Merlin’s brows furrowed at the words hovering before his view.

  The System can do that? Well, it was weird that it came as a surprise to him, granted that it had given him the power to use anti-magic, something that had never existed in the world before; and that was just a tip of the iceberg considering all the things he could now do due to it being in his possession. He could use his mana in ways no other Mage could. And…his mana was also leveling up.

  In comparison to being a transtor… well, it was obvious which was the tamer aspect of the System.

  Although, the fact that the dragonman could see Blue was a problem. Or was it? It couldn’t communicate with the others, so there was no way it could tell them about the little blue dragon perched on Merlin’s shoulders.

  It was fine. All Merlin had to do was tell the dragonman to keep Blue’s existence a secret no matter what. That was supposing they got on good terms.

  This was where he brought out his perfect negotiating skills, which was technically nonexistent.

  Yes…

  [Telepathic transtion enabled.]

  Merlin wasn’t certain how the whole telepathic thing worked, but nothing was different even after he had agreed to it. His mind was silent, filled with only thoughts he usually had, and it felt like time was stretching on for longer than usual. Until, finally, something broke through his mind, like a barrier that had been set around it had been infiltrated.

  [Can you understand me?]

  Merlin’s brows dropped. The dragonman’s mouth had moved, and the alien words it had uttered became English words deep within his brain. It was like he had truly learnt the foreign nguage of that race.

  He gulped. “Yes.”

  Everyone’s eyes fshed from the dragonman, whom they had shifted their attention to when it had spoken in curiosity turned into frustration, and assumed varying expressions which all possessed the same peculiar mien.

  “Did you say something?” Senior Sun-Hee asked, unable to hold herself back like the rest.

  Merlin averted his eyes from the dragonman’s and turned it to her. He hesitated, wondering if he should come clean and tell them all that he could understand the dragonman, but was held back by the fact of how weird that would be. What excuse could he give as to why he could understand the creature?

  What had those who had cleared this Tower initially done? What was the sensible thing he could say so that no one smoldered him with suspicious gazes—so that the professors watching wouldn’t be more concerned than they already were as to what was wrong with him. His anti-magic was already one thing, and then he had found out that his mana was also getting more powerful alongside him, there was also blue, who he was keeping a secret, being able to communicate with alien species was more than he could handle at this moment.

  Then… He could only do one thing.

  Merlin cleared his throat and replied to Senior Sun-Hee’s question, “I did.”

  She arched her brows, gnced at the dragonman, and back at him. “Did you understand what it said?”

  Merlin looked at the dragonman; it was staring at him. He shook his head. “Not really.”

  The dragonman narrowed its eyes; well that initiated the possibility that the creature was, somehow, understanding him too. Was it the System?

  “Expin,” Senior Sun-Hee pushed.

  Merlin nodded. “I’m just…using its body tics and expression to try to understand what it's saying.” Senior Sun-Hee’s face, as well as those of the others, scrunched. Merlin cleared his throat. “It’s not perfect, but it was something I learned while traveling on vacations to other countries with my parents. There’s only so much nguage I can learn in a go, so it’s easier to read the expressions and tics of others.”

  A bunch of nonsense, Merlin knew. But he could only hope that it helped quell their doubts, even if for just a while, after all, he couldn’t lie—not here. And he couldn’t pretend as well. They needed to be able to communicate with the dragonman to know where they stand, and how they would be able to clear the Tower’s first floor.

  “I see,” Senior Sun-Hee mumbled. She didn’t completely believe what he had said, that much was obvious. Merlin began to wish Nora was here, she could have backed him up.

  “Isn’t this good then?” Park Yuri chimed in, and Merlin’s brows loosened. “If he says he can read the dragon’s body nguage, then we should let him have a shot. There’s no time to be dawdling about, right? And it’s not like we have a better option.”

  Oh… Merlin couldn’t be more grateful for the assist. Park Yuri gnced at him with those green eyes of hers, and he was tempted to nod to her in appreciation, but that would make it look like he had lied. Even if that was probably her train of thought, he couldn’t solidify that idea of hers. So he only stared back.

  “I agree,” Senior Hyunwoo joined in. He then pced a hand on Merlin’s shoulder, thankfully, his left one, and nodded. “If you can, please. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just do your best so we can at least get an inkling as to what it’s saying.”

  Merlin nodded. “Sure.”

  “What question of its did you answer to before?” Senior Sun-Hee asked, her arms folded.

  “Ah…” Merlin gnced back at the dragonman. Its eyes had been anchored on him ever since. “It had…I think it had asked if I could understand it,” he said. Senior Sun-Hee hummed. Merlin narrowed his eyes on the dragonman. “Now, I’m wondering if it understands us?”

  The silence in Merlin’s head was broken in an instant.

  [I do.]

  Merlin swallowed. He thought about opening his lips to continue the conversation, but, first, he had to try to see if he could speak with the dragonman purely through telepathy. After all, there were some things he would like to say to the dragonman which he would prefer the others didn’t know about.

