Unlike the rest of his teammates, Merlin had a separate consultation with Headmaster Im Ilseong. Which was why he was seated outside the headmaster’s office, while the rest were in, discussing, perhaps, about what had happened in the Tower.

  Merlin was surprised that he had not been involved in the initial conversation. He was among the team, and he couldn’t understand why the headmaster would single him out to talk to him separately.

  Talking to him separately wasn’t even the problem. Merlin was fine with that. But the headmaster should have involved him in the initial conversation, and when that was done, he could have told him to wait behind. The way it was at the moment, it felt like he was being blamed for what had happened, and he was being kept away from the rest of his mates and seniors.

  Or was that it? It wouldn’t be a reach to think the headmaster blamed him for the occurrence with the Tower, considering what had happened back at the physical assessment. It was the same thing. And it was somewhat similar to the Ice Wyverns attack as well. It was like anywhere Merlin went, trouble followed. And if that was the headmaster’s train of thought, then he was right. Merlin couldn’t even dispose of the blame of the Ice Wyvern attack, because a mysterious person had snuck up on him and said words that had remained in his head ever since then. It gave him the feeling like whoever they were, they knew him and they had come to the park for him. It was an absurd line of reasoning, but Merlin couldn’t disprove it as much as he couldn’t approve it.

  Ugh… His heart was racing and, subsequently, his mind. He hated feeling this way.

  “Would you like some tea, Master Merlin?” Maid Eun-Wol said from his side, but she failed to draw his gaze. “While you wait,” she added.

  Merlin had noticed her arrival, despite how stealthy her steps were, and usually he would have been more than interested in chatting with her, or just anything in general. However, he was not in the mood at the moment.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” he said, his eyes placed fixedly on his hands.

  Maid Eun-Wol kept the silence between them for a second longer then said, “As you wish.”

  She turned around and retreated.

  It didn’t take long before the door to the headmaster’s office flung open and Merlin’s teammates for the Tower raid walked out.

  He raised his head to meet their eyes as they paused before him.

  What had the headmaster told them?

  “You can go in now,” said Senior Hyunwoo, his expression a little solemn. It bled into Merlin’s, making his far worse. “Don’t worry. It’s fine,” Senior Hyunwoo added, tapping Merlin gently on the shoulder. “The headmaster just explained to us what had happened and the reason for all the whole cables. We’ll receive our points the same time as the others when they’re all out from their raid. Hehe… We finished first, despite how crazy our Tower was. We did well. Now, go. Listen to what he has to tell you.”

  Merlin swallowed and shifted his eyes towards the rest. They nodded slightly at him and he relaxed himself and walked into the office.

  It was the same as always. Neat, kept, and wide enough to be someone’s bedroom. The only difference this time was that the headmaster did not have on his usual jovial expression, but one of high seriousness.

  Merlin had never been so unnerved by the man’s gaze like he was at this moment. He froze where he stood, uncertain whether he should greet or not.

  “Have your seat,” said Headmaster Im Ilseong, hands clasped together.

  Merlin nodded and walked forward. Unable to resist any longer, he said as soon as he sat down, “Why did you want to talk to me separately?”

  Headmaster Im Ilseong leaned forward, and with his gaze as intense as it had been ever since Merlin had walked into his office, he said, “What do you know about what has been happening around you, Merlin?”

  Merlin’s brows twitched. His brain came up with no answers to that question and so when he opened his mouth, what came out was, “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “You have not once been suspicious about how things sometimes go wrong around you?” Headmaster Im Ilseong asked. Merlin didn’t reply. “The physical assessment, and now the Tower raid. Both times our system malfunctioned, but no matter the checks we carried out on them they always came out sound in return. As you already know, after the physical assessment, we took measures to prevent that from ever happening again. And despite our efforts, your Tower raid went up in flames.”

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “Went up in flames?” Merlin was confused. “I think that’s an exaggerative way of describing it, headmaster. We cleared the raid, and we’re just fine. The portal only prevented you from coming in, right?”

  “No,” replied the headmaster, and Merlin’s heart skipped a beat.

  “No?” he asked.

  “We lost all signal, communication, and visuals with your Tower,” said the headmaster. “And, most of all, we never assigned you to the Tower of Xéros.”

  A sudden disorientation hit Merlin, almost dropping him from his seat, but he managed to keep himself stable.

  “What do you mean?” he stuttered.

  “The Tower of Xéros is not recorded in our database, Merlin,” continued the headmaster. “We have never heard of it, nor cleared it. The Undersea Tower was sent to your team, not the Tower of Xéros.”

