Merlin woke to the gentle warmth drifting from the humidifier pced on the table to his side and the comfy feel of a bed beneath his back. Up above was a white ceiling and led lights that gave him an idea of where he was—the ward was always the same, no matter its location. His mind was a hazy mess, but he could still recall well enough what had brought about the piercing headache he was feeling.

  Goodness… I should have held myself back. What was I thinking channeling out all that mana, and with my body heat to boot? I must have been out of my mind.

  Despite his body aching so much, he tried to move—to sit up—when his hand felt that of someone else’s close to his bed. He turned and found the short hair of Kim Minji falling over her face as she slept, the tiniest drool he had ever seen sliding out her slightly open mouth.

  His antics must have exhausted her.

  Merlin managed to sit up without disturbing her sleep as his mind flew back to his actions.

  Choi Sangook really got on his nerves, but he should have acted like the bigger person there and considered his partner. He had stressed the poor dy for nothing. He then recalled that someone had stepped in at the end and his brows raised.

  Who was that? Maybe it had been because of his groggy state, but Merlin felt like they had just appeared out of thin air. He had been unable to keep up with the speed they had made their entrance with. Was it really humanly possible to move that fast without something like the System boosting one’s attributes?

  He sighed and gnced at Kim Minji. There was no use trying to find the answers himself. She had seen the person; he would just ask her about them when she woke up. Something else needed his attention now.

  With a mental call, the System appeared before Merlin’s view bringing with it words he had been unable to focus on as he’d passed out after deconstructing Choi Sangook’s spell.

  [Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 70%/100%] → [80%/100%]

  [Free Attribute Points received: 10]

  [You’re not made of steel, Merlin Tyrrell]

  Well, thanks for that reminder. Merlin clicked his tongue. At least he had gotten something out of his rash actions. His Intelligence was one step closer to leveling up. Maybe he should risk his health more. No pain, no gain, right? He chuckled, shaking his head. He was not ready to die.

  He assigned all his Attribute Points to Intelligence and leaned back on the headboard of his bed.

  The door to the ward flung open then and Nora’s face made a dramatic entrance before her body. She was breathing heavily, seemingly having run all the way, and her eyes were widened out of something Merlin had chosen to tag as fear.

  He smiled when they locked eyes as a means to ensure the whole situation didn’t take a glum turn.

  “Hi, Nora,” he said. “What a fine afternoon this is, right?”

  Nora took a deep breath, lowered her head for a brief second, and crossed the length of the room with at most five big strides before spping him on the back of his head so loudly that Kim Minji snapped awake.

  “What were you thinking?!” she roared. “You could have died!”

  Merlin rubbed his head, not possessing the energy to try to argue with his sister. After all, his head was hurting so bad. And, honestly, she was right. That had been completely reckless of him. Ridding oneself of body heat was a risky thing. Medically, it was indicative of hypothermia, and it was a serious case that required immediate medical attention. He really could have killed himself.

  On the other hand, he was gd that he had done what he’d done. It was evident to the fact that he was nowhere near the powerhouse he might have thought he was. While on the bright side, he at least didn’t get a broken arm from deconstructing Choi Sangook’s spell. If he could even call that a success, considering the subsequent events.

  Merlin sighed. “I’m sorry, okay. I just felt like I had to stop him. He was adamant on disobeying the school rules.”

  Nora folded her arms and straightened herself. “Do you think I’m a fool, Merlin Tyrrell?” Ugh… Merlin held himself back from rolling his eyes. She was putting on the mom gimmick again. “Tell me straight up why you did what you did.”

  Kim Minji retreated into the background by simply sliding away from the bed with her stool. She saw no reason to involve herself in the heated conversation of two siblings. Merlin was grateful for that, but he would have been even more grateful if she instead found a means to drag Nora away. But that was like sending an ant to defeat a lion.

  He sighed, knowing that he had no choice but to give Nora the answer she sought. It took like a minute or so, but he expined to her the reason for his actions, and why it made sense to him. After all, he couldn’t just let a particur student keep on thinking he stood above everyone else, and harassed them in return, most especially when his friend was one of the victims.

  “And you thought dying was the best course of action to take?” Nora kept her arms folded, intensifying her gaze with a frown.

  Merlin jerked back slightly, unsure why she was not praising him for what he had done. He thought she hated those kinds of people the most in the world.

