Marvel: You Call This A Sorcerer?

Ronan said this from the bottom of his heart.

At least, thirty percent of it was heartfelt.

Last time, he actually wanted to take a look inside the Time Variance Authority (TVA).

It was just that, firstly, time didn't allow it, and secondly, Ronan was in a rush to watch some excitement.

So, he put it out of his mind.

He thought the TVA wouldn't show up again, or at least wouldn't make any trouble in the short term.

But unexpectedly, they appeared again so soon.

Just as Ronan was praising the Ancient One for her keen judgment, the TVA agents seemed to notice something unusual.

"The temporal coordinates are right here."

"At this point in time, a succubus was supposed to infiltrate the human world."

"But somehow, it opened the gates of Hell, summoning a whole bunch of demons to Earth."

One of the TVA agents looked around, visibly confused.

Where was the supposed "bunch of demons"?

Why were only the corpses of demons left?

And...

"Captain, the succubus causing the timeline anomaly is gone."

"If no one else arrived before us, it must have been killed."

"But, who killed it?"

Another TVA agent posed a question that made Ronan scratch his head.

Look over here, people.

Two living beings are standing not far from you; how can you not see us?

Also, why does Ronan feel like he's gone back to the last century when they take out that "palm-sized computer"?

Isn't the TVA supposed to have advanced technology?

Why does it look worse than one of Tony Stark's small inventions?

"Teacher, it seems like you know these people?"

Ronan secretly glanced at the Ancient One, noticing she wasn't the least bit surprised.

She seemed to have known about these people all along.

"I met them once decades ago, so I know a bit about them."

The Ancient One's expression seemed somewhat nostalgic, though it was unclear what had happened all those years ago.

But since the Ancient One knew about this organization, it also meant the TVA wasn't all that powerful.

"Either way, let's reset the timeline here first."

With that, the squad captain took out a device and placed it on the ground.

Ronan had seen this device before; they used it when capturing Loki.

It seemed to erase timeline branches.

Of course, it merely eliminated branches and didn't significantly impact the main timeline.

As the device emitted a burst of light, Ronan felt his brain pause for a second before returning to normal.

He looked at the Ancient One, confused.

"Does it feel like it didn't affect you?"

The Ancient One seemed to read Ronan's mind.

Ronan nodded, even wondering if the device was malfunctioning.

Normally, if the timeline was reset, Ronan's memories might have changed too.

The memories of the demons should have been erased entirely since, in the normal timeline flow, they weren't supposed to exist at this point in time.

But not only did Ronan retain his memory, his experience points even remained intact.

What did that mean?

"I've told you, you are the unique one."

"So, in a way, time has a different meaning for you compared to ordinary people."

"Look over there."

The Ancient One gestured for Ronan to look afar.

The tourists who had fled were now back on the beach.

At some point, the demon corpses and bloodstains had disappeared from the beach.

Hmm?

A desktop cleanup master?

Could the TVA actually be a cleaning company?

"Their abilities certainly work on ordinary people."

"That's also why I sent Wong and the others back to rest."

"Because, in their memories, nothing that just happened exists. Maybe one night they'll dream of this scene, but it will just be a dream."

The Ancient One finally revealed her initial intention.

The reason she kept Ronan was so he could witness all of this.

To ordinary people, the TVA was like gods.

Even for Loki, it was the same.

Loki was a so-called "god," but only because of his long lifespan, essentially just an alien gene.

Asgard, in terms of timelines, was just a longer-lived version of humanity.

So, in that sense, Loki was no different from Wong.

"Got it."

Ronan nodded; he mostly understood.

Although he still didn't fully grasp the meaning of being "the unique one," he knew that he wasn't like an ordinary person.

At least, in this situation, he was similar to the Ancient One.

"They're leaving."

"Don't you want to see that place for yourself?"

The Ancient One smiled at Ronan.

"Teacher, are you interested in that place?"

Ronan keenly caught the underlying meaning in the Ancient One's words.

However, she nodded, then shook her head.

"I am interested in that place, but I can't go myself."

"If I went, it would trigger some unnecessary chain reactions."

"So, you're undoubtedly the most suitable one to go."

Ronan nodded, understanding what she meant.

If the Ancient One went with him, they probably wouldn't be facing mere foot soldiers.

Perhaps, the moment they entered, they'd be up against some major boss.

"Alright then, Teacher, I'll go."

The Ancient One smiled and nodded, watching as Ronan stepped through the mystic portal.

When he reappeared, Ronan was already behind the TVA agents.

In legend, the sneak attack is an essential tactic.

Pow!

A swift karate chop.

Ronan directly knocked out the speaking captain.

Everything seemed to happen in a flash.

"Who are you?!"

Another TVA agent reacted immediately, pointing her weapon at Ronan.

The time controller in her hand started beeping.

It displayed a few words: Unable to Identify.

But Ronan had vanished from her sight.

"Don't be nervous; I'm just hitching a ride."

"Anger is bad for your liver."

"So save your intact liver for escaping."

With that, Ronan threw a couple of punches, gifting the TVA agent a pair of panda eyes.

As for the last agent, he tried to escape into the portal, but Ronan grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

"No rush, friend, let's have a chat."

"Leaving in such a hurry, doesn't it make us Earthlings seem like bad hosts?"

The Mirror Dimension instantly dragged the agent in.

Before she could react, Ronan cast an illusion within the Mirror Dimension.

"Come on, friend, let's bare our hearts to each other."

In the illusion, Ronan became the agent's comrade, the two fighting against demons at this point in time.

They fought fiercely, becoming each other's last hope.

