Chapter 310: Postponement of Match

“I give up.”

Those words made everyone freeze in disbelief.

“What did I just hear? Give up? Wasn’t she on a roll?”

“Are you blind? Don’t you see who’s standing there? That’s Catrine Clay, you idiot!”

“Damn! It’s really her! I thought she had lost!”

A commotion erupted throughout the crowd. At first, they had thought Elmyra would be the dark horse of the match.

But no one had imagined she would be defeated so thoroughly by Catrine Clay, just like the other contestants before her.

The turn of events was sudden and completely unexpected.

“You made a very good choice,” Catrine said indifferently as she pulled her sword from her back. “If you had been even a little stubborn, I would have killed you.”

Her cold words failed to intimidate Elmyra. Instead, she smiled and looked at her playfully.

“You wouldn’t have done that,” she said casually.

Catrine frowned. “What do you mean?”

Elmyra tossed her hair and replied, “You’re worried that if you do it, your brother will hate you. Am I right?”

Catrine froze for a moment but quickly regained her composure.

Sheathing her sword, she said coldly, “You’re overthinking it. Even if my brother saw it, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Without another word, she jumped down from the arena.

Elmyra kept her gaze on Catrine’s back before shifting it to Merlin.

Noticing her gaze, Merlin smiled and gave a small nod.

Strangely, Elmyra returned a playful look that made his hair stand on end.

’What’s wrong with this girl? Is she crazy?’ Merlin wondered silently.

Soon after, the match resumed. This time, it was between Caldor and Caelith.

Caelith was a beautiful girl with pink hair—similar to Luna’s. She was tall and looked gentle and approachable, but her sharp gaze sharply contrasted with the aura she exuded.

“Who do you think will win?” Monica asked curiously.

Luna folded her arms across her chest and replied, “I’m leaning toward Caelith. Her control over magic is incredible, especially her ability to wield two different elements at the same time. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone do that.”

Usually, a mage can only control one element at a time.

Controlling two requires extreme precision and concentration.

“Hmm? Two elements? I can do that too.”

Merlin snapped his fingers. In an instant, fireballs, lightning spheres, and water spheres appeared in the air.

Luna: “…”

Margaret: “…”

Monica: “…”

The three of them were stunned, their faces filled with surprise and admiration. Only Catrine remained calm. Her brother was indeed a genius—she knew that.

So she wasn’t surprised that Merlin could use three elements at once.

Even so, her master had once said that it was exceedingly rare for a mage below the First Spirit Core level to do such a thing.

Controlling two elements simultaneously was already considered genius.

Therefore, Merlin’s ability to control three elements at his level—still at the Fourth Spirit Core—was truly astonishing.

Luna snapped out of her daze, coughed shyly, then corrected herself. “I mean, people other than you, Merlin.”

Merlin simply chuckled at her adorable reaction.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t take it to heart,” Merlin said, gently patting her head.

Luna felt even more embarrassed, but his gentle touch quickly calmed her down.

Margaret felt a pang of jealousy. If money could make Merlin treat her the same way, she would offer him thousands of gold coins.

However, she knew Merlin was not someone tempted by gold. Over the past two years, he had only used the five-star card she gave him once.

That was completely beyond her expectations, and at the same time, her affection for him grew even deeper.

If it were anyone else, she was sure they would use it constantly without hesitation.

So she was certain that Merlin didn’t care about her status as the daughter of the Beethoven family—he was genuinely sincere toward her.

“[Ding! The heroine Margaret Beethoven’s affection has increased by 20 points! Current affection: 100+.]”

“[Ding! Congratulations to the master for obtaining 10,000 system points!]”

Seeing this, Merlin was taken aback. He turned to Margaret and found her staring at him with eyes full of love.

“What’s wrong?”

Merlin withdrew his hand from Luna’s head and gently touched the side of Margaret’s face, stroking it softly.

Margaret snapped out of her daze and blushed.

“It’s nothing,” she replied shyly, looking away.

Merlin simply smiled. He didn’t know why her affection had suddenly increased, and she rewarded him with 10,000 system points.

But he didn’t think too much about it. At least he got the points for free.

“The winner is Caelith!!”