  He clicked his tongue. “I’m not dead, though, am I?”

  Nora made a slight move forward, prompting Merlin to flinch and put up his guard; then she sighed. “Don’t be reckless again, understand?”

  Merlin nodded. “Yeah, I get it already, so stop with the mom act.”

  Nora’s nose flinched and she clenched her fist. “I’m not acting like mom.”

  Merlin gnced at her but said nothing more on the topic. He then shifted his gaze Kim Minji’s way, who had moved so far back she was against the wall.

  “Sorry for the trouble I caused you, Minji,” he apologized.

  Kim Minji shook her head. “It’s fine. You were only doing what you thought was right.” So someone understood him? Beautiful. “Which was reckless, to be honest. I don’t think you should do that again.”

  Merlin’s eyes twitched. He then cleared his throat. “Someone came before I passed out. If you don’t mind me asking, who was that?”

  “It was Senior Sakamoto,” she replied. Merlin’s brows jumped up. “Apparently, he was stalking us.”

  Okay, that made things a lot more interesting. He had not even noticed that he and Kim Minji were being followed, and he was certain his Perception was well up to the point where he could hear the sounds of footfalls being close to them. The fact that President Sakamoto had been able to follow them all through their duty without him picking up on his footsteps even once was fascinating. That meant he had not made a single sound. Which was crazy, and, yet, incomparable to how he had fshed into the scene to stop Choi Sangook in a matter of seconds. All that further solidified Merlin’s deduction that President Sakamoto wasn’t just an average Mage. He was curious.

  “What about Choi Sangook? What happened to him?” Merlin went on.

  “Professor Jung is having a word with him,” a familiar voice replied to Merlin’s question, but it was neither Kim Minji’s nor Nora’s. He turned his gaze towards the entrance to the ward and saw Hakyun standing there, Chima close to him. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you do that? You could have died.”

  Geez. If he was paid a nickel for every time he’d heard those words in the st few minutes, he would be a millionaire.

  “How are you doing?” Chima swiftly changed the topic—thankfully—as he walked in. “Hi, Minji, Nora.”

  “Hi,” Kim Minji and Nora replied in unison.

  “I’m doing okay,” Merlin said with a smile, flexing his biceps in return. “Can’t you see? Life has returned to me.”

  “You’re lucky you’re in a Magical Academy,” Nora snorted. “Your body was warmed up with magic, which made the process faster and more effective, otherwise you would have been stuck with tubes passing through your mouth.”

  Merlin winced, imagining himself lying in the midst of several beeping monitors with a mask over his mouth and a tube passing through his airway. He never wanted to get to that point.

  “I get it alright. I won’t do it again. I’ll control my anger next time.”

  “Good,” said Nora as she turned around. “Yiseo sends her regards. I have to get back to the library.”

  She could have just paid me a visit instead.

  As for Nora…

  “You’re really trying so hard to cover the whole sylbus in a week, aren’t you?”

  Nora gnced over her shoulder with a smile. “That’s only normal, right? Can’t be one-upped in a challenge.”

  No one challenged her but herself. And, besides, the week was already at its end. He doubted she was even halfway through the sylbus, which meant she was far more likely to fail than to succeed—her and Kim Yiseo both.

  Merlin saw no reason to say that though, and kept silent as he watched her leave.

  “I think I’ll take my leave too,” Kim Minji said as she packed up her things. Then she gnced at the humidifier and paused. “Will you get it to me when you’re done?”

  Oh. It was hers. She was such a sweet girl.

  Merlin smiled and nodded, and she was out of the door, leaving him, Hakyun, and Chima alone in the ward. For some reason, Hakyun was staring at him with a narrowed gaze he couldn’t exactly interpret.

  “What?” Merlin asked with a shrug.

  Chima dragged the stool Kim Minji had been seated on and sat down. “Don’t mind him, Mel. He was especially gd when he heard you stood up for him. All this is just a facade.”

  Hakyun frowned. “No, it’s not a facade. Yes, I was gd, but if defending me takes you to a hospital bed, then I don’t want it.”

  “Sure, sure.” Chima waved Hakyun’s words away. “By the way. Will you be fine? Isn’t your date with Janeth tomorrow?”

  Merlin’s heart ceased for a brief second then. He had not once forgotten about it, but when it was mentioned to him out loud, it made his heart skip a beat. He really was going to do it, wasn’t he?

