Chima and Hakyun’s reactions were justified. Merlin had no right to say that they were overreacting by staring wide-eyed in confusion and being unable to utter any words, because if he had been in their position, he would have been the same way as well.

  However, he couldn’t stand watching them being silent any more than he already had. It was high time they said something.

  “Guys,” Merlin pushed, and that did the work.

  “Is that a…” Hakyun started but didn’t finish. He shook his head and wiped his eyes. “No. I must be dreaming.” He turned to Merlin. “Tell me I’m dreaming. Right now.”

  Merlin shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re not.”

  Hakyun jerked back slightly and scratched the back of his head. “I don’t understand. What’s going on? Really?” He pointed at Blue. “Is that what I think it is, Merlin?”

  Merlin pursed his lips and shifted slightly into the room, putting some distance between himself and his roommates. Then he nodded.

  “Yes,” he said. “It’s a dragon.”

  “What the actual fuck?!” Hakyun voiced and shrank back.

  Merlin was unsure if the lad was excited or angry. Merlin hoped it would be the former like Hakyun had been when he had told them of his ability to use anti-magic. But with every second that passed with Hakyun pacing about, he slowly lost hope in that.

  Hakyun turned back to Merlin.

  “What’s this, Merlin?” he asked, pulling at his hair. “There’s no way a…dragon just appeared in your bedroom. How long? No. How exactly did you get a dragon? What’s going on here?” Before Merlin could have the chance to explain, he turned to Chima. “Are you just gonna stand there and stare all day? Say something?”

  “Shut up, four eyes,” Chima clicked his tongue. He looked at Merlin. “Does Nora know?”

  Merlin nodded. “She does.”

  Chima exhaled. “So? What is it? What’s going on here? Spill it.”

  Merlin took a glance at Hakyun who was tapping his feet and nudging his glasses impatiently, and heaved out a sigh.

  “It’s complicated,” he began. “So, I’ll start with this.”

  Merlin pulled out his phone, brought up his User Interface, and handed it to Chima and Hakyun. Chima received the phone, and Hakyun peered over his shoulder to look at it. They both furrowed their brows at the sight of the System, and only after a few seconds had passed did they turn back to him.

  Hakyun was the first to hit the nail on its head.

  “Don’t tell me…” He swallowed. “You have a…System?”

  Being asked that question was weird. Merlin knew the answer, but for a moment, it felt like he didn’t. He calmed his heart and nodded, saying, “Yes.”

  Hakyun paled. He grabbed on to Chima as a means to stabilize himself from taking steps backward.

  Chima, on the other hand, looked as though he had just been told a secret he had long known. His complexion didn’t change, and he had the same look of curiosity as he had had ever since Merlin had revealed Blue to them.

  “This is why you’re able to use anti-magic, isn’t it?” he asked, taking one more glance at Merlin’s phone. “This ‘Reader Mage’ thing?”

  Merlin nodded. “Yes. It’s nothing as simple as Deficient Mages not being studied fully, I just have a boon no one else has.”

  Merlin wished he could read the thoughts of his roommates at this moment. He was split in two parts in himself, confused as to whether he had made the right decision or firm that he had. But he had no such power, and all he could do was wait for them to reveal what they thought about the whole situation.

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  “And you kept this a secret from us all this while?” Hakyun asked, his tone bearing none of the usual playfulness it had. “Really, Merlin?”

  “Stop it, four-eyes,” Chima chimed in. “We don’t have the right to tell him what he should tell us and what he shouldn’t.”

  Hakyun clicked his tongue and shoved Chima. “That’s where you’re wrong, brute,” he argued. “We’re not just any roommates,” He turned to Merlin, “we’re friends. Friends don’t keep secrets from one another.”

  Merlin bit his lower lip.

  “It’s been five months, Merlin,” Hakyun continued. “Five months since we became friends. You know all about me, my family, how I was bullied by Sangook. I have never for once kept a single secret from you. And you didn’t think we were trustworthy enough for something so important?” He paused, heaving. “Why?”

  Merlin couldn’t say he didn’t trust them, because that wasn’t it. He did trust them. Not at first, but he came around quickly enough. He just hadn’t brought telling them about the System to the forefront. But if he put it like that, it would only make Hakyun even more annoyed. So he kept quiet.

