When Merlin got back to the dorm, Hakyun was already back to his usual self—which he half appreciated and half hated. After all, he had wanted to apologize if he’d done or said something wrong. Meeting Hakyun in a good mood meant that he couldn’t bring up that conversation again as it would dampen the mood; in other words, apologizing was impossible.

  He’d hated it at the time, but he was well over it now. After all, he had to concentrate.

  “You ready?” Hakyun said, as four rocks lying around were hoisted into the air by an invisible force so that they hovered near his shoulders.

  Merlin cleared his throat. “A moment,” he requested.

  “You said that two minutes ago. What are you hesitating for?” Hakyun growled. “Just get on with it already! I wanna see anti-magic at work!”

  Merlin’s brows twitched. “You’re here to help me train, not enjoy yourself.”

  “Do I look like a puppet to you?” Hakyun spat. “Of course I’m here to enjoy myself; your training is the bonus. Don’t misinterpret what’s going on here. Got it?”

  Merlin snorted.

  “Would you both just get on with it already? We only have an hour.” Chima yawned.

  They were within the dorm training room Hakyun had told them about a day past, which was…not exactly a room, but a combination of smaller rooms within a room, all possessing whatever a Mage would need for their training.

  And Merlin was not kidding. There were artificial clouds hovering above their heads, which he believed were for the Mages who could control lightning or simir elements. There was also a switch to the entrance that was used to toggle the scenery of the room so that it fit whatever one needed for training realism. Sadly, though, it could only be controlled by the dorm master as a means of preventing the students from turning it into a pything.

  That aside, Hakyun had requested for a rocky terrain, which was why they were standing in the middle of a canyon.

  The fact that such was possible was absurd to Merlin—and crazy—simution or otherwise. The facilities of Prestige Academy kept proving to be nothing to scoff at the more he came across them.

  However, he was here to catch up on the training he had been missing for the past few days and not to be amazed. Ever since he’d stepped into the Academy, he had not been able to have a moment to himself to nourish his abilities. Of course he kept up with his meditations and trance-like states, having to shift the time allocated to them to early mornings instead, because he was always so stressed out at night. But they were the only ones still moving at their regur pace.

  On the bright side, the headmaster had gotten back to him already and had agreed to the request he’d made. Now he could get back on track with his physical workouts. Thankfully, his roommates were also more than happy to help with his anti-magic training.

  Which he was excited to get going; but first…

  NAME: Merlin Tyrrell

  AGE: 17

  MAGE CLASS: Deficient

  SYSTEM CLASS: ???

  [ATTRIBUTES]

  STRENGTH: LV. 11

  AGILITY: LV. 16

  INTELLIGENCE: LV. 8

  PERCEPTION: LV. 8

  RESILIENCE: LV. 26

  [Blue Quests ongoing (2): Strengthen your body, Merlin Tyrrell. (The strength of a Mage not only lies in their prowess with magic, but also in their physicality. A better body makes a better Mage.)Be clear of mind and spirit, Merlin Tyrrell. (If you are quiet enough, you will hear the flow of the universe. You will feel its rhythm. Go with this flow. Meditation is key. A better mind and soul makes a better Mage.)]

  [Progress to leveling up Strength: 88.75%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Agility: 16%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 31.5%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Perception: 18.5%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Resilience: 74.5%/100%]

  [Free Attribute Points received: 0]

  He was so close to leveling up his Strength again, which he would have achieved a while back already if only he hadn’t been restricted to simple calisthenics for a while now. But with his access to the headmaster’s gym, he should get past that hurdle during his next session. His resilience was no different. Since its progress was tied to that of his Strength and Agility, it was not far away from leveling up.

  The Attribute he was focused on now was his Intelligence. His trance-induced state and understanding of his flow of mana only did so much, earning him three percent of growth per hour. Safely deconstructing spells did help more significantly, but, considering what he had to achieve by the end of the year, it was all still so negligible.

  Actual battle is what gives me exponential growth…

  And that’s why he decided to change his training method this time. He was just hiding behind the System because he was scared that if he opened his lips to propose his idea, the System would do what it did best: make things dangerous.

  “Hey!” Hakyun roared, impatient. “Do you realize that I’m using mana to keep these stones afloat?!”

  Merlin clenched his chin. If he was going to do it, then he had to get on with it. There was no point in hesitating. He had a deadline. And this was better than venturing into a Dungeon.

  He sighed.

  “Let’s take things up a notch,” Merlin said, then turned to Chima who was seated on the ground silently, his back resting on the side of the canyon. “Do you mind joining?”

  “Huh?” Hakyun scowled. “I thought you’d do me first, then him?”

  Merlin winced at Hakyun’s wording. “I’m not doing anyone. Ugh…” He shook his head. “Anyway, I’m trying to increase the danger. If I keep training safely, I won’t progress, and, as you know, I’m on a time limit.”

  Chima tilted his head, a brow raised. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

  The System. But Merlin couldn’t say that.

  “Just…help me out, huh?” Merlin insisted. “I’m not asking you guys to fight yourselves. I’m the one you have to fight.”

