WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 133

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133.

I stared blankly at the wasteland stretching out before me. Then I glanced back at the path I had come from. Ahead and behind looked exactly the same. Only this dry land continued endlessly.

I still had a long way to go. With that thought, I hurried my steps again. Beneath the darkening light, I slowly crossed the wasteland.

Then, as I walked along in a daze, something happened without warning. It was the moment I took another thoughtless step. The ground suddenly folded in slightly, and a different landscape began to fill the space around me.

Trees sprang up in an instant, and the air became a little clearer. From somewhere inside it came the faint sound of insects chirping. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

I stopped at the abrupt change in scenery and looked around. The area was filled with nothing but towering trees. They were so dense that I could not even see the sky.

The wasteland had vanished without a trace, replaced by a thick forest. I slipped beneath a tree for cover and stroked my chin. When a change like this appeared, I first needed to understand the situation.

Where had I seen this scene before? And what had happened here? I narrowed my eyes and scanned the area. On one side of the dense forest, I saw several trees that had been badly knocked down.

When I went closer and examined them, the trunks had snapped at the middle, as if something had crushed through them without slowing down. I could see the trail continuing in a long line.

It looked a little familiar. I tapped my forehead with a finger. Where had I seen this? I calmly looked at the trees rising high into the sky and the signs of destruction.

It probably was not anywhere I had seen at the university. The trees at the university grew far larger than this. Then that meant this was outside the university. And there was only one forest where I had made traces like this. I lightly clapped my hands.

I had not wandered through many forests, so it was obvious. If there was a forest memorable enough to stay in my mind, there was only one. It was the forest I had seen during the entrance exam.

Mm, that brought back memories. I nodded as I looked at the trail. I had really struggled back then. If it were me now, I might even be able to pass that exam near the top. That much time had passed.

I had faced the fog monkey here. Fog monkey. At that thought, my body flinched slightly. If this was that forest, it meant the fog monkey also existed here.

Every situation I had faced so far had gone that way. As if to prove it, fog began to thicken throughout the forest. I could feel magical power wavering inside it. This was not natural fog.

Seeing that, I quickly gathered my magical power and dug into the ground. Then I threw myself inside. After covering myself with soil and finishing the disguise, I drew the magical power in my body inward.

It was a rough hiding place, but it would do. Their fog reacted to magical power. If it caught mine, the fog monkeys would definitely go wild. Then things would get troublesome. I had to avoid that.

The fog slowly began feeling around near my body. Perhaps because it sensed the lingering traces of my magical power, it lingered there for quite some time. But I had already hidden beneath the ground.

After a while, the fog drifted away. It could not seep underground, so it was fortunate I had thought to hide like this. Watching the fog creep past, I let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed to have passed safely. I got up and observed my surroundings again. The fog had disappeared into the distance, and only the forest scenery remained in sight. It seemed safe now.

I started walking again. First, I had to get out of this forest. To think I had to avoid it like this. If I had the turtle with me, I would have crushed it to death right away. I clicked my tongue in regret as I brushed the dirt off my body.

But the turtle was waiting outside. There was nothing I could do. In this dream, which I had entered under the pretext of exploration, other puppets with egos could not join me. Apparently, they would be swept up too easily by an unstable dream.

So the only puppets I could bring were things like these. Beneath my robe, small exploding bugs brushed against my hand. They were simple puppets without egos. Those little things were clinging all over my body.

It had been a long time since I moved around with only these guys. I smiled faintly as I sent one exploding bug flying. I had barely used them after coming to the university. I hardly ever had to fight.

Even so, they were the best things to bring into a dream. I could not drag in a large puppet, so I planned to bring a group of these small ones instead. It was probably the most efficient choice.

Of course, dealing with all those monkeys using only these would be difficult. There was no need to go out of my way to fight creatures that came back to life even after being killed. With that, I carefully began slipping between the trees.

I had to leave this place before the fog came in. I glanced around as I walked. I also nodded while looking at the forest scenery. It felt incredibly vivid.

Even so, it was very clear that this place was a dream. I placed my hand on a tree for a moment. My hand sank right into it, as if I had touched water. When I stirred my hand lightly, faint ripples spread across the tree’s surface.

I pulled my hand out and shook it off. This could not be called the texture of a tree. Rather than wood, it felt thick and viscous, like touching pudding.

And this tree was not the only thing with such an abnormality. I lightly brushed the trees as I passed. The other trees all had their own textures. Some were hot like fire, and some were cold enough to sting.

Like that, despite their outward appearance, their insides were unbelievably strange. It was a very clear sign that this was a dream. And as these memories showed, this was a dream that came from me.

