The Boys’ Dormitory…

A girl quietly tiptoed into the dormitory courtyard. Every ten steps, she glanced warily to her left and right.

Once she was sure it was safe, she walked toward the hallway and stopped in front of an open door.

The dormitory was unusually quiet, since all the boys were already asleep.

She stepped inside and entered the dormitory lobby. A table stood on the right side, and behind it was a cabinet filled with numbered keys from one to ninety-nine.

An elderly woman sat near the table, reading a book.

Her long hair was tied neatly into a bun. She wore black-framed glasses, and her stern expression alone was enough to make anyone feel intimidated.

Relieved that she hadn’t been noticed, the girl lowered her head and crept deeper inside.

The lobby was fairly spacious. At the far end was a staircase leading to the upper floors. Since her destination was the fourth floor, she had no choice but to pass by it.

Fortunately, the floor was covered in carpet, so her footsteps didn’t make a sound.

“Hmmm… I remember there’s something in the bathroom that hasn’t been cleaned yet. Ugh… what a hassle.”

The woman’s complaining voice suddenly came from behind her.

The girl’s eyes widened. She quickly rolled to the left and hid behind one of the two-meter-tall potted plants nearby.

The woman walked past without noticing her, then turned right and disappeared from view.

The girl let out a quiet sigh of relief and continued on her way. Now that the woman was gone, she could move faster and head up the stairs.

Second floor. Third floor. And finally, she reached the fourth.

The fourth floor looked completely different from the other three.

While each of the lower floors had twenty to thirty rooms, the fourth floor had only seven.

Only students with outstanding achievements or the highest scores on previous exams were allowed to live here.

At that moment, the girl walked to the farthest room—Merlin’s room.

When she arrived, she turned the doorknob, only to find it unlocked.

Her face lit up as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

But the next second, her expression froze.

Lying on the bed was a stunningly beautiful girl.

She had silver hair tied back into a ponytail, and her body was squirming in strange, restless movements.

“Catrine?” the girl called out instinctively.

Catrine froze. She quickly sat up and turned around.

“Luna?” Her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

Luna shut the bedroom door behind her and stared at her with a displeased expression.

“I should be the one asking that. What are you doing here? And just now… I saw you moving around weirdly.” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You weren’t doing anything strange in Merlin’s room, were you?”

Catrine’s face turned bright red. She quickly pulled the blanket over herself and shook her head.

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea. I was just warming myself up on this bed. Unlike my room, Brother Merlin’s room has better air circulation, and just lying here makes me feel comfortable and warm. That’s all—nothing more,” she explained, sounding panicked.

Luna rolled her eyes. How could she possibly believe such nonsense?

All the rooms in the boys’ and girls’ dormitories were the same.

It was true that the top ten students might receive rooms of above-average quality. But Catrine herself was one of those top ten, so her excuse made no sense.

Crossing her arms, Luna smiled mockingly. “You’re lying. You snuck in here to sleep with Merlin, didn’t you?”

Faced with that accusation, Catrine had no way to refute it. She had indeed come here hoping to surprise her brother.

But Merlin still hadn’t returned, so she could only lie on his bed, savoring the lingering scent on his pillow and blanket.

Still, there was no way she could admit that.

She snorted coldly and shot back, “Then what about you? Why are you here? What’s your reason?”

Luna froze, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled casually.

“I just came to check if Merlin has returned. After all, I’m his fiancée. It’s only natural for me to worry about him, isn’t it?”

Her face was calm, and her tone sounded natural, as if she were simply stating a fact.

“Ugh…” Catrine was left speechless.

Luna was Merlin’s fiancée, and that status alone put her at an advantage.

Although Catrine had been specially trained by the Illusion Master, most of that training focused on combat and similar matters.

She had no experience dealing with someone as clever and cunning as Luna.

Just as Catrine was racking her brain for a counterargument, the sound of footsteps came from outside.

Both of them gasped and exchanged glances. Without hesitation, Catrine pulled the blanket over her head.

