"Ms. Kim Yiseo?!" the Fire Mage exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"
Kim Yiseo? Merlin's eyes were solidly placed on the lady standing atop the spider web. She didn't look much older than he was, but she had some sort of aloof presence, like she was way, way older.
"What am I doing here?" she asked, her arms folded and her tone strong. Then she glanced at the Troll she had killed in one strike. "How did that beast get over here? I can sense that the occurred break is at least a good fifty meters away. Have you all lost it? What if there had been casualties?"
"We're sorry!" the Ice Mage cried out. "But you can't blame us. We were stationed here to prevent folks from going forward. It was those at the site of the break that let it escape."
"I see…" She did not sound too pleased that she was being argued with. The car her web held was let down gently, and then she dropped gracefully from it as well. "So you have no fault, is what you're saying?"
The Fire Mage flinched and nudged the Ice Mage at his side. "Why would you say that?"
Through it all, Merlin could only wonder who she was, and how she was already so strong at such a young age.
Well, that was a somewhat fascinating way to think, seeing as Nora was his sister.
"Merlin!" Speak of the Devil. Nora flung herself before him, grabbing his shoulder immediately and checking him out. "Hey, are you alright?"
Haha…
"Of course, of course," Merlin replied. "Now, can you stop shaking me so much? There's a child in my arms."
"Ah…" She took a step back. "I didn't notice." She then lowered her height slightly. "Hey, little one. How are you doing?"
The little girl had stopped crying now, but her snot was still dropping from her nose. Merlin could only laugh at his situation. He had been soaked in sweat already, and now he was smacked with a child's snot. Furthermore, he was late to his orientation. His life at the Academy was getting to quite an awesome start.
"Saeron!" A woman's voice called out. It was the woman Merlin had seen frantically searching the area while others had been evacuating. She was running towards them at full speed. No one had to tell him who she was. The child further solidified his deduction too.
"Mommy!" The little girl started to cry again. Merlin let her down, pulling out his handkerchief to wipe her snot off his tracksuit as she ran into her mother's arms.
"That was reckless, you know?" Nora started as they watched the woman embrace her child.
"What was?" Merlin asked, acting oblivious. "You smiling like a psychopath and running to face a Troll? Yes, it most definitely was."
"Tch. You get on my nerves."
"You say that every time."
"Thank you." Their attention was drawn back to the woman and the little girl, Saeron. She was standing at her mother's side, clutching the skirt of her gown, never wanting to let go of it ever again. "I don't know what I would have done if—"
"Haha… It's no problem, really," Merlin cut the woman off, scratching the back of his neck. He was certain he knew what the woman had been about to say. And he could not let her utter such a thing. It had not happened, so there was really no point. "I just did what anyone would do," he added.
The woman smiled, she then turned to Nora and bowed. "Thank you as well. If not for both of you coming at the time that you did, things could have gotten bad."
"Glad to be at your service," Nora sprouted a wide grin.
She was loving this, wasn't she?
Merlin recalled when she'd continuously denied not having any intentions of becoming a Mage. If only he could travel back to the past to show her little self her face now. He was sure he would relish in the wild emotions the former would display.
"What are you looking at?" Nora whispered without turning his way. Merlin just shrugged.
"Thank you, mister." Saeron walked forward, finally having the courage. She then dipped her hand into her trouser's pocket and brought out a piece of candy. It had been squished, perhaps when she had been lying underneath the car. "Y-You can have this." She reluctantly stretched forth her hand, her lips quivering, perhaps hoping he would say no so she could keep it.
Cute…
Merlin leaned forward, rubbed her head and smiled. "Thank you," he said. "But it's yours. Like I told your mother, I was just doing what anyone would have done. Let me tell you a secret, though. Don't tell anyone. You promise?" Saeron bobbed her head up and down. "I'm on my way to a magic Academy, to become a Mage. Do you like Mages?"
The little girl's eyes glistened somewhat as though she had seen a new toy on display. Her face that had been all tight for a while now became as bright as the sun.
"You're a Mage?! Magic… Can I see some magic?!"
I did not say I was already a Mage…
Merlin had his smile frozen on his lips. He could only chuckle. After all, he had no spells to show.
