| Royal Capital and Locked up(1)|

A well-dressed man in his forties walked out of the carriage in front of the Helstea's manor with a weird cuff in his right hand.

"Hands out" He ordered Merlin who's in front of the Helstea's manor. Merlin has a bag half his size with him.

Merlin didn't resist and did as he was told.

>Clack<

Immediately, Merlin noticed that this is no normal cuff as he must be at a mid-silver stage or above in order to break this.

"I doubt you can break these...So just follow, I'll seal your mana core if you try anything." The man said, before gesturing Merlin to follow him to the carriage.

Merlin looked back and smiled softly at the people seeing him off. They are the Helsteas, Twin-Horns, and Leywin's family...The children are asleep and didn't know of this incident yet. Art is still unconscious.

Merlin then looked at Reynold and Alice before saying,

"Looks like I'll not be there at Art's birthday party."

"I'm sure Art will understand" Reynold replied.

"Kyuu..." Sylvie called out from the distance, her tail and head drooped.

Right, Sylvie is also seeing him off.

Merlin gave Sylvie a small smile before mouthing something.

'We'll surely meet again you sneaky food thief'

"Kyuu!" Sylvie beamed, wagging her tail.

'I'm gonna miss them..'

Merlin then entered the carriage before the carriage took off.

Merlin sat still on his seat, not bothering to look out.

'I should have act more rationally like Art...' Merlin thought, noticing how childish he was.

The well-dressed man stared at Merlin, not being able to see his core level due to Merlin's extraordinary control over his mana.

"What's in the bag?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Stuffs" Merlin simply replied after glancing at his bag.

Merlin's response seemed to irritate the man as he grew a tick mark on his forehead.

'If his majesty didn't order me to not mess with him, I would have already beat this brat.' He thought, calming himself.

"Pardon me, let me see what's in the bag" The man said, gesturing Merlin to pass him the bag.

"What if I deny?" Merlin asked, in a voice so cold.

"Wha- Well, nothing happen. Just asking out of curiosity..." The man swallowed his words the instant he locked eyes with Merlin, and his back started profusely releasing cold sweat.

"Then I chose not to" Merlin said, before going back to stare at the cuffs.

'He's dangerous! Should I seal his core?' The man thought, ready to bring out the high rank artifact that the King lend him.

He shook his head, disregarding the thought of using it.

There's a reason why Merlin didn't allow the man to check the content inside his bag. It's because it's his personal belongings that include many things such as his A-class adventurer silver card, Sylvie's shells, the slime-like object, his clothes, and his money.

The carriage rode through the main road, and stopped at the teleportation gate.

Merlin looked at the teleportation gate as the man went out and talk to the guard about his purpose of using teleportation gate. Merlin noticed something while observing the teleportation gate,

'This weird runes again...'

Shortly after, the gate's guard allowed the carriage to go through...To the Royal Capital, Etistin City.

The carriage jolted as it went through the teleportation gate, and the world outside the window blurred into a haze of light and color.

When the carriage emerged from the other side, the Merlin's eyes slightly widened in amazement. They had just arrived at Etistin City, the human's royal capital, and the sights and sounds were unlike anything the protagonist had ever experienced in Xyrus.

The streets were lined with ornate buildings, towering spires, and elegant statues of heroes long forgotten. The air was thick with the sounds of music, laughter, and the chatter of the people who walked the city's bustling streets.

The carriage turned a corner, and Merlin caught a glimpse of the towering walls of the Royal Castle. As they drew closer, the carriage slowed to a stop in front of a massive iron gate. The gates opened with a creak, revealing a sprawling complex of stone buildings, surrounded by high walls and armed guards.

The carriage began to move again, this time towards the prison. Merlin isn't one bit scared or worried.

As the carriage approached the prison, Merlin could see that it was a massive, imposing structure, with high walls, barred windows, and guards stationed at every entrance. The carriage came to a stop outside the gates,

"We're here, get down" The man said as he stood up and got out of the carriage.

Merlin got out of the carriage and looked at the place, where they would put him there until the King decides.

The entrance guard checked Merlin's bag without his permission.

"What's this?" The guard showed Merlin a glass box that has a slime-like object in it, it was the first thing he spotted.

"That's an unidentified object he won from the auction. The king said to let him bring anything with him" The man who is Merlin's carriage partner said.

"If it's his majesty's order then I can't do anything." The guard closed the bag without further looking into the content in the bag and handed it to Merlin, who caught it with his cuffed hands.

Merlin was then escorted into the tower and led into the first floor prison, where prisoner with light charges resides.

Merlin was led to his cell before entering it,

>CLANK!<

"This will be your cell for now." The guard said before walking off with the cell's key in hand.

The cell is dark with stone floor and wall, there's two bed here and it gave off a depressing energy. Everyone on the first floor has a partner in their cell. Merlin is lucky as he got a cell that is not occupied.

"Isn't he a kid? Around 12?"

"Hey~ What naughty things did you do for you to be here? This big sister wants to know~"

"Shut up you wench. Your voice is annoying"

Some prisoner on the first floor started talking once the guard left.

>Pof<

Merlin didn't bother himself to listen to them as he placed his bag on his bed and sat cross-legged on the stone floor...

Merlin had no intention of delaying his second core progress...He have to get stronger.

With a new found determination, Merlin entered a state his concentration is at its peak.

He purified ambient mana and carefully lead it through his mana veins, into his Light Yellow core, and going in deeper. His body faintly glowed pale yellow in the dark room.

Merlin knew that the time where he will accomplished something great is near...the only factor he's lacking is 'time', he needs a little more time...a little more.

.

.

Merlin sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of his prison cell, his eyes closed as he focused on his breath. He had been meditating and gathering ambient mana in him for hours, trying to quiet his mind.

As he sat there, he didn't notice the guard sliding a tray of food through the slot in the door. Few hours later, he's too engulfed in his own meditation that he didn't know that he gained an inmate who was thrown into his cell. One and a half days passed before Merlin finally flutter his eyes open.

Despite not having eaten in that time, Merlin felt energized and clear-headed. He took a deep breath and stood up, stretching his stiff limbs with the cuffs still on his wrist. That's when he noticed that he wasn't alone in his cell.

'Huh?'

A young girl sat on her bed, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed silently. Merlin felt a pang of sympathy for her, but also confusion. He had no idea who she was or how she had ended up in his cell.

"Excuse me," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked up, startled, and wiped away her tears. She stared at him for a moment before nodding. She's seen him since yesterday when she was thrown in here, she felt no threat from Merlin as he's always sitting silently on the floor.

"I-I'm fine," she said, her voice trembling. "...just scared."

Merlin nodded, understanding. He had been more worried than scared too when he first arrived in this prison as he didn't know how long he'll have to stop progressing his core.

He couldn't help but wonder who this girl was and why she was here.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked, his voice curious.

The girl hesitated before answering. "My name is Ava," she said.

"I was accused of stealing, but I didn't do it. I swear." She clenched her small fist as she looked at me.

Merlin nodded knowing that the girl isn't lying, sympathy filling his heart. He had never been falsely accused of crimes before, so he wouldn't how it felt. He made a mental note to help her if he could.

***

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