WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 142

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142.

The infirmary was as quiet as ever. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I calmly lifted my teacup. The bitter aroma rising from it brushed my nose and sharpened my tired mind.

I took a sip and nodded. Hao, sitting across from me, gave me a faint smile. Behind Hao, Hari stood quietly. She looked at me and gave a small shake of her head.

Seeing her react the same way, it seemed Hao’s report was correct. I gave a slight shrug and set down the teacup.

“So nothing special happened today either.”

“Yes, aside from Blood Axe scattering points around.”

“Well, that happens all the time.”

When I tossed out the light joke, Hao let out a soft laugh. I faced Hao and stroked my chin. I had come here to hear today’s report, but today, too, there was nothing unusual.

Why was that? I frowned slightly and sank into thought. Ever since I found traces of that chat room, Tooth Necklace and Blood Axe had shown no clear movement.

Since their bodies belonged to the storehouse, the places where the two of them could talk were very limited. They had to either go through a student, like Hao’s tribute room, or hold a private conversation.

That was why I thought I would be able to check whatever reaction they showed. I was keeping a close watch on their chat room.

But they did not talk much in Hao’s tribute room. The same went for their private conversations. As if nothing had happened, they simply stayed quiet.

It seemed I would have trouble getting any more information from them. I clicked my tongue softly and nodded to Hao.

“Understood. I’ll be going, then. Please rest comfortably.”

“Ah, then what are you planning to do now, Evron?”

As I stood, Hao raised a hand and asked. I glanced at Hao. Deep curiosity rested on that innocent face.

A faint bitter smile touched my lips. Since I had kept visiting Hao like this, Hao had also noticed the confrontation between me and the treasures. Hao had caused plenty of incidents after being led around by treasures too, so it was easy for Hao to grasp their habits.

In all this, Hao had steadily cooperated with me. In that sense, Hao could be said to be deeply involved in this matter too. What I would do next, huh. I gave a small shrug.

The fact that they were not moving meant one of two things. Either they had already given up, or they had finished every preparation they could make.

I placed a hand on my chest. It would be nice if they had given up, but the ominous feeling flickering inside my chest still lingered beside me.

It meant something suspicious was happening in this tower, which was practically my territory. And in the course of this investigation, I had caught at least a few traces of it. Since they were not showing any movement, I had no choice but to follow those traces.

“I’m thinking of meeting the students who drew that power. They seem a little suspicious.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Hao gave a small nod. After exchanging one last farewell with Hao, I left the infirmary.

Should I head straight to the students? I shook my head slightly. No, there was something I needed to check before meeting them. I slowly moved my feet and climbed the stairs. When I reached the top, the fourth floor appeared before me.

Aside from my workshop, I saw that the doors to several rooms were tightly locked. The people inside were those who had obtained usage tickets through the gacha. About six of them, roughly. Considering the probability, that was a fairly large number.

When I entered the workshop, I saw No. 0. It was holding the Fake Tree that had been embedded in its chest and carefully controlling its magical power.

I quietly approached it. Then I took out a mirror bug. When I checked the gacha screen, I saw that an inspection was currently underway.

I glanced at No. 0. It was checking the records right now. All this time, I had not been able to shake the feeling that this gacha was suspicious. So over the past few days, I had been steadily tracing its tracks.

But this matter was hard to pin down even through those traces. Because of that, I had asked No. 0 for help too. It was practically the administrator of this gacha, after all.

The Fake Tree in its hand recorded every piece of magic that made up this gacha. Over that time, No. 0 had thoroughly analyzed the magic and records contained inside it.

The same was true now. Before long, No. 0 opened its eyes. After gathering the magical power rippling around the Fake Tree, it pushed it back into its chest.

Once it had composed itself, it noticed me and gave a small shake of its head. Then a faint will came from it. Sensing that, I quietly smacked my lips.

It seemed there was no problem with the probability. As a way of telling it it had worked hard, I lightly patted its back. The reason No. 0 had conducted this inspection was to check everything about that probability.

The reason the gacha kept going might have been because the profit was greater than the loss. So I had checked in case those treasures had tampered with the gacha probability I had set.

