Chapter 306: The Mission to Conquer the New Heroine

“Alright. The next match is between Nysera and Liora. Both of you, please come up on stage!”

At those words, the students erupted in excitement. Liora and Nysera were the two strongest contenders for the championship.

Their battle was bound to be intense.

Catrine jumped down and landed beside Merlin. Folding her arms across her chest, she asked, “What do you think? Who will win?”

Merlin fell silent for a moment. His gaze swept over Liora and Nysera before he replied, “Nysera will win. But it won’t be one-sided. It’ll be a fierce battle.”

Of course, that didn’t mean Liora’s potential and strength were inferior to Nysera’s. It was simply that their specializations were very different.

Nysera excelled in close-range combat, while Liora specialized in long-range attacks.

Since the arena wasn’t particularly large, Nysera held the advantage.

“I agree with you, Brother.” Catrine nodded. “Let’s watch.”

Luna and Margaret remained silent, offering no comments. Still, they agreed with Merlin’s judgment. Nysera would most likely emerge victorious.

“We finally meet, druid girl,” Nysera said with a faint smirk. She rubbed her fists and added proudly, “You’d better give up now. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I beat you up.”

She had been observing Liora’s fighting style earlier, so she was confident she could defeat her.

Liora wasn’t afraid. She made a provoking gesture and replied calmly, “Sorry, but I won’t give up unless I’m defeated.”

“Heh… You’re quite stubborn.” Nysera licked her upper lip. “But I like that.”

“The fight begins!”

As soon as Ronald’s voice echoed across the arena, Nysera shot toward Liora like lightning.

A bright green light flared around her fist as she swung it at Liora’s face.

If it connected, Liora would lose on the spot. But she wasn’t someone who would fall so easily.

Whoosh!

Green roots burst from the ground and blocked Nysera’s powerful strike.

Unwilling to stop, Nysera twisted her body and unleashed a flurry of heavy blows.

The roots couldn’t withstand the force and shattered into pieces.

“Hehehe… gotcha!”

Nysera clenched her right fist and drove it straight at Liora.

“You’re the one who walked into my trap, Nysera,” Liora whispered.

Boom!

The punch landed. The impact was strong enough to create a cloud of green smoke that spread in all directions.

“Did it work?” a student asked nervously.

The attack was devastating. It was hard to imagine Liora surviving it.

The others were just as tense, waiting for the smoke to clear.

“Hehehe…” Nysera grinned proudly.

But suddenly—

Whoosh!

Three roots shot out and lunged at Nysera. Caught off guard, she was thrown back dozens of meters.

In the next second, the roots coiled tightly around her arms and legs, lifting her into the air.

“Didn’t I tell you that you walked into my trap?”

Liora appeared at the edge of the arena with a faint smile.

Nysera stared at her in shock and asked in a trembling voice, “H-How did you do that?”

She had been absolutely certain her attack had connected. Yet Liora was standing there unharmed, leaving her both confused and stunned.

Liora didn’t answer. She raised her hand and pointed her index and middle fingers to the right.

Nysera followed her gesture—and froze.

A statue made of roots stood there. Its shattered form made her realize that what she had struck earlier was nothing more than a substitute.

“So that’s how it is…”

Nysera took a deep breath, then slowly regained her smile.

“No wonder you didn’t dodge my attack. Liora Aryn, you’re truly amazing.”

Instead of anger, excitement gleamed in her eyes. The dragon race valued talent and strength above all else.

Facing a weak opponent was boring, but facing a strong one was exhilarating.

“Even so, you don’t think you’ve won, do you?”

A silver aura burst from her body, and the roots binding her began to melt under its pressure.

But Liora remained calm. She clenched her left fist.

In an instant, the nearly destroyed roots regenerated, as if the silver aura had no effect on them.

“Goodbye,” Liora murmured.

She flicked her fingers. Flames erupted from the arena floor, raced along the roots, and engulfed the bound Nysera.

“Argh!”

Nysera’s scream echoed across the arena. The students below instinctively stepped back in fear.

They hadn’t expected Liora to be so decisive and ruthless. If they were in Nysera’s place, they would have been reduced to ashes.

“Vice Principal, we must intervene,” the professor beside him urged.

“Right! This is dangerous! If that dragon girl dies, the academy will face serious consequences,” the middle-aged female professor behind Ronald added.

The other professors quickly voiced the same concern.

The second test was meant to be a friendly match—never to injure, let alone kill.

Such actions could not be tolerated. The consequences might even disrupt the political balance among the continent’s major powers.

