WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 135

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135.

The door did not open on the first try.

Maybe because it was my first attempt, opening that door took more magical power than I had expected.

The door closed again, and the light leaking from it faded as well.

I needed to adjust the magic circle a little.

I quickly checked the magic circle. Then I calmly watched the circuit give off light.

Would this be enough?

With that thought, I focused my will. The magic circle accepted it and slowly began opening the door.

Beyond the door, which opened more smoothly than before, blue light leaked out again.

I clicked my tongue at the sight.

While creating this magic circle, I had intended to use the light to tell in advance what would come out.

After all, something I did not want might come rolling in.

And among those lights, blue meant it had only a weak connection to me.

I wondered if I had seen it wrong and looked again, but the light was perfectly clear. It was blue.

Disappointment rose in me, but I quickly pulled myself together. Still, there was no telling.

Maybe something unexpected would come out, something that overcame that blue light.

I focused and opened the door wide. Then I directed my will beyond the door and pulled out what was inside.

It did not resist my call and came along with it. Something popped out from beyond the door and rolled across the floor.

It was about the size of my palm.

I stopped the magic circle for a moment and looked down at it. The nun also walked over.

“Oh my, something interesting came out.”

I heard the nun mutter.

Interesting, huh.

I smiled bitterly and picked it up with magical power. It felt light in my palm.

When I gave it a small shake, it jingled.

At the sound, I smacked my lips. A faint bitter taste seemed to fill my mouth. It was because of my deep disappointment.

Of course it was. This was something I remembered passing by before, a rattle. A toy from my childhood.

Yes, this was connected to me too. Traces of it had remained in my dream.

Still, I never thought something like this would pop out.

As I stood there blankly shaking it, the nun let out a soft giggle.

“Would it be right to call this a dud?”

I nodded.

A dud. That was exactly right. This was truly useless.

Of course, I had expected something like this.

This place was my dream, and there were countless things connected to me. I knew it would not be easy to draw the one thing I wanted from among them.

Still, having the first attempt turn out like this drained me a little. Beginner’s luck was supposed to exist too.

As I shook the rattle, I felt someone tap my waist.

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

I glanced down and saw Rabbit holding out a hand to me. I lightly shook the rattle.

Then she nodded.

She wanted it. It was useless to me anyway.

So I handed it to her.

She took it and began slowly shaking it. The bell inside rang out clearly. Rabbit listened and gave a small laugh.

She looked quite happy. It seemed she liked it.

At least it was not completely useless. It had found its owner.

After watching her for a moment, I shook my head.

I needed to focus. The summoning did not end here. This was only the first attempt.

I had ten beads. That meant I had ten chances.

There was no need to feel too discouraged over the very first try.

I restarted the magic circle. The circuit received magical power and gave off clear light as it began taking the bead into itself.

I focused and resumed the summoning I had stopped.

Once again, a door began forming inside the magic circle. I poured out my will and slowly opened it.

I felt a pull from within. The door had begun drawing in the many things that existed in the dream.

What would it be this time?

Thinking that, I looked at the door.

I saw blue light burst out. The next one was the same. And the one after that too.

I scratched my head as I looked at the pile of objects. There were all kinds of things.

There was a wardrobe I had used when I was young, and there were remains of a puppet I had made.

I touched those lightly.

These might be a little useful.

The rest were all duds. Still, since only duds had come out so far, maybe the next one would be different.

I opened the door again.

But blue light appeared once more. Just as I was starting to feel disappointed, I saw a flash of purple pass faintly through the blue. My eyes widened a little.

That light. That was what I was aiming for.

Before the light disappeared, I quickly flung the door open. Then I focused my will and scooped up what lay beyond it.

It popped out through the door.

Did I get it?

Thinking that, I stared at it.

But it was completely different from what I had expected. The moment I saw the object that had passed through the door, I had no choice but to quickly weave protective magic.

The protective barrier I created covered the area around the object.

Then it exploded. A slight tremor rang inside the protective barrier, and dust rose.

Good thing I had prepared quickly.

I let out a relieved sigh and removed the barrier.

The thing that had exploded was a small box giving off red light, the bomb I had seen before.

That was connected to me too. Compared to the blue-light objects that had popped out so far, it was also a little rarer.

