Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 7: 7-Stop Spacing Out, Merlin Tyrrell

Read chapter 7 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

“Stop spacing out, Merlin Tyrrell!” Nora voiced, hands on her waist and her expression bearing a frown. “What’s up with you suddenly? Don’t tell me you really got the jitters for that lady?” Merlin wouldn’t deny that he did, but that was not what was bothering him at this moment. It was the System floating before his eyes. It did not take a genius to realize that the mind and soul completely differed from the body. And, as such, it was one thing to strengthen the body, and a completely different ball game to cleanse the mind. His mind wasn’t even filthy to begin with. It was not like he was a degenerate, so he was unsure as to why the System was asking him to cleanse it. It’s already hard enough for me to get into exercising, and now I have to start seeking meditation lessons? What do you take me for? A hermit? Merlin was pissed that he had to go through this when Kieran had not, and the protagonist had actually almost become a hermit once in the story. Honestly, he felt like he would have been just fine with the ordinary version of the System; this modified one seemed like it would pile absurd quests upon absurd quests onto him very, very soon, and plunge him into a world of pain and frustration. On the other hand, a Deficient Mage shouldn’t be complaining, right? This was for his own good—all things considered. Merlin was shaken out of his thoughts by a shove from behind. He turned around to see Nora extremely furious. She must have been calling out to him all this while. “What’s the problem?” she asked, not exactly concerned, just curious. Merlin had told her about the whole ‘strengthen your body, Merlin Tyrrell’ thing, so he saw no reason as to why he should have to hide his newest quest. “I received another,” he said. She tilted her head. “A Quest I mean.” Her furrowed brows loosened. “Oh. What’s it this time?” “It says I should be clear of mind and spirit,” he said. “I should meditate, basically.” Nora’s head jerked back slightly. She glanced at the door of the Mage gym, and back at Merlin, then grinned. “You naughty boy.” Merlin flushed. “No! That’s not it!” “Like hell it isn’t.” She turned around, arms folded, and walked towards the sparring area. Merlin chased after her, trying his best to clear the misunderstanding, but he failed woefully, his attempts crashing against a brick wall until he could do nothing but sigh in defeat. Nora took off her cross bag now that they were in the sparring area, and placed it to the side. She then grabbed her Grimoire and walked onto the large square mat that spanned nearly the whole center of the room. “So? Where do we start?” she asked. “That depends,” said Merlin, standing on the opposite side from where she was. “Can you cast any spells?” Nora downturned her lips with a shrug. “You know I can’t, Merlin. And we were not taught anything about casting spells during our lessons. But, I was thinking, maybe if I channel enough Mana, something may come of it.” Merlin recoiled as though he had heard the most vile statement in his seventeen years of life. “For someone so smart, that was a dumb thing to say.” Nora reddened. “Hey! What else did you expect to hear? I just got the Grimoire today; it’s not like I know anything about casting Air spells yet. You know each spell is cast differently.” Merlin just stared at her plaintively, causing her to bite her lower lip in annoyance. “If you’ve got a better idea, then let’s hear it!” He did have a better idea. “I can teach you,” he said without a hint of jeer in his voice. Nora’s expression blanked. She blinked owlishly for a couple of seconds, silence in the air, then she snorted, and burst into a laugh. “You can’t be serious,” she said. “I am,” Merlin replied, not particularly bothered by her reaction. He had been expecting it. For one, they had both attended the same lessons, so if she had no idea how to cast spells, there was no way he could. And, to make matters worse, he was a Deficient Mage. His mana was so little that even if he did have