Of course, as shown now, there was nothing wrong with that probability. I quietly stroked my chin. Then why had the gacha become this active? Even if the probability was ten times higher for a month, it would still lead to a loss in the end.

I tilted my head slightly, then looked at No. 0. It rose lightly and met my eyes. I opened my mouth.

“So how many people have drawn that power so far? I’m planning to look around today, so draw up a list for me.”

No. 0 closed its eyes for a moment, then tapped its chest. It was quickly scanning the records inside. It spread four fingers and sent a strand of will toward me.

It said a total of forty students had drawn that power. After confirming that will, I crossed my arms. Forty. Quite a lot had been drawn.

And that number, forty, was also the limit I had expected. I had thought it would be hard for more than that to be drawn.

The reason was very clear. There was a limit to the students’ points. Beyond that, no matter how many points they had, drawing this power required stepping into an uncertain possibility with no promise of success.

I had thought that psychological burden would also form the limit of this gacha. I had also thought the vague dread that built up over time would make them give up on that power. There were other treasures besides this lecture, after all.

But as things stood now, the gacha was still being played steadily. Today, too, I had confirmed that one more fragment of that power had been drawn. I had even delivered that power before heading to Hao.

No. 0 quickly transferred the list of those forty people onto paper. I checked it and nodded. The student who had drawn that power today was ranked 147th, a lower-ranked student who had not yet climbed to the third floor of the tower.

It was fair to say that student had been very lucky to draw that power. Blood Axe’s power was simple, but because of that, it was overwhelmingly strong. If that student held that power, they would definitely be able to climb higher.

But while delivering that power, I felt something a little strange. I could not see much joy in the student who received that power.

Normally, if someone gained that power, they should have been happy. But that student had instead looked reluctant. That behavior was more than suspicious.

After noticing the student’s suspiciousness, I found a few other strange things. I looked down at the paper. That student had played the gacha quite a lot. Enough to easily exceed around one hundred thousand points.

Seeing that, I frowned slightly. The student was an ordinary mage who did not belong to any organization in particular. It must have been difficult for someone like that to handle such a large number of points.

Then where had that student obtained those points? As I slowly scanned the paper, I noticed the same oddity in the point records of several others. That was also the reason I had decided to visit the students.

At that moment, I felt the mirror bug ring inside my clothes. It flapped its wings and showed me the screen. Seeing that, I shook my head slightly. It was a message from Blood Axe. It seemed to be trying to order something from me again.

-Slaughter, slaughter.... Me, slaughter!

After confirming the will contained in that text, I let out a hollow laugh. What Blood Axe wanted this time was horned rabbits, a breed of edible magical beasts known for tasting excellent. It seemed Blood Axe had found them in the catalog I had given it.

-Slaughter, slaughter!

It shouted energetically that it would try raising them in its room, and all I could feel pouring out of it was pure will.

Blood Axe looked truly happy. Meanwhile, I was agonizing over what it had done.

Seeing that, I shook my head slightly.

Something like this was plotting with Tooth Necklace? It was a little hard to imagine. Maybe Blood Axe was also being used by Tooth Necklace.

Of course, that did not mean I understood it. No matter how much it was being used, there was no doubt that it was opposing me. So I would thoroughly bind it with those points so nothing like this could happen again.

-Understood. I will prepare them for you by tomorrow.

-Slaughter!

Blood Axe spat out a happy answer. Putting the horned rabbits in its room would only require bringing in a few from the magical beast farm outside the tower. With this, that debt would clearly pile up even higher.

Just as Tooth Necklace had assured me, Blood Axe still had not noticed that trap. It did not seem to be thinking about how large its debt had become at all.

Like that, Blood Axe’s debt had grown very large. That was also thanks to me charging a little extra under the name of delivery fees, just like now. The points it would pay this time were three thousand. The original cost was fifteen hundred points.

It was a very conscientious price. I was the only one who could make that delivery, after all. Besides, though I called it three thousand points, the points Blood Axe actually paid were close to none. It would simply remain as debt.

I checked my points with the mirror bug. The points I had steadily built up were contained inside it. Roughly eighty thousand points. Considering the profits earned from this gacha, that was a very small number.

