CH 129

“Oh, right. I forgot I had this. It was such a high-quality item that I didn’t think I’d be able to use it for a while.”

Merlin re-sorted his item list to ‘acquisition period’. The magic equipment item, Close, and Red Flame Pearl, which possessed an attribute power closely associated with Close, showed up at the top of the list. Merlin had obtained both these items from the thousand-meter-deep Seadragon’s Temple. Merlin casually took them out and inspected them more closely. He didn’t have an immediate need for Red Flame Pearl and Close, so he set them down on the ground and lifted the high-quality magic stone in front of his eyes.

“Let’s see. Four-hundred-and-fifty points of internal energy is… wow, fourteen cycles and ten years of internal energy.”

Dumbfounded, Merlin couldn’t help but stare at the magic stone. In the past, he was more ignorant and didn’t know how to use it. Now, if he could completely absorb the high-quality magic stone’s internal energy and change it into a gold core… Merlin couldn’t even imagine what he would do with so much power. If he used No Living World to operate a hand skill attack, he could blow away an entire mountain. If he were to use Great Tantra Hand, a hand skill that was optimized for short-range attacks, it would be able to travel several kilometers, like a bullet shot from a gun.

“No, I’d rather use a bow and arrow for long-ranged attacks… but this is still incredible. Man, I wish I could consume it. If I consume and absorb it, wouldn’t I instantly become like a protagonist in a martial-arts book?”

Of course, Merlin couldn’t consume the high-quality magic stone. His level was too low to absorb the enormous power held within it. Moreover, the Golden Pill Immortal Technique required purity over volume.

“It might be better to use this stone to make magic items, but then… I run into another problem. I know how to do simple enchantments, but I don't know much about high-order magic items. I especially don’t know how to use high-quality ingredients like this stone… maybe I can discuss this more with Heavenly Flower?”

Right then, Miho let out a deep sigh.

“Phew!”

“Oh, she’s waking up.”

Still sitting cross-legged, Miho slowly opened her eyes. Her gold-colored eyes had changed red a while ago, and she was now starting to emanate monster-qi around her.

‘Oh, she’s gotten more powerful. Did she reach Level 8?’

Seeing Miho’s improved and sturdier monster-qi, Merlin let out an impressed whistle. Miho hadn’t yet reached Level 8, but she was right at the cusp. If she faced the mermaid prince now, she wouldn’t be suppressed and overwhelmed by his pressure easily.

‘But that guy is probably going to advance and develop through this Trial process too… well, what does it matter? Miho has me.’

While Merlin contemplated, Miho, who had consolidated her monster power, got up from her seated position.

“Phew! Were you waiting for long?”

“Not really. I was also occupied with a few things.”

“Eh? Occupied?”

Miho tilted her head in confusion, but Merlin just smiled and patted Miho’s head.

“It’s nothing big. I just had something to do.”

Merlin started to organize the items he had strewn across the floor. While Merlin was organizing, Miho caught sight of Close and showed some interest in the magic equipment item.

“Hmm? Isn’t that a pair of glasses?”

“Yeah. I stumbled onto it a while ago. It is said to be a magic equipment item that helps one train in Enhanced Eyesight and Magic Eye.”

“Really?”

With curiosity sparkling in her eyes, Miho picked up and put on Close. Miho’s head was smaller than the glasses, so it took some adjusting, but soon, the magic glasses fit into place and made a noise.

Ting!

“Huh?”

Miho let out a strange groan as her vision narrowed, a phenomenon that Merlin had experienced too when he had used the glasses. Merlin had groaned back then as well.

“Oh, my. This is…!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh! They look good on you!”

“…?”

Merlin trembled as Miho looked at Merlin with a curious expression. The black-rimmed glasses stood out elegantly on her fair skin.

“Do you want them?”

“Really? I’d appreciate it. I think it’ll help me with my Magic Eye training.”