"Now, now, Saeron, let's not bother the good people." Her mother held her back.
"But I want to see magic." She pouted.
Which was valid. She was a child. And even though she'd had a front row seat to the just-concluded battle, it was obvious that she had been unable to take in all the spells flying about because of the situation.
Merlin would have done what she wanted, but, sadly…
"Ahhhh…" Saeron yelped in fright at first before suddenly smiling. She was suddenly up in the air like an eagle had flown in to steal her from her mother. "Look, Mommy! It's magic!"
Merlin glanced at Nora who had a finger twirling round and round.
"Show-off."
"Shut up."
After a few seconds, Nora let the little lady down.
Saeron's mother could only force a smile. Her daughter up in the air? What if something had happened? She quickly bowed, thanking them, and dragged Saeron away, who kept waving at them.
Now that that was done. It was time for them to find their uber driver and hurry to the Academy. Getting late was one thing, missing it in its entirety was another.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Nora," Merlin started. "First, you'll tell me all about the spells you've learned, then how you learnt them."
She glanced at him and raised a brow. "And why would you be interested in that?"
What did she mean?
"Didn't you read what was written at the end of my User Interface?" Merlin wore a smug smile. "I have a particular Perk called Co-Author. I can plagiarize abilities. In other words, I will be able to channel my Mana one of these days. But I suspect I will have to understand how to apply the fundamentals first."
Merlin had been confused for a second on what plagiarizing an ability meant, but he'd realized that plagiarizing was just another word for 'copying'. In other words, he would be able to copy abilities, making them his own. That was something Kieran in The Dungeon Mage had not possessed. He was one-upping the protagonist there, and he loved it.
Nora scoffed. "Oh, I read it alright. It doesn't change my question." She wore an even smuggier smile than the one he had on. "I'm an A-Class Mage. Find a D-Class teacher." Merlin clenched his chin. Goodness, he'd never wanted to pull her hair even more than now. "And besides, you're going to learn it all at the Academy, either way. Stop bothering me. I'm a very busy lady, you know?"
He deadpanned. "I read that a new update has been released for Tower Raider. Surely, that's not what'll be keeping you busy, right?"
She flinched. "What do you take me for? I have other things to do besides playing games."
Yeah, right.
He was not giving up, regardless. He would find a way to force her to spare him some time.
Learning directly from teachers had never been his strong suit. Learning from her, though, had always proved fruitful. She knew how to handle him better than anyone.
He had also tried sourcing the internet for videos that broke down the intricacies of Mana, but the ones that were free had some of the worst teaching he had ever seen. And he could not bother trying those behind paywalls. After all, like Nora had said, he was headed to the Academy. Why waste what little money he had?
"Ahem…" They both had their attention drawn to the person who had walked up to them. "I heard you both are Prestige Academy students." It was the lady who had swooped in to save the day: Ms. Kim Yiseo. "You have my thanks." She was speaking to them in English. Which was not surprising. Her's was quite fluent, though.
Nora folded her arms, instantly putting on an expression that made Merlin shiver.
He knew where this was headed.
"How are you going to compensate us, then?" she asked—in Korean. Her question baffled Merlin. Why would she ask that? "I overheard. It seems like you are the daughter of the Consortium's Guildmaster. So? How are you going to compensate us for handling your mess?"
Huh? Consortium Guildmaster's daughter? So that is why the Mages are so polite to her even though she is obviously younger than they are.
Kim Yiseo raised a brow, sighed, and replied, "Like I said, you have my thanks."
The two ladies were now shooting eye lasers at each other. Merlin decided to take the lead before it got even worse.
"We accept your thanks—"
"No, we don't," Nora sliced through his words. "We would like compensation. A C-Rank Troll this far into the city, and only C-Class Mages were available?" She jerked a thumb at her back, obviously gesturing at Saeron and her mother who were nowhere to be seen anymore. "What if someone had died?"
"I came just in time to prevent that," Kim Yiseo answered.
"You came after my brother was left with no choice but to risk his life to save her."
Kim Yiseo glanced at Merlin who was trying to stop Nora from dragging this out any more than it was supposed to.
"Well, that is why you both are Mages, isn't it?"
