WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 120

──────

Outside the window, there was only darkness, without a single point of light. A darkness deeper than any night filled the view. I slowly reached out toward the broad window that took up one wall of the room.

The protective barrier in place of the window brushed my hand. A faint sensation grazed my fingertips with it. It was the touch of water, cold enough to sting. The seawater surging beyond the barrier dampened my hand.

I pulled my hand away from the barrier and looked down at it. Then, wanting to taste that slight wetness, I lightly put the tip of my finger in my mouth. Salt lingered on my tongue. This rich flavor, was this the taste of the sea?

“Oh my, are you tasting seawater now?”

Mira smiled as if she found it amusing. She was half-perched on the enormous bed, gently moving her fingers. The Professor, who had been relaxing comfortably beneath her hands, glanced at me and clicked her tongue.

“I don’t know why you’re so excited. Sit still. You’re distracting me.”

“I apologize. The scenery is so different from the sea I saw in the outside world that I could not help myself. I will restrain myself from now on.”

I bowed my head to the Professor, then lightly scratched my head. I had tried to hold back, but watching this sea was so fascinating that I ended up moving.

It could not be helped. Everything was new to me. The creatures drifting through this sea, and the sea itself. At my words, the Professor tilted her head slightly, then lightly clapped her hands.

“Ah, right. You said you were from an island. Then you must have seen the outside sea before.”

The Professor lightly gestured toward me. When I moved aside for a moment, she reached out toward the window. Magical power spread from her fingertips and lightly scooped up the sea beyond the barrier.

She brought it inside. Unlike the darkness outside, the seawater that entered the room gave off a clear blue light. The Professor hardened it into a bead.

After rolling it slowly over her hand, she clicked her tongue and tossed it toward me. I carefully caught it and examined it. Inside the bead, seawater rotated in a steady flow, rippling blue.

“I heard this place used to be like that too. Then that bastard president changed it into this. Why in the world did he do that? A sea like this isn’t fun at all.”

She grumbled. I blinked at those words. Did that mean the president was the one who made this sea? That power easily surpassed my expectations.

I lightly fiddled with the bead. Soon, I would be meeting the president. I had no idea what form he would take, or what sort of temperament he had. With that slight worry in mind, I asked the Professor.

“What kind of person is the president? Listening to the way you speak of him, Professor, it seems the two of you are fairly close.”

When I said that, the Professor whipped her head up and began glaring at me. Irritation flickered in her eyes.

“Me, close to that bastard? What nonsense. Don’t lump me together with that old monster.”

“I apologize.”

Apparently, I had misspoken. I quickly bowed my head to her. She nodded and continued.

“Well, since we’re almost there, you should know about him too. He’s just the oldest thing in the university. There are plenty of old folks among the professors here who have lived for tens of thousands of years, but there probably isn’t anything older than him.”

“I don’t know his exact age either,” she said, letting out a small sigh. Then she propped her chin on her hand and looked at me.

“He’s just strange. A little frivolous too. He’s annoying, but you don’t have to worry much. He’s the one who established this university’s standards.”

Standards. I could immediately tell what that meant. It meant the right to survival and the right to property. Those were the only two rules that made mages respect one another even a little in this university.

Without them, this university would not look much different from the outside world. Of course, having those rules did not mean all the mages had become gentle. They all worked around the rules when they caused trouble.

Even so, there was no doubt those rules were the foundation that kept the university stable. And those rules had been established in the distant past. That meant the president had held that position for a very long time.

“He’s annoying to explain. Go and see him yourself.”

The Professor frowned slightly. Mira lightly stroked her back. At that, the Professor relaxed her expression and buried herself deeper into the bed.

“Thank you for answering.”

After saying that, I began enjoying the view outside the window again. Hearing the Professor’s words made me feel a little more at ease. And she was right. I could see him myself and confirm it.

Outside had grown even darker than before. Watching that gloomy abyss without a single point of light, and that strange, intense flow of magical power, I somehow felt my mind gradually loosening.