But Ronald remained calm. He folded his arms behind his back and said, “Don’t worry. That dragon girl is special. It’s impossible for her to be injured or killed.”

The professors were stunned and exchanged uneasy glances.

“But—”

As the middle-aged professor tried to speak again, Ronald raised his right hand.

“Be quiet. Just watch.”

His firm tone silenced her. Together with the others, she could only watch as Nysera continued to writhe in agony.

Liora lowered her hand, and the flames gradually died out.

Nysera’s charred body lay motionless on the arena floor.

Liora turned to Ronald and said calmly, “Please announce the result, Vice Principal.”

The students who witnessed her indifference swallowed nervously.

She had burned Nysera to a crisp, yet her expression remained calm, as if nothing had happened.

Her demeanor was completely different from her earlier cowardice.

“What do you think of the result, Merlin? Looks like your guess was wrong,” Margaret said playfully.

Merlin, however, remained unfazed.

“Don’t be so quick to judge. Do you really think the dragon girl is that easy to defeat?”

Margaret and Luna were taken aback. Luna frowned slightly. “You mean she’ll rise again?”

Given Nysera’s condition, it seemed impossible for her to continue fighting. Merlin’s words only made them more confused.

“Yeah, she’ll get back up,” Nolan said casually. “Just watch.”

He wasn’t speaking without reason. Nysera wasn’t weak—far from it.

Name: Nysera Zarkhiel

Age: Over 100

Identity: Exiled Princess of the Silver Dragon Clan

Talent: S-Rank

Rank: Sixth Stage

Bloodline: Silver Dragon King (Gold Grade)

Bloodline Status: Not Yet Awakened

Favorability: 20

Seeing the panel, Merlin couldn’t help but smile.

’System, looks like I’ve found a diamond in the rough,’

he whispered.

It was clear that Nysera was a heroine—or at least an important character.

Her status panel couldn’t be wrong. It was true that the dragon girl hadn’t appeared in The Lost Hero, but that wasn’t strange.

The novel was still ongoing. The world hadn’t been fully explored yet.

It was entirely possible that Michiku-sensei had created many characters but hadn’t introduced them in the story.

Merlin suspected Nysera was one of them.

“[Ding! Congratulations, Master, for discovering the hidden truth! Reward: 5,000 system points!]”

“[Mission issued: Conquer the heroine Nysera. Reward: 70,000 system points and 1x Eryndor Light Sword (Mythical). Accept? Yes/No.]”

When the mission panel appeared, Merlin froze for a moment. Staring at it, he asked in a slightly trembling voice, ’System, are you sure Nysera is a heroine? I’m not mistaken, right?’

Even though he had already suspected it, hearing the system confirm it directly was still shocking.

Moreover, Nysera wasn’t just a supporting character—she was truly a heroine.

“[Of course, Master. Do you think I would lie?]” the system snorted. “[Nysera is the new heroine in the next volume—right after your death.]”

Merlin fell silent for a moment before asking, “How much time has passed on Earth since I died?”

“[About that, I’m sorry. I don’t have access to that information. But based on my estimates, it’s been at least five years.]”

Merlin let out a slow breath and nodded.

’I see. If that’s the case, it’s only natural that the latest volume has already been published,’ he murmured.

If more than five years had truly passed, then the difference in time flow between this world and Earth wasn’t too great.

Merlin had no close friends or relatives.

His grandmother had passed away, and he had lived alone for over a decade.

That was why he didn’t particularly miss Japan. There was no one waiting for him there.

’Alright, I understand. I’ll accept the mission,’ he said firmly.

In truth, he didn’t want to accept it. There were already too many heroines by his side, and he had no desire to add another.

Six were troublesome enough—let alone seven or more.

However, the system’s offer was too tempting. Seventy thousand system points was simply too great a reward to ignore.

Buzz!

A silver light suddenly radiated from Nysera’s body. At the same time, the burns covering her skin began to heal.

Nysera slowly rose to her feet and stretched her stiff limbs.

“Ugh… That really hurt, Liora Aryn,” she said with a grin. “But I’ll admit it—you’re strong. I almost died, you know?”

She clenched her fists, her voice turning cold. “But that’s enough. Now it’s my turn.”

Everyone froze, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Nysera, who had been burned to a crisp, had completely recovered and stood up again.

It was as if she had risen from the dead.

“Merlin, you…” Margaret looked at him in astonishment.

Merlin simply smiled and winked, as if saying, I told you so.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep