"Merlin, this meat is done. Try it."

Luna picked up a skewer with five pieces of beef and two pieces of vegetables, then held it up to Merlin’s mouth.

Merlin took a bite and nodded in satisfaction.

"It’s delicious! Try it."

Luna bit into the same piece Merlin had bitten and smiled faintly.

"You’re right. It’s delicious. I don’t understand how you came up with an idea like this."

Her gaze was filled with admiration.

Merlin chuckled softly and was about to say, ’It’s a tradition from my previous world.’

But he held back and replied casually, "I just thought of it while relaxing in my room."

Luna nodded and didn’t ask any further questions. The girls continued grilling happily, then gathered the cooked food onto plates.

The aroma of grilled chicken and meat was so strong that Nysera couldn’t help but drool.

Nivis picked up a skewer with a piece of chicken thigh on it and handed it to her.

"Take it."

Nysera was surprised and asked hesitantly, "Is that okay?"

Nivis took her hand and placed the skewer into her palm.

"Just take it. Why be so awkward? Aren’t we friends?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"Friends?" Nysera was dazed when she heard that word. She had always thought of herself as merely an outsider in Merlin’s circle—and the others’.

Who would have thought Nivis considered her a friend?

A warm, comforting feeling washed over her. A smile bloomed on her lips without her realizing it, and she nodded shyly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Thank you..."

Half an hour passed, and all the food was finally cooked.

Nivis and Merlin prepared peach, strawberry, and grape juice.

Once they were done, the girls took their glasses, grabbed plates, and began arranging the neatly grilled dishes that had been laid out.

"M-mmh! The meat is so delicious and tender!" Margaret closed her eyes, placed her left palm against her cheek, and squirmed happily.

"You’re right. This is absolutely delicious," Catrine murmured, her eyes radiating obvious happiness.

Liora and Monica nodded in agreement. As members of the Druid and Elf races, they rarely ate meat. In fact, they had only truly started enjoying it after entering the academy.

And now, after tasting various grilled dishes—meat, chicken, and vegetables alike—they had come to love meat-based cuisine.

"Your idea is brilliant, Young Master Merlin," Lisa praised as she devoured a chicken thigh, then closed her eyes with a smile on her lips.

Luckily, the head of the family had assigned her to join this trip. She was truly grateful.

Hearing their praise, Merlin smiled and said, "I’m glad you like it."

They were enjoying their meal when, suddenly, Margaret brought up a terrifying topic.

"Hey, did you know? Apparently, there’s an interesting legend."

"An interesting legend?" The others were intrigued and looked at Margaret curiously.

"Yes, a legend." Margaret grinned, looking at Liora, Monica, and Nivis with a mischievous gaze. "They say a ghost ship sometimes appears around the nearby archipelago."

When they heard the word "ghost," Monica’s, Liora’s, and Nivis’s faces paled.

"A-A ghost ship?" Monica trembled. "Y-You must be joking, right?"

"No, I’m not joking." Margaret shook her head and coughed lightly. "I heard it from the maids here. They say they often hear the sound of a horn and whispering out at sea at night."

Her shoulders rose slightly as she continued, "But I’m not entirely sure myself. After all, I rarely come to this island. Still, considering the maids visit here often, it’s not impossible."

The three girls’ panic grew worse. Their hearts pounded, and their breathing became heavy.

"All right, don’t tell such nonsense."

Merlin raised his palm and gently tapped Margaret on the head.

"Ouch!" Margaret feigned pain and looked at him with dissatisfaction.

"I’m not lying, okay? I’m just telling you what I heard."

"Still, it’s not appropriate to talk about it in a situation like this." Merlin let out a long sigh.

Margaret was a smart girl. Yet for some reason, she was being reckless, telling horror stories while they were trying to have fun.

Margaret looked at the faces of Nivis, Monica, and Liora, which had turned pale.

In that instant, she realized her joke had gone too far.

"Ahem! Sorry, I was just joking. There’s no ghost ship—it’s just a myth!" she hurriedly clarified.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, though traces of fear were still clearly visible on their faces.

To lighten the mood, Merlin quickly changed the topic of conversation, and Luna, Catrine, and the others immediately followed along.

Nivis, Liora, and Monica slowly forgot the horror story Margaret had just told, and they finally finished the barbecue party happily.

***

Inside the room, Merlin lay lazily. The afternoon’s activities had clearly drained all his energy.

