Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 172: 172-Victory Can Be Yours

Read chapter 172 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Fifteen minutes to go until the first fight and nerves were sky high. The highlight of the semester was just a few minutes away, and it dawned on everyone that a single mistake could cost them all, be it their collective goal of taking Prestige Academy to the top, or whatever personal motivation was driving them. Carlos Mendes, Nora’s replacement, was the most nervous of them all. He was pacing around the room, waiting for the moment his name would be announced, and as such, his anxiety rubbed off on others. “Would you quit it already?” Sangook roared, which wasn’t surprising as he was always the first to let his temper loose. “Don’t talk to him in such a manner,” Jaehyun argued before anyone else could. Sangook turned to him with a sneer. “What did you just say?” Jaehyun frowned. “I said you shouldn’t talk to him like that. Everyone has their own way of dealing with being unnerved. You do not have to be an inconsiderate brat every single time.” “You little!” “That’s enough!” Kim Yiseo ordered and the quarrel paused. “What do you both think you’re doing? We should be using our energy for our opponents, not ourselves. The least you could do is think before you act.” Despite how irrational and prone to irritation Sangook always was, he wasn’t entirely dumb. Yiseo’s words had put some sense into him, and even though he had still clicked his tongue disrespectfully, at least he kept his mouth shut. Merlin, on the other hand, had pulled himself away from the squabble for what he would assume was the first time. He was more focused on his phone as he tried to settle one lingering matter that had been on his mind for days. Janeth Park. After trying several times to speak to her about the System and how she had tactfully eluded him, he came to realize that she was really ignoring him. It wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking discovery as the hints were there, but it was a painful one nonetheless. In fact, Merlin had been left with the assumption one time that he was blocked, but his messages still being delivered told him otherwise. Merlin, however, now decided to take the hint. He sent a less subtle message than all his prior ones, telling her that he needed to tell her a secret, and it was not related to him having asked her out or anything of the sort, specifically including that both Sunny and Nora knew about it already. He had also mentioned that he had no intention of asking her out again and he was okay with her decision, so she didn’t have to be on guard around him. It was false, but it was either that or the truth, and the truth was the worst thing to pass across at this point in time. As soon as he sent the message, he put off his phone, blocking out all distraction to focus on the tournament—starting with Carlos. “What can you tell us about your Hex?” Merlin started, and everyone turned to him; the room fell silent. Carlos paused. “What do you mean?” Merlin shrugged. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? There’s no point in pacing around and biting your nails. The best thing to do right now is to take your mind off negativity. We’re facing students handpicked from the number one academy in the world; the competition is stiff. But we’re not exactly walks in the park either. We cleared Towers to be here.” “I didn’t,” said Carlos. “My team failed. I don’t even get why I was chosen to replace someone like Nora in the first place. This was a mistake.” “Probably because you were from Dragon Eye and you performed the best out of all the choices?” Man-Shik said. “That’s not the point,” Carlos argued and Man-Shik raised his hands in defeat. Merlin had failed to take that into account. He had forgotten that each Cohort was split into different teams to venture into the Towers, and not all had passed. But, honestly, what did that matter now? “We’re a team,” said Merlin. “We’ll help each other to attain victory.” “Oh, yeah? And how exactly do you suppose we do that?” Oh Jihye chimed in, arms folded, legs crossed, and hair braided like she was going on