WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 10

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When I opened my eyes, I felt more refreshed than ever. I stretched and got up.

I had a vivid dream. Right, of course it hadn’t been real.

My own tree betraying me and signing a contract in my place? No mage would believe me if I told them. If that had happened in a story, people would have cursed it for making no sense.

Look, if it had been real, the contract text would still be on my wrist....

‘If I pass the university through Irian’s teaching, I promise to serve Irian until graduation.’

There it was.

I wiped my face with both hands. Fatigue came rushing over me. I had not felt refreshed. I had just been escaping reality.

I still had no idea what was going on. I looked around. It was the familiar sight of my workshop. Right, I had moved the bedroom from the second floor down here.

All day yesterday, I had torn down the second and third floors and remodeled them into one huge room. I had sent all my things down to the workshop too. That was why I had ended up stuck down here and fallen asleep.

I had definitely slept, but I felt even more tired than before I went to bed. I had to go upstairs, but I did not want to. She had said classes started today. I could not imagine what was going to happen.

I slapped my cheeks hard enough to make a sharp sound. I could not let myself be weak. This had already happened, so I might as well do my best. I did not know what she had in mind when she bound me with a contract. But one thing was clear. She was going to take me to the university.

I changed my mindset. From now on, I would become a perfect servant. I would respect Professor Irian, follow her, and obey her. If I looked at it positively, she had become my teacher. I should learn as much as I could. Learn, master it, and improve myself. That was the only path I could trust.

I pushed myself up. I went up to the first floor and started cleaning with puppets. At the same time, I quickly prepared breakfast. They said low-ranking mages like me had to fill our empty stomachs, while higher-ranking mages did not need to eat.

With that in mind, I prepared sweet honey tea and a few biscuits to go with it. Yesterday’s snacks were already gone. Professor Irian had eaten them all while I was remodeling the building.

The tea boiled, and its fragrance gently filled the first floor. Just then, Professor Irian came down yawning. The puppet I had finished setting up overnight, the ultimate professor-service battle weapon packed with every function imaginable, silently approached her.

The puppet took something out from its chest and quickly held it out to her. It was a damp towel. She accepted it as naturally as breathing and wiped her face.

That naturalness. As expected, I had made it properly. Your name is Butler from now on. Please suffer in my place for Professor. Every one of Butler’s functions existed to assist Professor.

She tossed the towel to Butler, smelled the tea, and smiled faintly. Butler naturally put the towel inside its body. Washing and drying would take place in there at the same time.

Following the scent, she approached the table and picked up a biscuit. Butler smoothly poured honey tea into a cup and handed it to her.

“Mm, good. This is why I like your puppets.”

She smiled in satisfaction. That smile reassured me a little. Butler continued attending to her. When the cup was empty, it carefully held out the teapot, and only when she brought the cup over did it refill the tea.

I stood beside it and adjusted Butler’s functions little by little in real time. The motion of pouring into the cup, the angle of its arm, even where the puppet directed its gaze. I did not miss a single detail as I created the optimal flow.

After drinking tea like that for a while, she opened a rift and took out a scroll.

“The crude parts of your puppets. I wrote down the points for improvement. I’ll come back in the evening, so master them all.”

I carefully accepted it. She stood up.

I saw her to the door and closed it. Whew, was she gone? Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the door suddenly flew open again. She poked her head in.

“I’m taking that puppet with me, so hand it over.”

She pointed at Butler.

I took out a few mana stones and hung them near Butler’s mana heart. If its magical power ran low, it would swallow them and automatically replenish what it lacked.

After roughly adjusting it for outdoor activity, I handed Butler to her. Her magical power wrapped around Butler and instantly swallowed it beyond the rift.

“If you don’t do your homework, there’ll be punishment.”

She smiled. Then the door closed. I gulped. Punishment. What on earth would that be? I remembered her magical power. If I took even one hit from that, I would turn to dust.

I had to memorize it if I wanted to live.

I hurriedly spread out the scroll. It contained the designs of the puppets she had bought from me so far. Even at a glance, there were dozens of them. Had I sold that many? But they were different from the designs I knew. The bodies were the same, but the structure of the circuits inside them was dozens of times more complex.

What... was this?

