Merlin washed up, took a bottle of water from the fridge, and dropped to the floor in the sitting room, resting his back on the couch behind him as he heaved out a deep sigh.
He had been of the mind to tease Nora back in the White Room. But upon approaching her, and seeing how red her eyes were, he'd held himself back. That would be inhumane of him.
On a more serious note, he had not been expecting her to cry just because his simulation had taken a rather drastic turn; she was particularly sensitive about crying too—especially in public. Which was why he had not pushed on talking to her when she'd asked for some space.
However, it troubled him, even now that he was back in his dorm room. So, to take his mind off of it, he decided to shift his attention to something else.
With his face towel falling from his neck and onto his bare chest, Merlin reached for his phone and scrolled through the words of the System.
[Quest Reward: Random Loot Box]
[Accept?]
[Yes?]/[No?]
Yes…
He wondered what Perk would be coming his way this time. However, the anticipation was not exactly a gripping one, seeing as he had traded his sister's composure for it. But there was nothing he could do about that now. She would be fine in due time. In fact, he was of the mind to call her later tonight. Hopefully, she would have settled down by then.
The loot box that had appeared before him concluded its theatrics, and Merlin's new Perk was made known to him…
[You have been granted a Perk]
[You have obtained the Perk: Reader's Bookmark]
[Perk: Reader's Bookmark: Replicate movements that you have read or seen for a brief amount of time, subject to your understanding of them. Current Intelligence Level is low. Not all movements can be replicated.]
[Note: Perks level up concurrently with your Intelligence Attribute. The higher the Intelligence, the stronger your Perks.]
Reader's Bookmark? Merlin blinked. From its description, it seems it came about because of my awful replication of Kieran's swordsmanship. So, this is basically a crutch for such moments then. I wonder how brief that amount of time is. From the vague knowledge I have, it seems to be about five to ten seconds. It probably differs from movement to movement. He caressed his chin. My understanding of them, huh? So the better I understand the concepts behind the movements, the better I'll be able to replicate them. This is really a nice Perk to have, but, Jesus, I'm not even excited. Ugh… Nora…
And, then, to make matters worse, his mind flew back to his discarding of his ideals back during the assessment. He glanced at his palm and sighed.
Will I really be unable to avoid acting like a Warrior?That was the second time… Now I can't help but wonder if I'm just being childish about the whole thing. He clenched his fist and sighed exasperatedly. I guess I'm too weak to be picking what I don't like and what I do.
"Why are you so gloomy? What's going through your mind?" Chima's voice came from Merlin's side. He turned to see the boy stepping out of his room, rubbing his head with a towel, wearing nothing but baggy joggers.
Merlin had guessed that Chima was ripped… But, damn. He glanced at his own body and chuckled self-effacingly. His figure had seen considerable improvement due to his workouts, but he still had a long way to go, even with the System enhancing his gains.
"Nothing," said Merlin as he turned off his phone. "I was just wondering how I can build my muscles."
Chima raised a brow and flayed his eyes over Merlin. "What are you talking about? You look good. Athletic figures are better than them bulky ones anyway." He headed to the fridge, took a bottle of water, and lay down on the couch, just behind Merlin.
"Huh?" Merlin turned halfway around. "They get the girls!"
Chima almost choked on his water. "Wait. Do you already have someone you like? So quickly? Really?"
Merlin's intention had just been to steer the conversation away from falling onto the System, but it seemed to have backfired. His lips twitched. He honestly didn't know what to say here. Yes, he did like someone, but it was not like he could just reveal that information casually. And what was the point? Chima wouldn't know who she was.
"It's most likely that Kim Minji girl," Hakyun voiced, coming out of his own room. It was noon, and, yet, the boy was dressed in his comic book pajamas—with the cap too.
Merlin frowned. Not because of the way Hakyun was dressed, but because of what he'd said. It was definitely not her.
"Oh." Chima's eyes widened. "Really, Merlin? I thought you'd be interested in…uhm…more dominant girls, I guess? Kim Minji seems too soft."
Merlin shot to his feet. "I-I never said I liked her." He didn't exactly understand why their words were infuriating him, but he felt like he should clarify things here before it went even further. "I like someone, but it's definitely not Kim Minji."
Hakyun scoffed, nudging his glasses upward. "Yeah, yeah. Look at him, all beet red. Teenage hormones. Pfft…" He stretched a hand at Chima. "Water."
Chima frowned and jerked a thumb at the fridge. "There's a whole lot in there."
"Too far," replied Hakyun without a hint of shame.
"No. Get yours." Chima gulped down what was left of the water in his bottle.
Hakyun clicked his tongue. "Cheapskate." He walked up to the fridge and took his. "So? Are we gonna talk about the physical assessment?"
