WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 138

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138.

I poured a little magical power into the envelope in my hand. The light seal holding it shut began to fade.

I shook my hand lightly and opened the envelope, then took out the letter inside. Dreamlike magical power leaked little by little from the writing on the page.

As that magical power made clear, this letter was from Koite. He sent letters like this every so often. I unfolded the paper with practiced ease and began reading.

When I finished, I gave a small nod. Mm, nothing much. I folded the paper and put it back in the envelope.

The message was simple. There was a dream this time that he thought Mira and I might want to participate in. If we were interested, Koite wanted us to contact him.

It was essentially a commission request. I stroked my chin. From the contents, I could tell he was having some trouble.

Apparently, the mess over there still had not ended. Last time, Koite had needed us because most of his puppets were bound to one dream. The five-million-point dream, that is.

A full year had already passed since I handled his request and checked my own dream. Yet that five-million-point dream still had not ended.

I gave a small bitter smile. I had heard that he had invested a few more puppets into it. Puppets he had somehow obtained by asking other puppeteers in the association.

I had thought that would be enough to solve the problem, but it seemed my prediction had been wrong. Those puppets had ended up bound to the dream too.

Perhaps because of that, he often sent letters to our tower. Sometimes they were commission requests like this, and sometimes he asked whether Mira could enter that five-million-point dream.

He kept trying to tempt me, saying that if Mira went in, she would be able to resolve the dream. He said he would give me a mountain of points. A very interesting offer. Of course, I refused immediately.

A year ago, I received a great deal of help from him. It was thanks to him opening that dream that I was able to build my realm more firmly. I was grateful for that. But gratitude and accepting a commission were two separate things.

Mira was my puppet. I would never again carelessly put Mira, or any of my puppets, into someone else’s dream. Thinking that, I gave a small shrug.

Still, judging by the letter, Koite seemed to have found some measure of stability. The letter even contained some light grumbling from him. Apparently, that dream had almost reached its end.

I remembered meeting Koite once while on my way to attend Professor On’s lecture. Back then, he had been scowling hard and saying he would charge the owner of that dream at least double.

Knowing him, he really would squeeze another ten million points out of the dream’s owner. Still, to stay inside that dream for a whole year, the dream’s owner must have been quite stubborn too.

I did feel a little curious about what they were seeing in that dream to spend so much time there.

I thought back to my own dream. The battlefield had been nothing but awful. If it were me, I would not stay bound to a dream for that long.

Well, everyone had their own reasons. It was not my concern. I took out a piece of paper from my chest and breathed magical power into it. The magical power settled onto the paper and began forming letters.

It was a polite refusal of his request. I ended the letter by saying I was sorry, but I had other things to do and could not visit Dream Theater.

Then I drew a simple seal over the paper and checked the mirror bug. It floated into the air and displayed the students’ message board.

When I entered the transaction board, I saw that the students were exchanging all sorts of posts. Among them, I found someone who handled deliveries to the city.

I left a reply for that student and nodded. Tomorrow, while going to the city, this student would deliver my letter to Koite.

Of course, while I had refused, the contents of the letter were not just an excuse. I truly was in no position to accept his request.

I stared at the table in the center of the workshop. That table was where Mira sat every day. Whenever I studied magic in the workshop, she would sit there and watch me.

But now there was no one there. Mira had left the tower. She would probably not return for a month.

I thought over Professor Irian’s schedule. This month, she had to evaluate those trying to pass the fourth floor and graduate from the university. It was work the president had assigned to her.

She had briefly left the tower and headed to the city. Mira had left with her to assist her.

That schedule would not end in an instant. Since Mira was away, naturally, I could not accept Koite’s request either.

I lightly scratched my head. Originally, I had intended to follow Professor as well. Assisting her was my duty, after all.

But Professor’s anger had still not completely cooled. Even now, whenever she saw me, she would scowl and raise her magical power with a terrifying edge. Because of that, I had no choice but to stay in the tower like this.

Of course, over the past year, I had steadily worked to soothe her anger, and as a result, she had calmed down a little. That came from proving I was controlling my obsession on my own, and from giving her many gifts.

Even so, that did not seem to be enough. How should I put it? I needed one final push. One final push to turn her heart back. With a faint bitter smile, I shook my head.

Neither Professor nor Mira was in the tower. Thinking that made me feel strangely awkward. This was the first time I had stayed in the tower alone like this.

