Unlike him, Nora was a genius. Merlin had come to realize that ever since they were kids. She'd always ace her tests and exams, even if she was under the weather or deeply disturbed about something; for example, Po, their fluffy cat getting lost—which happened quite frequently while they had been in London.
They could not bring the cat down to Korea, since they would be staying in dorms in the Academy, and Merlin felt that it was perhaps for the best. After all, Po was quite mischievous, and they would not have the time for its antics.
Furthermore, there was nothing she couldn't learn once she'd put her mind to it. What would seem unusually tough to others, and could take them a few months to get right, she would find it just a tiny bit complex and learn in a few weeks, or even days.
But even at that, she was still a hard worker. Not once had he heard her complain about how tough an act was, or how she was too weak to engage in something hectic. She always baffled him, that. And she was doing it again now. After all, there was no way they could take on a C-Rank Troll. They were just mere Academy students who were yet to even have a single minute of training.
But Nora obviously thought otherwise.
Merlin watched the Mages battling the Troll struggle, and could hear the intense pounding of his own heart despite all the commotion. Nora was not stopped by such a sight, though. She rushed to their uber and pulled out her Grimoire, a dark-red, thick, leather bound book that looked every bit ancient, but not much larger than the size of her palms. Perhaps it was that way because it was made from the skin of monsters.
"You should get back sir," she said, pointing at the cars being destroyed ahead due to the intense battle. "It's a wreck up here. Go somewhere else. We'll find you when things are under control."
Such confidence she was speaking with. One could be forced to think that she had actually been trained on such things.
"Alright," the driver agreed, instantly reversing his car until he had a chance to turn its wheels and zoom off. He had not even tried to talk her out of how stupid it would be for an Academy student to join a real battle. Surely, he had overheard their conversations and could put two and two together considering their luggages, ages, and destination, right?
"Are you sure about this?" Merlin asked, his attention fully anchored on his sister's intentions. He was not even worried that they might not see that driver again, despite the fact that their things were in the car. They were registered Mages in the Consortium's system, even if under the 'Academy' tag. All they had to do was file a report, and even if the driver lived in the underworld, he would be pulled out of it.
His main concern was with Nora's determined gaze.
"Huh? What are you saying now?" Her face squeezed. "What is there to be sure about? People are risking their lives up ahead. If we can help, then we should."
But that was the problem.
"We can't help," Merlin argued. "Can't you see that?"
People passed by him, evacuating the scene; some even took a second or two to yell at him to move out of the way without just hitting him. He didn't mind those who did otherwise, though.
"I understand." Nora nodded, a solemn expression on her face. "You can't help, right? I guess some things are just far beyond one's capacity that even their desire to be a Mage becomes an afterthought."
Merlin's forehead creased. She was manipulating him now.
He turned his gaze in the direction of the Consortium Mages engaging the Troll just in time to witness one being hit by the monster's mace and sent flying.
Can't you see what I'm seeing?
Merlin could not stop Nora. He knew. And he was not letting her rush in there alone.
He clicked his tongue. "Fine! Have it your way. Let's do this! Do you have a plan?"
Merlin positioned himself, despite knowing that there was absolutely nothing significant he could do here. He had no Grimoire. Mages of his Class were not given one since they could cast no spells, and he was yet to plagiarize any too.
The Mages present here were not D-Class Mages, so he could not change that at the moment, either. Therefore, the only thing he could do was act as a support.
Nora, on the other hand, brought her genius into display.
She was not meant to have been able to cast any spells. There were intricacies required in channeling Mana and controlling it. But rules did not apply to her. Her Grimoire hovered at her side, and it was obvious that she had already learned a couple of spells in the few days since it had been delivered to their doorsteps.
"I'll join them," she replied with half a smile. "What about you?"
"I'll see to the injured Mage," said Merlin, pointing in that direction. "That's the only thing I can do."
"Eh, don't feel so bad. Support is a noble job as well. If not, no one would need them."
Well that was inspiring.
Nora's Grimoire flipped open to its first page then without anyone touching it. And at that moment, the wind around her shimmered with a luxurious blue luster, before gathering at her feet in a pair of small swirls like little tornadoes.
That was quite the first spell for her to have learnt.
Was that fair?
"How many do you know?"
"Spells?" Nora asked as her figure slowly and elegantly rose up. She turned her blue eyes to him for a moment. "Just five."
