Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 21: 21-Dungeon Raid Exam

Read chapter 21 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

As Merlin had thought, the interior of the auditorium did not disappoint. It was a grand, ornate hall with rows upon rows of red seats arranged in a semi-circle, and a wide stage upfront. The stained glass windows, golden chandeliers hanging from its ceiling, and the natural light pouring in; painted it in an elegant and colorful glow that made Merlin feel like he had sauntered into a theatre instead. He stood amazed for a brief second, jaw slack, until a rushing examinee shoved his shoulder. “Move out of the way!” the person shouted. And, of course, he did just that. No one was keen on ending up on the floor with the stampede that had ensued. Hundreds of people rushing into a space at the same time was not anything to scoff at. Nora, on the other hand, had her hands full with searching for a good enough spot for the both of them. But whenever she rushed to one, someone would hit her away and hiss at her. She had never been very good at shunting. Merlin realized that he had to be the one to take the initiative here, or else they would not be comfortable when the whole commotion had settled down; because, by then, they would be left with only the crappy seats, and when arriving at a new location, it was best to get the best possible place to relax. And the fact that this was the prelude to an examination made the urgency even more dire. After all, they had no idea what was next on the menu. He pushed through the crowd, leaving Nora where she continued foraging unsuccessfully, and, not long after, found a good enough spot. But his thoughts were seemingly not his alone. He locked eyes with a boy standing beside him, and they both clicked their tongues at each other before dashing forward. Merlin did not follow the stairs, as it was a mess of bodies; instead, he let go of all his sense of decorum, swerved to his side, and jumped over seats. This brought about brief gazes and stares, but he didn’t mind. And sure enough, he got to his location before his competition—his leveled up Agility to be thanked for that. His competition didn’t back down though. “I got here first!” the boy who had raced Merlin argued. “No, you didn’t,” Merlin sneered at him. “Oh, yeah? And how can you prove that?” Merlin was caught in a dilemma there. True enough, there was no way he could prove that he was the one who had gotten to the seat first, everyone else was focused on their own self. And this person gave the impression of being someone who could argue on and on for ages—until they had both lost the seats, that was. “He got here first,” a voice said from behind Merlin, inciting him to turn around. It was the person seated next to the spot he had chosen, and they were pointing at him. He was dark skinned, had a taper fade cut, and was clutching a school bag close to his chest like he was scared of it being snatched from him. Merlin was dazed for a brief second, perplexed that someone had actually watched the whole exchange till its completion and had come to his aid, but he reined himself in quickly. “There you go.” He turned back to his competition. “I got here first.” The boy bit his lower lip. “W-Well there’s two seats, right? Let’s share.” “Sorry,” it was Nora who spoke this time. The boy turned around to look at her. “It’s mine.” The boy glanced at Merlin who just gave a shrug. Then with a scowl, a growl, and a kick at the seat that probably left him in more pain than the seat itself, he left and resumed his searching. “Are you a kangaroo? Jumping up and down like that?” Nora jested as she dropped down comfortably into her seat, a deep exhale leaving her lips. Merlin wanted to hit her at the back of her head. This was what he got for embarrassing himself with that display? She should kowtow at his feet in appreciation. “Learn how to say thank you,” he rolled his eyes at her. “It’s a particular skill that boosts gregariousness.” Nora snorted. “You…talking about someone being gregarious? I must have wax in my ears.” He just scowled at her and sat do