Right now, I was tracing that dream backward. Then, the moment I took another step out of that small forest, the surroundings changed completely. The trees vanished in an instant. I blinked.

I turned around. There was no forest on the path I had come from either. Just as it had suddenly appeared, the forest vanished in the blink of an eye when it disappeared. Once again, only a desolate plain filled the space around me.

I looked up at the sky. The Black Sun hung above, faintly wavering toward me. I had not been able to see it in the forest because the trees had blocked it.

The dark sunlight pouring from it fell across the path ahead of me. Then it began to faintly illuminate the way. I nodded slightly and followed that trace.

After walking for some time, I glanced back again. The path I had come from was still indistinguishable from the path ahead. Except for the path illuminated by this sun.

I stroked my chin while watching the Black Sun sway. This really was useful. No wonder Koite had recommended it so strongly. There was a reason.

Among the many options attached to my dream, this sun was the only one that influenced the dream itself. Should I call it a kind of signpost? Like this, the sun moved toward the destination and guided me.

Of course, I did not know where that destination was. I scratched my head. Since entering the dream, I had done nothing but follow that thing. I was not certain this was the right path.

Still, it was far better than having nothing. I did not know the way anyway. And it did seem this direction was right. The more I followed it, the more memories I encountered.

There must be something at the end. I had no idea when I would be able to leave this place. I took out a piece of paper and fiddled with it. The words escape ticket were written across it in large letters.

This was also one of the options. As the words suggested, it was an item that would let me leave the dream in any situation. It was also the only way to escape this dream. I could not go back the way I had come, after all.

In that way, my dream had been made with several options. Aside from those two, there were other options too, but I could barely feel them. Most of them had been used to design the dream.

Couldn’t they have added an option that explosively increased my magical power? Thinking that, I tucked the escape ticket into my chest. I would only be able to use it once I resolved this quickly.

I walked on slowly. My pace along the path felt somewhat sluggish. But there was nothing I could do. If I walked along this path, memories could rush at me like they had just now. I had to be ready for that.

It felt as if three days had already passed since I entered the dream. Of course, that was only my perception. Perhaps less than an hour had passed outside.

That was probably the case. In this space called a dream, nothing was less reliable than my own body. This unrefined dream was truly strange. Time, space, and all sorts of concepts flowed together in a jumble.

I had seen many such things on the way here. Memories from my childhood had come to me too. They were scenes from the island. It was nice to see Nanny’s face again after so long.

Those memories brushed past me like the forest just now. Memories from the island, memories from outside the university, and memories from the university. As I walked along this path, various memories like that sometimes popped out and blocked my way.

Of course, memories were not the only things that came to me. I held my breath for a moment. Something huge was visible in the distance. It floated in the sky, slowly flapping its wings.

It was a bird so large it could cover the sun. The thing had seven heads, and as it let out a slow cry, it began approaching me.

I tensed for a moment, but soon had no choice but to laugh. The closer it came, the smaller it became. By the time it reached me, it was smaller than my finger.

I slapped the thing showing murderous intent toward me with my palm. It scattered on the spot with a puff of smoke. I shook my hand and dispersed the faint magical power. A bird with perspective applied in reverse. That was pretty interesting too.

Like this, strange magical beasts born from the dream also existed. Should I call them monsters made by imagination? And most of the memories and magical beasts that brushed past me were generally hostile toward me.

Just like the forest from earlier, and like this magical beast. So I had to be careful. I had already died once, after all.

I glanced up at the sky. When I focused on the sky beyond the sun, I could see small cracks forming there. Thick darkness peeked through those cracks.

That had appeared after I died. When I died, the dream shook violently, as those cracks showed. That shaking made the dream unstable. If I died a few more times like this, my dream might collapse entirely.

Next time, I might really have to gather four hundred thousand points. I thought of Koite. Considering those greedy eyes, if I failed once, he would definitely end the dream right there.

So I could not be kicked out of this expensive dream and vanish so meaninglessly. I had not even met what I was trying to find yet. That meant I needed to head toward the destination quickly.

But how far did I have to go? I stared at the sun. Then I stroked my chin as I slowly walked along the path it illuminated.

Even after walking like this, the ones I wanted to meet did not show themselves at all. I had thought I would meet them quickly like in the last dream. I thought of the previous dream, where dozens of Professors had been swarming around.

According to Koite, they were anchors dropped into my dream. So I needed to find them. They would definitely know more about my dream than I did. And judging by their appearances, they seemed connected to my abnormality too.

If I met them, I had quite a lot to ask. But as the current situation showed, they were nowhere to be seen. I gave a slight bitter smile. As expected, was last time just a coincidence?