  Hakyun clicked his tongue. “Can’t even say nothing now either.”

  “Stop it,” Chima upbraided Hakyun. “He must have had his reasons.”

  “Yeah, right,” Hakyun snorted. “Good on him that he didn’t think his friends were good enough to be relied on.” He turned around and walked back into the living room, plopping down on the couch still seething.

  Chima turned to Merlin and handed back his phone.

  “Don’t mind him,” he said. “People handle such things differently. I’m sure he’ll listen to you better when he’s coolheaded.”

  Merlin sighed, his lips parting with a soft smile. “Thank you.”

  “Who else knows besides Nora?” Chima continued.

  “The headmaster,” Merlin shrugged. “I only told him last week on my return from the Tower raid.”

  Chima’s brows twitched. “Hold on. Was that why you were so glum? Does the System have something to do with what happened?”

  Merlin nodded. “There’s this thing called Quests it gives me. It tampers with my raids, makes them harder, and in return grants me rewards known as Perks.” Chima blinked, the explanation all coming in at once and overwhelming him. “I can explain all about it to you and Hakyun when he’s more settled, if you’d like. As well as how I got it. I just thought it was time I told you both about it. Because I didn’t want you guys to get hurt.”

  “Get hurt?” Hakyun said from behind Chima, drawing Merlin’s attention his way. He sighed then, rubbing his forehead. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know why I got so angry. No. I do. I just hate it when people close to me keep secrets from me. It makes me, well, feel like I’m not deserving of knowing something so important about them. You know?”

  Merlin smiled and nodded. “I get it,” he said. “And I’m sorry too. I really don’t know why I kept it from you guys for so long. There were times where I just wanted to say it, but I held myself back. It feels good to finally get it off my chest.”

  Hakyun nodded, and moved forward again. “What did you mean by us getting hurt?”

  “The System,” Merlin explained, “isn’t exactly my friend, you see. It keeps on messing with me, my raids, and my attempts at training. Yes, I level up and all that. But it gets riskier the more I make use of it. And…I’m afraid one of these days you guys will get caught in the crossfire. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened, so I decided to do the only thing I could. Tell you both about it.”

  Chima and Hakyun remained silent. The existence of a System on its own was already too much of a reveal to bear, and, now, he was making it known to them that it solely existing in someone close to them could result in them being hurt. It was a hard pill to swallow. Even if he was their friend and roommate, he wasn’t expecting them to understand and be cool with it.

  “I’ve told the headmaster,” Merlin continued. “So if you guys want to change your roommate, then I’m sure we can work things out with him. I even think that’ll be the best of choice. I’ve been waiting for the headmaster to do something, but I’m yet to hear back from him. Anyway, I’m sure if we all go to him and you air out your complaints, he’ll be certain to listen. So—”

  “What are you talking about?” Hakyun cut in, nudging his glasses as he narrowed his eyes. “Did the System rewire your brain? No way we’re trading you for a new roommate. You’re too cool.”

  Merlin blinked owlishly.

  Chima leaned on the frame of the door and smiled. “You heard the man,” he said. “Now, what we have to do is think about how we get over this hurdle. Together.”

  Merlin was at a loss for words. He knew right from his first day as a student of Prestige Academy that he had been placed in the same dorm room with the best people he could ask for, but now he was certain of that. Chima and Hakyun were truly people he could call his friends. And, yet, he wasn’t at ease. The System was dangerous and them staying close to him frightened him.

  There had to be something he could do to keep them from danger.

  Their smartwatches beeped at that moment and their attentions shifted from the reveal of the System and the disasters it could pose to what points they had received.

  Hakyun, always so entranced by being first in the Cohorts rankings, was the first to click on his smartwatch and bring up the updated list. His mood instantly crumbled at the sight, his shoulder dropping.

  “Dang it!” he voiced. “We’ve lost the first position to Dragon Eye. They now have 580 points to our 565.” He hissed, taking a moment to calculate the allocations. “A hundred points for each team that cleared their Tower. Two of ours lost, and only one of theirs did.” He looked up at Merlin and Chima. “We have some catching up to do, boys. We cannot lose in the tournament.”