Parting the sea of reporters and onlookers for Kim Yiseo's sedan to pass through proved to be less troublesome than Merlin had thought it would be. He had been expecting more vigor from the reporters seeking a scoop, but it seemed when Mages put up a barricade, everyone else kept their senses and stayed on their end of it.
Merlin had no complaints, though. He had still tasted celebrity life for a moment there, even if it had not been to his expectations. And, if he was to give his honest review, it was mesmerizing, just like the interior of the car he was seated in. But, apparently, those who had grown up in that life did not feel the same way. He glanced at Kim Yiseo who was up front, fully focused on her phone.
"So? What's your Mage Class?" Nora was the one who had asked, and it was obvious who she was asking. She had her headphones over her head and was playing Tower Raider, but she was always one to split her attention without trouble.
"It's only common courtesy that you tell me yours before you ask for mine. That's how it works with names, isn't it?" Kim Yiseo replied, but not with the answer Nora had been seeking. "And you have not introduced yourselves. I'll need your names to file a report for your things, just so you know."
You never asked…
Merlin was also curious about Kim Yiseo's Mage Class, and if Nora fell silent now, or turned to spiting the young lady, he would have to wait until they got to the Academy to figure that out. His curiosity would have killed him by then.
Thankfully, Nora was not in the mood for playing games.
"I'm Nora." She jerked a thumb at Merlin. "He's Merlin. As for my Class, it's A-Class," she answered unenthusiastically before cussing at her phone; specifically at the only game she was open to playing at the moment. The middle-aged driver stole a glance at her, but said nothing. Cuss words from teenagers were frowned upon far much more here than it was in London, despite the frequency being on par with each other. Perhaps English just made it sound colder. "Now, you answer," Nora added as soon as she'd reined in her fiery emotions.
"Hmph…" Kim Yiseo scoffed in a conceited manner. Then she halted what she was doing on her phone, turned around on her seat, and smiled with a high chin. "S-Class!"
Merlin's lips twitched as he almost facepalmed. She was being childish. But Nora had it coming.
"Tsk." Nora only clicked her tongue and continued her gaming like she had not just met someone with a higher Class than her. Merlin had half expected her to be more annoyed than she was. But it seemed that she had been expecting that reply.
Well, if he was being honest, he had already had an idea that it would be such too. After all, there were only so many Classes that were stronger than an A-Class Mage. Which was only one. And Kim Yiseo's ability to take down the Troll in a single blow was proof that she was a step higher than Nora.
There was also the color of her Grimoire too. He knew that Grimoires were differentiated based on their color codes from those of S-Class Mages to D-Class Mages. But he had no idea of the actual color codes. He hadn't just checked for some reason.
The thing here, though, was that he'd just casually met an S-Class Mage.
Weren't they supposed to be rare? Like one in five-hundred thousand rare for every generation of Mages? He couldn't help but wonder if there were more at the Academy.
Kim Yiseo raised a brow. "Surprising; I thought you would be furious."
Nora snorted. "About what? You being able to cast only ten more spells than me, or that you have a higher Mana reserve? That means nothing. Strength is not in your tools, but in how you use them."
Merlin pressed his lips in a fine line. "Stop stealing Tower Raider's quotes," he whispered.
"Shut up, geek."
He could not help himself.
"You both speak fluent Korean," said Kim Yiseo, as she turned back to her phone, not pushing further on the whole Mage Class schtick. Perhaps she had seen reason in what Nora had said. Or maybe she did not just see any use in carrying on.
"We're fast learners," Nora replied.
No, they were not. They had studied Korean for a year after they had decided to take Prestige Academy's entrance exam. But there was no need for him to ruin his sister's moment.
"You never said yours," Kim Yiseo looked slightly over her shoulder at Merlin. Her black eyes, which gleamed like buttons under the sun, were peering deep into the blue of his. "Your Class, I mean."
Merlin flinched. Nora looked up from her game for the first time since she'd launched it, glancing at her twin brother, who wore a conflicted mien.
Merlin was not sure what to say here. Was he to tell her the truth? But that would paint him in a light that he did not want this early. Although, how long could he really avoid it? It was his Class. If he lied here, the truth would be found out at the Academy either way, and that would present him as a dishonest person. He didn't like that—dishonesty and being called dishonest.
There was no point. Merlin sighed. He should just—
"What exactly should we know about Prestige Academy before we get there? You know, the important things?" Nora opened her mouth before Merlin could say anything. She put off her phone and placed it on her Grimoire seated on her lap as she folded her arms. Her concentration fully shifted onto the conversation she'd started. "Will we be the only foreigners there, for instance?"
