Actually, what Luca wanted to say was:
Since the Ancient One needed something called a [Hexcore], then why not just give himself four different types of magical runes? And if possible, maybe even "borrow" a small arc reactor from Tony Stark too.
That way, he might be able to synthesize a [Hexcore] on the spot and make a trade with her.
It would save a powerhouse like the Ancient One the trouble of waiting around.
But who would have thought, without even saying a word, Ancient One just vanished into thin air?
"These powerful people… they all talk in damn riddles!"
He grumbled internally, but he did have a few guesses as to why the Ancient One wanted the [Hexcore].
According to the lore, most of the sorcerers in the Marvel universe don't actually possess magical powers themselves.
In the Marvel universe, most sorcerers don't actually possess magical powers themselves.
They need to borrow power from magical beings from other dimensions. Since it's borrowed, naturally—it must be returned.
If the sources come from good beings like the Vishanti, it's not too bad.
But if it comes from beings like Dormammu, even a little power can corrupt sorcerers, turning them into mindless puppets...
The [Hexcore], on the other hand, is essentially an infinite magical energy source.
Luca didn't really know where the power came from.
While thinking about all this stuff, Luca looked one more time toward Stark Tower.
Then, he happened to see Loki picking up the Tesseract from the ground. He didn't even need to look closely to notice something strange.
The Tesseract in Loki's hand was radiating a brilliant white light—brighter than anything the other [core components] had shown before.
That white glow was so intense that it even seemed to overshadow the natural brilliance of the Tesseract itself.
Even from a distance, Luca instinctively took two steps closer.
But before he could do anything, Loki had already taken advantage of the chaos and slipped away through a portal, vanishing from the scene.
'What is the core component... Space Stone or the Tesseract itself?'
'That kind of white glow just now... probably meant something incredible. What a shame.'
Luca shook his head with a sigh and picked up his backpack from the ground.
"Well, I can't get my hands on it for now anyway... It's probably better to wait until I'm stronger before messing with something so powerful."
Right now, even if he had gotten such a treasure, Luca wouldn't be strong enough to keep it safe.
Thinking this, Luca followed the crowd of people running away after Hulk scared everyone and started heading home too.
'Even though I've decided not to get involved in this mess, Loki's escape already means the future has deviated from what I remember. And since this world clearly isn't the same as the MCU Universe, I guess I shouldn't trust the plot too much anymore."
At the very least, Luca recalled that the Bifrost Bridge in Asgard should currently still be broken right now..
Originally, Thor was supposed to use the Tesseract to repair the Bifrost. But now that the Tesseract was gone, it would be much harder for Thor to travel back and forth to Earth.
There was also the matter from Avengers: Endgame, where Captain America supposedly returned all the Infinity Stones.
But back then, Steve took Loki's scepter, which contained the Mind Stone, yet what he returned was just the stone itself, separated from the scepter.
That little difference could mess up how things are supposed to happen.
Still, Luca knew he wasn't strong or significant enough to change any of that. Even if he noticed something going wrong, he couldn't really do anything about it yet.
As he kept speculating about how all of this might change the future, Luca finally made it back to the front of his apartment building.
Other than nearly being mistaken a few times for an injured civilian and dragged off to an evacuation area by rescue workers, he hadn't run into any real trouble.
Glancing briefly into the alley, Luca didn't see the returning members of the Future Avengers, so he prepared to head upstairs.
But just then, Luca noticed several emergency medical workers quickly carrying a stretcher out from inside the building.
And walking right beside the stretcher… was a strong, tough-looking middle-aged woman, someone Luca actually recognized.
"Aunt Samira?"
Luca hurried forward a few steps.
The woman he had just called "Auntie Samira" turned around at the sound of his voice, then rushed over and wrapped him tightly in a hug.
"Master Luca, I thought… I thought you might have been…"
This woman's name was Samira Beletskaya. She worked as both the driver and bodyguard for the Orange family.
She had a very close relationship with Luca's mother, Gina Orange, and used to be an ex-soldier who had fought in wars before choosing to retire and work as a driver.
In any case, as far back as Luca could remember, Samira had been by his mother's side since he was very young.
She didn't have relatives or close friends and was probably the most trustworthy person in his parents' inner circle.
Luca looked over her shoulder to see who was on the stretcher. Sure enough, the person lying on the stretcher was his mother—Gina.
"She still hasn't woken up…? Luckily, the rescue team made it in time..."
Luca felt a little guilty in his heart for leaving his mom when she was badly hurt and unconscious, but he quickly pushed that feeling away.
Samira, still holding onto Luca, looked at his face as he stared at the stretcher, and her eyes filled with worry and sadness.
"The master is already... gone, but thank goodness you're safe, Young Master Luca!"
She gently supported Luca's right arm, the one now missing a prosthetic.
She clearly wanted to ask where he had been, but in the end, she just closed her mouth and didn't say anything.
Luca noticed this and shook his head slightly.
"I just got lost on the street earlier. Anyway, how's my mother doing now?"
Luca figured Samira had likely just arrived from the company, but at least she had seen the medics carry Gina out on the stretcher. She should have some idea of Gina's current condition.
Having come from the battlefield herself, Samira quickly pushed down her emotions at Luca's question and explained calmly.
"She has some injuries on her body, but they've already been bandaged. As for the cause of her unconsciousness, they don't know yet. We'll have to wait until she gets to the hospital for more detailed tests."
"Thankfully, the rescue team arrives quickly. As for whether a private medical team will need to step in later, we'll have to wait for the initial results."
Luca nodded at her words.
"Dad…"
"...The master's body has already been recovered. The Disaster Control Department will coordinate with a private medical team to take care of it."
"And what about the company?"
"The downtown branch wasn't really affected by the invasion..."
As they spoke back and forth, the two of them boarded the ambulance, and it drove off toward the hospital.
...
150 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
250 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
450 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
2000 Power Stones = 3 Extra Chapters