Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 43: 43-You Can Do It!

Read chapter 43 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Despite Professor Jung’s call to step down from their seats, Chima still remained where he was, staring forward in a daze. It was almost like he didn’t want to accept the fact that he was first in line for the assessment. This bothered Merlin. Not because Professor Jung might get angry, but because Chima seemed troubled. Would everything be fine? As he thought that, Chima sighed and rose to his feet. Merlin and Hakyun watched him with silent expressions as he smiled and showed them a thumbs up. “I’ll be back,” he said. Merlin’s tense shoulders relaxed. “Do well.” “My guess is, the quicker you finish before the time limit, the more points you’ll get.” Hakyun nudged his glasses upwards. He then shot a glare at Chima, deepening his voice, “The future of Cohort Spearhead lies on your shoulders, chosen one. Make sure to bring back enough points. I’ll accept nothing less than a hundred percent.” Merlin chuckled as Chima’s nose wrung up. “Is that what you’re concerned about?” Hakyun grinned. “Of course. You’ll be fine, won’t you? It’s just a simulation, after all. Unless you’re scared.” Chima’s neck tightened. He clicked his tongue and walked down. “I’ll show you.” Hakyun cackled softly. “Yes. Yes. Please do.” The boy had a weird way of motivating others, Merlin thought. “Now, before you head in,” Professor Jung began as the two students she had summoned came before the platform where she stood. “I’m sure you know why you were not allowed to bring your Grimoires, right?” Merlin had an idea. It was because this was purely a physical assessment, and the whole idea of testing one’s physical abilities would be rendered pointless if they were able to cast spells to support themselves. However… “I can’t help but think a Dungeon dive is impossible without magic,” said Merlin in a whisper to Hakyun. Honestly, though, it could just be his absurd love for magic speaking; however, he was yet to have heard of a Dungeon being cleared by Warriors alone, but it was common for Mages to clear Dungeons all on their own. Of course, all Merlin knew about such things were from news reports and lessons and books, and Singularity Mage helped in no way in that instance since it was a single point of view story that followed Kieran from the first chapter to the last. Yes, Kieran had cleared Dungeons all on his own and he had had no magic, so basically he was like a Warrior, but the main characters in fictions were outliers. All in all, there was no actual footage of what usually occurred inside Dungeons. No reporter in their right senses wanted to venture into one. They were quick to grab footage of the monsters that spilled out during a Break, though. “The whole essence of being a Mage is to deal with the Dungeons and Towers,” Hakyun said, replying to Merlin. “Unforeseen circumstances always occur in those things; I’m sure the Academy knows what it’s doing.” Merlin nodded. He was being stupid. “Because it defeats the point of the test,” Tariq, light skinned and brown haired, answered Professor Jung’s question. “Wrong!” Professor Jung announced, surprising the first years into a loud ruckus. It was only normal that everyone had been thinking the same thing as Merlin. She turned to Chima. “You?” He hesitated a bit, glancing over his shoulders at the gazes of everyone watching him. It was almost like he did not want to answer in the presence of everyone. Is he scared of being the center of attention? Why? Merlin wondered, his brows furrowed. He was really interested in knowing his roommates better. Chima realized that he had no choice when Professor Jung prodded him to hurry it up with her gaze. A deep breath, an exhale, and he said, “Without Grimoires, we can’t cast spells, so I believe it’s to test how we react in situations where we have lost our Grimoires or any unforeseen circumstances have occurred, making it impossible for us to access it.” Professor Jung smiled. “Correct.” There was a flurry of murmurs. Everyone turned to their friends, or who was seat