WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 104

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I quietly closed my eyes and focused on the pulse inside my body. I felt my heart trembling faintly. Beyond that heart, in a space made only of magical power, my tree stood rooted. It sensed my will and happily rustled its branches.

It boasted an extremely thick trunk. Even though carving it down had become part of my daily routine, the tree still grew vigorously. The force behind that growth came from the shadow tree spread beneath it.

That strange shadow, which did not exist in reality, rippled beautifully like the night sky. It did not remain only inside my body.

The shadow tree wove itself together with magical power and stretched in every direction, creating a domain just for me. Inside that domain, the puppets belonging to the shadow tree could move freely.

That domain had changed greatly compared to before. It had happened this year. No, not even this year. It had happened in only the last few months. During that time, my shadow tree had expanded this much.

Before the new lecture began, my domain only reached a few nearby mountains at most. It was also something the students from the previous lecture often complained about. The range where they could use mirror bugs and puppets was too narrow.

It could not be helped. That had been my limit back then.

But now it was different. The domain I could hold had become nearly twice as vast as it had been then. Within that vast domain, the current students moved around more freely.

The puppets were the same. Inside this huge domain, the stars within the shadow tree held a deep light. Several stars bound together to form a constellation, and the egos created by those gathered constellations embroidered the space with brilliant light.

And the one shining brightest among them was this one, Turtle. I opened my eyes and looked down at my chest. It met my eyes and opened and closed its mouth. I lightly stroked its head.

It rubbed its head against my finger and let out a satisfied cry. The intense flow of emotion it sent me came through our connection. It was something I had not even known existed before. Love.

This thing called love still felt terribly awkward. I did not know how to love passionately like they did. Because of that, I was not used to giving love either.

Still, when I quietly watched the flow of their emotions like this, my chest naturally grew warm. And that warmth reached them, even if only a little. Within that exchange, they held an even greater light.

I recalled when I first made Turtle. It had been outside the university. I had wanted to weave together several mana hearts and create one huge being. That creature deeply etched in my mind, Turtle.

Of course, that had half-failed. But at the same time, it had also been half a success.

I quietly traced my connection with it. This path had not simply been created through the ego tied to the shadow. Even before that, from the time I first made it, Turtle had been connected to me, and also to my tree.

I stroked it like that and observed the domain formed by the shadow tree. The information and magical power dwelling inside it were naturally drawn toward the stars, and the stars absorbed them and gave off brighter light.

This cycle was extremely natural. Within it, the tree grew, and it was clear it would keep doing so. After lightly tapping Turtle’s head, I quietly withdrew my hand.

This great change would have been impossible through my strength alone. It would have been impossible even with the puppets I had created.

No matter how many there were, and no matter how full they were of love for me, the limit of talent had always been clear.

The foundation of this explosive growth was the treasures.

The number of treasures that had now joined the message board was close to forty. It was the result of steadily exploring the storehouse using Cassian and Mira. It would probably be difficult to increase it further now. We had gone through most of the rooms on the sixth floor.

I could not go up to the 7th floor just to gather more treasures. I remembered that strange eye that had stared at me. It still remained deep in my heart like a scar. The 7th floor was still a distant realm for me.

Besides, the treasures on the sixth floor alone possessed magical power and strength that could not even be compared to someone like me. Just dealing with them consumed quite a lot of mental strength. There was no telling when something would happen.

I gathered the treasures like that and placed plenty of puppets near them. Like Butler had done, these puppets absorbed the treasures’ magical power and sent it into the shadow tree.

And with that magical power as its foundation, the shadow tree bloomed this lushly. Magical power, information, and wills that even I could not understand gathered and accumulated in one place, and were still accumulating even now.

You lack talent.

That was what Professor Irian told me when she first saw me.

She told me I had no talent for combat. So she said I should focus on things like everyday magic. By obeying those words of hers, I had barely managed to get accepted into the university.

But the results I had achieved were only things that came very easily to others. After coming to a place called the university, I realized my shortcomings even more deeply. That wall called talent that existed between them and me.

That was why talent had always been something I envied. So I thought. Let me steal a glimpse of that talent, of their power. That soon became my method of growth.

But there was a limit with only the students. So I drew the treasures into the message board. I made them lecture.

There was only one reason I had the treasures give lectures like this.

