Merlin was a genius.
Not the exaggerated kind that people often talked about when describing a particularly skilled individual, no, the real kind, the kind that stood above all other geniuses! He was the kind of person that, in another world, could even be the protagonist!
If this were his story, then perhaps he really would be one…
No, not just that, perhaps—
In the same way Elena and the Heroes were walking through their own stories, Noah and Merlin would walk in parallel. This situation wasn't unique either! For some reason, many individuals like this had recently been born, and people like this, the 'uncrowned protagonists', or the 'heavens chosen', were beginning to converge, pulled together by the unseen threads of fate, and were slowly dragged towards the calamities ahead!
Arthur knew this, but he couldn't imagine the reason why.
As for Petra, she was also suspicious, not because she wanted to play, but because she was paranoid about some unseen conspiracy!
Standing to the side, a short distance away from Petra and her party, Arthur folded his arms and glanced toward Pen. "What do you think?" He asked in a low voice.
Pen didn't hesitate to answer his master. "I can't see Merlin losing. He's too strong..."
They had fought many times, trained together for many months, and even after a full year, the speed at which Merlin continued to grow was unimaginable for him!
This was also 'one' of the reasons Penn felt depressed. At least, one of the many…
Arthur hummed quietly, his eyes locked on the field. He didn't disagree, but something about it bothered him. As with all things related to Petra, simply being around her would interfere with his foresight. This meant that Arthur never had time to truly assess Noah's potential or talent. Back then, he had approached the underground cell to look for a student, and this student was destined to be Noah, but that didn't mean he knew everything about him, especially after Petra had blinded one of his eyes.
Unfortunately, before Arthur could even get a glimpse, Petra had already 'poisoned' him with whatever power she possessed that impeded his vision.
This meant that Noah was a complete anomaly to him…
He frowned and focused forward, not wanting to believe that the student he had trained for over a year would be defeated. He knew that Merlin was strong, very strong, but once again, like all things related to Petra, there was an inexplicable unease in his heart.
On the other side of the field—
Rose leaned towards Petra. "Who do you think will win?"
Petra didn't even look over, she just snorted and continued to chew on a spicy strip of something salty. "Is there anyone in 'Noah's generation' that can beat her? Although she can't compare to you guys, that's only because she's a year behind."
Rose blinked.
Soryn added casually from the side, "That kid works harder than all of you slackers combined."
Rose frowned, then looked back at the arena. It was true, although Noah couldn't beat any of them, that didn't mean that she was weak, but—
Was she really that strong?
The red cat just couldn't see it…
In the makeshift arena—
Merlin clenched his teeth.
He looked at Noah's petite frame, her calm and compact expression, the way she stood there, her empty hands, her unreadable eyes, and that sickening aura of cuteness that spilled off her body. He felt butterflies churn in his stomach.
I'll make this quick, Merlin swore to himself!
Noah's gaze narrowed as her body lowered slightly, then—
Boom! She exploded into motion!
A shockwave rippled out as the two figures blurred. Noah surged forward instantly, her feet tearing across the ground as she tried to close the distance, but—
Merlin responded just as quickly! No, he was even a step ahead!
-
Hum! The magic matrices orbiting Merlin unfurled, unfolding into layered spell circles that stacked on top of each other.
Wang! Light flashed as the surrounding spiritual energy was devoured at a terrifying speed!
The puddles scattered across the ground trembled, then surged upward in a violent tide. The liquid twisted into sweeping arcs, freezing mid-motion as ice crystallized along their curves, creating jagged and luminous bolts. Frost spread outward through the air as the temperature plummeted. A sharp howl tore across the field as air compressed and created currents formed from razor-thin wind blades.
They all shot forward, threading through the overlapping spell circles, and amplifying themselves with each layer they passed through!
Ice, water, and wind interlocked seamlessly, attempting to force Noah backward step by step!
The cascade of spells ended in a spreading haze of frost that swallowed the space between them.
In a single breath—
The entire environment turned hostile!
