Chapter 130

Chapter 130

The representatives were gathered in a large hall. Merlin and Miho arrived relatively late; more than half of all the representatives were already present.

“Oh my, what happened to your eyes?” Nell asked Merlin.

“Hahaha! I-I bumped into a boobytrap.”

“I don’t recall any boobytrap in the Trial that could cause such an injury…”

With an awkward look on his face, Merlin looked at Nell before covering his black eye. With his other hand he used a treatment-type magic on his bruised face, but it wasn’t settling down. It seemed that Miho had hit him with some sort of magic technique.

“Ugh, it’s not like I did something bad… how could you hit a friend…”

“Shut up. If I hadn’t held back, you’d be dead.”

“Ah, come on. Don’t talk like that. Be cute again, you know, like Bbo-bee…”

Bam!

“Ugh!”

Merlin’s head snapped back from her soaring uppercut. Fortunately, he had slightly moved his head before the connection, so her uppercut just grazed his face. However, Merlin was in a state of panic.

“Huh? Why couldn’t I avoid it?”

The difference in physical strength and ability between Merlin and Miho was like the difference between a tiger and a cat. Why couldn’t Merlin avoid such a simple uppercut? While Merlin panicked, Miho growled, apparently disinterested in whatever Merlin was thinking.

“If you do that again, whether you’re a friend or colleague, I won’t put up with it!”

“Man, you were so cute, though.”

Merlin tried to plead his case, but Miho sat in her designated seat without responding to him.

“I’m going to meditate for ten hours and stabilize the monster power that I gained. The Great Will will awaken in twelve hours, so I’ll have plenty of time.”

“Hmm, but I’ll be so bored.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“…”

With that, Miho crossed her legs and started meditating. In this state, even if Merlin pestered her with questions, Miho definitely wouldn’t answer.

“Man, was what I did that bad?”

Seeing Miho enter a meditative state, Merlin scratched his head with a troubled look on his face. He had made her dance and sing because he felt that image fit her best, but her reaction had been intense and fierce. An unknowing observer might have thought that Miho was acting up to gain Merlin’s attention. However, that didn’t explain how and why Miho leveled up and forcefully disconnected the Magic Eye Merlin had placed on her.

“Hmm, it seems you two had a bit of an argument.” said Nell, who had been quietly observing the two. Perhaps because it was hot inside the hall, Nell had taken off her robe.

“…!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Merlin managed to hold in his surprise and come to his senses. His excellent self-control prevented his gaze from being directed at a particular part of Nell’s body.

“Why are her boobs the size of a manga character’s…”

While Merlin tried to contain his shock, Nell commented, “I noticed that your jewel is a Sapphire. You must be specialized in ice spells!”

“Specialized?”

Merlin frowned, wondering what she meant by specialized. Of course, amongst users, there were some who specialized in certain spells. These users focused on a specific magic circuitry path, giving up on broadening the number of magic spells they could cast in order to focus solely on increasing the power of a few spells. However, Merlin didn’t show any tell-tale signs of having taken this path, so he was taken aback by Nell’s confidence in her assumption.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just don’t understand what you mean. Nell… as a part of the Seven Jewel… I mean, as a jewel magic practitioner… do you specialize in certain spells?”

This time around, Nell looked confused.

“It’s the life of a jewel magic practitioner to be limited to a certain arsenal of spells once one’s jewel is decided upon. Since I specialize in gravity-related magic spells, my jewel is an Opal. This has allowed me to meet my current Master, so I’m not complaining, but…”

“Eh?”

This was the first time Merlin had heard of such things.

“What’s wrong?” Nell asked.

“Hmm. Nothing. Can I grab your hand for a moment?”

“Ack! You rascal! What are you trying to do to Nell?!” Perrin screamed out.

Perrin instantly reacted and looked around to see if anyone overheard, but Nell ignored her and extended her hand toward Merlin.

“You’re asking to see my right hand, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Merlin wanted to observe the magic stone that was embedded on the back of her right hand. After focusing his magic power on his fingertips, Merlin lightly tapped Nell’s magic stone.

Ting.

A sound like metal hitting metal rang out. At the same time, Merlin saw a shockwave of magic power ripple out. The magic power pattern Merlin saw was…

“It sucks…”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing!”

Merlin laughed awkwardly after seeing Nell’s confused expression.

‘Is someone playing a joke… what the hell is this?’