I stared at it blankly, dumbfounded. Unknown flows, unknown circuits. It was clearly based on my circuits. Even inside that complex structure, traces of my work remained.

But aside from that, I could not understand a single thing. Take the wheeled cylindrical puppet at the front, for example. It was a puppet I had made simply to suck up dust from the floor. Its circuit had been extremely simple. I had only added magic to circulate wind and magic to move the wheels.

That simple circuit had become something incomprehensible. Even while looking at it, I could not understand it at all. One straight line I had drawn now flowed and twisted like the stem of a tree, then branched off to form several paths.

How could this structure even work? If it moved like this, it felt like there would not be enough magical power.

The reason I had used only one straight line before was because I was thinking solely about magical power efficiency. If it had complexity like this design, it would run out of magical power. That was what I had thought.

I tried forming the circuit once in a simple way. Unlike my expectations, the flow held magical power that was more orderly and stronger than the old design. The magical power divided at the branching point carried a fiercer flow than before as it moved downward. Why was this happening? I stared at it for a long time, but I still did not know.

In this kind of situation, there was only one method I could use.

I went down to the workshop. I quickly gathered the wood that would become puppet bodies and piled it beside the workbench, then wrapped magical power around my carving knife and split the wood. I would make it first and think later. If I did not understand, I had to beat it into my body. I had no choice but to keep making puppets and understand this flow physically.

So I swung the knife.

Puppets piled up and up until they filled the workshop.

Little by little, I began to understand. It was a tree.

A circuit was just like a tree.

As I was savoring that small realization, the workshop’s defensive magic suddenly shattered. I flinched and looked toward the stairs leading down. Professor Irian was trotting down.

I checked the time. It was past nine. Already? She looked around the workshop. Her gaze landed on the puppets piled high, and she picked one up and began examining it.

“How is it? Is it going well?”

She asked. I looked down at the scroll. Hundreds of designs were packed tightly inside it. Was it going well? Not at all. I had not properly understood even one design. I had only vaguely grasped the structure.

“I only understood a little.”

I confessed honestly. At the same time, a powerful impact struck my body. Only after I slammed into the workshop wall did I realize I had been hit. I did not even know what had hit me. Terrible pain arrived late.

Collapsed on the floor, I raised my head and saw Butler throwing jabs into the air like a boxer. It seemed it had thrown a punch at her order. As if it had been strengthened by Professor’s magic, a heavy tearing sound rang out each time it threw a jab.

I had told it to assist Professor, but I had not expected it to go this far. Making something too well was a problem too. I spat out the blood gathered in my throat and stood.

“That’s the punishment for not doing your homework.”

She said.

“This is just a taste. Next time, I’ll pull out only your soul and beat that.”

“I’m sorry. If you give me a little more time, I will make sure to master it.”

I returned to where I had been before getting hit and bent at the waist in a perfect right angle. If I took one more hit, I was done for. I did not know what she meant by pulling out my soul, but I absolutely had to avoid it. She flicked the puppet she had been holding behind her.

“It only looks similar. It’s completely different. You didn’t understand a thing. Mm, you’re dumber than I thought.”

I had nothing to say in my defense. This scroll was teaching material Professor had made with my level in mind. But I had not properly understood its contents. Once again, I realized it. I was ordinary. I was the kind of guy who could not seize even a rare chance like this.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll have to teach you a little more simply.”

Professor approached the workbench. On it lay the puppet I had been tinkering with until just now.

“Oh, this one is a little different, though.”

My face brightened. It was the one where I had applied the small realization I had finally gained near the end. Instead of simply copying the design, I had included the parts I understood.

After changing the circuit structure like that, I had naturally realized how to fit more magic into a puppet. Though it was not as perfect as the designs in the scroll, it was still much more advanced than my old designs.

I smiled proudly. It was the work I had made with all my effort in this short time. Putting it somewhere easy for her to see had been worth it.

“Yes, I tried modifying the parts I could at least understand.”

“Really? Let me see.”

Professor raised her magical power and split the puppet in half. My mouth fell open. A silent scream burst out from inside me. The fruit of my effort, the result of my blood-soaked research.

She rummaged through the puppet that had been split in half.

“It’s still crude. Dirty.”

