Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 24: 24-Let’s Begin

Read chapter 24 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

“Merlin?” Nora called out again. And when Merlin didn’t reply, she closed the distance between both of them and lowered her voice into a whisper. “Hey… What’s suddenly wrong with you?” Merlin snapped back in that instant, blinking for a moment. “This place,” he started, his voice low as well. “It was a Dungeon in Singularity Mage.” Nora jerked her head back just enough that it was missed by Chima and Kim Minji. “Singularity Mage?” “That novel,” said Merlin. “The one I should have won a prize for always reading?” “Yeah, I know that, smartass. What I mean is, why would it be a Dungeon in that novel?” They were taking their lovely time, considering the exam’s clock was ticking, and that was more than enough to spark curiosity in the other two members of their party. “Is there a problem?” asked Kim Minji. Chima just looked their way with his arms folded over his backpack. Merlin and Nora had been talking in a hushed manner, which, of course, looked strange. After all, Nora had been all team oriented a few minutes back, so suddenly keeping the rest of the team out of the loop did seem weird. But they had to. It was not like they could tell them anything. And, surely, they couldn’t mention the system. “I’m not feeling too well.” Merlin quickly thought up a plausible enough lie, grateful for all the times he’d had to deceive his mother just to escape her nagging. “The blood is making me nauseous. I just need a moment.” “Yeah,” supported Nora, beginning to rub his back like he was on the verge of retching. “Just give us a second. This happens all the time. It’s like he has an allergy to blood even though it flows through his veins.” Cracking jokes in this situation? It could only be Nora. “I see. Please hurry up then. We don’t have all day, you know?” Chima said before returning to surveying the Dungeon. He was a rather meticulous one. Kim Minji, on the other hand, only nodded. She was still overly anxious, and the thought that it would only get worse unsettled Merlin—for the exam’s sake. But he was still the most useless one here, so he doubted he had the right to be concerned about others. Or… Was he? His brows pulled together as a realization suddenly hit him. “Hey,” he began when Nora returned her attention back to him. “If this is really the same Dungeon as in Singularity Mage, then maybe I can help us ensure that we pass.” Nora’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?” “Exactly what it sounds like. Even though I have forgotten a bit of what happened in the novel, I still remember a few things about this Dungeon and how to clear it. And, in fact, I can make up for my missing knowledge by just checking the pdf on my phone. We might really be able to guarantee that we pass.” Nora fell into her thoughts for a moment. She’d always been wary of the System, and the current situation was not making it any better. The Dungeon in their world being the exact same as the one in a novel was not exactly a good look. But this was not the time to be that way. Sure, they could decide to focus on using their abilities to get through the exam, but if Merlin was right, then things would be a lot easier with his knowledge. She had witnessed it first hand as well. With his help, she had managed to get through her magic hurdles quicker. Merlin saw no reason for her to reject his proposal. “Alright,” she agreed after a few seconds. “But how are we going to do that without it being strange to the other two?” Merlin sighed. “That’s impossible,” he answered. “They’ll definitely find it weird, but we’ll just have to keep going regardless. It’s not like they can force anything out of our mouths.” “I see… So play dumb?” Nora nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this. But, are you sure that it’ll really follow the same mechanics as the one in the novel? What if you end up being wrong?” He had considered that. And taking into account that the System had been modified, it was not a reach to think that the Dungeon could have been modified as well. But what gave him a b