Merlin, who had always been supplied with ‘complete’ theories and practices in DIO, was left speechless after seeing Nell’s magic power pattern. Of course, Merlin had seen many other monsters’ patterns, but Nell’s, which originated from the same magic school of study as his, had serious fundamental flaws.

“I see. That’s why my magic stones have been constantly changing.”

After seeing Nell’s magic stone, Merlin clearly understood the Seven Jewel School’s training method. The Seven Jewel School’s training method was based on a type of ‘quenching’.

By changing one’s magic stone seven times, the Seven Jewel school perfected one’s magic stone. It was like the process of quenching metals and alloys periodically to limit the changes occurring within them. By applying high heat and then rapidly cooling, a martensite formation forms within, making it tremendously durable. Hence, the Seven Jewel school’s training method wasn’t just to increase purity, but to make the magic stone’s internal formation stronger by applying artificial stress.

‘But Nell’s magic stone doesn’t have any of those properties. From start to end, it’s just one magic stone. The only thing that can be improved is its purity.’

From the perspective of the Seven Jewel school of thought, Nell’s current method was very outdated. The difference was as severe as metals used in the Bronze Age versus those used in the Iron Age. Interestingly, Nell had still reached quite a high level. Moreover, her magic stone had reached a relatively high state of purity. In its current state, a little stimulation would be more than enough to alter it. However, Nell, who had been training incorrectly for a long time, was unlikely to understand this concept.

“Please, do it.”

“Huh?”

“Do what you see fit. I trust you.”

Unexpectedly, Nell accepted Merlin’s thoughts as if she had read them. Startled, Perrin cried out.

“Nell, what’s wrong? Why are you telling him to do whatever he sees fit?”

“Alright then,” Merlin replied.

“What do you mean ‘alright, then’?!” Perrin screamed out.

Taken aback, Perrin flapped her arms wildly, but Merlin disregarded her screams and focused. He doubted it would take him very long.

“Please relax and don’t resist.”

“No, wait! What are you trying to do to Nell…!”

Whoosh!

Merlin began to transform Nell’s magic power composition by injecting his own power into her magic stone. This wasn’t difficult for Merlin. In the past, he had jumped through five developmental stages himself.

Crack!

The Opal embedded on the back of Nell’s hand cracked, and from the ends of the stone inwards, it began to change color.

“Ugh…!”

Nell let out a whimper, but Merlin continued to focus. As he had initially expected, the process didn’t take long.

“W-what… is this…”

“The transformation was a success. It seems like you now have a Black Opal.”

Merlin let go of Nell’s hand and looked at the jewel. Her previously bluish-colored Opal had turned completely black. In addition, the color was clearer and more defined, which meant it had become purer.

‘It didn’t change to a different type of jewel. Well, I guess it reflects the direction and path that she’s followed up until now.’

Considering a few variables, Merlin calculated Nell’s potential magic power development. Since she had already undergone considerable growth, her magic stone would only be able to change, or go through the process of ‘quenching’, two or three more times.

“Incredible. My magic power capacity has increased fifty percent.”

“I made some modifications to your inefficient magic power system. I also fixed a few problem areas… you’ll be able to figure out the rest on your own, right?”

“I won’t be able to do it as fast as you, but probably.”

Nell wasn’t a low-level mage. Purely in terms of magic power capacity and level, Nell was above Merlin, so it would be more appropriate to say that Nell was a more accomplished mage than Merlin. Since she had gone through training and development of her magic stone before, she wouldn’t have too many complications developing it again. The main issue that she would have to face wasn’t one of difficulty, but of fundamental ideas. Thus, Nell would probably have to go through some trial and error, but she wouldn’t have to overcome any large obstacles.

“Hmm. My jewel has changed color. Has the type changed?”

“No, the type remained. It’s more appropriate to say that its range has increased a little.”

Nell, who was still uncertain about her magic stone’s new properties, fell into thought. However, she soon shook her head, took out a crystal from her pocket, and handed it to Merlin.

“Please, take this.”

“What? No. You don’t have to give me anything…”

Merlin shook his head, but Nell said with a bright smile, “I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t accept your grace without offering any compensation in return. You’ve relieved a jewel magic practitioner’s major roadblock.”

“Well, then I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

Merlin applied Appraisal on the crystal.

[Item: Memory Stone

Rank 5

Rare

A magic crystal that can store a specified magic spell for instantaneous use. Similar to a Spell Card used by card magic practitioners. An advanced stone, this Memory Stone currently stores 3 spells.

