Merlin was not a picky eater. His mother always teased him, using how he'd always competed with Po, their tabby cat, for her food when he was little. He also wouldn't delude himself that he wasn't hungry. In fact, saying he was famished would be an understatement. However, he could not muster up an appetite. And there was only one reason why even a spoon of the sumptuous food placed before him was yet to end up in his mouth.
You're a Deficient Mage…
Merlin took a deep breath and sighed. It was his fourth at the table, and perhaps his hundredth since he and Nora had left the Consortium Guild. Which was why Nora losing it was justified.
Her spoon clattered on her plate.
"Merlin!" She pursed her lips. "That's enough already. It's not the end of the world, you know? Eat your food or I'm calling Mom."
"Easy for the A-Class Mage to say~" Merlin pushed his spoon once more into the hill of chicken curry on his plate, then poured all he'd scooped back. Rinse and repeat.
Merlin had always been good at handling disappointments. He'd lived through countless ones while in middle school, be it asking a crush out, or trying his luck at a lotto. There were even deeper ones like his parents not coming home for his birthday, but that pertained to both him and Nora, so he didn't want to include that.
His parents were surgeons, and so they spent a good chunk of their time within the medical wards. He had never been annoyed at them for missing a couple of birthdays—they were saving lives, and he respected it—but he had still been disappointed nonetheless. Perhaps that was why becoming a Deficient Mage did not fill him with so much disgust that he hated himself. It was almost like he had been expecting it.
Well, not exactly, but he had not really thought of ending up an S-Class Mage—not even becoming a C-Class Mage had crossed his mind.
But…a Deficient Mage?
If he was to be honest, he was just one step away from bawling right here, in front of Nora. He couldn't recall the last time he had done that, but this seemed like a good time to relive old and distant memories. Playing with his food was what was keeping him sane. And even though he didn't know why, at least it kept him from crying. That was what mattered.
He sighed again. Nora dropped her spoon once more.
"Can you stop being all gloomy?" she said. "It's not yet put to paper that you're not gonna be admitted. We still have the assessment to get through."
"Which a Deficient Mage has never passed in the ten years history of Prestige Academy," he replied in an instant. "I'll be no different, Nora."
"You don't know that."
"I'm the only one who knows that."
Silence descended upon the table. Merlin wondered if it was because of his pun, considering the situation, but… Eh; what did it matter?
"Whatever." Nora rolled her eyes, as though she'd had enough. Merlin knew his sister, though. All he needed to do was just sigh once more. And as he did, her spoon fell from her hand again. "Look, Merlin. I'll only say this for the last time. Eat your food, and after that, go into your room and fill in your details for the assessment. What's the point in giving up without trying?"
Merlin glanced at her and clicked his tongue. "You sure sound like Mom. I wonder if you've noticed that?"
"Just…eat," she clicked her tongue. "And if you sigh one more time, I swear, I'll shove my spoon up your nose. You know me. I'm not kidding."
Merlin raised a brow at her, his expression plain. Because of what she'd said, he in fact wanted to sigh again. Her expression when she was angry was making him feel a little bit better.
Maybe just one more time…
But as he readied himself to do that, his phone, face-down on the table, vibrated. He reached for it.
"No phones at the table," Nora warned, her feline eyes on him like she was a predator. "Where are your manners?"
"What if it's Mom?" Merlin shrugged.
"You've been ignoring her ever since your evaluation. Also, we both know she calls, never sends messages," Nora said. "And besides, she told me already that she would be busy for like the next hour or two. So drop it."
Merlin snorted, but he was not giving up. "Then Dad?"
"Merlin…"
"Oh, please." He turned the phone, ignoring the rest of Nora's grumbles. The notification that met his eyes made him drop his spoon completely, his eyes widening.
[1 Notification from thesleepingjacket]
"This is why I said you should put it down!" Nora voiced; Merlin almost thought she would flip over the table with how angry she sounded. "You won't eat anymore now, will you?"
"Shhh…" Merlin put a finger over his lips. "You're bothering me. I'm trying to read here."
"I'm telling Mom."
He didn't reply. He had opened the mail, and his attention was fully on its contents.
