Marvelous Martial Arts (A Marvel Story)

What should have been a shocking revelation rang like a hollow drum. It was completely lost on Minx, who had little to no idea what she was talking about.

As for Mason, he already had suspicions. For everything that had happened with the Eighth City and his own breakthrough, Mason thought there was a possibility that Yao had planned everything, but he was not 100% sure.

A cultivator, by their very nature, was a transgressor, so Mason had taken into account the possibility that shattering his own limits might be something beyond fate.

Yao did not appear disappointed by the lack of reaction, continuing in the same breath, ”Krahllak was an extremely powerful demon, a ruler of its own dimension. It was only after over a million years separated from its dimension that it became what you faced. Still, a being of that level carries an inherent weight, which blurred possibilities. And still, I can say for certain that you never broke through, in any of the futures I saw. So it was not something I could have possibly planned for, and to answer the unspoken accusation, I did not willingly sacrifice the Iron Fist for your advancement.”

The unspoken accusation… she was right. Mason did not care so much about being manipulated himself, because he believed in himself and his own actions, first and foremost. He does what he wants, and if that follows the schemes of one person or the other, good for them, it had nothing to do with him.

Besides, as someone with meta-knowledge, who had a good idea of where the future was headed, he was not as helpless before schemes as he appeared to be.

The one thing that had bothered him was Danny’s death. Mason perfectly understood that every being had to die at some point, that it was the inevitable destination of all life, and that to a point, life lost its meaning without death. But even in death, there was a difference.

A warrior’s death was, for a warrior, something honorable, one of the best deaths possible. But if said warrior had been used as a chess piece to be sacrificed for Mason’s sake, then it took all the meaning away from the warrior’s death, turning it into a joke in bad taste. Something Mason profoundly disliked.

To get the confirmation from Yao that she indeed did not sacrifice Danny for his sake was a relief. He had no reason to think she lied, especially since his Divine Sense told him she was being truthful.

”Alright, fine. I’ll refuse him treatment if he ever comes to me, so long as it is not vital.”

Yao smiled, happy with this resolution. ”And that is all I ask of you.”

She turned to Minx, and offered, ”What about you, Ms. Goldwood? Would you be interested in studying here?”

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Minx’s eyes shot wide open, and she pointed at herself, doubtful, ”Me? You want me to learn magic? Has anyone ever refused?”

Yao nodded towards Mason, and Minx snorted, ”He’s just dense. No normal person would ever say no… unless there are conditions I am not aware of?”

Mason let Yao explain, ”For Mason, it had more to do with the incompatibility between his martial arts and our mystical arts. As for learning magic, there is no cost per se to start learning magic. However, it is true that later down the line, there is a moral obligation to become another defender of this world. This means responding to inter-dimensional threats.”

”A moral obligation, you say?”

Yao smiled helplessly. ”A relatively recent change in the long history of the Mystical Arts. It used to be an iron-clad condition for learning magic that anyone who sought to learn our arts would need to fight against these threats, but we found this often backfired, resulting in many rogue Sorcerers. That is why it has become a moral obligation. For our Sorcerers below the level of Master, they have no obligation other than their own morality to help. The conditions for leaving Kamar-Taj are also quite lax.”

Minx pursed her lips, thinking, then turned towards Mason for his input, asking, ”What do you think?”

Mason shrugged, answering truthfully, ”It’s up to you. What I can tell you is that there’s nothing wrong with this place, or the mystical arts in general. Of course, like any other practice, there is some level of danger to be experienced if you don’t follow the rules, but it would also mean becoming capable of defending yourself. However… what I’m more worried about is your shop. Learning magic is a 24/7 job, not something you can just put on and off.”

Minx opened her mouth, and suddenly the reality of things crashed onto her. It was true that since Mason had suddenly returned earlier in the day, she had felt like she was living in fairy-land, officially getting in a relationship with him, meeting wizards, and even teleporting.

But she had a life beside this. This was nice, and magic certainly was something that appealed to the little girl within her and her current self both, but at the end of the day, her passion lay in tattooing, not magic.

The choice was already half-made within her, but thinking of the opportunity she was missing out on, she gazed at Mason, not sure of what to say. This made Mason grin, lightly kissing her before reassuring her, ”You can just say no. As I said, it’s up to you. I don’t care whether you learn magic or not, I care that you do what you want, what fulfills you. Besides, it’s not like Kamar-Taj is going anywhere.”

Yao nodded with a soft smile, apparently moved by the two, ”Of course, a proposition has no meaning if I don’t accept both answers. I did not mean to pressure you, so you may pretend I never made an offer.”

Minx shook her head, correcting, ”No, it would not be right. It was a good offer, so the least I can do is properly refuse it. I thank you for it, and if you ever need my help, however meager what I can offer may be, please don’t hesitate.”

”Then we shan’t.”

Mason did not mention anything about compensation for helping her with the matter with Strange, and she did not say anything either, because it was not the relationship they had. They were friends, not debtors, so there were no notions of debts between the two of them. They simply helped each other when they could.

Mason and Minx were led out of the Kamar-Taj by the same respectful Apprentice, teleported back to New York, and only as they left the Sanctum Sanctorum did Minx ask, ”You truly don’t think I missed on something I shouldn’t have, right?”

”Stop worrying about it. Yao did not mean to put you on the spot, it’s fine to say no.”

”But I’m asking what you think.”

Mason shrugged, resting an arm around her shoulders. ”I think you did not want to do it, and that’s all I care about. Simple as that.” he held her a little closer. ”I mean it when I say I don’t care whether you have powers or not. As you said, I’m not dating you for powers or status or anything attached to you, I am dating you for you.”