"Merlin?" Nora called out again. And when Merlin didn't reply, she closed the distance between both of them and lowered her voice into a whisper. "Hey… What's suddenly wrong with you?"
Merlin snapped back in that instant, blinking for a moment. "This place," he started, his voice low as well. "It was a Dungeon in Singularity Mage."
Nora jerked her head back just enough that it was missed by Chima and Kim Minji. "Singularity Mage?"
"That novel," said Merlin. "The one I should have won a prize for always reading?"
"Yeah, I know that, smartass. What I mean is, why would it be a Dungeon in that novel?"
They were taking their lovely time, considering the exam's clock was ticking, and that was more than enough to spark curiosity in the other two members of their party.
"Is there a problem?" asked Kim Minji. Chima just looked their way with his arms folded over his backpack.
Merlin and Nora had been talking in a hushed manner, which, of course, looked strange. After all, Nora had been all team oriented a few minutes back, so suddenly keeping the rest of the team out of the loop did seem weird. But they had to. It was not like they could tell them anything. And, surely, they couldn't mention the system.
"I'm not feeling too well." Merlin quickly thought up a plausible enough lie, grateful for all the times he'd had to deceive his mother just to escape her nagging. "The blood is making me nauseous. I just need a moment."
"Yeah," supported Nora, beginning to rub his back like he was on the verge of retching. "Just give us a second. This happens all the time. It's like he has an allergy to blood even though it flows through his veins."
Cracking jokes in this situation? It could only be Nora.
"I see. Please hurry up then. We don't have all day, you know?" Chima said before returning to surveying the Dungeon. He was a rather meticulous one.
Kim Minji, on the other hand, only nodded. She was still overly anxious, and the thought that it would only get worse unsettled Merlin—for the exam's sake. But he was still the most useless one here, so he doubted he had the right to be concerned about others.
Or… Was he?
His brows pulled together as a realization suddenly hit him.
"Hey," he began when Nora returned her attention back to him. "If this is really the same Dungeon as in Singularity Mage, then maybe I can help us ensure that we pass."
Nora's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Even though I have forgotten a bit of what happened in the novel, I still remember a few things about this Dungeon and how to clear it. And, in fact, I can make up for my missing knowledge by just checking the pdf on my phone. We might really be able to guarantee that we pass."
Nora fell into her thoughts for a moment. She'd always been wary of the System, and the current situation was not making it any better. The Dungeon in their world being the exact same as the one in a novel was not exactly a good look. But this was not the time to be that way. Sure, they could decide to focus on using their abilities to get through the exam, but if Merlin was right, then things would be a lot easier with his knowledge. She had witnessed it first hand as well. WIth his help, she had managed to get through her magic hurdles quicker. Merlin saw no reason for her to reject his proposal.
"Alright," she agreed after a few seconds. "But how are we going to do that without it being strange to the other two?"
Merlin sighed. "That's impossible," he answered. "They'll definitely find it weird, but we'll just have to keep going regardless. It's not like they can force anything out of our mouths."
"I see… So play dumb?" Nora nodded. "Okay. Let's do this. But, are you sure that it'll really follow the same mechanics as the one in the novel? What if you end up being wrong?"
He had considered that. And taking into account that the System had been modified, it was not a reach to think that the Dungeon could have been modified as well. But what gave him a bit of hope was the practical lessons he'd had with Nora. The way magic worked was exactly the same in both worlds. If the Dungeon leaned towards anything between the System and magic, it would be magic. And, even in the off-chance that it was modified, it should still follow the same base as in the novel. In other words, if he played his cards right everything would turn out well regardless of any modifications—if they even existed.
"It'll be fine," replied Merlin, straightening his body with a deep exhale. He then pulled out his phone and opened Singularity Mage's pdf. "I'll make sure to get us through."
This was his chance to be useful in some way. He was not going to let it slip from his grasp. And besides, he had a nagging feeling that if he just left the clearing of the Dungeon to the rest of his party members and remained in the background, even if they succeeded in the end, he would fail.
The ones grading are definitely watching us in some way. I have to show that I can be useful as a Mage…
Nora nodded in reply to Merlin, and turned to Chima and Kim Minji. "We're ready."
"Cool. How are we gonna proceed now?" asked Chima. "I couldn't figure out anything that could help from looking around. Nothing at all."
Which was obvious—at least to Merlin.
The Necromancer within this Dungeon was a rather cautious one, Merlin recalled. Kieran had only been able to win because he was just that kind of genius, able to perceive attacks and other things that most would miss, due to honing his senses from constantly protecting his farm from predators. Merlin's plan was to borrow that sense in a roundabout manner.
Finally! He found the chapter where the raid had taken place.
"I'll take the lead," he said immediately, moving to the front of the party.
"Huh? Why would you do that?" Kim Minji asked, blinking rapidly. Merlin wasn't sure if she was frightened for his safety, or the fact that a Deficient Mage was motioning to give them orders, considering two A-Class Mages were present.
Thankfully, he had already prepared a reasonable enough lie for that question.
