Analyzing and deconstructing spells, Merlin would claim that there were probably only a handful of people better than him at it.
Three years of his life he had devoted to doing just that. He had studied and broken down every comprehensible spell possible, becoming well versed in what each entailed to function and what disturbed their resonance.
However, despite his unwillingness to hang up his boots, his favorite novel, Singularity Mage, written by The Sleeping Jacket, had come to an end, and with it his participation in crafting the protagonist's system. In other words, the reason he'd had to engage in such an act was gone.
A thousand and three hundred chapters of my life… Merlin glanced at the homepage button visible where the next button should have been. It really has ended. He sighed, almost despondently. It wouldn't be absurd to say that he was feeling empty at the moment—which was honestly weird.
For one, he was the only reader who had followed the interactive novel past chapter five, which was a testament to the work's quality. It was concerning that he had enjoyed it so much. But he had. And to the point that he sometimes wondered why readers had given up on the work.
What was there not to love? A protagonist from a hick-town that had so little mana pool that he could cast no spells, and his rise to becoming the greatest Mage ever. And the readers were given free rein to decide what and what skills he could gain. It made up for the perfect journey.
Sure, Merlin wouldn't say the beginning chapters weren't rough, but that was to be expected of a webnovel dependent on the input of readers. It would take some time for the author to balance it all.
Well, I'm glad that I gave it a chance. It was a good way to see things from a different perspective. Ah! I should post a comment.
Merlin wanted to become a Mage, to be able to cast spells, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy reading from the viewpoint of a protagonist who couldn't. He'd loved the experience, and he made sure it showed in his comment.
"Woah! Look at him go! Hacking his life away at his screen. At this rate you might just win the global prize for the most devoted reader of a web novel," Nora, his twin sister, and the most insane woman he'd had both the pleasure and displeasure of knowing, bickered. Her headphones sat atop her head and she tapped away fiercely at her phone's screen.
It was Tower Raider. What a hypocrite, considering what she'd just said.
"It's that novel again, right?" she continued.
"Piss off," Merlin sneered at her, subduing his urge to pull her hair. He instead clicked the send button for his comment and leaned backwards on his seat.
They were seated in the Consortium Guild's waiting area, all around them people with varying emotions, stemming from what the results of their Mage Class evaluation had been, that it all felt so disorienting. Merlin could only take a deep breath and exhale, seeking anything at all to prevent his mind from spiraling into negative thoughts.
It had only been twenty years ago since the cataclysm had come to earth, bringing with it Dungeons, Towers, monsters, and most of all, magic. Humanity was still adapting to the sudden change in the world. Guilds were created to take control of such situations, as well as Mage Academies, in order to train the Enkindled—those who had awakened mana—on how to control their powers. This way they could join in the protection of the world from the dangers of the Dungeons and Towers.
One would have thought that humans would be scared of tampering with something they had no idea about, but it was otherwise. Everyone wanted to become a Mage, even if it meant they would risk their lives fighting monsters. As long as they could create fireballs out of thin air, or blast water from their palms, it barely mattered. Well, that and the riches that came with it. An average Mage could earn as much as a renowned cardiologist. That was dependent on their Guild, though.
Merlin wouldn't lie, he was one of them. But his reason for wanting to become a Mage wasn't that shallow.
He had been yet to be born at the time of the cataclysm, but he had seen videos recorded out of panic on the internet. And calling it bad would be an understatement. If anything like that happened again, who else but him would protect his family?
"I've been wondering…" Nora began, pulling Merlin out of his thoughts. "Aren't we being too ambitious? Maybe we should have had the evaluation in London instead."
Merlin stared at his sister, then sighed. "What would that change?"
She eyed him for just a brief second, not willing to sacrifice her game for the conversation. "Everything, muppet." Merlin's nose wrung up. "We're foreigners here. We probably won't get any special treatment if we fail the evaluation or something. Why South Korea?"
Why's she hoping for any special treatment in the first place? Merlin thought, but kept it to himself. After all, he kind of understood his sister's point of view.
They were English, not Korean. The best thing for them would have been to have had their evaluation in London and attend a Mage Academy there. In hindsight, they were just coming to steal the spots of the Korean natives.
But—not even considering that they still had the Academy's assessment to get through—they had managed to pass its written exam; the second ranked best Mage Academy in the world: Prestige Academy. Well, managed was for him alone. He had barely scraped through, if he was being honest, while Nora had scored in the top percentile. But that was besides the point. They were not being ambitious. If they got in, then it was solely due to their abilities.
"Being ambitious would mean sitting in the Consortium in the United States instead," Merlin replied.
The United States boasted having the best Mage Academy in the world; they had both chosen to try for the second on the ranks instead since they'd doubted if their skills were good enough for number one. And yet, here they were, still worried.
Nora clicked her tongue. "We shouldn't have listened to Mom," she continued, all of Merlin's words lost to the wind. "If only we had done our evaluation first, we would already know where we stood and if getting in was even at all possible. That would have saved us the registration fee."
Merlin shrugged. "Eh… You're right, but Mom was too." Nora rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not lying, though, am I? If we had done the evaluation in London, we would still have to convert our IDs into the accepted ones in Korea, which could possibly delay us. Think about it rationally, not while being clouded by your nervousness. After all, we're only getting Novice IDs for now, not the actual Mage IDs."