I was sure I had seen another color. Had I been mistaken?

I stroked my chin and looked down at the magic circle. The door at its center was firmly closed.

And I saw that nine of the beads shimmering above it had lost their light. I let out a small sigh.

My luck was truly bad. So far, everything had been blue.

I had reached the point where merely seeing that light made me click my tongue.

I looked at the last bead. Before I knew it, only one remained. This was my last chance.

The last bead was giving off a dreamlike aura. I swallowed and began pouring magical power into it.

I could feel a slight tension wrap around my body.

If this ended up being a dud too, I would have no beads left. This was the last one assigned to me.

Of course, there were the others.

I glanced sideways at the nun with narrowed eyes.

They had beads too. Should I try borrowing some?

Then maybe it would not matter even if I drew a dud this time.

But before that thought could take over my head, I shook it away.

After lightly tapping my cheeks, I glared at the magic circle.

If I entertained such impious thoughts, bad luck was bound to follow. So I had to focus with everything I had, as if this truly were the last.

I had not lost yet. This too was a contest, a magical duel.

I would draw it no matter what.

Holding that firm thought, I closed my eyes. Then I poured a more desperate will than before into it.

The magic circle, filled with my magical power and will, slowly began flowing into the door.

I watched the door open within that flow of magical power, my eyes gleaming.

For some reason, I had a good feeling this time.

Since I had drawn a bomb on the last attempt and gotten the bad luck out of the way, something good would surely come out this time.

As if to prove me right, light gently poured out from between the doors. That light was different from the ones before.

It gave off a clear purple glow. After confirming the color, I smiled.

I had not seen wrong earlier. Aha, so it had been taking its time before coming to me.

Thinking that, I flung the door open.

This clear purple meant the connection was stronger than blue light.

A simple object would not give off light like this.

As if proving that, I felt something beyond the door respond to my will.

Something had definitely been caught by my summoning.

With my eyes closed, I stretched out my magical power. The magic circle accepted it and began pulling the target more powerfully than before.

The magic circle slowly sucked it in.

Perhaps flustered by the pressure of the magic circle, the being beyond the door struggled a little.

It tried to release magical power to block the pull.

But that resistance could not stop the flow of the magic circle.

This was a kind of irresistible pull. Summoning, by its nature, forcibly drew in its target.

Before it could escape my will, I quickly hooked it.

The summoning had succeeded.

I saw the being beyond the door pulled out through it. After passing through the door, it naturally adjusted its posture and landed on the floor.

Seeing the door begin to blur, I nodded.

As expected, if one was desperate enough, things worked out. I had won this gacha.

Feeling a little satisfied, I faced the being I had summoned.

That being looked very similar to the nun and Rabbit. In other words, she had Professor’s form.

There was no doubt I had successfully completed the summoning.

Seeing her scatter magical power, I raised both hands.

“Hello. Please don’t be so startled. I summoned you.”

I bowed my head lightly. Then I observed her appearance. She had a small branch that looked like a snake stuck in her hair.

Judging by the glittering arrowhead at the end, it was definitely an arrow.

It was probably meant to be fired from the huge bow hanging on her back. From her active outfit to the way she carried a bow, she looked like a hunter.

Should I call this person Hunter?

Thinking that, I met Hunter’s eyes. She stared blankly at me, then tilted her head.

“Wow, then you’re my master. But where is this?”

Master, she said. I coughed at that unexpected word. She slowly approached me and began sniffing me.

Soon, she nodded and clung tightly to me.

I carefully stroked her head. Hunter gave a small purring sound and seemed pleased.

Hunter, huh. I carefully analyzed the shape of her magical power.

Snake-shaped arrows were rare. And I knew one treasure with that form. Since I had recently held a lecture on it, the memory was clear.

Because of that, I could tell at once which treasure’s magical power this Professor held. The magical power of Arrow Snake, a Grade 1 friendly entity, was clearly lingering around her.

Was it because of that treasure’s limits? The magical power wavering from her seemed a little lacking compared to the nun or Rabbit.

Those two held magical power originating from Grade 3 entities in their bodies, so it could not be helped.

Was that why the light had been purple? I nodded lightly. After all, there were colors above it too.