At the same time, I felt something like a faint anxiety, or some emotion I could not quite name, bloom in my chest. Feeling it, I quietly frowned.

That feeling made me clearly realize something. I had been relying on them quite heavily.

No matter what accident happened to me, no matter what went wrong, they would resolve it. That vague expectation had settled inside me.

I shook my head lightly. Of course, relying on them was only natural for me.

But while learning about my soul, I had realized something. My growth was something I had to accomplish entirely with my own hands.

It was true that they were my final fallback, but if I only clung to that, raising my realm would remain a distant goal. Advancement was achieved through greater sacrifice.

Thinking that, I slowly looked around the workshop.

The workshop was quite noisy. No. 0 was moving busily. The puppets it controlled were gathering into one mass under its command.

It seemed to be preparing Professor On’s assignment. The form of the puppet it was making was quite interesting. I stroked my chin and observed it slowly.

It was something like a giant combined puppet. Half of it took the form of a stone statue, while the other half had been consumed by shadow and writhed. The puppet’s appearance was unbelievably bizarre.

That puppet kept changing shape within the shadow. The mass of puppets, half-straddling reality and unreality, was a form only No. 0 could create.

It was more than enough to present for this assignment. Looking at that puppet, I quietly nodded.

No. 0’s skill had grown considerably while attending Professor On’s lecture. Perhaps the one who had grown the most among all the puppeteers in the class was No. 0. No, it was definitely No. 0.

It had built its foundation from the ground up, after all. The once immature puppet was now showing its individuality so clearly. After staring at it for a while, I placed a hand on my chest.

Beyond the faint sound of my heart, my tree was there. When I focused, I began to feel small grains flowing along that tree.

Each of those small grains was a soul fragment. Perhaps some of this had mixed into No. 0 as well. Its talent for puppetry had originated from me, after all.

As I observed the flow of the soul fragments, I suddenly remembered what I had to do today. I clapped softly and stood up. Then I headed toward the corner of the workshop.

There, I could feel a secret flow of magical power. Hidden within the workshop’s magical power, it was concealed so deeply that no trace of it could easily be found unless one examined the area carefully.

Standing in front of it, I quietly released magical power. My magical power joined that hidden flow and began moving slowly. Within that flow, I could confirm many seals.

I slowly concentrated my magical power and released the seals one by one. At the end, every seal came undone, and a small room began to reveal itself where nothing had been.

I carefully opened the door and stepped inside. The warm scent of magical power rising within lightly brushed the tip of my nose. Along with that scent, a golden radiance wavering inside the room welcomed me.

Standing in the center of the room, I quietly looked around. The room was filled with puppets, and the golden radiance came from them.

All of those puppets had Professor’s form. They were the puppets I had made before to control my obsession. They had taken in my deep obsession and even held Professor’s scent.

After taking in the sight, I lightly scratched my head. I felt this every time I came here, but if Professor saw this, she would truly be horrified. That was why I was hiding it so thoroughly.

The puppets were all deeply asleep inside small containers. I could see their chests quietly rising and falling.

At the center of the puppets was a huge magic circle that formed the room’s magic. That magic circle guided the flow of magical power toward the containers holding them.

The gathered magical power had condensed like liquid and filled the containers. That liquefied magical power seeped into the puppets’ bodies along the circuits I had drawn.

I calmly raised magical power and twisted it like thread. Then I began checking the containers one by one to examine the puppets inside.

After inspecting the puppets’ condition in detail, I gave a small nod. Today as well, they were sleeping very quietly. Nothing unusual had happened.

When would they wake up? Thinking that, I looked at the puppets. Judging by how faint those memories still were, they would need more time.

I reached my magical power toward the last puppet. At the same time, faint traces of memory began flowing from it into me.

It was something held by the soul fragment inside that puppet. In that memory, the image of a child wearing rabbit pajamas passed by. A small light flashed in the sleeping child’s eyes, and the memory ended there.

It was the memory of the rabbit I had met in the dream. Using magical power, I lightly stroked that puppet’s head. Like this, each of these puppets contained one soul fragment.

All of them had been held by beings I met in the dream. They were the soul fragments of the inner demons that had resembled Professor so endlessly. Like this, those soul fragments were asleep, wandering through their memories.

