Merlin sat on the floor cross-legged, the blue interface of the System hovering before him.
There were only a couple of hours at most until the war began, and even though he wasn’t exactly sure how it was going to pan out, or if that would be the required way to clear the first floor of the Tower, he still had to be ready. The System was silent still on the requirements of the first floor of the Tower, but that didn’t translate to his stats. At least not fully.
He tried his best to not make himself stand out to the professors, who were most likely watching as he went through what little gains he had gotten while in the Tower—which was infinitesimal—as he peered straight ahead like he was meditating.
It didn’t come as a shock to Merlin that the more he leveled up, the slower his progress got. Not because he had turned to slacking off a lot, but simply because his exercises were barely adding any significant change to his stats. There was only so many push-ups he could do to level his Strength and jogs to improve his Agility. His Resilience, for one, had gotten far tougher than the rest to progress ever since it had crossed the level fifty mark. Now his stats for the attribute were always halved.
That proved the same for him in the Tower. His altercation with the sandworms hadn’t granted him any rewards, even though his life had technically been on the line. Merlin could only guess that it was because the System was well aware of what the plan was, which was to escape the sandworms by running away. The thing had always struck him as sentient in comparison to Kieran’s in Singularity Mage.
But, that aside, he had a bit of free attribute points from what little training he’d had the time to partake in. He could make use of those to give himself a bit of preparation for the war.
Every little thing mattered.
[Progress to leveling up Strength: 76.25%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Agility: 87%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 49%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Perception: 27%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Resilience: 20%/100%]
[Free Attribute Points received: 30]
Looking at his progress in each attribute, Merlin could only see one worthy of throwing all his free attribute points in that would guarantee him a level up.His Agility attribute.
He didn’t have the leeway to relaxedly build the rest at the moment, his Intelligence, for instance. And, in a war, agility was key. The ability to evade attacks, switch from one point to another in an instant, and be decisive could not be understated. He was certain his decisions would do no harm.
Assign all my free attribute points to Agility…
[Assigning...]
[Successful]
[+30 Attribute Points have been assigned to Agility]
[Progress to leveling up Agility: 87%/100%] → [02%/100%]
[Agility has leveled up!]
[Agility Level 43 → Level 44]
Just like with every level up of his Agility, Merlin felt his body become significantly lighter than it was a second ago. And his brain programmed the level up to give him vague ideas of what he could do in his current state. The easiest ones he could pick out was his newfound ability to run on walls and balance on ropes like he was a gymnast.
Those were skills he could feel coming into handy. Perhaps not during the war, but down the line.
Satisfied, Merlin summoned his user interface.
NAME: Merlin Tyrrell
AGE: 17
MAGE CLASS: Deficient
SYSTEM CLASS: ???
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: LV. 39
AGILITY: LV. 44
INTELLIGENCE: LV. 33
PERCEPTION: LV. 20
RESILIENCE: LV. 58
Merlin frowned.
It had been skipping his mind for a while now with all that had been going on, but, now, he noticed that his ‘Mage Class’ hadn’t changed.
Well, if he thought about it like that, it seemed like his Mage Class was supposed to change naturally, but it was only weird to him because he had been diagnosed to have the mana of a C-Class Mage back at the Consortium Guild. Didn’t that technically mean he was a C-Class Mage? Shouldn’t the System recognize that?
Or was it that the growth in his mana didn’t change what he had been classified as by the System? He would forever be recognized as a Deficient Mage no matter what changed about him?
Merlin wished there was some way to obtain answers about the System and all of his unanswered questions, but there was none. The only one who could give him the answers he sought out was The Sleeping Jacket himself. And he had emphasized on Merlin not sending him any return mail.
Merlin wondered how the author was doing? Whether the new book he said he was working on was going well. He had mentioned that he needed Merlin’s help to make it become a success, but Merlin had not heard back from the author ever since.
Perhaps he realized that Merlin wouldn’t be of much help.
Stolen story; please report.
A soft noise rose from beyond Jung’s hut, and Merlin shuffled to the sound, so did Blue.
The time was near.
He stood up from the floor and changed from his tracksuit into his given Prestige Academy’s battle wear. A red outfit made of latex that stuck to his skin like glue. It made him feel like he had nothing on, and that allowed easier movement on his part. He took a gel out of his bag, moisturized his hair and what skin was left exposed. He put on his trainers—a red one, to match the color of his wear. And just when he was done preparing, he heard footsteps approaching. Silent ones. Dainty. And then the person shuffled inside.
“Merlin,” Sofia’s voice echoed through the hut. “It’s time,” she added.
Merlin walked out of the spot that had been designated to him as his room, barred with wooden boards. Sofia turned to him when he appeared. She was dressed in the same latex battle wear as he was, but that fit for a lady’s lean body, and her hair was packed into a bun.
Merlin’s brow furrowed.
“You plan on fighting?” he asked.
Sofia pursed her lips indistinctly. “I do,” she said.
Merlin walked closer to her, Blue perched on his shoulder. He recalled her words back at the square when he had asked her about the tournament and if she planned on participating, which was why he was surprised that she was daring to engage in something that was obviously going to be even more daunting.
“I thought you said you didn’t like the pain that came with fighting?”
Sofia stared at him for a second and turned around. She was clearly avoiding his probing gaze.
“You can’t expect me to evacuate the village with the old and sickly while the rest of you fight to ensure our victory,” she said.
“You don’t have to, you know?” Merlin started. “The points we will earn will be joint points, and you not participating will not derail from our victory. I can assure you—”
“I’m a Mage, Merlin,” Sofia cut in. “The tournament is one thing, clearing a Tower is another.”
