WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 125

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I blinked quietly. A desolate land stretched out before me. I moved the tip of my foot and lightly scraped at the ground beneath me. The dirt came loose with the motion, peeling away like a single carved piece before falling straight up into the air.

That clump of dirt drifted beyond the sky. Watching it, I scratched my head. Something felt strange, but I could not tell what. The clump vanished without leaving a trace.

The ground I had scraped had also been restored before I knew it. Where was this bizarre place? I slowly looked around. This dry, barren land stretched endlessly past the horizon.

At some point, I had opened my eyes and found myself standing here. And on this bleak land, there was no life besides me. Not even a single blade of grass grew from that vast expanse. It was simply quiet.

Of course, there was the faintest bit of movement. Just as I had scraped away the ground a moment ago, pieces of cracked earth occasionally broke loose and fell toward the sky.

Those pieces went beyond the sky, toward the enormous sun. That Black Sun swallowed them whole. Filling the sky, the sun rippled as if it might burst at any moment.

The pale light pouring from it soaked the land in darkness while illuminating everything around me. I stared blankly at the sun, then gave my head a light shake.

I could not properly remember where this place was, why I was here, or even who I was. Only a faint drowsiness seeped through my mind.

Who was I? Where was this? With those thoughts, I slowly wandered around. For some reason, I felt no urgency. If anything, standing on this ground made me feel strangely at peace.

Still, I should move for now. I could not stay here forever. Then where should I go? Everything around me was earth. There was nothing suitable to use as a landmark.

That was when something began to shine. I glanced up at the sky. The sun was pouring out an even brighter light. Its flames flickered as if telling me to follow.

When I took a step toward it, the sun moved a little farther away, as if fleeing from me. Seeing that, I began approaching it as if bewitched. I slowly walked after it, trying to catch up.

The chase passed in an extremely dull haze. I simply moved my feet on instinct. Through my dazed mind, the sun gradually drew closer. At last, it stopped.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at a building. I looked at it and blinked. I could not properly grasp how long I had been walking. It felt as if I had arrived in an instant, and also as if I had walked for a very long time.

Had there been a building like this? I was sure I had not seen one before. I had only followed the sun. At the top of the building, the sun lay pierced upon the cross hanging there. As if this place was the destination.

The building’s door was open by the tiniest crack, revealing a narrow gap. Through it, I could glimpse the interior. But it was only a blur.

It seemed I would have to open the door and go inside to see properly. For some reason, that gap seemed to whisper for me to hurry in. Feeling that, I quietly studied the building.

The building had a shape I had never seen before. Its middle was bent, and it was painted over in many colors, making it look as if several rooms had been bundled into one.

Even so, it seemed to follow a single rule. Should I call it a will to worship something? I did not know how I knew that, but it felt familiar somehow.

I carefully opened the door and stepped inside. A small bell chimed, tickling my ears. At the same time, a gust of wind brushed past my body.

I quietly examined the interior. The first things that caught my eye were enormous pillars. Along those pillars, a single path stretched straight ahead.

Following that path, I slowly headed deeper into the building. The path gradually narrowed and grew more complicated. At the end of it, I entered a small room.

I glanced up at the sky. Beyond the wide-open ceiling, I could see the enormous cross. And the sun stuck there, blazing.

This seemed to be the center of the building. I slowly looked around. It would be right to call this a chapel. It had the structure of a typical religious facility. A place meant to worship something. I carefully walked toward the center of the room.

As I moved inward, a small altar came into view. And in front of it, I found a person bathed in sunlight.

There was nothing on the altar. But that person knelt quietly with her head bowed, as if praying to something.

Her back, dyed black by the light from the sun, felt familiar somehow. It was the figure of a very small girl. Why was she praying here? I looked at her and blinked quietly.

For some reason, the sight of her back stirred a small resistance in me. It was a foul, unpleasant feeling, as if some impurity had entered me. The deeper she sank into prayer, the worse that sensation became.