Originally, I had considered destroying all the bodies of these puppets that resembled Professor. Since they contained my obsession, giving them egos might have created some kind of danger.

But after examining their soul fragments, I changed my mind a little. These soul fragments contained traces of having existed as my inner demons.

That obsession, that desire, still existed in them at least in part. In that sense, there was no material better suited to contain them than this.

Over the course of a year, these soul fragments had slowly grown under the guidance of the magical power I gave them. When they finally reached the end, they would surely awaken again.

After clearly recognizing my soul, I began slowly exploring the flow of the soul within me. The colony soul I confirmed was extremely strange.

It was clearly my soul, but I could not understand exactly how it had formed. I could only guess that a mass of souls gathered on the battlefield had all fallen together.

Well, this world was incredibly vast. A case like mine could probably exist at least once. Because of that, I stopped digging too deeply into the origin of my soul.

Worrying about something that had already happened was inefficient. I also lacked the skill to investigate that origin in depth.

So instead of worrying about it, I needed to think about how to use it. In that way, I slowly came to understand how to handle those soul fragments.

The soul fragments filled with magical power under my control flowed along my tree and through the domain of my shadow tree, slowly growing themselves. That act was like filling the deficiencies in my soul.

Through that process, I realized that planting these soul fragments directly into puppets was close to impossible. That was why I had chosen this method, so the fragments of the inner demons could slowly grow.

Of course, if I used my unique magic, making the soul fragments seep into puppet bodies was very simple. As with my other puppets, I only had to place my tree stem inside them along with shadow.

But puppets made that way lost the form of those memories. Instead of remaining in their original form as soul fragments, they changed into stars hung on the shadow tree, their memories bleached away.

That could be described as a kind of reincarnation. It was no different from the memories and individuality inside the soul fragment disappearing and being born again.

Then could that changed soul be called the being I had faced before? I lightly shook my head. Not at all. The ego of a newly made puppet like that was a separate existence from the original.

I quietly watched the puppets. They slept silently within the calm magical power. I had promised them. I said I would show them this reality. So I needed to keep that promise completely.

This was like making a new type of puppet. Should I call it the act of creating an offshoot body of my soul? It was a method I had never tried before.

I quietly concentrated and focused on the flow of my tree. I felt the domain of the shadow tree linked to it spread through my chest.

Their soul fragments were quietly wavering inside it. They were like eggs. Those fifty or so small eggs were slowly growing.

Of course, I had not expected it to take this long. I lightly stroked my chin. Since it was my first time trying this method, it could not be helped.

Because of that, I had thought for a while about a way to wake them more quickly. And I had obtained at least a small result from that line of thought.

As I organized my thoughts, I felt the mirror bug in my chest vibrate lightly. It flapped its wings and lifted itself gently into the air.

The mirror bug began displaying the message sent to me on its screen. Seeing it, I gave a small nod. The private message was from Hao.

Hao said they would be waiting for me in the infirmary. It seemed they had checked the message I left. I filled the mirror bug with magical power and quickly wrote.

-I will go right away.

I put the mirror bug back into my chest and slowly cleaned up the room. The puppet inspection had just ended anyway. Now I needed to hide this room again.

I began activating the seals placed in the room one by one. After the magic stacked up densely, the room quietly sank away and hid itself once more.

Perfect. Thinking that, I let out a satisfied laugh. Then I lightly waved to No. 0 and left the workshop. The infirmary, huh. It seemed Hao was planning to undergo cleansing again.

This was Hao’s seventh cleansing this month. Considering most of the other students had never received cleansing even once, it was extremely unusual.

I went down the stairs and headed to the infirmary on the second floor. Hao was half-leaning against a bed while looking at a mirror bug. It seemed they were communicating with a treasure again.

I lightly cleared my throat and let a little magical power flow out. Hao noticed me and quietly closed the mirror bug. Then Hao gave me a small bow. I bowed slightly in return and quietly observed Hao.

Last time, Hao had been chosen by many treasures. Perhaps because they were filled with that power, Hao’s atmosphere had changed quite a bit. The magical power drifting inside was bizarre, how should I put it? Hao smiled warmly and scratched their cheek.

“You’re here. I didn’t think you would come this quickly.”

“I was the one who called you first, Hao, so I should come as quickly as possible. Then I will check your body first.”

