Chapter 293: Fighting With Merlin’s Avatar

“Brother… Merlin?”

Catrine froze, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Her big brother, Merlin, was one of the few who had broken the academy’s record.

He had only been there for a month, yet he had already done it.

“Just as expected of Brother Merlin—truly amazing!” she praised in awe.

She quickly began reading his profile. At once, she understood how Merlin had made it into the academy’s record books.

Just days after the first wave of enrollment, a test had been conducted.

Merlin dominated it with over thirty thousand points—far surpassing the twenty-five thousand standard.

“This is incredible. Brother earned thirty thousand points among hundreds of genius students from all over the kingdom. His strength is extraordinary,” she whispered. “In that case… I have to fight him!”

Without hesitation, she pressed the “yes” button. Instantly, the magic panel vanished, and a blue light appeared before her.

The light slowly took shape, forming Merlin’s figure clad in a black robe.

“Brother!” Catrine exclaimed, her face lighting up.

However, Merlin’s avatar remained calm and expressionless.

A trace of sadness rose within her, but she quickly reminded herself that the figure before her was not her real brother—only a projection.

Taking a deep breath, Catrine drew her sword back, lowered her stance, and lunged forward.

“Brother, show me your strength!”

In a flash, she appeared above Merlin, then spun downward in a vertical arc.

Her sword was aimed straight at his neck, yet Merlin’s avatar remained calm and unmoved.

Just as the tip of her blade was only a few centimeters away, his figure dissolved into a shadow and vanished.

Catrine’s eyes widened. She tried to turn, but a powerful blow struck her from behind.

Her body slammed into the ground, cracking the floor beneath her.

“Puff!”

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but she didn’t hesitate. She quickly rolled over and faced forward.

Looking up, she saw Merlin floating in the air, blue light radiating from his palms.

“I underestimated you. You’ve grown much stronger,” Catrine whispered, a faint smile on her lips.

She was truly happy about her brother’s progress. But she refused to lose.

Even if she couldn’t defeat him, she at least wanted to stand on equal footing.

With that resolve, her sword shone with a beautiful blue light. At the same time, ice formed beneath her feet.

It spread five meters across the ground before she lunged toward Merlin.

She raised her sword and slashed at him.

Merlin dodged the strike effortlessly—but Catrine did not stop.

Her figure vanished and reappeared behind him. She swung her blade horizontally, aiming straight for his chest.

Had it connected, his body would have been split in two.

But then—

Clang!

Merlin’s avatar summoned two daggers out of thin air and blocked her sword.

“What? How is that possible?!” Catrine gasped.

Before she could react, Merlin spun and drove his foot into her stomach.

Whoosh—Boom!

Her body was sent flying dozens of meters before crashing into an invisible wall. Pain shot through her back, and her nerves tensed.

“What just happened? How did he draw those two daggers so fast?” she wondered in shock.

The sword she wielded was of legendary rank. Since Merlin’s daggers had withstood it, their quality had to be equal—or even superior.

’Could those daggers be legendary as well… or even mythical?’

As that thought crossed her mind, her heart pounded faster. Her brother had always been mysterious.

He could casually produce gold-grade potions with extremely high purity. If those daggers were mythical, she wouldn’t be too surprised.

Whoosh!

Merlin suddenly appeared beside her. Caught off guard, Catrine hurriedly crossed her arms to block.

Bang!

His punch sent her flying upward. Without pause, he teleported and reappeared in front of her midair.

As if anticipating this, Catrine regained her balance and slashed downward in a vertical arc.

“Die!”

Her blade struck his body—but before it could cleave through his chest, Merlin transformed into lightning and reappeared in the sky.

Catrine’s eyes widened. She immediately released her mana, forming a blue shield around herself.

Merlin did not slow down. He charged straight at her.

Crack!

The shield split in two. Catrine froze in midair as Merlin closed the distance.

Just as the two daggers were about to strike her face, a bell rang.

Dong!

“[Congratulations to Catrine Clay for successfully surviving the first two minutes! Accumulated points: 20,000!]”

