Chima and Tariq were seated in a different section from the rest of the students now—Professor Jung's orders. She had prohibited them from sharing their experiences with the others who were yet to undertake their own assessments, and their seclusion was as a means to make sure that her words were adhered to.
That wasn't a thing of concern for Merlin, though. He had just been glad that they had both returned without actually sustaining any injuries. At the end of the day, the simulation was actually just a simulation, and the worries of the onlookers had been misplaced. Although, from what he'd seen, it seemed like the pain that came from being hit was as real as it got.
He wondered how that functioned. Hakyun was kind enough to put him on one of his many inferences.
"It's most likely the Dungeon crystals. Those things possess unimaginable powers, I tell you," Hakyun said as they watched the current set now taking on the physical assessment. They were the tenth to be precise, since Chima and Tariq. And students were only now becoming comfortable with chatting as they kind of got used to what they were seeing.
However, being comfortable didn't mean that when it got to one's turn, they would ace the assessment without any worries. Evident from all those who had gone in after Chima and Tariq. No one had achieved a good result. They were all still so nervous. And Merlin was no different.
"I wonder how Chima had predicted that the temple was the way out," Merlin said, his hands together as he glanced over at Chima.
The boy was fully concentrated on the ongoing assessment being projected. Unlike Tariq who had won no points for his Cohort or academics, Chima had gotten ten points for Cohort Spearhead, and five points for his academics. He was off to a fiery start. And the cheers he had received from the students of Cohort Spearhead when he had walked in, Tariq leaning on him, was proof of that.
Merlin felt sorry for Tariq, though. The boy had gotten sneers from his Cohort.
He recalled Professor Jung stating that a student would not like it when they pissed off the rest of their Cohort peers; Merlin was getting the gist of that with the physical assessment. He truly hoped he wouldn't be pissing anyone off.
"It's quite simple," Hakyun replied with a smile, likely pleased he had figured out Chima's tactic. Because Merlin refused to believe that it had anything to do with the two students being swallowed by the swamp in their assessment. "Just so you know, I'm only telling you because you're Cohort Spearhead. What Chima did was simply sensing where the mana concentration was highest."
Merlin's brows furrowed. He chose not to dwell on Hakyun implying that if he had been from another Cohort he would not have been told.
"Sensing the mana?" he asked, curious.
"Yes," Hakyun replied, leaning forward slightly. "Remember, it's only when a large number of monsters flock together, or a Dungeon gate is opening up, that an abnormally high mana concentration is present in a single spot. And this assessment states that there are no monsters within the Dungeon. In other words, the only thing that can bring forth a dense amount of mana in one spot would be the gate." He paused, a finger on the bridge of his glasses. "That's my deduction, but I won't know until I try it myself."
So Chima sensed where the mana concentration was the highest in the Dungeon, and deciphered that it was the gate…
Merlin turned his attention back to the platform. The latest of the physical assessment had ended while he and Hakyun talked. His heart rate hastened. He had never sensed mana before. How was that done? Was it possible for him, considering he was a Deficient Mage? Was he going to fail and hold back his Cohort?
His thoughts bothered him. So he decided to ask Hakyun for help in that regard. But before he could, his roommate's face appeared on the projection.
"Han Hakyun of Cohort Spearhead and Nikolai Volkov of Cohort Starveil," Professor Jung announced. "You may make your way to the door."
Merlin sighed. He was then about to wish Hakyun good luck when he noticed the boy's hands shivering slightly.
He's scared… I should try to calm him down…
"Hey—"
Hakyun shot to his feet, repeating the same thing as Chima had done, sending a thumbs up Merlin's way with a grin on his face.
"See you on the other side. I won't fail so make sure you don't too. Got it? Let's make it a flawless victory for Room fifty, and give our Cohort all the points."
Merlin smiled softly. "Sure."
Hakyun glanced at Chima's way, and threw a thumbs up at him too. Then he walked down.
My roommates are stronger than I am… Merlin scoffed at himself. I was worried for nothing.
"Fighting, Hakyun!" a voice bordering on being annoyingly bossy boomed in the silence of the simulation room. Merlin snapped out of his mind and immediately flashed his gaze in Hakyun's direction. His roommate was frozen on the stairs, eyes widened.