It was to watch them grant power to the students, watch the students use that power, and through their communication, understand the treasures’ power more completely.

And through that process, the shadow tree gradually grew like this. My tree was the same. After absorbing the magical power created by the treasures, they grew beyond what I had expected.

Of course, there were some side effects too.

I remembered when Hao became intoxicated by Tooth Necklace’s power. After abusing that power, Hao became contaminated. So I cleansed Hao.

I was in the same state. No, perhaps I was even worse.

Hao changed like that despite receiving a mass of power stably processed by a treasure. Hao had also been caught by Tooth Necklace, and intoxicated by Ring of the Sky.

Mm... perhaps the power was not the problem. Perhaps Hao was. Hao caused far too many incidents compared to the other students. Hao had almost caused another incident in this lecture too. I let out a small laugh as I thought of Hao, who would be collapsed in the infirmary.

Then what about me? I stole bits and pieces of their magical power and information. Just enough that they would not notice, or even if they did, it would not bother them.

And absorbing their magical power like that, and accepting their wills, meant that the risk of contamination existed.

Because of that, my body, which had accepted that magical power, naturally drew closer to them. That was something I could not refuse either. Within it, I was gradually being eroded by their magical power.

The reason I was at least still sane was thanks to the key Professor had entrusted to me. It protected me so I would not become completely twisted. It was also why I had done this.

Of course, lately, it felt as if its effect had weakened. The scent flowing out of Hao had started becoming even sweeter.

I did not know why that scent came from Hao. But I could use it as a standard. As a reference point to check how close I had become to a treasure.

Today, that scent smelled even stronger. Strong enough that I understood why Mira drooled when she saw Hao. It probably meant I had grown a little closer to being a treasure. One day, my way of thinking itself might change.

But this was the result of my choice. I had willingly accepted these things. Growth was always accompanied by risk. That was the basic structure of this world.

Then if I embraced more danger, I would be able to achieve more growth. That was my judgment, and I had succeeded like this. As a result, the current me was achieving growth that did not fall short even compared to others.

And it was also the result of grinding down countless puppets and stars.

Accepting a treasure’s magical power was not simple. Their magical power and strength were very violent. Many puppets lost their light in that flow, collapsed, and broke.

Through that process, I found the most stable way to absorb a treasure’s power. Afterward, I continued researching it little by little. In that process, many more puppets collapsed.

I thought it was necessary. From the perspective of profit and loss, I could gain a greater benefit by sacrificing a few puppets.

Through that process, the number of stars that disappeared from my shadow tree reached several hundred. The constellations now holding brilliant light inside it were things made by piling up the sacrifices of other stars.

I had used them like mere tools.

They threw themselves in without hesitation. At the time, I thought that was natural. Because I had created them. Because they were like my hands and feet.

But was that truly right? That thought came to me. I had come to know their love. The endless love they sent me warmly soaked my chest.

Because of that love, they followed my orders. Even though they knew they would die, they simply endured in silence. The mirror bugs sent off to the city were the same.

This love could even be felt from Hari. Even after being reconstructed with the mind of Ring of the Sky, she did not forget the clear affection she held toward me. Like that, they believed in me from the depths of their hearts.

Was my growth worth their sacrifices? The current me could not be certain of that. The more deeply I recognized their love, the stronger the sense of debt I felt toward them grew as well.

What was a puppet I loved? That had been Professor On’s question. And the answer was very simple. Every puppet was an object of my affection. Every puppet and ego dwelling in my chest.

How could I not love the puppets that loved me? Even now, the affection I had for the puppets I created was flowing toward them.

But I could not end it there. Their love was far too heavy.

I had to repay that unwavering emotion as well. Since this result had been created through their sacrifices, I needed to return it to them too.

That was why, for the past month, I had endlessly thought about a way to return their love.

During that time, another treasure also held a lecture. The one in charge of the lecture was a long tongue. The one named Delicious Tongue. It was also a fellow treasure that used the same room as Mira.

While preparing the lecture, I remembered asking Professor about the origin of that name because I was curious. Professor said with a smile that it was because it had been very delicious when she first ate it. Perhaps recalling that taste again, she smacked her lips.