The turtle moved along that flow and let out a delighted-sounding bleat. Feeling its greatly excited will, I lightly settled into its body.

With that, the senses that made up its body were transmitted to me. It lightly flailed its four legs. Waves rippled out from the movement. Amid that flailing, it simply kept sinking endlessly.

One day, I would have to add a function so it could swim through this sea. Its current structure was not suited for swimming. Its four pillar-like legs were inefficient in a sea where there was nowhere to step.

Of course, there was no need to swim right now. The turtle tilted its body and rode the flow of magical power. With that, its sinking speed began to increase.

Within the sensations of its descent, I felt the trace of the magical power the Professor was guiding. It was not leading us toward the distant sea. It simply went downward, endlessly descending into that deep abyss where I could not tell what waited.

That was when it happened. Cracks began appearing in the bead the Professor had given me. It was a gift from her, too. With regret, I tried to stabilize it, but it ignored my magical power and gradually lost its shape, flowing down.

The dense magical power inside had repelled my magic. Setting aside my disappointment, I let it flow out the window. That magical power was as pure and powerful as what I had felt in the tower.

I remembered something the Professor had told me before. In this space called the university, there were apparently people who lived in the sea. When I came to the university and saw the map, I learned that was true. There was a city in the sea too.

But until now, I had never been able to imagine how that was possible. The sea I knew had always been bizarre. Seeing this magical power, though, made me understand. This was as excellent as the magical power that gathered in the mountains.

Of course, there probably were not many who could reach this deep into the sea. I held my breath for a moment as something wavered outside the window. Something enormous brushed past the turtle’s body. I could see its form through the window.

It was a giant snake. It was also a powerful magical beast unlike any I had seen before. Countless presences of such magical beasts could be felt around us. If not for the Professor, they would have attacked at once.

“Irian, so where are we going? I have become curious as well.”

Mira, who had been touching the Professor’s body, spoke softly. The Professor yawned, then raised a finger and pointed down.

“Under the earth.”

“Under the earth, you say?”

Mira lightly tilted her head. At that, the Professor slipped out of Mira’s hands for a moment and stretched. Then she leaned against Mira again. It was a very natural movement.

“You’ll know when we get there. We’re almost there.”

So we were about to arrive. I quietly looked outside the window. It was still dark. Several hours had already passed since we began diving into these deep waters.

Even though we had accelerated quickly by riding the flow of magical power the Professor was guiding, there was no end in sight. I could not even get a proper sense of how deep we had reached.

How much more time passed like that? The Professor began moving her magical power. The magical power heading outside the window gradually gathered into one place. Then it brought forth a single intense light.

Rather than magic, it could be called the natural light of magical power created by gathering magical power itself. The Professor threw that light of magical power into the sea. Then the light flowed out along the sea’s magical power.

Like that, the light began spreading through the surroundings by riding the flow of magical power. The dark abyss could not withstand the light and gradually retreated, and in the process, the scenery around us became clear.

I moved magical power and slowly stopped the turtle. Its body was caught by magical power and stopped sinking. It began lightly looking around.

“Go over there.”

The Professor lightly jerked her chin. In the direction she indicated was an enormous cave. Its scale was so vast that even the turtle we were riding felt like a single minnow.

I never imagined there would be a passage like this beneath the large continent that formed the university. I blinked as I looked at that giant, majestic cave. The cave also had a somewhat familiar shape.

The turtle slowly moved its legs and began heading toward that passage. Magical power gathered beneath its feet and supported its steps. The closer we got, the more my mouth fell open.

A regular pattern was carved into the cave. A steady stream of magical power flowed there as well. That form and ripple were all too familiar. I had imagined and dreamed of them constantly.

I stopped the turtle for a moment near the ceiling of the cave and reached outside the window. Then I felt along the cave wall. Dirt and moss filled my hand.

I let out a small exclamation. Although it was buried beneath piles of dirt, I could recognize the traces. It was the structure that served as the basis for the one I was riding now.

