Blue had a peculiar skill, one that made it possible for Merlin to take the dragon to the Academy without having to worry about others noticing him. And that was the ability to hide his presence.

  Since Kieran had never had any encounter with Blue besides when he’d cleared Glace’s Ice Dungeon, Merlin had had no idea of what the dragon could do. He had only found that out after he had been gawking at him once, and Blue seemed to become uncomfortable and vanished from his sight.

  It had been jarring to Merlin. But when he focused hard enough, with his Perception having leveled up to a considerable degree, he had found out that Blue hadn’t disappeared or gone anywhere, he had just made himself unnoticeable.

  Thankfully, the dragon was smart and could understand him, because Merlin immediately told him all about the Academy, and how they were going to be living. He had made sure to mention the part where needles would be sticking out of Blue’s body if he didn’t listen and did anything he wanted. And, so far so good, Blue was listening.

  Merlin glanced at the dragon, perched on his shoulder, almost weightless and completely lazy.

  It had been a month since Merlin had taken Blue out of Glace’s Ice Dungeon, and the dragon had already gained double his size since then. It seemed he grew a lot faster, and that feared Merlin. After all, Blue had taken a liking to his shoulder, and when he got a lot bigger, Merlin worried about always having to accommodate the dragon. He could already picture his shoulder being sore at every waking moment.

  He sighed deeply.

  “The orientation hasn’t even begun yet and you’re already gloomy,” said Hakyun. He was seated in the middle of Merlin and Chima. “You didn’t even change one bit over the holiday.”

  Merlin scoffed. “You, on the other hand, did, it seemed,” he said.

  Hakyun frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Merlin shrugged. “For starters, let’s see… The first time you were in this auditorium, you were seated far to the front. Now, you are seated at the back. It’s like a good kid falling in with the bad ones.”

  Not that he and Chima were bad kids, but that was besides the point.

  Hakyun glanced around the auditorium and sighed. “You know what? You’re right,” he said, shocking Merlin and Chima. He wasn’t going to throw a fit? “You guys are bad influences,” he added, and Chim and Merlin sighed in relief.

  Same old Hakyun.

  “What about Nora, Mel?” Chima asked. “How’s she doing? She’s not seated beside you today.”

  Merlin chuckled. “I know, right?” he sighed. “She’s the one who’s changed over the holiday.”

  He had seen her saunter to have her seat beside Kim Yiseo and Park Yuri, which had surprised him at first, but then brought a smile to his face.

  Cold Nora was becoming warm, and that was a sign the term would be better than the last.

  The auditorium’s speaker chimed in that instant, and everyone in the building, which was made up of both the first and second years, rose to their feet to welcome the staff walking in. Headmaster Im Ilseong wasn’t present, but Merlin’s focus wasn’t on the man this time. It was on Professor Dmitri. He couldn’t forget all about how he’d felt when Nikolai’s memories rushed into his head. But he knew better than to confront the man. That was even scarier than sneaking into Club Spiral.

  Professor Dmitri undoubtedly locked eyes with Merlin, and then nudged his glasses upwards by its rim. Merlin’s brows arched in return.

  “You may sit,” Professor Jung said as she took her place on the podium, and everyone did as they had been told. “Good morning, students of Prestige Academy. Good to see you are all doing well.”

  “Good to see you are too, Professor! Whooo!” a student exclaimed—a second year to be precise.

  Professor Jung smiled. “Thank you, Lee.” She then assumed her cold frown. “But don’t do that again.”

  Hakyun leaned close to Merlin and whispered, “She’s not as scary as she seemed the first time we met her.”

  Well, that’s because you’re already used to her presence. Merlin placed his palm on Hakyun’s cheek and shoved the boy away. Blue stirred in his sleep then, making a little raspy sound that frightened Merlin into thinking the dragon had been heard. But since no one said anything, he sighed in relief.

  “This term will be a special term for both the first years and the second years,” Professor Jung resumed after clearing her throat. “Usually, in the second and final term of their studies, the second years of Prestige Academy are tasked with clearing the first floor of a random Tower; this determines if they’re fit enough to graduate amongst many other criterias. After which, they go on to have their internship for six months at the Guild that had taken interest in them. But this time it’ll be different. The second years will not be clearing the first floor of a Tower as a unit. They’ll instead lead their own raid teams, which will be made of the first years.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Gasps poured through the auditorium first, and swiftly followed behind it were murmurs. No one could believe what they had just heard, and Chima, Hakyun, and Merlin were no different.

  Every single first year had come preparing to battle more simple theory classes, disarm traps, and do a bit of sparring like they had last term. But what? They were heading into a Tower? Even the second years were caught by surprise despite nothing changing, besides them having to lead a team of inexperienced kids in what could be termed the exams that determined if they were going to graduate. Which, now that Merlin thought about it, could be quite devastating.

  “Doesn’t it take like a week to clear a single floor on a Tower?” Hakyun asked in a whisper. “That’s what? Three and a half days in normal time?”