Merlin wouldn't lie, he felt like the conversation had moved on from the topic of girls far too quickly. Was he sad? He almost laughed. Well, he had no intentions of being the one bringing it back. That would just make him look desperate.
He returned to the floor and crossed his legs once more. Hakyun sat on a stool in the kitchen area.
"What for?" Chima asked, rolling onto his side and pulling out his phone.
"What do you mean 'what for'?" Hakyun scowled. "Merlin has to tell us how he was moving like that. It was almost like he was a sword saint!"
"You're exaggerating," Merlin laughed sheepishly. He was barely a sword peasant, talk less of a saint. Those moves of his were horrendous. And why were they using fantasy terms to discuss?
"I'm somewhat interested in how you threw that sword, though," Chima chimed in. "It had a lot of force behind it, just like back in the exam."
Merlin's expression froze. He couldn't explain how he did that; it was all because of the System.
"I believe that knowing each other's strengths will help us complement one another better," Hakyun started, his tone suddenly a lot more serious, that Merlin and Chima were forced to listen attentively. "I want to tell you guys about myself. We're in the same Cohort, and I believe this is the bare minimum."
He dipped his fingers underneath his glasses and pinched his eyes.
"I, Han Hakyun, am a D-Class Mage."
Merlin's lips parted slightly as his eyes widened. Compared to him, a Deficient Mage, Hakyun was a lot, lot better. But, from the boy's tone of speech, Merlin could see that he was not pleased with his Class. He felt like he should say something here, but he was not exactly sure what. So he remained silent.
"Your Hex?" Chima asked almost impassively. Merlin was about to shoot the boy a glare for being insensitive, when he noticed his expression. Chima was not indifferent to Hakyun's words, he was just trying to better the atmosphere by moving on quickly.
"Earth," Hakyun replied with a shrug. "I know. I know. Nothing special—"
"Are you kidding me?!" Chima sat upright. "I would trade my Fire for Earth any day!"
"You're a Fire Mage?!" Hakyun exclaimed. "Argh! Let's exchange!"
Chima shook his head. "No, can do."
Hakyun jerked back slightly in shock. "What? But you just said you preferred Earth."
"Yeah. But if it means giving something as dangerous as Fire to you, then I'll pass. You're too careless to wield such a dangerous element."
Hakyun's head swelled so much Merlin almost thought he was on the verge of exploding. And, at that, he and Chima's bickering intensified, leaving Merlin in the background, once again.
Merlin settled into his thoughts, realizing that this was the part where he mentioned that he had the ability to cancel magic. He was not exactly bothered by the fact that he had to reveal his abilities, it was just that even after what Hakyun had said, he would still have to keep a particular secret from them. The fact that he had a System. They were his roommates, and mates of his Cohort. He felt like he shouldn't be lying to them, but he was not so sure about revealing something so delicate to them yet. He had not even told Sunny and Janeth, and he had known them for longer.
Merlin heaved out a sigh.
"I can cancel magic," he said suddenly, putting a pause to Chima and Hakyun's tussle of words as they shifted their attention onto him.
Hakyun narrowed his eyes, obviously uncertain if he had heard correctly. "What did you just say?"
Merlin bit his lower lip softly. "I said I can cancel magic. And, before you ask, I don't know why I can. I am just able to. That's all I have to offer in that regard."
Hakyun glanced at Chima who nodded. Then he jumped up from his stool, an expression of amazement etched on his face.
"Woah! That's really cool, Merlin!" he exclaimed, startling Merlin. "Wait. Wait. How come? How could you have such an ability? Is it something unique to Deficient Mages?" He paced around the room, his thoughts whirling so much they leaked out and made Merlin feel dizzy. Then he snapped his fingers. "That makes sense! If Deficient Mages are unable to cast magic, then it makes sense that they're able to use anti-magic." Merlin was glad someone finally reasoned in that manner. "But… You're the only Mage that has that ability, right? I've never heard of its existence before." Merlin nodded. "So that's why you got admitted." He paused. "Oh, not to discredit your efforts during the exam. I just feel like it played a hand. You know, the Academy would want to study you, and—"
"I know," Merlin cut in, unsure why Hakyun was so quick to believe what he had said. Sunny had doubted for like a minute; yeah, he had come around rather quickly as well, though. But that was besides the point.
"Can I see?" Hakyun added, nudging the rims of his glasses as his eyes glistened beneath them.
Merlin sighed. A little demonstration wouldn't hurt, but he was not really in the mood at the moment.
"Maybe later," he said as he stood up and grabbed his bottle of water on the table. "I'm going to have a nap. I'm exhausted."
"O-Oh okay," Hakyun replied stiltedly, obviously wondering if he had said something wrong.
But that wasn't it. Merlin was just really exhausted. After all, keeping secrets could be quite tasking, and he had a nagging feeling that very, very soon, he would be keeping a whole plethora of them. He feared for his mental health when that time came.