I slowly broke the rock and touched what lay beyond it. The faint flow of magical power inside climbed up my hand.

“This is….”

Even I found it hard to believe, so I looked at the Professor. She saw me and gave a small laugh.

“I didn’t think you’d notice right away. How is it? Do you like it?”

At those words, I nodded furiously. Mira tilted her head slightly as she looked at me. It seemed she had not yet noticed what this was.

“Oh my, what is this, for you to react like that?”

“A shell. It’s the object that forms the foundation of the continent.”

The Professor said that. Mira slightly widened her eyes at those words and looked at the cave. She examined the turtle and the wall, then lightly clapped her hands.

“No wonder Evron was so surprised.”

As expected, I had not been mistaken. The Professor’s words made it certain. My chest trembled. The tree inside it did too.

I simply could not hide my excitement. Of course I could not. This was a turtle’s shell.

My turtle let out a bleat. It also seemed to have noticed this was similar to its own. If this was a turtle’s shell, then the enormous cave before my eyes was a hole in that shell.

I reached out and grasped the shell even more strongly. Wondering if it might still be alive, I felt along the shell, but its magical power was only faint.

It had clearly died long ago. How had such an enormous turtle died? I clicked my tongue with a bit of regret.

“Is the university located on this turtle’s shell?”

I asked the Professor. She looked at me and nodded.

“Yes. Land containing magical power cannot simply come into being.”

“Land, you say?”

“You may not know yet, but for land to hold magical power, all kinds of dead things must be piled up. This space called the university is the same. It was built on the foundation of this enormous turtle before us.”

The Professor said that and lightly tapped the room floor with her foot. The magical power from it was transmitted to the turtle. Then it let out a bleat. It was a signal to move.

I briefly stopped it as it tried to move again and took the knife out from my clothes. When I held it, golden magical power filled the knife and began wavering.

I carefully stretched it toward the wall before my eyes. I wanted to obtain even a tiny fragment. But contrary to my hopes, the carving knife bounced away.

My eyes widened. How could this be? This knife was an object made from the Professor’s noble body. The wall was perfectly fine, without even a mark from the knife. Instead, the carving knife itself was trembling slightly.

“What a useless thing to try. If it were something that broke that easily, it couldn’t have been used as a foundation. Now, get moving.”

The Professor clicked her tongue and tapped the floor again. With regret, I put the knife back into my clothes. Then I released magical power and fixed the ground beneath the turtle’s feet. The turtle began walking into the cave.

While it moved, I slipped completely outside the barrier and began examining the cave. If I could not obtain a fragment, I had to put as much of it into my head as possible.

The cave walls had hardened firmly, turning almost like rock. But I could still feel out traces. The energy inside the passage, the savage wildness that was clearly the turtle’s, could still be felt.

The strange patterns forming this enormous cave also caught my eye. Those patterns, like traces carved into the shell, were a kind of biological circuit that formed the turtle’s shell.

They had collapsed and broken down over the years, becoming badly damaged, but they still contained a little power. As I stole them with my eyes, small realizations soaked into the tree in my chest.

I quietly placed a hand over my chest. What kind of form had the owner of this enormous shell possessed? It had been large enough to carry the continent called the university on its shell. I could not easily imagine its shape.

One thing was certain. Compared to this enormous turtle, the turtle I had seen before had only been a hatchling. The one I was riding now was less than dirt under its claws.

As we continued along the path, the light of magical power the Professor had scattered earlier gradually began forming a single stream. She slowly controlled it and lit the road ahead.

“Go straight like this. Then that bastard will call us in.”

The Professor said from inside the room. She was right. With each step the turtle took, the surroundings gradually began wavering. At first, that wavering was like a light ripple, but it gradually grew larger, and before long, it began shaking space itself.

Then, the moment the turtle took one final step, it passed straight through it. It happened in the blink of an eye. Like that, the surroundings began changing.

In an instant, we had crossed space and arrived somewhere unknown. I quietly blinked. It was because of the enormous palace standing before us. It towered like a single tower.