But that strange feeling soon vanished. Perhaps she sensed someone there, because she stopped praying and slowly turned around. Her gaze met mine. When I saw her face, I could not help being startled.

Brilliant blond hair and green eyes. Those distinctive features made me understand right away. It was Professor. Why was she here...? But that surprise soon slipped away.

I tilted my head. Professor? Who was that again? I could not tell. My mind completely forgot its earlier shock and sank back into a haze.

She looked at me, then slowly began to approach. I observed her. A white hat covered about half of her golden hair, and a black robe loosely wrapped around her body.

Should I call it a nun’s habit? It was an outfit that suited the sight of her praying. I tilted my head again. How did I know the name of that outfit?

The thought stopped there. She had come up to me and smiled softly. Her emerald eyes overflowed with kindness.

“Oh my, a little lamb has lost their way. How did you drift all the way into this deep place?”

She bowed her head slightly in greeting. Then she placed a hand lightly on her chest and smiled. At that, I faintly caught the scent of roses. It was a scent that put my mind at ease.

When I blinked quietly, she tilted her head a little. Soon, she laughed lightly and gently linked arms with me. Then she gestured softly toward the air.

“First, shall we go this way? I have prepared a room for you.”

She slowly led me toward the altar. Beyond it, there was a small door in the wall. Had that been there before? I was sure this room had only been connected to one door.

She naturally opened that door and stepped inside. Held by her hand, I did the same. When I passed through, warmth wrapped around my body. A very small room came into view.

It was an extremely cramped space, so small that even five people could not fit inside. The room was piled full of blocks of wood. In the middle of those blocks was a small table. For some reason, the place put my heart at ease.

She lightly released my arm and seated me on the chair in front of the table. Then she sat across from me and laughed gently. She took out a teapot from who knew where and began pouring tea into a cup.

After briefly smelling it, she nodded and held the teacup out to me. I carefully accepted it, set it before me, and looked at her. She met my eyes and smiled brightly.

“Why did the little lamb come here? This is a space where only we can stay. Hehe, seeing your face like this really is fascinating.”

I blinked quietly. I could not understand what she was talking about. But she did not seem inclined to explain more.

She stared intently at me, then suddenly snapped her head to one side. Her gaze was fixed on empty air. She looked at that space where nothing existed, tilted her head slightly, and soon gave a small nod.

“Aha, it seems you received help from someone else.”

She lightly covered her mouth and laughed. After that, she said nothing else. She only looked at me with a faint smile. I did the same.

Just sitting there and watching her quietly made some unknown affection ripple inside my chest. I was sipping tea and enjoying the silence when it happened.

Bang. With that sound, a door opened somewhere. Then someone suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Before I knew it, another door had appeared overhead. Beyond that dangling door, I could see hollow magical power flowing.

The person who entered the room raised a hand. In that hand was a small axe. That figure swung it wildly and hopped around. The impact sent the blocks of wood scattering messily.

After smashing the blocks of wood, that person struck a triumphant pose and raised the axe high. I could see the upright ears rising from her head twitching.

“Slaughter!”

I stared at the sight. She had a very unusual appearance. She was wearing a cute stuffed rabbit suit.

After checking her face, I blinked. Then I looked at the nun sitting in front of me. The one wearing the rabbit head had the exact same face as her. Brilliant blond hair and shining emerald eyes.

I needed a way to distinguish them. Should I call the one who had just entered Rabbit? Rabbit shouted, “Slaughter, slaughter!” as if delighted. Somehow, I felt as though the meaning reached me, if only faintly.

At the same time, I frowned a little. Slaughter. I had seen that peculiar verbal tic somewhere before. But I could not remember where.

The person sitting in front of me, should I call her the nun? The nun stared at Rabbit. Rabbit watched her reaction, then quietly slipped the axe into her clothes. Then she looked at me.

“It seems the rumor that a little lamb came here has spread. Everyone will come looking soon.”

The nun said that while lifting her teacup. Rabbit looked at me, nodded in satisfaction, and settled into my arms. A pleasant scent drifted from her. Along with it, my head grew hazy again.