"FIVE?!" Merlin was left astonished, but there was no one there to reply to his question. Nora had soared towards the battle Mages. He too moved then.
"Hey! Get out of here! What are you doing?" one of the Mages engaging the Troll shouted at Nora as she arrived at his side. He was busy firing a barrage of fireballs, but that did not seem to stop him from taking note of his surroundings.
His companion, on the other hand, was fully focused on the monster before him. With his teeth gritted, he created shields of ice before his hefty build, preventing the Troll's mace from striking him square in the stomach. However, it kept proving futile, as every layer of ice shield he created was broken down in an instant with a roar.
All he could do was defend. And that was not getting anyone anywhere.
"I'm here to help!" Nora and Merlin said at the same time. The former to the Mage complaining due to her presence, and the latter as he knelt before the Mage that had long been struck by the Troll.
"You can't help! You're an Academy student, aren't you? You've learnt nothing of the battlefield. Leave here now!" Nora's newfound supervisor lectured as he changed the spell he was casting from fireballs into a lance of fire. And as soon as he said those words to her, he dashed forward, seemingly tired of leaving his Ice Mage companion from having to deal with the Troll all alone.
It was quite easy to figure out that Merlin and Nora were not backup Mages, and their ages had no hand in that.
The Consortium Mages were the ones who dealt with the Dungeon and Tower breaks. If they were one of them, they should have been in their battle wear.
As for why the Fire Mage had not just thought Nora was a passing Mage filled with an obligation to help—which she was, technically—was because the first thing they did was to present their ID. Merlin had seen that during a livestream once. Nora had not done that. And the Mage had had to come to a quick conclusion. After all, an Academy Mage was not battle ready. They, the Consortium Mages, would have to face serious queries if anything happened to her.
As for him…
Merlin helped the injured Mage before him sit upright, his back against a car. It seemed like the young man's ribs had been broken.
"Get out of here," the Mage croaked.
"Trust me, I don't want to be here either. But… Is there anything I can do to help?" Merlin asked. But as the Mage was about to give him a reply that would do nothing to improve their situation, he added, "Before you say it, I'm not going anywhere, since she's not going anywhere." He pointed at his sister who had taken flight once again, to the amazement of the Mages engaging the Troll, and what was left of the people sneaking peeks from a few feet away. "Now, it's either you tell me what to do to help, or you witness the death of two newly admitted students into Prestige Academy."
The Mage's face paled. "Prestige Academy students?"
"You heard right."
The Mage bit his lower lip, one arm over his stomach. "Fine. We just have to keep it occupied in this vicinity until backup arrives. They should be here in about three minutes, maximum."
Merlin nodded. "Trolls are not smart beings. That should be fairly easy, right?"
"They are not smart, but they are brutes," the Mage replied. "I'll be honest, we did perfectly well to hold it back for now. But it only needs about two minutes more to wreck us all. We require at least a B-Class Mage to slow it down."
Merlin smiled. "Well, you've got an A-Class Mage helping now."
The injured Mage frowned then glanced at the main battlefield. Nora had drawn the Troll's attention to herself. She was casting two spells at once—one to keep her in the air, and the other for attacking—which was a feat for only advanced Mages. And she was nothing more than a novice in the records.
"Over here!" she voiced, laughing as she blasted a ball of air at the Troll's face and nimbly evaded its swing when it tried to hit her.
Merlin's lips twitched. She always knew how to get on his nerves, but it seemed she did better with monsters.
And it was working.
Her antics worsened the Troll's stupidity, and the Ice and Fire Mages were finally blessed with openings to attack the monster.
The Ice Mage slammed his hands onto the ground, causing ice to swim over its surface until it got to the Troll's legs, freezing the brute in place.
As soon as the monster turned its attention to its feet, the Fire Mage shot a larger fireball with a scream. Nora did not space out. She timely amplified the ball of fire, complementing it with her air spell, just before the attack hit the Troll square in its face.
"She… She's awesome," the injured Mage said with an expression of distraught through the roar of pain from the Troll.
Merlin knew that look. It was the same one he'd worn when he had been classified as a Deficient Mage.
The injured Mage was a C-Class Mage, and an Academy student, who had not yet even taken a single minute of lecture, was doing far better than he had done.
Merlin had no intention of revisiting himself from a month ago in the man, though.
