"Oh? It's rare to see you come earlier than usual. Are you that eager to train with me?"

Merlin turned and saw Linda walking toward him with a faint smile.

"Master!" Merlin's eyes sparkled as he stood up and bowed his head respectfully. "How are you? Was the party fun?"

He then lifted his head and looked at Linda with curiosity. Yesterday, Linda had gone to the royal palace to attend a welcome party hosted by the royal family.

Merlin didn't know what the party was like, but to him, a party that Linda called "small" must have been grand and magnificent.

After all, even his father and other noble families had been invited.

When Linda heard the word "party," her expression darkened for a moment. But she quickly hid it and replied indifferently, "It wasn't fun. From the start, I've never liked parties or anything like that. It's just a place where people wear those annoying hypocritical masks."

She let out a soft sigh and rubbed her temples. Luckily, the party only lasted one day. If it had gone on any longer, she might have gone crazy.

"Pfft! That must have been very hard for you, Master." Merlin giggled, covering his mouth with his right hand.

Blue veins popped out on Linda's forehead when she saw him mocking her. With a forced smile, she pinched Merlin's cheeks and scolded, "How dare you tease your master, huh? Has my one-day absence made you this confident and arrogant?"

"Ouch!" Merlin grimaced in pain and quickly waved his hands. "I didn't mean it, Master! Please believe me!"

Sensing the sincerity in his voice, Linda reluctantly let go of his cheeks.

"Humph!" She snorted coldly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Don't do it again. Otherwise…"

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. Merlin gave an awkward smile and quickly nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't do it again."

"Good!" Linda smiled in satisfaction. But her gaze soon swept over Merlin's body from head to toe, and her expression suddenly shifted to one of surprise.

She stepped forward and examined him carefully.

"What's this? Why can I sense the aura of the Ninth Spirit Core within you?" She asked sternly. A suspicion flashed in her mind, and she stared at Merlin with wide eyes. "Don't tell me… You broke through the level?"

Merlin, neither humble nor arrogant, simply nodded slightly. "Yeah, Master. I broke through yesterday afternoon."

"What?" Linda's eyebrows furrowed instantly. "I estimated that you'd only break through at the end of the month. It hasn't even been ten days yet. How did you do it?"

All this time, besides training Merlin, Linda had also been observing and checking his condition. Considering his young age, she needed to make sure the foundation of his power was stable.

Otherwise, it could negatively affect his body. As his master, Linda didn't want anything bad to happen to her disciple.

After all, Merlin was the only disciple she personally taught—and she already saw him as her own nephew.

And yet, something she had never imagined actually happened: Merlin had reached the Ninth Spirit Core level without her help!

How could she not be worried?

Seeing her genuine concern, warmth spread in Merlin's chest.

Linda truly cared for him, and that alone was enough proof that choosing her as his master had never been a mistake.

"Please hear me out first, Master. Yesterday…"

He carefully recounted everything that had happened.

Of course, he didn't mention that Lyserra had transformed into her true form for a few minutes.

He only explained that he had given her all of his mana so she could kill the black‑cloaked man.

Linda listened intently, unable to hide her surprise and astonishment.

"So that's the story," Merlin said with a shrug. "Somehow, I leveled up just by giving her all my mana. It sounds impossible, but it happened."

Linda fell silent for a moment, processing everything.

After taking a deep breath, she explained seriously, "That can happen because you pushed your body to its limits. There have been cases where mages did the same thing you did, but in the end, they died because their bodies couldn't endure mana depletion. What happened to you is actually rare. So—"

She tugged his ear and scolded, "Don't ever do something that reckless again. If you do, I'll punish you severely. Even your mother and father won't be able to save you. Understand?"

Feeling her sharp gaze, Merlin swallowed hard and nodded stiffly. "I understand… Master."

Linda's smile returned as she released his ear and took a step back.

"All right, let's begin training. Since you've reached the Ninth Spirit Core, I'll teach you more variations of basic magic, as well as the proper ways to use mana so you don't waste it. Are you ready?"

Merlin nodded eagerly, a broad smile on his face. "Ready, Master!"

…

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Merlin underwent rigorous training under Linda's guidance.

After reaching the Ninth Spirit Core level, his training changed drastically.

Whereas before he had focused on physical conditioning, now Linda trained him in crucial areas such as mana control, magic flow, and other fundamental techniques.

Of course, that didn't mean Merlin abandoned his physical training. Every two days, he still had to run a thousand laps before continuing with his theoretical and practical magic exercises.

Merlin's days were so packed that he barely had time for his younger sister, leaving the little girl to complain and sulk often.

Fortunately, Merlin knew how to calm her down, so it was never a serious problem.

Boom!

A magical explosion echoed from a distance, and Merlin collapsed to the ground, panting.

"Master… I did it…" He raised his right thumb, beaming with a wide smile.

Beside him, Linda gave a faint smile and a small nod.

"The results are impressive. You've improved a lot," Linda praised. "But…"

A mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes. "It's still not enough. Tomorrow, you'll have to do better. Otherwise, you'll run three thousand laps. Understand?"

Merlin: "…"

Annoyed but unwilling to argue, Merlin simply nodded heavily.

"All right…" he sighed softly.

Seeing his expression, Linda couldn't help but laugh. She sat down next to him and snapped her fingers.

Whoosh!

A green magic circle appeared, producing two glasses—one of strawberry juice, the other of orange.

"Here, to wet your throat."

Merlin's eyes lit up. He quickly sat up and eagerly drank the strawberry juice.

Linda remained silent for a moment, holding back a twinge of disappointment.

The strawberry juice had been meant for her, while the orange was for Merlin.

She had assumed her disciple would pick the orange, so she prepared both. But she had been wrong, and now she sipped the orange juice with a hint of sadness.

"Ah… it's so refreshing! Thank you, Master!" Merlin smiled sincerely.

Seeing him like that, Linda's annoyance melted away, replaced by a warm, happy feeling.

"Oh, right, Master, I want to ask you something." Merlin's expression turned serious. "Can Saint Freya Academy accept students without taking the entrance exam?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.