Professor Jung simply took another sip of her cup of coffee at Merlin’s words, her face an expressionless bnk ste. That solidified Merlin’s inference that she already knew what he was here to talk about, and that made things a lot easier for him.

  “Have a seat,” she finally said. Merlin had been wondering if she would ever come around to offering him one. “Are you sure you don’t want that cup of coffee?” she added. “It’s going to be a long conversation.”

  On second thoughts…

  “I would like one, please,” said Merlin as he sat down.

  Professor Jung nodded and went ahead to brewing one for him.

  “Honestly, I should send you back to your css right this instant, and just have the conversation with you as scheduled; but, you won’t be able to concentrate, will you?”

  She was spot on.

  “Yes,” Merlin replied, his bag pced on his p. “So, please indulge me.”

  Professor Jung nodded. “However, what I want to talk to you about might be a little bit different from what you have come here for. So, which do you want us to tackle first? Yours or mine?”

  Merlin’s brows dropped. What else could she want to talk to him about? This was his actual first day at the Academy, so he doubted he had done anything in particur to warrant the attention of a staff member. Or had he? When?

  “Did I do anything wrong?” he decided to ask, unable to come up with an answer himself.

  Professor Jung gnced over her shoulder with a smile. “Of course, you didn’t. I said my intention for calling you is just a little bit different from your reason for coming; emphasis on the ‘a little bit different’. So, it’s still reted to each other. No need to be getting stiff. You’re fine. Ah…” She turned back to the coffee she was making as Merlin heaved out a sigh of relief. “How do you like your sugar?”

  A lot. But he didn’t want to give off the wrong impression to his homeroom professor. From his experience, adults always upbraided kids who enjoyed stuffing sugar down their throat. His best reply here would be to give her full reins as to how his coffee turned out; that way he wouldn’t end up painting himself in a bad light.

  Before he could say anything, though, Professor Jung added, “Most times students always leave me to handle the mixture myself; if that’s your intention, mind you, I like my coffee with a lot of sugar. Just a warning so you don’t wince ter on.”

  Merlin was taken aback. An actual adult who took sugar in excess? He must have heard wrong. After all, his mother always said that when he became an adult his tastebuds would lean towards the bitter side. If there was someone whose tastebuds hadn’t shifted, then maybe his wouldn’t end up changing. This world wasn’t a straight line after all. Everyone was different.

  He almost ughed.

  “I’m fine with whatever,” he replied, still cautious about how he presented himself to Professor Jung.

  “Creamer?”

  “Yes.”

  A few seconds ter, Professor Jung handed a warm cup of coffee to Merlin who received it with thanks as she once again sat on the edge of her desk, just beside him.

  Merlin took a sip and what Professor Jung had said earlier was proven true. He had never tasted such perfectly made coffee before. The creamer did well to soften the coffee’s bitter taste, and the sugar was just enough to suit Merlin’s palette as well as bance out the coffee’s acidic notes. He could see himself taking this everyday if he had Professor Jung’s skill—over the headmaster’s ginseng tea even, no offense to the S-Css Mage. But, as…

  “It’s that good, huh?” Professor Jung said, bringing Merlin back to realizing that his expression had gone from bright to glum. “I could teach you, but I’m not a very good teacher.”

  Merlin jerked back slightly. “That’s a joke, right? You’re a professor.”

  She smiled. “I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

  Merlin hoped that she was joking. There was no way she was a bad teacher and was at the second ranked Magical Academy in the world.

  Professor Jung took another sip of her coffee and then put it down. “Alright, since I got no reply, we’ll tackle yours first.” She folded her arms. “What is it about the return of the Cataclysm you want to talk about?”

  Merlin pursed his lips as he gazed into the cup of his coffee for a second or two. “The headmaster gave me a quest,” he began, taking his eyes up to stare into Professor Jung’s. She was not shocked that he had mentioned the headmaster, meaning that she knew about their meeting. “Before the end of the year, I have to be able to cancel out his magic.”

  The following words, though, made her frown. It seemed she hadn’t known about the quest.

  “Well, that’s absurd,” she said. “How far away is your ability to do that?”

  Merlin feigned a wince. “Uhm… Pretty far.”

  She took a moment to settle into her thoughts, then sighed, propping the rims of her gsses onto her nose. “The headmaster does say some preposterous things sometimes, but for this, I do understand where he is coming from. He did expatiate on the urgency of the matter, yes?”

  Merlin nodded. “He did. However, I don’t think I’m equipped for this. Today’s just my first official csses day at the Academy, and I don’t even know much about what I can and can’t do with this ability of mine. Telling me that I have to fight the Cataclysm in the case of its return…is…well…ludicrous, to say the least. I’m just a kid.”

  None of his words were a lie. He had only wanted to become a Mage to be able to protect his family and loved ones from any problems that may arise ter on. Yes, he had taken into consideration the Cataclysm’s return, but he had never once thought of himself being on the front lines. Even when Sunny had told him that he would most likely be accepted into Prestige Academy because of that, he had not seen himself actually taking up the mantle of the one to face-off with the Cataclysm. All he wanted was to keep his loved ones safe. There was no way he could do it. No way.

  “Merlin,” Professor Jung started, drawing Merlin’s dropped gaze back to hers. She wore a soft expression, “everyone was a kid once.” He blinked, not understanding where this was headed. “Let me tell you a story. When the Cataclysm came, bringing mana to our world, the bulk of those who became Mages were children, youths, and young adults, stopping at age thirty. Those who took up arms to battle the monsters pouring out of the portals weren’t seasoned battle Mages. They were frightened kids who suddenly realized they could cast magic while being chased by beasts they had never thought existed. Kids who watched their parents die. Kids…” She paused for a moment. “Kids who left their family behind.”

  She took a moment to catch her breath.

  “Now, I understand you’re scared. It’s fine to be. We all are. To tell you the truth, even we professors are not sure what the whole deal with the Cataclysm is. We teach what has been figured out, but most things haven’t. You are one for example. Who would have thought that there would one day be someone with the ability to cancel magic. But here you are. And despite the fear we feel, we have to push forward regardless. If we, the Mages, don’t, then who will? Our powers are both a curse and a blessing. We have to sacrifice ourselves, but at least we can be happy that our world will not be lost in our wake. Now, don’t get me wrong, no one is asking you to shoulder it all alone. If it’s any help, you can lean on my shoulders whenever you feel tired. I’d be more than happy to listen to you grumble and compin your heart out. That’s the least I can do.”

  Merlin couldn’t expin it, but the more Professor Jung’s words made it into his ears, the faster his tense shoulders rexed, until all he felt was lightness.

  She was right.

  He was just a kid? Merlin almost scoffed at himself. Sunny had clearly told him that one of those who had led the subjugation of the first Dungeons had been a fifteen year old kid. He was two years older. He had no excuse.

  He wouldn’t berate himself for focusing on protecting his loved ones, but what about others? What about their loved ones? If he had the power to help them, then was it right to resign himself to the rear and watch Mages head to their death? If so, then what was the use of the power he’d obtained? He couldn’t be selfish. He had to see the world as a home—his home. Since he was the only one who could actually stand toe to toe with the Cataclysm, then it was his obligation to take the vanguard.

  And, most of all, he was a Mage. A Mage would never tuck tails and run.

  Merlin took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll take you up on that offer, professor. Please don’t push me away when the time comes.”

  Professor Jung smiled. “Well, that depends on how much you’re grumbling. There’s only so much I can take, after all.”

  Merlin couldn’t stop himself from ughing.

  “Which then brings us to my reason for calling you here,” Professor Jung continued. “You’re going to be made the center of focus during practical tests; this will help drastically boost your anti-magic ability, as the headmaster has asked you to, and help us professors understand your skill level better.”

  Merlin nodded. Considering what was at stake, he didn’t have the time to be worrying about being noticed. He did not have the luxury to be worrying about how his school life turned out.

  “Good,” said Professor Jung. “Secondly, your theory scores are too low, Merlin.” He flinched. “At this rate, you may not be able to continue at Prestige Academy. It would be unfair not to revoke your admission if you fail, you understand that, right?” He nodded. “So we have to do something about that. What are your studying methods? I mean what have you figured out that helps you assimite things faster?”

  Well, there was only one thing: fiction. And Nora was the single person who could help with that.

  He wondered if he should tell Professor Jung about that. Would she be able to help him in any way?

  It didn't matter. It would be senseless to hold it back. She deserved to know.

  But… It was hard. It would make him look like a kid—which he kind of was, but that was besides the point.

  However…

  “Fiction,” Merlin answered through clenched teeth. “Fictional scenarios help me understand concepts better.”

  Professor Jung blinked. “Well, that’s…”

  It was apparent she didn’t know what to say here, so Merlin decided to step in.

  “There’s no need to worry,” he said, causing Professor Jung to tilt her head slightly. “My sister will help with that. She’s the best at using fictional scenarios to teach.”

  Professor Jung sighed. “That’s good and all, but she still has to study too, you know that, right?”

  Merlin pressed his lips together. He did know that. That was why he was trying to think of other ways to help himself. One option he had was Hakyun and Chima. They both were as much of geeks as he was, so they should be able to use fictional instances to expin things to him. So if he shuffled between Nora, Hakyun, and Chima, he should give them sufficient time to focus on themselves.

  One thing bothered him, though, and that was ending up being a nuisance.

  “You know what?” Professor Jung went on. Merlin listened attentively, more than happy to receive any ideas that could help with his plight. “I know someone who can help.”

  “Really?” Merlin was more than surprised.

  Professor Jung nodded. “Yes. And she’s your senior, so it wouldn’t be any trouble for her to walk you through your courses.”

  “Thank you so much, professor.” Merlin made sure his gratitude was evident on his face. “Really. Thank you so much.”

  “However…” Professor Jung said and Merlin stiffened, well aware of what usually came with that word. “She’s not really keen on teaching others. In fact, she hates studying so much that in her first year she cleared the sylbus in a week so that she could read comics instead for the rest of the semester. Of course, she’s done that again this year, but since, well, she’s quite the intellectual and constantly proves it, we can’t hold her back now, can we?”

  Merlin almost lost his mind. There was no doubt about it, whoever this senior was, she was on a different level of smart from Nora. There was no way Nora could clear an entire sylbus in a week. He needed this person’s help no matter what.

  “Can you please let her know that I’m in dire need of her help?” Merlin begged.

  Professor Jung smiled. “Well, I can do that, but it will be on one condition…” She took her time here, making Merlin feel the sting of every second that passed by. “Join the disciplinary committee.”