As soon as the announcement ended, Merlin’s figure crumbled into ash and vanished.

Catrine remained still for a moment, then slowly regained her composure and exhaled.

“Thank goodness…”

If that voice had come a second later, she would have died and failed the test.

She slowly descended to the ground. Staring at the sword in her right hand, she murmured, “Brother Merlin is far too strong… If I’m not mistaken, his power is at the Fifth Spirit Core level—one stage below mine. But his combat ability is terrifying. And those two daggers… they’re even more frightening. They blocked my sword so easily, and the sharp aura they released made me shiver.”

At that moment, she was certain the daggers were of mythical rank. Her master, Master Illusion, also possessed a mythical weapon.

The aura they emitted felt almost identical.

“[Congratulations to the students who successfully completed the first test. You will now be returned to your original locations!]”

As the voice faded, a bright blue light enveloped Catrine’s body. Her vision turned white, and in the next instant, she found herself back on the academy grounds.

“Congratulations, everyone. You have successfully completed the first exam. You are all remarkable.”

Ronald’s voice, filled with praise, echoed from the stage.

The students collectively let out sighs of relief. The first test had been incredibly difficult and exhausting.

Fortunately, they had passed. Otherwise, that failure would have left a wound that might never truly heal.

“All right. Now I will announce the names of those who have failed this test. If your name is called, please step out of the line immediately,” Ronald said calmly.

He picked up the list and began reading the names one by one.

The students whose names were called reluctantly stepped forward. The atmosphere grew tense for those who had passed.

Passing the first test did not guarantee their safety. A second test would be announced soon.

As Ronald continued calling out the names of those who had failed, several students near Catrine began discussing the previous test.

“Hey, who did you choose in the last test? I picked Academy Head Linda!”

“Academy Head Linda? Damn, you’re brave! She’s insanely strong! I didn’t even dare choose her. Her legend is famous throughout the academy.”

“Tsk! You’re right. That was the stupidest decision I’ve ever made. Because of that, I lost a lot of powerful artifacts I brought from home! Tch… now I’m completely broke.”

“Pfft! I feel bad for you, but I’m not much better. I chose Merlin Clay. He’s a new student like us, yet his name is already recorded in the academy’s history books. Isn’t that crazy?”

“Oh! I saw his name on the list earlier too. But I didn’t pick him because I thought it was a system error. If I’d known it wasn’t, I definitely would’ve chosen him as my opponent,” the boy said bitterly.

His friend gave a wry smile. “He’s ridiculously strong. Do you know what level his power is at?”

“What is it?” the boy asked, scratching his head.

“Fifth Spirit Core level! Although his level was suppressed to match mine, his combat ability wasn’t affected at all. And that’s not all—he wields an incredibly powerful legendary-grade magic staff! I almost got burned by it. Luckily, the announcement came just before I gave up. Otherwise, I might’ve ended up on the list of defeated students.”

“Seriously? Phew! It seems fighting Academy Head Linda’s avatar is much safer than facing Merlin Clay.”

It wasn’t just the two of them. Many other students were also talking about Merlin. At first, they had all assumed he would be an easy opponent.

But no one expected to encounter such an anomaly—someone who couldn’t be defeated, only endured.

After that test, their curiosity about Merlin, the genius from the first wave, only grew stronger.

Catrine listened to their conversation and couldn’t help but smile.

’They’re such fools,’ she muttered, shaking her head.

Underestimating an opponent was strictly forbidden by the Master of Illusions.

Her master had always taught her that enemies—whether strong or weak—should never be taken lightly.

No one could predict when a seemingly weak opponent might become a fatal threat.

Still, she wasn’t surprised. Very few people had learned that lesson—especially those born into high-ranking noble families.

The announcement continued for fifteen minutes before anyone realized it had ended.

In total, six hundred out of more than a thousand students were eliminated in the first test.

Many were devastated—some even broke down in tears. But the results were final. There was no room for negotiation.

When the six hundred students left, only six hundred remained on the field.

“All right,” Ronald said calmly. “Now it’s time to announce the rankings for the first test.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep