Merlin chuckled at the sight of the ball of air seated atop Nora's palm, momentarily forgetting everything else as his lips parted into a soft smile.
She had gotten it on her first try! Goodness, he couldn't beat her smarts. But what was even more amazing was that his knowledge of Singularity Mage really came in handy. The three years he had spent reading that work had not been a waste of his time.
He briefly wondered what the looks of the other readers who had given up on the work on chapter five would be like if they heard of what was happening to him. Too bad for them, though, the novel was no longer available on the internet even if they wanted to give it another shot.
Merlin recalled a particular quote that went: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." He related so much to it now. After all, he would not actually say that he was well versed on the intricacies of magic to a great degree, he had just stayed with a novel longer than others, and had seen its end. And, in return, he was being blessed for it.
Does this mean that the System is actually going to work? Merlin blinked, his expectations sky high. He quickly focused on Nora and said,
"Hey, enough ogling. Hurl it my way! I want to see if I can actually deconstruct it!"
Nora blinked, tilted her head to the side, and pursed her lips. "Hurl it your way? How?"
Ah. That was right. He had almost forgotten. It was one thing to cast a spell, and it was another to shoot it at someone. The latter was way more complex than the former, and Merlin was not so sure that it was something that could be addressed as quickly as casting a spell had.
This was a dilemma. He caressed his chin.
Even in Singularity Mage, this particular aspect of spell casting had been a very big problem for Kieran. If he recalled correctly, the protagonist had battled with this for a full month, unsure of how to get it done. And, worse for him, was that, as a commoner, he'd had no access to high tier knowledge found in a library or academy.
But, of course, Kieran had managed to find a way past his slump—and it had had nothing to do with Merlin's input.
Kieran had learned how to launch his spells by watching a frog catch its prey while he sat at a stream in a particular chapter. Merlin couldn't recall what chapter exactly, but he remembered reading that scene a few times in quick succession; and that was because Kieran had been fishing. Merlin liked fishing, even though he had never tried it out himself. That aside, Kieran created an entirely plausible concept for launching spells just from that. If that would be possible for Nora, Merlin would have to find out.
You're a genius, Merlin Tyrrell. You can do it.
He was not, but when did a bit of motivation ever harm someone?
"I have an idea. I'm not certain how well it will work," he began as he approached her. "But let's give it a try either way."
Nora took a deep breath and sighed, not frustrated, just readying herself. "Alright."
It seemed she had really settled into the student role in their current interaction. Which was not surprising. Despite being quite the hard-head, she could be submissive when needed. She had come to realize that Merlin was the more knowledgeable of them both in spell casting at the moment, there was really no reason for her to be questioning him.
Merlin, on the other hand, had never really thought of himself as the best of teachers. In fact, this was the first time he was engaging in such an act—teaching anyone besides himself, that was. And, in that regard, he found it hard to put his thoughts into words.
How was he to tell her to make use of the concept of a frog catching its prey to launch a spell? They were humans, not frogs. It would be hard for them to really get into the anatomy of one. So he thought of a way to simplify it.
According to Singularity Mage, and Kieran's findings, a frog's tongue was located to the front of its mouth, and it was launched forward like a projectile at high speed by the frog stiffening and contracting its muscles. Taking this concept, Kieran thought of a way to make mana act like a frog's tongue. He casted a spell, and channeled mana to his palm, condensing it into one thick whip attached to the base of his spell. Then, like a frog's tongue being launched, he shot the spell forward, only separating his mana from it once it had gained enough momentum to carry on without his aid.
Merlin simplified this process in his mind as much as he could.
"First of all," he said, standing before Nora and the rotating ball of air in her hand. "I want you to attach a thread of mana to the base of the spell." He was not asking her to make it thick now; he just wanted to see how good her efficiency with mana was.
Nora grimaced. "You say that like it's easy."
No. He did know that it was anything but simple. After all, it had taken Kieran a week to perfect this. It required exceptional mana control; one would need to keep their spell in shape, while also manipulating the mana that would serve as the frog's tongue. And that was just the first hurdle.
"It's not," replied Merlin. "But we don't have any choice now, do we? What good to a Mage is a spell that can't be launched? This is the most important aspect of spell casting. So get on with it, would you?"
"Tch. Alright." Nora heaved out an exhale and focused on the air ball spinning rapidly on her palm.
What made a Mage a Mage was the fact that they could deal as much damage as any other person from a distance. If they had to fight in close ranges with all their arsenal of spells, they were no different from Warriors.
Merlin had seen those types while scrolling through videos on the internet—Warriors. They were mostly ordinary civilians who wanted to taste grandeur as well, and had honed their bodies to that effect, as well as Deficient Mages who had resolved to donning armors and wielding swords they had attuned their mana to in order to feel the thrill of venturing into Dungeons and Towers regardless of their dilemma.
However, the death rate of Warriors were excruciatingly high, and as such, most Guilds did not want them. After all, compensation for every death was made to the families of those involved. Why incur losses when there was an abundance of Mages either way?
That was not to say that Warriors had no place in the world of Dungeon and Tower raidings. The big Guilds sought them out if they showed potential. After all, there were things only they could do within a Dungeon or Tower.
Merlin, though, had never once considered that he would be a Deficient Mage, and, following that, he had never thought of becoming a Warrior. And that thought of his had not changed even now. If not, he would have asked the Consortium to hand him a Warrior's ID instead of that of a Mage, and registered for their two years camp training instead. He was glad Nora had not brought that as an option on that day too. It would have pissed him off.
Now that he had the System, it gave him even more resolve to not switch his role. Even if he could not perform magic, he still loved it, and he wanted to study it, not swords or maces or hammers.
Still, magic was far too complex. Even if simplified, it still posed problems. And even the genius of Nora faltered in its presence.
"Gah!" Her air ball vanished from her palm as a sweat trickled down the side of her head. "It's not working," she grumbled. "There's no way I can attach a thread of mana to my spell while keeping it active at the same time. It's like asking me to split my consciousness into two. Are you sure this is the correct way to do this?"
No. Of course, he was not sure. But what other way did he have? The only other option they had was to either scrounge up the funds for a private tutor, or wait until they got into the Academy. But if what Nora had said was true, then they probably wouldn't be getting into the Academy if they had nothing to show on the day of the exam.
Therefore…
"Even if it's hard, we have to keep trying," said Merlin. "Are you planning on giving up already?"
Nora caught her Grimoire as it fell onto her palm. "Of course not." She exhaled. "I just wanted to confirm if you knew what you were doing."
Merlin frowned. "Hey, I'm not the one casting the spells—you are. If anyone should know what they are doing, it's you."
Nora did not back down. "You're the one teaching."
"Then you should be more appreciative of my services!"
"Then you should be more appreciative of my services~" Nora mimicked Merlin with a mocking expression. "You should do a better job at it then."
"I am!"
"You aren't!"
There was no end in sight to their back and forth, but then a knock came from the entrance to the sparring area. They turned their gazes at the same time to see a familiar face standing there, arms crossed, and leaning on the frame of the door. She was dressed differently now, in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, but her blonde hair was still tied into a ponytail. Merlin did a double take, flushing spontaneously. Janeth was… back?
"Am I interrupting something?" she said. Merlin had a few answers to that question, but the only one he could mutter was,
"No."
Janeth smiled and nodded. "Great. Because I was enjoying it." She gestured at them. "The whole magic thing—definitely not the bickering." Merlin's cheeks burned even hotter. "Mind if I watch?"
To that question, Merlin had only one answer: Definitely.