While Mrs. Granger stood there in a daze.
Harvey and Hermione finally arrived in the Marvel world—deep space!!
Seeing the massive red-and-white stripes of Jupiter filling his vision, surrounded by the dark vacuum of the cosmos.
Harvey's blood began to boil and his breath grew labored as he screamed mentally.
What the hell happened?
Why was the other side of the portal in the vacuum of space?
Where did my giant planet Earth go?
Harvey struggled to turn his head and saw a faint, brilliant red dot behind the massive planet Jupiter.
He suddenly had an epiphany.
"Is that... the sun?"
So the portal's coordinates were fixed? Was he transported to the exact spot where Earth was the last time he left?
Every planet in the solar system is constantly in motion; Earth orbits the sun at roughly 30 kilometers per second.
If the portal's exit was fixed, Earth would have moved hundreds of millions of kilometers in three months.
No wonder he had stepped out into a vacuum.
But realizing this now was far too late.
At that moment, Harvey's eyes were squeezed shut in agony; his eyeballs throbbed, feeling like they would burst under the low pressure.
Hermione, beside him, was suffering just as much, both from physical asphyxiation and sheer psychological trauma.
This world was indeed dangerous; with her vast knowledge, she immediately realized they were in the vacuum of space...
Just as the despairing duo was about to explode from the vacuum and low pressure, a portal shimmering with golden sparks appeared.
They tumbled inside.
An hour later.
Harvey slowly drifted back to consciousness, tried to move his body, and surveyed his surroundings.
He found himself in a room that looked like an ancient temple.
The walls were made of dark red brick, adorned with aged tapestries whose colors had faded but still hinted at past glory.
The tapestries depicted scenes of a sorcerer casting spells while being worshipped by crowds.
Bright light filtered through the lattice windows, illuminating the entire room.
In a corner stood an incense burner covered in arcane patterns, the air still smelling of calming incense.
"Where... am I?"
Harvey forced his aching muscles to prop himself up against the headboard for a moment until the pain subsided slightly.
He climbed out of the carved four-poster sandalwood bed and dragged his heavy body to the door.
He pushed open the rustic wooden door.
An empty open-air courtyard greeted him.
In the distance, halls, temples, and towers were arranged in a mysterious and solemn architectural layout.
Even further out, he could see the snow-capped peaks of a mountain range.
"Could this place be..."
The more Harvey looked, the more familiar it seemed.
"This is Kamar-Taj!"
A voice full of vitality caught Harvey's attention.
He turned and saw a bald woman in yellow robes with a black sash, standing beside him as if she had appeared out of thin air.
"Are you... the Ancient One?" Tiny Harvey tilted his head up, looking at the bald woman in shock.
The Ancient One stood with her hands behind her back, her expression neutral. "Child, next time you open a portal, try to be more careful. I won't always be there to bail you out."
What did that mean?
Did the Ancient One know about him?
Had she already discovered his secret ability?
Storms of confusion raged in Harvey's mind.
After a long silence, Harvey cautiously probed, "Great Ancient One, thank you for saving us. My name is Harvey Ferguson. May I... may I leave now?"
The Ancient One remained as calm as a still pond and replied, "Of course, young Mr. Ferguson. You may leave whenever you wish, but if you teleport into deep space again, I will not intervene."
"Uh..." At this point, Harvey could hardly miss her implication.
"Venerable One, if I may be so bold, could I stay at Kamar-Taj to learn magic?"
"Once I master the sling ring portal magic, I can..."
He trailed off.
He wasn't sure what the Ancient One thought about him having a portal to another world.
But she seemed to have anticipated his request, saying calmly, "Kamar-Taj welcomes all who are destined to be here. The library is open for you to read as you please."
Harvey hated people who spoke in riddles; without her explicit consent, he was still nervous.
"So... I can actually study magic here?"
The Ancient One nodded slightly, giving him a meaningful look.
Immediately after, a golden portal sparked into existence behind her.
He watched as the Ancient One turned and stepped through, disappearing.
Harvey's racing heart finally began to steady.
Truth be told, he was terrified she would start interrogating him about his "cheat code."
Fortunately, the outcome was good.
He wasn't dead, and he had permission to study the mystic arts of Kamar-Taj.
Thinking back to the near-death experience, Harvey was furious at himself.
The system's portal was a total trap...
How could it dump him into the middle of space?
He almost became the first pair of lovers in history to die together in the cosmic void.
Wait!
"Where's Hermione?"
In a neighboring room of the courtyard, on another carved bed, Hermione slowly woke up and took in the unfamiliar surroundings.
The little girl curled up in the corner of the bed, terrified, clutching her wand tightly.
In this strange place, only her wand could provide a shred of security.
After a long time, having cursed Harvey in her mind a thousand times, Hermione gathered her courage and called out tremulously, "Is anyone there?"
Hearing the faint cry, Harvey followed the sound to the adjacent courtyard.
The moment Hermione saw Harvey enter the room, her pale, tense face finally regained a hint of color.
"Good heavens! Harvey, you're finally here! I thought I was going to die in space... waaah..."
Seeing the only familiar face in a strange environment.
Still shaking with fear, Hermione grabbed Harvey and started sobbing "patter-patter" little pearls.