"Merlin, I will tell you how to carry out the ritual," Vargan said calmly.

Merlin nodded. "Please assist me, Your Majesty."

He understood that only he would offer the ritual to the Dragon of Light, while Vargan and Charlotte had to step outside and wait.

"The offering to the Dragon of Light is carried out in several steps."

Vargan began explaining everything to Merlin in detail.

After ten minutes, he finished his explanation and asked, "Do you understand?"

Merlin rubbed his chin and gave a small nod.

"I understand, Your Majesty."

"Good!" Vargan smiled in satisfaction. "Don't worry, you can perform the ritual calmly. I will give you six hours, and during that time, you can try to communicate with the Dragon of Light. If you can obtain its blessing, it will be yours. But if not, that's fine. I hope you can accept it and not get emotional. Do you understand?"

The dragon's blessing was more valuable than anything else—even legendary weapons. It could grant its owner great fortune and power.

Some even said that with it, the one who possessed the blessing could even suppress the dragon race.

Well, that was just a rumor, and Vargan couldn't confirm its truth. Even so, the blessing was indeed extremely powerful.

Frankly, he was deeply envious of Merlin's identity as "the child in the prophecy."

With it, he had the chance to obtain the dragon's blessing. But he also knew that behind every privilege came a heavy responsibility.

Vargan himself wasn't sure if he could bear it.

"I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty."

Vargan nodded and gave a few more instructions before leaving the altar with Charlotte.

"Cheer up, Merlin. I know you can," Charlotte said encouragingly.

"Thank you." Merlin smiled softly.

After the two were out of sight, Merlin turned his gaze back to the two-meter-tall statue.

He took a deep breath and stepped closer.

"System, do you sense anything strange about that statue?" Merlin asked.

"[I feel it, Master,]" the system replied seriously. "[There is a strange cluster of energy centered inside the statue. The energy is so strong that I feel goosebumps.]"

Merlin was confused. Wasn't the system just a consciousness?

Why did it say it felt goosebumps?

Still, he didn't think too much about it and asked again, "How strong is that energy?"

"[It's so strong that it can't be described in words. But to give you an idea, that energy fills the entire hall.]"

Merlin narrowed his eyes. "Is it dangerous?"

"[Dangerous? It doesn't seem so. The energy isn't destructive at all. On the contrary, it makes the atmosphere calm and comfortable. You should feel it too.]"

Merlin followed the system's words and tried to absorb the energy.

Sure enough, he felt his body grow lighter, as if all his fatigue had been washed away.

'Is that dragon energy?' Merlin opened his eyes and stared at the statue with a deep gaze.

He had underestimated the Dragon of Light. Before this, he thought he might be able to defeat the dragon.

Unfortunately, reality slapped him in the face. The dragon was far more mysterious and terrifying than he had imagined.

Boom!

The sound of the gates closing echoed from behind, signaling that Vargan and Charlotte had left the hall.

That meant he had to begin his ritual.

Merlin lowered his gaze to the three golden bowls in front of him.

There was also red powder and various other tools for the ritual.

Without hesitation, he began performing the ritual.

Vargan had explained the steps earlier, so Merlin already knew what to do.

Fifteen minutes later, he finished and lifted one of the golden bowls toward the golden dragon statue.

With his eyes closed, Merlin began chanting a spell to summon the Dragon of Light.

"Mighty Dragon of Light, hear my call. I come as the child in the prophecy and wish to meet you. I need your help. Grant me your blessing."

He repeated the spell three times before stopping, then waited calmly for the Dragon of Light's response.

Seconds passed, but Merlin still didn't sense anything unusual.

He opened his eyes and asked hesitantly, "Was my spell wrong?"

"[It seems so, Master. Could there be a phrase you forgot to mention?]"

"Hmmm… I'm quite sure the spell I recited is perfect. Nothing is missing, because I recorded Vargan's explanation clearly in my mind," Merlin said.

"[Then try repeating the spell again. Maybe on the second try, the Dragon of Light will appear and show itself to you,]" the system suggested.

Merlin nodded and repeated the spell.

"Mighty Dragon of Light, hear my call. I come as the child in the prophecy and wish to meet you. I need your help. Grant me your blessing."

He repeated it four times just in case he had missed something.

Once he finished reciting it, he waited calmly. And again, there was no reaction, which confused Merlin even more.

"Hah…" He sighed deeply. "Maybe it's not my luck to see the Light Dragon directly."

Come to think of it, Vargan had never guaranteed whether he would be able to see the dragon or not. It all depended on his luck.

But as the child in the prophecy, the dragon should have revealed itself.

"System, do you have anything that can summon the dragon?" Merlin asked curiously.

If the usual ritual couldn't summon it, then he had no choice but to rely on the system.

It might feel like cheating, but he didn't care. As long as he reached his goal, the method didn't matter.

"[I don't have that, Master. However, I do have another idea to summon the Light Dragon,]" the system replied with a wide grin.

Seeing its expression, Merlin suddenly had a bad feeling. Still, he was curious and asked, "How?"

"[Simple—let's blow up this hall!]" the system exclaimed joyfully. "[Explosions are art! Hahaha!]"

Merlin: "…"

Was the system mentally ill?

Why didn't he know that?

Merlin rubbed his head and was about to say something when a shocking event occurred.

The atmosphere tensed, and the altar beneath him began shaking violently.

The ritual tools in front of him trembled, and the powder in the other two bowls scattered everywhere.

Merlin quickly stood up and looked around warily.

"What's going on? Why is the altar suddenly moving like this?" he asked in panic.

But before he could recover from the shock, small golden lights appeared from all directions and gathered near the golden statue.

At the same time, a majestic voice echoed from that direction.

"Who woke me up?"

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