American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

John's 'lair' was an abandoned sewer.

In USA, there are many such sewers, and in some cities, the sewer systems are incredibly vast, resembling a giant maze hidden deep beneath the city. Coincidentally, John's lair was located in a secluded sewer in Hell's Kitchen.

This was a corner of a massive sewer, connected to a World War II-era civilian-built air-raid shelter. Not far from it was an abandoned subway tunnel that had long since turned to ruins.

John's lair was precisely this air-raid shelter. The original owner and builder was none other than John himself. In his early years, he committed many misdeeds and provoked a multitude of enemies, so during that time, he spent a lot of money and effort to secretly build safe houses in various places.

This air-raid shelter was one of his safe houses. It was also his secret place to practice magic. In such a place, studying knowledge from different dimensions wouldn't be disturbed by anyone.

As Alex walked into the air-raid shelter, he immediately saw all kinds of strange symbols written in blood on the walls. These symbols were bizarre and irregular, some even looking like random doodles.

Seeing Alex's curiosity, John, like an old servant, began to explain. "These symbols possess great power and can support a barrier to prevent other wizards from detecting this place. You know, I've been hiding my identity for many years and don't want to be disturbed."

As the group entered, the lamps on the walls lit up one by one, almost like infrared lights. But when Alex looked closer, he realized they were nothing more than ordinary candle holders.

The flames on those candles were ignited suddenly, without anyone touching them. Alex didn't see any traces of technology on the candle holders, which indicated this was indeed the legendary magic.

"These flames are from energies of other dimensions. The candles are merely a medium. When I return here, the magic channels are connected, so they light up spontaneously," John explained, feeling like a tour guide.

Following the direction illuminated by the candles, a structure resembling an altar appeared before Alex and the others. On the ground was a large magic circle drawn in blood. Scattered on the ground were some ancient-looking books, extending all the way to the bookshelf in the corner.

Seeing this dark, hidden place beneath the city, a look of delight appeared on Alex's face. This bloody and frightening environment, along with the nauseating smells in the air, finally felt like forbidden magic!

"How should we start?" Alex asked casually.

"Uh," John was taken aback by the sudden question, not expecting Alex to be so eager. After a moment of thought, he tentatively asked, "What would you like to learn?"

"Anything is fine. I actually know nothing about magic, but I'm very fascinated by the magical world, so you're responsible for teaching me how to use magic," Alex said calmly.

"Alright, I'll do my best," John replied with a compliant smile, though cursing Alex countless times in his heart.

Quickly organizing his knowledge of magic, John said rapidly, "Since this is your first time encountering magic, I think we should start with the basics of magic. What do you think?"

"Mm." Alex found a place to sit down and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, the old vampire took several deep breaths, trying to get into the teacher's mindset. After a moment, he organized his thoughts and began his lecture.

"Magic, in the simplest terms, is a way of converting energy. Just as science has its various laws and principles, magic also has its own set of rules.

As wizards who use magic, we essentially use special methods to extract energy from other things and then convert it into different forms to cast corresponding spells. This is the underlying principle of magic and its most basic rule."

Listening to John's explanation, Alex had a sudden thought. If he could use magic to convert energy, could he use his own power to recharge the timepad?

Unaware of Alex's distraction, John continued. "The origins of magic trace back to the ancient gods of Earth. However, there are magical abilities passed down from ancient gods in other corners of the universe as well. Most of these have been lost and are incomprehensible, so we primarily focus on Earth magic."

"White magic on Earth originated from Vishanti, the legendary first beings of Earth, namely the three ancient gods Oshtur, Hoggoth, and Agamotto. Black magic, on the other hand, comes from another ancient god, Chthon, who is said to be the creator of all dark beings. However, many within the vampire community do not acknowledge this."

"White magic and black magic are not very different in terms of energy conversion, but the spells they produce are vastly different. One excels at defense, while the other is better for offense. Nowadays, most wizards focus on studying black magic."

"There are many ways to cast spells, but the basic problem is energy conversion. Without strong energy as a supply, the consequences of casting a spell will befall the caster. In this state, losing limbs is common, and some may even lose their lives."

Alex listened calmly. This was knowledge he normally wouldn't have access to. Pietro and Kara also stood quietly nearby, curious about these magical secrets.

In the entire lair, only John's voice echoed, continuously explaining some common principles of magic.

"In order to cast spells without harming themselves, wizards must master the ability to transfer this damage to other things or directly extract strong energy to cast spells. This makes the damage and energy consumption proportional and cancels each other out."

Hearing this, Alex thoughtfully asked, "So if I want to learn magic, I must first manage to transfer the damage caused by magic or use other powerful energies to offset it, right?"

"Yes," John nodded slowly.

"Some wizards sign contracts with lords from other dimensions to cast powerful spells, but they ultimately become the minions of those powerful beings. As a vampire wizard, I usually cast spells through sacrifices, and sometimes by stealing energy from other dimensions."

Alex thought for a moment and then stood up.

"In that case, show me."

.....

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79. Wind of Calamity.
80. The First Time Casting Magic.
81. The One Rejected by Hell.
82. The Witch.
83. Summoning the Elder God.