CHAPTER 171: IMBALANCE

One second, Nathan was upright. The next, the air cracked behind Merlin’s elbow as he slid inside Nathan’s guard and tapped the side of his knee—hard enough to buckle it.

Nathan dropped again, faster this time.

"Okay, now you’re just being mean," he muttered, half-laughing, half-winded.

"Tell that to your balance."

Nathan rolled onto his back. "You’ve definitely been training with someone while you were unconscious."

’You have no idea.’

Merlin offered his hand again. Nathan took it.

"You’re pulling your punches," Nathan said as he stood. "I can feel it. You haven’t even shown me your real speed."

Merlin shrugged. "Maybe next time."

Nathan raised a brow. "Why not now?"

Because if he did, he wasn’t sure the ground wouldn’t crack.

Because if he let go of the restraint the system was pressing down with its passive aura suppression, Nathan might not walk away with just bruises.

And because deep down, Merlin was still adjusting.

Still afraid of how good it felt to hold back so much power.

Instead, he gave Nathan a crooked smile.

"Because I’m being nice," Merlin said.

Nathan looked skeptical but didn’t push it. "Right. Well, let me catch my breath. Again. And next time? You’re not allowed to dodge. I want a real hit."

"You sure about that?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. I don’t want to get stronger fighting shadows."

Merlin looked at his friend. Same lopsided grin. Same fire in his eyes. The same guy who had followed him into a death maze and nearly got eaten by gods for it.

’He doesn’t know we’re walking different paths now. Not yet.’

"Alright," Merlin said quietly. "Next round. No dodging."

[System Warning: Active Restraint Maintained]

[Total Combat Potential Access: 9%]

He smiled.

"Promise."

—

Nathan bounced on his heels again, trying to keep the stiffness out of his legs. His shirt stuck to his back, and a faint red mark was already blooming across his collarbone from where Merlin had lightly tagged him with an elbow.

Not even full force. Just technique.

And it still hurt like hell.

"You ready?" Nathan asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Merlin took a breath. Rolled his shoulder once, more to kill time than anything else. His body felt too light, too quick. The afterimage of power ran under his skin like a current begging to be released.

The system hadn’t stopped whispering warnings since they started.

[Restraint Active]

[Mana Core Expansion: 2.1% increase detected during engagement]

[Current Sync Rate with Stored Data: 17%]

’So basically, I’m still holding back ninety percent and I already feel like I’m floating.’

Nathan dropped into his stance again, wider this time. Guard a bit tighter. He was learning. Adjusting. But still miles behind.

’He doesn’t know what he’s looking at. That’s the worst part. He thinks we’re still close.’

Merlin swallowed that thought and pushed it down into his ribs.

"Same rules?" he asked.

Nathan nodded. "No dodging."

Merlin cracked his neck. "Right. You hit, I take it."

"Exactly."

"Alright." He shifted his weight. "Let’s go."

Nathan charged, a little slower than before, planting his foot hard and aiming for a shoulder feint into a leg sweep. He was good. Fluid. The kind of movement that came from hours of practice, not just talent.

And Merlin let it land.

The kick hit his ankle. Would’ve tripped someone else.

He barely moved.

Nathan’s eyes widened. "What the hell—"

Merlin shifted his weight forward and grabbed Nathan by the wrist, pivoting gently, just enough to send him tumbling across the sand.

Again.

Nathan groaned from the ground. "You said no dodging!"

"I didn’t dodge," Merlin said, grinning. "You just didn’t commit."

Nathan stayed flat on the floor for a beat, squinting up at the sky. "This is how people develop inferiority complexes, you know."

Merlin walked over and sat beside him, elbows resting on his knees. "You’ve got solid instincts. You’re just reading me wrong."

"Wrong how?"

Merlin hesitated. Not because he didn’t know what to say. Because he knew too well.

’Do I lie and pretend I’m still figuring things out? Or do I tell him I’m basically storing the fighting experience of someone who butchered gods and burned cities?’

He scratched his chin. "My rhythm’s off now. You’re reacting to the way I used to fight."

Nathan gave him a side-eye. "So you’re saying you’ve changed."

Merlin nodded once. "Yeah. A lot."

Nathan didn’t push. He didn’t need to. Just exhaled, sat up, and grabbed his water bottle from the edge of the training mat.

"Well, then help me catch up," he said. "You don’t have to go easy. Not anymore."

Merlin looked at him for a long second.

Then at his own hand.

Faint mana flickered at his fingertips,instinctual now, like blinking. So much more than before. Too much. And still only 9% of what the system let him touch.

He clenched a fist.

’I have to stay ahead. But not so far he forgets how to follow.’

"Alright," he said finally. "Next time, no more baby steps."

Nathan grinned. "Thank god."