"System, give me the reward."

Merlin snapped his fingers.

But the system didn’t respond, and the room fell silent.

The corner of Merlin’s mouth twitched. He opened his eyes and called out irritably, "System, aren’t you going to answer? Hurry up and give me my reward! Don’t play dumb."

Instantly, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

"[Ding! Congratulations to the master for successfully completing the mission: ’Accepting heroine Margaret’s request and searching for treasure under the sea.’ Reward: 50,000 system points and one random artifact (mythic).]"

Merlin smiled contentedly. Although he hadn’t managed to find the treasure, simply accepting Margaret’s request and diving underwater to search for it had been enough to complete the mission.

"Hmmm... What should I buy?"

Merlin rubbed his chin and gazed happily at the system shop in front of him.

He had over 400,000 system points. This was the largest amount he’d ever had since coming to this world.

As he was lost in thought, Lyserra suddenly appeared in midair, then landed on his stomach.

The little dragon rubbed her face against his chin and said in a spoiled tone, "I’m hungry."

Merlin smiled. He bought a pile of snacks, such as chocolate, candy, and various other sweets.

When they appeared on the right side of the bed, the little dragon’s eyes lit up. She jumped up and began to devour them happily.

Merlin chuckled and started looking for interesting items. After searching for five minutes, he decided to buy several things, such as ten A-rank healing potions, five A-rank stamina-boosting potions, and various other important potions.

Not stopping there, he also bought offensive and defensive spells. The system shop was quite comprehensive, selling spells from different eras.

Of course, the prices were steep. For example, an advanced spell could cost up to 60,000 system points, while a high-level spell could reach 120,000.

Luckily, the system shop was offering a 20% discount on all spells, so Merlin bought two high-level spells.

It had to be said—his bad impression of the system had been wrong. The system wasn’t evil capitalism!

The system: "..."

"Phew!" He let out a long sigh and glanced at his system points, which now stood at 150,000. "It took months to collect them, but I spent them in just a few minutes. It’s really annoying."

But he didn’t regret it. System points could be earned again in the future, while an opportunity to buy high-level spells at a discount might not come around again.

"By the way, Lyserra, I want to ask you something," Merlin said. "If I reach the First Spirit Core, will I be able to face the Demon King head-on?"

Lyserra took a bite of her chocolate bread and nodded.

"Of course. That’s easy for you."

"Then why did you say five people at the First Spirit Core level couldn’t defeat it?" Merlin asked doubtfully.

Lyserra let out a small sigh and replied, "You know, most people who reach the peak level have a flaw."

"A flaw?" Merlin was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"It’s hard to explain right now. But I’ll give you an easy example." Lyserra sat up straight and said, "Take a glass, for instance. The glass represents a person who has successfully reached the First Spirit Core level, while the water represents that person’s power. If a small crack appears on the surface of the glass, will the water spill out?"

"No, it won’t spill out." Merlin shook his head.

"What if the crack gets bigger?"

"Then it will spill out," Merlin replied.

"It’s roughly like that. Most experts at the First Spirit Core level in this era have a flaw within themselves, but they don’t realize it." Lyserra smiled dismissively.

Even if it was only a small flaw, it could still have an extraordinarily great influence.

Merlin pondered her words and asked hesitantly, "What’s the cause?"

"Time," Lyserra replied briefly.

"Time?" Three question marks seemed to float above Merlin’s head.

"In short, the era when the world will descend into chaos is about to arrive. The gods’ blessings have dwindled—perhaps even vanished. As a result, experts who manage to break through to the First Spirit Core level develop flaws."

Merlin’s gaze sharpened. He hadn’t expected such a massive secret to exist right under his nose.

Now, he finally understood. No wonder a level nine monster required more than just one First Spirit Core expert to handle. It wasn’t because the First Spirit Core level was weak—it was because those who reached that realm carried flaws within themselves.

"In that case, why are you so sure I can do it? Aren’t I just like everyone else once I reach the First Spirit Core level?" Merlin furrowed his brow.

"No, you’re different." Lyserra shook her head and looked deeply into Merlin’s eyes. "You’re the one chosen by my master. That makes you special."

The compliment made Merlin feel a little shy. Just as he was about to say something, there was a knock at the door, followed by a girl’s timid voice.

"Merlin, it’s me, Margaret. Can I come in?"