Metamorphosis!

His heavy breathing gradually eased.

By then, Merlin and Yol had stopped sparring.

The Equipment Slot appeared before his eyes.

Synchronization Value: [24%]

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A week had passed, and his Synchronization Value with the lynx had increased considerably again.

Yol stood before him, her face flushed. Her parted red lips closed as her breathing began to settle, too.

"I've noticed that your speed and explosive power have been getting more and more impressive lately!"

There was a hint of urgency in her eyes, along with some helplessness. She had thought that after learning the sword, she would be able to make full use of her physical potential and become stronger than Merlin.

Merlin's lips curled into a smile as he noticed the frustration in Yol's eyes.

"Want to surpass me? Yol, it's broad daylight. Stop dreaming. Save that for when you're asleep at night!"

At his words, Yol rolled her eyes and ground her teeth in annoyance.

"Don't get cocky. I've already visualized a greatsword in my mind.

"I can feel my consciousness starting to become more refined. When I practice the sword, I can focus better, too. My training is much more effective now. Soon, my swordsmanship will surpass yours.

"Just you wait. One day, I'll crush you at swordsmanship."

Merlin looked at her with exasperation. "You're really crossing the river and burning the bridge. Without me, do you think you could've succeeded at visualizing it so quickly?

"You practice like a madwoman with a death wish. When you're tired of sword practice, you visualize. Once you're done visualizing, you go right back to training. If I weren't absorbing your fatigue Calamity, even your strong body wouldn't be able to withstand that.

"And even though I absorb that Calamity for you, training like this still affects you.

"If you don't know how to balance work and rest, you're just draining your future potential. It's like spending without earning anything back. Do you think your body is some kind of perpetual motion machine?"

Under Merlin's criticism, Yol turned her gaze aside, looking a little helpless.

"Can't I just be more careful from now on? Besides, don't you do the same thing?"

"..." Merlin was speechless. Calamity was his own ability, and using it drained his energy and stamina. Once he'd used up enough, he would rest.

He knew where to draw the line.

"We're not the same."

As Merlin said this, a deep determination flashed in Yol's eyes. Then she smiled and said:

"All right, I get it. I'll make sure to eat plenty of nutritious food and get a good night's sleep after training.

"That should replenish my physical and mental energy, right? And this intense training will help me improve faster, won't it?"

Merlin shook his head. Since she'd said that, he decided not to lecture her any further.

As long as she understood the dangers of overdoing it and changed her ways, that was enough.

He took a pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time. "It's already twelve. Let's go eat!"

Yol nodded, rolling her shoulders and making her chest sway slightly.

She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and smiled.

"Let's go! After lunch and a nap, we can get back to training!"

Merlin smiled and nodded. He and Yol found Lami and took her with them to the student cafeteria.

Before long, they entered the cafeteria.

Merlin was surprised to see that most of the students' attention was focused on a table near the front.

A young man and woman were having a meal at a small table for two.

The man had neck-length purple hair parted down the middle, with a strand hanging naturally over his forehead. His sharp, dark golden eyes looked gentle as he chatted with the woman across from him.

The woman had golden hair like ears of wheat and clear purple eyes like a spring. Merlin sensed a presence about her that was both light and substantial.

She looked around eighteen or nineteen.

She had delicate features and a tall figure, and wore the dojo's purple-black training uniform. At the moment, she was looking helplessly at the slightly older young man across from her, who looked about four-tenths like her.

Lami noticed Merlin watching them and spoke in a low voice.

"Those two are Teacher Fiore's children. They came to our training ground this morning, and the senior sister, Teresa, even taught a basic swordsmanship class herself!

"She taught much better than our senior, Orr."

After hearing Lami's explanation, Merlin understood. No wonder his sharp senses had picked up a distinctly dangerous feeling from the two of them.

"Like father, like son," Merlin thought. Then he stopped paying them much attention and went with Yol to the serving counter.

Lunch was especially lavish today. Maybe it was because Fiore's children had returned.

The main dish looked like the meat of some kind of sea beast. It tasted delicious, and once it was in his stomach, a warm current seemed to fill his body.

So,

Merlin ate five more plates, until he couldn't eat another bite.

Since Merlin had started training, the Calamity Fruit ability had been draining a lot of his energy. With [Lynx] equipped, his appetite had also been growing by the day, and he was well on his way to becoming a strange creature known as a bottomless pit.

Merlin couldn't help but feel helpless about it.

Still, it was a bittersweet pleasure.

Being able to eat a lot was a good thing, after all.

