"Ugh… It hurts… Father… It hurts so much!"

Lying on the bed, a thirteen-year-old boy let out a pained groan.

He was quite handsome, with short black hair and light green eyes.

However, his face was deathly pale, as if he had lost a great deal of blood.

A man rushed in from the kitchen, carrying a glass of water.

"I'm here. Drink this," he said anxiously.

He helped the boy sit up and gently brought the glass to his lips.

The boy tried to drink, but he couldn't. It felt as if an invisible hand were choking him, preventing the water from going down.

The man grew even more panicked and placed his palm against the boy's throat.

A faint light emanated from his hand, and the pain gradually subsided.

Finally, the boy managed to take a sip and let out a sigh of relief.

After laying him back down, the man stroked his head and tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry. I'll find a way to save you."

The boy gave a faint smile and nodded weakly.

"Thank you, Father."

The man smiled back. Then he walked toward the door and shut it tightly.

The next moment…

"Argh!"

He groaned in pain and quickly covered his mouth. Blood stained his lips, and his complexion paled at a rate visible to the naked eye.

If Merlin were here and saw him, he would surely burst out laughing and mock, "Gustav, you're truly pathetic."

"Damn…" Gustav gritted his teeth, hatred flashing clearly across his face.

As a result of his defeat at Linda's hands, he had suffered a fatal wound that would never fully heal. Even now, the injury remained deep, occasionally flaring up and tormenting him in the middle of the night.

"Merlin Clay and Linda Thalsis…" he growled, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Just you wait—I'll repay you a hundred… no, a thousand times over!"

Earlier, he had already discovered the identity of that boy. He was Merlin Clay, a new student at Saint Freya Academy.

The memory of Merlin's actions in the auction hall made Gustav clench his teeth unconsciously.

He had been targeting that fox girl ever since he learned she was being auctioned off by the Arden family.

A virgin fox girl—especially one from a noble bloodline—was incredibly valuable, even more so than a myth-tier weapon.

They possessed the ability to cure any illness in this world.

His son, Abel, had been suffering from a strange and inexplicable disease. Gustav had searched the entire continent but still couldn't find a cure.

That fox girl was his only hope.

But who could have imagined it? That damn brat, Merlin Clay, had snatched her away and humiliated him in front of everyone at the auction.

If he didn't take revenge, then his title as the unbeatable man would become nothing more than a joke.

After calming himself down, he stepped outside to continue searching for a cure for his son.

He refused to believe the fox girl was his only solution.

But suddenly, a voice called out from behind him.

"Are you Gustav?"

Gustav flinched. He quickly leapt forward, then turned around with a wary gaze.

He saw a tall man clad in a black cloak. The hood covered his face, making his features impossible to see clearly.

"Who are you?" Gustav asked warily.

The man grinned. He lifted his head slightly, revealing half of his face, and said calmly, "Don't worry. I didn't come to hurt you. I came to help."

"Help?" Gustav's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

He didn't know this man, and the idea of a stranger offering help made even less sense.

"Your son, Abel, has been suffering from a strange illness, hasn't he?"

Those words made Gustav's eyes widen.

His heart pounded as he asked nervously, "Y-You… how do you know?"

"You don't need to know," the man said curtly. "What matters is that I'm here to help you. So, what's your answer?"

Gustav fell silent, his expression filled with caution and doubt.

"I…"

…

"Volleyball?"

The girls looked at Merlin in surprise, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Merlin smiled and explained, "In short, it's a team ball game. There are rules, such as…"

He began explaining everything to them in detail. Actually, he could have used a memory transfer spell like the one he had used on Catrine and Luna.

Unfortunately, that magic wasn't perfect yet. It required a significant amount of mana, and there were still risks of failure—risks even Merlin didn't dare to imagine.

Once he finished explaining, Merlin paused and asked, "Do you understand?"

The girls fell silent, as if they were still processing his explanation. Then Nivis raised her hand and asked, "I get it, but there's one thing that still confuses me. How many points do we get when we successfully attack the opponent?"

"One point," Merlin replied. "But if the opponent attacks and the ball goes out of the arena, then you get two points."

To be honest, Merlin didn't really understand the rules of beach volleyball. All he knew was regular volleyball.

But he wasn't worried. They just needed to play. Whether the rules were correct or not—who cared?

"Does anyone have any more questions?"

Merlin looked at them one by one. Fortunately, they all seemed to understand.

"In that case, let's get started!"

***

On a playing field marked out by lines in the sand, two teams of four stood facing each other.

On the left were Merlin, Luna, Monica, and Liora. On the other side were Catrine, Nysera, Margaret, and Lisa.

Since Nivis was still hesitant to join, Lisa took her place, while Nivis chose to act as the referee.

"Alright! Everyone get ready!" Nivis said enthusiastically, waving a red flag. "Go!"

Merlin, as the first server, tossed the ball into the air, then jumped and sent it flying over the net.

Smash!

The ball shot toward the other side at incredible speed.

"Let me handle it!"

Margaret rushed forward and received the ball. It bounced upward, and Lisa quickly set it to Nysera, who immediately jumped two meters into the air and smashed it down.

Smash!

The ball hurtled toward the ground like a cannonball. However, Monica didn't stand idly by. She jumped and managed to deflect it.

Liora seized the opportunity and passed the ball to Luna. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Luna ran forward, leapt a meter into the air, and smashed the ball.

Her hit was so fast that Margaret didn't have time to react. The ball struck the sand, earning Team Merlin a point.

"Priit!" Nivis blew the whistle. "Current score: 1–0!"

"Ouch…" Margaret rubbed her head and glared angrily at Luna. However, Luna returned the look with a smug expression, as if to say, "Is that all you've got? How pathetic.

Margaret clenched her teeth and muttered, "Hmph! This is just the beginning! Just wait until I get you back!"