The Professor looked at it and lightly jerked her chin. Following that signal, the turtle carefully headed inside. The palace was so large that several of my turtles could have passed in and out of it.

The inside of the palace we entered was silent. Seawater was blocked by magic and could not invade. The palace was extremely clean, but it was empty, without any trace of life.

As we passed through that passage, a slight sense of déjà vu rose in me, just like when I saw the cave moments ago. It felt somehow familiar. Of course, the feeling was weaker than before.

That meant I had seen a palace like this somewhere before. Then where had I seen it? A palace was a place very far from a wanderer like me.

After searching through my memories, I figured it out. It was from the time the Professor had slept for months. The Professor’s dream had been half-eroding reality. The scenery was similar to what I had seen while traveling through that dream.

It seemed the Professor had stayed here at some point. Long enough for it to remain in her dream. I glanced at her. She looked slightly sulky.

After traveling along the path like that, we saw a firmly closed door. The door was sealed tightly with all kinds of powerful magic cast on it. The magical power it gave off alone was enough to slightly distort the surroundings.

And in front of that door, a boy was sitting on the floor. He was leaning against the table before him with his head bowed deeply. He looked half-asleep.

The turtle slowly walked toward him. As its vibrations spread through the ground, the boy seemed to notice our presence and straightened himself while yawning. Then his appearance came into full view.

The boy was lightly scratching his hair, which looked white with age. He looked at us. When I met his eyes, I flinched in surprise. Those eyes had no pupils. Only darkness rippled inside.

Even though he had nothing like eyes, he stared right at the turtle as if he could clearly see us. Then he met the eyes of those of us on top of it and waved. His face was full of delight.

“Hey there, you’ve arrived. Come here and sit!”

The turtle stopped while keeping some distance from him. The Professor frowned slightly when she saw the boy. I returned to the room and lightly bowed my head to the Professor.

“Should we get off here?”

The Professor nodded. I gently held her hand and left the room. The turtle’s shell changed shape, creating stairs that extended down to the floor. When we stepped onto them, the stairs slowly moved and led us to the ground.

After setting foot on the ground, the Professor let out a small sigh. Then, with familiar steps, she went forward and plopped down on a cushion placed in front of the table.

“Could that person be the president?”

Mira, who had followed behind us, whispered quietly. That boy was the president? I glanced at him. I could not feel any magical power from him. No, not just magical power. I could not feel any presence at all.

Even though I was seeing him with my eyes, my senses did not catch him. It was as if he did not exist at all. One thing was certain, he was no ordinary person.

I gave Mira a small nod, then reached out toward the turtle. Its body gradually shrank, and before long, it was smaller than my hand. It hopped up and placed itself on my palm.

I quietly hung it on my chest and slowly walked over with Mira. Then I quietly took a place behind the Professor. The boy glanced at me.

The darkness around his eyes was endlessly deep. But even without pupils, his gaze was so distinct that I could tell he was looking at us. He lightly tapped the cushion beside him.

“You are my guest too. So hurry and sit. No need to feel too burdened.”

“Thank you. Then I will impose for a moment, President.”

Seeing him treat me as a guest, it seemed he really was the president. I bowed my head to him and carefully took a seat beside the Professor. Behind me, Mira leaned against me lightly.

The president began staring at us. After looking back and forth between Mira and me, he soon let out a satisfied laugh. Then he nodded. The Professor looked displeased as she watched him.

“So, why did you call me? Just get to the point. My lecture starts soon, so I need to leave quickly.”

“Oh, nothing much. I simply wanted to see your face after such a long time.”

The president, whose name had been Vermilion, smiled brightly as he looked at the Professor. Then he rested his chin on the table and stared at her without a word. The Professor snorted lightly.

“What do you mean, see my face? You don’t even have eyes.”

At those words, the president made a sorrowful expression. Then he began releasing the darkness contained in his eyes. It flowed down his face like tears.

“You have changed a great deal since I last saw you. When you first came here, you used to follow me so well, calling me godfather, godfather. What a nostalgic memory. Time truly passes too quickly. I cannot beat it at all. That cute child has become this....”