  Can you hear me? Merlin asked a question in his mind, hoping it went across to the dragonman. And, thankfully, it did.

  [I can.]

  Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. How? he went on. How can you understand me when we speak different nguages?

  He wondered if the dragonman was in possession of a System, like he was, as that would be an easy expnation to it all. But he patiently waited to hear the answer from the horse’s mouth, or, rather, the dragon’s mouth.

  [The same way you can, I imagine.] said the dragonman. [I am uncertain. But your words piece together the way they should in my mind. ]

  They pieced together? Merlin could only think of one reason why. Perhaps the System didn’t affect him solely after all. It could affect others too, if it deemed it necessary for the circumstances. Although, if that was the case, then why couldn’t he speak to Blue the way he was speaking currently to the dragonman? Was this something in the line of a child being unable to speak? Merlin pursed his lips. He would have to wait a bit longer for Blue to grow up to figure out if that was the case or not.

  All in all, it turned out he was yet to understand even a quarter of what the System could do.

  [Who are you people?] The dragonman went on, snapping Merlin out of his thoughts and back to the conversation at hand. He gnced at his side to see his teammates looking intently at him and the dragonman, and concluded that this part of the conversation was one he said out loud.

  “Humans,” Merlin replied. “We’re from another world.”

  Everyone’s brows jumped up, but they didn’t interrupt him.

  [Otherworlders?] said the dragonman. [I have heard of you lot, from the stories of the Babas. I have never once thought you existed, however. So it was not just fantasies spread by senile old Drachens?]

  Merlin’s brows arched. It felt nauseating that the species they had been referring to with such a derogatory term as ‘monster’ didn’t see them in the same light. Otherworlders was a more tame way to refer to people who were not from their world, and it made him feel bad.

  However, it didn’t matter what he thought at the moment. This…Drachen…wasn’t his friend. He could feel bad about how his culture had represented the dragonman, but that didn’t erase the fact that humans had had their world invaded by a whole bunch of neighboring species of theirs and ever since then have been living in fear of such a situation arising again.

  And, besides, it didn’t matter what he felt. He was just a kid. He couldn’t change things, whether he could communicate with them or not. Now was not the time for him to be getting weird grand ideas. He had to focus on the mission—what they were in the Tower for, and remember that whatever was currently happening was purely a simution gathered from the data of what those who had initially cleared this Tower had experienced.

  “Merlin,” Senior Hyunwoo called when the silence stretched on for a while. “What’s going on?”

  Merlin cleared his throat. “Nothing,” he said quickly. “It was asking about who we were, but I couldn’t get the rest of its words.”

  Senior Hyunwoo nodded. “That’s fine. Just get on with the main course. Ask it what happened, and figure out where exactly we are. That way we can understand what to do to clear this Tower.”

  Merlin nodded, then turned back to the dragonman. Firstly…

  Did you understand anything he said?

  The dragonman gnced at Senior Hyunwoo and then shook its head. [No. I only understand you.]

  I see…

  Merlin took a deep breath. “Do you mind telling us what happened to you?”

  The dragonman opened its mouth to speak, then suddenly hesitated as it gnced at Blue, who was staring straight back at it, unflinching and wildly curious.

  [First], began the dragonman. [Tell me what you in particur are? I can see that you are different from the rest. And even though the Drachen on your shoulder is a lot different physically from my race, I can see that it’s just like us. Why do you have a Drachen with you, and why can your kind not see it?]

  Blue hissed, and that action caused everyone around to flinch in response. They all had questions as to where the sound had come from, but Merlin gave no answers, he simply nudged his shoulder upward as a means of telling Blue to calm down, and, thankfully, that action of his did the job. It seemed Blue didn’t like the fact that the dragonman was asking questions about their personal life, and, well, putting Merlin on the spot. But they couldn’t afford to be tight-lipped when they were also asking the dragonman about its own situation.

  As for the others, they dismissed the hiss they’d heard as they couldn’t find where it had come from. Man-Shik had searched around the tent for a snake and had found none, after all. Perks of being able to conceal one’s presence.

  Merlin decided to answer the dragonman’s question then, so that they could get on with the important conversation…

  What I am can’t be put into quick words, he said. It would take a lot of time to expin, and, as you can see, we are pressed for time. Just like you, I suppose. The dragonman’s eyes narrowed. But I’ll answer a bit for you. I am just like the rest of my kind, nothing special. My circumstances just differ a bit from theirs. And…my kind can’t see Blue because he concealed his presence by reducing the intensity of his mana…

  Merlin had come to figure that out due to the fact that he could now sense mana in ways he had been unable to prior to his Perception leveling up. It had taken a few days of studying Blue in a more intricate way than usual, but he had come to understand the dragon’s processes at the end of the day.

  [I am fine with that], said the dragonman. Then it took a deep breath and exhaled. [My name is Krieger, and I am a warrior of a vilge to the east, Btt]. It hesitated for a brief moment, then continued, [I, amongst a few others, were sent to negotiate a peace treaty with the vilge of Stein three days west from this forest. And…I was the only one to survive].