Chapter 117: Arc 4: Chapter 5: Merlin’s Way

The observation lab built by Monarch in the volcano was a full-featured observation facility.

In it were enough rooms for guests to rest in, and due to its closeness to the volcano, it has sufficient geothermal energy to maintain the room's temperature at a comfortable rate.

At midnight, Merlin was processing some odd materials in his room; he had brought some beakers and heating devices, along with a miniature centrifuge from Monarch's lab, seemingly going to make some kind of agent.

As he chops some nepenthe-like plants to bits, a deep knocking sound could be heard from the door.

Merlin frowns as he disliked being disturbed while working.

He stands up and opens the door, he finds agent Hill standing outside the door.

"What is it? Dorris."

Merlin asks:

"Did something happen?"

"I just have some questions, sir..."

Hill sees Merlin's stern gaze as she spoke, she then changes:

"I mean, professor. I'm curious what method will you be using the help Monarch deal with the issue of high heat and fog?"

"I just measured, on the walls near Rodan, the temperature has reached 1500 degrees, and there is yet any special material that can withstand such heat."

"I have my ways."

Merlin says calmly:

"Go back and rest, Dorris, you'll see it tomorrow." 

As he finishes, Merlin tries to close the door, but agent Hill blocks it with her arm and whispers to him:

"Professor, Vivienne just came to me for a talk, I racked my brains to fool her. I didn't know beforehand that your cover identity was irregular biology...all the work I did is practically wasted."

"You have to tell me some more things about irregular creatures, otherwise, I won't be able to hold it."

The trouble Hill had encountered made Merlin frown a bit, he thinks for a moment then opens the door:

"Come in then, help me with something."

Hill walks into Merlin's room and sees the multiple canisters piled on the table, in the beaker on the heating device, some small rocks that looked like ore or ambers were being heated.

The miniature centrifuge next to him was operating quickly, in those test tubes were liquids of different colors.

On the desk, Merlin was chopping some plants with a smile knife with a bowl used for grinding on the desk.

"Grind these herbs into juice."

Merlin squats before the heated beaker, and as he observed the changes of the liquid in the beaker, he instructs Hill to do so; the latter sits on the chair and begins to grind the chopped-up plants with the grinding rod.

The smell in the room wasn't all that good, it had fragrance from plants mixed with an odd smell of grease.

"What is all this for? Professor."

A few minutes later, Hill glances back at Merlin while grinding the herbs. The latter was holding a seemingly ancient book in search of something. 

Hearing Hill's question, Merlin answers without looking back:

"Fire-proof agent. Something that can grant people short immunity to fire and high heat, it's slightly complex to make and this is my first time making it."

"???"

The young female agent widens her eyes, she looks at the herb emitting an odd stench in her hand and thought for a moment that her officer had gone mad.

Does something that sounds so magical really exist?

But then Hill thinks again, if the notebook Merlin brought out was true, if vampires and lava worms all exist, then it's quite possible for these magic products to also exist.

She says so, but it is rather difficult for a girl who lived in a scientific world for 20 years to suddenly accept the existence of magic.

She maintains her surprised expression, and a few minutes later, she asks:

"Professor, are the things recorded in the notebook true?"

"What?"

Merlin who was focused on checking the magic book looks at Hill and asks:

"What did you say?"

"I mean, vampires, lava worms, and Thestrals. Are all of these real? Do they really exist? Have you really come in contact with them before?"

Hill asks seriously, she was as serious as a curious baby.

Merlin did not want to answer Hill's questions, he takes out a book from his suitcase and throws it at Hill.

"You can converse with Vivienne after reading this."

The latter takes it and notices that it's a book written in a parchment; on the cover was a handsome man holding an odd black stick in his hand, behind him were multiple coquettish women with thick makeup, seemingly indecent.

What astonished Hill was that the cover could move, as she watched, the handsome man turns and walks towards the coquettish women and gave them all a passionate kiss.

Mmm, this was not a decent man with just a glance.

And the name of the book was quite interesting, it was called <Voyages with Vampires>, written by someone she had never heard of, Gilderoy Lockhart.

Hill flips a few pages and realizes that it was an autobiography story.

It seems to be a story about a young wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart who accidentally barged into a castle full of vampires during his boat trip in Eastern Europe; he spent half a month there with 'happiness' then escaped using his own wits.

The sorry itself was nothing new, it was an old-fashioned adventure story with lots of adult elements in it.

But what fascinated Hill was that there were plenty of details on the characteristics of vampires in this autobiography.

"Is this story real? Is this Gilderoy Lockhart really a wizard?"

Hill raises her head with curiosity, and she sees her officer Merlin casually take out a red wand from his waist, and after gently tapping it a few times, the boiling liquid in the beaker magically calms down.

This made Hill widen her mouth.

Officer Merlin!

He's a wizard!

Hell!

My God!

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Wizards do exist!

And right in front of her eyes!

"The story's real, there are plenty of vampire-controlled castles in Romania. As for Gilderoy Lockhart, he's a controversial wizard; his fans believe him to be the greatest traveling wizard in the world, yet some formal wizards say he's just a boring fraud...I've never met that guy, but the books he writes are quite interesting to read."

