Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Everyone turned to the source of the sound, and instantly… they were dumbstruck.

Edward, out of everyone present, was the most shocked. His eyes widened in disbelief as he thought to himself, Wait… what?

What is that guy doing here?!

A few moments of awkward silence permeated the room, then Chris Cloud shot to his feet and incredulously pointed at the newcomer.

"You?! Weren't you the one who came dead last in the First Trial?!"

The newcomer was a young man with pale skin and coppery-red hair. Freckles dotted his face, giving him a boyish charm, while his round crystal glasses gave him the air of a scholar. His eyes, however, contained a mischievous glint.

Merlin Mathias spread his arms wide and spoke with theatrical flair, "Ah, my friend, even the last place is a place, is it not?"

His lips curled into a smirk, and he added, "After all, someone must anchor the chain of progress so others may feel… fast."

Everyone was dumbfounded by that answer.

Most of them could not accept that someone who came dead last in the First Trial was now going to be a member of their party.

But few people thought otherwise.

"How do you know Mentor?" Eleiney asked after lingering for a few moments.

Merlin turned to her, his eyes flickering with a peculiar light. "If by Mentor you mean the Dark King, then yes, I've known him for a while now… since before he was given the title of King."

He paused, scanning everyone's expression, and then added, "I met him in the Southern Federation while I was still a Mana Foundation Magus. Oh, right, I'm from a place called Glassford, from across the Murky Mountains. I'm not sure if any of you have heard of it. "

"Glassford!" Lisa exclaimed in surprise.

She then turned to Edward and could tell that both of them were thinking the same thing:

Could Merlin have entered the Soaring River Secret Plane along with us more than two decades ago?

Merlin's eyes lit up in surprise. He turned to Lisa and asked, "Young Lady, you seem to know something about Glassford. Have you been there?"

"…Yes," Lisa said with a succinct nod.

Merlin then turned to Edward, a mocking smile appearing on his face. "Ah, the genius of Daybreak. Ah, what an honor to be in your party. Fafafa!"

Hearing the blatant sarcasm in his voice, the Magi gathered—especially the ones from the Tower of Daybreak—couldn't help but frown a little.

Biden Fors, the dashing young man with blond hair and blue eyes, looked at Merlin with narrowed eyes. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Eh?" Merlin tilted his head, confused. "My friend, perhaps… you don't know Acaros? Should I communicate with you in sign language? I do have some proficiency in it."

Before things spiralled out of control, Mikar Atkins rose to his feet and welcomed Merlin.

"Magus Mathias, why don't you take a seat?"

"Ah, of course, of course." Merlin chuckled. Then, he went and casually sat between Arthur and Eleiney, making them slightly uncomfortable.

He looked at everyone present and then rubbed his hands with an excited smile. "Alright! Shall we discuss how we are going to tackle the Second Trial? Let's go!"

Merlin was oddly enthusiastic, while the rest weren't so sure about him being a member of their party. The only thing that did, however, assure them slightly was that the Dark King had vouched for him.

Still… some weren't satisfied with that either.

Kahn looked at the coppery-red-haired youth and spoke in a flat, indifferent tone. "I do not mean to question the Dark King's judgment, but how can I be certain that you are capable enough not to be a hindrance to us?"

Merlin turned to Kahn with a thoughtful expression. He lingered for a few moments as he stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"You say you don't wish to question the Dark King's judgment, yet the next moment you do precisely that," he said. "Hmm, I wonder which one you are… a hypocrite or an idiot."

A vein suddenly started to throb on the side of Kahn's forehead. Meanwhile, Chris Cloud, who was sitting not far from him, burst into laughter. "Haha, I like you!"

Kahn turned to him and growled.

Right at that moment, Merlin spoke up again. "Forgive me, it's a bad habit of mine to joke with others. You see… sometimes I cannot stop myself."

"What else can we expect from a damned jester." Biden Fors harrumphed in displeasure.

"A jester…" Merlin repeated his words, his smile gradually deepening. "Fafafa, I guess you're right."

His laugh truly caused others to feel strange. It went without saying that they thought the copper-red-haired youth was a complete nutjob.

No one laughed like that!

Merlin turned to Kahn, then spoke in all seriousness, "If you are uncertain about my capabilities…"

He turned to Edward and gestured with a smirk. "Why don't you ask him?"

Everyone simultaneously turned to the blue-eyed youth from Daybreak. They couldn't help but wonder why Merlin would say that.

Edward, on the other hand, felt conflicting emotions. In his mind, he wasn't thinking about Merlin's capabilities. No, he was thinking about something else entirely.

Just who is he? And how deeply is he related to Adam?

From what I could surmise… he even seems to know about Lisa.

And the things he said to me yesterday underneath Marian Lake… It seemed like he's known me for a very long time.

But this is only the second time I've met him, though…

Never for a single moment did he think that Merlin was Adam. After all, there was no way for the latter to participate in the tournament.

Mana fluctuation was something that could not be altered, and that was a well-known fact.

If Adam had tried to participate in the tournament, he would have been instantly found out by the Magi overseeing it.

So Edward could only think of one thing…

Merlin must have found out everything about me from Adam? But why?

Why would even Adam disclose such things?

It just doesn't make sense to me.

To him, Merlin was full of mysteries. Perhaps, more so than Adam himself.

"Edward?"

Lisa's voice snapped him out of his deep thoughts.

He deeply looked at Merlin, then at everyone else gathered. His following words caused them to be astonished:

"I can vouch for his capabilities. He's… stronger than me."