Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 145: 145-Sherlock Holmes Is A Tall Figure To Emulate

Read chapter 145 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

“Transfer?” Hakyun blurted as soon as Marcus stepped in, shifting out of the corner where he and Merlin stood with a pinched expression. “There’s no way anyone would want to transfer. I don’t believe you.” Marcus only regarded him with a smile. Then he nodded, downturning his mouth. “Sure. The first stage is always denial.” Hakyun’s nose twitched and his mien worsened. “I don’t like this guy,” he said as he turned to Merlin and pointed at Marcus, not having the slightest intention to hide his displeasure. Marcus took no offense at that declaration. His gaze just shifted from Hakyun to Merlin and he tilted his head. “You must be him,” he began, shuffling forward slowly after taking off his shoes at the doorstep. “The Deficient Mage. Merlin Tyrrell. It’s nice to meet you.” He stretched a hand forward. Merlin jerked his head back slightly, an incredulous look painting his face. He had heard Marcus state to Chima that he had done his research on his competition, but the fact that someone took the time to find out about him in a way that wasn’t to scorn him still baffled Merlin somewhat. Not once had he imagined that happening; well, not since he had become a Deficient Mage. It was funny how quickly things could change. Merlin, not intending to be rude, unlike Hakyun who passed across a feisty first impression, took Marcus’s hand. “The pleasure is mine,” he said. “Oh. Nice grip,” Marcus noted as he tightened his hand over Merlin’s. “From your figure, I can see you are athletic, but your grip is significantly stronger than your figure should make it out to be.” His smile widened. “Tell me your secret.” Merlin blinked owlishly and retreated his hand. His secret was not something he could tell, hardly to people he knew, and definitely not to a complete stranger. “I don’t have any secrets,” he replied. Marcus hummed. “You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn a Deficient Mage isn’t supposed to be doing the things you do.” Merlin’s forehead creased. “You’re something of a legend, Merlin. I can call you Merlin, can’t I? Unless you’ve become as formal as Koreans.” Merlin didn’t say anything. “I’ll take that as a yes then. So; where was I? Ah. You being a legend. Yeah. Have you checked how many views that video of yours has lately?” Merlin blinked. Marcus jerked back slightly. He glanced at Chima and Hakyun. They too all had the same owlish look as Merlin. “None of you? Dang. You’re not the kind of guys to be obsessed with stats?” Merlin was. He had just completely put that video at the back of his mind, considering he’d had a lot of things take its place since then, and his bulk of worries weren’t slowing down. But now that Marcus had mentioned it, maybe he should have checked. Because it seemed like it had spread so far and wide that everyone might now know his face. This guy did. And it was safe to assume that his classmates, and maybe even students of Nikita Academy did. Perhaps even students of the other Mage Academies in the world. A legend? Merlin’s heart raced. That was absurd. But for some reason his lips were being pulled involuntarily to the side. He fought back against the urge to smile. He couldn’t come across as smug. “You can smile if you want,” Marcus said, and Merlin’s expression froze. “It’d be weird if you didn’t feel some sort of ecstasy from it.” The lad shifted further into the room. “Mind offering me a seat?” Chima sighed and gestured at the couch. “It’s open.” Marcus nodded and sat on the couch. “You’re cool, Chima. I like you.” “Thank you.” Hakyun clicked his tongue and sat down on a stool in the kitchen area, while Chima took his place on the cushion near the window once again. Merlin walked to the fridge, slightly embarrassed, and brought a bottle of water for Marcus. “You guys are nice,” Marcus said. “I’d thought you would all be hostile towards me.” “I am hostile,” Hakyun snorted, nudging his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “You’ve given me no reason not to.” “Yeah, yeah. I get it. I heard you were like tha