Merlin

The familiar sensation and the still-blinding radiance left him unable to see anything. Once everything settled, Yinsen immediately swept his gaze around, his right hand already resting on his sword hilt.

There was no heavy encirclement—this was the first time. Thinking back to his previous two travels, he had been surrounded by people every time he opened his eyes. In the Diablo World, a group of Rogues had even drawn their bows and nocked their arrows, ready to turn him into a pincushion at the first sign of trouble. It had left a huge "shadow" on him.

The landing locations chosen by this Traversing Magic Array always seemed rather unreliable—but looking at it another way, being dropped into safe zones every time seemed pretty reliable too.

"Don't be nervous, Mage from another plane."

Just as he relaxed a little, a voice came from behind him.

Startled, Yinsen immediately turned around and looked at the unremarkable, steep mountain wall. The voice had come from there, yet there was not a single person in sight.

"Is this... an illusion?"

Focusing his Mental Power and sharpening his senses, Yinsen detected a slight sense of discord. He still could not project his Mental Power outward, which would let him investigate far more things. For now, he could only sense that something was wrong. To find exactly what was wrong, he needed other methods.

However, the other party apparently had no intention of remaining hidden. As ripples like water spread outward, a portion of the bare, steep cliff vanished, revealing a fairly wide passage.

At the same time, a white-bearded old man dressed exactly like the Mages of Yinsen's imagination emerged with a staff, accompanied by a blond youth.

"Hello, guest from another world."

The Old Sorcerer spoke slowly. His gentle voice seemed to convey that he meant no harm and was merely displaying his hospitality—if not for the fact that he had released his abyssal, ocean-like magical fluctuations without the slightest attempt at concealment.

"Please don't misunderstand. As a Mage yourself, you should understand that sometimes one must do this to have a proper conversation."

The Old Sorcerer quickly withdrew those frightening magical fluctuations and continued speaking in the same kind, amiable tone.

"Besides, I used a little too much force when I tried to break through that massive energy blockade and communicate with you immediately."

Only then did Yinsen realize that he could hear the other man not because he understood the language, but because the man had used Mental Power to communicate with him.

"Holy shit!"

He knew he was still weak, but it was still incredibly irritating to have powerful Mages link with him as casually as strolling through their backyards. It seemed he needed to make something to stop these Mages from linking to his mind without even a warning.

"All right, young man. It is only natural for you to be angry about this, but I hope you will give me a chance to compensate you."

The Old Sorcerer before him seemed to be a genuinely decent man. He apologized immediately and was even willing to offer compensation.

"For example, how about I make you an amulet that can defend against Mental Power attacks?"

Yinsen froze. "Can you read my thoughts?"

"Oh, no! I simply thought that this was what you wanted most right now." The Old Sorcerer displayed his wisdom without reservation, and a hint of sharpness appeared in his originally benevolent, kindly eyes.

After giving it some thought, Yinsen decided not to worry about compensation for the moment. This Old Sorcerer spoke as if crafting such an amulet were easy, which showed how confident he was in his ability to make Magic Equipment. Besides, Yinsen did not urgently need such a defensive item right now. In truth, as his Mental Power improved, unless he encountered someone who absolutely overwhelmed him, others would not be able to invade his mind with Mental Power so easily.

As for someone who could successfully invade without him noticing, that would prove that the gap between them was unimaginably vast. Such a person could erase him from this world with a casual gesture. If they harbored hostility, an amulet like that would be meaningless anyway.

"Then, how should I address you?"

Seeing that Yinsen was willing to communicate, the Old Sorcerer nodded happily. "My name is Merlin. You can simply call me by my name."

"Merlin..."

Yinsen frowned. It was not that he did not know who Merlin was. A powerful Mage named Merlin—his identity was already obvious. He was simply wondering which Merlin this was. As a famous legendary Western wizard, Merlin appeared in countless works. In even more works, though he did not appear directly, he was mentioned indirectly.

"Not some white-haired delinquent... that rules out one possibility."

"The staff in his hand does not look like a metal mechanical device either. That rules out another."

Scratching his head, he realized there were already too many works he knew of. Trying to eliminate them one by one was simply impossible.

His reaction made Merlin across from him very curious.

"Young man, have you heard my name before, or have you met versions of me from other planes?"