Kim Yiseo was silent for a moment, as though deep in thought.
"No," she finally replied with a sigh of her own. "How would you be the only foreigners? That's an absurd thing to say."
"Oh, yeah? Then what's the percentage of foreigners?" Nora went on, leaving Merlin in the dust.
Was he glad? Not really. He was thankful that she was trying to keep him from feeling embarrassed, but this was like putting a steri-strip over a gunshot wound.
"Thank you," he said to himself as the girls went on with their back and forth conversation, then pulled out his phone. He was certain Nora had heard him. And that had been his intention.
Leaning on the armrest of his side of the car, Merlin scrolled through his app list, looking for something and nothing at the same time. Then his eyes stopped upon the blue eye icon signifying his User Interface app. There was a red notification crowning it.
Huh? He could not recall having received a message from the System.
He clicked the app icon, and as soon as its loading screen disappeared, a pop up appeared.
[Note: System is modified so that notifications are sent directly to your device in the case that you are engaged in a social conversation or similar. This is done so as to not disrupt your activities]
[Would you prefer to change this setting?]
[Yes]/[No]
The Dungeon Mage was a fantasy novel, so Kieran, its protagonist, had not had a smartphone. Therefore, Merlin had had no idea that the System worked in some of the ways that he had been pleased to witness. Or, perhaps, those were one of the many tweaks The Sleeping Jacket had done to it—this current one before his eyes included.
Either way, this was a nice feature. He wanted to be socially adept, so staring off in a daze (as it would look to others) when he received a notification wouldn't be the best of situations.
Now… What was the notification?
Merlin selected the 'no' option, and then what he was here for appeared.
[Perk Points Obtained: +02]
[Available Perk Points: +02]
[Would you like to assign attained points to Perk: Co-Author?]
[Yes]/[No]
Merlin was dazed for a moment there. If he recalled correctly, Perk Points were assigned when he had involved himself with the life of a person. When had he done that? His mind flew towards his interaction with Saeron and he gasped inwardly.
Really? That counts as me involving myself? I thought what the System meant was that I would need to do something for the person that others probably wouldn't. Anyone would have saved her, right?
Merlin scratched his hair. There was no point in dwelling on it. He returned his attention to the question on his screen.
Was there any use in assigning his Perk Points to his Perk now? He was yet to plagiarize any spells.
Granted, if someone like him had gotten in, then there would probably be D-Class Mages at the Academy—even if a few. He could plagiarize their spells. However, gambling on that was sort of risky, no? He was not of the mind to just make anything that was thrown his way his own. And, as he'd already inferred, his spell slots were probably finite.
Also, he was a Deficient Mage in the Academy's records. Rushing to show off spells wouldn't be the best of ideas for now. If he wanted to be taken seriously, then he would have to blow everyone out of the water with just his physical attributes. He could study spell casting in secret. With Nora as his teacher, of course. Perks of having an A-Class Mage as a twin. And only when he was certain of his strength would he reveal his powers in full. That way he wouldn't be thrown into a lab and dissected.
Ooof…
Merlin decided. There was no use in leveling up his Perk at the moment. He recalled that they could be converted into Attribute Points. That would be a far better use for them.
He selected the 'no' option, and a new pop up appeared.
[Convert Perk Points to Attribute Points instead?]
[Yes]/[No]
Yes…
[Affirmed]
[Converting 02 Perk Points into Attribute Points]
[10 Attribute Points gained]
Merlin could only hold himself back from yelping at the last moment. He glanced at Nora and Kim Yiseo. They were both still engaged in their conversation, and the tense air around them had dwindled somewhat. They had become more comfortable with each other, it seemed. But he could still sense what friction they had between themselves bubbling beneath the surface.
Well, they hadn't noticed the small disturbance in his mood, and that was what he had wanted to confirm.
On the other hand…
It's more than obvious that Perk Points will be greater than Attribute Points, but I would not have expected it to be five times greater. Now, this is nice.
He already knew the Attribute he wanted to level up. And that was his Agility. Strength was good and all, but… At this early stage of his career, he would have to do away with the thought of being a Mage with an all-round physicality. For now, he would have to select a strong suit for himself. At least in that area, no one would be better than him. That way he would not be caught lacking behind his classmates. Later down the line, he could then round up all his stats.
[Assign +10 Attribute Points to Agility?]
[Yes]/[No]
Yes…
[Assigning...]
[Successful]
[+10 Attribute Points have been assigned to Agility]
A sensation permeated every inch of his body at that moment—a cool one that made him feel even lighter than he already was. For a moment there he'd even thought that he had been bound to a bolder all this time and had just been freed. It was more than obvious that a significant change had occurred in his body.
