Five hundred thousand contribution points was an incredibly large amount.

Each new student only received fifty thousand.

That meant he had ten times that amount, which showed just how many points he possessed.

Not to mention, if he used them only for meals at the cafeteria, it would be more than enough to last until his third year at the academy.

"That's the amount the vice principal and I agreed on. And honestly, it's not as much as you think," Linda explained casually. "You may not know this, but Ronald made a bet with the professors on who would win the previous test. The result is obvious—he won. Because of that, he gave you part of his reward in the form of contribution points."

She sipped her tea and chuckled softly. Thinking about it, it did seem funny.

She couldn't understand how Ronald had known Merlin would win the test.

All she remembered was telling him that Merlin was her disciple—nothing more.

It seemed Ronald had used that alone as the basis for his belief in Merlin's victory.

It had to be said that Ronald was as sharp and meticulous as ever.

"The betting results?" Merlin and Luna were stunned. They exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"I understand." Merlin smiled and nodded slightly. "All right, I accept it. Please convey my gratitude to him, Master."

He didn't quite understand why Ronald had given him part of his winnings, but it was clear the old man wanted to build a good relationship with him.

For that reason, he accepted it.

"Oh, right, Master, is there anything else you want to tell me?" Merlin asked curiously.

Linda folded her legs, rested her cheek on her right palm, and explained, "There are two things I want to say. First, regarding the potion you developed with Tharvis. I have already informed Leona of the results, and she has listed your name as the recipe's creator and Tharvis as the potion's maker. Congratulations. You have been recognized by alchemists around the world."

Upon hearing this, Merlin was not particularly surprised. The recipe provided by the system was flawless.

The ingredients were easy to obtain, so alchemists across the continent could produce it.

It would have been strange if the recipe had been rejected.

Even so, he could not ignore the news and smiled.

"Thank you, Master. Please convey my gratitude to Professor Leona," he said politely.

He had never met Leona. However, he knew her from the novel. She was known as a level nine alchemist and one of the greatest on the continent.

Establishing a good relationship with her would clearly benefit him in the future.

"Of course. I will convey it. In addition, there is a reward for successfully obtaining the recipe formula. However, it has not arrived yet. I will call you when it does," Linda replied softly.

Merlin gave a small nod. Just then, Luna, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt, but can you explain it to me? Potion formula? What does that mean?"

Her face showed doubt and confusion. She actually had a guess, but she wasn't sure.

Merlin turned to her and said, "Actually, I—"

As he began to explain, Luna listened intently.

Her expression slowly changed, filling with shock and amazement.

"So, you created the potion formula?"

She covered her mouth with her right palm, staring at Merlin with an incredulous look.

"I didn't create it. My friend did," Merlin corrected her.

Even so, Luna didn't believe it. It seemed impossible that a "friend" would give such a valuable recipe to someone else.

If she were that "friend," she would have used it for her own benefit.

She was sure Merlin was lying—ninety-nine point nine percent certain that he was the one who created it.

However, since he clearly didn't want to admit it, she had no intention of pressing him further.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" she asked, dissatisfied.

Her cheeks puffed up like a hamster's, making her look very adorable.

Merlin chuckled softly and pinched her cheek.

"Sorry. I did it on purpose so you wouldn't be burdened by worries. Don't worry—in the future, I won't do it again," he apologized.

Luna's annoyance slowly subsided. In truth, she wasn't really angry.

She knew Merlin was very mysterious, and she didn't expect him to tell her everything he did.

All she wanted was for Merlin to keep paying attention to her and not forget her—that was all.

"Okay, I'm not mad at you," she snorted, turning her face away.

Watching their interaction, Linda remained silent. As a master, she should have been happy to see the intimacy between her disciple and his fiancée.

But she didn't feel that way. Instead, she felt annoyance and jealousy.

She realized those feelings were inappropriate, yet she couldn't suppress them.

"Ahem!" She coughed and interrupted. "All right, let's move on to the second thing. This is the main reason I called you."

Merlin turned to her, his expression serious.

"Please tell me, Master."

Linda took a sip of her tea before explaining, "At the academy, there is something called a mission board. Usually, the academy sends students on missions. Of course, it depends on their consent. If they wish to accept, they can do so. If not, the academy will not force them."

After a brief pause, she continued carefully, "Coincidentally, due to the arrival of new students, your seniors in the second and third grades are currently on break. There is an important mission that must be completed, and I was wondering if you would be willing to take it."

Merlin's eyebrows rose slightly. Of all the possibilities, he hadn't expected this to be the reason his master had called him.

"Can you explain what the mission is?"

"The mission is to destroy an evil organization called Dark Tunnel. According to the reports I've received, they have committed numerous crimes in the eastern region. One of their most serious offenses is using humans—especially children and women—as materials for summoning demons."

Merlin and Luna were stunned by her words. Demons were one of the races on this continent.

But for reasons that could not be explained, they were deeply hated by all races in this world.

In the novel, demons had never appeared directly, but it was mentioned that in the past, they were loyal servants of the Evil God Vorgath.

It was unimaginable that there were humans who dared to commit such an evil act—using children and women as sacrifices to summon demons.

"Who will go?" Merlin asked seriously.

"If you agree, I will send professors at the Second Spirit Core level, the Eighth Awakening level, and one more at a lower level. How about that? Will you accept it?"

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and hope.

...

Merlin stepped out of Linda's office building with Luna.

Luna looked gloomy, occasionally glancing at Merlin with annoyance.

Noticing this, Merlin smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so gloomy?"

Luna sighed softly and explained, "I'm just upset that you accepted that mission. It's very dangerous, you know. What if you get hurt?"

She didn't like it. She didn't want anything to happen to Merlin. It would have been better if he had refused and stayed safe at the academy.

Merlin fell silent for a moment, then rubbed her head affectionately.

"Thank you for worrying about me. But I have to accept this mission. Didn't you understand what my master meant earlier?"

His words surprised Luna. She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.

"Did she expect you to accept it?"

"Bingo! You're very smart," Merlin praised, gently patting her head. "Yes, Master expected me to accept it. She wants to see my abilities in real combat. After all, I haven't shown her my fighting skills yet, so she wants to evaluate me personally."

He wasn't foolish. There was a clear reason for assigning him such a dangerous mission.

He and Linda had been separated for four years. During that time, they only exchanged letters, with no direct interaction.

It was only natural that she wanted to see how much he had grown during her absence.

Luna pursed her lips. She knew Merlin's explanation made sense.

In the end, she could only sigh softly and say, "Okay, I understand."

Merlin smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry. I'll definitely come back safely. You can trust me."

Luna said nothing and simply nodded.

...

Nighttime…

Merlin lay lazily in his room. With the lights off, the only illumination came from the window on the right side of the room.

"The mission, huh? I need to prepare for it," he muttered seriously.

The mission would take place in three days. Although he was confident in his abilities, it wouldn't hurt to prepare several backup plans in advance.

Slowly sitting up, he called out, "System, are you there?"

"[Ding! The great system is here, Master! Do you need anything?]"

Merlin smiled playfully and said, "You should have heard about the mission Linda gave me, right? Why don't you issue one too? You usually do, don't you?"

System: "…"

It hadn't expected to be summoned for that reason. Still, the system was too lazy to argue and immediately issued a mission notification.

"[Ding! Side mission triggered! Complete the mission assigned by Linda Thalsis! Reward: 30,000 system points and 1× Life Feather (Epic).]"

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