Sunday was warm. The sun was overhead, and Prestige Academy was roaring with life just like on the day of the festival. Everyone was invited to witness the competition between Prestige Academy and Crown Academy for the academic rankings. Professor Jung made certain that security was far tighter this time as a consequence of Merlin’s revelations to her, even a few Mages from the Consortium Guild were present. However, Merlin doubted that it would work. The man had escaped even his Perception, appearing and disappearing like a ghost. Someone of such a caliber would have no trouble blending in into a large crowd and escaping scrutiny. Which was only made more certain by the fact that he was supposedly a member of the Blackguards, a villain group that has been eluding them for almost a decade now.
Merlin decided that he wouldn’t let that bother him now, though. He had the competition to think of, and…
“Don’t look so sad,” Nora said from where she sat close to the window of her ward, her arm still wrapped in a cast. “It’s not like I’m dead. I just won’t be competing with the rest of you.”
“And that’s enough cause to worry,” Merlin replied. “You’re the best we’ve got.”
Nora scoffed. “We have two S-Class Mages, nerd. I’m just an A-Class Mage.”
Merlin tutted. “There’s no way you believe that nonsense. You’re literally first on the academic rankings.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Nora waved his words away languidly. “I did my research on the guy replacing me, Carlos. He seems very good.”
Merlin nodded. “I know. His Hex is unique and it can help him with winning his duel. But that depends on how he uses it. Without a spark, petroleum is useless. It's basically just oil, but his opponent is a—”
“Jesus. Nerd alert.” Nora snorted, and Merlin shut his mouth instantly. “I don’t need your lectures right now, please. Say something else, or be quiet.”
Merlin frowned. “You brought up the conversation.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, I’ve put it to a close now.”
Merlin clicked his tongue. It didn’t matter the situation she was in, she was always so aggravating.
But it was good that her inability to perform in the tournament wasn’t dealing a great deal of damage to her psyche. He knew how competitive Nora was, and the fact that she was out of such a big finale was definitely eating into her.
She had led them to it. She was the real MVP. And they all had to ensure they won—for her.
Merlin’s smartwatch beeped at that moment. He glanced at it, noting that there was only about three hours left until the final began. It was time he made his way to the waiting room.
“I guess that’s it,” Merlin said as he stood up. “Aunt Zuzu said she would be spending the whole time with you, watching the tournament from here. So prepare yourself for all her screaming and gasps.”
“Ugh.” Nora’s nose wrung up in disgust.
Merlin turned around with a smile.
As he got to the door, he halted and glanced over his shoulder. For a moment he thought about using this moment to reveal all he had been involved in during these past few months, all from the mysterious lady and man, down to his ability to open dungeons, and, most importantly, his interaction with Sunny in regards to Professor Dmitri and Club Spiral. But he decided to hold off on it for now. After the tournament things would change for him, however slightly. He would tell her about everything then. Right now, all she needed was rest.
“Wish me luck,” he said instead.
Nora smiled as she turned her attention back to the window. “You don’t need it.”
Merlin pulled the door open and walked out. In the hallway was Kim Yiseo. She leaned on the wall, her arms folded and her eyes cold. That was until he walked out.
“You took awfully long,” she said with that stoic expression of hers.
Merlin raised a brow. “She’s my sister.”
“And she’s my friend. Move out of the way.”
She pushed him away and walked in. The vibe in the room changed instantly, and Merlin felt a little bit jealous.
“What is it with girls feeling so much more comfortable with girls at the expense of their own siblings?” he mumbled with a sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked out of the infirmary’s building. And then he came across another figure leaning on the wall just outside. “Is this the new form of waiting? What? Benches and chairs are no longer in style?”
Marcus Reed smiled as he stood upright. No one needed to tell Merlin that the boy was here for him.
“Can we talk?”
Merlin eyed the boy for a moment. He was neatly presented, just like the first time they had met, which had not been planned. His hair was relaxed, and his build was made pronounced in his white tracksuit. Again, he looked far too pompous for Merlin’s taste, even though he hadn’t necessarily come across as one.
“No,” Merlin replied simply.
Marcus inclined his head. “I didn’t expect you to be thickskinned,” he said. “You don’t want to know about the secret I have on Deficient Mages?”
“I want to,” said Merlin. “But it’s the price I have to pay that’s the problem. Like you said, let us wait until after the tournament has ended. That is the wisest thing now, given the fact that we matched as opponents, don’t you think?”
Marcus was expressionless for a moment, then a grin spread his lips apart. He pointed at Merlin and laughed.
“I really like you,” he said. “It’s been a while someone has messed with my mind so much. I’m dying to know more about you.”
Merlin suddenly felt creeped out.
Did this guy have no social awareness? That was not something you said to someone.
“How did you do all that? With your mana?” Marcus continued, oblivious to Merlin’s thoughts even though his twisted expression was more than enough giveaway. “Burst of speed; what was that other thing? The one where you moved like a blur. That bit was different from just running. It felt like you were teleporting. And then there was the whole bit with your mana where it felt like you became a spider.” He paused to catch his breath. “I knew there was something different about you. We all did. Right from when we saw your battle with the Ice Wyverns, Crown Academy as a whole realised that you were different from all the other useless Deficient Mages. It’s not only your ability to nullify magic. You are as sharp and fast as even a Silver Class Warrior. Dr. Eleanor said you were a pain in the butt for her, and that’s high praise, I tell you. Rarely does anyone give her so much trouble.”