The longer the president spoke, the redder the Professor’s face became. Her magical power began surging strongly. But the president paid it no mind and continued.

“I still vividly remember when your mother entrusted you to me. What was it you said back then? You said you would live alone from then on. And yet, to think you would eventually let people into your life like this. I was quite surprised.”

The president smiled brightly as he said that. The Professor’s face had turned bright red. The magical power gathered beside her shot straight toward him. But when he gently waved his hand, that magical power vanished midway without a trace.

The Professor sent magical power at him several more times. The president smoothly let it flow away and gave an empty laugh. The darkness that had been flowing from his eyes had disappeared cleanly at some point.

Watching that, I nodded. It was the first time I had seen the Professor thrash around so wildly. She denied it, but somehow, the two of them looked fairly close.

“Haa, this is why I didn’t want to come.”

After their scuffle continued for a while, the fight ended with the Professor letting out a sigh. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. I could roughly understand the flow of the conversation. I could also understand why the Professor found that president hard to deal with.

I lightly brewed a cup of tea and offered it to the Professor. She accepted it and calmed herself while smelling its fragrance. I carefully set teacups before Mira and the president as well.

The president lightly picked up the teacup and smelled it as the Professor had. Then he sipped the tea and smiled brightly. After looking down at the teacup, he soon looked at us.

“Mm... the sight of you two is quite pleasing. I can put my worries aside. I thought you had taken in slaves because you were too lazy to lecture, but that does not seem to be the case.”

He reached out. A light wind starting from his hand brushed past our bodies. With it, I noticed something had disappeared. I felt my chest. The turtle that had been hanging there was gone.

It was caught in the president’s hand. He stroked its shell and burst into a very bright laugh. Somehow, I had a bad feeling. He slowly lifted the turtle and spoke.

“To make a turtle into a puppet, how interesting. Seeing this, I can tell at once that the two of you get along very well. You even put your body into it like this.”

He met the turtle’s eyes. Then he brought his ear lightly to it. Listening to the sound ringing inside it, his eyes went round. I saw a single light flash inside the darkness contained there.

“Ho, this does not contain just a little. You plucked some off every day. This is a very well-made object. At this level, metamorphosis may be possible too.”

The president laughed and shook the turtle. It let out a bleat. At the same time, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from beside me. Feeling cold sweat run down my back, I swallowed.

Then he cupped the turtle in both hands. For a moment, he blew a breath into it. Magical power began wriggling inside.

When the president opened his hands, a girl carrying a shell on her back appeared inside them. She had striking golden hair. “It really works,” he said, nodding in satisfaction.

“Mm, very cute indeed. Like the puppet beside you, she resembles you greatly, Irian.”

At his words, the sharp gaze piercing into my body grew even stronger. When I shifted my eyes slightly, I saw the Professor. She was glaring at me.

The Professor slowly met the turtle’s eyes. The turtle tilted her head. She looked very pure, as if expressing that she had known nothing at all. The Professor stared blankly at her, then moved that gaze to me.

Her eyes trembled, filled with indescribable anger. Her magical power began flowing around my body. It piled up in an instant and wrapped around me so tightly that I could not move at all.

Feeling that, I quietly closed my eyes. Ah, I was done for. I thought I only had to fool the Professor, but I never thought the president would catch me. Her magical power climbed along my body.

“Uh, mm. Did you not know about this?”

The president said. At those words, the magical power began pressing down on my body even more fiercely. The magical power at the end dug into my head like a hook. Then it dragged my soul out from within.

With the eyes of my forcibly extracted soul, I looked down at my body. It was lying in Mira’s arms like a puppet with its strings cut. The Professor glared at Mira, her eyes blazing.

“I tried to stop him several times.”

Mira glanced at me and spoke to the Professor. With that, the Professor’s magical power began crushing my soul. It was a sensation I had not felt in a long time. With that familiar pain as the last thing I felt, my thoughts cut off.

---

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried