Merlin sat in the darkness of his room, still feeling exhausted despite having slept all day. Perhaps it was because of Janeth's just concluded act, or maybe it was because he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, making him feel the most at ease he had been in a while.
I prepared so much for the assessment exam that I don't know what to do now… He fell backwards onto his bed and curled into a ball. In a week's time the results will be out. If I don't get admitted, then what will be the use of the System to me? It's not like I'll be able to venture into Dungeons without a professional Mage license.
He shook his head.
Always thinking negatively, Merlin Tyrrell. Change your train of thought. What will you do if you get in? That's what you should be thinking about.
But he could think of nothing. He wondered how he would be received as a Deficient Mage in a midst of Mages. He had gotten a glimpse of that at the exam, and he wouldn't say he had liked it. Then there was the fact that he was now a direct counter to magic itself. He was not sure if the youngins who wanted to become professional Mages would be very accepting of who he was.
I wonder how I'm being graded with that in mind?
Merlin suddenly jumped up from the bed, shaking his thoughts away. He then summoned the System and decided to busy himself with something else. He had been wondering what his reward from completing the Red Quest was, and this was the perfect time to find that out.
The words appeared before his view the same way he had left them.
[Quest Reward: Random Loot Box]
[Accept?]
[Yes?]/[No?]
Merlin's heart beat suddenly hastened, his chest pounding so much that he had to take a deep breath several times to calm himself.
This would be the first Perk he would be receiving ever since he'd gotten the System and had gotten Reader Mage. His eagerness was getting the better of him, and he was also slightly scared that it might end up being useless. Which would hurt him, honestly, considering that he'd had to basically clear a Dungeon for it.
Well, he'd kind of cheated, but that was besides the point.
Reader Mage was Kieran's Skill in Singularity Mage. So Perks are just basically the equivalent of Skills for me, right? Then that must mean I'm just receiving the same Skills Kieran had gotten in Singularity Mage. Maybe? I'm being wishful again, aren't I? Well, I should at least hope. I didn't create a single useless Skill for Kieran, and neither did The Sleeping Jacket. If the System at least followed the same function as it did in the novel, even if I don't get one of the Skills Kieran had, I should at least have something useful.
Merlin nodded, settling his racing heart, and answered 'yes' to the System.
A golden loot box immediately popped up before him, repeating the exact same motion of rotating around gently like the one which had come bearing his Reader Mage Perk.
[You have received a Reward. Click the Loot Box to obtain]
Merlin clicked on the box. He then watched as its red ribbons loosened, a pop up appeared along with the visual display of a party popper, and filled his view briefly with gold confettis.
[You have been granted a Perk]
[You have obtained the Perk: Dungeon Artist]
[Perk: Dungeon Artist: Approach a mana concentrated area and create a Dungeon of yours from your artistic mind. Rewards from Dungeons created purely from one's own artistic skill will be at the discretion of the System, making sure to balance them with the difficulty of the Dungeon. Dungeons created using an existing source as inspiration will bear the same rewards as the original.]
[Note: Perks level up concurrently with your Intelligence Attribute. The higher the Intelligence, the stronger your Perks.]
Merlin's mind blanked for a minute or so, his eyes blinking rapidly as he incredulously stared at the words floating before him.
A Dungeon creation Perk? Kieran didn't have such a Skill… Then, this was tailored for me personally? Sweet! Hold on. Doesn't this mean I can raid Dungeons without a professional license? I can create my own Dungeons, earn my own rewards, and, most of all, boost my abilities.
He had noticed during his fight with the Necromancer that tackling monsters boosted his progress significantly when compared to training, and it wasn't bound by time. Whenever he trained, he never gained any point or percent progress unless an hour had been reached. This didn't include meditation and falling into a trance, but those were outliers. If he could enter Dungeons at will, he could become a lot stronger quicker. And those words about him being able to create Dungeons using a source as inspiration. That meant he could recreate the same Dungeons Kieran had cleared and reap their rewards. It would be quite easy for him, considering he knew how Kieran had cleared every single one.