He checked his User Interface and smiled.
…
[BIO-DATA]
NAME: Merlin Tyrrell
AGE: 17
MAGE CLASS: Deficient
SYSTEM CLASS: ???
HEX: ???
PERK POINTS: 00
ATTRIBUTE POINTS: 00
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: LV. 6 (Leveled Up)
AGILITY: LV. 10 (Leveled Up)
INTELLIGENCE: LV. 2
PERCEPTION: LV. 5
RESILIENCE: LV. 4
[SKILLS]:
…
[PERK]:
CO-AUTHOR: LV. 1
Plagiarize the abilities of D-Class mages and weaker, turning them into your own Skill.
…
This is a start… Now, I wonder how my life at the Academy will be. A Mage, huh?
He closed his User Interface and opened The Dungeon Mage pdf. His plan was to read through the starting points of the novel again—as he'd been doing for the past few months—to refresh his memory on how to game the System and hasten his growth. Kieran had taken the same steps as he was doing now, which was leveling up his Agility first.
Sure, their circumstances were different. Kieran was able to use magic, and he was not. But, regardless, he had had a hand in what Kieran had become at the end of his journey; surely he could do just the same for himself.
There's no way I'm letting my mind be tainted by fear of failure this early. I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself. Merlin tightened his fist on his phone, closing his eyes. No matter what happens at the Academy, I'm going to make sure to become a Mage.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Academy, and to Merlin's bafflement, they were not the only ones who were late.
He saw some students, still in their casual clothes, pulling their luggage as they hurried into the grounds. Some were already in the Academy's grounds, alighting from the cars that had brought them, but ultimately doing the same thing as the ones who had been brought by cabs and dumped outside.
Merlin's eyes only lasted on those students for a brief moment, though. Because as soon as Kim Yiseo's car drove in through the gate, his eyes widened, the scenery of the Academy in all its grandness coming into his view.
The Academy was as big as he'd felt it would be. No. It was even more.
Lining the surroundings in elegant gracefulness were plum blossom trees, and each was accompanied by stone monuments of figures Merlin couldn't recognize—prominent, perhaps, in alliance with the Academy—holding torches that had light orbs within them.
A fountain stood at its center, and around it students, all dressed in the red blazers and tie of the Academy uniform, leisurely shuffled around, reading books, or swiping through the projections that emanated from their smart watches. Some were seated in the small patches of grass that could be seen everywhere one looked—a few with their Grimoires floating at their sides, but no spells at their finger tips. The Academy had a rule against spell casting out in the open grounds, he'd read in his pamphlet, so he was not taken aback.
Despite the absence of spells, it was still all so colorful; but the most beautiful of all were the spires that every single building possessed. Tall, ornate, and doused with the golden rays of the sun.
"It's amazing," Merlin could not stop himself from muttering. "And ancient."
"I agree," said Nora.
"Wait till you experience it even better," Kim Yiseo chimed in, putting off her phone and dipping it into her pocket. "It's the best Mage Academy in Korea for a reason."
Nora raised a brow, her arms still folded. "You talk like you aren't our classmate."
Kim Yiseo scoffed, somewhat conceitedly. "I am, but I've been here a few times already. I've experienced this Academy in all its glory."
"Yeah; with daddy's money."
Kim Yiseo fell silent.
"Nora…" Merlin nudged his sister at her side, shaking his head when she looked at him.
Why would she say that?
Nora replied, not with her lips, but with a slightly animated gesture. One he interpreted as, "Don't pick on me. She was being smug."
Still, there was no need for that.
"We're here," Kim Yiseo said as they arrived at the Academy's parking lot. One would be forced to think that she had not heard Nora's jab at her. "Your things are yet to arrive, so you'll have to attend the orientation without freshening up."
"Shouldn't the orientation have ended by now?" Merlin asked, curious as to why she'd still thought it was ongoing, and glad that they had moved on from the little scuffle of words that had just occurred. If he could even call it that.
"I confirmed," Kim Yiseo answered. "It's yet to start."
Merlin was bamboozled. He checked the time on his phone, wondering if he had lost his mind. He hadn't.
"It's past ten," said Nora, before Merlin could.
"Yes," Kim Yiseo hesitated to reply, but did regardless, as she pushed open her door. "The president's grandson was caught in traffic as well."
The president's grandson? Merlin blinked incredulously for a second or two; then his eyes crossed in exasperation and he lowered his head, laughing artificially. The roster of his classmates just kept superseding his expectations.