[Hi, thebesttwin, The Sleeping Jacket here. Now, I'm not certain how this will function, but I am sure that it should have no faults. Although, even if it does, I believe that you'll be able to handle it. You helped build it, after all]…
Huh? What's he talking about?
[My gift to you for keeping up with my humble work for a thousand-plus chapters is Kieran's System]…
Merlin's brows fell.
[Now, it has been reset to its base and somewhat modified for realism, but it still follows the same rule and pattern as it did in the novel. You can refer to this if you're ever stuck: 🔗 1 Attachment, since I've decided to make Singularity Mage no longer visible to the masses. Anyway, I once again say many thanks for your support, likes, and comments. And I trust that you will make the most of my gift. Do not reply to this mail, or send any. Yours truly, The Sleeping Jacket. 🔗 1 link.]
Merlin expression tightened. He reread the mail over and over again. But no matter how many times he did, the only thing he could think was how absurd the words before him were.
Click a link on the net? Yeah, right.
He was about to put his phone down when he suddenly paused. He reread the mail once more, this time with a different perspective, and his thoughts split into two separate entities.
Maybe I should click it? he asked no one but himself.
Merlin was wary, and rightfully so, too. Yes, he was a fan of the author, but… They were technically strangers. Links were dangerous things on the internet. He'd even read an article once where a man was arrested for spying on someone through a link. Just a click and a spy cam had been installed on the latter's device.
But then, was he to just ignore the mail? In a world where monsters and magic existed, was it really impossible for something like a System to exist?
Eh… It's probably just my desperation speaking. There's no way this is possible.
Is it, though? What if it's real?
He shook his head. I doubt it.
He touched his chin. Maybe I should just check it out? At most I'll just be disappointed again.
Merlin repeated those actions of his for a few more seconds, unable to decide what he should do. Nora was probably thinking he had lost his mind.
Soon later, he clenched his fist, tired of chasing his thoughts.
From what he could understand, the attachment seemed to be the novel. He could check that first.
Merlin clicked the attachment and it really was the novel—in a pdf format.
Closing the page, his eyes fell onto the link next.
This must be a joke… And a bad one, at that. Merlin thought, still fighting with the part of him that wanted to believe in the existence of a System, and that he was the one out of billions of people to receive it.
However, the part of him that didn't want to live as a Deficient Mage won in the end. And if the words on his screen had even a slim chance of being true, then he would take it.
What more did he have to lose?
He clicked it. And his screen went black.
Merlin's chin quivered after a couple of seconds had passed and there were no changes.
He'd had his phone to lose.
Merlin tapped and tapped, more and more curses piling up at the tip of his tongue for every time his thumb landed on his screen. But nothing came up. His phone was gone.
He lowered his head, his chin almost touching his chest. This… This was the height of it all. What a shitty day he'd had.
"Merlin?" Nora called from across the table, her voice suddenly low and layered with concern. "You good?"
No. No, he wasn't. And he couldn't hold back his tears anymore; they rolled out.
"Hey, Merlin, are you crying?!" Nora shot up from her seat, and hurried to his side. But before she could say one more word, a bright light shone from Merlin's phone, touching both their faces.
Merlin opened his eyes; before him was a loading icon on his phone's screen. He watched it, unsure if this meant that his phone had not been destroyed or hacked, or if it meant that it had. It was not until the loading icon disappeared, and a greeting message popped up, did the tightness on his face loosen.
[Welcome, thebesttwin. Please place your thumb below to update your Bio-Data]
"The best twin?" Nora sounded perplexed. Merlin was more focused on what was going on with his phone.
There was a thumb scanner just below the pop-up message. Merlin hesitated for a bit, but he realized in an instant that it was probably a waste of time. There was no 'return' option on his screen, which meant that the only way was forward. And besides, what was the point in turning back now?
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and placed his thumb on the scanner. There was a beep, and the words changed.
[Please wait a moment]
A rolling icon appeared; and as it went round and round, Nora watched, just like Merlin—silent.
Hadn't she rushed to his side to console him? She was doing a very poor job at that.
Beep.
[Bio-Data Updated]
[Your User Interface will be made available to you in a few seconds]
[Welcome, Merlin Tyrrell]
Almost every of Merlin's doubts faded away in an instant at the appearance of those words. And because of that, his question changed.