Well, it could not be helped. I did not receive much of the gacha profits, after all. Most of those points were being used to pay the costs of Blood Axe’s debt in its place.

I had to pay points as well to obtain the things Blood Axe needed. Because of that, most of the profit coming to me was going straight back toward Blood Axe. Maybe that was why my points were not accumulating.

But this could be called paying a very cheap price. If I could completely tie down one treasure with only this many points, it was an extremely profitable deal.

And if I could go even further and tear out that power as much as I wanted.... I nodded. There was no investment as efficient as this. Blood Axe was already in my grasp. That power was mine.

Of course, if this gacha continued, that day would keep being delayed. I frowned lightly. As the scale of this gacha grew, Blood Axe’s points were also steadily piling up.

I was continuing to encourage its spending, but Blood Axe’s points were also increasing quickly. I made a simple calculation. It was not enough to clear my debt, but the scale was still fairly large.

If the flow of the gacha continued like this, the time when I could harvest Blood Axe would gradually be pushed back. I had to bind it perfectly, after all.

In that sense, this gacha was deeply suspicious. There did not seem to be any good reason for it to continue this long.

Most students were mages. They were extremely sensitive to their own profits and losses. I did not think people like that would simply fail to control their desire to hold that power.

Then there must be a reason I did not know for why they were investing this much. I lightly scanned the list. The source of these strange points must have come from there too.

So I needed to learn more about it. That was why I intended to visit those who had drawn Blood Axe’s power. There would be a clue with them. I had that feeling.

Then it was time to move. I planned to check not only the student whose points were strange, but everyone. There might have been something I had missed.

After lightly patting No. 0’s back, I moved again. Should I look around properly from the start? In that sense, the first person I would visit was Cassian. With the list tucked away, I left the workshop again.

I left Cassian a message through the mirror bug and headed toward the stairs. I had a guess as to where she would be. She was probably rolling around in her room with the bear puppet.

I headed to the fifth floor. When I entered Cassian’s room there, just as I had expected, I saw her half-leaning against the bed and blankly staring into the air.

She looked extremely relaxed. But even within that hazy atmosphere, I could feel sharp magical power from her. That magical power slowly seeped into her in time with her breathing.

Was she training and resting at the same time? It was a peculiar meditation method. Beside Cassian, the bear puppet had both hands together and was fanning her.

It noticed me and blinked its round eyes. Then it lightly shook Cassian’s body. Under its prodding, Cassian began waking up.

“Good to see you, Cassian. I should apologize first for visiting while you were resting.”

Her gradually sharpening pupils soon turned toward me. Facing her, I lightly lowered my head.

I had contacted her in advance, but since I had disturbed her training, I needed to apologize. At that, Cassian lightly raised herself and shook her head.

“It’s fine, mister. So what is it?”

She tilted her head and leaned against the bear puppet. It gently covered her shoulders with a light blanket. Seeing how close they looked, I smiled quietly.

“I came to check whether you are properly keeping the fragment that came from Blood Axe. Some suspicious things have been happening in the tower lately. It seems the treasures are causing trouble again.”

“Ah, is that so? If you need my help, tell me anytime. I’m your assistant, mister.”

Cassian said that with a confident look. She crossed her arms and gently let out magical power. I laughed and nodded.

Cassian belonged to this tower. As she said, she was also my assistant, certified by Professor. That was also why she had a room on the fifth floor, unlike the other students.

“As you said, I’ll call you right away if I need you.”

When I answered like that, she smiled in satisfaction. But her face soon turned gloomy. She looked at her mirror bug.

I glanced at the mirror bug’s screen. The trade she had posted before was visible there.

“The fragment you’re looking for is safe with me.”

She glanced at the bear puppet. Then it sprang to its feet and headed to one corner of the room.

A lot of junk was piled up there. It rummaged through the pile, then soon pulled out a box. I felt strange magical power leak out from beneath the many seals covering it.

Cassian received it and gently opened the lid. Then that magical power became even stronger. It was clearly the Blood Axe fragment she had drawn.

“It still hasn’t sold. Why won’t anyone take it?”

