Chapter 19: He’s Just a Playboy!

Columbia University.

Finney's enrollment didn't cause much of a stir; it was an ordinary experience, just like any other student's. Although the Ancient One had once told him that he would greatly impact the world, nothing felt particularly extraordinary about starting school.

Since he didn't plan to live on campus, he wasn't assigned a dorm. However, the university wasn't exactly close to home, so he decided to rent an apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to class?" Skye asked, glancing around the new apartment as she examined the furnishings.

"No, thanks. I might need to visit the Sanctum frequently, so it's more convenient for me to live on my own," Finney replied, shaking his head.

Skye didn't push the issue, but then, surprisingly, she said, "Fine. I'll move in with you then."

Finney was taken aback. The apartment he rented wasn't small, since money wasn't an issue, and there was indeed an extra room. But he hadn't expected Skye to say that. "Why would you want to move in?"

"This place is comfortable," Skye said, giving him a look as if he'd asked a silly question. "At the shop, people are always asking when you'll be back. It's so noisy. Staying home all the time feels awkward too. Besides, you'll be in class during the day, and I can work online here without anyone bothering me."

Finney scratched his head, feeling a bit troubled. He hesitated before carefully suggesting, "You're an adult now, right? Maybe it's time to think about living on your own?"

Skye's face turned bright red in embarrassment, and she instantly huffed, "I... I'll pay rent, okay? It'll be like we're splitting the place together."

Then, as if she had just thought of a better justification, she added with a self-righteous tone, "Besides, it's not like I want to live with you. Mom and Dad are worried you won't take care of yourself, and I'm just here to make sure you're okay."

"Hmph!" She gave a little snort of frustration and stomped upstairs to start unpacking, leaving Finney standing there, utterly baffled.

Well, there wasn't much Finney could say to that. After all, Skye was his older sister, and he had spoiled her growing up. On the plus side, it would be safer for her to live here too. New York could be dangerous, especially for a beautiful girl like her.

University life turned out to be much more relaxed than Finney had expected. The subject he'd chosen, Ancient Languages, was pretty obscure, so his schedule wasn't packed, leaving him with plenty of free time.

In class, he mainly focused on learning Sanskrit. Most of the texts at Kamar-Taj were still unreadable to him because current translation software wasn't advanced enough. He'd even asked Skye to help him develop a better program, but due to a lack of reference materials, it hadn't been very successful.

For now, Finney had to rely on others to help translate the books at Kamar-Taj, which was slow and inconvenient. He couldn't keep bothering people, so his reading progress was limited.

It was another bright afternoon.

With no classes that day, Finney was lounging in the living room, carefully studying a textbook he'd borrowed from the university library. Meanwhile, Skye was nearby, looking bored as she flipped through a fashion magazine.

Soon enough, Skye tossed the magazine aside and flopped onto the soft couch, kicking her feet in Finney's direction. "Ugh, it's Tony Stark again. That guy's everywhere!"

"You've been staring at that book for almost a month now. Aren't you bored? By the way, it's getting chilly again. How about we go shopping for some clothes?" she suggested, lazily stretching out her legs.

Annoyed by Skye's constant chatter, Finney snapped his book shut and glared at her. "I should've never agreed to let you move in. And don't you already have more than enough clothes?"

"I meant for you!" Skye corrected him, straightening up and adopting a serious expression before grinning. "Maybe I'll just grab a few things for myself while we're out."

Finney sighed, looking out the window at the sky. The weather had indeed been nice lately, which wasn't so common in November.

He turned back to see Skye's eager face and, feeling a little resigned, nodded in agreement. His eyes then fell on the discarded fashion magazine, the cover of which featured Tony Stark in a sharp suit. "Didn't you use to really like Tony Stark?" he asked.

Skye glanced at the magazine and scoffed. "I admired his tech and inventions, sure. But the more I see, the more I realize he's just a playboy."

"That's debatable," Finney muttered, looking at Stark's confident pose on the cover. He couldn't help but reflect, "He'll probably end up becoming a hero."

"A hero?!" Skye gave him a strange look. Tony Stark had many titles: billionaire, genius, playboy, but no one had ever called him a hero.

"He's someone who values peace," Finney said with a shrug. After all, that was part of the mentor-student tradition—he wasn't one to spoil future events.

"Peace? He runs a weapons company!" Skye retorted, completely baffled, but didn't dwell on the topic for long. Instead, she ran off excitedly to her room to get ready, leaving Finney chuckling to himself.

After spending the entire afternoon shopping with Skye, Finney headed to the New York Sanctum in the evening, where he opened a portal to Kamar-Taj.

The crisp, cool morning air there immediately invigorated him. During his few months at Kamar-Taj, his experience growth had been comparable to several years' worth.

The experience points he'd accumulated had nearly refilled the empty bar that had been reset after he acquired Evil Ghost Armor.

However, that pace had recently slowed down. His talent and available time were limited, and a significant portion of his energy had to be focused on studying and translating texts. Moreover, finding opponents to spar with was becoming increasingly difficult.

Not many sorcerers at Kamar-Taj were keen on combat, and Mordo had his own responsibilities lately, so Finney couldn't always rely on him for sparring matches.

As he pondered how to solve this problem, Finney headed towards the training grounds. On his way, he spotted a familiar, slightly pudgy figure and greeted him, "Good morning, Wong! You're here today too?"

At this time, Wong was not yet the future librarian of Kamar-Taj. He was a guardian of the Hong Kong Sanctum and didn't often appear in Kamar-Taj.

"Good morning, Finney," Wong replied courteously, before leaning in closer to ask in a low voice, "Do you have any chicken rolls with you?"

"Uh... isn't it a bit early for that?" Finney hesitated, but quickly summoned a Zinger Chicken Roll and handed it over anyway.

Wong took it, inhaled deeply, and, with a blissful expression, said, "Doesn't matter. I already had breakfast, so it's fine."

"..."

Finney was at a loss for words.

Seeing Wong, Finney knew that today's experience farming was settled. Wong was slightly weaker than Mordo but still one of the better opponents to spar with. Unlike Mordo, Wong's fighting style wasn't focused on agility, making for a different kind of challenge.

Over the past few months, Finney's growth had been significant—although not in the realm of magic. Through intense combat training, especially with Evil Ghost Armor, Finney had become one of the more formidable fighters at Kamar-Taj. Well, at least﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

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when it came to combat prowess.