Chapter 287: The Official Test Begins!

Several days passed quickly. During that time, Merlin spent his days with Luna, Monica, and Margaret.

Margaret’s arrival was clearly a threat to Luna. The girl grew more clingy toward Merlin, as if she didn’t want him visiting Margaret too often.

Merlin was well aware of her intentions, which left him feeling helpless.

After all, Margaret was important to him as well. Even so, Merlin tried to reassure Luna, though it wasn’t easy.

Monica’s affection for him also increased noticeably. Previously at 80 points, it had now risen to 85.

It might not sound like much, but it was actually a significant increase.

Keep in mind, Monica was a villainess, not a heroine. She was also an elf and struggled with strong feelings of inferiority.

So increasing her affection wasn’t easy. It required special actions that could genuinely touch her heart.

Before he realized it, the long-awaited day had arrived—the first official test in two years.

…

“So, you’re going to watch over that girl named Liora, right? How do you plan to do that?”

Walking side by side with Merlin, Luna looked at him with curiosity.

“I don’t know either. After all, I can’t watch her every second, can I?” Merlin chuckled softly.

Luna giggled, amused by his remark.

“You’re right. Then you’ll have to figure it out yourself,” she said with a broad smile.

Merlin nodded slowly. They continued toward the academy’s front yard and stopped a short distance away.

Ahead, hundreds—maybe even thousands—of students were lined up neatly.

They were the chosen ones of this continent, including several members of non-human races.

Of course, “chosen” didn’t mean they were on par with the geniuses of the first wave. Their powers were far lower than those of the prodigies.

Still, compared to their peers who hadn’t had the chance to take this test, they were formidable.

“Their strength is very weak. Most are around the Eighth Spirit Core. The strongest only reaches the Seventh,” Luna said indifferently.

If it weren’t for Merlin, she wouldn’t have bothered coming at all. For her, only Merlin was worth her attention.

In the previous test, Merlin had surpassed her. There was also a girl named Crystal, who ranked second.

But according to Luna, in terms of combat ability, she was far superior to Crystal.

Merlin simply smiled without a word and rubbed Luna’s head affectionately.

Luna narrowed her eyes into crescents, clearly enjoying the touch.

“Welcome, everyone.”

On stage, Ronald greeted them with a warm smile.

“Thank you for coming. I’m sure you’ve all been looking forward to today, haven’t you?”

The students nodded eagerly. A month was a short time, but for them, it had felt like an eternity.

The arrival of the academy’s first-wave students had put a lot of pressure on them.

Those who entered first would receive better facilities and more benefits.

In the future, they would likely grow much stronger than everyone else in this courtyard.

Keeping his smile, Ronald continued, “Alright, I won’t beat around the bush. I’ll explain the rules. The test will last five full days and is divided into two parts. First, you will enter a special dimension that has been prepared for you. There, you will go through four stages, namely…”

Ronald’s explanation was precise and careful. He didn’t want the students to misunderstand anything—if they did, the academy head would surely scold him.

After a few minutes, he paused and asked, “Do you understand?”

All the students remained silent, still absorbing his words. Ronald didn’t hurry them, letting them take their time to process the information.

“The test sounds really difficult, doesn’t it?” Luna whispered uncertainly.

The first test required entering a special dimension, where they would face four stages.

In the first stage, they had to navigate a vast maze and survive for at least a full day.

There was no food or drink in the maze, unless they hunted monsters or discovered a hidden stash of supplies.

This test forced the students to sharpen their survival skills.

In the second stage, they stayed in the maze, but this time they were hunted by wooden puppets.

The goal was to defeat at least one hundred of them.

The third stage involved fighting monsters. Many monsters were available, and the students could choose which ones to challenge.

But these monsters were far from easy to defeat. One of them, the Blue Fur Tiger, was a level-six ferocious beast, equivalent to the Fourth Spirit Core.

Even with their levels adjusted to match their opponents, the challenge was still extremely difficult.

In the final stage, they could face someone who had made history at the academy.

Of course, these weren’t real people, but prototypes that retained the power they had when they set those records.