While grumbling, she took out a scroll and began engraving something.

When I sneaked a glance from the side, a circuit so beautiful it could not even be compared to anything I had drawn until now was taking shape. It was an easier design than the scroll she had given me before.

There was a freshness in it that felt like looking at a single tree.

After Professor smashed the puppet until it was practically powder, she drank a cup of tea Butler handed her and crossed her arms. Her magical power began applying a heavy pressure, as if irritated.

“I don’t like it. I really don’t like it. Do I have to teach you how to draw circuits too?”

I could not make a sound and had no choice but to kneel under her magical power. Look at that incredible circuit. If a mage who drew circuits like that said my circuit was bad, then it was bad.

“Still, the magic is fun. Its uniqueness is alive.”

Professor took out another scroll and threw it to me.

“Write down all the magic you know.”

I spread the scroll on the floor and hurriedly took out a pen. I filled the pen with magical power and moved it across the page. I wrote down every magic I knew. The most basic magic, the cheap magic I had collected over twenty years, and the various original magic I had created by combining them.

Magic was a kind of knowledge currency. Mages did not reveal their magic to the outside world, and even when they did, they sold it for a high price. Because of that, the only magic a bottom-rung mage like me could know was cheap stuff like this.

When I finished writing everything and put down the pen, Professor took the scroll. She had been frowning from the first line, and the closer she got to the end of the scroll, the more her face twisted.

“The magic was the bigger problem.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Here, the last few spells. You made these?”

“Yes. I modified magic to suit puppets so I could engrave it inside them.”

“Mm, I see.”

Had she liked my magic? Of course, judging from everything so far, that was almost impossible. Still, I felt a little hopeful.

“It’s a little lacking. No, it’s lacking by a lot. There are too many parts to improve.”

As expected. My hope shriveled like a popped balloon. Still, one thing had become clear. This professor was really trying to teach me.

I opened my eyes as wide as I could and straightened my posture. I had to listen and carve every word Professor said into my mind, as if each one were as precious as gold.

“Still, I roughly understand what direction you’re trying to take.”

She drew line after line through the scroll I had given her. Then she handed it back to me.

I carefully accepted it and spread it open. Most of the magic I had collected over twenty years had lines drawn through it. In particular, all the attack magic I had paid a lot of money for had been crossed out.

“I left only the ones that are somewhat decent. From now on, master these.”

I checked the remaining magic.

Water-cleaning magic. This magic had been inspired by Water Whip and researched so it could be used like a mop. Of course, Water Whip had just been crossed out.

Magic that cleaned the air. This was magic that used Wind Blade, and I had tried to create a kind of circulation by rotating the blade. Of course, Wind Blade had also been crossed out.

They were all more or less like that.

My self-made magic had survived, but all the attack magic that served as their base had been crossed out. If even a slight trace of aggression existed, it had been excluded.

Ah, there was one thing left. Explosion magic. My self-destruct technique, which I had used fondly since the first moment I made a puppet. It was magic I had improved over and over to gain maximum firepower with minimal sacrifice. The line drawn through that magic had stopped halfway.

After narrowing them down like this, only the various support magic I had gotten cheaply and my self-made magic remained in large numbers. Seeing them, I could clearly understand Professor’s intent.

“Attack magic... has no possibility at all?”

“Attack? You?”

Professor looked down at me for a moment as if confused, then tilted her head slightly.

“You said you wanted to enter the university. But you lack talent. Are you confident you can fight the other kids and win?”

I was not. I remembered the sword-user from the last exam. All my methods had been blocked by those few sword strikes.

“Look at the magic you made too. The way someone develops magic shows their disposition and talent. What did you make? They’re all lifestyle magic. They aren’t magic meant to hurt someone. They’re full of magic meant to make you comfortable.”

She was right. It was something I had never thought about until now. I had only thought I had no talent for attack magic. This was insight on a level wandering mages with no knowledge or background could not even imagine. In this short time alone, I could keenly feel the gap in knowledge between Professor and me.

“And the university isn’t a place you enter because you fight well. Uh... of course, if you fight well, it’s easy to get in.”

She closed her mouth for a moment. Butler held out warm tea again. She accepted it and took a sip.

