"I collected some magical creatures while I was at Hogwarts," Banner said. "They can assist me in battle, so I was wondering—could I take on the role of a Beastmaster-type mage?"
"Sounds like you gained quite a lot?" Lyon tilted his head.
"Well.. Not bad." Banner lifted a leather suitcase in his hand.
"Headmaster Dumbledore introduced me to an old wizard named Newt Scamander.
He's a great guy and a well-known naturalist. He taught me a lot about magical creatures.
This suitcase was a gift from him.
Inside, there's a massive space—with deserts, wastelands, wetlands, and even grasslands.
Over the past six months, I've raised quite a few magical creatures in there.
Both Hulk and I love them—and, well… most of them like us too.
...Of course, Graphorns and Nundus are exceptions.
They're a bit scared of Hulk—since he punched them once and also liked grabbing their horns and riding them around all day."
Banner looked a bit sheepish. "I should've asked first if I was even allowed to bring them back."
"But you all saw it when we were saying goodbye—Hulk wouldn't stop hugging Professor Hagrid. I didn't even get a chance to step out."
Hulk really loved the young wizards and Hagrid.
Especially Hagrid—the half-giant probably gave Hulk a sense of having a big brother of his own kind.
"There's no need to apologize for that. But—you've mentioned all these magical creatures by name… shouldn't you take us inside the suitcase to see them?" Lyon looked at the leather case with interest.
Dr. Banner was more than happy to oblige.
He unlatched the suitcase, allowing the four of them to step in one by one.
As they climbed down through the suitcase's entrance, they arrived inside a small wooden cabin. A ladder extended from the opening above.
The space inside was modest—there was a small table cluttered with magical materials, and beside it, a double wooden door.
Tony stepped forward and pushed open the doors.
Immediately, a vast moonlit grassland stretched out before them.
A mysterious wind, from who knows where, rippled through the grass, revealing small creatures hidden among the blades.
They had long necks, large eyes, and looked like adorably fluffy alpacas.
Further in the distance, skeletal black creatures with bat-like wings descended from the sky.
Nearby, several beings with the front half of an eagle and the back half of a horse stood resting peacefully.
Looking further out—There were giant birds dancing among thunderclouds atop mountain peaks, and massive beasts roaring as they emerged from the forests…
"Magic is truly incredible. This entire space is divided into different zones—not only does the environment change, but even the weather can be different in each area."
Banner explained, "This moonlit grassland is mainly for Mooncalves, Thestrals, and Hippogriffs."
"Further out, there are sunlit regions, home to Thunderbirds, Graphorns, Nifflers, and Bowtruckles."
He then had Wong take out magical broomsticks, a gift from Dumbledore.
With that, the group mounted their brooms and flew across the entire suitcase dimension, exploring the different zones.
They saw more than thirty species of magical creatures before finally leaving, still reluctant to end their tour.
Back at Kamar-Taj, Lyon gave a thumbs-up. "Banner, I fully support your plan to fight as a Beastmaster now."
"With so many magical creatures helping you, defeating an Asgardian warrior is not out of the question."
"Besides, Beastmasters don't have to fight hand-to-hand. If things get rough, just let Hulk step in."
Banner nodded. "I'll do it. This is basically an Earth vs. Alien diplomatic event, right? Like the Olympics—where strength represents national power."
"No, you've got it wrong," Tony corrected him with a serious expression. "This isn't the Olympics—this is a joint live-combat drill."
"The Asgardians' bodies are their weapons—the equivalent of our guns and ammunition. This duel is really just a way for both sides to test each other's true capabilities."
Tony looked at Lyon. "Lyon, proposing this duel to establish Earth's voice in negotiations was a brilliant idea."
"In Asgard's eyes, Earth is nothing more than a planet under their rule."
"It's about time we made our voices heard—and showed them that Earth is no longer the backward world it was thousands of years ago!"
"Well… having a say in things is important…" Lyon could almost feel himself getting swept up in Tony's sudden surge of enthusiasm.
But this duel actually had nothing to do with status or political influence.
Those issues had already been settled the first time Lyon met Odin.
Back then, they had a brief mental sparring match—and Odin had come up short.
That was all it took for Odin to acknowledge his strength and respect his position.
So in truth, this duel really was just an Olympic-style competition—a friendly exchange, nothing more.
But Tony, hearing Lyon's response, only nodded as if he had just confirmed his suspicions. He bit his finger. "So that's why we absolutely have to win this duel!"
"You just said no one in Asgard's younger generation could defeat Hulk."
"That means my Mark 8 should also be able to secure at least one guaranteed win."
He continued analyzing, "That just leaves Wong and Mordo… between the two of them, we only need one more victory."
"No, we need to be even more careful," Tony cut himself. "I spent a long time at Hogwarts studying Transfiguration."
"This time, I'm going to combine the technology in my AI system with Transformation Magic to create an even stronger suit of armor!"
Clearly, he was still fixated on improving his armor. "Send me back first, Lyon. We only have four months, I need to speed up my progress!"
Lyon tried to explain, "There's actually no need to rush. In fact, I've already—"
But Tony cut him off. "How can we not rush? The sooner I develop the new suit, the higher our chances of winning! Just send me back first!"
"Alright… fine."
Lyon sighed and opened a portal, watching as Tony marched through it with absolute determination.
A little pressure wasn't a bad thing—at least it would serve as motivation for Tony to improve. A motivated Tony is a very, very terrifying Tony.
Lyon then turned to Wong and Mordo. "What exactly did you two tell Tony about Odin? He looks like he's seriously misunderstanding something."
Wong pursed his lips, trying to recall. "I told him that you stared at Odin for a few seconds and won, then mentioned the Ancient One… and that's how this duel came about."
Lyon took a sharp breath.
With that description, it sounded like Odin had gone easy on him just because of the Ancient One's influence.
"Wong, you're really something when it comes to storytelling… but maybe let Mordo handle it next time," Lyon said seriously.
"By the way, was Transfiguration the only thing Tony studied at Hogwarts?" he asked, a little curious.
"No," Mordo replied. "He also developed a universal version of the Bloodline Elixir."
"Building on the foundation of your original Bloodline Elixir—Tony the Sorcerer developed a new type of potion using a single magical creature's materials per batch.
And he already came up with stable formulas.
Unlike the first version, his potion no longer has unbrewing limitations.
However, there are flaws in this new version.
One—its magic enhancement effects are limited.
Two—it leaves physical traits of the magical creature in the user.
For example, drinking a Mooncalf Bloodline Elixir will make a person's neck longer and their eyes larger.
Drinking a Zouwu Bloodline Elixir will give them cat ears and a tail."
Lyon raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like he added his own personal preferences into the formula."
"That, I cannot say," Mordo replied in his usual serious tone. "But once the potion was successfully developed, Tony the Sorcerer publicly released the formulas."
"In fact, in the last month before we left, he was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class, by the Ministry of Magic."
"Tony the Sorcerer is a great man." Mordo concluded.
Lyon nodded, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected Mordo to hold Tony Stark, of all people, in such high regard.
It seemed that this time, Tony had truly won over a lot of people with his unique charisma.
"What about you two? Did you and Wong achieve anything?" Lyon asked.
Mordo froze for a moment.
His expression turned awkward, and after exchanging a glance with Wong, both of them fell silent.
"We… barely managed to finish the Hogwarts curriculum."
Mordo and Wong both lowered their heads.
They looked exactly like students who had failed their exams and were about to face a double beating from their parents at home.
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