Even so, the fact remained that Hunter held a treasure’s magical power. That meant she was sure to be very useful.

“Could you explain the situation to her?”

Saying that, I glanced at the nun, who had come closer. The nun nodded lightly and gently pulled Hunter away from me.

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

Rabbit clung to the nun and waved her hands wildly. She was saying she would explain the situation.

No, more than that, she clearly wanted to play with her.

The nun smiled slightly and handed Hunter over to her.

Rabbit shook the rattle in her hand and led Hunter along. Hunter followed behind Rabbit with a blank expression.

The two reached the table and began talking quietly.

“Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter...”

Rabbit explained something like that, and Hunter quietly nodded.

Hunter glanced around for a while, but soon began listening to Rabbit and adjusting comfortably.

I nodded at that. Hunter did not seem to have any intention of resisting.

I could ask her for help a little later.

This was a success. It was the result of ten beads.

“What do you think? I successfully completed the gacha.”

“That is impressive.”

The nun clapped lightly. She laughed, then tilted her head with a finger resting on her chin.

“I watched, but it seems we cannot perform this sort of gacha. It must be possible because you are the owner of this dream, little lamb. It is a little sad. I wanted to draw once too.”

I could see a little regret on her face as she said that.

She was right. This was convenient magic possible only because this place was my dream.

In reality, it would be completely impossible.

Seeing the nun look regretful, I gave a small dry cough. When she looked at me, I quietly held out my hand.

As she looked down at my hand, I spoke.

“In that case, how about investing the beads you have? I’ll draw on your behalf.”

Ten attempts. That alone felt a little unsatisfying. I still could not be satisfied. Would it not be nice to draw just one more?

I felt that thought fill my chest. Yes, just one more.

That would make the lineup more stable too.

I looked at her. I had already confirmed that she had plenty of beads.

The ten beads I had used were also things I had received from her.

As I held out my hand, the nun laughed as if amused. After thinking for a moment, she readily nodded.

I clenched my fist slightly. I could do another gacha.

The nun searched inside her clothes, took out some beads, and held them out. I carefully accepted them and counted.

Ten in total. The same amount I had used before.

She should have more than this. Thinking that, I glanced at the nun.

“I will give you only this much for now. We need to use the rest too. A new friend has arrived, so shouldn’t we decorate this place a little?”

She lightly shrugged and flicked a few beads. They shattered, scattering a dreamy aura.

Then they seeped into the building and soon vanished.

At the same time, a small tremor began. Within that tremor, I could feel this shabby room grow a little wider.

She continued repairing the building. It seemed she intended to keep using this place.

I nodded in front of the altar.

No matter how helpful it was to us, asking them to give me all their beads for this gacha would be shameless.

Since I had received this investment, I had to succeed.

“I will definitely draw one more person.”

I bowed my head to the nun. Then I steeled myself and raised my eyes.

Then let’s draw. I would stake everything on this gacha.

I fiddled with the beads and gave a confident smile.

This was not something I was doing simply for fun. This gacha could be called the only way to break through my dream.

So I had no choice but to be utterly serious.

Of course, it was a little fun too. It felt like testing my luck.

With these ten attempts, I would definitely draw another Professor. I focused my will and attempted the summoning again.

And a parade of blue light unfolded.

I could see blue and more blue wavering beyond the magic circle. I rubbed my eyes and rubbed them again, but the color did not change.

Beyond the door opened by ten beads, only blue light was wavering.

I sank down in front of the pile of toys that had been summoned again, utterly dumbfounded.

All ten of these attempts had failed.

As expected, my luck was awful.

That was when Rabbit, interested in those toys, began slowly approaching the magic circle.

“Slaughter!”

Rabbit checked the toys, her eyes shining, and picked up an armful of them. Hunter stood beside her.

Rabbit began heading to the table while humming.

I quietly got up and followed her. Come to think of it, we still had a few beads left.

With that thought, I grabbed Rabbit’s tail.

“Slaughter?”

Rabbit trembled and looked startled. She immediately grabbed her own tail and looked back at me.

I met her eyes and let mine shine.

Rubbing both hands together, I carefully approached her. Then I gave a light dry cough and glanced down at the toys.