Ronald’s loud voice startled Merlin and the others. When they looked toward the arena, Caldor was lying unconscious while Caelith floated in the air with a smile on her face.

“Woah! Caelith won! She’s amazing!”

“You’re right! Not only is she beautiful, but she’s also very strong! She’ll be the dark horse who challenges Nysera in the next round, right?”

“Yes, but Nysera isn’t in good condition. The next match will likely be postponed until tomorrow.”

A lively discussion broke out among the students. They were in awe of Caelith’s victory, but her opponent in the next round was extremely strong.

Perhaps third place would be hers.

“All right, everyone. Due to the unfortunate incident earlier, the match will be postponed until tomorrow. Please return to your dormitories.”

After the announcement, Ronald and the other professors stepped down from the stage.

The students, who had already guessed the outcome, began to disperse and return to their dormitories.

The sky was growing dark, and they were tired. They wanted to rest early to watch tomorrow’s match in good condition.

“Well then, I’m going back to the dormitory first,” Merlin said. “You guys head back too.”

The three of them nodded. After exchanging a few farewells, they went their separate ways.

Merlin did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Catrine beside him.

“Would you like to take a leisurely walk with me?”

Catrine nodded, a faint smile appearing on her usually cold face.

“Mm… I’d like that.”

Merlin took her left hand and led her toward the academy park, which was usually crowded at this hour.

What they didn’t realize was that two people were watching them leave—Luvis and Lucius.

Their gazes were filled with ambition and greed. One wanted to make Catrine his own, while the other wanted to recruit her as his right-hand woman.

Each of them, driven by their own motives, began devising a plan to get close to Catrine.

…

“So, the dragon girl turned into her true form and almost killed Liora Aryn?” Linda asked indifferently as she read the document in her hand.

Ronald nodded slightly. “That’s right, Lady—I mean, Headmistress. She almost killed Liora Aryn, but fortunately, Merlin Clay acted quickly and managed to stop her. Otherwise…”

Before he could finish, Linda interrupted him.

“Okay, I understand. That’s enough. Now tell me, who are the three remaining participants?”

“They are Catrine Clay, Caelith Ruana, and Nysera Zarkhiel. They are the three participants advancing to the final round.”

Linda showed no surprise, as if she had already expected it.

“All right. You’ve done well. You may leave.”

Ronald nodded and bowed once more before walking out of the room.

Linda stretched her beautiful, curvy body.

“Merlin, huh? That kid never ceases to amaze me,” she whispered.

Previously, she had assigned him the mission to take part in the operation against the Dark Tunnel Organization, and he had completed it perfectly.

And now, he had solved another problem in such an epic way. She couldn’t help but wonder—was this boy the child mentioned in the prophecy her adoptive father had told her long ago?

Her adoptive father had once spoken of a disaster that would strike in the future, likely connected to the legendary Evil God Volgrath.

The Holy Kingdom of Aldoria had confirmed it, yet a trace of doubt still lingered in her heart.

But after everything that had happened, that doubt vanished completely.

“I really want to meet him soon and go on that date he promised,” she whispered with a hint of annoyance. “Unfortunately, I have so much work to do. This is really… annoying.”

…

Merlin and Catrine walked through the academy park. The atmosphere was neither too crowded nor too quiet. Several students and young couples filled the area.

Catrine glanced shyly at the hand Merlin was holding.

“Brother, aren’t you embarrassed?”

Merlin looked at her in confusion. “Embarrassed? About what?”

Nervous, Catrine explained, “You know most of the people who come here are couples, right? So…”

Her voice trailed off as she squirmed shyly.

Merlin immediately understood and couldn’t help but laugh.

“So that’s what it is. I thought you were worried about something.” He sighed and shook his head.

Catrine’s face darkened at his casual reaction.

She clasped his hand with both of hers and said in dissatisfaction, “Brother, I’m serious! Actually, I already…”

Before she could finish, laughter rang out behind them, followed by a relaxed male voice.

“Hahaha! Sorry to interrupt, but may I have a moment of your time, Catrine Clay?”

Startled, they turned around and saw a handsome boy with two others standing behind him.

Merlin frowned as he recognized him—the illegitimate prince of the Knight Kingdom of Batrum, Luvis.

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