ARandomTurtle

  Practical csses were joint csses unlike the theory csses. And, as such, all the first year students from Css A to D were seated in the White Room just like they had been during the day of their physical assessment.

  The practical course they were scheduled to have was Grimoire sparring, which basically involved them taking a crack at each other with their spells. This way they figured out the extent of their abilities and worked to better themselves from there onwards.

  Professor Jung had told Merlin that he would be made the center of the practical csses, and as such, he too was seated in the White Room. However, he wondered how that would py out. Would he just keep deconstructing everyone’s spells? But that would stifle their personal growth, because such a system was only beneficial to him. It was not like monsters who could use anti-magic existed. And the battle proficiency that would arise from each Mage taking on themselves would become nonexistent.

  It was not his pce to worry about it, though, so he put aside the thought almost immediately.

  At the same time, he also had a lump in his throat. And that was because Grimoire sparring css wasn’t supervised by Professor Jung but by the one professor he had made up his mind to avoid: Professor Dmitri.

  And that was not all…

  “She keeps stealing gnces at you,” Hakyun noted, nudging Merlin’s arm with his elbow. “I swear, when you tell her the truth, she’s going to cry for days and hate you after.”

  Merlin turned slightly and saw that Hakyun wasn’t lying. Sofia was seated far away from them, but she craned her neck occasionally to steal a peek at him. And whenever their eyes met, she would smile. Merlin sighed.

  “I warned you,” said Chima. “You should have cleared the air when you had the chance.”

  “I just don’t know how to tell her,” Merlin replied. “I really don’t want to talk about it, though. We should focus on our practical.”

  “Aye, aye, captain,” Hakyun snorted.

  Merlin was gd that things were back to normal between him and his roommates. His mood had been so sour after he had returned from his hellish date with Janeth that he had just ignored them completely that night. He had spoken to them the next day, but it had just been filled with him reliving his experience with the Ice Wyverns, including the mystery dy—he saw no reason to hide her from them—and how he had become the talk of the Academy.

  Chima and Hakyun were no doubt as curious as the rest of the students as to how his movements seemed like something out of an action movie. But since they had trained with him already, they were willing to suspend their disbelief when he told them that he couldn’t understand how he did what he did. He still couldn’t bring himself to tell them about the System.

  Well, their whole conversation had ended with them patting him on the back after he had told them about Janeth rejecting him. Which he appreciated, because, if he was to be honest, he had been halfway to bawling his eyes out.

  “…And you will earn both academic and Cohort points for your performance. That should be enough to tell you to take things seriously and give your best. Be aware that I’m not as generous as the rest of the professors when it comes to assigning points,” Professor Dmitri closed his expnation of how the Grimoire sparring was to go.

  It was pretty much easy to understand. Two students squared off against each other, duel-style, and the winner got all the points. Of course, the loser could earn some, but that was dependent on how well they performed.

  The spar was also not going to be done within the simution room, unlike the physical assessment. Apparently, the podium Professor Dmitri stood on could be transformed into something reminiscent of the training areas in their dorms. It would also bring the effect of the simution room into py, where the students could go all out with their magic and not sustain any injury once they had left the stage. However, restrictions were still imposed. They could not go completely for the kill—which should be common knowledge.

  Merlin wondered how the whole simution thing functioned. He was well aware of the powers of the Dungeon crystals, his concern was in how it was applied. However, he was studying to be a Mage—technically—not an Engineer, so those courses were not offered in the Academy he was at.

  It was something he could research about in his free time, though, if he remembered, so he did not let it bother him.

  And, besides, even if he didn’t bother to stop his mind from wandering, Professor Dmitri was not about to let that happen.

  “Merlin Tyrrell. Stand up,” Professor Dmitri voiced, nudging his gsses onto the bridge of his nose with that apathetic expression of his.

  Murmurs filled the White Room at that, and Merlin began to wonder if he had done something wrong unintentionally and when all this would end.

  “Ohhh… Popur. Popur,” Hakyun joked, but Merlin paid him no mind.

  He rose to his feet with a dark expression, waiting patiently for Professor Dmitri to state his crimes.

  He was pleasantly surprised, however, when the topic of discussion wasn’t about how he had no pce in the css, or how he should do well enough to keep his mouth shut.

  “As you all know already, Merlin is different from the type of Mage you are common with,” Professor Dmitri began, silencing the rowdy murmurs of the students as all the attention drew towards him. “He was born a Deficient Mage, and, perhaps because of that, he became able to use something we have evaluated as anti-magic.”