Cassian closed the box, completely dispirited. With a slightly tearful face, she stacked the seals back onto the box.

Seeing her, I could only let out a small laugh. What she wanted in exchange for that trade was one hundred puppet modification vouchers. It had not changed from what she had first set.

The reason it had not sold was very simple. No one had one hundred puppet modification vouchers.

Of course, no matter how expensive those modification vouchers were, if someone could gather one hundred and buy the fragment, it would still be worth it. But no one had managed to gather one hundred of them.

It was not simply because the cost was too high. The reason was that there was not enough supply on the market.

I glanced at Cassian. She had taken every one that appeared on the market, after all. There were a few other competitors, but she gathered them without caring about the points.

So there was no one else besides her who could gather one hundred of them. That was why there was no one to buy her fragment either. She herself was blocking the trade.

“I’ve confirmed it. It’s intact. If it doesn’t sell for too long, how about accepting points for it?”

At my words, Cassian shook her head slightly. Then she slumped against the bear puppet.

“Mm, a few people already said they’d give me points, but I don’t need points. I’m not interested in anything except this.”

Cassian handed the box back to the bear puppet. It carefully received it, then put it back where the box had originally been.

She did not need points, huh. I naturally nodded at her words. That made sense. She received monthly sponsorship from the Blade Association, after all.

That was an expression of respect for her talent. It was also the result of the duel she had fought before. So there was no way she would lack points.

“Then what are you planning to request from me after gathering those modification vouchers? If it’s something reasonable, I’ll do most things for you.”

I asked Cassian out of curiosity. Why was she trying to gather those modification vouchers? At my question, her eyes sparkled. Then she gently stroked the bear puppet that had come beside her.

“I want to make this child bigger. I’m going to make a giant bear puppet.”

She spread her arms wide. A giant bear puppet, huh. When I tilted my head slightly, she continued.

“I want to make it so huge that I can ride it around like your turtle, mister. Turtle gets really cute when it gets big, so this child will get even cuter if it gets bigger too.”

Cassian looked at the turtle hanging from my chest and nodded. Hearing that, the turtle let out a bleeh. A very pleased will flowed in from it because it had heard a compliment.

As I lightly patted its head, I let out a bitter smile. Mm, if that was the case, I could understand why she was gathering modification vouchers. Thinking about it, I felt like she had briefly mentioned that giant bear puppet before.

But if she only needed a modification, she could simply request it with points. There was no need to gather modification vouchers... I thought, then nodded.

Cassian had no talent for saving points. Like Blood Axe, she had a tendency to buy things as if possessed whenever she had points.

To modify the bear puppet like Turtle, I would need to completely expose its structure and rebuild it from scratch. It would be a massive project. In that sense, the points required would also be quite substantial.

With Cassian’s personality, gathering that many points would definitely be difficult. So it seemed she was trying to turn the points into modification vouchers beforehand like this.

And the number of modification vouchers she had gathered was considerable. She had already gathered more than two hundred, after all. I roughly calculated the price. Then I lightly smacked my lips.

“Mm, if you gather about one hundred more, I’ll modify the bear puppet for you. That should be enough.”

At my words, Cassian’s eyes sparkled. Then she lightly stroked the back of the bear puppet beside her.

“Wow, then I just need to sell that fragment now.”

She smiled happily and lightly hummed. Seeing her, I stroked my chin slightly.

“Come to think of it, Cassian, are you not planning to play the gacha anymore?”

“No. How should I put it? I get a strong feeling that if I draw more, I’ll only lose out.”

She said that while shaking her head slightly. I quietly nodded. That was the right reaction. The moment someone drew that power, there was no longer any reason to keep playing the gacha.

But while No. 0 was searching the records, it had confirmed something peculiar. Among those who had already drawn that power, some were continuing to play the gacha. And they were also the ones whose point sources I had not been able to figure out earlier.

It seemed I needed to check them quickly. After exchanging a brief farewell with her, I rose from my seat.

“I’ll gather them, so you have to make it for me.”

Leaving her words behind, I left the room. A giant bear puppet, huh. Its presence would definitely be considerable. I needed to do my best to make sure Cassian would not be disappointed.