Dorthy sucked in a cold breath. "He's incredible," she muttered. "He might have even surpassed Albery, the top student in my generation at the Magic Academy!" Bell nodded quickly. "Those spell circles are far more complex than what we learned in the Sky Tower..."
Petra's ears perked up.
Soryn shook her head. "Not more 'complex'. They are more refined and 'compact'. That system is common among 'Diamond Rank' and 'Legend-class adventurers', but learning how to form a magic matrix at his age is ridiculous…" Her voice trailed off.
A 'Magic Matrix' was just another name for a three-dimensional spell circle that could be used as a 'stamp' to quicken the formation of the following spell circles, as well as create more compact spells!
Boom!
Noah was pushed back.
She ducked under an ice shard, twisted past the transparent slicing wind, and shot backwards as her steps skidded across wet ground. Several spells detonated around her, and for a moment, it almost looked like she was losing, but then—
Woosh! Something shifted!
Her muscles tensed, her posture sharpened, and she surged forward again, forcefully cutting through the storm of magic like a living hammer. Each step was precise, each movement was refined, minimal, and methodically measured.
The spells didn't slow her down at all, no, she even used them as a scaffolding to approach!
She exploded forward like a comet!
She leapt, spun, and twisted through the onslaught of spells with a series of acrobatics that bordered on the impossible. Ice shattered behind her feet, Wind missed with a single step, and the water parted from her mere aura alone.
Then—
She was there, directly in front of Merlin! The distance was completely gone!
Her foot hit the ground, her fist drew back, and Noah erupted, not with magic, not with mana, no, with something more raw, more terrifying! It was pure 'intent!' 'Fist intent!'
Her eyes had sharpened with an inhuman level of focus, sending a shiver down Merlin's spine.
Merlin's eyes widened!
"Shit!"
But it was too late…
No! No, it wasn't! Merlin didn't retreat! He couldn't! His instincts screamed as he clenched his wand tighter, his fingers bleeding as the ornate design pierced his skin.
The moment Noah closed the distance, something flashed in her mind, and her instincts took over!
Swoosh! Her eyes flashed as she spontaneously shot sideways!
Where she had been—
BOOM!! A massive spire of ice tore through the ground! Boom!
A frost-filled mist overflowed through the field as Noah quickly examined the sudden attack. Her expression hardened, because she was unable to see the trajectory of the attack, no, she wasn't even able to feel the mana condensing!
She frowned, thinking, 'What was that…?'
Just as her foot was about to touch the ground—
Wang! Her pupils constricted as a violent surge of mana burst forth from Merlin's body, sweeping past her and knocking her back into the air. Her expression hardened, as she looked at Merlin, who roared as the spell circle in front of him spun rapidly, like an engine igniting, its speed flickering in the haze and releasing sparks of arcane light as it revved up!
The world answered his call!
Boom!
An oppressive wave of spiritual energy spilled out—!
Ice bloomed across the ground in a spiderweb of crystallized plates, covering a massive area, and layering atop one another in strange and shifting patterns. The wind compressed and twisted, screaming as it folded inwards, forming a sealed space of peerless pressure. Water surged up from 'every source', even the humidity in the air, the clothes of the spectators, not even the blood in one's body was spared from the sudden pull! It all coiled into a series of massive serpentine arcs that intertwined with the outer barrier of the 'false' domain like some kind of living thing, wrapping the two combatants in a shell of magic and mana!
In an instant, Merlin's self-created battlefield was complete!
Dorthy and Bell looked at this scene in awe.
They were both high-level mages from prestigious backgrounds, and both had the help of Petra, but even they had to wonder if this was something that a youth at the Foundation Establishment Realm, or the Mages' equivalent, should be able to do!
It was a legendary display of magic control and willpower that none of them had ever seen before!
Petra looked over with a flicker in her eye.
Before the thought could even cross her mind, she had already seen the ambition and dissatisfaction in their gaze. It seemed as if she didn't need to remind them to stop slacking off in their cultivation…
She looked back at the field.
The wind screamed, crushing downwards! Boom!