But… He was getting too excited. He lacked the ability to tackle a Dungeon on his own, for one. There was no way this Perk was without its risks. Even Reader Mage threw him into a world of pain whenever he went over his head while using it. What if he died because he was being too hasty?
And that was just one part.
Mana concentrated areas were closely watched by the Consortium Guild's Mages. It was basically impossible for him to bypass their surveillance and create his own Dungeon. Having the ability to cancel magic was already making him wary enough of what would happen to him going forward now that he had revealed it. He couldn't even begin to think of what would happen to him if it was found out that he could create his own Dungeons.
Wouldn't that make him a national threat? No. A worldwide threat. A being who could cancel magic and create Dungeons; that almost makes it seem like he was on a mission to destroy earth.
This Perk was not something he could use absentmindedly.
I should tell Nora about it…
Merlin halted himself as he was about to stand up, a thought blossoming in his head.
If he told her about the Perk, and one of these days really wanted to venture into a Dungeon, she would never let him—at least to go alone. And, honestly, if it could be helped, he never wanted her to step into a Dungeon again. At least not until she was a lot stronger. He had been scared back during the exam that she would get hurt. He couldn't cajole her into entering a few more because of him.
If I'm going to be doing this, then I'll be doing it alone. And not until I'm sure I'm strong enough. I'm not planning on making my parents bury their kid.
Merlin would still have to figure out a way to get past the Consortium Guild's Mages, but that was a thought for later down the line.
He sighed, relaxing as he shifted the words of his newest Perk aside, bringing those of his progress up.
[Blue Quests ongoing (2):
Strengthen your body, Merlin Tyrrell. (The strength of a Mage not only lies in their prowess with magic, but also in their physicality. A better body makes a better Mage.)
Be clear of mind and spirit, Merlin Tyrrell. (If you are quiet enough, you will hear the flow of the universe. You will feel its rhythm. Go with this flow. Meditation is key. A better mind and soul makes a better Mage.)]
[Progress to leveling up Strength: 84.25%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Agility: 78%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 97%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Perception: 32%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Resilience: 45%/100%]
[Free Attribute Points received: 30]
My Intelligence is on the verge of leveling up, and my Strength is close too… Well, then that makes things easier. Assign ten A.P. to Intelligence and twenty to Strength…
[Assigning...]
[Successful]
[+10 Attribute Points have been assigned to Intelligence]
[+20 Attribute Points have been assigned to Strength]
[Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 97%/100%] → [2%/100%]
[Progress to leveling up Strength: 84.25%/100%] → [94.25%/100%]
[Intelligence has leveled up!]
[Intelligence Level 3 → Level 4]
NAME: Merlin Tyrrell
AGE: 17
MAGE CLASS: Deficient
SYSTEM CLASS: ???
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: LV. 8
AGILITY: LV. 10
INTELLIGENCE: LV. 4
PERCEPTION: LV. 6
RESILIENCE: LV. 13
Merlin felt a tingle course through his body and his head, like his mana were chaotically rejoicing, and instinctively he could feel just how much he had grown—which, honestly, wasn't exponential. He couldn't quantify it, but he knew that he was still yet to reach the level required to be able to deconstruct an A-Class Mage's Tier II spell.
Geez… I'm still so far away.
Merlin sighed, mentally willed for the System to take its leave, and fell backwards onto the bed. He stretched and raised his hand up, gluing his eyes to his fist.
Nothing was there, and he wasn't looking at it for any reason in particular, he just wanted to feed his eyes with something different from his ceiling or System for a change. Before long, he settled on a comic he had bookmarked for later, though he didn't even make it halfway through the first chapter before he fell asleep. And in that sleep, he dreamt…of the world ending a second time. Only this time, he was there to witness it. But when he woke up he could remember none of it.