  He smiled. “Of course. I’m completely fine now. The date won’t be affected.”

  Chima sucked air through his teeth. “Ehhh… I doubt that.”

  Merlin frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Professor Jung said you would need to rest for at least a full day to be back to a hundred percent,” Hakyun replied. “In yman’s words, you cannot go on your date tomorrow.”

  For the second time, Merlin’s whole world spun, and all the energy he had was siphoned out of his body in a single second.

  ###

  The stars sparkled brightly above, each one a crystal of beauty in the silent night sky, reminding Jiho of days long past. He y on a bench, his arms tucked beneath his head, serving as a cushion, as he watched each star blink softly. They stared back at him, and he could feel her gaze from one of them. She’d always said the stars were the souls of dead people, after all. Funny that he had not believed those words until she’d died.

  He missed her, that much was obvious, and that was why he had to bring her back, no matter what it took.

  “You’re up here again,” a voice said, drawing Jiho’s attention. It was a soft voice that contrasted with the picture and character of the dy who had spoken. But, of course, telling her that always resulted in a kick to the groin, so he kept his mouth shut on that matter.

  “Hello, Mouse,” Jiho said. “What brings you to the rooftop?”

  She scoffed and walked closer, her high heels ccking on the floor with each step she took. A few seconds ter, Jiho could no longer see the stars as Mouse’s face leaned towards his, her short bck hair swaying around her ears, and her purple lipstick and eyeshadows giving her face a rather terrifying but beautiful look.

  She smiled. “You know Club Spiral is yours to run, right? If you keep hiding away on the rooftop just so you can stargaze, I might have to steal it from you.”

  Jiho shrugged slightly. “I would be gd if you did. You know I don’t like the noise.”

  Mouse leaned in closer again, her lips almost touching his. “And you know Master will kill me if I do.”

  “A pity…” Jiho downturned his lips. “So? Do you have anything for me?”

  Mouse shifted back, straightening on her feet as she folded her arms, her bck leather outfit of mostly straps and belts, as well as the various piercings on her ears, giving her a rather dazzling goth-like look.

  “Yes,” she said. “We’re not having any luck finding the artifacts.”

  Jiho sighed heavily and stood up. He then walked up to the railings of the rooftop and threw his gaze down to the cars below, and the long line of people waiting to be let into the club in his care. Just like the stars, from above, they all looked so feeble and tiny.

  “We know the Consortium has them,” he said. “So why is it so difficult to find? What about—”

  “He’s trying his best,” Mouse cut in, “however, he can’t just search every corner of the Guild or the Guildmaster’s home without drawing some attention. And if we discard our patience and rush in, that will result in an all out war. We don’t have the manpower for that.”

  “Yet,” said Jiho.

  Mouse took a deep breath and sighed. “You cannot really be thinking about bringing the boy in. That’s impossible.”

  “Why?” Jiho turned around, leaning backwards on the railings. “He’s a Deficient Mage. Getting him to come over to our side will not be much of an issue for me. And his anti-magic will tip the scale in our favor.”

  Mouse raised a brow and shook her head. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture. Unlike you, he wasn’t discarded. He was granted admission and welcomed in. There’s no reason for him to switch sides.”

  “Yet,” said Jiho, simply—once again. Mouse tilted her head slightly. “We just have to create a reason for him to switch sides.”

  “You say that like creating such a reason is as easy as gambling.”

  Jiho ughed softly. “Gambling isn’t easy.”

  Mouse’s lips twitched indistinctly. “You understand what I mean.”

  “As usual your comparisons are awful.” Jiho sighed. “Don’t worry about the reason. Just do as I tell you to, and we’ll have him on our side. For now, keep watch over his movements and his progress.” Mouse didn’t say anything. “As for the next Dungeon Break, do you already have a location picked out?”

  Mouse nodded. “Yes. Yeouido Hangang park. It’s a popur hangout spot, so there’ll be a good number of people there.”

  “Good. If our pns are to work, then we have to get the masses to lose faith in those pretentious Mages first of all.” Jiho frowned slightly, his fists clenching. “Those hypocrites.”

  Mouse stayed for a few more seconds before sighing and turning around. “I’ll get things underway. You stay here and give the instructions.”

  Jiho’s fists loosened and he gave a nod as a reply. It was not until the door went shut behind him that he added, “Thank you.”