Miho laughed as she readjusted Close. Soon, the monster-qi that emanated out from her calmed down. This wasn’t something that Miho could do before.

“Oh, you’ve improved a lot.” Merlin commented.

“Well, I’m probably at the same level as the other representatives now. I’m only lagging because I’m young, not because I lack skills or talent…” said Miho, defensively.

“Okay, okay. Oh, my cute Miho. So cute~!”

“Oh, come on! Stop!”

Merlin brought his hand down to tickle underneath her chin, which caused Miho to fail her fists in a fit of rage. However, Merlin was a martial arts practitioner while Miho was a magic user, so her fists were no match against him.

Swipe.

“Oh, what’s wrong?”

Miho took off Close and put it away. Merlin, who couldn’t figure out her mood, tilted his head. Soon, Miho’s eyes turned red.

Ting!

Merlin’s Magic Eye collided with Miho’s. Miho’s golden eyes and Merlin’s black eyes were now both red, as both of their attacks were based on the red fox’s. Though Miho had initiated her Magic Eye first, the fact that their Magic Eyes activated at the same time meant that Merlin had sent magic power into his eyes in advance. Magic Eye required some time to activate, as magic power needed to be imbued into one’s eyes. In other words, Merlin had prepared for her attack. Miho did not let Merlin’s quick response shake her confidence. Besides, Merlin had been overwhelmed by her just a day ago.

“Uhm… huh?”

However, as Miho started to use a form of Cracking that she derived from Merlin’s technique, she began to feel a sense of helplessness. She suddenly felt as if she was being blocked by a huge wall. Merlin had a tight defense that completely isolated her. While Miho was distracted, Merlin used Cracking on Miho.

Miho’s overwhelming advantage over Merlin in using Magic Eye was due to her Cracking speed and defensive skills, not because she was more adept at Magic Eye or because she could sustain his Magic Eye attacks. If she couldn’t pass by his defense and continued to sustain his attacks, she’d quickly break.

Merlin chuckled. “Hey kiddo, you finally fell for my trap!”

Merlin made a mischievous expression as he pulled out a card, seemingly out of thin air. Feeling nervous, Miho tried to reinforce her Magic Eye, but to no avail. Merlin’s defenses were impenetrable, and his attacks were becoming sharper.

“Eh? W-what is this wall?”

“It’s a firewall.”

The firewall was a way of controlling the flow of information from a computer network by funneling access requests from the Internet through a single point. In IT, a firewall was used for information protection. With a firewall in place, one could freely access the Internet from within an organization, but was denied access to an organization's information through the Internet.

Similarly, Merlin left only one open route between his mind and the outside world, and implemented a fourteen-digit password to limit access through this route to just himself. Of course, Miho didn’t know the password, so she couldn’t get through. This difference in approach stemmed from the differences in the societies they were from. Miho wouldn’t be able to catch up to Merlin anytime soon. Merlin’s ability to apply computer programs to his Magic Eye gave him a tremendous advantage.

“Such a ridiculous approach…”

“Ha. It’s the victory of one civilization over another. Attention!”

Merlin piped up like a drill sergeant. Miho immediately stood straight up. Obviously, she wasn’t standing at attention because she wanted but because she was under Merlin’s control. Like how he had done in the past, he hijacked her body. It was time for her small body to be subjected to the depths of evil…

Miho laughed nervously. "W-what are you doing? You’re not planning on doing anything weird, right?”

Merlin smiled insidiously and stroked Miho’s frozen jawline. Cold sweat flowed down her fair skin.

“H-hey! D-don’t… I’ll forgive you, so stop. Let’s continue onward, okay?”

“Hehehe…”

Miho tried negotiating, but it didn’t seem to work. Merlin glanced up and down Miho’s body with a sinister smile on his face. Miho was less than one-hundred-and-fifty centimeters tall, she barely came up to Merlin's chest, but her body was well proportioned, and her six-pronged silver hair was beautiful and shiny.

‘A pretty girl who has her whole future in front of her.’

