NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Hell Training (3)
"Catrine?" Merlin was surprised. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you asleep yet?"
It was already ten o'clock at night, and usually, this little girl would have been in bed by now. Yet here she was, suddenly appearing, which left him both confused and worried.
'Is he worried about me?' he wondered to himself.
A warm feeling inexplicably welled up inside him. In his previous life, no one had cared for him except his grandmother.
But she had passed away while he was still in university, a crushing blow that left him devastated.
Since then, he had lived a lonely life, without a girlfriend or even a close friend to stay by his side when he was sad.
"I was so worried about you," Catrine said with a small sigh.
She walked over and inspected his sweaty body.
"Does anything hurt?" she asked softly.
That afternoon, she had seen firsthand how her brother trained, and the tired look on his face had weighed heavily on her heart.
Although the training was over, the exhaustion still lingered on his handsome face.
"It's okay. Your brother is a strong boy!" Merlin joked, flexing muscles that didn't actually exist.
"Pfft!" Catrine giggled at his antics. She took a towel from her pocket and handed it to him. "Here, use this to wipe your sweat."
Merlin nodded, took it, and began wiping himself down. Some spots had already dried, but the rest were still damp and uncomfortable.
"By the way, Mother left a message. She said your dinner has been prepared in your room, so you can eat when you get back," Catrine said softly.
Merlin froze for a moment before a small smile bloomed on his lips. Livia's thoughtfulness truly touched him deep inside.
'So this is what it's like to have parents, huh? It's wonderful,' he murmured softly, overwhelmed by happiness tinged with sadness.
Shaking off his thoughts, he gave a small nod. "Thank you, Catrine. Let's go inside."
"Mm!" Catrine smiled sweetly.
She took Merlin's hand and held it tightly. Merlin was startled and instinctively wanted to pull away.
His body was still sweaty and dirty, but Catrine seemed to have expected that—she only tightened her grip.
With no other choice, Merlin gave in, and the two of them walked back to the mansion together.
...
The next morning...
"Oh? I didn't expect you to come so soon, Merlin. I thought you'd find an excuse not to," Linda teased with a small chuckle.
Running a thousand laps might be nothing for her, but for someone as small as Merlin, it was a daunting challenge.
To be honest, she had wanted to give him a break last night and tell him to stop.
But when she saw the determination in his eyes, she held back—and in the end, Merlin actually managed to do it.
Merlin smiled and said firmly, "Since I already asked you to teach me, how could I make excuses for not coming? Wouldn't that be lying?"
He was indeed exhausted and had wanted to give up during the grueling training last night. But compared to the tragic ending of Merlin Clay in The Lost Hero novel, this training was nothing.
So, no matter what, he couldn't give up.
Linda admired his resolve. With a satisfied nod, she said, "Alright, I understand. Now, run one thousand two hundred laps."
Merlin's expression froze. She had said today's training would be the same as yesterday's.
Noticing her playful smile, Merlin instantly realized that this woman was tricking him.
"One thousand one hundred laps, huh? Fine, I won't give up!" he declared confidently.
Without a second thought, he started running around the field, leaving Linda stunned in place.
"[Wow! Master, you're really amazing! How did you suddenly change like that?]" The system's puzzled voice echoed in his mind.
Merlin smiled and replied, "It's fine. I just figured I shouldn't give up. Better to suffer at the start than at the end, right?"
"[Hmmm… You sound like an old man, but I like it!]"
Merlin just chuckled and quickened his pace. The training dragged on from morning until afternoon.
Of course, there were breaks for rest and lunch. Otherwise, his weak body would have collapsed—and that wasn't what Linda wanted as his tutor.
Half an hour later, Merlin finally finished one thousand one hundred laps and staggered over to Linda, gasping for breath.
"Master, I did it!" he exclaimed proudly between gasps.
Linda smiled and nodded in approval. "Very good results. Yesterday, you took until evening, but today you finished by the afternoon. Honestly, I'm really surprised, you know? Normally, the body would still feel exhausted—even after a night's rest. But you don't seem like that. Did you do something last night?"
Faced with her question, Merlin remained calm, not showing the slightest hint of panic.
"I didn't do anything, Master. I don't know why I felt so refreshed this morning," he replied sincerely.
Of course, that was a lie. Last night, his body had been in such agony that he couldn't even move his legs, as if they no longer belonged to him.
Fortunately, he had the system. Using his abundant points, he bought a D-level healing potion, and by morning his body felt completely renewed.
"So that's how it is..." Linda nodded, not pressing further. "By the way, training is done for today. Tomorrow, come back as usual. The training will be the same, but the portions will change. You'll have to run two thousand laps in the same time as today. Do you understand?"
A faint smile, almost sinister, curved her lips.
Merlin's mouth twitched, but there was nothing he could do. He could only sigh helplessly.
"Alright, Master..."