Merlin swallowed the rest of his words. He had been insensitive. Of course, she would think that way. Anyone would. She didn’t like pain, but she had willingly applied for Prestige Academy to become a Mage, and had made certain to pass both the theory exam and the dungeon raid exam. She would not willingly withdraw herself from a fight that determined her status as a Mage. The tournament was nothing alike to the war that was about to happen.
He had been stupid.
“I’m sorry,” said Merlin. “I didn’t think before speaking.”
Sofia was silent for a few seconds, then she glanced over her shoulder with a smile.
“It’s fine. I was a little bit sensitive too. Let’s go. The rest are waiting for us.”
Merlin nodded, and they left the hut.
The ‘sun’ was just rising, replacing the blue moon, and the village of Blatt was deserted. Merlin glimpsed the last elderly Drachen helped out through the back fence by the warrior assigned to lead them to the southern cave before turning his attention back to the path he was walking.
It didn’t take long for him and Sofia to arrive at the main gate, where everyone waited, battle ready.
The visible warriors numbered to twenty. They were spread out across the village fence, enchanted spears in hand, and a look of resolve on their face. Krieger stood in their center with Baba, Zauberer, and the seniors of Cohort Spearhead: Senior Hyunwoo and Senior Sun-Hee.
Merlin made his way to his peers. They all glanced at him, slightly pale—Park Yuri, included—and nodded. He reciprocated.
Silence draped the scenery, only disturbed by the occasional soft breeze blowing past them. The weight of war pressed upon everyone present, even the experienced of the lot, and Merlin feared the pressure that stifled those hidden in the sand.
But it would all work out. No matter what. He would make sure of that.
The swat of deserted land beyond the village of Blatt found life a moment later. The ground rumbled, signifying the arrival of a marching army. And then came rhythmic thumps echoing through the plains. It was the same battle thump Merlin had heard from the warriors of Blatt before they shuffled into the sand in preparation.
Warriors of the village of Stein were approaching.
Krieger turned to Baba, and with a nod from the old leader, he shuffled forward and turned to face everyone present.
[Great warriors of Blatt], he boomed, his spear firmly held in his grasp, [and the Otherworlders who have come to our aid. The time has come! The time to defend the land where you were born. The fence where you grew up. The village you have long called home. Xéros bestowed upon us the right to live, to survive. And even if it is our own brothers who dare to claim to rid us of such a birthright, then we shall turn our eyes away no longer. They have slain our own. Desecrated their corpses and bones, and they will do the same to us if we do not fight back. Will you allow such an insult?]
[We will not!] the warriors boomed in unison, thumping the base of their spears on the ground.
[Our brothers wish for us to avenge their deaths. Will you say no to the cries of their spilt blood?]
[We will not!]
[Tell me, brothers, will you allow your home to be taken from your grasp by filth?]
[We will not!]
[Will you watch as the fences your forefathers built, sweating, run to the ground?]
[We will not!]
[Tell me, brothers], Krieger raised his spear to the sky, [do you desire to die here today, never to see the sky again, never to breathe in the air Xéros blessed us with, never to feel the embrace of your mate, your offspring, never to witness the birth of your future generations?]
[We do not!]
[Then our blood shall not be what will be spilt on this day, but the blood of our enemies. We shall return victorious and proud. I ask you, cry out with me! Thump your chests with me! And fear not, for our victory is assured!]
Krieger clenched his fist and beat his chest three times, a second in between each thump. The warriors joined in, and the rhythm of their war thumps filled the air, striking the pressure that had fallen over the scenery far away from their presence.
The students of Prestige Academy hadn’t understood a word of what had been uttered, but, regardless, they were affected by the charisma the warriors displayed. Their pale faces warmed, and their breaths relaxed. Their nervousness was tamed by the rhythmic beats of fists on chests.
Merlin would have been just like them. But his breath caught in his throat as his nape was pricked by a feeling that made him shudder almost indistinctly. His eyes widened as his breathing became erratic bit by bit. A nauseating feeling crawled up his stomach, and before he knew it, he was hunched over slightly, like he was about to retch, Blue almost falling off his shoulder.
Merlin tightened his jaw.
He couldn’t let the warriors see him the way he was. It was demoralizing.
He took gentle steps backward softly before anyone could notice him. However, he had failed.
“What’s wrong?” Sofia asked, her voice almost a whisper.
Merlin licked his lips, unsure what to tell her.
He, on the other hand, knew that it was his Perception going haywire. But it had never behaved this way before. It was a lot more intense. And Merlin was well aware nothing about the System was without reason.
Something was going to go terribly wrong with the war.
He straightened on his feet as the battle cries of the opposing army drew closer. And he saw the reason why he had blanched. Everyone did. And silence fell over the warriors of the village of Blatt once again.
Behind the warriors of Stein was a beast that put the sandworms to shame in size, as colossal as a dune itself, with a pale beige body as wide as a mountain, and the head of a snake. And atop it sat Chief Rivale.
[Raubtier!] Zauberer voiced in panic, taking a step back.
Those words brought chaos onto the warriors of Blatt, and confusion to their set up.
The students of Prestige Academy looked to Merlin for help in understanding what words were being uttered by the dragonmen. But Merlin had faded into the background, the noise muffled to his ears.
Before his eyes hovered blue words he hadn’t summoned. The System had finally decided to speak to him of its own accord.
[Red Quest received: Clear the first floor of the Tower before the time limit runs out]
[Clear Conditions: Kill the Raubtier and Chief Rivale]
[Time Limit: 192.30.20]
[Reward: Loot Box]
[Penalty for failure: ???]