First Stored Spell: Reverse Gravity

Second Stored Spell: Gravity Distortion

Third Stored Spell: Gravity Cannon]

“A Memory Stone…”

“It contains three different gravity spells. It’s fine with me if you decide to learn them as well.”

“Is it okay for you to just give me your spells like this?”

Of course, for users, magic spells were not confidential things. Spells and chants could simply be obtained with money, so magic’s true difficulty was always rooted in one’s level and ability. However, this wasn’t the case for NPCs, as NPCs often practiced their own unique martial arts or magic.

“It doesn’t matter. My master often told me that the more one hides knowledge, the weaker one becomes. Besides… hmm.”

Nell suddenly felt a wave of magic power and paused. Her black Opal had begun to circulate magic power.

“Your current magic power hasn’t yet adapted to the newly constructed magic stone. You’ll most likely need to remake your own magic power as well.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Nell bowed her head, sat in a nearby chair, and closed her eyes. Likely having learned a different method than Merlin, Nell was able to enter meditation without taking a cross-legged position.

“Well, it’s not like I really care about what position people take when meditating… oh shoot, I forgot! Quiet Heaven!”

Woong!

A small magic circle rose in the air and spit out a red eagle. Merlin’s pet, Quiet Heaven, complained as soon as it showed up.

“Ah, such bad timing… you should have summoned me earlier!”

“Huh? What were you doing?”

“I was getting bored while waiting for you, so I decided to find out just how tall this Tower of Truth was. I was just about to reach the top before you summoned me.”

After flying around Merlin for a bit, Quiet Heaven landed atop Merlin’s head. It did this so gracefully and naturally that it didn’t make a single sound when landing.

“Gosh, it seems you’ve found your permanent spot.”

“It’s not like I’m clawing the top of your head, so stop griping. If I sit on your shoulder, it’ll limit your vision.”

Merlin shook his head. Though an eagle, Quiet Heaven was able to bend its legs inward like a duck, so there was no danger of being scratched by Quiet Heaven’s talons. However, this didn’t alleviate the issue of Quiet Heaven’s weight. Moreover, Quiet Heaven wasn’t a small being. Though seated with its wings tucked in – unfurled, it had a wingspan of two meters – Quiet Heaven was larger than Merlin’s head, so Merlin couldn’t help but feel a little constricted when he moved his head. As an internal energy practitioner, Merlin didn’t feel any pain in his neck, but the image of a large bird sitting atop his head was comical.

“It’s uncomfortable. Don’t you have some other way?”

“Some other way?”

“Like… perpetually flying or something.”

At Merlin’s words, Quiet Heaven scoffed.

“I’m not helium gas… anyway, we’re in an enclosed space, but once we’re in a wide-open area, I’ll fly around in circles. Is it so uncomfortable that you can’t stand it?”

Quiet Heaven was able to control the wind around it, so it could in fact fly without flapping its wings even at low altitudes. However, Quiet Heaven did not do so, as it found Merlin’s head quite comfortable. Moreover, the surrounding wind was relatively violent and could possibly pose some danger.

“No, well, it’s not that uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter, but… whatever.”

Merlin sighed quietly and approached Miho’s side, who was still sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Are you going to go into sleep-mode? Why don’t you just log out?”

“I’d love to, but everyone else here would become suspicious if they saw me suddenly disappear. It’s better if I show that I’m sleeping. Also, if I use sleep-mode, I can constantly monitor what’s going on in-game.”

Though he could have just laid down on the floor, Merlin took out a piece of wood he had been carrying in his inventory to use as a pillow and laid down.

“Oh, what happens to you when I log out in sleep-mode?”

“The default setting is logout. I’ll disappear.”

Since Quiet Heaven said it was a default setting, this also meant that there could be a custom setting.

“So, can I have you remain here?”

“Yes, you can assign me as a watchman to protect my sleeping master. I’m more of an attack-type, but I also have a few defensive barrier abilities.”

“Oh, good. Then, do you mind if you hang out here for a while? I want to understand what’s going on around me.”

“Fine.”

“Thanks. [Logout. Sleep-Mode].”

/Commencing log off. You will become immobile for the next 10 seconds. You are open to attack during this time, so if you’re not in a safe area, cancel the log off process and take appropriate measures. 10, 9, 8…/

After seeing the text box appear before him, Merlin closed his eyes. As his breathing became regular, Merlin soon fell asleep.