"Because I know about this Dungeon." Chima and Kim Minji had slightly different types of perplexed looks on their faces, while Nora shot him a glare. She had to calm down. He knew what he was doing. "You're not the only one who likes researching, Chima," Merlin added. "I also do a lot of those in my free time. And I'm particularly obsessed with everything about Mages, including Dungeons and Towers. That's how I know that a couple of Dungeons share similarities with one another. I've read about a Dungeon just like this, so trust me."
It was one of the theories on Dungeons in Singularity Mage that had ended up being proven correct at the end of the novel. And, so far, nothing from Singularity Mage had been a lie, so Merlin believed a little bit more in all he'd said at this moment than if he had said them a month ago.
Chima tilted his head, obviously unsure if he should really just throw his fate all up to the decisions of one person. After all, if Merlin took the lead, that would mean they wouldn't be putting heads together like Nora had said.
"Then," Chima finally opened his mouth, "you must know how we can clear this Dungeon, right? If you know that much it will at least serve as proof that you know what you're doing."
Merlin nodded. "This Dungeon is known as the Necromancer's Lair," he started. "At least it was named that way. To clear it, we have to defeat the Necromancer who's in charge of it."
"And where is this Necromancer?" asked Chima, seemingly never having heard of such a monster existing in their world, which proved the same for Kim Minji, and Nora, as well. Which was only normal, because there were a variety of monsters, and Necromancers were of the rare kind. Merlin would have never believed that they truly existed if they were not currently standing within the Dungeon of one.
Merlin pointed down the corridor. "In a chamber ways away. We just have to get past all its traps and foot soldiers."
Kim Minji flinched. "Foot soldiers?"
"Yes," Merlin nodded. "We will have to fight."
She flinched again, more visibly this time.
Chima pursed his lips and then heaved out an exhale. "You sound like you really know what you're talking about, so I guess I'm fine with you taking the lead—at least for now. But if you're wrong we're gonna have to stop that and think of our next steps together."
"Obviously," said Merlin. "And it's not like I'll be making all the decisions myself either way. I'll still require you guys' help."
Nora walked forward then. "Now that we're done with that, let's get moving. We've wasted fifteen minutes." She turned to Merlin. "What's the first step?"
Merlin had already scanned through the words on his phone, and was well aware of what to do next. And, truth be told, there was a faster way for him to get them to the finish line. But that was a risky move. The Dungeon was fueled by the magic of the Necromancer, the traps and the foot soldiers. Everything that existed within the Dungeon was like a puppet puppeted by the Necromancer. All Merlin had to do was cut off the strings from the puppet and nothing would work. The traps, the foot soldiers, they would all cease to function. The problem was that the spell was an Advanced Tier III spell, according to Singularity Mage.
Yes, Merlin had worked these past weeks to ensure he'd leveled up his Strength, Resilience, as well as his Intelligence, but was it really worth the risk?
The Necromancer was an E-Rank monster, since the Dungeon was classified as an E-Rank Dungeon, which meant that he should be able to deconstruct its spells. Kieran had. But he was unsure if he could compare his physical capabilities to that of Kieran yet. What if he deconstructed the spell, and lost function of his arms? He would only become a burden to the rest of his teammates.
And there was the fact that deconstructing spells did not render the caster ineffective of using magic, it just destroyed the one they'd cast at that moment. In other words, before they'd gotten to the Necromancer's chamber, it would have recast its spell, and Merlin would only hold his teammates back.
Also, he believed his ability was really needed the most during the fight with the Necromancer. Because he was unsure if they would be able to defeat it without his help. After all, he was the only one who would be able to break down its guard. Nora's strongest spell was at Novice, Tier II. It wouldn't be enough. And she was only that good because he had helped her with it. He doubted Chima and Kim Minji were on such a level.
But for the sake of making sure…
"What are your highest spells?" Merlin asked.
"Fire sword and shield," replied Chima without a second's delay. "Tier I."
Merlin's brows twitched. And for two different reasons. The first one was that Chima was already well knowledgeable enough on the idea of spell casting that he even knew of Tiers. Merlin wouldn't have known of them if they weren't in Singularity Mage, and Nora wouldn't have known of them if he hadn't known of them. Perhaps Chima had hired a supervisor to help with his training. That was the only reasonable explanation. But, then, wouldn't he be well above Tier I if that was the case?
The other reason for Merlin's brows twitching was that Chima's spells couldn't be exactly called…spells. A sword and a shield? Besides the fact that they would be completely made out of fire, there was really nothing much magical about them. Those were not the kind of spells Mages should have. Swords and shields were for Warriors. But Merlin knew better than to brazenly criticize others' choices. It was not like he was any better off.
"What's a Tier?" asked Kim Minji. "All I know is I can shoot water bullets. Should I know anything about Tiers?"
Merlin sighed. She should. But that would have to wait until she got into the Academy. And the fact that she didn't know anything about Tiers was enough evidence as to how far her knowledge about magic went.
"You're a Tier I," Merlin replied. Then turned to Nora. "And my sister is a Tier II."
Chima and Kim Minji glanced her way, the former with a look of slight astonishment, and the latter, not exactly knowing what was being talked about, but since it involved a higher number than hers, with a look of great reverence.
Merlin had gotten what he wanted from his question now. He knew the strengths of his teammates, and now had an idea of how they could clear the Dungeon.
"Let's begin."
Hopefully, it all worked out as he hoped.