Merlin was tired. How could the bastard berate Deficient Mages before a Deficient Mage?
He had heard enough.
“What exactly are you getting at here?” he asked.
“Let’s change our deal,” Marcus replied. “Explain one thing about your skillset to me, right now, and I’ll explain two about mine.”
Merlin froze. His eyebrows twitched as he immediately considered Marcus’s proposal. It was rather tempting. One for two, was as sweet a deal as he could get. But, again, that depended on what he was told. Marcus was sly. Even him, a Deficient Mage, had some skills that were more dispensable than some. Those would most likely be what Marcus would offer him.
“No,” Merlin rejected the offer. “I watched your videos too. You’re a Sound Mage; that’s good enough for me.”
Marcus raised a brow, his excited expression vanishing instantaneously.
“You do realize there are barely any Sound Mages,” he said.
“I did my research, so I know,” Merlin replied.
“And that means you have zero clue as to how to defeat me.”
Merlin smiled. “That’s the beauty of being a Mage, isn’t it? We don’t go into battle with all the information. We use what we have, modify it, and think fast on our feet. That’s what I’ve been taught.”
Marcus was silent.
Merlin took a deep breath and sighed. “If that is all, then I’ll be taking my leave. I have to mentally prepare.”
“You’ll lose,” Marcus announced as Merlin turned around and walked away.
“Maybe,” Merlin replied. “Maybe not.”
Marcus exhaled. “Whatever the case, you deserve to be at an academy at the top of the rankings. Come to Crown Academy. You’ll be cherished there.”
Merlin halted and glanced over his shoulder. “I am cherished here,” he said. “And soon enough, this academy will be number one. Just you wait and see.”
###
“Oh, Merlin Tyrrell. How nice of the son of Poseidon to grace us with his presence,” Instructor Park Minjee greeted in a sarcastically cheery manner as Merlin walked into the waiting room designated to Prestige Academy’s contestants.
It was a professional space with wooden lockers lining the walls, and comfortable black leather chairs in a circle around a pool table directly beneath elevated tv screens. Despite how spacious the room was, however, everyone was huddled close to themselves, so Merlin was able to set his eyes on everyone at once in shock, hoping for some sort of response.
They all shrugged instead.
Well, he hadn’t been expecting a professor to pay them a visit, so he had thought he had all the time in the world to make his entrance; but now that he thought about it, maybe he should have been expecting someone to come by.
And besides, Kim Yiseo wasn’t even here yet.
The door opened behind him at that moment and… Speak of the devil.
“Ah. Ms. Kim Yiseo, welcome,” Instructor Park Minjee greeted her sarcastically as well. “Very nice of you to arrive right on time.”
Yiseo blinked, then glanced at Merlin who she was standing beside. He gave her the same response he was given. A shrug.
“I didn’t realize anyone would be paying us a visit,” Yiseo explained.
“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Instructor Park Minjee said. “You don’t need to apologize.”
Yiseo blinked. “I wasn’t exactly apologizing.”
“Just go and have your seat. It’s not like I was saying anything much anyways.”
Merlin nodded and did as he was told. So did Kim Yiseo.
Merlin sat down on a chair in between Chima and Hakyun, and immediately they leaned closer to him.
“How’s she?” Chima asked.
“Good,” Merlin replied. “I hope.”
“She’ll be fine,” Hakyun commented. “Beautiful girls are strong.”
Merlin’s forehead creased. “Please don’t.”
Hakyun raised his hands in retreat.
“Ahem…” Instructor Park Minjee cleared her throat. “Now, I’ll go ahead to explain how the finals will proceed.”
She tapped on her smartwatch and the tv screens turned on, displaying what Merlin was certain was once the Open field. It was no longer a forest of trees and the like, it had a large arena surrounded by rising seats made out of what Merlin classified as ‘exquisite concrete’, seeing as they had plush cushions despite their base being made out of concrete, and no one seemed uncomfortable.
The first thing Merlin could think about was when anyone had had the chance to place a cushion on such an abundance of seats in such a short amount of time. Until he recalled he was at Prestige Academy and they had the resources to hire hundreds of workers. And there was magic too.
“Obviously you’ll all be fighting in the arena,” Instructor Minjee began with a scoff. Perhaps expecting a laugh from the contestants and not receiving one, she cleared her throat. “To win, all you have to do is make your opponent give up, or exhaust them. Remember, this is simply a tournament held in good faith. I know you teenagers are always knee-deep in rivalry and raring to go, but please be cautious of the sort of spells you cast, as grave injuries will not be tolerated. Of course, defend yourself if you feel your life is being threatened. But I assure you that the professors on standby will not let it come to that.”
She took a pause.
“Each battle will be timed for fifteen minutes; if there has been no winner in that time, then the battle will end in a draw. The team with the highest number of wins at the end will become ranked as the best mage academy in the world. And that is what is at stake. A detailed explanation on what that means is: being ranked number one means better funding for the academy, academic opportunities for you students, such as exchange studies, and, of course, better internships and work opportunities. Honestly, you’ll have the best of all these. And Prestige Academy wants that for you all, which is why we would love to be ranked as number one.”
Instructor Park Minjee let her words settle briefly in the air as she glanced over everyone present.
Then she smiled and said, “Give it your best shot.”
Everyone clapped.