  Hakyun bit his lower lip. “I dunno, Merlin. This sounds dangerous.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Hesitance was in the air for a few seconds, and Merlin could not bme them. It was not like they were dressed in protective gears or anything. They were in their tracksuits, with the sole exception of Hakyun, who was in his pajamas—one of them. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to be harming them. The pain would be solely his to bear. And, besides, it was a simution. Once he was out of the room, he would be fine—hopefully.

  Chima sighed audibly and stood up. “What’s the win condition, then?”

  Merlin smiled. Hakyun, however, shot a gre at Chima, the rocks he was hovering falling to the ground like puppets that had their strings cut.

  “What? You really want to go through with this? Are you mad?!” he yelled.

  “Can it already, four-eyes,” Chima sneered. “We’re Mages, okay. If we don’t train under risky conditions now, when will we? During our tests, or when we get sent out to the field? Merlin’s right. We won’t progress if we don’t add some sort of danger to our training.”

  Hakyun ate the rest of his words, understanding Chima’s perspective perfectly.

  They had all passed the physical assessment and earned points, but they recalled well enough that the headmaster had said that there were still more of such tests to come, and, well, their course list made that evident. Practicals would begin in the next week. If they wanted to graduate as Mages, then they needed to be prepared to suffer some damage. And Merlin knew Hakyun was no missy when it came to that. He had watched the boy snap his ankle in half.

  Hakyun took a deep breath and sighed in defeat. “Alright, alright. I get you. We have to discard our senses and injure ourselves. A perfectly sensible way to train.” He turned back to Merlin. “Well? What’s the win condition?”

  Merlin nodded. “If I manage to y a hand on you, Hakyun.”

  Hakyun and Chima frowned in unison. “Huh?”

  Merlin had his reasons, of course. From what he recalled about Chima during the Dungeon raid exam and during the physical assessment, Chima was more of a melee type Mage with high physical capabilities, charging straight for his opponent like he was a Warrior. Which was still surprising to Merlin. After all, it went against the whole picture he had of Mages in his mind.

  Mages were meant to be magicians. They were meant to use spells to solve their battle problems. To Merlin, a sword of fire was still a sword. Should that really count as a spell? Or maybe, his whole understanding of the world of Mages was skewed? Maybe Mages were not bound to the same things he thought they were bound to, and he had to open his eyes to see the broader picture—to take note of all that he’d missed.

  Perhaps he had been looking at things wrong…

  Now was not the time for sentiments, though. He turned his attention back to Chima and Hakyun.

  “Chima is a melee Mage,” Merlin started, putting aside every gripe he had about a Mage actually being that. “And from the physical assessment, Hakyun, you seem more like a traditional Mage. You know, the one that relies on his spells and that alone.”

  Hakyun folded his arms, pouting like a petunt child. “Are you trying to say I ck the physical abilities of this…brute?”

  “Well, he’s not lying is he?” Chima snorted. Hakyun reddened.

  That could be solved by just working out, actually.

  “Anyway,” Merlin went on. “That’s my reasoning behind what I said. So let’s do that.”

  “And our win condition?” Chima asked.

  “Hmmm…” Merlin fell into his thoughts. He had only considered his because he had not thought of stopping the training until he’d won. Or perhaps he just didn’t see himself losing? That would be rather smug of him, so he doubted that. What could their win condition be, though? “If I give up,” he said finally.

  Chima raised a brow. “So we keep going until you give up or you touch Hakyun?” Merlin nodded. Chima narrowed his eyes. “You think you’re going to win, don’t you? You didn’t even consider our win condition at first. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m not letting a Deficient Mage defeat me. I’m an A-Css Mage.”

  Merlin had thought about expining his actual reasoning, but, for some reason, he seemed to enjoy the little banter going on. He smiled instead.

  “Do you think you can defeat me?” he tilted his head.

  Chima lowered his head slightly and chuckled. “I should be the one asking you that question. You must have forgotten that it’s two against one.”

  Merlin shrugged. “Which only makes it more fun.”

  “Enough of the chit-chat then,” Chima smiled, his eyes glinting as the ecstasy that brewed within his body leaked out. He took a step forward as sparks crackled around his palm, signifying that he was well ready to begin. “I’ll come at you in a second. Hope you’re ready?”

  Merlin took a step backward. “Ready when you are.”

  Hakyun groaned, nudging his gsses slightly. “You both are crazy.” The rocks around him took flight once again. “I’m ready when you are, brute!”

  The air stiffened for a moment as roaring fmes burst to life around Chima’s palms. However, this time, unlike back during the exam, what appeared wasn’t a sword and a shield, but a bow.

  Merlin’s brows twitched. When did Chima become an archer?

  “Don’t be scared,” said Chima. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.”

  Merlin’s lips twitched. He was really reconsidering this whole ‘make the training dangerous’ thingy. He was in for a world of pain, wasn’t he?

  Anyways…

  Activate Reader Mage Perk…

  [Perk: Reader Mage Activated]

  Instantly, Merlin dashed forward.