What's wrong?
Merlin sought out the person who had called Hakyun's name, wondering if they were a friend. But when he found them, his brows furrowed. A boy, he was. Quite handsome, too, with brown curly hair and brown eyes. Though, what made Merlin frown was the nasty grin he wore on his face. It was anything but friendly.
What's going on here? Merlin thought to himself.
However, he knew no answers would be headed his way. So he could only stare, hoping that whatever it was would not burden Hakyun and pose a problem for him.
Hakyun didn't stand frozen for long. He clenched his fists, and with a hardened gaze—the conceited smile he always wore nowhere to be found—he proceeded forward and into the white door.
A few moments later, Hakyun and his partner, Nikolai Volkov, a boy with blue eyes and salt and pepper hair, materialized in what seemed to be an underground labyrinth. They stood at an intersection, in-between four different paths, with two barred by large portcullises. On the walls around them were sconces, lit with fire, and two button-like stones that seemed as if out of place.
I wonder what sort of assessment this is now? Merlin knotted his fingers, placing them just beneath his chin.
"We should team up," said Nikolai, displeasing his Cohort peers.
Unlike Cohort Spearhead, Starveil was yet to win any points. Every Cohort was vying for first, and teaming up would either mean they won the same number of points, or they lost it all. Either way, Cohort Spearhead would still be ahead.
"Professor Jung never said that only one person could escape and earn points," the boy continued as Hakyun turned to him with a wary look on his face. "I'm not trying to manipulate you or anything; I'm just focusing on the best possible outcome here. If we help each other and butt heads together, we should be able to escape in less time, and we would both earn points. I don't see any reason why we should act otherwise."
Hakyun leaned back slightly and folded his arms. "You're right," he replied. "But every other person before us that tried to cooperate lost and earned no points."
Which was everyone since Chima and Tariq—since none had wanted to end up like Tariq.
"And every other pair that did not cooperate ended up the same," Nikolai argued. "Besides that guy from your Cohort, though."
Hakyun smiled smugly. "Exactly. My Cohort. I have nothing to lose from not cooperating with you. At least if I fail, that way I'll know it's all my fault. And I don't want to be a burden to anyone, or for anyone to be a burden to me. So, no."
"We won't fail," Nikolai stood on his ground, giving Hakyun pause. "If we join hands, we will surely clear it—together. That, I can say for sure."
Hakyun only stared for a short while. And then, as the timer beeped for them to start, he nodded.
"Confident. Yes, I like confident. I'll team up with you."
Merlin was taken aback. That had been a jarring exchange. He had thought Hakyun would keep rejecting the boy, but it seemed he had thought wrong. But now that he looked at the bigger picture, rejecting another's help would have been foolish. Considering Hakyun's character, he had most likely just been testing the boy.
Well, all's well that end's well…
Hakyun and Nikolai turned to scrutinizing their surroundings as the timer counted down. They took note of the walls, the stone buttons, and the paths.
"What do you think?" Hakyun asked Nikolai.
"One of these closed paths is probably the one we're to take, and those stone buttons are their keys," Nikolai responded.
Hakyun glanced over his shoulder at the boy. "Are you guessing?"
Nikolai shrugged. "Unless you want me to let everyone watching know the trick to finding a way out, then, yes, I'm guessing."
One of the students in the simulation room groaned, perhaps hoping that he would have gotten a cheat here.
Merlin chuckled. Being roommates with smartasses had its perks.
Hakyun nodded. "Good. So which path should we take?"
Nikolai moved forward to stand beside Hakyun. He glanced over both portcullises and sighed.
"I'm confused." He pointed at the one to their left. "This one is denser." Then to the one to their right. "This one is lighter, but it still exists. Perhaps as a means to confuse and delay us. Let's go with denser. Maybe?"
"What are those guys talking about?!" someone lost it. "Stop speaking in parables, for goodness sake!"
His tantrums were wasted, though. Hakyun and Nikolai couldn't hear him.