And at lunch the next day, part of it appeared in a bowl. Lightly grilled with fire and magical power, it gave off a delicious scent just as Professor had said. Professor ate it and nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, the power it possessed was as astounding as its taste. It simply drooled. And it melted everything. No matter what it was. Even the magical power in the air mixed into that saliva and melted away.

It offered the essence of that power to the students. How to use it was for the students to think about. There was only one standard by which it chose.

Simply eating a lot. The level of strength meant nothing to it. It wanted to mix into the students’ mouths and contain more things inside them.

Just like that, a sudden eating contest unfolded in the tower. The types were extremely varied. Some were alive, and some were things like stones. I had to put in quite a lot of effort to prepare them.

Without using magical power, the students ate them. And by the end of the contest, twenty people remained. Delicious Tongue scattered power over them. Well, Hao was one of them too.

The tongue’s power had excellent compatibility with what Tooth Necklace had granted. Hao was the only one who received both. Hao combined the two powers and consumed power with great excitement. To the point that, in the end, Hao lost reason and went wild again.

Of course, Hari noticed the sign and ate away at Hao’s mind, so Hao calmed down right away. If not for Hari, it would certainly have become another mess. Perhaps a third rule might have been created.

Like this, the third lecture held by Star-Eye and the fourth lecture held by Delicious Tongue passed without much trouble. Occasionally, people stained by contamination appeared, but they received cleansing and soon returned to normal.

Those who received the treasures’ power continued to grow steadily like that. They communicated with the treasures, understood that power deeply, and headed toward higher places through training.

I had planned it, but this lecture was quite effective. There were already people going to take the advancement evaluation. Of course, almost all of them failed. The only one who succeeded in advancing was Cassian.

The advancement evaluation, huh. It had already been three years since I reached the second floor. But my memories of the evaluation site were still vivid. How could I forget what happened there? I clenched my hand tightly.

What happened there was also why I had become interested in treasures.

And now, I had reached this point.

I watched No. 0 move busily. It was controlling the puppets and carefully maintaining the magic circle inside the workshop. The magic circle was extremely huge. It was something I had drawn over the past month, enough to fill the workshop.

The complicated magic circle absorbed the magical power flowing from the tower and gave off a faint light. The circuits that came from it did not simply remain on the floor, but embroidered the air. Magical power passed through them and created a steady flow.

That flow felt very familiar. It felt similar to the magic circle that had created Hari before. Of course it did. This magic circle had been made based on that one. Though I had made countless improvements to it.

For this, I had melted down all the points I had. If I wanted to draw this kind of magic circle again, I would have to gather points for another few years.

The reason I had invested such an enormous number of points into drawing this magic circle was for one purpose only.

To create a single form.

I quietly placed my hand on the circuit before me. I had spent countless hours drawing this single stroke of circuit. The traces of that thought were fully revealed inside the circuit.

Would it succeed? That thought came to me. I lightly shook my head to scatter it. It would succeed. Strong belief and certainty were the only way to make this magic succeed. So there was no need to harbor doubt.

Enough preparations had already been completed. Now, all I needed to do was put my body inside the magic circle. My heart pounded with slight tension.

Ring of the Sky had created a structure diagram based on itself. And the Ring of the Sky Church had used that as a foundation to make the being called Ring of the Sky descend.

It was a result achieved only through unwavering faith. Of course, the direction of that faith was a little different from Ring of the Sky’s own thoughts.

After recognizing the puppets’ love, I came to understand that such faith was also a form of love. Because they endlessly believed in and loved the being called Ring of the Sky, they succeeded in making the object of their faith descend into reality.

Then a thought suddenly came to me. Those twenty mages had joined together and created a single form through faith and love. Then why would we be unable to do the same?

Based on that thought, I slowly began researching Ring of the Sky’s structure diagram. Of course, with my shallow insight alone, it was difficult to fully understand it. Because of that, I asked others for help.

From Mira, from Hari, and from Professor too. Professor found it annoying at first, but when I clung to her skirt and begged, she gave me a little advice. Even that alone was a great help to me.

Like that, I transformed the structure diagram created by Ring of the Sky and drew a new magic circle. The magic circle created that way looked like a single tree. It was also a form that was extremely familiar to me.

I lightly pressed my chest with my hand and looked at No. 0. No. 0 nodded at me. It was a signal that there was nothing wrong with the magic circle.