Of course, only after resolving this matter first. Like that, I headed to the next student. The second person to draw the power was Luciella.

No, rather than saying Luciella had drawn the power, it would be more accurate to say Luciella gave points to the person who drew it and purchased it. Was this what it meant to be from a great family? I had not expected Luciella to readily throw out that many points.

And I could find nothing strange from Luciella either. I simply admired the processed power. The way Luciella handled the fragment was excellent.

Luciella had joined that fragment to several magic circles and maximized its nature. Then Luciella melted it into their own magical power. As a result, Luciella had made it possible to use that power fully and safely.

That detailed design was a clean method I could not accomplish. And within that magical power, the fragment had been thoroughly tamed by Luciella. It was truly a mage-like approach.

After greeting Luciella, I headed to the next student. Then the next. Like that, I was able to check all twenty or so people who had drawn that power in the first week.

They were all taming that power well in their own ways. Each and every method was extremely interesting. As such, I could not find anything strange from them.

Well, since there was no problem with those who had drawn it during the first week, that was only natural. The problem started now. I glanced at the list. The strange traces of points had begun appearing from the second week onward.

And that was also after Tooth Necklace and Blood Axe had met. After checking the list, I nodded. The person I would visit this time was Luka, someone who had previously attended the Treasure Hunt lecture.

Luka was also the first person where that strange trace appeared. So I went to find Luka. And after hearing what Luka told me, my expression hardened.

“I don’t have it.”

Luka shrugged with a sullen face. At that, I glanced down at the list. There was definitely a record in it saying Luka had drawn that power.

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah. I already handed it over to someone else.”

At those words, I frowned lightly. Handed it over to someone else? Afterward, I asked Luka a few more questions, but Luka only kept shrugging.

“I can’t tell you more. I received something too.”

At that vague answer, I clicked my tongue. Even so, I could not press any deeper. How Luka handled that power was Luka’s freedom. So I left and headed to someone else.

And as I checked them, my complexion hardened even further. Out of the forty fragments in total, fifteen were missing.

All of them had come from the people I had found suspicious. The person who received that fragment from me today was the same. As if they had all agreed on the same story, they only said they had handed it over to someone else.

Why had I not noticed this? Pressing my aching forehead, I sank into thought. I had definitely been continuously checking whether there was anything suspicious in the tower.

As I searched my memory, I paused for a moment. No, my search had been perfect. They must have still had that power until yesterday.

If they had handed that power over, there was no way I would not have noticed it. So that meant they had handed over that power recently, and that it had happened today.

I quickly headed to the workshop. Then, together with No. 0, I hurriedly controlled the puppets. It was to thoroughly search the people inside the tower. But despite such thorough questioning, I could not find any trace.

No. 0 shook its head at me. It meant it had not found anything either. At that, I crossed my arms and stroked my chin.

The fragments of that power had vanished without a trace. Fifteen of them, at that.

Of course, they likely had not gone outside. There had not been enough time, and there were also the sealing boxes. Those sealing boxes were soaked with the tower’s magical power. They were firmly connected to the barrier blocking the entrance.

Because of that, unless someone tamed that power perfectly like the earlier people, they could not take it outside. I had no idea what would happen if the pure power of a treasure leaked outside, after all.

That meant that power was hidden somewhere in this tower.

It seemed stealing away Blood Axe’s fragments was what Tooth Necklace wanted. But the fact that the puppets could not discover them even after such a thorough search was an unexpected result.

I frowned lightly. When I sensed something suspicious and moved, that group of students quickly handed that power over to someone else. That was not an action they could take unless they knew I was moving.

And the same went for hiding their tracks like this. Moving this quickly was impossible for treasures trapped in the storehouse.

There was someone cooperating with the treasures. Someone close enough to understand my actions, at that. If that person had not figured out my movements beforehand, they could not have hidden them so thoroughly.

Just as I had tried to grasp Blood Axe’s every move, Tooth Necklace had also been monitoring my actions. Then who on earth had done this?

The target of suspicion appeared quickly. At that, I could only let out a bitter smile. There was only one person I had revealed my movements to. For some reason, I felt like I could see Tooth Necklace laughing loudly.

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