Emma was being led somewhere by a staff member.

She had been invited by the legendary witch—the one deeply connected to one of the Top Towers.

An anomaly who awakened two skills… something unbelievably rare.

From the novel, Emma remembered only a few things about her: the witch had incredible control over Gravity magic, but when it came to Spatial magic, she often slipped, fumbled, and made mistakes.

In the past, she had committed such a terrible error that she had grown afraid of using Spatial magic ever since. And yet, even while using just half of her true talent, she was still hailed as a prodigy—one of the brightest mages to ever appear.

"She is waiting for you inside," the staff member said as he stopped and faced Emma.

Emma looked at the office door. No nameplate.

She wouldn't be surprised if this was another test, maybe one set up by the Great Witch herself.

*Knock.*

"Come in," a voice replied the moment Emma's knuckles touched the door.

Keeping her guard up, she slowly opened it and stepped inside.

The scent of fresh wood and burning incense filled her nose.

Books were everywhere. Shelves on both sides, stacked behind the desk—like she had walked into a library.

Behind the wooden desk sat a smiling woman Emma had never seen before. Presumably—

"Miss Merlin… it's nice to meet you."

She had read about her in the novel, but seeing her with her own eyes was different.

"Don't be so stiff. Come, sit," Merlin said warmly as she rose from her seat and gestured toward the chair in front of her.

Emma didn't show any hesitation and sat down.

Merlin asked, "Would you like something to drink? I adore tea."

Emma nodded. "Thanks, I would love some."

Merlin smiled, then pulled out a whole tea set—pot, stove and all—from beneath her table.

*Thud.*

She placed everything on the desk, poured water into the pot, and spoke casually, "I've had my eyes on you for a while now, Emma. Ever since I saw you at the contest last year, I've been curious about how you lived your life to become such a remarkable young woman."

Straight to the point—Emma noted silently.

The silver-haired girl lowered her gaze slightly. "I was gifted with a blessing people dream of having. I didn't want to waste it, so I've been doing what I can since I was young. Using my skills… helping people."

It wasn't completely a lie.

She wasn't born with a saint-like devotion, but she had created a separate identity for herself and lived a double life for years.

Being the heiress of the East Wind was a burden—and a danger.

Because of that, Emma spent years moving around with a much simpler, common identity.

If Merlin had looked into her background, she would know Emma wasn't lying.

A gentle smile remained on Merlin's face as she added herbs and milk into the pot. "Hmm… a responsible girl since childhood. And yet," she said softly, "I can't shake the feeling that you know things no one else does."

Emma's heart thumped once, but her expression didn't change. "I don't understand what you mean, Miss Merlin."

Merlin rested her elbows on the desk. The pot boiled quietly before her. "When I went through your achievements, I noticed something unusual. You discovered things—ancient things—during your small quests. Things that shouldn't be found so easily."

She pulled out a few parchments and placed them on the table.

"Like the Flower of Eternity," she said. "A mythical item, yet a ten-year-old child found it."

Another parchment. "A Star Ore—able to absorb natural aether. The Empire searched for it for years… and you found it at twelve."

A third. "The Seed of Arbambia. Something that lets a mortal grow endlessly, in strength or magic. And you found that too."

Emma swallowed hard. This was bad.

Merlin had dug far deeper than she ever expected.

Two of these items weren't even known to her father. And yet this woman knew.

Emma's guard rose instantly.

She still couldn't read the witch's intentions, but she couldn't let anyone discover the truth.

Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly. "I thought your connection to the East Wind was your biggest secret… until I found these."

Emma asked quietly, "How do you know about those things?"

Merlin shrugged with a small smile. "Didn't I tell you? I've been watching you for a long time."

....

William, having nothing else to do, decided to visit the gymnasium.

He had heard a rumor—something about a special room where massive destruction was allowed.

Well, that was just a rumor from another student, and that student was probably just as new to this place as William.

"Hm?" His brows rose when he noticed several students already training here, even though the announcement had ended barely an hour ago.

"Enthusiastic bunch…" he muttered. Not that he could judge—they weren't the only ones who rushed here.

But unlike them, William didn't come to train for the team battles. He came to test his new spell.

The gymnasium was huge. Training mats covered the ground, each fitted with practice dolls. Weapon racks lined one wall, weight training equipment the next. There were also a few closed-off chambers—possibly for sparring? He wasn't sure.

He took a slow look around until he noticed a large map plastered on the far wall, showing the full layout of the gymnasium.

Walking up to it, he scanned the different sections one by one.

That's when his eyes stopped.

A massive portion of the indoor grounds was marked for spell testing—far larger than any other zone.

William grinned as he located that region inside the gym and advanced straight towards it.

Emma would be possibly busy for the whole day and they hadn't tell the students when the second round would begin.

Considering it was near to evening, they surely wouldn't consider arranging the second round today, so...he can be a little reckless today.

He has been itching to test a little more about the Drop of Oblivion, not to reach its limits but surely do a little better than what he previously considered his best.

However, upon reaching the massive hall, he heard several soundwaves that froze him.

In the middle of the arena stood a lone figure, breathing roughly as he stared at his hands with sweat dripping from his forehead.

Aether clung to him like a thick blanket, filling the whole place with his presence.

William narrowed his eyes at the boy, "Looks interesting."

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