The injured Mage frowned at what he had just watched happen. It was something he couldn't understand, that much was visible on his face, and he didn't hesitate one bit to ask.
"What did you do?"
Merlin breathed out heavily and smiled. "Nothing much. Just a little bit of battle support." He then cupped his hand near his mouth and screamed, "Hey, Nora! It's been dispelled! Deal with Caster before it gets a hold of itself. The Mages can handle the Troll for a second or two now." More than that, obviously, but since he didn't know how long truly, he just said something vague.
"Aye, aye, captain!" Nora replied, throwing a salute his way.
She was sweating a little bit now, but considering she was engaged in a real battle, she looked like she was having quite a lot of fun. It seemed clearing Prestige Academy's assessment exam had been positive in its own way. They could confront danger on a better level than they should be able to.
The injured Mage noticed Nora then as he watched her float away from the reach of the Troll who seemed to have lost itself for a brief moment there, and dealt various blasts of her Air Ball at Caster, striking it down with very little trouble. The monster was just like a Necromancer, but far weaker.
"Is she really an Academy student?" the injured Mage asked, completely puzzled by what he was witnessing. "Casting two spells at once, and…aren't they both Tier III?"
She can also channel her mana outwards, but that's not necessary to be said…
Merlin smiled as Nora hovered back to help the two Mages battling the Troll; they were more compliant with her presence now that they had seen what she could do.
"I told you it would be fine," said Merlin to the injured Mage. "After all, we've got an A-Class Mage helping."
The injured Mage's frown deepened as he watched Nora battle.
"Over here!" she voiced as she let fly a ball of air at the Troll's face and nimbly evaded its swing when it tried to hit her.
Merlin's lips twitched. She always knew how to get on his nerves, but it seemed she did better with monsters.
And it was working.
Her antics worsened the Troll's stupidity, and now that it had no enhancement to abide by, the Ice and Fire Mages were finally blessed with openings to attack the monster.
The Ice Mage slammed his hands onto the ground, causing ice to swim over its surface until it got to the Troll's legs, freezing the brute in place.
As soon as the monster turned its attention to its feet, the Fire Mage shot a larger fireball with a scream. Nora did not space out. She timely amplified the ball of fire, complementing it with her Air Ball, just before the attack hit the Troll square in its face.
"She… She's awesome," the injured Mage said with an expression of distraught through the roar of pain from the Troll.
Merlin knew that look. It was the same one he'd worn when he had been classified as a Deficient Mage.
The injured Mage was a professional, and an Academy student, who had not yet even taken a single minute of lecture, was doing far better than he had done.
Merlin had no intention of revisiting himself from a month ago in the man, though.
"Chin up," he said. "Everyone is important. And you're even better than I am." He could feel the Mage glance at him, questions dancing at the tip of the man's tongue. Which was only normal. What he had done was still a mystery. But he had no intention of answering questions and having to explain himself over and over until he was believed, so he went back to watching Nora's fluid movements and battle prowess.
"Honestly," the Mage chuckled at that moment, perhaps realizing that Merlin wouldn't tell him anything. "I didn't think I would get to see the day where two Academy students would come to the aid of professional Mages." He looked at the ongoing battle. "If they keep containing it the way they are currently, backup should be here soon."
Merlin sighed. "Is that so?" he said, relieved. He was just about to sit down beside the injured Mage, when he noticed a woman frantically searching through the cars in the area.
Shouting at her to get out of the area was his instinctive thought, until he noticed a child beneath one of the cars where the battle was taking place. His eyes widened, a sudden realization coming to him.
Immediately, he straightened on his feet.
"W-What is it?" the injured Mage asked.
"There's a child there," Merlin replied.
"A child?!" The Mage tried to stand up but could only cough up blood. It seemed he couldn't make use of his mana at this moment either, so Merlin did not even bother asking him if he had any quick rescue spells. "Hey! There's a child—"
"No!" Merlin stopped the Mage. "Don't distract them! They are only able to hold back the Troll because of their full concentration on it. I'll go instead."
"Are you out of your mind?!" the Mage argued. "I don't know what you just did, but I don't see your Grimoire on you. If you get into the range of battle you might just die."
You don't see a Grimoire on me because I don't have one…
Merlin shrugged. "We wouldn't know that until we try, right?"
He didn't allow the Mage to utter one more word to hold him back and dashed forward.
He had been half expecting to hear a shout of warning directed at Nora and the Consortium Mages engaging the Troll after he did that, but it seemed like the injured Mage had seen sense in what he'd said. After all, distracting them could only mean one thing. They would split their little manpower to save the child, and the Troll would reassert dominance. That could lead to everyone, including the child, dying.
That would be the worst possible outcome.
Merlin closed upon the scene of action, and, immediately, danger came upon him.
Shards of ice, as well as broken glasses from the cars the Troll kept smashing, flew through the air. And Nora's air spells were not helping the circumstances, as it made the surrounding wind erratic.
Merlin didn't mind, though. He could evade them. And that was what he did. He ducked and ran as fast as he could, crawling underneath and climbing over cars, until he got to where the child was. He could have never been more grateful for focusing on himself these past few months; he had moved so quickly that he had surprised even himself.
"Hey," Merlin said calmly as he bent down to see who he had come to rescue. She was a little girl, and her eyes were swollen from all the tears pouring down her cheeks. "You're fine now. Here…" He stretched out his hand. "Let's get you to safety."
The young girl hesitated. After all, considering the situation, her current location seemed like the safest place she could be. Regardless, she took his hand a short moment later, just as soon as he'd made his smile even brighter.
Merlin lifted her onto his arms; she felt extremely light, and that hadn't come as a surprise to him. He had bolstered his Strength so much that he had been able to lift Kim Minji back during Prestige Academy's assessment exam and run through a horde of maniacal skeletons. The little girl wasn't about to cause him any trouble.
However, just before Merlin could move a muscle, a car came flying towards him.
Stunned, he froze.
"Merlin!" Nora shouted as soon as she noticed him.
It was too late, though; he was not yet fast enough to escape something that moved at such a speed. It was going to crash into him.
Merlin realized that he had only one choice in this situation. He instantly turned his back to the car and wrapped the young girl in his embrace, dropping himself to the ground. If he took the brunt of the damage, then the girl should be left unscathed. The problem was, he was unsure if he would still be alive by the time it was all said and done.
At that moment, all he could think about were his mother's constant warnings about the dangers that lied with being a Mage. He would have loved to prove her wrong, that he was strong enough to take care of himself and them; but if this was how he failed to do that, then he was not exactly sad about it. He was saving a life.
Deep down, though, he would have loved to have a day in the life at the Academy at least.
He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
A few seconds passed and Merlin realized that he was yet to be hit, and the cries of the young girl bawling into his chest had gotten even louder.
Confused, he looked over his shoulder slightly. Something akin to spider webs kept the car hanging in mid air. And atop it stood a figure with a dark-gold Grimoire hovering at their side.
A lady, it was, her black hair dancing in the wind, and she was dressed in the same red blazers of Prestige Academy as he was.
The most surprising of all was that the Troll, which had been quite the powerhouse to subdue, was now on the ground with a spear of the same thick webs as the one holding back the car planted in its chest.
Merlin didn't have to question himself for long on who this person was as the D-Class Fire Mage shouted,
"Ms. Kim Yiseo?!"