Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 23: 23-The Necromancer’s Lair

Read chapter 23 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Deficient Mages were as rare as S-Class Mages, but the reception of the two types of Mages differed very greatly. One was revered, loved, and everyone wanted to be around them. The other was…well, a topic of the type of gossip that was usually frowned upon. “I’ve never seen a Deficient Mage before,” one of the examinees whispered, glancing Merlin’s way like he was some sort of alien; he could see them from the side of his eye, but he pretended like he couldn’t. This whole situation had come about because someone had apparently heard Nora while she had been explaining the situation to Kim Minji, and had, knowingly or unknowingly, spread the information around that, well, Merlin was the Deficient Mage. “How can a Mage be unable to cast spells?” another said. “Doesn’t that mean that they aren’t actually a Mage? The whole essence of being a Mage is the ability to cast spells.” No… The whole essence of being a Mage was being in possession of mana—of being an Enkindled. If one wanted to become a Warrior then, it was up to them to request a change. But the default of an Enkindled is being a Mage. Merlin wanted to argue against the murmurs, but he held himself back. His ears were already bleeding from all the side talk, voicing his opinions on the matter would only worsen the situation. Well, at least he had been able to figure out who the two S-Class Mages were. And…it was really, really funny. After all, one was the grandson of the president of South Korea, as well as the son of the Guildmaster of one of the top four Guilds in the country, the Tiger Guild, while the other was the daughter of the Consortium Guild’s Guildmaster. All in all, they were the kind of big shots everyone wanted to cuddle up to, even if they weren’t S-Class Mages. Their Class was just the icing on the cake. At least they didn’t team up. It was not like that meant they wouldn’t breeze through the exam, but only one of them would come first—their party, to be precise. On that note, the wind had also brought to Merlin’s ears that the parties of the S-Class Mages were made up of, at the very least, B-Class Mages. Basically, they had formed powerhouse parties there; and Merlin knew that it was only because he had hogged two A-Class Mages to himself by chance that they were not even more powerful. But he wouldn’t feel bad about it. He had only given himself a chance at success, and he would grab it by its horns. “Hey,” Kim Minji called, and Merlin turned to her where she had, somehow, slowly crept to his side. “What do you think are inside all those caves?” She nudged her chin in the direction of the Open field—at least, the part Ms. Jung had led them to—a vast expanse of greenery, possessing tall trees that went up to at least thirty feet, as well as hundreds of visible caves which almost looked like small mountains. Merlin didn’t have the answer to her question. After all, if he did then he wouldn’t be feeling tense, because, well, he would be well aware of how to pass. And he was sure Kim Minji knew that too. Which brought him to the understanding that she was probably just trying to strike a conversation with him. Why, though? “I’m not sure,” Merlin answered regardless, but briefly. He was not exactly in the right state of mind to talk. His heart felt like it would leap out of his chest at any moment. “I see…” Kim Minji nodded. And there was quiet—just for a while. “So, this might be sensitive, but, if you don’t mind, I was wondering what it was like being a Deficient Mage.” Merlin instantly felt like he had been punched in the stomach and all the wind had been taken out of his sails. He had been suspecting that she’d had a reason for trying to strike a conversation with him, but he had not been expecting it to be that reason. Honestly, though, he wouldn't fault her. Curiosity was part of human nature. All they knew about Deficient Mages was that they couldn't cast spells, so it was only normal that one wondered what it was like being a Deficient Mage. However,