  A ruckus broke out in the room. Those who had been disbelieving of Merlin’s capabilities, now having their doubts settled. Eyes gnced at Merlin where he stood, but he tried his best not to crumble beneath the weight of the pressure they came with.

  “Silence,” Professor Dmitri stamped his foot, and everyone shut up. “Because of his…mysterious…ability, we have decided that he’ll be made the focus during your practicals. In simpler terms, he’ll be pced on a greater pedestal than the rest of you.”

  The room was silent for a second, then all hell broke loose.

  Prestige Academy was the second ranked Mage Academy in the world, which meant that the sorts of Mages granted admission into it were cut from the cloth of elites. The presence of people like Lee Jaehyun, Kim Yiseo, Park Yuri, and Choi Sangook was enough proof of that. And Merlin was certain that they were not the only elite students here. So putting a Deficient Mage on a higher pedestal than sons and daughters of the elite members of society, and even A-Css and S-Css Mages sounded bsphemous to the ears of almost everyone present. And it only worsened the animosity that was already seeping his way.

  He couldn’t bme them, though. They had no idea why he was being made the center of focus, and the Academy wasn’t pnning on telling them. Putting such a pressure on the students early on was like a double-edged sword. Not everyone was like Merlin. It could progress their growth, or dwindle it. The fact that a rge number of the students present were still concerned about who was made the focus of practicals was enough proof that most of them were not ready to take on things like the Cataclysm. They needed to be shaped correctly first.

  A hand went up amidst the commotion. It was Park Yuri’s. Professor Dmitri nodded for her to speak her thoughts.

  “I’m sure the Academy has its reasons for their decision, so I don’t have a problem with him being the center of focus. What I do want to know is how the points would be distributed as a result.”

  Valid question. Merlin was in support. He was not about to be receiving handouts just because he was the center of focus and he had to tackle the Cataclysm on the front line. If something was to be done, then it had to be done right.

  “Your worry is unwarranted as the Academy does not pn on doubling Merlin’s scores just because he can make use of anti-magic,” Professor Dmitri replied. “I cannot speak on behalf of other professors as to how they will distribute the points during their supervision. But this is how mine will go…” He turned his attention to Merlin. “You may come down.” Merlin inhaled and exhaled, and as he walked down the flight of stairs, Professor Dmitri continued, “For today’s Grimoire sparring practical css, Merlin will take on three of the rest of you, one at a time, while the others will duel against themselves, magic to magic. As for how the points will be allocated, I’ll leave that up to Merlin himself. Out of the three he’ll face, he will make his choice as to which duel would determine his points assignment. Of course, that’s before it starts rather than after. That way, things bance out. He only earns points for a single duel, just like the rest of you.”

  Merlin’s reaction was a tame version of the rest of his mates, but he too was amazed as to how Professor Dmitri managed to even things out. And not only because of the points, but so that he could put his anti-magic into practice, while still leaving room for magic on magic duels. He still wasn’t on equal footings with the man, but he respected his sharp intellect.

  “Now,” Professor Dmitri started as Merlin arrived before him. “Who are the three that want to take on our resident Deficient Mage?”

  Merlin was taken by surprise a quick second ter, his brows drawing together as more than half the css raised their hands. Notable contestants were, surprisingly, Nora—what did she want?!—Kim Yiseo, Chima, Lee Jaehyun, Park Yuri, herself, the annoying brat, Choi Sangook, who had the shadow of a smile on his face, and Nikoi.

  Okay, Merlin wouldn’t deny, he was confused, and that showed with the way he blinked rapidly. Some of the people who had their hands up, he had not been expecting. Thankfully, there were a few who didn’t want to fight their friends, like Hakyun, Kim Minji, Sofia, and, well, he wouldn’t call her a friend, but Oh Jihye. And their actions were the sensible ones. After all, some of those who had raised their hands were in Cohort Spearhead. Granted, the practical was not one that discriminated between Cohorts, but they should have put aside their personal quests and considered the Cohort's instead.

  Merlin couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. At the end of the day, there was nothing he could do about it.

  “Hmmm…” Professor Dmitri nudged his gsses upwards. “A lot of hands. You have racked up quite the fanbase, Deficient Mage.”

  Merlin would have loved to tell the man to stop calling him that, but it seemed like he was getting used to it already. Besides, it was not like the name bit.

  “However,” Professor Dmitri continued, “there can be only three. So, without further ado, I’ll make the selections.”