Reader Mage 170-You’re A Fantastic Mage

After his training, rlin decided to pay Professor Jung a visit on account of Professor Dmitri’s disappearance. Since she was on his speed dial, it was very easy to set the eting up. However, when she appeared in her night robes, her glasses seated in front of tired eyes, and her hair packed into a bun, he wondered if he was inconsiderate. It was late. He could have left it for the next day.

“Good evening, Professor Jung,” rlin greeted, rising from the bench he was seated on, deciding to end things quickly so she could return to whatever she was busy with or her sleep. Whichever it was.

“rlin. How are you?” she asked, her tone a lot lower than he expected. “The air’s quite chilly, don’t you think?”

Since he hadn’t caught her while she was in her office, rlin had organized the eting to hold outdoors. It was not like he could waltz into the staff building and to her room. That would have been all shades of inappropriate.

“I guess,” rlin noted, not exactly certain. His current level in Resilience made it so that harsh weather barely bothered him when it acted directly on his skin. Like the cold for example. He then gestured at the bench. “Please, have a seat.”

She chuckled. “You’re being weirdly nice.”

rlin smiled. “I pride myself on the fact that I’m always nice.”

She scoffed as she sat down on the bench, crossed her legs, and breathed out a deep sigh while staring at the garden of flowers just before her.

He sat down beside her.

“Ah. A cup of coffee would be lovely right about now,” Professor Jung said. “Even though it would be dically inappropriate for to take any more caffeine in my current state. Why did you leave the infirmary ahead of schedule? Are you certain you’re fully healed?”

“Yes,” said rlin. “Yes, I am.”

Then his mind flew back to the words that had actually been a bother for him.

In her current state? He frowned.

His first thought was that perhaps it had to do with Prestige Academy hosting the inter-academy tournant. It obviously wouldn’t be easy for the staff. They had to cover a wide ground as they allowed relatives to co into the academy to et their enrolled family, and, of course, make sure that the spirit of rivalry did not go over the top. He had heard of so students almost fighting once, and that was before the first stage of the tournant. Emotions would be more tense now, and from what rlin had gleaned from that Marcus boy when he had paid them a visit, he assud Crown Academy students would be a bit pompous.

Nevertheless, that was definitely not Professor Jung’s problem. rlin’s intuition told him that.

Sothing else was the problem, and he hoped to God that it was not what he was thinking.

“Is sothing the problem?” he asked.

Professor Jung regarded him with a smile. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

A question over his own question? A common deflection tactic. But rlin decided not to push. If she didn’t want to tell him, then so be it. And if it turned out to be what he was afraid of, he would confirm that soon enough.

“It’s about Professor Dmitri,” rlin started. “I have not co across him in the academy in the past few days. It’s almost like he's missing.”

Professor Jung was silent for a few seconds, which rlin took as a negative sign, but then she asked, “Is there sothing you need his help with?”

rlin shook his head. “Not exactly. I was just worried.” He paused, assuming that was enough, but then he resud, “I’m not the only one, by the way. Others have noticed too. I think they’re just too preoccupied with the tournant to be feet deep into it.”

Professor Jung chuckled. “You’re talking like sothing happened to him.” rlin didn’t reply. “He went to pay Nikolai a visit. He’s fine.”

Pay Nikolai a visit?

The pieces of mories rlin had received from Nikolai flashed through his head, and from what he understood of their relationship, Professor Dmitri wasn’t the kind of man who would pay Nikolai a visit and stay there for up to four days. Heck, from what rlin could recall, he hadn’t even paid the guy a visit when the whole incident had happened. So why now? Why, after he went to Club Spiral, did he think it would make a modicum of sense to visit Nikolai? And since rlin had sent the pictures of Professor Dmitri’s exploits to the headmaster, there was no way the man would have let such a villain near Nikolai.

Was that it? Had they taken Professor Dmitri into investigation?

“That’s enough, rlin,” Professor Jung began at that mont. “Head back to your dorm and go to sleep.”

There was an undercurrent of frustration in those words, and rlin was no longer the type of person that subtle things escaped.

“I know my shoddy vpn didn’t do much,” he started. “There’s no way you guys don’t know that I’m the one who sent the pictures to the headmaster.” Professor Jung’s brows twitched, but she remained still, trying her best to fight off her twisting expression. “What happened to Professor Dmitri? Are you interrogating him? What about the drugs? What information do we have on it?”

“We?” Professor Jung shot him a glare. “There is no we, rlin. The fact that you even thought it was wise to involve yourself in adult matters deserves more than just a slap on the wrist. What is wrong with you? How did you even get those pictures? What were you doing? What are you even up to?”

rlin frowned. “Nothing. I just want to help.”

