NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: The Levelless Spirit
"There's no level?" Livia was shocked, covering her mouth with her left palm. "How can that be? Doesn't every spirit have a level?"
Linda took a deep breath and shook her head. "That's not always the case. The spirit level system of one to five stars was actually created by Holy King Arthur for easier understanding."
A spirit's level was determined by its power barometer: 50–100 for one-star spirits, 101–300 for two stars, 301–500 for three stars, 501–700 for four stars, and anything above 700 for five stars.
Of course, this measurement was just a method to judge how powerful a spirit was. The process was quite complicated, and only powerful mages were capable of doing it—one of whom was him.
She hadn't sensed any power from Merlin's dragon spirit just now. It wasn't that it lacked power, but that its power was overwhelming.
Normally, a spirit with power over 700 would be classified as five-star. However, the dragon spirit's power was so vast and limitless that she couldn't determine it.
After all, the average five-star spirit only reached around 1000, and the strongest one she had ever known hadn't even reached 2000.
"This..." Livia opened and closed her mouth, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words.
She looked at Lyserra with a mix of wonder, confusion, and curiosity. As a mother, she only wanted the best for her child. If asked what kind of spirit her son hoped to awaken, she would have definitely answered a five-star spirit.
Unfortunately, she knew her son was rather dull and lacked talent. Awakening even a one-star spirit would have already been a miracle.
But now, this child had awakened a spirit that went beyond the five-star level, and she didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Ardhis was just as stunned as Livia. His view of Merlin had completely shifted. He once saw him as a failure with little future, but now he looked at him in awe, carrying newfound expectations.
"Then what should we do, Linda?" Livia asked anxiously.
Linda immediately understood what she meant and replied calmly, "It's fine. For now, keep this matter hidden from the public as much as possible—especially from the Royal Family."
Her gaze grew serious as she turned to Ardhis and Livia. "Do you understand?"
"Don't worry," Ardhis replied solemnly. "I'll make sure this stays between us. There are only three of us here, so it should be safe. I'll even spread a rumor that Merlin awakened a puppy-shaped one-star spirit, so no one will suspect anything."
The awakening of a spirit beyond five stars had never once occurred in the kingdom's history.
If word of this got out, the kingdom would surely bring Merlin to the palace for training, then make him a general or place him in another important position.
Ardhis would have been very proud if that happened. Unfortunately, reality often turned out the opposite of dreams.
The Royal Family was complicated. Ever since the first prince had been appointed crown prince, tensions had naturally arisen—especially among the other princes.
Many refused to accept the decision, believing themselves more deserving of the throne than the first prince.
As a result, several princes began forming their own factions, making the situation even more heated.
Although it hadn't reached its peak yet, the animosity between the princes was growing sharper, and Ardhis didn't want Merlin dragged into the maelstrom.
Meanwhile, Merlin, who heard his father's words, felt the corners of his lips twitch slightly.
'Puppy? Why do I feel like he said that on purpose?'
In the timeline of the novel, Merlin Clay did awaken the puppy spirit. He couldn't tell if his father had spoken unintentionally or if there was some hidden intention.
If so, how could he know? But if not, wasn't it too coincidental?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find the answer. In the end, he chose to push it aside and focused on Lyserra resting in his palm.
'A spirit that exceeds five stars, huh?' He chuckled inwardly. 'But that's not too surprising. Who told me to awaken Lyserra in the first place?'
System: "[Of course I did, Master! Come on, praise me!]"
Merlin rolled his eyes, ignoring its arrogance.
He reached out a finger, gently rubbing Lyserra's head. The little dragon squirmed happily under his touch.
"Big Brother, congratulations! You're amazing for awakening such a powerful spirit!"
Catrine's enthusiastic voice rang out from the front. Merlin looked up, seeing her chubby face glowing with genuine admiration.
"Thank you for your kind words, Catrine," Merlin replied as he reached out to rub the little girl's head.
Feeling his touch, Catrine's smile grew even wider.
"By the way," Merlin continued, glancing at the ice bird on Catrine's shoulder, "you're also impressive, my sister. The spirit you awakened is a five-star. Is her name Sylvia?"
Catrine froze. "How do you know?"
Merlin only chuckled without answering. Of course, he knew the spirit—after all, it had been troubling him for the past few days.
But now, that fear was gone. Catrine's hatred toward him had also faded, replaced with seventy points of affection.
Moreover, he had Lyserra as his spirit, and her power was clearly far greater than the ice bird's.
Curiosity flickered in his eyes as Merlin glanced at Sylvia over Catrine's shoulder, a meaningful smile tugging at his lips.
Sylvia instantly sensed danger. Before she could react, Merlin brought Lyserra closer.
In the next moment, Sylvia shrieked sharply and bolted into the air, wings beating frantically.
The temperature around them dropped at once, and snowflakes began to fall.
Livia, Ardhis, and Linda were taken aback. But then, Lyserra suddenly opened her round eyes.
Her gaze was cold and indifferent as she stared at Sylvia, frightening the ice bird. Sylvia shot back to Catrine's shoulder and hid behind her hair, trembling violently.
Catrine was startled by the sight.
"Cup, cup, cup," she said in a soothing tone. "Don't be afraid, Sylvia. Lyserra won't hurt you."
But Sylvia continued to tremble, refusing to come out of hiding.
Catrine puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Big Brother!" she snapped. "You're too much! Why did you scare Sylvia?"
As her master, she could clearly feel Sylvia's fear—and all of it came from her brother's actions.
"Ahem!" Merlin coughed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, my sister. I truly didn't mean to."
He had only wanted to test whether Sylvia feared Lyserra. What he hadn't expected was such an intense reaction. If he'd known, he never would have tried.
Watching silently from the side, Linda couldn't help but smile.
'A five-star spirit frightened by a single glance? That dragon spirit, Lyserra… she's really something.'