You're a Deficient Mage.
Those words had haunted Merlin as he'd watched Nora being led up to the Consortium Guildmaster's office, as well as on their way back to the apartment they'd rented. And, yet, it was still haunting him even now as he lay sprawled on his bed in the darkness of his room.
He couldn't really place a finger on the exact emotion he was feeling. He had tried to cry, but it was impossible. There was no way he could laugh it off too. And when his parents had called him, he'd just told them that it was all good.
A lie.
It wasn't good. How come he was a failure? Nora… She had come out of the evaluation room an A-Class Mage. How come their Mana discrepancy was so far apart? He couldn't understand. He didn't want to understand.
Goodness. He was going crazy.
A knock sounded on his door then, doing enough to snap him out of his trance, but not enough to draw his complete attention.
"Merlin," Nora's voice came. "Are you okay in there? Dinner's ready." He gave no reply. She waited a few seconds. "Are you really going to be like this forever?" He said nothing still. "Tch. I understand how you feel, but Mom is worried. She said you've not replied to any of her texts. You should call her. Call Dad too. You're making them worry. Me too. I don't like this." Merlin turned his gaze towards the door, he could see her shadow. It turned to move. "I'll leave your dinner in the pot. If you're not out before I'm done, I'll put it in the fridge. Goodnight in advance." She left. Merlin sighed.
Why would she say she understood how he felt? She didn't. If she did she would not ask him to come out and show his face in his state.
He hated awkward situations. What would he say as they ate? He wouldn't be able to reply to her or discuss anything substantial with her. It was for the best if he was just left alone for now.
"By the way…" She'd come back. "You should mail the Academy your result. You must probably be thinking what's the point in that, but you should do it regardless. You can never know. Goodnight again." She left.
And, yes, Merlin's train of thought was exactly what she'd said it was. Because, truly, what was the point? A Deficient Mage in the second ranked Mage Academy in the world? What a joke. He had not even aced the written exam decisively. There was nothing exceptional going for him to be accepted.
To top it all off, he was a foreigner.
Merlin sighed, shifting slightly so that he was diagonal on the bed. He then curled himself into a ball as his eyes fell on his laptop's screen a table away from him.
He had a sharp eyesight, so he could vividly see the texts written on the mail there. It was a congratulatory message from Prestige Academy. Their golden logo of a sprouting tree crowning words that had informed Merlin of passing their written exams, and the deadline date for him to take his Mana evaluation and get back to them.
Merlin was tired of seeing it, but he had nothing else to look at. He had exhausted his interest in his ceiling too.
If only The Dungeon Mage was still ongoing…
That thought of his suddenly reminded him of the gift The Sleeping Jacket had promised him. He did not have the energy to be skeptical at the moment, nor to stand up and approach his laptop, so he just reached for his phone instead.
Merlin had put it on DND, so he was not surprised when he saw a lot of missed calls and texts, most from his parents, but some came from his friends too.
Maybe he shouldn't have told them that his evaluation had been scheduled for today.
Well, what was done was done.
He ignored them all, scrolling through his notification list until a mail caught his eye.
[1 Notification from thesleepingjacket@cmail.com.]
Merlin perked up. He wondered if he should open it here on his phone or on his laptop. He quickly chose the former. His bed was too comfy for him to be rising up from it at this moment. There was his curiosity too.
He opened the mail.
[Hi, S-Class commenter, The Sleeping Jacket here]…
Merlin's finger froze on that opening text.
S-Class, huh? He had been getting ahead of himself.
[Now, I'm not certain how this will function, but I am that it should have no faults. Although, even if it does, I'm sure that you'll be able to handle it. You helped build it, after all]…
I helped build it? What's he talking about?
[My gift to you for keeping up with my humble work for a thousand chapters is Kieran's System]…
Merlin's brows fell. What is this?
[Now, it has been reset to its base and somewhat modified for realism, but it still follows the same rule and pattern as it did in the novel. You can refer to this if you're ever stuck: 🔗 1 Attachment. since I've decided to make The Dungeon Mage no longer visible to the masses. Anyway, I once again say many thanks for your support, likes, and comments. And I trust that you will make the most of my gift. Do not reply to this mail, or send any. Yours truly, The Sleeping Jacket. 🔗 1 link.]
Huh? Merlin could not stop himself from sitting up. Wait. Wait. Wait. What is all this? I don't understand. And I can't mail you back? Hey. Is this fair in any way?
Merlin clenched his chin in frustration. He reread the mail over and over again. But no matter how many times he did, the only thing he could seemingly do here was click on the links before him.
Should I do that? he asked no one but himself. He was skeptical, though. Yes, he was a fan of the author, but… They were technically strangers. Links were dangerous things on the internet. He'd even read an article once where a man was arrested for spying on someone through a link. Just a click and a spy cam had been installed on the latter's device.
Merlin was wary. Rightfully so, too. But then, was he to just ignore the mail?
He clenched his fist. From what he could understand, the attachment seemed to be The Dungeon Mage novel. He should check that first.
Merlin clicked the attachment and it really was the novel—in a pdf format.
Closing the page, his eyes fell onto the link next.
This… This was the one that bothered him the most.
Kieran's System? What had The Sleeping Jacket meant by saying he was giving him Kieran's System?
This must be a joke… And a bad one, at that. Merlin thought, not believing a word he'd read. However, he could not pry his eyes off the link.
