Extra To Protagonist-Chapter 22: Excuses

Merlin stood in the sewer... or more precisely, in the disgustingly contaminated water.

Holding his side with his left hand, he used his right to clean off his clothes before drying them with wind magic.

They weren't as fresh as new, but at least they were wearable.

"Not bad, I could start a laundry business at this rate."

Taking out his phone, he used GPS to find the nearest manhole cover to the academy. Yeah. No way in hell was he going home to his sister with a bleeding wound. Vivienne was the better option.

"Hope she's still there..."

—

After struggling through the sewer like a rat in a maze, Merlin finally climbed out near the academy. He ripped off a part of his shirt and wrapped it around his wound to hide it.

'Alright... let's move.'

The guards let him in without a problem. Some students did live on campus, after all.

'Faster... this is starting to really hurt.'

Holding his side, he made his way toward Vivienne's office. The novel had a detailed description of it—mostly because Nathan kept going there to... train, of course. Nothing else.

As he reached the door, he heard voices inside.

A man?

"I'm training the damn brat tomorrow! No excuses!"

A loud voice boomed, mana leaking from inside.

'Ah. So it's Reinhardt.'

Merlin shook his head and pushed the door open without knocking—better than listening to their nonsense any longer.

"Good even—"

A book flew at his face before he could even react.

"Do you not know how to knock—"

Vivienne, who had thrown the book, stopped mid-rant when she saw who it was. She cleared her throat and exchanged glances with Reinhardt...

Who was currently struggling not to laugh.

"Hilarious, isn't it?"

Rubbing his forehead where the book had hit him straight up, Merlin stepped forward.

"What the hell are you—"

Reinhardt started to ask but stopped as Merlin lifted his shirt, revealing the wound.

"..."

Vivienne and Reinhardt met eyes. Then, they both stared at Merlin. Their eyes spread wide open in surpriseY

'...What do I even say here?'

"I... tripped while holding my sword and accidentally ended up cutting myself."

Their blank stares told him they weren't buying it. It was a bad excuse.

"...A robber slashed me in the streets."

Still no reaction. They just kept staring...again.

Merlin sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, fine. Five guys jumped me and I ended up getting shot by an arrow."

"!!!"

Their expressions instantly shifted—like volcanoes on the verge of erupting.

Vivienne stepped to her desk and pulled out a pre-written piece of paper? No... a rune. She channeled mana into it and pressed it against Merlin's wound.

'Oh, a healing rune...'

The wound closed almost instantly. Since it wasn't too deep, it healed fast—and the rune seemed high-level too.

With his injury gone, Merlin awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, thanks! I'll be going now—"

Before he could turn, a massive hand landed on his shoulder.

Reinhardt.

"Talk."

His voice boomed like a cannon, while Vivienne simply nodded beside him.

Merlin's smile twitched.

'Yeah... I'm screwed.'

—

"So."

Merlin sat on a chair, hands resting on his lap like some schoolboy in detention. The office was simple, with a desk, two chairs, and a few decorative plants.

"I was taking a stroll when I heard voices coming from a sewer."

Yep. That was the best he could come up with.

"Go on."

Vivienne leaned back, while Reinhardt stood beside her, arms crossed.

"I looked down the manhole and saw five guys... wearing matching black clothes with weird symbols."

Vivienne and Reinhardt exchanged glances.

"Black uniforms?"

Reinhardt raised an eyebrow at Vivienne.

"Nameless?"

"Probably," Vivienne muttered.

"I've seen their outfits in the news before, they did seem like Nameless..I'm not sure though."

Merlin said as he stared at the two of them.

Of course, Merlin was lying. He already knew they were from Nameless—the system literally gave him a quest to kill them.

"Did you kill them?"

Vivienne's tone dropped—her usual smile gone.

'Okay, that's creepy as hell.'

"Yes."

At his answer, both of them relaxed slightly and nodded.

"And I also found out what they were after."

Reinhardt's eyes narrowed.

"What were they after, brat? And how the hell did you even take down five—"

She stopped, looked at Merlin, then sighed.

"Right. Almost forgot you have three affinities."

"They were trying to kidnap Seraphina Alden."

Merlin expected some kind of reaction. But instead...

"...Who?"

Reinhardt asked, looking at Vivienne.

'...Is this guy serious?'

Merlin felt his brain short-circuit.

Vivienne sighed, folding her hands.

"And did you find out why they wanted her?"

Her tone was softer now.

"No clue."

He shook his head casually. Vivienne let out another sigh, then grabbed her phone.

"Here. My personal number, not the academy one."

She scribbled it onto a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"If anything like this happens again, call me."

"Got it."

Reinhardt and Vivienne nodded in perfect sync.

"You can leave now. You have class tomorrow."

Vivienne shooed him off like some annoying pest.

'Well... that's that.'

Shaking his head, Merlin left the academy without any issues.

Pulling out his phone, he called his sister. He had no money, no ID, nothing. Just his phone.

He asked her to pick him up.

'Finally... going home.'

—

Victoria arrived quickly and drove him home. Merlin sat in the passenger seat, completely drained, feeling like a piece of chewed-up gum trampled by fifteen people.

The moment they reached home, Merlin didn't even bother with small talk. He just rushed to his room, slammed the door shut, and left Victoria standing there.

A gentle knock followed.

"If you need to talk, I'm here. But for now, just rest."

He heard her soft footsteps fade away.

'Yeah, no way in hell I'm telling her I killed five people.'

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

Merlin collapsed onto his bed, burying his face into the pillow. And the best part? The day still wasn't over! Amazing, right?

'I still need to train...'

Rolling onto his back, he stared at the ceiling.

'System. Training Menu.'

[Training (Daily) Currently available.]

[Would you like to proceed with the training? Y/N]

Time to get it over with.

'Yes.'

The moment he confirmed, his vision went black. His head hit the pillow, and the world faded away.

Then, he found himself in the familiar training field. The crisp scent of grass filled his nose, the wind brushing against his skin.

Everything was clear—but there was one difference. Instead of his usual rapier, he now held his new sword.

'At least that's an improvement...'

Shaking his head, Merlin pushed himself up. A black portal swirled before him, radiating an eerie presence.

It felt... different from the others. Almost unnerving.

'Stronger?'

[Wave 3]

As the creature stepped out, Merlin's eyes widened in pure disbelief.

'What the hell is THAT?!'

The creature had long, flowing white hair and clutched a gnarled staff in one hand. Its skin was a sickly greenish-black, and it wore tattered robes that gave off a distinct sorcerer-like vibe.

'A fucking shaman? This is going to be way more difficult..'

Merlin vaguely recognized it from the novel's monster descriptions, but he wasn't entirely sure yet.

The shaman stared at him with unblinking eyes, tracking his every tiny movement. Meanwhile, Merlin tightened his grip on his sword, stepping forward slowly.

'Time to kill... again.'