Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

Balthazar scrutinized George. But sensing no magical aura from him, he grew doubtful of George's claim to be a wizard.

Noticing Balthazar's obvious distrust, George opened his palm, and a ball of fire instantly appeared in it.

"Whoa! What kind of trick is that?" Dave exclaimed in disbelief.

George closed his palm, extinguishing the fire, and gave Balthazar a harmless smile before saying to Dave, "One day, Dave, you'll be doing far more impressive things."

Perhaps out of confidence in his strength, and because George had accurately called him by name and showed goodwill, Balthazar chose to address Dave's problem first.

In the world of magic, what mortals call coincidence is simply fate at work.

Balthazar glanced at George and then, choosing to ignore him for now, said to Dave, "Come here, Dave."

Dave obediently walked to the opposite side of the counter and watched as Balthazar pulled out a dusty wooden box from within it.

Balthazar opened the lid, revealing a silver dragon shaped ornament resting quietly inside. He gently picked it up, held it in his left palm, and offered it to Dave, saying, "This is very magical. If it likes you, it's yours."

Although Dave was attracted to the silver ornament, he hesitated out of caution. "This isn't good. My teacher told me not to be away for too long. She knows I'm here."

"You're really bad at lying, Dave," Balthazar chuckled, "but that's okay."

Looking at the shabby shop owner and the man who had just performed the fire trick, Dave decided it was best to leave. He took two steps back and turned to exit the shop.

Meanwhile, George was busy admiring the ornaments on display. He picked up various items, using his time reversal ability to check their authenticity, uninterested in the conversation between the teacher and apprentice.

George had just picked up a curious hourglass when Balthazar returned, dusting off a thick old book.

With a single thought, Balthazar made the magic shop's door close automatically.

"Oh my God!" Dave realized what this meant and reluctantly returned to the counter to accept the silver dragon shaped ornament from Balthazar's hand.

At this moment, George also halted his actions, and all three people in the room focused intently on the silver ornament in Dave's palm.

Suddenly, the silver little dragon, which was just an ornament moments before, sprang to life in Dave's hand like a real dragon. It shook its body, crawled onto Dave's finger, wrapped its tail around it, and hugged itself with its wings, forming a ring.

George could distinctly sense Balthazar's relief and Dave's disbelief at this spectacle.

"This is impossible!" Dave exclaimed, gazing at the animated ring on his finger.

"I've searched for a long time, and magically, you are right here. The ring you wear is very significant, Dave. It means that in the future, you will become a very important magician. Your first lesson begins now. First, you must have your magic manual. Don't move, and don't touch anything."

Excited, Balthazar suddenly stopped paying attention to George and rushed off to the Underground Room to retrieve the magic manual for Dave.

While Balthazar was away, Dave started examining the magical ring on his finger.

In the quiet room, a faint rattle echoed from beneath the counter.

Perhaps too much time had passed, causing the seal of Horvath, the God of Death's Hand nesting doll seal, to weaken. The nesting doll sensed the ring's unusual energy and began colliding in its secret compartment.

This unusual noise quickly caught Dave's attention, and upon discovering that he could control the impact with the ring, he instinctively increased the force.

"If I were you, I'd stop what I'm doing," George said, eyeing the rattling doll. "Unless you like surprises."

"What is that?" Dave asked, turning to George.

"I think Balthazar will explain these things to you later. But don't forget what he just said: don't touch anything. To be honest, I'm quite curious about why Balthazar has so many alchemical items in his shop," George said as he casually set down an ornament he had been holding.

"That's because ordinary people can't use those items at all," Balthazar said, returning just in time to see the fallen books. He looked at George and added, "Thank you. It's better to explain some things to him clearly."

"As you wish," George replied with a smile.

Balthazar approached Dave and placed a large book in front of him. "From now on, this will be your magic manual. This manual serves as our textbook, teaching the art, technology, and history of the magic world, including modern history. Do you see? This is you."