  Merlin’s gaze fell from the headmaster and became unstable. He lost hold of his cognitive function as his brain scrambled for an explanation.

  Before the Tower raid, the System had never forcibly changed his location before, all it had done was register his raids as quests.

  No. Now that he thought about it, the System had been making his raids harder the more he went in them.

  In the Dungeon raid exam, he had been able to get by by relying on Kieran’s experience in Singularity Mage. The Dungeon had been one the protagonist had cleared, so it was fairly easy for Merlin to lead his team through it and come out on top.

  The physical assessment was different. The System had amped up the difficulty, making it that knights which shouldn’t have moved did, and the location was not somewhere which had been in Singularity Mage.

  And, now, the Tower of Xéros.

  Could it be that it hadn’t been a simulation? Could the System have transported him to a real Tower? And that was why he was able to receive the gifts he had been offered?

  What was going on?

  “Tell me, Merlin,” Headmaster Im Ilseong continued. “Explain to me why this happens around you?”

  Merlin tightened his grip on his pants.

  What sort of question was that? What was the headmaster expecting him to say here? What could he even say?

  Merlin tried to think of a lie. It had to be a lie. Right? He was confused. Would it be right for him to keep on lying? Raids in Prestige Academy were not solitary; they involved teams. If Merlin kept the truth from the headmaster and pretended to be oblivious to the cause of the mishaps, then he would only keep endangering his teammates. That would be selfish of him, all because he wanted to keep a secret, because he didn’t want to be experimented on, because he wanted to save his own skin. If things went on this way, there was no saying that eventually someone might die on one of the raids.

  He was left with no choice.

  “I don’t know what to say, headmaster,” Merlin started. “I… I’m not sure how to put it.”

  Headmaster Im Ilseong sighed and stood up from his seat. He turned to face the window, peering out of his office.

  “I was asked to pull you from the academy,” he said, and goosebumps rose on Merlin’s skin.

  “Why?!” Merlin voiced, hasty.

  “Calm down,” said the headmaster, and Merlin deflated on his seat. “Kang Do-Won from the Consortium Guild asked that I transfer you over to them. An anomaly like you should be kept a close eye on, trained in the most rigorous way, and kept close to the only place in South Korea that can handle any outburst that could come from your peculiarity.” He paused and took a breath. “But I said no. You are my responsibility. At least for now. I gave you admission into Prestige Academy, and I am obligated to look after you. I also assured your parents that I would let no harm come to you, and I intend to keep that promise.”

  Merlin’s shoulders dropped as he listened. The headmaster glanced over his shoulder then.

  “But the rest of my students are also my obligation. I am also duty-bound to keep them from harm, as I try to do for you. If there’s something you aren’t telling me, I ask that you reconsider. I cannot protect you if I have no idea what I’m dealing with. And, I’ll be honest with you, Merlin. You are one big mystery. No matter how much we try to hide the truth behind the veil of ‘Deficient Mages haven’t been studied completely,’ what is happening with you is far too complex to be dumbed down to that.” He turned around completely, sitting on the edge of his window. “Tell me, Merlin. What are you?”

  Time stopped for Merlin. The headmaster’s words burrowed into him like a worm into the earth. No one in their right senses who listened to what the headmaster had said could go on lying. People’s lives were at stake. His friend’s lives were at stake. Nora’s life was at stake.

  And… He could trust Headmaster Im Ilseong. The man had been nothing but good to him.

  Merlin bit his lower lip and hardened his gaze.

  “It’s too complex to explain, headmaster,” said Merlin. “But I’ll try.”

  Headmaster Im Ilseong nodded and walked back to his seat. “Go ahead.”

  Merlin blinked and shook his head. “No. It’ll be easier to show you. Can you lend me your charger?”

  Headmaster Im Ilseong nodded, and Merlin stood up to put some light into his phone. After five minutes of silence, he unplugged it, choosing to manage what bar it had at the moment just to explain his situation.

  He scrolled to the logo that represented his System, brought up his Interface, and handed his phone to Headmaster Im Ilseong.

  The headmaster was a sharp man, and, honestly, the Interface was quite explanatory. As soon as he laid his eyes on Merlin’s phone, various kinds of emotions crept upon his face. It was disbelief at first, and then mild shock, and when he looked at Merlin, it was understanding.

  “This…” the headmaster said, and for the first time was unable to complete his words.

  “It’s a long story, headmaster,” Merlin started, his heart racing almost as fast as when he stared up at the magic of the Ice Wyverns a few months back. “But, as you can see, I am different from the rest because I have the ability to level up.” He pointed at his phone. “That is the reason why I have anti-magic.”