I raised magical power and extended it toward Hao. Hao quietly closed their eyes and calmly accepted that magical power. My magical power began circling through Hao’s body.

The magical power that reached Hao’s tree soon slowly returned to me. Feeling the texture of that magical power, I gave a small nod. I could feel that a great deal of contamination had built up inside Hao’s body.

There was a need to cleanse Hao again. I raised magical power and activated the magic circle placed in the infirmary. Then that magic rose above Hao’s head and slowly began covering their body.

Watching Hao, I quietly stroked my chin. Hao and I were taking similar approaches in our growth. We both accepted a treasure’s magical power.

In that sense, we could be called alike. But that magical power produced different effects in Hao and me.

The treasure’s magical power inside me had caused a rather serious side effect. Of course, I had expected there to be side effects. I had prepared somewhat for them too.

But the severity far exceeded what I had imagined. The obsession created by that treasure’s magical power had even intoxicated my soul.

Of course, in the process of resolving that, I was able to recognize my soul and achieve a little growth. Perhaps it could be called a kind of fortunate encounter. Through it, I was able to control the treasure’s magical power at least a little.

Even so, accepting that magical power was still exhausting. If I had not had Professor’s help, and if the key had not acted, I would have been captivated by it at any moment.

That was because a treasure’s magical power had a different grain from the magical power possessed by a mage. But unlike me, Hao accepted that power endlessly, like a fish in water.

Of course, Hao could not escape the effects of contamination either. That was why accidents sometimes happened. But as Hao was showing now, they were gradually adapting to the treasure’s power.

That adaptability was on a different level from mine. No matter how many times another mage received cleansing, it would be impossible for them to take on a state like this.

A faint scent from Hao, who was undergoing cleansing, flowed to the tip of my nose. It was a charming scent born from Hao’s mind, one that naturally captivated inhuman beings.

I could sense it because I had also been consumed by a treasure’s magical power. Feeling that scent, I tilted my head slightly.

Just as my soul had the form of a colony, perhaps Hao was also hiding some secret within that scent.

Of course, I did not know exactly what it was. I had steadily observed Hao to learn that secret, but I had not found anything especially unusual.

Maybe I really should tie this person to the tower. Thinking that, I lightly smacked my lips. It would surely be difficult to find another being so well suited to treasures.

If I kept Hao close and studied them, perhaps I too would be able to accept that magical power more smoothly.

Did Hao sense my greed? Hao, who was undergoing cleansing, trembled slightly. Seeing that, I smiled brightly and hid my inner thoughts. Then I carefully guided the process so the cleansing would proceed properly.

The cleansing ended, and the contamination dwelling in Hao’s body disappeared completely. The power originating from the treasures had also sharply decreased. Hao stretched with a refreshed expression.

From that simple face, I could no longer find the bizarre magical power from before. I helped Hao sit up and smiled slightly.

“At this rate, you may be able to advance to the third floor soon. Compared to a year ago, you have changed beyond recognition.”

As I said that, I extended magical power and observed Hao’s tree. It had the form of a crystal made by embedding a treasure’s power into itself like jewels.

That tree had grown truly enormous. Compared to my tree, it was about twice as large. Of course, a tree’s size alone did not mean its power was stronger, but that size still could not be ignored.

At my words, Hao lightly shook their head. Then Hao placed a hand on their chest and gave a bitter smile.

“It’s just the result of building up a lot of foundation through luck, so I’m still far from enough. Isn’t Evron more likely than me? I heard you took the advancement evaluation last time.”

At those words, I lightly scratched my head. Before, when I left the tower for the third-floor advancement evaluation, I had left a notice. I had heard the evaluation could take several days, after all. It seemed Hao remembered that.

Thinking back on it now, it was a little embarrassing. I had returned to the tower that very day, making the notice feel pointless. I gave Hao a small shake of my head.

“I am still lacking as well. I felt a great wall during the last evaluation. I was also told not to come back for the next three years, so at this rate, I may fail again next time.”

The memory of the third-floor evaluation was still vivid. The one in charge of my evaluation was a mage from the 8th floor. It was someone I had never seen before. Without even introducing themself, they clicked their tongue the moment they saw me.

They said my magical power was terribly impure. It seemed they had noticed right away that I had used a treasure’s magical power. They told me to refine that magical power further and chased me out.

Like that, my advancement evaluation ended before even a minute had passed.