I quietly took a deep breath. Then I slowly stepped into the magic circle. Taking the first step was difficult, but after that, my heart actually began to grow calm. Like that, one step, then another, I headed toward the center of the magic circle.

There was a wide clearing there. I lightly stroked Turtle, who had been hanging from my chest. Then I placed it on the floor. I felt it staring at me. I lightly tapped its head a few times.

Along with that, it began swelling in size. It was the process of the miniaturization magic engraved on its body being released. It gradually grew larger, and at last, its volume expanded enough to fill the clearing.

It looked at me and let out a slightly sorrowful cry. I felt its will worrying about me. It seemed to recognize what was about to happen. I gave it a small smile, then headed to the place where I had to stand.

It was the place where the core of the magic circle was located. Hao had stood in the same place too. Hao had made Ring of the Sky descend into Hari. It was the result of making Hao believe Hari was Ring of the Sky.

What I would create was similar to that. This magic circle used my tree as the foundation of its structure.

By gathering all the love of the stars that existed inside my chest, we would create a new form. That would be me, and it would be my tree. And Turtle would contain that “me” within its body.

The reason it became the target of descent was because of its special nature. Just as Hao had believed Hari was Ring of the Sky, the stars would be able to believe that Turtle was me.

When I first made it, I used my tree as the foundation in order to move its body. Through that process, the mana hearts that made up Turtle became clearly connected to me, and also to my tree.

The tree inside my chest could directly control it. I could as well. Yes, its body could be called my body, and so Turtle could also be called me.

So I would make a new me, the god loved by the puppets, descend into it. That god would cherish the puppets as much as the love it had received from them. That was repayment toward the puppets, and my way of loving them.

I lightly released the magical power clotted in my chest. The magic circle, already full of the tower’s magical power, was half-activated. My magical power gradually began seeping into its circuits.

Before long, the magic circle began writhing as if it had life. Then its circuits rose into the air and began feeling around, as if searching for something. Seeing that, I poured out magical power even more strongly.

What it was aiming for was me. The circuits clearly recognized me. They shot forward and stabbed into my body. Intense pain spread through my whole body, and at the same time, the circuits began sucking in my magical power with force.

I simply closed my eyes and focused only on releasing magical power. Inside my chest, the stars opened on the shadow tree began giving off clear light.

They were things that could be called love, and also faith toward me. They mixed my body, myself, and the magic circle together. Like that, the magic circle piled up layer upon layer, gradually creating a complicated shape.

To create something, an equal price was needed. The Ring of the Sky Church had been like that. To make Hari, they gave up all the power they had built through their faith and ring fragments.

This magic was the same. Creating a god. To do that, I had to give up something worthy of it.

Then what did I have to give up? The simplest way was to sacrifice the puppets. Like the Ring of the Sky Church had done, if I offered their love and their power, a god would be created.

But that was something I could not do. I was their root. If the stars offered up their love toward me, they would no longer belong to the shadow tree and would simply die. Offering their power was the same.

I could not force any more sacrifice on them. So I had to give up more.

The power I had built up, the treasure magical power I had gained from them, and my tree itself. I had to return everything I had gained by sacrificing them back to them.

The magic circle began shining in earnest. Within it, the circuits began sucking something from my body even more strongly. It was my tree, my mind, and my magical power.

I felt the tree inside my chest twist as if letting out a small scream. The circuits stabbed directly into it. And they were strongly drawing out the power within.

This was a new kind of pain. I had thought I had grown quite used to pain through the process of carving down my tree, but having my power sucked out directly like this was on a completely different level.

I clenched my teeth and endured that pain. Like that, I focused my mind and continued pouring out magical power and the wills of the stars.

Through that process, I felt my tree slowly melting. The shadow tree also began losing its domain and gradually shaking within it.

The things I had built up slowly began disappearing like that. The tree became twisted and unsightly, and the shadow tree shrank after losing its vast domain.

But through that process, I could also tell something was being born. Many things gathered toward Turtle.

They were everything that had been drawn out from inside me. They were the love held by the puppets, the magical power of the treasures, and also the traces of my collapsed realm.

The strange mass of energy created by the magic circle approached Turtle and began forming a new shape. That was the image of the god created by the puppets.

Like that, it appeared on Turtle’s back. It trembled lightly. Even though I could not see it, I could feel its movement. It was me. And it was not me.

