Back home.
Yol had already made dinner. Merlin and the other two sat around the dining table eating a sumptuous meal.
San Pao lay on the ground, its teeth crunching on a super large bone with sauce.
"What's wrong with your eyes?"
Yol noticed Merlin's awkward movements when picking up food and finally couldn't help asking.
Merlin's movement of picking up food paused, then he stuffed a chopstick-full of cold mixed pig ears into his mouth.
While eating, he said calmly:
"A little accident happened during cultivation and hurt my eyes. Now my vision is a bit blurry, but I found this can train my perception.
"So I didn't heal it."
Yol breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, rolled her eyes at him slightly reproachfully, then stood up leaning on the table with her right hand, leaned her upper body forward, and waved her left hand gently in front of Merlin across the table.
But finding that Merlin hardly blinked, she was very helpless:
"In this case, it will be very inconvenient in daily life."
Taking a bite of white rice, Merlin smiled and said: "It's okay. After a couple of days when I adapt to this state, it won't affect my daily life anymore."
And Lami, sitting beside Yol, looked at Merlin at this time and sighed like a little adult:
"If that's the case, will it be troublesome for you to wash up and live these two days, Merlin-niichan?
"Do you want Lami to help you?"
Yol raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this, a gentle smile curling at the corner of her mouth:
"Since that's the case? Do you want me to accompany you at night? To avoid you falling when getting up to go to the toilet at night?"
Merlin looked at her speechlessly, then said grumpily:
"I can't see clearly, not actually blind. As long as I want, I can use my ability to see things clearly temporarily at any time."
"Is that so?" Yol chuckled lightly, but for some reason, Merlin heard a sense of regret in her tone.
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he said speechlessly: "I'm not a three-year-old child, no need for you to worry so much... Mama Yol!"
Yol rolled her eyes at Merlin reproachfully. Lami covered her mouth and snickered on the side, then looked at Yol and giggled:
"Mama Yol? Why does Merlin-niichan always like to call you that?"
Yol rolled her eyes and immediately flicked Lami's forehead lightly with her finger, causing Lami to scream "Ouch!" in pain:
"It hurts, it hurts! I was wrong! Sister Yol, you are biased. Why don't you hit Merlin-niichan?"
Merlin was helpless. Lami, this naturally black-bellied (scheming) little brat.
A sumptuous dinner was finished.
Yol took Lami to wash the dishes.
Merlin sat on the sofa drinking tea, black flames lingering in his eyes, reading today's World Economy News Paper and North Blue Daily.
Learning about current events on the sea.
Not long after, Yol sat over while applying hand cream, then reached out to ruffle Merlin's head, letting out a peal of silver bell-like pleasant laughter:
"Haha, my little baby, eyes are like that? Why still reading the newspaper? If you call me Mama again, it's not like I can't read the newspaper for you!"
Merlin turned his head and glanced at her. Then the black flames in his eyes disappeared, and at the same time, the gray pattern on the index finger of his right hand became deeper.
At home, Merlin didn't wear gloves, and Yol also saw the changes in Merlin's ten fingers on his right hand, frowning involuntarily:
"You didn't finish your sentence just now?"
With long-term companionship, she knew the mechanism of Merlin's Calamity Fruit ability.
Merlin chuckled lightly: "Getting to the bottom of things is not what a good woman should do."
Yol looked at the helplessness in Merlin's eyes and reached out to hold Merlin's right hand.
As the smooth and moist touch surged into Merlin's heart, Yol took the newspaper from Merlin's hand with her left hand and placed it on the table.
Holding Merlin's hand against her chest, looking at the fingers with only two different patterns now, she smiled helplessly:
"I always feel that as time goes by, the gap between you and me hasn't become smaller, but is constantly widening.
"Can't you stop and wait for me a little?
"Making me chase like this, I will be very distressed!"
However, speaking of this, helplessness appeared in Yol's eyes, and she couldn't help smiling bitterly: "Sorry, what I said was a bit selfish."
Merlin fell silent. After a brief silence, Merlin grinned and chuckled:
"This world is big and wonderful. I want to see it in the future, so I have to try my best to become stronger constantly.
"So that in the future, I won't regret not working hard now because I can't beat powerful enemies."
Yol was silent for a few seconds, "I always feel like you seem to be chased by some terrifying enemy behind you?
"Urging you to move forward constantly.
"Can you tell me why?"
"Why?" Merlin asked himself in a slightly brisk tone at this time.
Of course, it was because.
The powerful people in this world were the kind who could rub people's past worldview fiercely into the mud.
And Merlin, knowing this reality, didn't want to become the one being rubbed in the future, so he could only become stronger, stronger than anyone else.
However, there was no need to say these things now.
In a peaceful life, such scenery-killing words shouldn't be spoken.
So.
"As for exactly why, you will understand when you see it in the future.
"Speaking it out now is still a bit too early for you.
"Yol, you have worked hard enough. It's okay to take a break appropriately.