[System Notification:

— Sync Pulse Initiated

— Memory Fragments Ready for Integration

— Next Unlock: 21% Threshold

]

Merlin didn’t react. Just leaned back on his hands and let the sun warm his face.

’I’m not who I was. But I’m not Rathan either.’

He looked over at Nathan, who was still finishing off his water, hair stuck to his forehead.

’Not yet.’

—

Nathan’s foot scraped across the dirt, fast, his body already in motion before his mouth could catch up.

"Left side!"

Too late.

Merlin ducked low, sidestepped the swing, and let the wind from Nathan’s blade skim past his ear. He didn’t counter right away. He waited. Let Nathan feel the mistake before punishing it.

’He’s not slow. I’m just faster now.’

The thought wasn’t cocky. It was math. Data. Observation.

Merlin pivoted, slipped behind Nathan’s guard, and tapped the back of his neck with the flat of his blade.

"Dead," he said simply.

Nathan groaned and stepped back, sweat dripping from his temple.

"How are you this much better than me already?" he asked, chest heaving. "You were out cold a week ago."

Merlin shrugged, keeping his breathing even. He wasn’t even winded. Not really.

"Guess I bounce back harder."

Nathan made a face. "That’s not a real answer."

Merlin smirked, just a little.

He didn’t answer. Again.

Not because he didn’t want to.

Because he couldn’t explain how the system had dumped a century of Rathan’s technique directly into his head like it was a damn PDF file.

[Skill Memory Integration: 32%]

[Locked Abilities will unlock progressively as physical capacity increases.]

His muscles still weren’t fully there yet. He could feel it in the lag of his follow-throughs, the slight resistance when he moved too fast. But he was getting closer. Stronger.

Faster.

He reset his stance. "Again?"

Nathan squinted at him. "You’re serious?"

"I could go all day."

"You’re like a damn machine right now," Nathan muttered, raising his blade. "Don’t get cocky, though. Talent’s not everything."

Merlin didn’t say it, but the corner of his mouth ticked up.

’Funny coming from the other twelve-star freak.’

Nathan lunged again, more feints this time. Smarter. He was adapting, reading the shifts in Merlin’s weight, watching the twitch in his shoulders before he moved.

But even that wasn’t enough.

Merlin stepped into the swing, knocked the blade aside with his wrist, and lightly kicked Nathan’s shin. Not enough to hurt, just enough to throw him off balance.

Nathan stumbled.

"Again," Merlin said flatly.

"Dude—" Nathan wiped his face with his sleeve. "We’ve been at this since sunup. You sleep last night?"

Merlin blinked. ’No. Not really.’

He’d spent most of the night running Rathan’s movement patterns through his head. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw blood. The war. The betrayals. The gods. But more than that, he saw how Rathan moved through them. Not just with strength, but with purpose.

Merlin needed that part.

"Yeah," Merlin lied. "Couple hours."

Nathan grunted. "You’re an actual lunatic."

"Didn’t say I wasn’t."

They reset again.

Nathan was breathing heavier now. Legs a little slower. Sweat clinging under his collar.

Merlin felt fine.

Not fresh. Just... steady. Like his body had learned how to stop wasting energy on things that didn’t matter.

’The system’s still compressing more technique. I can feel it building.’

It was like having instinct injected directly into his limbs. He didn’t have to think about parrying. He just did it. And Nathan? Nathan was still fighting like a human.

[Stat Sync: 78% Complete]

[Mana Surge Detected. Suppressed to prevent body rejection.]

He felt it, that brief hum beneath his skin, like static trying to slip through the cracks.

’Not yet,’ he told himself. ’Not until I’m ready.’

Nathan’s next swing was wild. Off-target. Merlin caught the handle mid-air, twisted, and yanked it clean from his hand.

Nathan stumbled again.

Merlin held the blade out to him.

Nathan took it, jaw tight, eyes squinting like he was trying to read something between Merlin’s eyes.

"You sure you’re okay?" he asked. "Like, really okay?"

Merlin shrugged. "Better than I’ve ever been."

Nathan didn’t smile.

He just nodded once. "Then let’s see how far that gets you."

They went again.

And again.

And again.

By the end of the hour, Nathan was kneeling in the grass, gulping water straight from his flask.

Merlin stood under the tree, back straight, arms loose at his sides.

[Physical Sync Threshold reached.]

[Unlocking: Rathan’s Footwork – Tier II]

[New Skill: Ghost Step]

A small green light flicked at the edge of his vision.

He didn’t react.

"Dude," Nathan groaned, "can we just call it here? I can’t feel my spine."

"You’re still talking," Merlin said. "That means you can keep going."

Nathan threw a twig at him.

Merlin dodged without looking.

He wasn’t being smug. Not really.

But for the first time since waking up in this world... he didn’t feel behind anymore.

He felt ready.

And there was more coming.

There always was.