Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 52: 52-Is Anyone Seated Beside You?

Read chapter 52 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

“Two days, four-eyes! Two days have passed and yet we’ve had no kimchi!” Chima voiced as the three residents of boys’ dorm room fifty walked to the Academy’s main building. Hakyun simply nudged his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. “I lost so I’ll make the kimchi; but you don’t have the right to bother me about it. Make do with the cafeteria food for now.” “No way I’ll keep doing that when you exist,” Chima frowned, his bag carried in a baby-cradle with his arms wrapped tightly around it. Merlin wondered why the boy always did that, but it was none of his business. “Do you know how hard it is to come across money?” “The premium card for a month is ten percent off,” Hakyun replied, holding the straps of his backpack. “Subscribe for that.” Veins popped out of the sides of Chima’s head. He was really frugal, wasn’t he? It was Monday, the first, actual day of their lives in the Academy—not counting the physical assessment. They were each dressed in their uniforms—white shirt, red blazers, brown trousers, striped ties—and on their shoulders were the emblems of Cohort Spearhead. Merlin had goosebumps over his skin, his heart pounding so intensely that he wondered how Chima and Hakyun could talk about Kimchi at the moment. It was not like he didn’t crave it too; he was yet to taste it, after all. But he just felt like they should be more excited about classes instead. They were on their way to becoming Mages! His mind then flew back to the headmaster’s quest, and his mood instantly soured. Deconstructing an S-Class Mage’s Advanced, Tier III spell had not been on his bingo list when he had gotten the System. At least, not a year after he’d gotten into Prestige Academy. For Kieran to have been able to do that, he had had to be at least level fifty, if Merlin remembered correctly. His Intelligence was a measly level eight at the moment. He had forty-two more level ups to go. And his physical training had taken a nose-dive in quality. Jogging and push-ups were doing nothing to help with his progress. The points he was getting were negligible. Unless he began raiding Dungeons, there was no way for him to level up as quickly as the headmaster wanted of him. What exactly was he to do here? “Guys,” Merlin called to Chima and Hakyun, deciding to take his mind away from his plight. “I’m worried.” “Huh?” Hakyun touched his glasses. Chima raised a brow. “About what?” “I’m in Class A,” Merlin sobbed, standing still for a while and looking up at the blue sky. “Why am I in Class A?” Their class assignments had come in early Sunday morning, as well as the current rankings for their Cohorts and academics. Merlin had expected it, but he was topping the rankings for academics as a result of the enormous points he had received. Chima and Hakyun had chased him around their room then, as their own means of congratulating him, apparently. Unlike them, though, he was sure that he would fall soon enough, so he couldn’t get excited. His scores were always average on exams and tests; he had only managed to top for now because of the System; soon enough he would be down at the bottom, where he belonged. That was, unless Nora could help him bolster his scores, but he would have to wait until evening to find out if there was a glimmer of hope there. He hoped there was. There had to be. Then there was the Cohort rankings, which had pissed Hakyun off. After all, Cohort Dragon Eye was in the lead with a hundred points, while Cohort Spearhead came in second with ninety-five points. The difference was only five points, but Cohort Dragon Eye was first regardless. And Hakyun didn’t like that. He’d wanted Cohort Spearhead to be first from start to finish. The boy was the most deluded person Merlin had ever met. “Why would you be worried?” Hakyun continued. “Professor Jung said the classes would be split equally, so I’m sure everything is fine.” “Yeah, Mel,” Chima joined in. “I’m sure it’s all good.” The problem was not the class, the problem was that he would be al