Hooong! Crack! Bang! The ice shattered and reformed constantly, turning the ground into a moving maze of unstable platforms. Water and wind struck out from inside the barrier, Swoosh! It wasn't wild and uncontrolled, no! It was deliberate, coordinated, and like a tamer and their beasts!
Merlin was controlling all of this with his 'Will' alone! Anyone else would have been crushed by the weight of their own magic, but Merlin suffered only a nosebleed! His raw talent quickly formed the spells, his willpower forcefully controlled them, and an artifact at his waist drew a nearly unlimited amount of Mana into his body!
The stress he faced was unimaginable, but—!
As for his opponent…
Boom!
Noah was not only fine, but she was also accelerating! Now that she was 'trapped' in the barrier, there was no way out! Because of this, Merlin knew he couldn't slow down!
Woosh! She moved!
Her steps slipped between detonating ice plates, jumping back and forth, up and down, and dodging the shrapnel by mere fractions of a second. Wind blades screamed past her shoulders, close enough to tear fabric, and water dragons snapped and coiled, aiming to attack her, only to repeatedly strike empty space! She shifted just enough to let all of them pass!
It wasn't flashy—
No! It was terrifyingly accurate!
Her body flowed through the storm of spells as if it had already understood what was coming and where it came from. This level of combat awareness was unprecedented!
From the side—
Soryn's eyes narrowed. "Is she reading it?"
Bell's breathing became rapid. With sparkling eyes, "She is! She's using her spiritual sense to analyze the spell circles and predict how they will react with the environments!"
Wind frowned, before asking, "Is that even possible?"
"It's extremely difficult, even for unreasonable people like us," said Mell. "Even our little master should have trouble doing it. It seems as if we all underestimated Noah's innate instincts."
Rose snorted, an action that was quickly followed by a comical little huff from Lira, "Is it that impressive? Isn't it just unnecessary?"
"Hum-hum!" Lira nodded repeatedly.
Elli suddenly spoke for the first time in a long time. Her voice was emotionless and unnatural, but it was clear and concise. "Noah isn't reading the spell circles to predict the spells. She's using her instincts to 'guess' what the spell might do. Take a look—" Elli pointed at the spell matrix's ordering around Merlin. "—That's a spell circle formed from the Sea Clan, that one's from the Silver Elves, and that one's from the utility branch of the Fire Bird Clans Rune System. Noah definitely can't read it."
All the girls, especially Dorthy and Bell, looked at the spell circles, or more specifically, the runes that formed them, and were shocked.
It was true! If that was the case, then just what kind of monster was this kid!?
Rose felt the pressure!
Back to the battle—
Merlin's patience snapped.
Frustrated, he pushed himself even harder!
Wang! The wind roared back to life, and pressure stacked upon pressure until the air itself grew dense, warping the space between them. Gravity began to bend, with the air twisting under the strain of his layered magic. Ice erupted from the ground in jagged spines, spearing upward in violent bursts. They twisted as they rose, splitting into branching blades and forked lances that boxed the battlefield into a deadly maze. Water surged from below in violent pulses, then shattered into a countless number of suspended droplets. In the next instant, they accelerated like raindrops that had turned into countless projectiles, striking from every angle, and overlapping in a relentless barrage like ten thousand bullets falling from the sky!
Wind compressed, Ice restricted, and water harassed. Every element served a purpose in this spell!
Merlin's magic interlocked ruthlessly, leaving no way to escape! He believed there was a limit to what one person could handle, and he intended to force Noah to reach it! These two youths had long exceeded the limits of a foundation establishment cultivator, even reaching into the later levels of the Golden Core Realm. Each of them had the potential to be a Heaven's Chosen, as for why they weren't, only fate could tell.
Noah ducked, twisted, jumped, and stepped. Her movements were small, efficient, almost lazy in their simplicity, but every attack still missed by the smallest possible margin!
Merlin's teeth clenched.
Why couldn't he touch her!? If this continued, then—
Noah stepped forward.
Step! Boom—!