"You have a plan?" Merlin raised an eyebrow. "How does it work?"

Gorim smiled, then leaned back against the sofa as he explained, "First of all, I want to train his focus. Look at him—do you think cleaning this place is just an ordinary job? You’re wrong. He’s training his focus."

Merlin: "..."

Nysera: "..."

Gorim took a gulp of his beer, then let out a burp that sounded unpleasant.

"I’m not joking, man," he said with a grin, revealing a row of yellowish, slightly blackened teeth.

Nysera grimaced in disgust and turned her face away.

Merlin only smiled. Still, he didn’t doubt Gorim’s words.

After all, the man was the most legendary blacksmith on the continent.

"I understand. I trust you," Merlin said casually. Then he changed the subject. "By the way, I’d like to ask for your help. Don’t worry, I won’t ask for it for free."

Gorim nodded. "Just say it."

He was no longer wary or rude toward Merlin. The Mountain Heart Wine Merlin had given him was the most delicious drink he had ever tasted in his life.

As a result, Gorim’s impression of Merlin was quite favorable—at least enough to earn his trust.

Merlin snapped his fingers. Instantly, a necklace appeared on the table.

It looked exquisite, with a chain of deep, almost blackish blue metal and a pendant shaped like a dark blue sword.

He showed it to Gorim and explained, "This artifact is called Solistic—a legendary-tier artifact. However, it was originally a mythic-tier artifact, and it was incredibly powerful. I want you to repair it. Can you do it?"

Solistic was a damaged item. He hadn’t been using it because he wanted to restore it to its peak condition.

Unfortunately, that was impossible, given how few smiths were capable of doing it.

Merlin’s initial plan was to wait for Jared to regain his abilities or help heal his father, then ask his father to repair it.

But both options would take too long. In the end, he remembered Gorim and decided to ask for his help directly.

After all, Gorim was a blacksmith whose skills were beyond question.

"Solistic?" Gorim muttered in surprise, his slightly tipsy demeanor vanishing at once.

He took the necklace and studied it with a nostalgic expression.

Merlin wasn’t bothered by his brusque reaction.

"What do you think? Can you fix it?"

Instead of answering, Gorim asked, "Where did you get it?"

Merlin was slightly surprised but didn’t dwell on it. "I got it at an auction on the Ardhen family’s secret island. Why? Do you recognize the Solistic necklace?"

"More than recognize it," Gorim said quietly. "I’m the one who made it."

A rare complexity flickered across his face.

Merlin grew curious about the story behind the Solistic necklace.

The system had previously mentioned that it was damaged during a brutal battle involving its creator.

Since Gorim was the creator, did that mean he had once fought someone extraordinary?

Gorim composed himself and said, "I can restore this artifact to its former glory. Don’t worry."

He smiled and patted his chest, as if to reassure him.

Merlin returned the smile. "Thank you. There’s one more."

He snapped his fingers. A golden ring topped with a small crown appeared.

Merlin removed the king’s ring from his left ring finger and placed both rings on the table.

"This one is a legendary-tier artifact."

He pointed to the King’s ring, then shifted to the Queen’s ring and continued, "This one is a semi-mythical-tier artifact. The two are interconnected rings. If I use both, the combined effect will be incredibly powerful. But I feel using both is too wasteful and troublesome. Can you merge them while still preserving their abilities?"

The king’s and queen’s rings were artifacts he desperately wanted to use, but wearing both at the same time ruined the look.

How should he put it... Only a fool would wear two rings at once.

"Oh? These are two fine rings," Gorim said, surprised. He picked them up, examined them for a few seconds, and nodded slowly. "This is easy. Don’t worry."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been in vain to make Gorim his ally. Aside from his lazy and somewhat annoying personality, he was someone reliable.

"As I said before, I’ll pay you. Just tell me what you want," Merlin offered softly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Gorim chuckled and waved a hand.

"No need. I don’t want your payment," he refused casually.

He didn’t need money. The wine Merlin had given him earlier was more than enough.

Merlin snapped his fingers, and a bottle of wine appeared on the table.

He picked it up and handed it over.

"Take it. Although it’s not as good as Mountain Heart, it’s still high-quality wine."

"Oh!" Gorim’s eyes lit up, and he took it without hesitation. "Hahaha! At first, I really didn’t want to accept anything from you. But what can I do? You’re forcing me. I have no other choice."