“Where are you taking those?”

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

Rabbit lifted one toy and lightly shook it. She clearly meant she was going to play with it. I nodded at her and gave a bright smile.

“Then could you pay a small price for them? A few beads will do.”

“...Slaughter?”

Rabbit tilted her head, then glanced at the nun. The look seemed to mean, Hadn’t I gotten them from her?

The nun met her gaze and laughed in amusement.

After thinking for a moment, Rabbit looked sulky and shook her head. I rubbed my hands and smiled at her.

“You only need to give me ten beads. If you give me that, I will draw more varied things for you. With those beads, you can draw even more toys for Rabbit to play with. What do you think? Would you like to invest?”

At the words “more toys,” Rabbit began thinking. I approached her and poured all sorts of sweet words into her ear.

Then I could see her eyes being tempted.

Seeing that, I persuaded her with even more passion. Under my persuasion, Rabbit began growing dazed.

In the end, perhaps because she felt my sincerity, she took a pouch from her clothes. It contained beads.

“Slaughter... Slaughter!”

She began pulling beads from it. Ten of them. I quickly snatched them away. Then, before Rabbit could say anything, I bowed my head.

“Thank you for trusting me. I will definitely succeed in the gacha.”

Rabbit nodded with a blank expression. Her bead pouch was empty.

Because all of them were in my hand. Holding the beads, I smiled in satisfaction.

I had gone through ten attempts earlier and fallen flat. But that meant nothing. I had not failed yet.

In the end, if I kept spinning until I succeeded, I won.

I needed to recover the opportunity cost of those last ten tries. There was no other reason I was getting so heated over this gacha.

I glanced at Hunter.

It was because these three felt a little lacking. We needed one more to cross that front line easily. So I would draw one no matter what.

With that resolve, I threw the beads out wildly. The beads flowed into the magic circle and engraved themselves on the door, beginning to emit a dreamy light.

It was another attempt. I focused and sharpened my will like a hook, ready to quickly snatch the being beyond the door.

But as if mocking my wait, the door spat out blue light.

And that blue light continued endlessly. Dud, dud, and another dud.

As the duds continued, ripples began forming in my calm heart.

Success. When on earth would success come?

I glared at the magic circle. That gacha magic circle, whose odds I could not even properly know, felt hateful.

Rabbit happily took away the things I drew. She and Hunter began playing with the toys, while the furniture and objects were left to decorate the room.

They did have some use.

But what mattered more than that was drawing a new Professor. If I did not succeed this time either, we would have to hunt soldiers to gather these beads. Then even more time would pass.

More soldiers would form the front line.

If time kept passing, that wall might become so thick that we could not break through it at all. So I had to succeed in this attempt if possible.

Holding that desperate feeling, I clasped my hands as if praying.

Then I focused my will and flowed magical power into the magic circle. My magical power traveled along the magic circle and headed to the door. The door rattled and slowly began revealing what lay inside.

What about this time? I looked at the door with shining eyes. But I had no choice but to be disappointed.

Blue light was pouring out again.

I was about to pull out what was inside, then stopped. The door that had been giving off blue light was changing color.

The door spilling blue light rattled, then gradually began turning purple.

No way.

I stared at the door with wide eyes. The door did not stop there. It went beyond purple and began revealing a golden shimmer inside.

Oh, that! My eyes shone as I focused my will on it.

I scooped up the being beyond the door in an instant. Without any resistance, the being beyond the door was sucked up into the magic circle. Then it plopped down onto the floor.

“Ah, where is this? I was resting comfortably in a memory I finally found after so long. Where did my happiness go?”

The one saying that was holding a small rabbit doll in her arms. It was a puppet I remembered making when I was young. Seeing that, I smiled in satisfaction.

It seemed I had tried to draw that in and brought the being beside it along too.

Anyway, it was a success. I had finally drawn another anchor! As expected, all I had to do was keep trying until I succeeded.

I examined her appearance. Beyond her slightly anxious face, a ring giving off a faint light floated in the air.

Small wings also fluttered behind her back, visible beyond the light, flowing cloth she wore.

Should I call her Ring Professor? Ring saw me, flinched, and looked around.

