"Oh? You finally woke up? I thought you were dead."

Merlin blinked in surprise. He looked up and saw Lyserra somehow lounging lazily on top of the lamp.

"Lyserra? Is that you?" he asked, astonished. "And… how long have you been there?"

Lyserra jumped down onto the bed, padded over to Merlin's stomach, then lay back down with a casual yawn.

"Since a while ago," she said nonchalantly. "By the way, you finally woke up. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

She let out a helpless sigh and shot Merlin an irritated glance.

Merlin furrowed his brow. "How long was I unconscious?"

"You were out for over two weeks."

"Over two weeks?" Merlin froze, disbelief written across his face. "Are you serious? How could I have been unconscious for that long?"

Lyserra rolled her eyes. "Do you think I have the energy to joke around? But I suppose it's understandable… considering you were—"

She paused, biting back the rest of her words.

"Never mind. The important thing is that you're awake. Now I can finally relax… and go back to sleep."

With that, she closed her eyes. Within seconds, the little dragon was fast asleep, leaving Merlin staring at her in confusion.

"What exactly happened?" Merlin muttered, biting his lower lip.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind, steady and rhythmic.

"[Whoaa! Master, you're finally awake! I was so worried you'd died! Thank goodness you're still alive!]"

Merlin froze for a moment before calling out, "System?"

"[I'm here, Master,]" the system replied, its voice shaking with relief.

Merlin let out a long, exhausted sigh and leaned back against the bed.

He gently stroked Lyserra's body and asked, "System, tell me what really happened after I drank all those potions. And the battle… did Gabriel Solayne succeed in conquering the Avernia Kingdom?"

That was what worried him most. He had been unconscious for two whole weeks.

He had no idea what had happened on the battlefield. Yet, by his calculations, the Avernia Kingdom's army should have been completely crushed.

"[Master, it's a very long story,]" the system sighed softly. "[But I'll explain. After you drank all those potions, you…]"

The system proceeded to recount every event to Merlin in detail.

Merlin listened in silence, calm on the surface—but the deeper he heard, the more shocked he became.

When the system finally finished, Merlin spoke at last.

"So… the war was won by the Kingdom of Avernia, and Gabriel Solayne is dead?" His heart raced.

"[Yes, Master. The Kingdom of Avernia achieved a complete victory, and Gabriel Solayne was defeated. The one who defeated him… was you—or rather, your future self.]"

Even after two weeks had passed, the system still struggled to comprehend the reality of what had happened.

According to the original plan, its master had intended to use all the potions merely to increase his chances of reaching the First Spirit Core level quickly.

Of course, the side effects had been extremely dangerous. The system had warned Merlin—but he had ignored it.

Unexpectedly, when he went through with it, he didn't reach the First Spirit Core stage. Instead, his future self appeared in this era.

At that moment, the system was terrified. The future master's power was unbelievably immense—so overwhelming it seemed as if it could annihilate everything with just a thought.

Merlin fell silent, swallowing nervously.

'How… how could this happen? My future self? It doesn't make any sense…' he muttered, his voice tense.

If anyone else had told him, Merlin might have remained skeptical.

But this was the system. There was no way it would lie just to trick him.

Moreover, judging by Lyserra's earlier expression, it seemed she already knew as well.

"Hah…" Merlin sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "System… what does my future self look like?"

The system paused for a moment before replying, "[Your future self is very handsome, Master. You're far more mature than you are now. And most importantly… incredibly strong. I even feel small standing next to him.]"

Merlin felt a flush of embarrassment. After all, it was still him—just… future him.

"[But don't get too excited, Master. The appearance of your future self likely means that the world's course is becoming increasingly unstable,]" the system continued seriously. "[Be careful. If you act recklessly, it's not impossible that you could die—and your future self might never exist. The future is full of mysteries.]"

Listening to the warning, Merlin forced himself to calm down.

The system was right. The future… was indeed unpredictable.

His future self was undoubtedly powerful—but that didn't necessarily mean it was his true future.

"Oh, right—where's my reward?" Merlin asked eagerly.

He rubbed his hands together like someone about to collect their paycheck at the end of the month.

Every time he completed a system mission, waiting for the reward was always the most exciting part.

"[Ding! The mission 'Plunge into the battlefield, defeat Gabriel Solayne, and bring victory to the Kingdom of Avernia' has been completed! Reward: 100,000 system points, 2x Pandora's Boxes, and 1x Level S Healing Potion have been granted!]"

Merlin's excitement surged as he saw the notification.

His system points had previously been nearly depleted—only 80,000 remained.

Now, with 100,000 points granted, half of the points he had spent before had been restored.

He opened the system shop and saw his total: 180,000 points.

Merlin browsed through the shop for items of value. After five minutes, he purchased some potions and energy-boosting food for Lyserra.

The dragon had been guarding him for two whole weeks; it was only fair she received a reward.

Then his eyes fell on his other rewards: 2x Pandora's Boxes and an S-level Healing Potion.

He was especially thrilled with the healing potion—it was the highest-level potion in the system.

If such a potion existed in the real world, it could unleash untold chaos across the entire continent.

Finally, his gaze shifted to the two Pandora's Boxes.

'Pandora's Box, huh? That reminds me of the game God of War,' Merlin muttered with a small chuckle.

According to legend, Pandora's Box was a forbidden artifact—whoever opened it would unleash curses and plagues upon the world.

But that was just a story. The system's Pandora's Box was more like a gacha box in an MMORPG.

"System, what are the chances of getting skills, potions, or even items from Pandora's Box?" Merlin asked.

Of the three, skills were clearly the most valuable—and conveniently, he was the most lacking in them compared to items and potions.

"[The chance of getting an item is thirty percent, potions sixty percent, and skills ten percent,]" the system explained.

"Tsk!" Merlin clicked his tongue. "The skill rate is extremely low. I bet you set it deliberately, system."

The system rolled its eyes. "[Don't slander me, Master.]"

As Merlin and the system bantered, footsteps echoed outside the door.

Soon after, the door opened, and a little girl appeared, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Merlin? You're awake?"

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.