Finally, during the last battle, unable to withstand the onslaught of demons, they were close to defeat. As Ronan's friend, she was told to return to headquarters for reinforcements.

Ronan stayed behind to buy time.

After arguing for over ten minutes, the agent tearfully opened her time controller.

She expertly pressed a few buttons.

Finally, after a tearful farewell, she stepped through the portal and left.

And the next second, she woke up.

The TVA agent looked around, bewildered.

Wasn't she at the TVA?

Why was she still here?

"Thanks, you're a real pal."

Ronan gave a thumbs-up and knocked the final soldier unconscious.

He took the time controllers from them, quickly pressing a few buttons and setting the time.

From the illusion, Ronan learned that these soldier-like agents were called "Minute Men" at the TVA.

Those sitting in front of old-fashioned computers monitoring time were called "Timekeepers."

The former were field agents; the latter were office workers.

The portal opened, and Ronan looked back at the Ancient One.

"Stay safe. You may find it uncomfortable there," she said with a smile.

Ronan nodded, stepping through the portal.

As the portal closed, the Ancient One's smile faded.

Looking at the three unconscious TVA agents, her face became emotionless as she extended her hands. A wisp of magic turned into a rope, wrapping around the agents.

She then flew into the sky, heading toward the deep ocean.

Splash, splash, splash.

With three splashes, the sea returned to its calm state.

On the other side.

After crossing the portal, Ronan finally saw the TVA for the first time.

People bustled through the corridor of the main hall, each looking busy.

Most were field agents, too preoccupied to pay attention to the newcomer.

Numerous portals opened and closed simultaneously, as if something major was happening.

Observing his surroundings, Ronan spotted a familiar face.

A woman who looked very much like Peggy Carter, wearing a uniform similar to Captain America's, was being escorted by two agents in a particular direction.

The Peggy look-alike was struggling, while the agent following her was holding a Tesseract.

However, the Space Stone inside was dim, seemingly affected by the TVA's rules.

Seeing this scene, Ronan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

If Steve Rogers were here, he'd probably question everything.

His girlfriend became Captain America?

And got captured!

But soon, Ronan shook his head and dismissed it.

This had nothing to do with his purpose today.

Ronan casually grabbed someone in a shirt—clearly an office worker.

After some "friendly" questioning for a detailed map, Ronan allowed the guy to sleep.

These people had been working tirelessly for centuries, staring at screens 24/7, afraid of any danger.

Even capitalists would shed tears.

So, Ronan let him rest.

Based on the information provided by the timekeeper, Ronan arrived at an office.

Inside, everyone wore identical uniforms, and Ronan quickly spotted a familiar face.

Yes, the one who appeared multiple times in the TV series.

This guy seemed used to it.

Seeing a stranger, he immediately gave Ronan a French military salute.

Perfectly executed.

Satisfied, Ronan patted his shoulder, motioning for him to open the drawer.

The man cooperated, pulling open his drawer.

Just as Ronan had seen, it contained several glowing Infinity Stones.

If Thanos knew about this, he'd probably do something drastic and get himself caught here.

Then he could simply pick out the Infinity Stones he desired.

"Where did these come from?"

Ronan pointed to the Infinity Stones, asking kindly.

"These stones? I don't know; they're brought back by the field agents."

"We mostly use them as paperweights."

The timekeeper shook his head, looking innocent.

Paperweights...

Ronan smirked.

No wonder Loki had that look of shattered belief when watching the show.

Anyone seeing these would be confused.

It's like the goddess you've longed for, done everything to win over, only to be unsuccessful, even turning yourself into a pathetic admirer.

Then one day, you find out there's some guy who's with your goddess every day to the point he's tired of her.

At that moment, your once aloof goddess turns into a social butterfly open to everyone but you.

How would you feel?

Thinking about it, Ronan couldn't help feeling sorry.

"Can these things still work?"

As he said this, Ronan felt something was off.

He had a feeling that the analogy he just made was quite inappropriate.

Ever since he thought of that analogy, the word "work" seemed to take on a different meaning.

"Work?"

"How?"

The timekeeper looked utterly clueless.

Ronan rolled his eyes. He knew asking was pointless.

In this place, Infinity Stones were essentially useless junk.

Plus, if Ronan guessed right, these stones were probably defective.

"Do you have gloves that can hold these stones?"

Ronan asked about the Infinity Gauntlet.

The timekeeper paused, then quickly reacted.

"We do. How many do you need?"

He opened a storage locker behind him, filled with Infinity Gauntlets.

Ronan's face darkened. Why were there more gauntlets than stones?

Did every Thanos in every universe snap their fingers and destroy their stones?

And then did every universe's heroes try to save the past and create a new future?

At least it saved Ronan some time.

He casually picked out a pair of left and right Infinity Gauntlets, chose twelve Infinity Stones from the drawer, and embedded them all.

Opening the time controller again, Ronan chose a random timeline.

Then he jumped over.

Year 2077, Lamentis-1.

This cyberpunk-like world indeed looked spectacular.

Full of that industrial wasteland style, it was a brand-new version Ronan had never experienced.

Of course, he wasn't here for the scenery.

He took out the Infinity Gauntlet he brought and put it on his right hand.

For a moment, Ronan couldn't help feeling a bit nervous.

He was already prepared to face the immense power of the six Infinity Stones.

If anything went wrong, he'd remove the gauntlet immediately.

After all, wearing just the Space Stone back then had torn his left hand's muscles for several days.

Quickly, the six Infinity Stones began to emit a faint glow inside the gauntlet!

Ronan knew this glow all too well!

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