“Anyway, you have no possibility in that area. So it’s important to develop what you’re good at.”

What I was good at... What on earth was I good at? I had never thought about that over the past twenty years. I had only drifted like floating duckweed, trying to preserve my life and survive each day.

After thinking it over, the answer quickly came. What I was good at, that was....

“Yes, just support other people from behind.”

Right, support from behind. My talent was becoming someone else’s servant.

Wait, had I heard that wrong?

“Just pack your puppets with lifestyle magic. That’s your talent.”

Huh? Was this not the part where she told me I had some amazing talent? I stared at Professor with a bewildered expression.

“Why do you think I chose you? I don’t expect some amazing talent from you. I’m taking you to the university because your puppets were useful. That’s all.”

“It means you should make use of your talent.” Saying that, Professor handed her teacup to Butler. Butler respectfully accepted the cup and put it inside its body. I simply sat there blankly.

“This is your homework until tomorrow. If you don’t understand it, punishment.”

Professor placed the scroll with the circuit drawn on it on the workbench. Then she turned and left the workshop. I had more homework. I carefully stood up and spread open the scroll. A beautiful pattern entered my eyes. Despair gripped my heart. I still had no idea what it meant.

On top of that, what she had said. I had a talent for supporting other people from behind?

For a moment, my insides burned. But I forced the heat back down. Professor had personally said that was my talent. Whether it was true or not, from now on, I had to think of it as my talent. No, it could not stop at simply thinking that. It was the truth. I had to believe it.

Once I changed my thinking that way, Professor’s words came down on me with even more weight. In truth, had she not been completely right? My experience over the past twenty years said so. No, it had been that way since the moment I started making puppets.

The reason I had been able to leave the island was not because I was good at magic. It was because I was good at making puppets. The many decorative magic and lifestyle magic I placed inside them. Those things had become popular and brought me this far.

My shop was the same. I did not sell attack-type puppets. It was full of puppets that only made people comfortable. Partly because putting attack magic inside them was too hard, but also because these were the easiest to make and sold the best.

And why had I opened this shop in the first place? Because it was the most comfortable and safe work for me. Roaming outside was too dangerous, and no matter how large the rewards were, they were not worth as much to me as safety.

Based on that, I looked back on the exams of the past ten years. To be honest, they had been a mess. I had assumed competing with others was the foundation, and I had always spent large sums learning useless attack magic.

What was the result? Me becoming an eleventh-time applicant was the result. The very mindset of competing with others did not suit me at all. Why had I even competed? It had been a huge misjudgment on my part.

“I was foolish.”

I swallowed a sigh. Combat. Could I defeat other genius mages with that? What a joke. If those damned sword-users swung their swords, my attack magic would be sliced apart like paper. The explosion magic I had improved over the past twenty years had been cut apart and erased by a sword-user twenty years younger than me.

The fact that I had tried to compete with them at all was proof of my stupidity.

Professor’s words were right a hundred times over. Professor had noticed this just from checking my magic. A shiver ran through me at that insight. As expected, Professor was different.

Let’s create the perfect servant. I made up my mind.

As Professor said, I would not think about combat at all, and consider only safety and comfort. I would create a perfect and complete attendant puppet and provide service that could satisfy any mage. Then I would no longer need to compete with others.

If there was someone strong, I would follow. If there was a fight, I would avoid it.

Based on that, I looked back on the last exam. I had struggled to win and lost everything. But what if I had respected my opponent and provided service satisfying enough to create a draw?

Then even if I could not win, a draw would have been possible. To them, I would have been just one of many sparring matches they passed through. If I had secured the minimum level of safety with explosion magic so they could not look down on me easily, then gave them comfort and time to rest while asking for a draw, they would have accepted it.

Realization arose. It became rain and poured over the Sapling. Providing service that could satisfy any strong person. If I did that, I would not need to make enemies of anyone. That was the direction I had to aim for.

I placed a piece of wood on the workbench. I had no time to rest. Every minute and every second was precious. While examining the circuit in the scroll, I began cutting into the wood.

I had already wasted twenty years after leaving the island. I could not waste even one second of this time, worth a thousand gold, that Professor had given me.

For the next ten months, I had to follow Professor’s words and polish my magic with everything I had.

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