I smiled bitterly and shrugged slightly. There was a saying that receiving an advancement notice only meant standing at the starting line. Passing the evaluation was a separate matter.

As those words suggested, advancing to the third floor would not be easy. Even Cassian had been pushed back once, so I had no idea how many times I would be pushed back. If I failed several times like this, ten years could pass in a flash.

After I said that, the mood seemed to sink a little. To lighten the atmosphere, I smiled lightly and nodded.

“Well, if I polish myself more, I will be able to advance someday. And if it is you, Hao, I am sure you can succeed in one try.”

“I hope so, but I’m not sure if that will be possible.”

Hao lightly scratched their cheek. Well, should we end this topic here? I brought up something else and changed the flow of the conversation.

The atmosphere softened, and amid that light conversation, I finished the final examination of Hao’s body. When I quietly nodded, Hao stretched a little and showed a satisfied smile.

“Ah, come to think of it, you said you were looking for me.”

Hao clapped and took out the mirror bug. When Hao lightly shook it, the thing rose into the air and filled its screen with magical power. The message I had sent began appearing on the screen.

It was a message saying I wanted to meet Hao. I quietly nodded. Curiosity appeared on Hao’s face.

Behind Hao, Hari quietly revealed herself. Perhaps Hao sensed the presence, because Hao glanced back, but Hari had already vanished. And when Hao turned away, she appeared again and settled behind them.

She faced me and bowed her head slightly. Extremely clean magical power flowed from her. It seemed she had grown well by feeding on the tower’s magical power.

I nodded back to her and smacked my lips slightly. Over the past year, I had made many attempts to create one more being like her. Of course, all of them had failed.

That was also why I had come to find Hao this time.

“I would like to request a commission from you, Hao.”

“A commission, you mean?”

Hao blinked slightly. I nodded. Then I glanced at Hao’s mirror bug.

“The treasure conducting the lecture this time will be Blood Axe. You probably already knew that, though.”

Hao followed my gaze to the mirror bug and gave a slightly awkward smile. Then Hao lightly scratched their cheek and nodded.

“Yes, that person told me in advance.”

Hao communicated with the treasures on the offering board. There, the treasures presented Hao with various requests, and Hao resolved them in exchange for payment from the treasures.

Several treasures were settled in Hao’s offering room. Among those treasures, there were some that poured points toward Hao without holding back.

Blood Axe was one such case. I had no idea where it had gotten them, but it poured a great many points into Hao. Seeing it spend points like that, it was clear Blood Axe liked Hao very much.

“In this lecture, Blood Axe will surely choose you, Hao. So I would like you to manage it a little more carefully. When Blood Axe moves, I want to know all the information about it.”

Over the past year, I had tried many different approaches to create an object that held the possibility of becoming a treasure.

That was partly to create a gift for Professor, but beyond that, it was also to control the treasure’s magical power dwelling inside me more completely.

As Hari and the turtle gradually increased their power, I had felt the treasure’s magical power settle into me more easily.

They were connected to me and served as filters that strained that magical power. So if I could increase their number further, the magical power seeping into me would certainly become purer as well.

And if I secured enough magical power like that, I would be able to climb to the third floor. With that thought, I tried to create beings like them.

And so far, I had failed.

In the process of those failures, there was one fact I clearly recognized.

With my current ability, creating such beings again was impossible. They too could be called products of many overlapping coincidences.

But I could not give up here.

When a clear path forward was visible, how could I give up on it? If I stayed still like this, I would clearly have to wait another ten years before reaching the third floor.

I lightly stroked my chin. To hold the possibility of becoming a treasure, intense emotion gathered into one was necessary. In Hari’s case, that had been faith toward the Ring of the Sky. In the turtle’s case, the love of my puppets had gathered.

Then how could I gather such emotion, such desire? It was not something I could do myself. So I tried changing my perspective.

If I could not do it, I only had to make someone else do it.

For example, a treasure.

I quietly nodded. It was a very innovative idea. I would use a treasure’s desire to create its offspring.

Based on that thought, I searched through many treasures and analyzed their desires, then selected the first target to aim for. The one I arrived at was Blood Axe.

But there was one problem. Just because I wanted it, that did not mean a treasure would comply. Containing that desire would ultimately mean weakening its power.

So I needed to guide that action naturally. This commission was the groundwork for that. Looking at Hao, I smiled brightly.

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