His head was a mess. Perhaps it was because of the events at the Consortium, but a culmination of thoughts that were as amorphous as a lump of molding clay in the hands of a child filled his brain. It was almost like he was being forced to click the link, when, in reality, he could do whatever he wanted. He could just delete the mail, put this confusing situation behind him, and return once more to his life.
He scoffed at himself.
What life exactly would he be returning to? A life filled with those he was close to looking at him with sympathy in their eyes? A life where he pitied himself constantly and envied those who had what he could not—envied his sister?
There was no way he wanted to live that way. He did not want to live as a Deficient Mage. And if the words on his screen had even a slim chance of being true, then he would take it.
What more did he have to lose?
He clicked it. And his screen went black.
Merlin's chin quivered after a couple of seconds had passed and there were no changes.
He'd had his phone to lose.
Merlin tapped and tapped, more and more curses piling up at the tip of his tongue for every time his thumb landed on his screen. But nothing came up. His phone was gone.
He lowered his head, his chin almost touching his chest. This… This was the height of it all. What a shitty day he'd had. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, and before he could close his eyes completely, they rolled out.
Then… a bright light touched his face—from below. He could have sworn that it was warm.
Merlin opened his eyes; before him was a loading icon on his phone's screen. He watched it, unsure if this meant that his phone had not been destroyed or hacked, or if it meant that it had. It was not until the loading icon disappeared, and a greeting message popped up, did the tightness on his face loosen.
[Welcome, S-Class Commenter. Please place your thumb below to update your Bio-Data]
There was a thumb scanner just below the message. Merlin hesitated for a bit, but he realized in an instant that it was probably a waste of time. There was no 'return' option on his screen, which meant that the only way was forward. And besides, what was the point in turning back now?
He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and placed his thumb on the scanner. There was a beep, and the words changed.
[Please wait a moment]
A rolling icon appeared; as it went round and round, Merlin watched with his heart in his throat. His thoughts had aligned on one single path now, but he was still disbelieving. Such only happened in fiction. There was no way it was possible.
Beep.
[Bio-Data Updated]
[Your User Interface will be made available to you in a few seconds]
[Welcome, Merlin Tyrrell]
Merlin's doubts faded instantly at the appearance of those words. And because of that, his question changed.
Who in the world was The Sleeping Jacket?
But he did not possess the answer to that question. And his screen forcing him to take a deep breath with a very familiar display appearing before him, did not let him have even a moment to infer.
[BIO-DATA]
NAME: Merlin Tyrrell
AGE: 17
MAGE CLASS: Deficient
SYSTEM CLASS: ???
HEX: ???
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: LV. 4
AGILITY: LV. 6
INTELLIGENCE: LV. 2
PERCEPTION: LV. 5
RESILIENCE: LV. 4
[SKILLS]: Empty…
Merlin's hands shivered as he read through the words on his screen.
"This is… real?" he muttered. "I have a System? Is this even supposed to be possible? I've never heard of anyone having a System before. What is—"
His words were cut off when a golden loot box and a pop up appeared on his screen, blurring his User Interface.
[You have received a Bonus. Click the Loot Box to obtain]
Merlin bit his lower lip and clicked on the box. He then watched it swirl as its red ribbons loosened. As soon as its theatrics were done, a new pop up appeared.
[You have been granted a Perk]
[You have obtained the Perk: Co-Author]
[Perk: Co-Author LV. 1: Plagiarize the abilities of D-Class Mages and weaker, turning them into your own Skill]
[Note: For every major influence on a character's life, changing their trajectory or belief, you will earn a random Influence Loot Box which will present you with a quest. Perks are obtained from completing such quests. You can also generate your own quests, as long as the required conditions are met]
Plagiarize? Characters? Quests? I'm losing my mind here!
Almost as though his phone could now read the optic nerves of his eyes, as soon as Merlin got to the last word of the pop ups on his screen, new ones came into view, pushing the old ones out of sight.
[Attribute Points (A.P): Points required to level up your Attributes. They can be obtained by participating in tasks that are related to each Attribute]
[Perk Points (P.P): Points required to level up your Perk. These rack up based on how well you involve yourself with the world around you and the story of each character. Perk Points can be converted into Attribute Points (A.P) to level up your Attributes]
Merlin did not have a moment to breathe or arrange his thoughts as then came another pop up.
[Do you wish to link to your User Interface?]
This one seemed to require his input, so he did not have to rush. He took in a deep breath and relaxed a bit.
The whole System thing was far too much for him to handle alone. And if this really was the System that had been used in The Dungeon Mage, then The Sleeping Jacket's modifications were not as minor as he'd insinuated. Merlin could recall nothing of Perks, Perk Points, or influencing characters' decisions.
He needed someone to talk to about what exactly was happening to him. And he knew the right person to consult. Actually, the only person he could consult.
But first…
"Yes," he answered.
[Affirmed]
[User Interface can still be accessed through your device if you so wish]
[Linking…]
[Successful]
Merlin felt a warm sensation, snuggly and serene, caressing his eyes as his phone reverted back to its original state. The only difference was that there was an app with the icon of a blue eye on his homescreen.
Although, that was not what had grabbed his attention. His User Interface really was hovering before his eyes. He stretched forth his hand, trying to touch it, but it merely passed through. There was no sensation. His heart pounded intensely, and he had only gotten more confused than he had been a moment ago.
He wanted to believe that this was real. He really wanted to. But he still couldn't shake off the feeling that it was some sort of joke from The Sleeping Jacket.
But… If it really is, then… Could it be possible to—
He glanced at his laptop for a second, looking straight at the mail he had received from Prestige Academy. Then he shook his head, got up from his bed, and walked out of his room.