"Alright then," Hakyun replied to Nikolai. Then he moved forward and pushed the stone button of the path to their left. They were caught by surprise then. Instead of the path they had selected to open up, it was the one to their right that did.
"Wait! This is wrong!" Nikolai complained. "Did you push the right button?!"
Hakyun stiffened for a moment there. "Are you blind?!" he snapped. "You saw me push the left stone button. How could I have made a mistake?"
"My bad," Nikolai apologized. "I was just nervous. So what do we do now? Maybe this is the right path?"
Hakyun sighed. "Maybe."
"Then should we go through it?" Nikolai suggested. But Hakyun hesitated. Merlin could see that a lot of things were running through his mind, but he did not have the time for that. Time was running out.
Unlike during Chima and Tariq's assessment, though, no student complained about them carefully analyzing the situation. For one, they too were analyzing, and they had witnessed what rash decisions did within the simulation.
"I'm pushing the other button," Hakyun said. Nikolai did not object. But before Hakyun could do that, a roaring sound echoed from the path they had opened to their left. They knew what it was in an instant. It was the sound of rushing water, coming straight for them. Everyone in the simulation room perked up nervously. The Dungeon was attacking.
Hakyun and Nikolai realized this too, because they immediately pushed the other button at the same time.
"Come on! Come on!" they both hummed at the same time, tapping their legs on the ground as the portcullis to their chosen path took its time rising. The signs of water were already all around them. And then they couldn't wait anymore.
"I'm going in!" Hakyun roared as he bent down and bolted into the path. Nikolai didn't waste a single second as well. He rushed in too.
Hakyun had never struck Merlin as someone who was very athletic, and that was why he was not surprised when Nikolai overtook him in their race for survival. All he could do was clench his fists and hope that Hakyun was not caught by the raging storm headed their way.
The sounds of water crashing against the walls of the labyrinth closed in quickly. Nikolai was well ahead of Hakyun now, both of their breaths ragged, but that did not stop Hakyun from putting his all behind his back. In fact, it kept him sprinting forward, determined not to lose. Everyone in the simulation room watched with bated breaths, perhaps wondering what they would have done better if they were the ones in the labyrinth, or how their assessment would turn out.
A few seconds later, Nikolai arrived at a dead end. A wall loomed before him, bearing stone footholds, as well as chains and shackles, all rising to the blue sky up above. He was still staring, seemingly considering how high they would have to climb when Hakyun caught up to him.
"W-What are you doing?" Hakyun forced words out of his mouth as he bent over, a hand on his knee. "The w-water is almost here… Goodness, I need to workout."
"We have to climb," Nikolai said, panting gently.
Hakyun shoved him forward. "Start climbing then! I need to catch my breath."
Nikolai clenched his chin, grabbed a foothold and pushed himself up. There was only enough space for one at a time, so Hakyun did not really have any choice but to be patient.
He waited and waited, and when Nikolai was a good chunk up to give him space, he moved. But he was only a few footholds up, when the water caught up to them and rapidly began to rise.
Hakyun glanced down and clicked his tongue. Merlin could read what was going through his roommate's mind. Waiting for Nikolai to move before he moved would make them very slow; in other words, the water would reach Hakyun very, very soon.
Hakyun glanced at the shackles and chains hanging from the other side of the wall, beside the footholds. They were arranged in such a way that they could be used to climb; but anyone would know that using them would be very dangerous. He didn't have a choice now, though.
He reached for a chain, and another, then placed his legs into cuffs, moving away from the footholds. Nikolai was so focused on his ascent that he did not notice Hakyun's change of course. However, he soon did; after all, Hakyun gained on him.
"You're crazy!" Nikolai said to Hakyun as soon as he noticed him.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Now hurry up!"
They ended their conversation there. Talking would only force them to expend more energy than was necessary.
But, sure enough, their journey to the top was not so smooth sailing.
The rising water was only a couple of footholds away from them now. And from the tightened expressions they wore, it was obvious that their muscles had begun to cry out. But what made everyone in the simulation room gasp was Hakyun losing his footing on a cuff, forcing his ankle to be bound by it.