Then, after finding the nun, she slowly hid herself behind her. She seemed rather shy.

I could tell right away from the shape of that ring. She was definitely holding the power of Ring of the Sky inside her.

Just as Hao had caused a mess, that power was very strong. So it would surely be effective against the soldiers blocking our path too.

The nun lightly embraced Ring and led her to the table. Then she slowly began explaining the current situation.

Seeing the four of them sitting around the table, I laughed lightly.

The odds of this magic were so awful that I had used more beads than expected, but I had succeeded anyway. In the end, I had increased their number. This was an excellent result.

I glanced outside the building. Beyond it, I could see the soldiers’ bloodlust wavering, if only slightly.

With these four, we would surely be able to pierce that thick iron curtain.

I headed to the table as well. Then I faced Ring and Hunter. After hearing the nun’s explanation, their eyes shone with interest.

They had clearly realized that I would grant their requests. After thinking it over, they each stated their wishes. What they wanted was just as I had expected.

I glanced at the nun.

It was just as she had said.

They wanted to see that reality. Was that their instinct? As beings inside a dream, they simply wanted to see the outside world.

Still, it was a little strange that all of them had the same desire.

But if it was something I could grant, then I only had to do it. With their help, I was sure I could reach the end of this dream.

It was only natural to repay them as much as they helped me.

I talked with them. Then, after enough preparation, we set out. Once we stepped outside the building, a barren wasteland and the Black Sun came into view.

It hung far away, pouring out light. The place where it was located was surely my destination.

Until now, the soldiers had blocked me and kept me from advancing, but this time would be different.

I could see the soldiers right away. It was because of the giant iron curtain they had created.

It was located not far from the building we had just left.

I looked at the scene before me. Several steel machines rolled around.

In the sky, drones flew while swaying their bodies as if on patrol. Between those steel machines, soldiers stood stiffly in place.

Their long line looked like a single curtain.

I had not named it the iron curtain for no reason.

The smell of iron and blood flowing from them was incredibly thick. It truly felt like I was wandering through a battlefield.

As I watched them, they seemed to notice us too, because their formation began shifting and writhing. Along with that, the intense bloodlust coming from them slowly began pouring toward us.

“Ah, I didn’t want to deal with those things. That was why I stayed stuck in the memory.”

I smiled slightly as I listened to Ring grumble. Despite her words, she was raising a thick cloud of magical power. I quietly looked around.

At first, I had considered ambushing them, but I quickly realized that would be meaningless.

This desolate wasteland could be seen from anywhere, so avoiding the fight and going around would be meaningless too. They would chase us immediately.

So we had no choice but to break through head-on.

“Now, please set out.”

I said that while shaking the puppet in my hand. It was something I had made by modifying the few exploding bugs I had left. The puppets connected to those exploding bugs lightly flapped their wings and flew toward the Professors.

Their forms were all different. They were made from the puppet remains drawn through the gacha, tied together.

Since they were objects inside a dream, modifying them had been a little complicated, but I had at least made them capable of sending simple signals.

They began slowly moving toward the approaching army. If one compared only numbers, the other side was overwhelmingly superior. We only had four people.

But put another way, we had four whole people. Compared to when there had only been two before, that number had doubled. Previously, even if their power had been enough, there had not been enough of them to break through.

Then what about now?

I sent light signals through the puppets and adjusted their positions. I stood half a step away from the battlefield. Even if I put myself in the middle of them, there was not much I could do.

There were also things I could do only from here. No one knew how a battlefield would flow. So I needed to adjust them carefully. That was my job.

Following my signal, Rabbit took the lead. Then she raised her axe high with both hands. She swung it and charged forward.

Filling herself with magical power, she kicked off the ground in an instant and dropped among the soldiers.

A shell was fired at her, but I saw it collapse beneath her axe blade.

Her axe began splitting everything that blocked her path. Its magical power writhed horribly and gave off a blood-red aura.

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

Rabbit let out an excited laugh. She seemed happy to finally fight instead of only running away like before. She began swinging her axe wildly.

Her movements, like she was chopping down trees, were nothing but cheerful. And as she got swept up in the excitement, her movements gradually grew larger.

Seeing that, I frowned slightly. She seemed a little overexcited.

