When Malrick returned to the Marvel Universe, only sixteen minutes had passed.

He appeared on the training grounds of Kamar-Taj and immediately took stock of himself and the artifacts he carried.

Inside his internal realm, the Time Stone and Space Stone—which had reverted to inert gems while he was in the Wizard World—resumed their normal activity. However, the Time-Turner had lost all functionality. Evidently, magical devices that manipulated time in one universe held no sway in another.

The Resurrection Stone was also rendered useless. Its original function was to summon spirits in a liminal state between life and death, but in the Marvel Universe, souls were governed by entities like Death or the Hell Lords. A single stone couldn't wrest souls from beings of that magnitude.

Still, not everything had lost its value. The Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows, remained intact. That wand, along with the Resurrection Stone, had been a farewell gift from Dumbledore—repayment after Malrick had lent him a magical artifact as a gesture of goodwill. Unable to find items of equal worth, Dumbledore had offered all three Hallows to Kamar-Taj.

Though impressive, these items held little practical use for Malrick. He packed them into a magically expanded suitcase and left them for Mordo to sort out. Then, activating his dimensional travel ability, he locked onto a point six months into the future in the Wizarding World—and disappeared once more.

A few seconds later, Malrick reappeared on the training ground, this time accompanied by four robed figures.

"We're finally back. It's only been six months, but it feels like we've lived an entire lifetime," said Wong, stretching his shoulders.

Malrick chuckled. "Sounds like it was quite the experience."

Six months earlier, when he had returned to Hogwarts, Tony, Banner, Wong, and Mordo were participating in a formal wizarding qualification exam, arranged by the Ministry of Magic to acknowledge their contributions in the fight against Voldemort.

As a gesture of appreciation, the professors at Hogwarts had organized a special exchange program for the four. While officially dubbed a "magic exchange," it had been a rigorous, immersive crash course in wizardry. The timeline was tight—just six months—so their days were packed.

Despite the pressure, their results were impressive.

Tony and Banner had achieved Outstanding (O) marks across all subjects. Wong and Mordo, both seasoned sorcerers, also performed well, but struggled with Potions and Divination, barely passing those with Acceptable (A) ratings.

Malrick could easily imagine their frustration.

While Tony and Banner had taken a relaxed approach—Tony dedicating most of his time to Transfiguration and bloodline potion research, and Banner obsessively exploring magical creatures—Wong and Mordo had buried themselves in study, often working into the late hours.

One professor had even recounted how Banner, in Hulk form, once fought several Graphorns in the southern mountains, utterly destroying their habitat in the process.

Despite their intense effort, Wong and Mordo couldn't outperform the two "casual learners"—a fact that clearly stung.

"Let's not talk about it," Wong said glumly, responding to Malrick's question.

The two sighed heavily. "If we had to do it again, we'd skip Hogwarts altogether."

Of course, they didn't mean that. No mage in their right mind would willingly forgo a chance to study new magic. But compressing five years of magical knowledge into six months had left them mentally and emotionally drained.

"I didn't go to high school," Wong muttered. "So this basically made up for it... painfully."

"No way," Tony smirked, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. "I thought it was a breeze. Honestly, it reminded me of my Ph.D. days at Cambridge."

He tilted his head back nostalgically. "Back then, the lake reflected the shortest skirts and the brightest legs... Hogwarts brought back those good memories. If the witches weren't so young, I might've started a few conversations."

Wong rolled his eyes. "Not all of us were scouting for dates. The only woman I saw regularly was Professor McGonagall."

"Hey, don't forget Professor Trelawney and Professor Sprout," Mordo added dryly. "But clearly, Wong only remembers McGonagall."

The group gave a collective, exaggerated "Ooooh~" and turned to stare at Wong.

"Only McGonagall, huh?" Malrick teased. "I'll admit, the old girl's still got some charm. But Wong... seriously?"

Flustered, Wong snapped, "It was an example! That's not what I meant!"

Even Banner joined in, grinning mischievously. "McGonagall's an Animagus, right? She turns into a cat. I've heard some guys are into that sort of thing..."

"Ohhh, it all makes sense now!" The others burst into laughter, holding their stomachs and leaning on each other.

"You—! You guys—!" Wong stammered, red-faced and speechless.

He wasn't genuinely upset, but he was too flustered to come up with a decent comeback.

"Alright, alright," Malrick said, raising his hand with a grin. "Ease up, guys. If we push any harder, Wong might sneak into our rooms and cast Avada Kedavra tonight."

Wong crossed his arms and muttered, "You'd better sleep with one eye open."

Malrick clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Back to business. Tell me what you've learned these past six months. The real challenge is coming in four months, and I'm counting on all of you."

"Wait, just us four?" Mordo asked. "Aren't there five matches in the trial?"

"True," Malrick replied, "but if all four of you win, there's no need for the fifth round."

Banner raised a hand. "Hang on... the opponents are gods, right? Asgardians?"

"They're referred to as gods, but they're just powerful, long-lived beings," Malrick explained. "You're strong in your own right—especially you, Banner. With the big guy inside, no one in Asgard's next generation can touch you."

Banner scratched his cheek. "Even so, I'd prefer to win using my own strength."

Malrick smiled. "That's fine too. Either way, we'll be ready."

---

Read ahead of WN on patreon.com/Zphyr_