Saying this, he opened the magic book and turned to the page that recorded Dave.

"Now we begin our second lesson," Balthazar announced, ready to continue his teaching.

George interrupted again, "Balthazar, while I would love to hear your lecture, and I understand your eagerness, shouldn't you take Dave's age into consideration?"

After George finished speaking, he pointed to Dave, who was completely bewildered, indicating to Balthazar that Dave was still a child.

"Of course, how you teach your apprentice is your business. I'm just offering a suggestion," George added casually, yet his tone carried subtle authority.

"Dave? Dave?" a shout rang out.

"Uh, sir, I think my teacher is looking for me, so I have to go now. I really appreciate your gift, and your magic show was amazing. Goodbye, sirs." Dave gestured while slowly backing towards the door.

"Goodbye, Dave," George waved as he bid farewell to the young boy.

Dave turned around, quickly walked a few steps, opened the shop door from the inside, and then ran out.

As for how Dave would explain his absence to his classmates and teacher, that was something he would need to figure out.

"Balthazar, let me reintroduce myself: George Orwell Swent, heir to a reclusive family," George began, brushing off a bit of dust from his sleeve. "As you've seen, I'm also a wizard. For certain reasons, I need a mentor to teach me magic from scratch. So, Mr. Balthazar, I wonder if you would be willing."

George spoke with calm confidence, choosing to keep his true identity vague. Discretion was sometimes more powerful than full disclosure.

"George Orwell Swent? A reclusive family? How have I never heard of them?" Balthazar asked while tidying up the books that had just fallen.

"Because we rarely go out, it's normal that you haven't heard of us," George replied with a light chuckle.

As Balthazar continued straightening the books, he glanced over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in teaching apprentices. Only Dave."

"Don't refuse so quickly. I can offer something in exchange," George suggested with a friendly but unreadable smile.

"You might be disappointed; I'm not interested in money or material things," Balthazar declined again.

"Not interested in eliminating Morgana either?" George asked, lightly tapping the counter.

"You can eliminate Morgana?" Balthazar's voice carried a mix of doubt and intrigue. He wasn't shocked George knew about her. Any serious student of magic would. But the claim of being able to defeat her was bold.

"Of course. It might be difficult for others, but for me, it's not very challenging," George replied, keeping his posture relaxed but deliberate.

"Then how can I trust you?" Balthazar asked, folding his arms.

"That's the key. You see, if I had any bad intentions, I could have taken out the God of Death's Hand from there just now, couldn't I?" George gestured with his eyes toward the location where the artifact was stored.

"Boom!" The stack of books that had just been tidied up fell to the ground again, and the God of Death's Hand appeared in Balthazar's hand.

A shadow of concern passed over Balthazar's face. George saw it.

"If you're worried, I can provide you with the method," George offered. "If you're well prepared, you can complete this task yourself. I'm not here to impress. I'm here to assist."

"Impossible! Only the Supreme Merlin can eliminate Morgana," Balthazar stated with certainty.

"Heh heh, that was a thousand years ago. Since you know that magic and science can be unified, just check out nuclear power plants," George said. "These days, reactors do what spell circles used to. There's plenty of electricity there. Eliminating Morgana is not a problem at all."

Just as George was about to elaborate further, Balthazar interrupted, "I may not like going out, but that doesn't mean I don't read newspapers. So I know what a nuclear power plant is. However, Morgana's magic is too powerful; once she senses a problem, she can escape at any time. We simply can't stop her."

George smiled, not dismissively, but as someone who already had a few steps mapped ahead in his mind. "Then we'll just have to make sure she doesn't see the problem coming."

Then George drew a magic circle with energy in the open space between them, instructing Balthazar to step inside and try it himself.

"By Supreme Merlin?! Casting without a medium?" Balthazar exclaimed, genuinely astonished.

"No, I just got lucky and received a family inheritance," George replied calmly. "But my foundation is weak, which is why I wanted to find someone to teach me."