What did it matter whether it was slaughter or anything else? There was no need to use my head here at all. All I had to do was enjoy it. So I lightly stroked Rabbit’s head.

Watching us, the nun let out a small laugh. Then she offered me another cup of tea. I accepted it and brought it straight to my mouth. The tea had no taste.

“You will return soon, so you may rest for a while until then. Do not worry about being bound here. This place is only a momentary bubble.”

My body slowly began sinking into the chair. As I stroked Rabbit’s head, my mind gradually grew peaceful.

That was when it happened.

Now, that is enough for the trial version.

I heard that whisper from somewhere. Along with it, my mind slowly began to rise.

Within that haze, the room’s door opened again. This time, a door appeared in the floor. The one who entered through it was translucent, like a ghost. But her face looked very much like theirs.

Starting with her, doors began filling the room. And the women multiplied at random. Each of them had a different appearance. Their whispering voices filled the space around me.

This small room, which I had thought could not fit many people, was packed with dozens of women. The room shook slightly.

My gaze met the nun’s. She smiled softly. It was a smile that did not suit Professor’s face at all. Right, Professor. Their faces looked very much like Professor’s. With my head a little clearer, I swept my gaze around.

Had it said the trial version was over? As if proving that, my body slowly began turning transparent. Seeing me like that, the nun lightly waved her hand.

“I hope we can meet someday, in another dream.”

With that, the world collapsed. No, the dream did. My surroundings began turning dark. The building vanished without a trace. The women did as well. In an instant, everything before my eyes turned pitch-black.

And at the same time, the world brightened. My mind, which had sunk inward, finally woke up. Feeling my pupils twitch, I opened my eyes again. My blank mind gradually cleared.

I was lying on a wide sofa. I sent magical power through my body, which had been deeply sunken into it. Then my body gradually woke. Right. Until now, I had been dreaming.

I slowly sat up. While I was inside it, I had not been able to recognize it as a dream. It had been a fairly vivid landscape. Almost like reality.

Once I steadied myself and came to my senses, I saw two people sitting at the table, drinking tea. They were Mira and Koite. With a small crystal ball between them, they were chatting quietly.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Mira looked at me and smiled brightly. Seeing that gave me a familiar feeling. Should I say her smile resembled the nun’s? No, perhaps it was the opposite. She looked back at the crystal ball, eyes sparkling.

“Hehe, to think there are so many Irians like this. I never thought I would see Irian looking like this.”

Mira said that. The small crystal ball in front of her was giving off a hazy light. I slowly approached her. Then I saw the scene inside the crystal ball. I was in it.

In the dream world I had left, within that hazy landscape, Professors were wandering around in droves. And I was buried among them. Everything that had just happened was replaying endlessly inside the crystal ball.

Seeing that, I gave a small bitter smile. I had not known my dream would look like that either. I glanced at Koite. According to him, he had said he would let me dream the dream I most wanted to have. Was that it?

“Oh, interesting. There are many outfits I’ve never seen before too. This will be good reference material later. A girl in a rabbit outfit, huh. This one might sell.”

Koite looked at the crystal ball with a face full of interest. Then he stroked his chin. Compared to before, his body had grown much thinner. After staring into the crystal ball for a while, he looked at me.

“What in the world are you raising inside your body? I didn’t expect to make eye contact with someone inside a dream.”

“What a loss,” Koite grumbled lightly, looking down at his thinned body. At those words, I scratched my head. The Professors inside the dream had forms similar to the magical power of the treasures contained in my body. I had not known that contamination would appear even in my dreams.

Among them, the nun was probably based on her magical power. I glanced at Mira. She looked at me with a mischievous smile. She seemed to have noticed who the nun had come from as well.

“So, how was it walking through your own dream? Did you find what you wanted?”

At those words, I let out a small sigh. Then I shook my head. The reason I had tried to enter my dream like this was to find the root of my obsession. Koite had said dreams were places where the desires inside me appeared.

