Merlin asked Professor Dmitri to let him take a break after his tasking battle with Choi Sangook had come to an end, which was why he was now seated once again beside Chima and Hakyun, trying his best not to concentrate upon the myriad of eyes burning into him as well as the murmurs that complemented them.

  For a moment, he had wondered if Choi Sangook wouldn’t get any points for his—it hurt Merlin to say—fantastic dispy. But Professor Dmitri had ended up throwing five academic points the boy’s way when he’d walked down the stage, his ripped Grimoire in his hands.

  Merlin felt bad about destroying Choi Sangook’s Grimoire, but he couldn’t let it keep bothering him so he pushed it aside. And, besides, someone like Choi Sangook would be able to get a new one at most in a day once he put in the order. He had connections, and connections never failed.

  The murderous gre the d had shot Merlin’s way was another matter entirely, though. Merlin hoped he wouldn’t die of frostbite in one of the coming nights.

  He winced as his side hurt all of a sudden again. Despite the arena possessing the same simution effect as the simution room and the dorm training area, it seemed its effect was significantly lower in comparison. Because, even though his injuries were no longer present upon his body, his insides were still hurting, even if a bit slightly. Perhaps the Academy intentionally made it that way so that the one-on-one duels gave the students the idea of on-field pain which they would be missing otherwise.

  It was not like Merlin needed that, though. He was not meaning to sound smug, but he was unlike the rest of the students. The System made him so.

  However, his body still hurt, and that was part of the reason why he had no choice but to deal with the messages of the System now, despite not being with his phone.

  [All Progress increased by 10%]

  [Progress to leveling up Strength: 62.25%/100%] → [72.25%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Agility: 79%/100%] → [89%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 41%/100%] → [51%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Perception: 84.5%/100%] → [94.5%/100%]

  [Progress to leveling up Resilience: 46.5%/100%] → [56.5%/100%]

  [Free Attribute Points received: 110] → [130]

  Merlin’s brows twitched as he noticed how high his free Attribute Points had gotten. Most of it had come during his battle with the Ice Wyverns, and because of how things had been progressing since then, he’d been subconsciously stacking them up. Perhaps it was time to throw them all into his Intelligence Attribute.

  Half of a hundred-and-thirty would net him a sixty-five level up percentage. As such, he would level up his Intelligence and step into the double digits on his level for it. That would put him on the same level that Kieran had started Singurity Mage with. That bastard.

  Thankfully, the significance will be exponential. Not too much, but good enough.

  He gnced at Park Yuri, her eyes focused on Professor Dmitri as he fiddled with his smartwatch, cleansing the arena of the marks of the just-concluded battle between Merlin and Choi Sangook. He had no idea what her abilities were, and how good the daughter of one of the greatest S-Css Mages ever would fight. As such, he had to be ready.

  Merlin was just returning his attention to the System, when he noticed someone staring at him with a rather furious gaze unlike the ones the rest of the students. He quickly came to the conclusion that it was probably the guy who had been badmouthing him before his duel with Choi Sangook had started. He didn’t care for the d, though, so he just sighed, shook his head slightly, and focused on what was important to him.

  Assign 130 Attribute Points to Intelligence…

  [Assigning...]

  [Successful]

  [+130 Attribute Points have been assigned to Intelligence]

  [Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 51%/100%] → [16%/100%]

  [Intelligence has leveled up!]

  [Intelligence Level 9→ Level 10]

  Merlin’s body tingled with a warmth like he had never felt, his mana dancing chaotically within his body. As for his brain, it was bombarded by vague information transting to what his level up entailed, just like how it usually was. He took a moment to settle down, and then he smiled.

  D-Css Mages Advanced Tier I spells and S-Css Mages Novice, Tier I spells, and my distance to deconstruct spells has been increased to fifty steps away… This was what Kieran started with? Damn that protagonist…

  “You have no idea how fantastic that was to watch,” Hakyun said for the umpteenth time, beaming. “You’re my hero, Merlin.”

  Merlin sighed, blinked away the System’s interface, and leaned back into his seat as the pain his body was feeling subsided. Hakyun had been hurling praises his way ever since he had returned to his seat. It wasn’t bad that Hakyun was so pleased with him defeating Choi Sangook, but it was getting old fast. He gnced at Chima who had his arms folded as he stared intently at the arena. Besides a simple ‘welcome back, good fights’, Chima had said nothing to him since. Sometimes, he wondered what was going on in the d’s mind—like at this moment.

  Professor Dmitri finally concluded his stage cleansing then, and turned around to summon the next fighters. Merlin knew that the man had agreed to let him rest up, but for a moment his heart skipped a beat at the thought of the man deciding that the sole minute he had used to cleanse the stage was ample enough time for Merlin to have rested up.

  Thankfully, Professor Dmitri wasn’t that inconsiderate.

  “Kim Yiseo and Lee Jaehyun,” he called, eliciting gasps from the crowd. “Step onto the stage.”

  Merlin hummed at that announcement, amused at the match-up. He had seen a fsh of Kim Yiseo’s brilliance on his way to the Academy, but besides knowing that Lee Jaehyun possessed a rather fascinating type of magic, he knew nothing about the boy’s fighting capabilities. He was rather curious as to how the fight would pan out.

  “Well, that’s surprising,” Hakyun noted, finally putting away his excited demeanor and donning a serious one. “I never thought I would get to see two S-Css Mages duel it out so quickly. Who do you think will win?”

  Merlin downturned his lips. “I’m not sure.”

  Hakyun clicked his tongue. “Just pick one. The question’s not that deep.”