It did seem that way. After entering the dream this time, I had realized that the place I visited last time was a little different from where I was now. Even the ground there had looked unstable. In contrast, this place was stable.

That meant that place was deeper than here. I looked at the sun. It was moving farther inward. I could tell instinctively, intuitively, that it was heading inward.

After all, the farther the sun moved, the darker the path it illuminated became. I could tell right away that I was gradually heading deeper.

I continued walking in the direction the sun was heading. Even while thinking, my steps did not stop. The farther I walked, the darker the surroundings became, and the memories began appearing in scattered fragments.

I picked up a small toy lying on the ground and shook it once. A jingle sounded from inside it. It was an object I barely remembered. Judging by its appearance, it seemed like something I had used when I was a baby.

So even things like this existed. I could clearly tell that the depth of the dream was continuing to increase. Leaving the toy behind as it scattered like fog, I carefully took another step.

Little by little, memories brushed past me. Perhaps because the depth had increased, they approached me with even more hostility. They rushed toward me as if declaring that I should not be here.

I dealt with them as needed and continued forward. How long had I gone like that? The memories approaching me gradually began to blur. Now they could not even maintain proper forms.

Seeing that, I lightly kicked the ground. The impact sent clumps of soil floating into the air. Then they began to slowly fly toward the sky. I nodded quietly. It seemed I had now entered the depths completely.

I looked at the sun. It hung closer than before. That meant the destination had gotten a little closer. The long walk had been worth it. Of course, I would still have to walk farther.

I loosened up a little and slowly advanced along the path. After walking for some time, I instinctively felt that the scenery around me had changed slightly. I turned my gaze and lightly scanned the area.

Contrary to my senses, which felt as if something was catching on them, the surroundings were still filled with nothing but wasteland. The wasteland, dyed black by the dim light, remained quiet.

Was I mistaken? I frowned slightly. That could not be. This instinctive sense, or perhaps I should call it an awareness of danger, was stronger inside the dream. Something kept catching on it.

But I could not tell what it was. The surroundings looked perfectly ordinary. Then, the moment I carefully took one step forward, a sudden click sounded beneath my foot.

It seemed I had stepped on something. I glanced down. Beneath my foot was a small lump of iron. Shaped like a round box, it was scattering red light.

What was this? Had I ever seen something like it before? If it existed in my dream, it clearly meant it was connected to me. But this really seemed like something I was seeing for the first time.

Several thoughts flashed through my head in that brief moment. Behind those thoughts, a strong ominous feeling began to rise. At that instinctive sense digging into my mind, I quickly wove protective magic and stepped back.

I did it less than a second after stepping on it. The moment I hid behind several magical walls, the red light of the box I had lifted my foot from grew stronger. Then it exploded in an instant.

It was a powerful explosion. Powerful enough to tear one magical wall apart and erase it. I poured in more magical power and firmly maintained the wall.

Once the shock of the explosion faded, I narrowed my eyes at the iron fragments embedded in the protective magic. The iron box had shattered with the explosion and scattered those fragments.

The iron box could be called an object made thoroughly to kill people. It had created such a powerful explosion even though I had felt no magical power from it. That was truly surprising.

I carefully swept over the traces with magical power. The place where the explosion had occurred had a small hole gouged into it, as if proving its force.

After checking the place where it had been set, I quietly nodded. I could roughly understand the principle. Had it activated because I stepped on it? It was a very simple trap.

That also meant this was not the only prepared trap. I loosened my magical power like thread and sent it into the surroundings. It began feeling along the ground like a snake, searching for traces.

Since they were objects without magical power, I needed to directly confirm their presence like this. After searching, I confirmed that several similar things were buried in the ground nearby.

I gently dug them out and checked their structure. What were these? I thought again of the explosion from a moment ago. That grand explosion felt familiar somehow. Had I faced an explosion like that before?

As I checked those bombs, my body suddenly trembled. It was because of the intense murderous intent pouring toward me. I quickly looked around. But the wasteland was silent. I could not tell where that murderous intent was coming from.

“Is anyone there?”

As I said that, I carefully rose. No answer came. I smiled bitterly. I did not know what kind of situation this was, but judging by that murderous intent, whatever it was clearly viewed me as an enemy.

Should I leave this place first? Just as I quietly pulled back while thinking that, something suddenly began rising into the air, perhaps because it noticed my movement. They were flying insects, roughly several dozen of them.

I blinked as I looked at them. The explosion just now had felt familiar. I had wondered where I knew that feeling from, but seeing them made me understand right away.

