"For me?" Monica was stunned. She stared at the hairpin and immediately fell in love with it.

The hairpin was beautiful and captivating. Just looking at it made Monica feel a strong urge to make it hers.

"Yes, it's for you." Merlin repeated it as he took Monica's right hand and placed the hairpin in her palm. "I'm sure you'll like it."

Of course, he had a purpose in giving her the gift.

The Monica in front of him was only an avatar. Although she had her own consciousness, she was still a fragment of Monica's real soul.

Therefore, Merlin deliberately gave her the soul-controlling hairpin, wanting to see whether it would be useful in the future.

After all, the Monica before him would eventually return to her original body.

When that happened, he couldn't be sure whether Monica's current emotions and memories would affect her true self.

If they didn't, the situation would become dangerous. No matter what, that woman had reached a level of power equivalent to the First Spirit Core.

And considering she had lived for hundreds of years, her strength was clearly slightly above Linda's.

Monica looked dazed. At first, she thought Merlin had simply misspoken.

Who would have thought he would actually give her the hairpin?

"Thank you, Merlin," she said softly. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away.

However, no matter how hard she tried, the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

This was the first time she had ever received a gift from someone. Even her closest relatives had never given her anything like this.

Merlin smiled gently and stroked her head.

A sense of comfort and relief flooded Monica's body, and little by little, her tears stopped completely.

"Can you put it in my hair for me, Merlin?" she asked shyly, her voice filled with hope.

"Of course." Merlin didn't refuse.

He took the hairpin as Monica turned around, making it easier for him to place it in her hair.

Monica's hair was styled half-up and half-down, allowing the hairpin to be attached with ease.

When he finished, Merlin nodded in satisfaction and said, "It looks very nice."

Monica turned back and carefully touched the hairpin on her head.

"Really?"

"Of course."

A smile spread across Monica's face, and she wriggled happily.

"[Ding! The affection of the villainess Monica Sael'myr has increased by 3 points! Current affection: 80 points!]"

Merlin merely smiled and said, "Well then, Monica, let's part ways."

His words instantly shattered her happiness.

"Part ways?" She looked at Merlin, sadness flickering in her eyes.

Only then did she remember they were still in the middle of a test, leaving them no choice but to separate.

"Alright. Let's part ways."

Her gaze lowered, yet she quickly forced a smile so Merlin wouldn't notice her sadness.

Merlin chuckled softly and stroked her hair affectionately.

"Don't look so sad. After the test is over, let's have dinner together."

Monica's eyes lit up. "Really? You'll have dinner with me?"

"Of course. I'll let you know later," Merlin assured her.

Monica nodded enthusiastically. "I'll be waiting!"

After cheering her up, Merlin turned and vanished from sight.

Monica was still sad about the separation, but she knew she couldn't dwell on it.

The test was still ongoing, and she had to show Merlin that she could maintain her position.

With that resolve, she turned and walked away to continue her hunt.

…

Another day passed quickly. Nearly two days had gone by since the test began, and only five hours remained.

Slash!

Merlin severed the head of a three-meter-tall wolf and landed smoothly on the ground.

"My points have reached twenty-one thousand. At last, I can relax," he murmured with a long sigh.

Twenty-one thousand was an enormous number.

Crystal, in second place, had only fourteen thousand points, while Luvis ranked third with thirteen thousand three hundred.

As for Luna, she managed to hold onto fourth place with thirteen thousand points.

"Ugh…" Merlin stretched lazily and walked toward the river, which was only twenty meters away.

He set up a barrier around himself and began to clean up.

Coincidentally, he hadn't showered for a day, so his body felt a little sticky and smelled faintly.

Once he was done and had changed into fresh clothes, he sat by the river and began to cook dinner.

Buzz!

Suddenly, Lyserra appeared beside him.

The little dragon sniffed the air with her tiny nose and looked extremely hungry when she saw the five skewers of meat being grilled.

"Merlin, make me three skewers of meat!" she demanded with an arrogant expression.

Merlin wasn't angry and simply grilled more meat for her.

Lyserra walked to the river to drink some water, then hopped over to Merlin and lazily sat on his lap.

"What rank are you in?" she asked lazily.

"I'm in first place with twenty-one thousand points."

"First?" Lyserra looked slightly surprised, but the next second, she calmed down. "That's not surprising. It would be strange if you were in last place."

She snorted softly and nodded in appreciation.

Seeing her adorable behavior, Merlin chuckled and gently rubbed her belly.

Lyserra enjoyed his touch and wriggled slightly.

Soon, the meat skewers in front of them were cooked, and the two enjoyed their dinner in a warm atmosphere filled with lighthearted banter.

"By the way, Merlin, I've been feeling a strong fluctuation in the center of the island. Do you want to check it out?" she said.

Merlin was taken aback. "A strong fluctuation in the center of the island? Do you know what it is?"

"I don't know." Lyserra shook her head while eating the grilled meat. "It just feels very familiar, like it's connected to me. Do you want to check it out?"

Merlin's expression turned serious. Star Island was vast. He hadn't explored every part of it, so it wasn't strange that some mysteries remained hidden.

"Since it's connected to you, why not? Let's check it out after dinner," Merlin said confidently.

Lyserra simply nodded and continued eating.

Once they were done, Merlin lifted Lyserra into his arms and vanished from sight.

…

"Hahaha! Nine thousand points! I'm definitely going to be the winner!" Lucius laughed heartily as he raised both hands into the air.

Nine thousand points was a massive amount. He was certain that victory was already within his grasp.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Merlin Clay. Otherwise, I would have tortured him and stolen all his points," he said with regret.

He hated Merlin deeply. Because of that kid, he had been humiliated in the city square a few days ago.

"But that's fine. Now, I just need to hunt down more students and take their points," he whispered, licking his lips.

He had already eliminated at least thirty students participating in the test, but that wasn't enough. He wanted more—until his point total became impossible to catch up to.

However, just as he was about to leap away, a teleportation portal suddenly appeared beneath his feet and dragged him in.

"What!?" Lucius panicked and tried to channel his mana but failed.

In just a few seconds, his figure vanished, as if swallowed by the earth.

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