CHAPTER 325: SIMULATION (6)

His gaze drifted briefly to Merlin’s right arm—where the golden-blue threads had appeared earlier during the override.

Then his voice lowered, almost too soft to hear.

"You’ve manifested something before this, haven’t you?"

Merlin’s chest tightened.

That reaction—

That specific phrasing—

It wasn’t from the original novel.

Kessler wasn’t supposed to have context for anything like that.

Except—

Elara’s spear shifted a millimeter.

Nathan took a half-step forward.

Adrian cracked his knuckles.

The entire group was preparing to defend Merlin if things turned ugly.

Hale noticed and raised both hands in a calming gesture.

"Students. No one is accusing your classmate of wrongdoing. We are trying to understand the cause of the intrusion."

"Then stop cornering him like a criminal," Elara said, voice low and icy.

Several instructors blinked—few students ever dared take that tone.

Nathan grinned, despite the tension. "Seconded."

Kessler let the silence sit for several seconds, then slowly exhaled.

"Fine. Not here."

The tension in the arena dropped by half.

Hale added, "We need to secure the observation array. Someone used external mana to corrupt the illusion. This wasn’t a student prank. This was professional."

Nathan whispered, "At least they know it’s not you."

Merlin nodded, though faintly.

It didn’t completely lessen the knot in his chest.

Kessler addressed the class.

"You are dismissed for the day. Return to your dorms immediately. Do not speak to students from other classes about what happened. Do not leave campus."

"And Everhart," he added quietly, "stay."

Elara immediately spoke. "I’m staying with him."

"So am I," Nathan said.

Dorian stepped forward silently.

Sera lifted her chin. "He’s not facing anyone alone."

Even Adrian raised a hand. "Yeah. We’re not going anywhere."

Kessler’s expression twitched—caught between annoyance and subtle approval.

Hale sighed. "They can stay. But silence, all of you."

As the other classes exited, the arena slowly emptied until only Merlin’s group and the instructors remained. The air felt clearer—but also colder.

Kessler waited until the last distant footsteps faded.

Then he looked directly at Merlin.

"What appeared in that simulation... wasn’t just a corrupted illusion."

Merlin’s pulse jumped.

Kessler continued.

"It was a message."

Merlin swallowed. "...A message for who?"

Kessler didn’t hesitate.

"For you."

The room seemed to tilt slightly.

Hale nodded grimly. "Someone wants you destabilized. Afraid. Off balance. Someone is testing your reactions."

"And," Kessler added quietly, "they were testing for something else."

Merlin felt heat rising in his palms. "What?"

Kessler took another step closer.

"To see if that... power... would surface again."

Merlin’s blood ran cold.

Elara and Nathan froze beside him.

Hale spoke softly, almost pitying.

"Merlin... we need to talk about what exactly is inside you."

His heart thundered in his chest.

And for the first time since he’d woken up in this world—

He genuinely didn’t have an immediate answer.

Only a single, chilling thought:

They were onto something.

And he had no idea how much they knew.

The silence after Hale’s final words was suffocating.

Not tense in the way battlefields were tense.

Not sharp like the moments before a monster lunged.

But heavy—like the world itself was leaning toward Merlin, waiting to see what he would say.

Elara angled herself just slightly in front of him, her fingers tightening around the haft of her spear.

Nathan stepped closer too, one shoulder nearly brushing Merlin’s.

The others fanned out behind them, silently forming a protective semicircle.

The message was clear:

If anyone wanted to corner Merlin, they’d have to get through all of them.

Kessler noticed. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t object this time. Hale exhaled, long and tired, as if they’d been expecting this resistance.

"Before anything else," Hale said carefully, "none of this is an accusation. You are not in trouble."

"Funny," Ethan muttered, "sure feels like an interrogation."

Sera elbowed him lightly, but she didn’t disagree.

Kessler’s eyes stayed locked on Merlin, unreadable but burning with focus.

"You displayed something during the override," Kessler said quietly. "Something I have not seen in a student. Or an instructor. Or... anything."

Merlin forced his voice steady. "That wasn’t my doing. The array forced it."

Kessler nodded once. "Possibly. But your reaction—your resonance—did not match the intrusion. It overpowered it."

Adrian frowned. "Overpowered it? Like he punched the whole simulation in the face?"

"It’s more complicated," Hale murmured. "But... yes."

Nathan blinked. "...Oh."

Liliana, who’d been trembling behind them, stepped forward with surprising courage.

"Merlin... doesn’t hurt people. Ever. Not unless someone’s in danger. So whatever you think happened—it wasn’t him."

Her voice cracked on the last words. But her conviction didn’t.

Merlin felt Elara’s gaze on him.

Sharp. Concerned. Protective. And questioning.

He’d told her so little. Not enough. Not nearly enough.

Kessler lifted a hand—not threateningly, but firmly.

"This isn’t about blame. This is about identifying the threat. If that power you used is stable, or if it could explode under pressure."

"Explode?" Dorian repeated, voice quiet and dangerous.

Kessler didn’t look away. "If what I sensed grows without control, yes—explode."

Merlin’s stomach dropped.

Not because it was true—he didn’t actually know.

But because in the original novel, Kessler was the type who would sacrifice anything, or anyone, to neutralize a predicted danger.

Even the protagonist.

Even Nathan.

Even—

Himself.

Merlin swallowed. "...What exactly did you sense?"

Kessler’s expression tightened.

Hale inhaled slowly, as if trying to choose his words carefully.

"Your mana signature fractured," Hale said. "Split into multiple channels. Wind, lightning, water, and... something else. Something we couldn’t identify."

"Something old," Kessler added.

Merlin’s heart thudded painfully.

He couldn’t show fear.

He couldn’t show recognition.

He forced his expression blank. "I don’t know what it was."

Elara’s hand brushed against his—barely, a whisper of contact—but it grounded him instantly.

Nathan spoke up, voice uncharacteristically serious.

"Even if Merlin did something weird, we were all inside the simulation. None of us felt in danger. If anything, whatever he did stabilized the array. The corruption stopped after that."

The instructors stiffened.

Kessler’s eyes narrowed. "You’re sure?"

Nathan nodded hard. "Absolutely sure."

Adrian raised a hand. "If Merlin wanted to nuke us, he would’ve. He didn’t. So why are we even talking about him like he’s a bomb timer?"

Liliana whispered, "Because they’re scared..."

Hale turned, voice gentle.

"We’re cautious. Not frightened of Merlin himself."