Chapter 17: Spacetime Studies LV4
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"Master, I wish to seek knowledge in the field of spacetime. Would that be convenient?" Ian asked.
With a wave of her hand, the Ancient One transported them to the library of the Sanctum. "The knowledge you seek is all here. Take your time and study," she said.
The library was filled with books of varying ages. At a glance, most were related to either time or space.
The original collection of the New York Sanctum should not have been so specialized. It was clear that the Ancient One had anticipated Ian's request and had specifically prepared these books for him.
"Thank you, Master! If you ever have any requests, as long as I am capable, I will not refuse!" Ian expressed his gratitude.
The value of these books was beyond question. Ian knew he likely had nothing valuable enough to trade with the Ancient One, so he could only offer a promise.
The Ancient One, however, did not care about Ian's promise. With great magnanimity, she said, "Sharing knowledge is a tradition of Kamar-Taj. No repayment is necessary. As long as you are willing to protect the Earth, that is enough."
"Master, you can rest assured. As an Earthling, protecting the Earth is both my responsibility and my duty!" Ian declared with complete sincerity.
Over the years of his time in this world, he had formed too many attachments. He would not allow anyone to destroy what he cared about.
This was why he had always been striving to grow stronger.
At first, he had no power to protect himself, so he had to keep a low profile and develop slowly.
Once he gained some strength and could ensure his own safety, he realized that if he wanted to protect more people, his power was still insufficient.
This was the reason he had overcome his fears and come to seek out the Ancient One—he wanted to become stronger!
The Ancient One was indeed worthy of being the Sorcerer Supreme who had guarded the Time Stone for centuries.
Her collection contained a vast amount of knowledge on time, which greatly supplemented Ian's previous shortcomings in that field.
In addition to time-related knowledge, the collection was equally rich in spatial studies.
In fact, because more Kamar-Taj sorcerers specialized in spatial magic, the spatial knowledge here was not only abundant but also exceptionally comprehensive.
Beyond just theoretical knowledge and experimental conjectures, the library also contained numerous spells related to time and space, all openly available to Ian.
To help Ian understand these spells better, the library even had a complete set of foundational magical knowledge.
If not for the limited space in the library, Ian had no doubt that the Ancient One would have transferred an entire duplicate of Kamar-Taj's collection for him.
Such generosity was truly worthy of the title "Sorcerer Supreme!"
These magical teachings unveiled the mysteries of sorcery for Ian and introduced him to a whole new academic discipline.
[Mystic Arts LV3 (1%)]
"It's categorized as Mystic Arts instead of Magic Studies? Is it because Kamar-Taj sorcerers are considered mystical practitioners rather than traditional magicians?"
Ian did not dwell on this. After all, as far as he knew, there were no other schools of magic in this world.
The battle techniques of Kamar-Taj sorcerers were quite different from what he had imagined magic users to be like. Calling them "mystic practitioners" seemed appropriate.
Level 3 Mystic Arts signified that Ian had grasped the basics of spellcasting.
However, due to environmental factors, he could not cast even a single spell!
Through research, Ian discovered that the difference between sorcerers' spells and mutants' X-abilities was significant.
X-abilities functioned by leveraging the X-gene to interact with the world's natural laws, producing extraordinary effects.
Spells, on the other hand, were based on the utilization of magical energy and, in most cases, did not directly engage with the world's fundamental laws.
The reason Ian could not cast spells was that Earth's advanced energy sources were dormant, and physical energy could not be used to power spells.
No wonder Kamar-Taj sorcerers had to form contracts with Vishanti to borrow magical power in the early stages of their training!
Since Earth lacked the energy necessary for spellcasting, they had no choice but to borrow from other dimensions.
However, Ian had no intention of making contracts with mysterious entities of unknown nature. Given his current strength, being unable to use magic was no real loss.
When fully immersed in study, time seemed to pass quickly.
By the time Ian finished studying the library's collection, more than half a year had gone by.
[Spacetime Studies LV4 (33%)]
The difficulty of advancing in Spacetime Studies was far greater than Ian had anticipated. Not only had he failed to reach Level 5, but his progress in Level 4 was only about one-third complete.
Fortunately, he had achieved his main goal—at Level 4, his understanding of spacetime was just enough to support travel through time-stream branches.
When Ian left the library, he once again met the Ancient One.
"Thank you, Master. Here are some of my insights. I hope they may be of use to you," Ian said as he presented a notebook to the Ancient One.
The notebook contained Ian's thoughts and insights on spacetime—his way of offering something in return.
At the Ancient One's level, material possessions were of little value; only new knowledge might provide some inspiration.
Leaving the New York Sanctum, Ian was immediately tracked down and brought back to Cumberland Island.
During the past half-year, nothing major had occurred. Carnegie Alloy Company and Carnegie Mutant Academy had remained peaceful.
However, Ian's prolonged absence had resulted in a massive backlog of work waiting for him.
For an entire day, he was forced to act as a signature machine.
By the second day, he had had enough. He directly handed Elsa an authorization letter.
"Elsa, from now on, you have full authority over these matters. You don't need to report to me!"
It wasn't that he was lazy—he truly had no time!
Really!
The gene implantation technology he had promised John had already been delayed for over six months. If he didn't get it done soon, John would surely pester him to death.
"The Carnegie Laboratory welcomes the boss back! 007 is always at your service!"
As soon as Ian entered the lab, he was greeted by the electronic voice of 007.
007 was the lab's AI assistant—an artificial intelligence program Ian had written after his Information and Electronics Technologies reached Level 4.
"Prepare a simulation lab for me," Ian instructed.
Since there was an available simulation lab, 007 arranged it instantly.
"Understood, boss! Lab No. 7 is ready!"
The simulation lab was equipped with a top-tier supercomputer and matching simulation devices.
Its purpose was for model calculations and computer simulations before actual experiments.
Ian needed the lab to simulate the process of time travel and compute the necessary data models.
Time travel was a precise science. The relevant data models had to be rigorously calculated to ensure a successful transition!
Ordinarily, this would be extremely difficult, but with Spacetime Studies at Level 4, the feasibility of traveling through time-stream branches was already confirmed.
With the answer known, deriving the process became much simpler!
Even with the reduced complexity, the calculations would still take at least several months.
Ian did not keep the simulation a secret, so as the calculations proceeded, more and more people became curious and gathered around.
Time travel was an extremely novel concept, so it was only natural that it attracted attention.
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