  “And that time is for experienced Mages,” said Chima. “I estimate we’ll be spending triple the time, if not more. So ten and a half days at least.”

  “Aw man!” Hakyun buried his face into his palms. “I wanted to take it a bit easier this term.”

  Merlin rubbed his roommate's back.

  “Enough!” Professor Jung voiced and everyone quieted down. “You are preparing to be Mages, which means that you should expect the unexpected. If a little change in your curriculum is enough to cause such a ruckus, then stand up now and withdraw from the Academy!”

  Merlin gulped. She was genuinely angry now.

  He kind of had an inkling as to why there was a change in the curriculum. After all, one reason stood out like a sore thumb to him, and it was the approach of the Cataclysm.

  Merlin had been suspecting it for a while now, that the lady who had snuck up on him during his battle with the Ice Wyverns, and the drug Nikolai had taken were all related. He couldn’t shake off that feeling; it held on to him the same way Blue held on to his shoulder.

  But he had no proof to support that claim. And his countless attempts to meet with Nikolai had resulted in the headmaster slamming the door in his face over and over again. Apparently, Nikolai was in rehab, and it was best if he wasn’t disturbed during this delicate moment.

  Merlin felt like that was a load of crap, and that he and the rest of his mates were being kept away from the boy for some other reason. But he couldn’t fight the headmaster on such a topic, so he didn’t claim otherwise.

  However, if everything that had happened last term was related, then he couldn’t put the possibility of that lady, and the drug, being involved in the return of the Cataclysm. All the more reason why he couldn’t just sit back and enjoy the rest of his school life like what was going on in the background didn’t concern him.

  Professor Jung exhaled deeply. She raised a hand and said, “Forgive me. That was unsightly.” No one said anything. “You all will take the first week of the term to settle in, and focus on your theory classes. Next week Monday will be the start of the Tower exploration. Of course, it’ll purely be a simulation, but, as you all already know, it’ll feel very real, and your Cohort and academic points are at stake, more so for the second years, so don’t take it lightly.”

  She cleared her throat.

  “Secondly, there’ll be something that has never happened in the world of Mages happening this term as well.” Everyone’s ears perked up and they straightened on their seats, curious. Even Blue opened his eyes, which frightened Merlin. The dragon was asleep most of the time, but when it was awake it froze things. Thankfully, it shifted, gave a low growl, and went back to sleep. Professor Jung continued, “For the first time, there’ll be an inter-academy festival and competition.” Gasps of both excitement and shock filled the auditorium at those words, and Merlin was amongst the latter. “As it is the first of what should hopefully be many, only three academies will be involved. The third ranked Mage Academy, Nikita Academy, Russia. The second ranked Mage Academy, Prestige Academy, South Korea, and the first ranked Mage Academy, Crown Academy, the United States of America. Prestige Academy will be hosting.”

  The murmurs only got louder.

  “We’re gonna be meeting the Mages of Crown Academy? Sick!”

  “Not just meeting, fighting. It’s a competition.”

  “I can’t wait to beat those pompous kids into the ground! Oh, I’m so going to enjoy this.”

  “You’ve never met them before, how do you know they’re pompous?”

  “What else would students of the number one Mage Academy be?”

  “You’re in the second ranked one, you know?”

  Merlin listened to the lively ruckus, unsure of how exactly to feel. The Mages of Crown Academy would be undoubtedly strong. If he could take them on sufficiently, that would prove that he was well on track in the direction of where he wanted to be. To prove that he could shoulder the burden of standing at the forefront if the Cataclysm came, he had to be the strongest Mage in the world. The inter-academy competition could well be what he wanted to prove that he could do what had been asked of him.

  “Merlin!” Hakyun roared, snapping Merlin back to him. He had been talking all this while. “What is wrong with you? You zoned out.”

  Merlin blinked and sighed. “I’m fine. Is there a problem?”

  “Well, let’s see. We’re going to be exploring a Tower earlier than we’re supposed to, and after that we’re going to be fighting the first and third ranked Mage Academy students, I’d say we have a whole lot of problems.”

  “Technically, it’s not a problem,” Chima chimed in. “Just think of it as training, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Of course, the brute says that.”

  “Shut up.”

  Merlin shook his head and turned away. Professor Jung silenced everyone soon after.

  “I like the spirit,” she said. “Which is why you should take the Tower raid seriously. Because not everyone will get to participate in the inter-academy competition.” Heavy silence fell upon the auditorium. “Your performances during your Tower raid will determine if you will represent Prestige Academy; after all, we cannot afford to lose.”

  Merlin could have sworn Professor Jung’s eyes fell on him at those words.

  “Isn’t it just a competition?” a student murmured. “She’s making it sound like if we lose, the Academy will be destroyed. Or will it?”

  “I understand,” Professor Jung went on, “you’re confused. It seems like too much pressure for just a competition. However, it is barely any pressure. Because, this competition will determine the rankings of the three Academies.”

  Merlin did a double take.

  What?