Sungmuk was the first formidable foe that Merlin faced since entering DIO. Though he had met the Mermaid Hero and the overwhelmingly strong Seadragon Zygmunt, Merlin had only glimpsed the Mermaid Hero for ten seconds, and Zygmunt was so overwhelmingly powerful that Merlin couldn’t have even considered it a foe, let alone tried to fight it. Sungmuk possessed an unimaginable lightness skill and elegant swordsmanship, and he was the only one who had been able to kill Merlin in the past.

“I wonder… how would I stack up against him now?”

Despite saying this, Merlin knew he did not stand a chance against Sungmuk. Though Merlin had undeniably become stronger over the past six months, his internal energy and magic power levels had plateaued. Moreover, Merlin had been able to reach greater depths of understanding in magic and martial arts through constant battle and reflection, but he had not broken through to the next level. However, he still had one advantage.

Crack.

The three jewels clacked against each other as Merlin took them out. There was a yellow-light emitting Topaz, a red-light emitting Ruby, and a green-light emitting Emerald, each only the size of one’s thumb. They were incredibly valuable items, but in Merlin’s hands, these items were closer to weapons than jewels.

“I crafted and worked on them as...