The shape of those flying insects was something I had sometimes seen in my past life. It was an extremely familiar form. The way their wings rotated, and even the way things were plastered all over their bodies.

I was sure they were called drones. They were mechanical insects I had used as the basis for puppets, so I remembered their appearance very clearly.

I glanced around. Now I also knew what I had just pulled out. They were objects called land mines. So even these appeared in my dream.

The drones flew in quickly and began dropping toward me. The things attached to their bodies were definitely bombs. I expanded the protective barrier and lightly snapped my fingers.

At my signal, several exploding bugs quickly flew out from my chest. They shot straight toward the drones falling vertically. Then they detonated the explosion magic built into their bodies.

The drones were quickly shot down by the bugs. It did not take long for every drone to be smashed. I lightly stroked the bugs that returned and looked down at the wreckage of the drones.

Mm, those drones could be called the ancestors of these guys. They had given me plenty of reference points. I never thought I would end up killing their ancestors with my own hands. With that useless thought, I loosened my body.

The surrounding scenery had changed before I knew it. My expression hardened slightly as I looked around. Smoke rose from various places, and harsh noises occasionally sounded through that smoke.

This was the scenery of my past life, which I had sometimes watched in hazy glimpses. It was the very battlefield I had used as a reference when making exploding bugs. The battlefield scenery was far clearer and more detailed than I remembered.

I moved farther back. At least it was fortunate that Koite could not see this dream. Apparently, an unorganized dream was difficult to grasp. That was why I had to make my way through the dream alone. Thinking about it now, that was very fortunate.

Well, this was not the time to think about reality. As if to make up for the drones that had just been shot down, more drones rose into the sky and began flying toward me.

I quickly scattered the exploding bugs into the air as well. Then I slowly moved forward. I was trying to leave this battlefield. At that moment, I felt a strand of wind flow in.

A bang rang out from among the drones. Along with it, a sudden sense of unease filled my chest. Following that instinct, I stopped on the spot and snapped my head down.

At the same time, the protective magic surrounding my body shattered in an instant, and the wind swept through the place where my head had been. Once I confirmed that, cold sweat soaked my back.

I had almost died in an instant. Without even noticing it. I quietly felt the traces of the shattered magic. How had this pierced through? I still could not tell exactly. It should not have been easy to break with impact alone.

I quickly wove the barrier again and kept watch on my surroundings. I scattered magical power to check for land mines beneath my feet, and I sent exploding bugs toward the drones that kept flying in.

The drones quickly began to fall. My bugs, which dealt with those drones, did not all return intact either. They were often caught in the explosions.

Roughly two thirds returned. I tucked those guys into my chest and retreated. I could not tell what was targeting me. Even so, as the attack that broke my barrier just now had shown, it was quite effective.

Only a fool would keep fighting in an unknown place against unknown things. Fighting was not my specialty either. So I needed to leave this place first.

Another boom rang out like thunder. Then a fast-flying wind struck my protective barrier. This time, perhaps because I had poured enough magical power into the protective barrier, the sharp wind could not pierce my magic.

I picked up the small iron fragment that had bounced off the magic. I remembered. Was this called a bullet? I could recognize its power well enough. But this should not have been enough to pierce the barrier from just now.

I grimaced and quickly ran from that place. Getting out of here came first. Behind me, those bullets began pouring endlessly. I wrapped myself in even more magical power and kicked off the ground.

My feet, filled with magical power, quickly crossed the battlefield. Where should I go? Where? Even when I looked around, I could not properly tell the way. When I saw drones and bullets pouring toward me again, I twisted my body.

It seemed I needed to change direction. But even as I kept moving, those drones and bullets kept targeting me and never let go. Every time I hesitated over the path, they appeared as if chasing me down.

The more I moved to avoid them, the thicker the ominous feeling inside me became. I was sure I was running away, so why? I looked up at the sky. Before I knew it, the sun had grown even farther away.

When I stopped for a moment, I saw drones flying toward me again. I sent out several exploding bugs to intercept them and quickly moved. The sun only kept getting farther away.

Looking at that sun, I eventually realized it. These things were leading me somewhere. And by the time I realized that, it was already far too late. A huge gun barrel was positioned in front of me.

The barrel was attached to a huge steel machine and aimed directly at me. I instinctively knew it was slowly taking aim. Ah, damn it. Muttering that, I enlarged my magical barrier.

At the same time, the gun barrel spat fire. At the ominous feeling, I tried to throw myself aside and dodge it, but I was a little too late. With a boom, the shell smashed my barrier to pieces in an instant.

Not satisfied with that, the shell struck my body directly. It had forcibly torn away magical power through sheer force. It was achieved purely through overwhelming mass and power.