Yinsen was somewhat surprised by Merlin's question, but quickly understood—from the beginning, Merlin had identified him as being from another plane. Clearly, this Great Sorcerer had some understanding of the multiverse, perhaps even more than Yinsen himself.

"Wait..." Yinsen suddenly thought of a possibility. "The reason my Teleportation Portal sent me here... that was your doing, wasn't it?"

Merlin froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "I did not expect you to figure it out so quickly. I was not deliberately hiding it. In fact, even if you had not noticed, I would have brought it up shortly."

Yinsen's face darkened. The last time The Ancient One had caught him red-handed was also because, when he traveled into the Marvel Universe, the Sorcerer Supreme who protected Earth from invasions by other planes had intercepted him. Back then, he had learned that some powerful beings could interfere with his teleportation.

He had not expected to encounter another one so soon. At this rate, he would not dare use a Magic Array for Plane Travel in the future. Who knew whether he might run into someone who would kill him without saying a word?

"Or perhaps I could teach you how to better control that immense energy, so that it will not stand out like the moon in a pitch-black night sky, preventing other Mages from noticing you during your next teleportation?"

Merlin quickly offered terms Yinsen could not refuse, and this was precisely the problem he urgently wanted to solve.

"I really do want to solve this problem." Yinsen nodded and admitted it, but he had no intention of letting Merlin lead him by the nose. "Then what do you want, after specifically bringing me here? Great Mage Merlin."

Merlin had deliberately intercepted him and changed his destination to bring him before himself. He definitely had some ulterior motive. At first, Yinsen had suspected that this famous Mage might be a plane guardian like The Ancient One, but Merlin's repeated offers of benefits had made Yinsen dismiss that idea.

This guy wants something from me.

He could not understand what a legendary powerhouse like Merlin could possibly want from him. The only noteworthy thing was probably his ability to travel between planes. Yet Merlin's earlier words suggested that he had little interest in that ability—otherwise, why would he offer to help Yinsen better master Space-Time Energy?

"Let's talk somewhere else. Are we going to stand here forever?"

"We really should change locations."

"Then please follow me, young man."

After greeting him, Merlin turned and headed back first. Yinsen followed him into the path concealed by magic. When he passed through the spot that had appeared to be a mountain wall, Yinsen felt himself pass through an incredibly powerful Magic Wall. It felt much like passing through a curtain of water, except instead of leaving him drenched and bedraggled, the wash of magic even brought some benefits: the mental exhaustion from his journey seemed to recover somewhat.

The path was not long. After walking for only a short while, the narrow passage suddenly opened up, and under Merlin's guidance, Yinsen entered an extraordinarily beautiful valley.

All kinds of flowers, grasses, and trees filled every inch of the valley. Countless blooming flowers filled it with fragrance. His mind jolted again, and Yinsen immediately sensed that these plants were anything but ordinary.

"A paradise on earth!"

Merlin seemed to have been waiting for that praise.

"This is my residence."

The valley's only man-made structure was an ordinary-looking house, a typical three-story building from the outside. But when Yinsen stepped inside, the enormous space made him realize that this little house was anything but simple.

The group did not stop. Under Merlin's guidance, they entered a room—a reception room. Yinsen also saw that some fruit had already been placed on the table.

"Please, sit!"

Merlin sat down first, then continued only after Yinsen took the seat across from him.

"Originally, I intended to speak with you for a while before telling you my purpose. But it seems you do not like that approach, so there is no need for me to keep hiding it." Just as Merlin was about to speak to the blond youth beside him, he seemed to remember something. "Oh, pardon me. Before that, I may need to offend you a little."

Merlin tapped his own forehead with a finger. "There will be no side effects. Your head may only feel a little swollen and numb, or you may have a slight headache."

Before he even finished speaking, the finger that had touched his forehead slowly pointed toward Yinsen. A streak of light first flowed from Merlin's forehead to his fingertip, then shot into Yinsen's head with a swish as the Old Sorcerer moved.

Yinsen's body stiffened. He was just about to rise, but forcibly stopped himself. He had already realized what magic Merlin had used—Merlin had "packaged" part of his language knowledge from his mind and "transmitted" it to Yinsen, allowing him to master another foreign language in the shortest possible time.

"Hello, my name is Arthur." At Merlin's signal, the blond youth stood and formally introduced himself in the language Yinsen had just "learned."