Balthazar regarded George for a moment, then walked toward the center of the magic circle. As George raised his hand, an energy shield enveloped Balthazar. Inside the shield, Balthazar attempted to attack it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through.

"How about it? Solid enough, right?" George asked as he dispelled the confinement spell.

"Not bad. I can promise you that I'll teach you magic after we eliminate Morgana."

"Deal," George said, nodding with quiet resolve.

That day, George and Balthazar began making preparations and, for this purpose, found a secluded place. Unbeknownst to them, the very next day, Dave stumbled upon the magic shop again. He wanted to confirm if what he had seen before was real, but unfortunately, he just missed George and Balthazar.

Looking at the tightly locked magic shop, Dave had no choice but to leave disappointed.

It wasn't until a week later that George, Balthazar, and a woman reappeared at the magic shop. This woman was none other than Balthazar's beloved, Veronica, finally freed after years of being sealed by Morgana's magic.

The entire God of Death's Hand had captured many magicians under Morgana's influence. But George saw no sense in killing them all. Instead, he released them one by one and extracted their magic power.

George stripped them of their abilities and made minor changes to their minds. These individuals were left to live ordinary lives. Morgana, however, was beyond redemption.

George and Balthazar ultimately defeated her. Her ambition to destroy the world made her survival unacceptable.

Veronica, desiring a peaceful life, chose not to go into seclusion after reuniting with Balthazar. Instead, they continued operating the magic shop together. Balthazar, now more at peace, resumed teaching both George and Dave.

"Did you know that, in modern science, it's often said we use only a small portion of our brain's potential?" Balthazar began during a lesson.

"Well, magicians tap into their brain in a fundamentally different way. They engage neural pathways at a higher level, giving them access to and control over magical energy."

"For now, just focus on the basics. For example, what makes fire ignite?"

"It's vibration," Dave answered quickly.

"Exactly. Everything we perceive is constantly vibrating; solidity is just an illusion..." Balthazar continued.

"Merlin's Ring helps gather and channel energy. Step into the circle and clear your mind."

"Your ring is not just a decoration. It focuses the electrical energy from your nervous system and projects it onto the environment. Without the ring, a magician loses that conduit."

Under Balthazar's guidance, George made rapid progress. Dave also showed talent due to his Merlin bloodline. Still, because of his age, Balthazar had him focus on meditation and mental discipline.

George also made a point to find the boy who had been performing simple tricks in the original plot. Now a teen, the boy still didn't value the magical text in his possession. George bought the manual from him at a price too reasonable to refuse.

Balthazar later gifted George another advanced manual. Through study, George learned that becoming immortal through magic was nearly impossible without external assistance.

The magic system in this world ranged from level 1 to level 1000. Level 1 users could barely ignite flames, while level 1000 magicians, known as Plane Gods, had created their own dimension of magic and attained immortality.

Merlin had reached level 999 and formed a plane using his source magic. However, he failed to fully unify his body and magic, which led to betrayal and death at the hands of his disciple.

Balthazar, who Merlin had cursed to live until he found a worthy successor, had reached level 777 after more than a millennium, underscoring the difficulty of the path. For ordinary magicians, the goal was nearly unreachable.

George began to understand the deeper mechanics of Merlin's curse. At level 999, Merlin had control over the plane he created, and through the curse, that authority passed to Balthazar, granting him a form of immortality.

Dave, however, inherited this power more directly through his bloodline. When he wore Merlin's Ring, he not only accessed that authority but also connected to the magic plane's energy itself, explaining his natural ability to cast spells without a medium.

This concept reminded George of similar figures in the Marvel Universe. Dormammu, for example, was originally a sorcerer who discovered the Dark Dimension. By surrendering his physical form, he became one of the most powerful dark magic entities.

However, George theorised that if someone cultivated their magic plane from the start, they wouldn't need to abandon their body. Even ancient entities like Chthon retained physical forms despite their immense power.

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