The moment I tried to send a signal telling her to restrain herself, a large opening appeared. It happened before I could say anything.

And the soldiers did not miss that opening. Several soldiers threw themselves forward and bound her axe, even if only for a moment.

Then a steel machine turned its gun barrel toward her.

Seeing a shell fired in an instant, I shook my head. Rabbit tried to move her axe and block it, but it was already too late.

That was a pattern she had suffered from a few times before.

Draw out Rabbit’s excitement and quickly catch her. That was how they fought Rabbit.

And it was also a problem that could not be solved no matter how many times I warned her. I needed to block it.

I quietly sent a signal. At that, the one waiting in advance moved. An arrow shot out quickly, wriggling as it flew toward the shell.

The arrow looked like a snake. It swallowed the shell, then turned and went back along the path it had come.

The arrow flew around near Rabbit and twisted its body. Inside it, the shell disappeared.

It was the arrow Hunter had fired. A few more shells flew toward Rabbit, but they were eaten by the arrow and vanished one after another. Seeing that, I nodded.

Very satisfying. If Arrow Snake’s power was lacking on its own, I could simply have it take a support role like this. Previously, it had been difficult to cover Rabbit’s openings.

I had cast a lot of protective magic on her myself.

But now, the number had increased. An increased number did not simply mean an increase in total power.

It also meant they could connect organically and move more freely.

With the arrow’s protection, Rabbit began moving even more energetically. Moving with less hesitation than before, she cut through the soldiers without restraint.

Rabbit filled her feet with magical power, leaped high, and burrowed deep into the enemy lines.

Then she began smashing and crushing the steel machines positioned among them.

Many bullets and shells poured toward her, but they were blocked by the arrows fired against them and vanished.

Hunter quickly followed behind Rabbit as she began cutting through the enemy lines.

Along the path they passed, fog slowly spread. The fog seeped between the soldiers whose formation had been scattered after being quickly pulverized by Rabbit, then slowly grew.

Like that, the fog began wrapping around the battlefield.

Whispers spread inside the fog. Then the soldiers wandering inside began moving after those whispers as if possessed.

They staggered little by little as the bloodlust in their eyes faded.

Those whispers brought happiness. The whispers of happiness blooming inside the fog gradually began dyeing the soldiers.

And the soldiers infected by that happiness shot one another.

Within the chaos they created, the battlefield gradually began collapsing. I gave a light signal, changed the direction of the fog, and nodded.

Pierce one point, then cause an infection like this to collapse the battle line. This was the most effective strategy these four could create. I smiled in satisfaction, then paused.

A collapsed flow in one part of the battlefield was gradually being restored.

I filled my eyes with magical power and peeked at that flow. Somewhere, something was trying to restore the flow of this battlefield.

I quickly swept over the battlefield and checked the abnormality. Then I found the most suspicious place. It was where the soldiers were packed together.

The moment I confirmed that, I sent a signal through a puppet.

It flapped its wings and carried that signal to Rabbit. It meant she should break through to the left from her current location.

This entire front line was being quickly restored from there. That meant a command entity was there.

“Slaughter!”

Rabbit’s eyes flashed, and she turned. Then she shot toward the place I had marked.

The intense magical power coming from her crushed the things blocking her path as she advanced inward.

I could see soldiers beginning to gather in front of her. They clearly intended to protect something.

But the fog coming from behind Rabbit began wrapping around her body.

Covered in hazy fog, she moved quickly. Many bullets flew into that fog, but the arrow ate them all.

Hidden inside the fog, she swung her axe and split everything.

After she broke through the gaps between the soldiers, one soldier entered my sight. It had a slightly different air from the ordinary soldiers around it.

Should I say it looked a little more rational? It was clearly an entity commanding the battlefield.

Perhaps Rabbit noticed it too, because she threw the axe in her hand. Her axe shot forward and split that entity’s neck. It quickly melted down and vanished.

Was it because they had lost the command entity? The iron curtain that had slowly been recovering began collapsing in an instant. Seeing that, I gave a light laugh. Before, I had run away, but now we had broken through this easily.

Just in case there was another command entity, I slowly observed the battlefield’s flow.

But it no longer formed a large current. It had simply collapsed and now flowed sporadically.