Merlin rolled his eyes at Gorim’s shameless attitude, but he didn’t mind. He genuinely intended it as payment.

After exchanging a few more words, he and Nysera stood up and left.

Along the way, Nysera occasionally glanced at Merlin, her expression filled with confusion and doubt.

"What’s wrong?" Merlin asked.

Nysera averted her gaze. "Why did you force him to accept the payment?"

Merlin fell silent for a moment. His gaze drifted upward as he asked, "Do you like owing someone a favor?"

Nysera furrowed her brow and shook her head. "No, I wouldn’t."

"Me neither," Merlin chuckled. "I don’t want to owe Gorim anything. He may be my friend, but I still prefer keeping things clear. A good relationship should be built on mutual respect."

Nysera processed his words and, almost without thinking, asked, "Does that mean we’re friends?"

Merlin was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

"Of course. Do you like being friends with me?"

Nysera looked into his clear, sincere violet eyes, then lowered her head.

"Yes, I do," she whispered.

"[Ding! Heroine Nysera’s affection has increased by 5 points! Current affection: 65/30!]"

Merlin’s right eyebrow rose slightly.

’Her fiery personality has finally increased? I’m not seeing things, am I?’

There hadn’t been any movement in Nysera’s fiery personality for a long time. Now it had suddenly increased, which clearly surprised him.

But Merlin didn’t dwell on it. Eventually, both of her personalities would belong to him.

...

Two days passed quickly, and finally, the exam results were about to be announced.

"What do you think? Who’s going to get the highest score?"

"Isn’t it Merlin Clay?"

"Merlin Clay? How is that possible? I admit he’s talented, but that’s only in terms of strength. This exam is a test of knowledge. I’m sure there are plenty of people smarter than him."

A discussion broke out among the students of Class 1-A. Everyone was already imagining who would take the top ten spots.

"Hehe! Merlin, are you ready to accept your defeat, my dear?"

Margaret sat on the desk, lifting Merlin’s chin with her index and middle fingers in a charmingly arrogant manner.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "You’re getting confident too quickly. Do you really think you can beat me?"

"Pfft! I really love your arrogance," Margaret giggled. "But that’s fine. The more arrogant you are, the worse it’ll feel when you lose. Don’t worry—I won’t be too harsh on you."

She reached out and patted Merlin on the head.

Luna was surprised by their conversation and looked back and forth between Margaret and Merlin.

"Are you two betting?" she asked.

"Yes!" Margaret answered immediately. She stepped down from the desk and returned to her seat. "Merlin and I are betting on who will rank higher. Why? Do you think Merlin will lose?"

Luna was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Not only Luna, but Catrine, Liora, Nysera, and Monica also looked surprised by Margaret’s words. Their expressions showed astonishment—and a hint of pity.

Margaret frowned in confusion. "What’s wrong with your faces?"

Luna quickly composed herself and shook her head.

"N-Nothing," she replied with a small sigh. She patted her shoulder and added encouragingly, "Cheer up. I hope you can accept reality soon."

Margaret: "..."

"Good morning, everyone."

Celestia’s voice came from the classroom door. All the students immediately returned to their seats.

Celestia stood at the podium, gazing at them with a gentle, satisfied expression. "I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for the exam results. First of all, congratulations—none of you will need to retake the exam."

Her words were like a bucket of cold water poured over burning coals.

The students let out relieved sighs and slumped back into their chairs.

They didn’t care much about their rankings. What mattered most was that they didn’t have to retake the exam.

"Even so, some of you received mediocre scores. I hope you’ll improve in the future," Celestia warned.

"Yes, Professor!" the students replied in unison.

Celestia smiled and picked up the paper on her desk. "I’ll begin reading the rankings. Listen carefully. Rank thirty—Ethan."

A boy in the front row slapped his forehead.

"Oh no! I’m last! Damn it!"

But compared to retaking the exam, the result was still acceptable.

"Rank twenty-nine—Nathalia."

"Rank twenty-eight—Tesiah."

"Rank twenty-seven..."

Celestia continued reading out the names. Some students groaned in frustration, while others cheered in relief.

Finally, she paused upon reaching the tenth rank.

With a faint smile, she glanced at Monica.

"Rank ten—Monica."