If a student was defeated within two minutes, they would be considered the loser.

However, if they managed to survive for two full minutes—even if they were defeated immediately afterward—they would be declared the winner.

“Yes, this test is extremely difficult,” Merlin said with a small sigh.

Luna looked at him curiously. “What’s with that look? It’s like you’ve already passed it.”

She was only joking, but Merlin surprised her by confirming it.

“Yeah, I did pass it. And… ugh… it’s a really bad memory.”

Merlin rubbed his temples, as if he wished he could erase the memory entirely.

“Eh?” Luna froze. “Wait, what are you saying? Since when did you pass this test? You’re not joking, are you?”

Merlin shook his head. “Why would I joke about it? I don’t think I ever told you, did I? Back then, I…”

He began recounting that terrible memory to Luna. By the time he finished, Luna couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Pfft! Now I get it. You went through all that brutal training and nearly died? No wonder you’re so strong—the challenges you faced were truly intense.”

Merlin chuckled softly and nodded. “You’re right. If I hadn’t gone through it, I might not even be here today.”

He gazed up at the bright blue sky. At the time, he had believed he could grow stronger relying only on himself and the system.

But he had been too naive. The world was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

What was written in the novel was only a small part of reality, and even that was from the perspective of the main character, who had plot armor thicker than a bulletproof car.

He had nearly died twice. The first time was during training with Linda, and the second was when he pushed himself to break through the First Spirit Core level to face Gabriel Solayne during their journey to the past with Luna.

Yet he had no regrets. Those experiences had broadened his view of the world.

Luna looked at him with a gentle gaze. She hooked her arm around his and leaned her cheek coquettishly against his shoulder.

“Because you overcame all those hardships, we can be together now. Am I right?”

Merlin glanced at her, a faint smile on his lips.

“You’re right…”

Just then, a voice sounded behind them.

“Um… sorry to interrupt, but could I have a moment of your time?”

Merlin and Luna were startled. Both instinctively turned around and saw a girl wearing square glasses.

She was short and chubby, with pimples scattered across her face. She seemed shy, keeping her head lowered as if she didn’t dare look at them.

“What’s wrong?” Merlin asked gently.

Luna shot him a glance tinged with annoyance. She knew Merlin was just being polite, but his soft tone could easily be misunderstood by any girl.

Sure enough, the girl with glasses flinched at Merlin’s words. She timidly raised her head but quickly turned it away.

Luna: “…”

The urge to pinch Merlin surfaced, but she quickly restrained herself, whispering, “Don’t let your tone get you into trouble… don’t…”

Merlin, oblivious to her inner thoughts, asked casually again, “So… is there something wrong? What do you need from me?”

The girl snapped out of her reverie and hurriedly explained, “I came on Senior Margaret’s orders. She said to tell you, Merlin Clay, to come to her place.”

She softened her voice on the words “come to her place,” not knowing what Margaret’s intentions might be.

A boy and a girl alone in a room… Wasn’t that exactly the kind of situation couples looked forward to?

The thought made her cheeks flush as red as a tomato.

Merlin blinked, surprised by her words.

“Margaret is looking for me?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

He had only met her last night. Of course, he hadn’t done anything wrong—just a casual chat.

Still, it couldn’t be denied that Margaret was a bit… mischievous and bold.

She often clung to his side like glue and, at times, would nuzzle her head against him in a spoiled way.

Merlin had no choice but to indulge her.

“Jezz…”

A sudden chill ran down his spine. When he glanced to the side, he met Luna’s sharp gaze.

“Ahem!” Merlin cleared his throat awkwardly and gave her hand a light pat. “All right, thanks for the information. I’ll go there.”

The girl with glasses gave a shy nod before turning and running off.

“So… are you going?” Luna asked, her voice tinged with jealousy.

Merlin smiled casually, letting his fingers brush through her hair.

“Of course. But you’re coming with me. How about that?”

Luna was startled, her gaze locking with his violet eyes. A faint smile slowly curved her lips as she whispered softly, “Alright~”

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