The shock of having roughly half my body torn away left me no choice but to collapse on the spot. My mind went a little hazy. For some reason, these things were very skilled at dealing with beings that used magical power.

Skilled enough to target the weaknesses of my barrier with those bullets. They had figured out exactly how to pierce it efficiently. As if they had fought such beings endlessly.

It was the same now. When my barrier grew thicker, they simply struck it with greater force. But in my faint memories of my past life, there was no such case. That place did not use anything called magical power.

Then where in the world had they learned this? With that hazy thought as my last, my body began to blur too. Death had come. Along with it, I saw the sky tremble slightly.

The crack was being carved a little larger. I had not expected to die to memories of my past life. The memory of that battlefield passed through my mind. Like that, I breathed out and opened my eyes.

I got up and wrapped magical power around my body once. My body was completely fine. The surroundings were the same. As if the battlefield scenery where I had just been had been nothing but a dream, the area was utterly desolate.

I had died and escaped the scenery of that memory. The sun hanging in the sky was still shining brightly. It was also a little farther away than before. I needed to go farther.

Let’s avoid memories of my past life. The moment I made that decision and tried to move, I frowned and looked around. Some unknown ominous feeling was eating into me like an alarm bell.

I tensed slightly. Then I began moving quickly. First, I needed to leave this place.

But as if the danger had not ended, the anxiety soaking into my body only grew stronger. I had definitely escaped the memory. What else was going to happen?

I soon understood the reason clearly. In the distance, I saw dust rising. At the center of that dust, the steel machine that had shattered my protective magic in one blow earlier was rolling toward me.

Its gun barrel was still aimed straight at me. Then another sharp sound rang out. Before the gun barrel could spit fire, I quickly threw myself aside. Then I let out a sigh of relief.

This time, I was not late. I glanced at the place where I had been standing. The ground there had been gouged into a small groove. If that had hit me, I would definitely have died again.

I quickly stacked magical power barriers and blocked the shock wave. From those traces, I could feel a keen metallic scent. I glanced toward the rising dust. Strong murderous intent was coming from there.

Behind that rolling steel machine, I could see countless soldiers following. The murderous intent was coming from them. I shuddered as I felt that mass of killing intent pouring toward me.

Apparently, killing me once had not satisfied them. They seemed firmly determined to kick me out of this dream completely. To think a memory would chase me. I had not expected this kind of situation either.

I wrapped myself in magical power and kicked off the ground to run again. Facing those strange soldiers head-on would be unpleasant. If they were simply firing bullets, that would be one thing, but the way they pierced magical power was far too precise.

Behind me, as I ran toward the sun, a barrage of bullets from the soldiers began pouring down. Still, if they were only chasing me directly, I should be able to get away. A body without magical power was terribly slow.

But there was one thing I had failed to account for. Dreams naturally mixed time and space together. They were beings that belonged to such a dream. So this dream was practically their territory.

Even though I was sure I had shaken them off, they did not stop clinging to me. No matter how hard I struggled, I could not escape their movements.

Their encirclement gradually tightened around me. I tucked the few remaining exploding bugs into my chest and smiled bitterly. It seemed this life would only go this far.

Looking at the sun, which had drawn very close before I knew it, I clicked my tongue. I had thought I was almost there, so this was a shame. I would definitely have to escape on the next life. Then the gun barrel of the steel machine began turning toward me.

The barrel pointed straight at me, and as I watched flames flicker inside it, I slightly closed my eyes. With a thunderous sound, the shell fired. Then it tore my magical power barrier apart in an instant.

Just as that shell was about to strike my body, an axe suddenly flew in from somewhere. It struck the shell and crushed it in an instant. The magical power was terrifying beyond words.

Along with that, something hopped lightly and landed in front of me. When I slowly opened my eyes at the sound, I saw rabbit ears.

“Slaughter!”

With an utterly confident shout, the axe split the air again. The steel machine collapsed beneath that axe blade.

After finishing off the steel machine, the rabbit ears snorted at me with a huff. I quietly looked down at the figure. The sight of a girl wearing a rabbit costume was extremely familiar to me.

She looked exactly like Professor. I had also briefly met her in a dream before. Should I call her Rabbit Professor? I quietly observed her.

“I told you not to go ahead first.”

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

Rabbit Professor waved her hands wildly. From the place she had come from, a girl walked over. It was Professor in a nun outfit, Nun Professor. She smiled softly at me.

“We meet again.”

After looking around, she lightly bowed her head toward me. Above her head, the Black Sun was giving off light. It seemed she was the target the sun had been pointing toward.

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