And there were so many delicious ingredients in this world. Without a hearty appetite, he would be missing out.

Yol could say the same. As she trained, her appetite had also changed quite a bit.

As a result, two stacks of plates gradually piled up on their table, drawing plenty of attention.

At a table nearby, Monde was eating beside the two siblings. Seeing that Merlin and Yol still had such big appetites, he looked envious.

"It's great to be able to eat so much. No wonder Teacher calls Merlin and Miss Yol geniuses!"

His words were casual, but they caught purple-haired Fulvio's interest. He turned toward Monde and asked with a bright smile:

"Monde, are those the students my old man just took on?"

Monde blinked and turned to Fulvio, who had spoken to him. Excitement appeared in his eyes.

"That's right, Senior Fohr. Merlin and Yol are the ones I ran into. Teacher only took them on as VIP students half a month ago.

"They're both incredibly talented. They've already finished the basics and started training on their own!"

"Mer...lin?"

Fulvio smiled and nodded, a glint appearing in his eyes. Then he turned to Teresa, his lips curling into a bright smile.

"Hey, sis! Feel like going over to play with them later? They're VIP students!

"As their siblings, we're supposed to help the old man whip them into shape!"

Teresa shot her brother an exasperated look. "Don't you usually hate teaching VIP students?"

Fulvio shook his head, glancing meaningfully at Merlin.

"That boy isn't ordinary. If I'm not mistaken, he should be..."

He stopped there, a strange glimmer passing through his eyes.

Hearing this, Teresa's expression turned serious, too. She looked at her brother in confusion, but curiosity soon appeared in her eyes as well.

After lunch,

Merlin and Yol brought Lami to an indoor VIP training area near the ginkgo grove training ground behind the manor.

The room was spacious and quiet.

The three sat on the wooden floor.

Merlin dispersed the Black Flame in his hand. Lami gave a comfortable little moan, hugged his arm, and said with a grin:

"Just as expected of my Merlin! With you around, Lami feels like she has endless energy."

Yol smiled warmly and tapped Lami on the forehead with her index finger. Then she repeated what Merlin had told her that morning.

Lami looked at Merlin with a pained expression.

"Merlin, you were right. Yol really is like my mom."

Merlin burst out laughing. Seeing Yol's pretty face suddenly turn bright red, he grinned.

"Looks like Lami's asking for a beating today! If I were you, I wouldn't let that slide."

Lami blinked, then shrank her neck and looked at Merlin as if she might cry. A moment later, she wailed:

"Merlin, how could you do this to me?"

"Yol, I'm sorry! I..."

But just then, Yol had already grabbed Lami's cheeks with both hands and started pulling them outward.

"Why, you little Lami! You've gotten bold, haven't you? Now you're making fun of me!"

"Mmmph, I'm thorry!"

Merlin watched the two of them fool around, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. Then he sat cross-legged off to the side and closed his eyes.

He began to breathe in a steady rhythm.

The visualization technique Fiore had first taught them, which relied on mild oxygen deprivation to induce a light poisoning, was crude but effective.

But once someone succeeded at visualization, that crude guidance was no longer necessary. Once the "seed" of visualization had taken root, all they needed to do was calm their mind, and they could enter that state anywhere.

Breathing was only an aid.

It helped calm the mind.

Visualization served to refine one's consciousness, just as Yol had said.

By expending his mental energy, he repeatedly sketched out the details of the thing he was visualizing in his mind. This trained his mental will and strengthened his spirit from the inside out.

At that moment, a lithe lynx with a dignified face appeared in his mind.

It lay crouched, its throat vibrating as it breathed and its muscles, bones, and flesh rippling. It looked as if it could pounce forward at any moment.

As he expended his mental energy visualizing the lynx, its every movement and posture came vividly to life in his mind. At the same time, Merlin failed to notice that the picture of [Lynx] in the Equipment Slot had begun to shimmer with a hazy, deep blue glow.

Unbeknownst to him, Merlin's consciousness sank into a wondrous state. He felt as though he had become a lynx, running and hunting freely through vast mountains and forests.

Lying in wait, his muscles, bones, and flesh rippling as he waited for prey to approach. Then he sprang forward like lightning, catching it in an instant with his sharp teeth and claws.

His body and mind were filled with joy. He let out a hoarse cry.

At the same time,

deep within his consciousness, in the Equipment Slot,

specks of hazy, deep blue light silently emerged from the lynx picture and entered the empty space of his mind.

At the same time,

blue glimmers began to surface in every corner of Merlin's body.

A wondrous transformation began.