Merlin greedily gazed at Miho, like a hawk looking at its prey. Miho shook with fright.

“Hey… don’t… I’ll apologize, so…”

“Hahaha. Sorry, but I’m going to control your whole body from this point forward.”

“…!”

Miho couldn’t even speak after Merlin mercilessly placed her whole body under his control. Alas, this slender beauty had finally fallen into Merlin’s hands!

Slip.

Miho started to take off the coat that she always had on. It slipped onto the floor. Then, Miho took a step forward. Though her eyes were filled with a sense of fear, Miho was smiling brightly, as Merlin had full control over her body.

“Shall we start?”

If anyone saw the expression that was currently on Merlin’s face in the middle of a bustling downtown area, they wouldn’t hesitate to call the police on him. Soon, the poor silver-haired girl…

Spin! Spin!

Miho started dancing in a cute way.

Pat! Pat!

She swung her arms in the air before placing the palms of her hands onto her cheeks. However, this didn’t seem like enough for Merlin. Matching her physical movements, Miho started singing a song.

“Bbo-bee, Bbo-bee, Bbo-bee, Bbo-bee, Bbo-bee~ Ang~!”

This was enough to cause critical damage to Merlin’s heart!

“I-I knew it! You’re so cute! You’re the best! Dang!”

Merlin passionately cheered. Soon, Miho started singing all kinds of songs, accompanied by their dances. Anyone would have agreed that Miho was excellently recreating each song’s choreography; however, Merlin was in control of everything. Miho screamed on the inside as she tried to fight against his control, but there was nothing she could do.

“Oh. Oh. Oh~! I love you baby~ Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah~ I love you so much~!”

“Incredible! So cute! So beautiful! Whistle~!”

Merlin catcalled and cheered rowdily. However, this wasn’t the end.

“Another song!”

At Merlin’s order, Miho suddenly stopped dancing and made a motion like she was grabbing onto a microphone. Then, after taking the appropriate stance, she started singing.

“The words I was never able to say~ words that I may never say again~ I~ love~ you~!”

“Oh! Good!! I didn’t know you had such a great voice!”

In truth, Miho’s voice was better than most modern singers. Although a bit of a cliche, Miho sang beautifully like a nightingale. Since she was doing so well, Merlin decided to make her sing the next part.

“I’m in my dreams~~ Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump!!”

“A three-octave booster! Tremendous!”

With his hands clasped, Merlin screamed out. However, at that moment…

Click.

Miho stopped singing. No, it was more appropriate to say that a disconnecting sound rang out.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Merlin was taken aback, he had lost control over Miho. Her body slumped lifelessly to the ground as if the strings holding her up had been severed. Even with his genius comprehension and analysis abilities, Merlin couldn’t understand what had just happened.

“That’s weird. If I use Magic Eye again, then it should…”

Bam!!

But at that moment, Merlin’s Magic Eye attempt ricocheted forcefully. Soon, Miho raised her head. At that moment, Merlin saw a burning flame.

“What?”

Miho’s eyes were burning.

“Huh? Oh, my… your eyes look a bit weird… also, y-you seem to have gone up a level…”

Miho seemed to have reached Level 8 just a moment ago; however, she seemed to be much stronger than that. Merlin felt that the aura she was emanating was equivalent to the mermaid prince Hader’s. Although her aura was noticeably different, the most drastic change was her eyes. When Miho previously used Magic Eye, her eyes turned red, but now, Merlin could see a hexagonal magic circle shape within her eyes. It seemed that Miho had gained a new power, which allowed her to break free from Merlin’s control.

Miho whispered, “… I’ll… you…”

“Eh… w-what?”

Rumble!!

Merlin suddenly felt a tremendous wave of aura sweep past him. He took a few steps back; however, the two were in an enclosed room. Soon, Miho, with an evil look on her face, stood in front of Merlin.

“I’ll kill you…!!”

An animalistic cry roared out from within Miho's tiny body.