Who in the world was The Sleeping Jacket?
But he did not possess the answer to that question. And his screen forcing him to take a sharp breath with a display he recalled from the novel, Singularity Mage, appearing before him, did not let him have even a moment to infer.
[BIO-DATA]
NAME: Merlin Tyrrell
AGE: 17
MAGE CLASS: Deficient
SYSTEM CLASS: ???
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: LV. 4
AGILITY: LV. 6
INTELLIGENCE: LV. 2
PERCEPTION: LV. 5
RESILIENCE: LV. 4
[PERKS]:
Empty…
Merlin couldn't believe his eyes as he read through the words on his screen.
"This is… real?" he muttered. "I have a System? Is this even supposed to be possible?"
"Huh?" Nora was lost. "Wait what are you talking—"
Her words were cut off when a golden loot box and a pop up appeared on Merlin's screen, blurring his User Interface.
[You have received a Bonus. Click the Loot Box to obtain]
Merlin didn't hesitate. He clicked on the box. He then watched it swirl as its red ribbons loosened. As soon as its theatrics were done, a new pop up appeared.
[You have been granted a Perk]
[You have obtained the Perk: Reader Mage]
[Perk: Reader Mage: Analyze and deconstruct spells, rendering magic completely ineffective against you. Current Intelligence Level is significantly low. Not all spells can be deconstructed.]
[Note: Perks level up concurrently with your Intelligence Attribute. The higher the Intelligence, the stronger your Perks.]
[Quests: There are two types of Quests, Blue and Red Quests. Blue Quests are simply quests given by the System to provide you with Attribute Points. Red Quests, on the other hand, are much more intense, and Loot Boxes containing Perks are obtained from completing them. You can also generate your own Red Quests, as long as the required conditions are met.]
"Wait, Reader Mage?! That's the skill I created for Kieran?! And Quests? Is that the modification The Sleeping Jacket was talking about?"
"Kieran?" Nora asked, now even more lost. "Who's Kieran?"
Almost as though Merlin's phone could now read the optic nerves of his eyes, as soon as he got to the last word of the pop ups on his screen, new ones came into view, pushing the old ones out of sight, and causing him to leave Nora hanging.
[Attribute Points (A.P): Points required to level up your Attributes. They can be obtained by participating in Blue Quests]
Merlin did not have a moment to breathe or arrange his thoughts as then came another pop up.
[Do you wish to link to your User Interface?]
This one seemed to require his input, so he did not have to rush. He relaxed a bit and turned to Nora, who just stood there with a blank look.
She had seen everything that had appeared on his screen, so it was only normal that she was confused. After all, he too was confused.
"Are you gonna answer me now?" she asked, noticing his staring, despite her eyes still anchored on his phone.
"Besides telling you that Kieran is the protagonist of that novel I read so much, I don't think I have any other answers to your questions," replied Merlin. He waved his phone. "I don't understand what's going on here either."
"It says you received a System," she said, like he didn't know that much already. "Is that even possible?"
"Don't ask me. How would I know?"
Nora paused, staring at her brother so intently. Then she sighed. "Wipe your tears." And turned away.
Merlin pressed his lips together. He could not believe that he had really cried in front of Nora. He wiped what was left of his tears with his sleeve immediately, and quickly moved his attention back to his screen and the words on it.
"Should I link to the User Interface?" he asked.
Nora seemed surprised at first that he wanted her opinion on the matter. What did she take him for? He always tried to be rational when needed.
"Well, if you really want my honest opinion. We don't know anything about this stuff. You shouldn't go tampering with it, you know?"
"Yes," he said—but not to Nora.
[Affirmed]
[User Interface can still be accessed through your device if you so wish]
[Linking…]
[Successful]
"You fool! Why did you even ask me if you weren't gonna listen?"
Merlin felt a warm sensation, snuggly and serene, caressing his eyes as his phone reverted back to its original state. The only difference was that there was an app with the icon of a blue eye on his homescreen.
Although, that was not what had grabbed his attention. His User Interface really was hovering before his eyes. He stretched forth his hand, trying to touch it, but it merely passed through. There was no sensation. His heart pounded intensely, and he became more confused than he had been a moment ago.
"Hey, Nora," he said. "I think I really do have a System."