  “Then,” Merlin licked his lips, “Kim Yiseo.”

  Hakyun raised a brow. “Gonna tell me why?”

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Chima replied on Merlin’s behalf. “She’s the daughter of the Guildmaster of the Consortium Guild.”

  Hakyun snorted. “That’s not a valid reason. Jaehyun is also the son of the Guildmaster of the Tiger Guild.”

  “Yeah, but he studied abroad all his life, didn’t he? I doubt he would be as drenched in the workings of battle like Yiseo,” Chima said, painting both Merlin and Hakyun’s faces with surprise. They hadn’t known that information. “What? I overheard some girls gossiping.”

  Well, that expined why he was able to speak such fluent English. Merlin had noticed that on the day of the orientation.

  “How did you find out that information before me?” Hakyun asked with furrowed brows.

  Chima frowned. “What are you insinuating, four-eyes?”

  “I’m just saying… I should have—”

  “It’s starting,” Merlin cut in, very pleased that he could stop them from bickering at this moment. “Let’s focus.”

  “Tsk. We’ll finish this ter…”

  They all turned their attention to the stage which had come to have a colder air around it than even what Choi Sangook’s spells had done. Kim Yiseo stared bnkly at Lee Jaehyun, and he reciprocated, though his eyes had a bit more life to them than hers.

  “Begin!” Professor Dmitri signaled. Pouches came undone. And Grimoires rose to the air.

  Immediately, Kim Yiseo stretched forth her hand in Lee Jaehyun’s direction. The center of her palm rumpled and squelched, and a hole was dug within it. Then, quickly, she angled her aim, shooting a spear of intertwined webs at the boy’s Grimoire. That action of hers caught everyone between surprise and slight disgust, including Merlin, but Lee Jaehyun was different. He instantly redirected the flight of his Grimoire, perhaps having anticipated Kim Yiseo’s move, and her strike missed.

  She clenched her teeth.

  Merlin blinked himself back from his daze, his awe making way for fascination. He had been curious as to how Kim Yiseo’s spell casting functioned, but now that he’d seen it up close, he couldn’t help but be impressed. She was basically like a spider. Maybe that would be disgusting to some—perhaps, most—but it was wondrous to Merlin.

  “Wow, she really wanted to end it quickly,” Hakyun noted. “Seems like most people will be copying your move, Merlin.”

  It wasn’t his move, it was just common sense.

  There was something he was also fascinated about, and it was the connection between a Mage’s mana and their Grimoire. Despite mana being a sentient being with a mind of its own, granted, that was limited to only the understanding of the magic they brought with their existence, existing in a Mage’s body, meant that they succumbed to the Mage’s control. It was like having two souls in one body. Or more retably, mana was like intrusive thoughts. If uncontrolled, they could react wildly, but they could be controlled. And he assumed that such was why Lee Jaehyun had been able to redirect the flight of his Grimoire. His mana was a part of his subconscious, and it was present in his Grimoire, so his Grimoire was like a separate part of himself. That also expined why when a Mage learnt a spell, it appeared in detail on the pages of the Grimoire.

  That inference made Merlin wonder why Choi Sangook had not just redirected the flight of his Grimoire during their bout then. But he quickly came up with two pusible answers. One, he didn’t know that he could do that. This one was more unlikely. And the likely one was simply because his thought process had been clouded in rage because he had been bested for a moment by a Deficient Mage.

  This, kids, was why it wasn’t advisable to underestimate an opponent in battle. Hopefully, Choi Sangook had learnt his lesson. Even though he was an asshole, his strength would be needed during the fight against the Cataclysm. Merlin couldn’t have the boy being below par.

  Kim Yiseo and Lee Jaehyun’s battle raged on, and Merlin got to see how different S-Css Mages were in comparison to the rest of them. Their mana was more stable, faster, and their spells were spectacur.

  Lee Jaehyun was mostly on the defensive, but even that was done with such elegance one couldn’t judge him. No one did, they all just watched, occasionally gasping and envying the two in the arena.

  The president’s grandson had put into effect his ‘float’ ability, like he had expined it back in css. His body was shrouded in his mana, and even though Merlin couldn’t see the lines of gravitational forces moving over the boy’s body like water over a rock, the effect was well visible. Lee Jaehyun wasn’t on the floor of the arena, but hovering beside his Grimoire, so that it wasn’t too far from him. This made it easier for him to evade Kim Yiseo’s attacks without putting distance between himself and the ancient-looking book.

  Kim Yiseo’s spell came hurtling towards him once again. He breathed in, condensed the mana sheathe around his body, and shifted it to his side. This caused the force of gravity to affect every other part of his body that was not covered by his mana, pulling him away with a jerk just in time for Kim Yiseo’s spell to miss.

  Merlin was jealous. Everyone was jealous. Gravity was an awesome ability.

  However, Lee Jaehyun could only remain on the defensive for so long. He had to attack at some point. Merlin’s brows narrowed. Or couldn’t he?

  Kim Yiseo grew tired of staying safe at a distance and bsting webs Lee Jaehyun’s way, hoping for one to make a connection, even though the only expression change she had in retion to it was slightly furrowed brows. She had to show more emotion at some point. There was no way she was a bnk ste deep down.

  She channeled mana to her fingertips in a different way than she had been doing previously—where the mana coalesced in the center of her palm, which caused it to rip open like a bullet had pierced through it—and strands of web shot out in all directions. Like she was the master of a choir, she fyed her fingers around, and in less than a minute she had formed a web sheet all over the arena, banning Lee Jaehyun’s feet from ever touching the floor again.