Merlin's fingers dug into his skin as he watched, anxious.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Those were his wishes, but getting one's leg out of a cuff was obviously not something that could be done just because one wanted to. And Hakyun was unable to, because the water rose to his shin as he struggled with it, and then to his waist.
Nikolai glanced down then. "Hey! What's wrong?!"
"Keep going!" Hakyun shouted; the water was up to his stomach now. "Keep going and lend me a hand when I get to you?!"
"When you get to me?" Nikolai was confused. "You're trapped!"
"I said keep going!" Hakyun yelled. "Keep going!"
Nikolai pursed his lips and pushed on. "I'll be waiting."
Hakyun turned his attention to the water, gathered in as much air as he could store in his mouth, and released his hold from the chains he held.
"What's he planning?" a girl asked, her voice cracking. "He's not gonna die, is he?"
"It's a simulation, dimwit. Of course he's not gonna die," someone replied, but their tone was anything but confident.
Merlin could only watch on.
Hakyun dived deep into the water, reaching for his trapped ankle. He tried everything he could, but the pressure of the water made it even harder to free himself. He paused for a moment, seemingly having an idea. And then he gritted his teeth and jerked his leg violently to the side with a sharp motion. Sharp inhales escaped the mouths of everyone present as Hakyun's glasses fell from his eyes and bubbles escaped his lips. Merlin closed his eyes for a moment, as if feeling Hakyun's pain. Then he opened it just in time to witness Hakyun giving his ankle one last desperate wrench, forcing it loose from its joint as it slid through the cuff.
"This is too much," someone said. "We just became students yesterday. This physical assessment is too much."
This was the weakness Professor Jung had highlighted at the start of the physical assessment, Merlin realized. And, yes, anyone who felt scared was right to do so. But this was the reality they had to face if they were to become Mages. He wanted to become a Mage, and he had no intention of giving up. And definitely not after watching Chima and Hakyun give it their all.
He clasped his hands below his mouth and watched intently. No shouts this time, just silent expectations.
Hakyun did not disappoint. Even with only a single functioning leg, he propelled his body upward using the rising water and, at the same time, pushing against it.
Merlin was filled with relief when Hakyun's head shot out of the water. And, as promised, Nikolai was there, waiting.
"Grab onto my back," Nikolai voiced as soon as he saw Hakyun. The water was up to his feet now, but he did not seem bothered. Hakyun did as he had been told without complaints. He wrapped his arms around Nikolai's neck, getting into a piggyback, and the Russian boy was off.
He gritted his teeth, mumbling something to himself that couldn't be made out, as he climbed higher and higher, blood dripping from his fingers. And before long they were well above the water, the blue sky a lot closer now.
Merlin pressed his lips into a fine line, his heart pounding with so much intensity that his ears were muffled to the sounds the rest of the students were making. Cheers, perhaps. He couldn't be sure. That was, until Nikolai carried Hakyun out of the labyrinth; then, he heard the voices clearly, and they, really, were cheers. He fell backward into his seat, instantly fatigued.
Thank goodness… Twenty-nine minutes. They finished before the time limit…
When Nikolai walked out with Hakyun through the white door, Hakyun's ankle was perfectly fine. There were a lot of gasps of relief at that. It was proof that despite the horrific incidents going on during the simulation, it was all just that: a simulation.
Hakyun grinned at Merlin with a thumbs up. Then he and Nikolai were given five points each for their Cohorts, and none for academics, before being sent to the section for those who had concluded their tests.
Some students were downright furious about the points Hakyun and Nikolai had received, considering what they had gone through. But they obviously left it only to grumbles. No one wanted to cost their Cohorts points. It was no wonder Professor Jung had said that causing your Cohort to lose points was greatly frowned upon by the students within the Cohort. What they had to do to get them was anything but a piece of cake.
Merlin's head was lowered, fully in his thoughts as he tried to calm his raging heart. But then it was intensified by the names he heard being called next.
"Nora Tyrrell of Cohort Dragon Eye and Kim Yiseo of Cohort Spearhead. To the door."
Merlin's head shot up, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him. But they were not. Walking down opposite stairs was Nora and Kim Yiseo.
His heart skipped a beat.
Why had they been paired together?!