That strange connection to it gradually began to disappear. It fully separated from me and seeped into Turtle. Turtle’s star gave off brilliant light within it.

But had it been too much?

Within that concentration of power, Turtle’s stars inside the shadow tree slowly began to crack.

My expression hardened at that. I poured magical power directly toward it. That magical power slowly began filling the cracks.

But that alone was not enough. In the end, I could not stop the stars from breaking. They shattered into pieces and collapsed like sand.

Was it a failure? For a moment, that thought came to me. But I quickly shook my head. That could not be. The connection to Turtle’s body was still clearly maintained.

I simply entrusted my body to the magic circle. I forgot the pain. I only poured everything I had toward Turtle.

Within it, the collapsed constellations gradually writhed. They began gathering into one place, and started linking tightly to one another.

Those star fragments soon formed a single shape. It was like one enormous star. The sight of it filling the shadow tree with a soft light was very beautiful.

As I quietly felt it, I thought of the moon. The beautiful moon decorating the night sky.

That moon gradually began stabilizing. Along with that, the power of the magic circle also slowly sank down. The strength of the circuits embedded in my body gradually weakened, and soon, they were roughly pulled out.

From that shock, I collapsed on the spot. I had no strength to move my body. I blankly looked around.

I saw the magic circle gradually losing its light. And Turtle at the center of it. It let out a cry, then shrank its body. Then it slowly approached me.

It looked completely fine. The magic had clearly finished perfectly. But I could not smile. Instead, a hollow laugh slipped out at the emptiness I felt inside my body.

It could not be helped. My realm had fallen by a great amount. Back to before the lecture began. No, even further than that. Only about the same level of power as when I first reached Young Tree remained within it.

Before activating this magic circle, I had thought this too. If I used it several times, would I be able to strengthen the puppets more? But after using it once, I understood. This was something I could never do again.

To recover the realm that had fallen this time, I would need to rest for a long time. If I did something like this again next time, my tree itself might collapse completely.

A strong sense of exhaustion filled my body. I could not move at all. Even so, a feeling of great satisfaction filled my chest.

I blankly watched Turtle approach me. On its back, there was a small sprout that had not existed before. That was the form of the god I had created.

I felt deep affection toward it naturally bloom in my heart. That was me, and it was not me. It had risen like a Moon over my shadow tree. I met its gaze.

The name Turtle no longer suited it. It had become a god for the puppets. I looked at the sprout on its back and felt the Moon filling my chest. Its stars had melted and become a Moon.

Yes, then there was a very fitting name. Moon-Turtle. In other words, Moonturtle.

“You are Moonturt...”

It made a fierce face and rammed its body into me. My head shook from the impact. It seemed it did not like the name I had given it.

It was such a perfect name.... I looked at it with that thought. But its expression did not loosen at all. I let out a weak sigh. It seemed I would have to give up.

I quietly looked at Turtle. This god I had created would move for the puppets. It would protect them and guard them. It could be called a being that gave back to them as much as the love they gave.

I naturally understood the power dwelling in the Moon. It was a kind of protection. It was also the result of love. Within this protection, even if the puppets lost their bodies, their egos would remain.

That ego could be called the puppets’ true body. When they lost their bodies, they would stay in the Moon and fully feel the love of the god directed toward them.

That was what I had wanted to create for them. That place was a refuge for the puppets, and also a kind of afterlife. A space where they could remain without dying and disappearing.

I felt a soft intelligence unlike before in Turtle’s eyes. It looked at me, then glanced into the air. I followed its gaze too.

My eyes widened. Professor was there. She looked Turtle up and down. Then she let out a small laugh.

Without saying anything, she tapped my head as I lay collapsed on the floor. From her, I felt less of that familiar closeness than before. It was probably because all the treasure magical power dwelling in me had been sucked into Turtle.

A bitter smile formed on its own. Professor was looking at Turtle with sparkling eyes. She had once said that Hari had the possibility of becoming a treasure.

In that sense, Turtle could be called similar too. It could be considered an object created by gathering treasure power together. In that sense, it was clear Turtle would suit Professor’s taste very well.

Professor began approaching Turtle with a sly smile. Turtle backed away just like that. Watching it, I quietly closed my eyes. I no longer had the strength to keep them open. Like that, I blacked out.

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