"Chin up," he said. "Everyone is important. And you're even better than I am." He could feel the Mage glance at him, but he was back to watching Nora's fluid movements and battle prowess, and could spare him no look. "Now. I'll ask again. What can we do to help?"
"Honestly," the Mage chuckled. "There's nothing really. They are doing just fine. If they keep containing it the way they have, backup should be here soon before it can do any more damage."
Merlin's shoulders dropped. "Is that so?" he said, half relieved, half sad. It seemed like he had really wanted to be of assistance.
He was just about to sit down beside the injured Mage to keep him from falling asleep, when he saw a woman frantically searching the cars in the area.
Shouting at her to get out of the area was his instinctive thought, until he noticed a child beneath one of the cars where the battle was taking place. His eyes widened, a sudden realization coming to him.
Immediately, he straightened on his feet.
"W-What is it?" the injured Mage asked.
"There's a child there," Merlin replied.
"A child?!" The Mage tried to stand up but could only cough up blood. It seemed he couldn't make use of his Mana at this moment as well, so Merlin did not even bother asking him if he had any quick rescue spells. "Hey! There's a child—"
"No!" Merlin stopped the Mage. "Don't distract them! They are only able to hold back the Troll because of their full concentration on it. I'll go instead."
"Are you out of your mind?!" the Mage argued. "I don't see your Grimoire on you. If you get into the range of battle you might just die."
You don't see a Grimoire on me because I don't have one…
Merlin shrugged self-deprecatingly. "We wouldn't know that until we try, right?"
He did not allow the Mage to utter one more word to hold him back and dashed forward.
He had been half expecting to hear a shout of warning directed at Nora and the Consortium Mages engaging the Troll after he did that, but it seemed like the injured Mage had seen sense in what he'd said. After all, distracting them could only mean one thing. They would split their little manpower to save the child, and the Troll would reassert dominance. That could lead to everyone, including the child, dying.
That would be the worst outcome possible.
Merlin closed upon the scene of action, and, immediately, danger came upon him.
Shards of ice, as well as broken glasses from the cars the Troll kept smashing, flew through the air. And Nora's air spells were not helping the circumstances, as it made the surrounding wind erratic.
Merlin didn't mind, though. He ducked when he could duck, and ran when he could. He crawled underneath cars, climbed over them as well, and before he knew it, he was upon the child.
All the physical exercises he'd been partaking in for the last month were paying off, albeit somewhat slowly.
"Hey," Merlin said calmly as he bent down to see who he had come to rescue. She was a little girl, and her eyes were swollen from all the tears pouring down her cheeks. "You're fine now. Here…" He stretched out his hand. "Let's get you to safety."
The young girl hesitated. After all, considering the situation, her current location seemed like the safest place she could be. Regardless, she took his hand a short moment later, just as soon as he'd made his smile even brighter.
The young girl in his arms felt extremely light. He knew to give thanks to his Strength Attribute for being in Level 6 for that. He had been somewhat scared that he wouldn't be able to run comfortably with the little girl in his arms. But, now, he could see that escaping from the heat of the battle would prove easy.
However, just before Merlin could move a muscle, a car came flying towards him.
Stunned, he froze.
"Merlin!" Nora shouted as soon as she noticed him.
It was too late, though; he was not fast enough to escape before it crashed into him. Which left him with only one choice: Protect the girl in his arms.
Merlin turned his back to the car and wrapped the young girl in his embrace. If he took the brunt of the damage, then the girl should be left a little bit unscathed.
What a sad way to go. And he'd just gotten a System too, filling his head with tales of grandeur.
All the plans he'd made for his future were going up in smoke right before his eyes. But at least he would have saved someone's life.
He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
A few seconds later, Merlin was yet to be hit, and the cries of the young girl bawling into his chest had gotten even louder.
He was confused.
Seeking answers, he looked over his shoulder slightly to see something akin to spider webs keeping the car hanging in mid air. And atop it stood a figure with a dark-gold Grimoire hovering at their side.
A lady, it was. She was dressed in a casual attire of a hoodie and jeans, and her black hair fluttered in the wind
The most surprising of all was that the Troll, which had been quite the powerhouse to subdue, was now on the ground, unconscious, with a spear of the same thick webs as the one holding back the car planted in its chest.
Merlin did not have to question himself for long on who this person was as the C-Class Fire Mage shouted,
"Ms. Kim Yiseo?!"