“You’ll help by staying out of it. You’re a child for goodness sake. Think about how your parents will react if sothing happens to you.”

“You can’t be saying that now,” rlin argued. “What’s with all the lessons you gave us about being Mages? Huh? So all those were just words. We shouldn't act on them? So because I’m supposedly a child, should I turn a blind eye to injustice when I see it? Well, I can’t, I’m sorry. I’ve tried, really, I’ve tried. But the darn thing keeps seeking out.”

rlin paused, considering if it would be right to let everything he had bottled up out. And then he didn’t care anymore if it was right or wrong.

“With the headmaster tossing that whole thing about the Cataclysm on my shoulders, and then that mysterious lady, and then that thing with Nikolai, and now just a few days ago I was ambushed by another person in the middle of the academy. I’m sorry, professor, but I can’t. Not with the fact that I’m actively involved in this whole ss, even when I try to stay out of it.”

Professor Jung had been listening in a daze. She shook her head as though that would help her process all she had heard clearly.

“What mysterious lady?” she asked. “What do you an you were ambushed in the academy?”

rlin licked his lips.

“During my encounter with the ice wyverns, sothing happened. There was a woman in a black leather outfit there. I think she was the one who saved from dying. But I don’t believe she had good intentions doing that. She said sothing about how I ssed up their plans, but ‘he’ would be happy to hear about it regardless. I told Kang Do-Won, the Consortium Guild official who had brought back, about her, and he’d told the Consortium would handle it. I don’t know how that went, but during the festival a few days ago, a man approached . He told that Professor Dmitri was a gift to .”

Professor Jung’s face squeezed. “Professor Dmitri was a gift to you?”

“I don’t get it either,” rlin said. “I thought he was talking about the pictures, but with Professor Dmitri missing now, I don’t think that’s entirely the case. Which is why I’m here. What happened to Professor Dmitri, professor? Who are these people? I think I have a right to know. Child or not.”

Professor Jung leaned forward, burying her face in her palms. It took almost five seconds before she pulled herself back and sat upright again. Then after a deep exhale, she said, “They’re called the Blackguards.”

rlin’s brows pulled in. “Blackguards?”

“They’re a villain organization that has been kept a secret from the masses ever since their inception two years after the Cataclysm was defeated,” she explained. “They work in the shadows, and are responsible for the growing rate of dungeon disturbances.”

“What do they want?”

“I don’t know,” said Professor Jung. “No one knows. Which is why you have to stay away from all this. I assu they want you because of your ability to nullify magic. And we cannot allow you to fall into their hands.”

rlin gulped. “I don’t intend to.”

“I am sure you don’t. But the fact that they had the audacity to walk into Prestige Academy ans that you’re not safe roaming about like any other student. We’ll have to do sothing about that.”

rlin frowned. He was not against the extra protection, but…

“What about the tournant on Sunday?” he asked.

Professor Jung glanced at him. “I’ll talk to the headmaster and get back to you.”

“I want to compete,” rlin argued. “After that, I’ll gladly be locked in a cubicle if you want. But before that happens I have to prove myself.”

“You have nothing to prove,” she said. “You’re a fantastic Mage.”

“That’s not true,” said rlin. “I am not, not to my parents, at least. And even though I am so angry that the headmaster assigned such a great task upon in regards to the Cataclysm, I still want to show that I’m good enough for others to rely on. What better way to show that than taking Prestige Academy to first in the academy rankings?”

Professor Jung anchored her attention on him as though sothing was written on his face.

“Please,” rlin added.

She sighed. “rlin…” There was a hint in her voice, showing she wanted to argue. But then she paused. “I’ll see what I can do.”

rlin breathed a sigh of relief. “What about Professor Dmitri? What happened to him?”

Professor Jung shook her head and stood up. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Go back to your dorm, rlin. Keep on being a student, and like I said, let the adults handle this.”

rlin opened his mouth to say sothing, but Professor Jung raised a finger to keep him shut.

“Good night,” she added and walked back towards the staff quarters.

rlin sat in silence for a mont longer, his thoughts heavy as he assud the worst had happened to Professor Dmitri. Even though he kind of despised the man, he didn’t wish evil on him.

However, he decided to take Professor Jung’s advice all the way through Sunday. He would be a student for now, and focus on the tournant.

rlin went back to his dorm. Chima and Hakyun hadn’t returned; they had successfully managed to get Seniors Sakamoto and Will to train them. He then had his shower and snuggled in bed with Blue, falling asleep quickly.