Nora scoffed. "You must not know this, which is weird since you are the Consortium Guildmaster's daughter, but we only have student IDs. In other words, we are not yet certified Mages. We should not be at the battlefront."
The intense staring had begun to tire Merlin out now. He sighed, wanting nothing more at the moment than to put an end to it.
"We have to leave now," his words directed at both his sister and Kim Yiseo. "We're late for our orientation at the Academy."
Kim Yiseo put an end to her stare off with Nora and nodded. "I understand that." She looked around. "But it seems like you both have lost your ride. If you want, I can give you one."
"I can't help but notice that you seem like our age mate. Are you also a student of the Academy as well?" Merlin asked, his brows having been pulled together at the lady's offer.
"Well, obviously," Nora answered on Kim Yiseo's behalf.
His lips twitched.
Was this the standard of people he was going to be studying with? Students who could kill a Troll in a single blow?
Goodness, Prestige Academy was not for him.
"I'm sorry, but we'll have to reject your offer," Merlin replied. "Our things are in the uber and we need them."
Kim Yiseo pulled out her phone from her pocket. "That can be solved. I'll have them sent to the Academy." She looked at Nora. "This can serve as compensation, yes?"
"No," Nora outright rejected, causing Kim Yiseo to flinch and frown in a mixture of frustration and annoyance. She then waved her hand dismissively, beginning to walk away. "We can just file a report at the Consortium and we'll get it either way. Keep owing us that favor. Let's go, Merlin."
Kim Yiseo scoffed smugly.
"That will take at least a week," she answered. "Do you think you're the only one filing reports?" Nora froze. Kim Yiseo brandished her phone. "But with this I can get it to you today. That is unless you don't want to brush your teeth or wear makeup at the Academy for the duration of your first week, perhaps, even a month. There's your uniform and ID too. I'm sure you don't think you'll be able to attend classes without them. Now, I'll only ask for one last time. This can serve as compensation, yes?"
Nora had her back turned to them, but Merlin could vividly picture his sister's expression. She was definitely biting down on her lower lip, holding herself back from bursting.
Ladies and their pride…
Well, he did not have any makeup to wear, but he definitely needed his clothes. He couldn't be moving around in this tracksuit for a week now, could he?
"Yes, that'll do," Merlin replied on behalf of them both. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," said Kim Yiseo.
At that moment, a batch of reporters started flooding onto the scene. The young lady's face squeezed in disgust at that moment. Life of a celebrity, Merlin deduced. He wondered how bad it really was, and if that would be his life if he could successfully become a Mage.
Nora seemed to take notice of that, and in that instant found her new plaything, aside from Merlin and the dead Troll.
"Are you scared of reporters, young lady?" Nora teased. Kim Yiseo's visage worsened. "It's funny how they are arriving on the scene faster than the Mages of the Consortium. Really?"
Honestly, his sister had a point. Merlin was in full support of the teasing. After all, shouldn't the Mages be here by now? A lot more minutes than what had been expected had passed. This was incompetence at its finest.
And then they appeared, flashing into sight like they had just been hiding in the corners.
"My lady," the Mage in the lead bowed. "I apologize for the delay."
He was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, with bright auburn hair and a slim build. The silver accentuations on his battle uniform vastly differed from those of the other Mages. Merlin couldn't interpret it yet, but he would bet a pound that this man was at least an A-Class Mage.
The rest of the Mages had instantly divided themselves into two groups without any words. One went to hold back the reporters, while the others supported the Mages who had been involved in the battle, tending to their injuries, as well as taking care of the Troll.
Their coordination would have amazed Merlin, if only they had not been late.
"Really? Delay? Did you just say delay, Do-Won?! What if there had been casualties?! If there's any delay here, it's you delaying me from getting quickly to the Academy for my orientation!" Kim Yiseo was furious. But it was obviously not because of the delay. Nora had that kind of effect on others.
"It will not happen again," the Mage bowed even lower. "Forgive me."
Kim Yiseo held in her rage. "It better not." She turned her attention to Merlin, and then Nora, who was smiling with a self-satisfied look on her face. She reddened. "Let's leave. We're late."
Merlin could only congratulate her inwardly. That was exceptional self control.