"Who told you I'm nervous?!" Nora snarled.
Merlin deadpanned. "Yeah. Sure. You aren't." He waved his hand dismissively.
"Tch. You really get on my nerves."
Of course I do. Who else would if your own brother didn't? Merlin smiled, prodding her playfully with his elbow, and receiving a snarl in return.
At that moment his phone beeped.
A notification. Finally.
He turned on his screen and saw that it was a reply to his comment. His heart skipped a beat.
He'd received replies to his comments from The Sleeping Jacket before, but this one was special. It was the last for this story. And he was hoping he had not typed in something that had ruined the whole relationship he'd built between himself and the author.
Merlin clicked on the notification, bringing up Singularity Mage's last chapter's page, and then its comment section.
[Hi, thebesttwin, many thanks for the heartfelt comment and being with me all through this journey. Yes, you're right. It did get tiring sometimes, but it was you who kept me going. I'll be honest, I had thought about stopping countless times, but witnessing you happily craft the system and skills of Kieran with me was more than enough to make me push those thoughts aside. I really appreciate you, and I want to compensate you for the time you've spent with this below par author on this journey. Please reply with your mail if you're willing to receive my gift.
Also, I think you deserve to know this. I'll be starting the draft of my new work today, perhaps in an hour or so. I don't have a title or an ending planned out yet, as I'm thinking about letting the story flow on its own. But I'm confident you'll see it through—if you choose to be a part of it, that is. Well, that's all. I'll be locking this comment section before I begin the new work, so do reply before then. The Sleeping Jacket.]
Huh? Merlin's eyebrows fell down. A gift? But I did not type all that for one. He lowered his chin. He also said he's starting a new work. Will it be interactive too?
"Hey!" Nora pinched Merlin, startling him from his whirling thoughts.
"What?"
"Why'd you space out like that?! They've just announced your number! You're 304!"
Merlin glanced at the tag hanging from his neck. "Ah! Thank you. Wish me luck!"
Nora curled her fist and bobbed her head at him. "Good luck!"
He jumped up to his feet and sped off towards the evaluation room, quickly typing in his mail before putting off his phone once again.
The evaluation room was rather empty. All that was in it was a desk of the same pristine whiteness as the room itself, bearing the logo of the Consortium—a blue and white chip-like hexagon—and the attendant sitting behind a monitor.
The attendant was a young man with rectangular glasses and a weary smile on his face. He looked quite tired.
White-collared jobs really weren't for the faint of heart. Merlin could only hope that they had shifts here. Fainting from exhaustion was not the best of experiences. Not like he'd experienced it, though.
"Good afternoon," the attendant greeted stiltedly in English, having noticed he was a foreigner. "You may come over here."
"Right," Merlin nodded, replying in Korean, causing the man to flinch briefly before chuckling self-deprecatingly. He'd just been here a couple of days, but he'd gotten used to this already. "Good afternoon to you too," Merlin continued. "I can speak in Korean, so there's no need for the English if it's uncomfortable for you." After all, that was the bare minimum required of him if he wanted to attend Prestige Academy.
"Ah. Many thanks. Then, you may place your palm over here for the evaluation," the man said as soon as Merlin arrived before the table.
There was a palm scanner integrated directly into the desk. Now that Merlin was closer, he saw that the monitor and its keyboard were also integrated into the desk. Such advanced technology, that. Obviously it was due to the magical crystals that could be harvested from Dungeons and Towers.
He obliged and placed his palm on the scanner after a deep breath. A beep sounded, and the attendant looked up at him. He shivered.
"Is there any problem," asked Merlin.
"No," replied the attendant, chuckling again. "It's just that you have a very peculiar name. Merlin Tyrrell."
Merlin's tense shoulders relaxed. He chuckled as well, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah. I get that a lot. My mother thinks of me as her little magician, so she named me that."
The attendant nodded. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that no matter what results may come from your evaluation, you should not let it affect your future. You are an Enkindled; that in itself is something to be proud of."
Merlin smiled softly, the tension in his body easing a little bit. "Is that part of the usual protocol?"
The attendant shook his head. "Not quite," he said as he tapped his keyboard and a blue light shone beneath Merlin's hand. The evaluation had begun. "I just thought I should say it."
"Well, thank you," replied Merlin. "You also look exhausted. When does your shift end? It is in shifts, right?"
"Yes. It is in shifts. And I get off in an hour or so," the attendant replied. "Many thanks for the concern."
"You're welcome."
At that moment the light of the palm scanner went off and a beep sounded from the monitor. Merlin tensed again, and it got even worse when the attendant's brows pulled into each other before looking up at him.
"Uhm…" began the attendant, his words not exactly fumbling, but he was seemingly hesitating to say them.
It would hurt, but being a D-Class Mage didn't warrant such a look, right?
"So?" Merlin shrugged slightly as he took his hand off the scanner. "What's wrong?"
The attendant sighed. "Merlin Tyrrell. Forgive me for saying this, but…"
Those words…
Merlin's eyes focused on the man's lips as it moved up and down. Time suddenly slowed, and he could hear the pounding of his own heartbeats.
No, he thought. Please, no. Anything but that.
"…You're a Deficient Mage."