"It's best used as a book for pastime."

As he spoke, Merlin extends his finger and gently waves it, the few books inside his suitcase fly into Hill's hand like an invisible hand was carrying them.

Those were all the autobiographies by the traveling wizard Gilderoy, Hill looks down at the books and finds the names of the books to all be of the same kind.

<Gadding with Ghouls>, <Holidays with Hags>, <Magical Me>, <Travels with Trolls>, <Wanderings with Werewolves>, etc. On the cover of each book was the magic image of the handsome Gilderoy.

"Take it back to read."

Merlin walks to the sluggish Hill and takes the processed medicinal liquid, pours it into the beaker, then tells Hill:

"When you finish these books, you'll be somewhat of a trainee irregular creatures researcher...anything else?"

Merlin looks back at Hill who had an odd expression, the latter held a stack of books in her hands and wanted to say something, but after seeing the wand in Merlin's hand and the strange glow at the tip of the wand, Hill subconsciously shakes her head.

The terrified young girl turns around and quickly walks out with the books in her arms.

What she saw tonight is too horrifying, she needs some time to calm herself.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Merlin, who finally had some peace and quiet, nods with satisfaction; in front of him, the agent formed with 7 different liquids has reached its final stage.

If nothing happens, a few hours later, the first batch of fire-proof agents will be fresh out of the oven. Pity that the creation process of this agent requires the use of 2 catalysis magic, thus it is impossible to mass-produce it.

But it's alright, Merlin only needed to use this to earn Monarch's acknowledgement.

---

On the second morning, in Monarch's lab, Professor Serizawa looks at the syringe in Merlin's hand and the silver-white liquid inside the syringe with surprise.

He takes off his glasses and asks in a deep tone:

"Professor Merlin, you're not joking, right?"

"No."

Merlin says seriously:

"I never joke with research."

"But you're now holding a tube of liquid and telling me that this thing can help ordinary people withstand the extreme heat in the belly of the volcano?"

Professor Serizawa frowns:

"I know your research is somewhat magical, but this doesn't mean you can use some magic item to destroy my cognition! The temperature in the volcano can reach up to 1200 degrees, it's suicide for ordinary people to go in!"

"There it is again!"

Merlin says with a face of disdain:

"You old-fashioned people, your ignorant minds can't stand any other knowledge aside from science...but I never expected you to believe me, Dorris, open the door! I'll prove my theory with the fact!"

Agent Hill hears Merlin's words and prepares to press the button to the observation chamber, but Vivienne stops her.

"No!"

The female biologist says stubbornly:

"We can't just joke with human lives like this!"

"Do you want to research Rodan or not?"

Merlin did not want to argue with them, he rushes towards the gate of the observation chamber, pushes Vivienne aside, and presses the button. He then throws off Professor Serizawa's hand that attempted to stop him and storms into the belly of the volcano without putting on the protective suit.

Professor Serizawa picks up the protective suit next to his hand and rushes outside following Merlin, he shouts to his apprentice:

"Vivienne, open the detection device, I'll bring that madman back!"

"Your professor's crazy!"

Vivienne sees her mentor rush into the volcano, she turns around at screams at Hill, then she rushes to the observation device opens multiple high magnification observers in the belly of the volcano.

Hill, who had dark circles under her eye as she had not slept the whole night, walks next to Vivienne, she does not say anything and looks at the image on the screen along with Vivienne.

A few minutes later, the lab hatch in the belly of the volcano opens, and as Vivienne and Hill watch, Merlin was exposed to the heat just like that while wearing a gas mask.

What was most surprising was that Professor Serizawa who followed behind Merlin had also begun to take off the protective suit, the two men then walked casually on the surface of the rocks that could fry an egg in an instant, and headed towards Rodan's body along the walls.

"He succeeded?"

Vivienne exclaims, she looks back at Hill with disbelief in her eyes.

"What exactly is the liquid in Professor Merlin's hand?"

She points at the screen and asks:

"The temperature there has exceeded 800 degrees, too much for any ordinary person to handle. Yet he and Professor Serizawa are completely unharmed! What's going on?"

"Uhh"

Hill looks at Merlin and Professor Serizawa who were approaching Rodan's body on the screen and says with uncertainty:

"I'm not so sure either."

"Professor Merlin values the results of his research very much, what I do know is that it's an agent that allows people to be immune to fire and high heat for a short time, must be one of the special results of his research of irregular creatures."

As she spoke, Hill couldn't help but say:

"Our Professor Merlin is an outstanding irregulars researcher, he's definitely not a fraud...you see, the facts show that Monarch's research needs someone like Professor Merlin."

"Yeah."

Vivienne did not feel any other meaning in Hill's words as she was staring at the monitor in front of her, Professor Serizawa was touching Rodan's body, and Vivienne had never seen her mentor so excited before.

On the monitor screen, in the lethally high heat, Professor Serizawa who had physically touched Rodan's body was as excited as a satisfied child.

And the mysterious Professor Merlin was standing next to him, gesturing a thumbs-up at Professor Serizawa.

Is he...

The person Project Monarch needs the most now?

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