Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 54: 54-Which One Of You Guys Are Construction Mages Or Creation Mages?

Read chapter 54 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Dr. Elias Namgoong, a man of panache, stood behind the podium dressed in a distinctive manner. He was in a black overcoat and a vest, and the silk top hat he had worn when he’d walked into the classroom, placed on the podium. If one saw him from a distance, they would almost be forced to think that he was an iconoclast rebelling against modern fashion and advocating for the return of that of the Victorian era. Perhaps he actually was, Merlin couldn’t say. It was not like he knew him. He, however, wondered why he had not noticed the man on the day of the orientation. Perhaps he had been dressed a bit more casually then. On the other hand, Merlin was finding it hard to focus on the words coming out of Dr. Elias’s mouth, more bothered by Professor Jung having requested his presence in her office. He couldn’t think of any reason why. Well, besides the whole return of the Cataclysm that he had discussed with the headmaster. But what would she need to tell him about it that the headmaster hadn’t already? Was she planning on helping him with his training? It was eating into him so much. But he knew he had to concentrate, so he forced himself to push those thoughts aside. “Yes, Sofia,” Dr. Elias said, pointing at a girl with bright tousled blonde hair who had had her hand raised. She was the one who had been glancing at Lee Jaehyun’s way, along with her friends, blushing. Sofia stood up, cleared her throat and said, “Mana is the force of life that flows through all Enkindled.” Her answer was simple. Merlin, though, felt like it was incorrect. He could not think of anything better, not being able to recall how exactly it had been described in Singularity Mage, so he kept his mouth shut and just stared. Dr. Elias made known his dissatisfaction with Sofia’s answer then. “Is that all, Sofia?” he asked, a blank expression on his face, and a brass cane, complementing his attire, in his hands. “Do you have anything else to add?” Sofia looked disturbed due to that question. She glanced at her two friends seated beside her, unsure of what to say next. But one thing was definitely certain to her; she had not gotten the answer to the question: ‘What is Mana?’ “No, Dr,” she replied, shaking her head weakly after giving it some thought. Dr. Elias sighed. “That’s fine. You may sit.” She sat. “Does anyone else want to try?” The classroom was silent. Most of them had probably not touched a single book since after gaining their admission, just like Merlin. But there were still a few who most likely had; Oh Jihye, for one, had her hand raised. “Yes. You may speak,” said Dr. Elias. Oh Jihye rose to her feet in a rather uppity manner. “Mana, I believe, is a symbiotic virus that latches onto humans in order to survive.” It almost felt like she had more to say, but regardless of her not carrying on, loud gasps still reverberated through the classroom, Merlin’s brows fell, and Dr. Elias smiled. “Correct,” he said with a rather pleasant tone. “You may sit.” He’d really wanted a student to know the answer, hadn’t he? Oh Jihye’s posture became even more pompous as a self-conscious smile danced on the edges of her lips before she fell back down onto the bench. Merlin wouldn’t lie, he was utterly confused. Oh Jihye’s answer sounded like nonsense. In fact, Sofia’s answer seemed like the correct one in hindsight. After all, what did she mean by mana being a virus? Wouldn’t that mean that all Mages were sick? Even worse was that Dr. Elias agreed with her. Were they all really sick? The bulk of the rest of the students had different reactions. Jealousy danced upon the faces of most of the girls in the classroom, while the boys gaped at Oh Jihye like they had just come to notice her beauty. Merlin was interested in neither; he just wanted to figure out how in Santa’s toes was mana a virus. “I get it, you’re all confused,” Dr. Elias continued. “You’re right to be. It’s not like you should know this without being taught.” Exactly. “Which is why I strongly advocate rese