Extra To Protagonist-Chapter 92: Getting Better

"I've seen patrols double near the north gate," she said. "Instructors posted where they usually aren't. And three of the enchanted vaults in the east wing were checked twice this morning."

Adrian hopped down from the planter. "You think they're prepping for another breach?"

"No," Seraphina said. "They're not afraid. They're expecting something."

Nathan leaned back again. "That's way worse."

Liliana sighed and closed her book. "Do we even want to know what they're expecting?"

Merlin looked at the ground.

'No. You don't.'

Elara bumped her shoulder against his, light but deliberate.

"You okay?" she said quietly, voice just for him.

He nodded once.

She didn't believe it. But she let it go.

Nathan tossed the rest of his pastry into the nearby trash bin with a lazy arc. It bounced once off the rim and dropped inside.

"Alright. No schedule today. We vote. Who wants to do something stupid and mildly dangerous before lunch?"

"I'm in," Adrian said immediately.

Liliana groaned. "If I get injured, I'm blaming you."

Seraphina raised her hand. "I'm only coming to supervise."

Elara looked at Merlin.

Merlin exhaled. "Where are we going?"

Nathan grinned. "That's the spirit."

Behind them, the training bells began to ring, slow and heavy, marking the shift to late morning.

Merlin didn't flinch.

He just followed.

Same pace. Same group. Same silence under his ribs.

And for now, that was enough.

—

The hallway into the training wing felt colder than the rest of the building. Merlin wasn't sure if it was the draft or just his skin acting wrong again.

Nathan walked in front this time, arms swinging like they had nothing better to do. Elara moved beside him, one hand still in her jacket pocket.

Merlin watched the way she kept glancing at him without making it obvious. Too trained to pretend it was casual.

'They're trying not to crowd me. Which just makes it worse.'

He kept his hands at his sides.

Behind them, Adrian made a noise that was probably a whistle. He was staring through the open arch into the training hall. "Alright. This actually looks kind of badass."

The new space was wide.

Real wide.

Not just floor, but height. Someone had gutted the whole ceiling. Catwalks stretched like ribs across the upper levels. Enchanted lights glowed faint along the walls, not bright, just enough to keep the corners honest.

Dozens of stations lined the main floor. Wooden poles, weighted sacks, steel limbs bolted to mounts. The air smelled like varnish and scorched padding.

Nathan whistled low. "So this is where the tuition fees go."

Adrian was already walking toward the weapons rack. "I see swords. This is my calling."

Liliana followed slower. She looked like she was already tired, but her eyes didn't miss anything. She paused by the sign-in board, scribbled something quick.

Seraphina didn't move from the entrance right away. Her gaze swept the whole space once, then twice, like she was memorizing the exits just in case.

Elara leaned closer to Merlin as they stepped further inside.

"Any preferences?" she asked.

"Not really."

"That's a first."

He didn't respond.

They reached the racks.

Blades of every size rested in layered rows. Longswords, shortswords, bastard swords, twin daggers, hooked sabers, polearms.

His fingers hovered over the hilt of a curved blade. Too light.

Next one. Too heavy.

The third caught his wrist just right.

Standard longsword. Double-edged. Nothing fancy.

He pulled it free and gave it a light test swing. Balance was front-heavy. Handle worn. But it didn't rattle in his grip.

Elara watched him. "Again?"

He nodded.

"Going to tell us why?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

Adrian called from a few meters away. "You sparring?"

Merlin shrugged. "Eventually."

"Good. I'm betting on you over Nathan." freeweɓnøvel.com

"Hey," Nathan said. "You don't even know the matchup."

"That's why I'm betting."

Elara smirked once, then stepped away toward a dummy setup.

Merlin turned the blade once in his grip.

'Still not natural. Not like Keryx. But at least this one fights back. At least I can feel the edge.'

He breathed in. The weight settled into his hands. The hall echoed with the clang of steel and scattered laughter.

For a second, it felt like a normal morning.

He let it stay that way.

—

The ring wasn't marked with paint or enchantment. Just scuffed stone and the wary half-circle of students giving it space. That said enough. If you knew, you knew.

Nathan rotated his shoulder once, stretching his arm across his chest. His grin wasn't mocking, but it was lopsided enough to be annoying.

"You sure?" he asked. "You've got that fainting prince vibe going today."

"I'll manage," Merlin said.

His hand tightened once on the grip of the longsword. The handle was smooth. Too smooth. Someone had cleaned it recently, probably with the wrong kind of oil. It would slip if he got careless.

'Don't get careless, then.'