So I had thought there might be traces left there. Then I had run into that scene. Looking at me, Koite lightly patted his belly. Then he let out a hearty laugh.

“Well, of course. It was the trial version! Still, it was fun. Should I say it suited a puppeteer? Filling the same subject in so many different ways. I’ll have to work harder too.”

After saying that, Koite lightly clapped his hands. At his signal, a puppet that had been waiting on one side of the room smoothly approached. It was a woman with an extremely beautiful appearance.

Koite quietly examined her body, then lightly tapped her shoulder. At that, her clothes changed in an instant. It was the rabbit outfit Professor had been wearing in my dream just now. He admired her for a moment, then nodded.

The puppet smoothly settled into Koite’s arms. Then, with a light smile, she kissed him. Koite looked down at the puppet with a serious gaze, then clapped again. At that signal, the woman left once more.

“Hmm, animal clothes. A new possibility I hadn’t thought of. This is interesting. It might be fun to make an entire magical beast’s nest into a dream. I think quite a few people would like that.”

He muttered to himself, took out a pen, and began scribbling something. Soon, after filling a sheet of paper with black ink, he put the pen away. He checked the contents and nodded in satisfaction.

After finishing all his notes, he shifted his gaze back to the crystal ball. Inside it, the nun was looking up at us and smiling brightly. After seeing that video, Koite scratched his head.

“Still, just as you said, it is strange. I can feel a slightly bizarre magical power too. No matter how I look at it, this dream doesn’t seem to be yours alone.”

Koite muttered that and stroked his chin. While looking at the scene inside the crystal ball, he glanced at me. His eyes were full of interest.

“Then this is mine now. That was the promise.”

“Yes, you may eat as much as you like.”

Giving him the dream I had, that was the promise I had made with him in exchange for this help. Of course, it had not been much help as things stood.

There was no special reason I had visited this Dream Theater last. The puppeteer I had gone to before, Mauro, had recommended this place to me. He had said I might be able to learn about the cause here.

Other puppeteers had also brought up similar stories from time to time. So I had visited this place both to fulfill my promise with Mira and to resolve my own problem.

But now that I had come out of the dream, I only felt confused. How in the world was I supposed to solve my problem? All I had gained were a few more questions.

As I thought that, Koite smacked his lips slightly. He looked down at his own thin belly again and breathed out lightly. Magical power scattered on that breath.

He waved his hand. Then that magical power followed his gesture and began gathering like a fluffy cloud. It flowed straight toward the crystal ball. Within that magical power, a dreamlike energy seemed to spill down as if it contained a dream.

Inside that magical power, the crystal ball slowly began to melt. The magical power, now holding the contents of the dream, returned to Koite’s hand. He carefully opened his mouth and swallowed it all at once.

With that, his body began swelling back up. He let out a light burp. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips. He patted his belly and whistled.

Then he winked at me. It seemed he had liked my dream.

This was the first time I had seen a dream demon eat a dream. I had learned that he was a dream demon after visiting this shop.

Only then did I understand why it was called Dream Theater. The thing that had dropped me into that dream just now was an innate magic that came from his tree.

A dream, huh. Thinking about it, the last dream I had before this had also come from a dream demon. Before I came to the university, the beer a dream demon had made had guided me into a nightmare. The dream just now had carried a similar feeling.

“Still, now that I’ve eaten it, I know for sure. I think we can dig a little deeper into this.”

Koite muttered that. At those words, my body flinched. Did that mean he had figured out the cause? He looked at me, eyes sparkling. Then he curled his fingers into a circle.

“The trial version is over, so from now on, we should move on to talking points. The base price starts at one hundred thousand points. The price will go up with each option you add.”

One hundred thousand points! At that amount, I stiffened in shock. How many points did I have right now? The mirror bug came to mind. It showed me the number.

Eight thousand points. Because I had been performing ritual magic to make treasures all this time, my points were scraping the bottom. It was nowhere near enough to pay the price. Seeing me like that, Koite gave a sly smile.

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