"Learn to balance work and rest!"
Yol's mouth opened slightly, inevitably speechless at this moment, "If you don't want to say it, just don't! Why use this tone of an elder to perfunctory me?
"I'm not a three-year-old child."
"Then? A young lady soon to be 21?" Merlin said with a smile at this time.
The corner of Yol's mouth twitched, "Still three months until 21. I'm still in the prime age of 20."
However, speaking of age, Merlin thought in his heart, his birthday was August 28th, and Yol's was the 27th.
Yol sighed at this time, "Time flies so fast. You will be 15 soon.
"You seem to have grown taller again.
"Are you 1.8 meters now? It probably won't be long before you catch up with me."
Because they stayed together for a long time, Yol realized it suddenly now.
His height was almost catching up with hers.
The two sat here drinking tea, chatting and chatting. Sleepiness hit Yol, and she yawned: "Go to sleep early tonight."
"Mmh!" Merlin responded, "Good night!"
Merlin went back to his room to rest. San Pao wanted to follow but was ruthlessly driven out by Merlin. It had no choice but to go sleep with Lami, who now slept in a separate room from Yol.
In the room.
Sitting on the small sofa by the window.
Black flames burned in Merlin's eyes, and bzzzt sounds of current rang out continuously on his body surface.
Severe numbness and pain swept over his whole body like a tide. Absorbing this Calamity continuously, then releasing the Calamity, constantly experiencing the consumption of bio-electricity in his body.
Cycle of destruction and repair of the physical body.
Finally... Merlin fainted.
However, not long after, a slight click came from the door handle. A tall figure walked in, and the bright moonlight shone in from the half-covered curtains.
Yol, wearing a white slip nightdress, came to Merlin's side at this moment.
Under the moonlight, slender fingers glowing with luster gently wiped the sweat from Merlin's forehead. Her clear voice was full of helplessness:
"I knew it, you are not cherishing your body again."
With the visualization cultivation entering a brand new stage, Yol's five senses seemed to have obtained some kind of evolution. That continuous bzzzt sound, even if weak...
Then,
She gently picked up Merlin and went to the bathroom.
...
Early next morning.
Amidst the chirping of birds.
Merlin's eyelids slowly lifted. The gentle morning light shone on his face. Reaching out to press his temples, a needle-pricking sensation hit like waves. Immediately after, black flames rose, and in an instant, the pain disappeared.
Then, he dispersed the black flames.
This kind of Calamity was unnecessary to store.
Because it wasn't very useful.
Because Merlin had tried on Petrel Mountain a few months ago. The effects of different Calamities on creatures of different sizes might also be different.
Like Crimson Pain, a Calamity that could completely cut open his own neck.
Released on a wild boar several meters in size, it could only create a cut of that size, not a completely proportional neck-severing cut.
Absorbing his own trauma Calamity, when released, it would only be this same-sized Calamity absorbed from himself.
Moreover, negative state Calamities were the same, but this also involved the issue of the opponent's body resistance.
Of course, this didn't mean Merlin's Calamity ability became useless. Merlin's Calamity Absorption wasn't absorbing injuries.
But the concept of Calamity in causality.
A neck-severing Calamity, no matter how small, is still neck-severing.
Negative state Calamities, even if you can resist, the Calamity effect remains.
Sitting up from the bed, the thin quilt slipped off.
Merlin, with black flames burning in his eyes, saw his pajama shorts on his lower body, and his expression became subtle, "Which time is this?"
Couldn't remember clearly.
Merlin could only sigh: "I'm not a three-year-old child!"
Feeling the abundant energy in his body, Durable Endurance not only improved tolerance but also enhanced Merlin's body recovery ability.
After washing up.
Eating breakfast in the living room on the first floor.
Merlin told Yol that he planned not to go to the dojo recently and wanted to cultivate at home.
Regarding this, Yol's eyes flashed:
"How about I come back to join you after sending Lami there?"
To be honest, it didn't matter whether the two went to the dojo for cultivation now. Fiore had already taught what should be taught in swordsmanship.
The rest was just accumulation over time.
"Since that's the case, let's go to Petrel Mountain to cultivate together later."
"Together?" Lami's eyes lit up, "Is Lami going too?"
Merlin smiled and said: "Of course not you. It's me, Yol, and San Pao.
"As a little rookie, it's still too early for you to go to the mountain to cultivate now.
"But if we plan to soak in the hot spring and rest someday, we'll take you along then."
Lami became depressed immediately.
Even pretending to be pitiful didn't work.
Not long after, after sending Lami, Merlin, Yol, and San Pao arrived on Petrel Mountain.
San Pao hunted wantonly in the forest or was hunted by the other party.
Merlin and Yol sparred with each other.
However, due to vision problems, Merlin suffered a lot of losses in battle.
But as days passed.
Merlin, with "Lightning Reflexes" and "Beast Instinct" specializations.
Was also adapting quickly.
In a blink of an eye,
Two months passed quietly.