Grasping the flow of the battlefield like this and finding the easiest path. This was the help I could give.

I lightly rubbed my eyes and bent down. This was over. From now on, we only had to clean up the battlefield.

I lightly scratched the tip of my nose. It was a little strange that I could understand the battlefield this perfectly. The reason this was possible was simple. For some reason, as if I was used to this sort of thing, that flow had begun appearing clearly before my eyes.

I did not really know why I felt this sense of deja vu. Well, maybe it was because of memories from my past life. Thinking that, I lightly shook my head.

Cleaning these things up came first. I calmly got up. If they had lost their center to that degree, even I could handle them.

“Slaughter! Slaughter!”

I saw Rabbit swinging her axe around. Satisfaction showed on her face. I glanced around. There were no enemies standing anymore.

The thousands of soldiers that had blocked this place had all melted and vanished into the ground. I scattered the puppets across the battlefield. It was to collect the beads.

We had taken down a large number of soldiers. So plenty of beads must have popped out too. My eyes shone.

Beads. If we had those, I could draw more people. This time, I would definitely succeed.

Like that, gacha time returned. Seeing purple flash, I clapped wildly.

A new Professor joined us. Like that, I drew people with beads, gathered those people, and repeated the process of advancing deeper.

But that did not mean the whole process was smooth.

There were times we had to retreat instead of advance.

The number of soldiers kept increasing. The types of steel machines also grew more varied.

When a thick steel pillar was fired from far away, I was extremely flustered. A few of the people I had drawn had almost been put in danger by the explosion it created.

Even so, we were able to move forward little by little. That was because I could draw that many Professors.

I looked down at the summoning circle, which had begun emitting light again.

I saw brilliant light pouring out from the door at its center. Purple light began leaking from the gap in the door.

Like that, another summoning took place.

I lightly bowed my head to the woman who had passed through the door.

She lightly clicked her teeth together and looked around. Those teeth were incredibly sharp.

Among the things I knew, there was only one tooth-shaped treasure like that. It had definitely originated from Tooth Necklace. After getting her promise too, I laughed. This made twenty.

“Hehe, the number has increased again. Seeing you summon so comfortably now feels a little amazing. Has your skill level gone up?”

The nun approached and laughed lightly. I gently nodded to her. Then I adjusted the magic circle again.

“Yes, one naturally gets used to magic. I’m making the probability clearer.”

Saying that, I looked down at the magic circle. When I poured magical power into it, the door shimmered with a little purple light and closed. Seeing that, the nun’s eyes sparkled slightly in amazement.

“Then I will take this person with me. I look forward to seeing what kind of person visits next.”

The nun took Tooth Professor and slowly began leaving the room. This building had also grown much larger than before. It was to accommodate the increased number.

I glanced at the nun as she moved away.

I had not told her, but this magic circle had been modified quite a lot compared to the original. It was a kind of experiment.

What was summoned through this magic circle were things connected to me. And while modifying the magic circle, I kept narrowing that range.

It was to make the connection clearer.

Within that range, objects were no longer drawn. The probability of them being drawn out had continued to rise.

At first, the probability had not even been ten percent, but now it had risen to roughly forty percent.

Of course, that meant I had to invest more beads. By now, one attempt required five beads.

Still, this much was usable.

I lightly swept the magic circle with my foot.

I had modified the magic circle to raise the odds, but I also had one other purpose.

It was to figure out what they were.

Even if I asked them directly, no clear answer came back. So I had no choice but to investigate myself.

The magic circle I tried this time was the result of that thought.

I placed a hand on my chest. Beyond it, I could feel the tree lightly twist.

What this magic circle targeted was only that tree. I had made it so only things originating from that tree, in other words, things connected to my soul, could pass through the magic circle.

But the Tooth Professor who had just appeared had somehow passed through this summoning circle.

The fact that they had passed through this narrow gap meant they were not simply connected to me.

I smiled bitterly.

Had they said there were around fifty of them in total? They said each of them was a dream anchor.

Now I could clearly tell who had dropped those anchors.

It was me. My own soul. They were beings originating from my soul.

I lightly scratched my head. I had not expected to get this kind of result. I could not understand at all why they had been born.

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