Sriik!

A two-meter-long bat swooped through the air, darting straight toward Merlin.

Seeing this, Merlin remained calm. He raised his right hand and whispered, "Gravity Magic!"

Bam!

A powerful pressure surged up from the ground and instantly slammed the giant bat downward.

Its massive body was crushed against the earth. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not move even an inch.

Sriik!

Sriik!

The bat let out a shriek that sent chills through the hearts of anyone who heard it.

Bats could emit ultrasonic waves almost impossible for humans to hear.

The bat monster before him was far more dangerous.

Its screech was strong enough to rupture the hearts and organs of nearby living creatures.

Fortunately, Merlin had anticipated this. A spell already surrounded his body, shielding him from the ultrasonic attack.

Merlin lifted the dagger in his right hand and plunged it into the monster's head.

Sriik!

The scream of pain was so loud that the surrounding trees trembled, as if they might collapse.

A few seconds later, the bat lost all vitality and died on the spot.

[Congratulations on defeating a level four monster—Spiked Wing Bat. Reward: 150 points.]

Merlin opened his tablet. His total points had reached an astonishing number—14,000.

Meanwhile, Crystal, ranked second, was far behind with only 11,000 points.

To defeat him, she would have to kill no fewer than six level six monsters.

Was that possible?

In theory, yes. But in reality, too many unexpected events could occur—and he was certain Crystal understood that.

"Alright, let's continue hunting. I'll only relax once I reach 20,000 points. That way, I can be certain of winning this test," he whispered.

His master had said the day before that the maximum points obtainable were 25,000, assuming two days of nonstop hunting.

Merlin felt there was no need to reach such a number. After all, it was impossible for the other students—Crystal and Luvis included—to catch up to him.

Just as he was about to leave, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

"[Ding! Emergency mission triggered! Save Monica Sael'myr from being surrounded by three subordinates of the two Elf princesses! Reward: 15,000 system points and a Soul Control Hairpin (Mythical).]"

Seeing that, Merlin froze.

"Save Monica?" His brows furrowed.

Then he glanced at the rewards, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"A mythical-level item!? System, are you sure?" He swallowed hard.

It had been a long time since he last obtained a mythical item. The previous one was the Eye of Annihilation, a single-use artifact.

To this day, he had never used it, keeping it as his ultimate trump card.

Unless the situation was truly desperate, there was no way he would ever activate it.

"[Master, I'm certain! Please hurry and save Monica! She's in danger!]" The system's voice was filled with urgency.

Merlin nodded. Without a second thought, he sprinted in the direction indicated by the system.

…

"Hahaha! Gotcha!"

An elf boy laughed loudly as he yanked Monica's hair.

The other two merely watched, smiles playing on their faces.

"Let me go!" Monica struggled, trying to push him away, but failed.

It felt as though all her strength vanished in front of him.

"Stop resisting, Monica. If you keep being stubborn, I'll hit you," the boy threatened, raising his left hand.

Monica showed no fear and continued to fight back, causing the boy's anger to boil over.

Smack!

The sharp sound of a slap echoed as Monica's body was sent flying several meters away.

The right side of her face burned red, and her hair was in disarray.

Monica had a beautiful, gentle appearance, but that slap was like a stain, marring her beauty.

"All right," the boy said coldly. "Let's kill her together. That way, the points will be split three ways."

They weren't even sure it would work, but it was the only realistic way to divide the points from killing Monica.

The other two nodded and drew daggers from their waists.

Just as they were about to strike, a fireball shot in from outside.

Sensing danger, one of them swiftly raised his right hand.

In the next instant, tree roots burst from the ground, forming a barrier that blocked the fireball.

The wall of roots ignited, and panic spread among the three elves.

"What was that? Who attacked us?" the boy demanded, his face dark.

"I don't know," replied the one who had blocked the attack. "But I'm certain enemies are lurking nearby. We need to get Monica out of here and kill her somewhere else. Otherwise, not only Monica—we'll die too."

Both nodded in agreement. Just as one of them reached out to carry Monica away, a dagger shot toward them at extraordinary speed.

Slash!

The blade severed the hand that was about to touch Monica.

"Argh!" He screamed in pain, his face turning pale with panic.

The other two elves froze for a moment before rushing to help him

One began chanting a healing spell, while the other grabbed the severed hand, trying to reattach it.

"It hurts! Damn it! Argh!" The wounded elf grimaced, teeth clenched.

Although death meant returning to the academy, the pain from injuries felt just as real as in the outside world.

Because of that, students who were on the brink of death from monster attacks often preferred instant death over prolonged suffering.

"Hold still. Don't move," said the elf casting the healing spell.

At the same time, his eyes darted around in fear and vigilance.

"Who attacked us? How can someone hide so well?"

Meanwhile, Monica, having regained her freedom, was frozen in shock and fear.

'What happened? Who attacked them?' she thought anxiously.

She didn't care about their fate. All she feared was that the attacker would kill her as well.

She didn't want to be one of the fifty people expelled from the academy.

Just then, a voice echoed in her mind.

"Don't worry, Monica. I'm the one attacking them."

Monica gasped. She was very familiar with the owner of that voice—Merlin.

"Merlin… is that you?" she asked softly.

"Yes, it's me. I came to save you. Get out of there now. I'll cast a stronger fire spell to burn them."

Monica didn't hesitate. She rose and ran out of the cave formed by tangled tree roots.

Seeing this, the three elves froze. One of them shouted, "Don't run, damn it!"

He immediately chased after her. But the moment Monica escaped, something unexpected happened.

The ground beneath them trembled, then a two-meter-deep pit opened suddenly.

The three elves fell in without warning.

Then, under their terrified gazes, Merlin appeared out of thin air, his right palm opening.

"Goodbye. Until we meet again."

Buzz!

A magic circle formed above his head. From it, a fireball the size of a carriage took shape, spinning rapidly.

"Wait! Don't kill us!" the elf with the severed hand screamed in horror. "We don't know you! We have no quarrel with you!"

Merlin let out a soft chuckle and sneered. "You don't. But remember this—you have a problem with Monica, don't you? She's my partner. How dare you lay a hand on her?"

With that, Merlin hurled the massive fireball into the pit. In an instant, the three elves were burned alive.

"Argh!"

Their screams of pain were horrifying.

Merlin didn't care. He turned and walked away, leaving behind flames that spread slowly, engulfing the massive roots around them.

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