Nathan raised his blade, it was shorter than Merlin's but faster. Not enchanted. Just iron-forged and scarred with use. His stance wasn't perfect, but it was solid. No wasted motion. No theatrical flair.

Reinhardt's training stuck.

They circled.

Boots scraped against stone. Not much sound. Just the distant hiss of other fights and the dull thuds of hits connecting from the nearby dummies.

Elara stood just outside the ring, arms folded. Her eyes didn't waver once.

"Call it?" Nathan said.

Merlin nodded.

A beat.

Then movement.

Nathan struck first. Predictable. Forward slash, angled from the shoulder. Not lazy, but not committed either. A test. Merlin parried clean, but the jolt ran up his elbow and into his shoulder like a reminder.

'Body's still slow.'

They exchanged three more strikes. Rhythm built fast. Nathan leaned into it now, pressing harder. Merlin's blade caught the next swing lower on the edge. He stepped in close and turned, angling the flat to push against Nathan's side.

The deflection worked.

Barely.

They broke apart.

Merlin exhaled through his nose. Breath steady. Legs braced.

His grip felt steadier this time.

There. A flicker. Low. Just under his ribs. That familiar pull. A thread of something he hadn't felt since—

'No way.. Not now. Focus.'

Nathan moved again.

Faster this time. A low thrust aimed for the side. Merlin twisted. The borrowed longsword moved slower than Keryx would have. It clipped Nathan's blade just enough to throw the angle off.

Nathan shifted his weight.

Merlin stepped forward.

They clashed.

Metal rang. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just contact. Clean. Honest.

Elara didn't speak. But her stance shifted. Like she wanted to move forward and didn't.

'Good. Let her stay still.'

Nathan grinned again, backing off. "You're keeping up."

"Trying."

"You're going to break something, aren't you?"

"Hopefully not."

They circled once more.

This time, Merlin led.

His step was off at first. Too cautious. But muscle memory reached out from somewhere under the fatigue. His foot pivoted right. Weight shifted. Blade came up into a rising arc.

Nathan caught it with the edge of his sword but stumbled a step.

Merlin pressed in.

The momentum felt strange.

Not wrong.

Just unfamiliar.

Each motion dragged a flicker of something behind it. Not power. Not yet. But warmth. Like a pulse returning to a limb that had been numb too long.

He blocked another strike and twisted, his wrist rotating, blade locking Nathan's weapon at the guard. Their hilts clacked.

Nathan blinked. "That's new."

Merlin didn't reply.

He stepped back.

The weight of the sword wasn't fighting him anymore.

It moved when he did.

Not Keryx. But not bad.

He felt it again. The flicker. A soft hum under his skin. Not strong. Not stable.

But it was there.

'System's starting to stir..I can feel it.'

Nathan called it first.

"Enough?"

Merlin nodded.

They lowered their weapons.

A soft clatter echoed nearby as another student dropped his blade against a dummy stand. Sweat rolled down the side of his face. He looked over, watching them both with quiet eyes.

Merlin let his arm drop. The longsword felt heavier now. Realer.

Adrian wandered over with a half-eaten fruit in his hand.

"Well," he said, mouth full. "That was significantly less embarrassing than expected."

Nathan shrugged. "He's still scary when he wants to be."

"I think the sword was scared," Adrian muttered.

Merlin didn't answer.

Elara stepped forward. She didn't say anything. Just looked at him, then at his hands.

"You're not shaking."

"No."

"That's new."

He nodded once.

She didn't press.

Liliana called from the edge of the hall. "Are we still pretending this is for fun or should we all just enroll in the insanity track now?"

Nathan raised his hand. "Fun. Definitely fun."

Seraphina glanced at Merlin. "You recovered faster this time."

Merlin met her eyes.

"I'm working on it."

She nodded once.

The lights above flickered once. Then steadied.

Merlin didn't miss the way Elara's posture shifted.

Nor the way her eyes moved toward the upper catwalks.

Someone was watching.

He felt it too.

But the presence didn't linger.

Whatever it was moved on.

The moment passed.

Nathan stretched both arms overhead. "Lunch?"

"Please," Liliana said. "If I have to watch one more dramatic blade lock, I'm going to start narrating it."

Adrian grinned. "I'd pay to hear that."

Merlin watched the others gather their things.

Elara walked beside him.

"You're still not fine," she said.

"No."

"But?"

"I'm getting there."

She gave the smallest smile.

Then nodded.

They followed.

And this time, Merlin didn't feel like he was dragging himself behind.

Not fully. Not anymore.