Meanwhile, Luna rushed to the wardrobe and opened it—only to freeze in shock.

Standing right in front of her was Margaret.

“You—”

Before Luna could voice her surprise, Margaret quickly pulled her inside and shut the wardrobe door.

A moment later, the footsteps stopped right outside the room.

The bedroom door opened, and the woman on watch downstairs stepped in with a puzzled expression.

“The door isn’t locked. This student is truly careless,” she muttered.

She walked in and noticed the blanket pulled over the student, along with the sound of steady breathing, as if the student were asleep.

But the woman didn’t leave. She scanned the room with sharp eyes and began walking around.

Suddenly, she stopped in front of the wardrobe. Her brows furrowed as she opened it.

There was nothing inside except neatly folded clothes and three pairs of shoes.

The woman closed the wardrobe, then turned and left the room.

Before heading back downstairs, she didn’t forget to lock the door.

Not long after, the wardrobe on the opposite side opened, and Luna and Margaret stepped out.

“Phew… we almost got caught,” Margaret said, patting her well-developed chest.

Luna glanced at her and asked suspiciously, “So how did you end up here?”

At first, she’d thought Catrine was the only one who had sneaked into Merlin’s room.

Who would’ve thought Margaret had done the same?

Catrine pulled the blanket down and let out a sigh of relief. Then she looked at Margaret, startled.

“How did you get here? And since when?”

Under their sharp stares, Margaret didn’t look the least bit nervous.

She casually tossed her hair and replied, “A little while ago. I even saw you writhing on the bed earlier, Catrine. I didn’t expect you to be so perverted.”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and Catrine’s face instantly turned red.

Luna shot Catrine a meaningful look before asking, “By the way, you two came here for Merlin, didn’t you? So where is he? Hasn’t he returned yet?”

Margaret rolled her eyes, about to say, “Then you didn’t come here for Merlin?”

But she held herself back and simply admitted, “I don’t know. He hasn’t come back since I got here earlier. Could he have run away from the academy?”

“How could that be?” Catrine hurriedly defended Merlin. “Brother Merlin is probably still outside. He’ll be back soon. I’m sure of it.”

Luna and Margaret were taken aback by her reaction. They exchanged glances, then let out helpless sighs.

“Alright, alright. I was just joking.” Margaret chuckled softly. “In that case, I should head back to my room first. If that old woman finds out, she’ll scold me.”

Luna felt the same way. But just as Margaret grabbed the doorknob and turned it, she froze.

“The door’s locked!”

Luna: “…”

Catrine: “…”

…

“Hah… Hah… Hah…”

In the middle of the forest, Merlin panted heavily, sweat soaking through his clothes.

Two men lay before him, both dead in gruesome condition.

The one on the right had his head severed, while the one on the left had been split open.

Merlin stared at them with an indifferent gaze before slowly calming his breathing.

“I… managed to defeat two experts at the Second Spirit Core level,” he muttered.

He looked down at his right hand in disbelief. He was only at the Fourth Spirit Core, yet he had killed two people at the Second Spirit Core level.

That was an achievement few could ever accomplish.

Of course, he hadn’t done it entirely on his own. Lyserra had cast a domain over a two-kilometer area, weakening his opponents and reducing their power by fifty percent.

Even so, what he had done was still worthy of being recorded in the academy’s history.

“Are you done?”

Lyserra’s voice came from behind him.

Merlin turned and saw the red dragon land exactly two meters away.

“I’m done. Thank you for your help,” he said quietly.

Lyserra gave a small nod. “My part is done too. They were really weak. It was boring.”

If only there had been experts at the First Spirit Core level, it would’ve been exciting. Unfortunately, they were only at the Second Spirit Core level, and to her, they were nothing more than ants.

Merlin didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. Lyserra’s arrogance irritated him for no reason.

“In that case, I’ll be going now. If you get into trouble again, just call me.”

With that, Lyserra turned into a beam of light and vanished.

Just then, Linda’s voice came from in front of him.

“Are you okay?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep