WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 150

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150.

I slowly stepped through the air, filling my feet with magical power. As I rose, the many buildings around me came into view. Some were large enough to hold hundreds of people, while others were so small that only one or two could fit inside.

The buildings floating in the air came in all kinds of shapes. I could see many people moving between them, and every single one was one of Professor On’s puppets.

Mira slowly looked over the buildings. Then she took a leisurely step forward and smiled faintly. It seemed she liked the lively atmosphere.

As she continued looking around, her eyes soon began to sparkle, as if she had found something. She looked up at me and lightly tugged on my arm.

“Shall we go over there? Somehow, I feel as though it is calling me.”

She gave a small nod in that direction. When I looked where she was pointing, I saw a small stall set up in a slightly tucked-away corner. It was a spot I would have walked right past if she had not said anything.

She pulled on my arm and led the way. Following behind her, I glanced over the stall. As we approached the little building, open on all sides, I saw a bald middle-aged man stacking various items.

The man, who had been busy arranging the stall, saw us and smiled brightly while rubbing his hands together. The movement was so natural it looked truly human. It was hard to believe this was a puppet.

“Welcome! What do you need? Take your time and look around.”

The man spread both hands toward the items in front of him. Following his gesture, I examined the things laid out there. They were piled messily, as if they had been set down at random.

I picked one up. It was a piece of paper shaped like a small talisman. The magical power flowing from it was bizarre.

After examining it, I quietly set it back down. Even when I sent magical power through it, I could not figure out what it was for. I glanced over the stall. The other items were giving off the same strange magical power.

I quietly stroked my chin and studied the items. Some looked like stakes, while others were shaped like finely crafted ornaments. Piled together with no obvious connection, they looked almost like antiques.

Still, they did have one thing in common. Their magical power. The magical power coming from those miscellaneous items felt like it belonged to a magical beast, but also like it belonged to a person. It felt as if all sorts of things had been mixed together.

As I examined the items, I blinked. Among them, I had found something oddly familiar. I carefully reached out and picked it up.

Was this really what I thought it was? With that thought, I quietly sent magical power into it. The magical power seeped into the small glass bottle in my hand. Then it touched the dark red thing inside and lightly stimulated it.

Perhaps it sensed my magical power, because it twitched. At the same time, its body gave off a red glow. Seeing that, I nodded.

I quietly fiddled with the bottle. There was no mistake. It was Wriggler No. 1, the thing that had once seeped into Mira and turtle.

I glanced at Mira. She had moved away from me and was rummaging through the items on the stall. I could feel pure delight in her eyes as she lost herself in looking around.

Like the bald man at the stall, she carried a humanlike naturalness within her. That could be called one of the possibilities Wriggler No. 1 had created.

It had changed a puppet’s body to make it more humanlike. When I solved the first assignment, Professor On had given it to me as a special prize. Tiena had also given me one as an advance payment for a request.

Those two were all I had received. After that, I had tried several times to obtain more because I was curious about its composition, but I had failed. Even when I solved other assignments, the rewards I received were not as good as this.

Of course, those rewards still had considerable value. Even so, I had never been able to give up on wanting to obtain this again someday. Yet I never expected to find it again at this small stall.

“How much is this?”

I asked the bald man. At that, he slipped on a pair of glasses and looked at the Wriggler No. 1 in my hand. He smiled slightly and rubbed his hands together.

“Aha, Wriggler No. 1. A fine item. It is 30 coins.”

At those words, I started to take out my mirror bug, then stopped. Then I looked at the bald man. He simply met my gaze with that same smile.

“Coins... you say. Do you not accept points?”

The bald man shook his head slightly. At his firm attitude, I frowned. Not accepting points? I had not expected that at all.

“It seems this is your first time here. I hear the outside world uses something called points. Those have no value to us, you see. We only accept this.”

The man pulled a gold coin from his clothes. Pure magical power flowed through the coin, tracing the face of Professor On engraved on its surface.

That magical power used Professor On’s face as a kind of circuit to draw a complex magic circle. The bald man carefully swallowed it. At the same time, the magical power flowing through his body grew stronger. He wore a satisfied expression.

“This is our currency and our magical power. It was made by Madam Tiena. During this general assembly, you outside mages will also need to follow our rules. Here, only these coins will have value.”

The bald man grinned. Facing him, I crossed my arms. They did not need points. Then where was I supposed to get these coins? As I wondered that, the man looked at my face and lightly raised his hand.

He pointed toward the various platforms down below. The place where that strange magical power had been flowing, strongly blocking my sight. The puppet smiled slightly and raised one index finger.

“There will be chances for all of you to obtain coins as well. This is a festival, after all! Many events we prepared will be held over there. If you participate, you may be able to buy things like this easily.”

“Events, you say.”

I muttered softly and nodded. No wonder they had hidden those places so thoroughly. It seemed the competition I would be participating in would also be held in one of them. That must be one of the events prepared for this festival too.

At that moment, I felt someone gently uncross my folded arms. Along with the touch of that soft hand, a faint rose scent brushed past my nose.

When I lowered my head, I saw Mira lightly linking her arm with mine. She gently tapped my chest, then met my eyes and smiled with hers.

It seemed she had finished looking around. I glanced at her hand. She was holding an item I had not seen before. She lightly shook it.

“Hehe, I like this one the most. I think this is what led me here.”

It was a small brooch set with a red gem. The magical power rippling inside that red gem somehow felt similar to what her body held.

“May I try putting this on?”

Mira looked at the bald man and smiled slyly. At that, the man blushed slightly and cleared his throat. When he nodded and said she could if it was only once, Mira pinned it to her chest.

At the same time, the gem in the brooch began to wriggle. The magical power of the gem flowed as if it were alive, and soon the brooch itself turned red. Then it burrowed straight into Mira’s chest.

The brooch vanished without a trace. Mira placed a hand over the empty spot and smiled softly. Then she closed her eyes and released a bit of mist from her fingertips.

“Oh my, what an interesting child. I did not expect it to try to take over my body right away. Hehe, a naughty child like this deserves punishment, does it not?”

She scattered the mist into her own body. Then red magical power burst out from within. It writhed as if screaming, then formed the shape of the brooch again and settled on her chest.

“How cute. If you only show me such obedience, I will not scold you anymore. Now then, show me a little of your power.”

She gently stroked the gem of the brooch. Then it rippled with red magical power. More carefully than before, it seeped into her body.

Mira only laughed lightly and released more mist. The mist thickened, and her figure gradually began to blur. Then, from within the mist, I heard a small crunch.

Soon, the mist scattered, and Mira appeared again. Looking at her, I could only blink. She had taken the form of a small girl.

Her body had shrunk drastically. And it was not only her body that had changed. My eyes widened when I saw the brilliant golden hair shining from her head.

She had transformed into Professor Irian. She lightly spun around once, then smiled at me with her eyes. It was a seductive smile that did not suit Professor at all.

“How is it? Do I look like Professor?”

I nodded blankly. Then I examined her appearance from head to toe. No matter how similar the puppets I made were to Professor, I could not recreate Professor perfectly.

But the form Mira had taken had not a single difference from Professor. Apart from her magical power and atmosphere, she was truly identical. Mira placed a hand on her own chest and smiled in satisfaction.

“Hmm, it seems this child’s power of transformation is highly compatible with my body.”

“That is truly amazing. Other puppets do not adapt well to that transformation, you see. That brooch makes our puppet bodies take the form they desire. If it is a target you have seen even once, it can steal that body.”

The bald man smiled brightly and rubbed his hands together. Mira nodded slightly, then surrounded herself in mist again. Within it, she changed into various forms. She took Cassian’s form, then mine.

The transformation process was incredibly smooth. Wearing my face, she gave a mischievous smile and began touching her body.

No, I suppose it would be more accurate to say my body. Seeing that, I gave a faint bitter smile. Then I looked at the bald man.

“Was Akur perhaps used as the material for that?”

“Oh, so you know. Madam Tiena once obtained its heart, and this was made from a fragment of it. You can buy it for 100 coins!”

I quietly nodded. Mira had said she was drawn to it, and I felt like I understood why. I watched Mira as she continued changing.

Watching her reminded me that she had shown that kind of change when she first inhabited that body. Like that, the power of transformation resided in that body. And that came from the spine of the magical beast Akur contained within it.

“Hehe, this is fun, but my original form is still the most comfortable.”

Mira muttered that and returned to her original form. I quietly smacked my lips. If she had that, she could hold that power even more strongly. That made me want it quite badly too.

Of course, I could not buy it right now. I lightly shook my head. Since I did not have even a single coin, it was no different from a gem in a picture. In the end, I had to obtain coins.

Mira placed a hand over her chest again and stirred her mist. Guided by the mist, the brooch fully revealed its shape. She linked arms with me and set it back on the stall.

She looked down at it and narrowed her eyes slightly. I could tell there was a bit of regret in them. She looked up at me and smiled lightly.

“What an interesting child. It is a pity that I must leave it behind like this.”

“If I gather enough coins, I will buy it for you right away.”

“Hehe, are those words true? I will trust you and wait.”

Mira gently leaned her head against me. At that, I quietly nodded. If she wanted something, I needed to grant it.

I owed her a great deal as well. I glanced down at the brooch. Apart from that, I had become interested in the brooch myself.

That aside, both that and those coins were made by Tiena, right? I had not known, but it seemed her processing skill was extraordinary. To think she could contain all of that transformation power in a small brooch.

More importantly, an item like this was 100 coins. I quietly stroked my chin. Akur’s spine, the thing inside Mira’s body, had cost nearly several million points to obtain. It was something I had obtained at the auction house in exchange for a contract.

I had not expected to see something similar here. Of course, it was only a fragment. Still, thanks to that, I felt like I had a rough sense of the value of coins.

Like that, I slowly looked through the items on the stall. And as I confirmed the value of each one, I was rather surprised. There were even several items that surpassed the brooch.

I suddenly understood what Mauro had said when he gave me the request. Apart from his request, he had said that if I won, I could gain many byproducts.

He had probably meant these. I would be able to buy plenty of these souvenirs with coins. I quietly nodded. I had gained one more reason to win no matter what.

“Hehe, then let us move on to the next place. Even if we cannot buy anything, looking around like this is fun. I think there will be many curious things elsewhere too.”

Mira smiled gently and lightly tapped my chest. After giving the bald man a brief farewell, we left.

The next place she headed to was a building shaped like a giant scroll. When we entered, I saw books piled everywhere. But unlike the stall we had visited earlier, it was not selling strange items.

Instead, that bookstore was selling a kind of knowledge. Books written by Professor On, and many magic books related to puppetry that had existed in the past, were all carefully placed there.

Each one could be called knowledge of great value. Perhaps that was why the prices were incredible as well. Because of that, we only looked around and left.

The next place, and the one after that, were the same. Had we looked through roughly half the buildings by then? Mira showed a slightly satisfied air. It seemed she had seen enough.

I quietly looked around. I wondered if there might be a place that accepted points, but all of them wanted only coins. Points had no value here.

Once again, I realized that this place was a separate world. A world where only puppets existed, and only things valuable to puppets held meaning.

This tower could be called a world Professor On had made for puppets alone. How much time had Professor On spent creating such a space? I could not know. I could only guess that it must have easily taken thousands of years.

“Hehe, then shall we rest for a bit?”

Mira led me toward a wide piece of land floating in the air. Decorated like a park, it seemed to be a kind of rest area. Standing there, I glanced down below.

Many mages were moving around on the ground. They were not paying much attention to the buildings in the air. It was as if they knew there was no need to check them right now.

I quietly scratched my head. There was a reason Koite had smiled mischievously when he left. He must have known coins were necessary. That was why he had not bothered coming up. If he had no coins, there was no need to look around here anyway.

Since this general assembly must have been held regularly, anyone who had participated before would have known that. With a bitter smile, I headed toward the table in the center of the park.

Then I leaned against the huge table and looked at the people floating in the air. The only ones who did not know were probably people visiting this place for the first time, like me. People like them.

They were also checking the stalls with somewhat gloomy faces. Most of those faces were familiar. Most of them had attended this lecture.

Of course, aside from them, a few others were floating up here as well. They were probably people who had entered the association during the twenty years between general assemblies. People who had attended Professor On’s lecture before us.

After looking around, they began coming toward the place where I was. Their movements were very natural. Since this wide park floated at the center of the buildings, that was only to be expected.

After stepping onto the park, they soon reached the table where we were. I quietly met their eyes. Then I lowered my head lightly and greeted them. They also took seats one by one and leaned comfortably.

Looking over their faces, I nodded slightly. Everyone who had attended the lecture had gathered. I felt a kind of kinship with them. Of course, we were not that close. We had only exchanged names.

“Ahem, are you all participating in the competition too?”

While we were quietly resting, a voice came from among those gathered. When I looked over, I saw Gunda, a man wearing thick armor.

That armor rippled with complex circuits and very clear magical power. It was too difficult for me to grasp easily.

If he was asking that question, it meant he was participating in the competition too. Then was that armor the puppet he would use in the competition? Thinking that, I nodded readily.

The others were the same. It seemed all twelve of them were participating in the competition. I glanced at Gunda, who had spoken first. Among them, he was the one I needed to be most careful of. There was no mage here stronger than him.

He was a fourth floor mage. The reason someone like him was attending the puppetry lecture with us was because it had not been long since he began handling that talent. At first, he had looked a little clumsy.

But during the lecture, he had grown quickly. He was also from the group of the woman hostile to Mauro. He glanced at me and gave an awkward smile. It seemed he had not fully adjusted to the atmosphere of that association.

I also lowered my head slightly to him, then glanced at someone else. It was a man with a sword at his waist. Sharp-featured, he stood silently with his eyes closed.

That person was another one I needed to watch. He was the only person in this lecture who had solved all of Professor On’s assignments. Was his name Biogan? Because he spoke so little, I was not even sure.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, he slowly opened his eyes and met mine. Those calm eyes simply sank quietly. His gaze was like a blade.

When I smiled faintly and lowered my head, he quietly closed his eyes. Seeing that, I scratched my head lightly. Was it because he came from Canyon City? His presence was as sharp as those swordsmen.

Like that, we began chatting. We talked about the general assembly and the competition. But since everyone was participating for the first time, no useful stories came out. Time only passed in conversation with no real substance.

“By the way....”

Gunda, who had been about to speak, suddenly shut his mouth. Something was approaching us. The ripple of magical power was coming from the ground.

That mass of magical power was not just one or two people. It seemed several people were coming up here all at once. Like that, a group of mages stepped into the park.

I glanced over them. Perhaps they had gathered from different cities, because their clothing varied widely. Their magical power was stronger than mine, but it still gave off a somewhat similar feeling. All of them were clearly mages at or below the fourth floor.

“Haha, so all the newcomers were gathered here. I was looking for you below and ended up coming all the way here. Nice to meet you all.”

The young man at the very front smiled brightly and waved. At that, Gunda lightly clicked his tongue toward him. Then he lowered his head slightly.

“You have arrived, Miorang.”

The young man naturally accepted that greeting and nodded. Like Gunda, he was also wearing a puppet that resembled armor. They must have belonged to the same organization. Their hierarchy seemed stricter than I had expected.

“Then go ahead and introduce yourselves. Everyone gathered here is participating in this competition. You could say you are friendly competitors fighting for the same goal. Haha!”

The young man called Miorang gave a warm laugh. I roughly counted the people standing behind him. Including us, there were about a hundred.

I lightly stroked my chin. I had heard that some people participated in this competition several times, but I had not known there would be this many. Somehow, I felt this competition might not go as easily as I had expected.

“Mm, I wonder if everyone is attending Professor On’s class properly. I would like to take it once more too. Of course, that chance has already passed for me, so all of you should make the most of it. Well... seeing a few usable puppets here, I suppose there is no need to worry.”

Miorang’s gaze lightly swept over our puppets. Soon, his gaze reached Mira. After looking at her for a moment, he smiled with his eyes.

“There is even a puppet our association head admired. How did you happen to come into possession of such a puppet? I am truly envious.”

Mira gave a light laugh and gently leaned her head against me. I cleared my throat softly and clicked my tongue. Mm, I had not expected to draw this much attention. My resentment toward Mauro rose again.

“Now then, let us talk about the competition. I do not know what form it will take, but would it not be good for everyone to build friendships? We are all puppeteers, and colleagues of the same association!”

Miorang smiled brightly and began naturally leading the people. At that attitude, I also smiled lightly and nodded.

Even so, inwardly, I steadily piled up suspicion toward him. This guy gave off a very suspicious air. Should I say it was like looking at myself? He reeked of someone plotting a scheme.

Seeing his eyes and magical power continue to secretly sweep over our puppets, I lightly clicked my tongue. Talk, my foot. He had clearly come to scout what puppets we handled. That would make us easier to deal with.

Well, I had no need to refuse. I glanced at Mira. They would think I was going to bring Mira. So if I could learn about the puppets they used in exchange for that information, it would be good for me.

That meant there was no reason to reject Miorang’s proposal. More than that, it felt a little strange. This was the first time so many puppeteers around my level had gathered like this.

Of course, among them, there were not many at the same second floor level as me. Most felt like they were at the threshold of the fourth floor. I lightly touched my clothes. If I faced people like this, I would be able to understand my limits better.

Like that, I slowly exchanged information with them. Perhaps because of the attention on her, people showed a great deal of interest in Mira. I smiled and gave them plenty of information. Mira only watched the scene as if she found it amusing.

Then suddenly, her gaze turned to one side. She lightly tapped my arm. Then she gestured toward a certain place.

“Over there. Someone interesting is coming up.”

When I looked in the direction she pointed, I saw someone rising toward the park. That stealthy magical power was incredibly strange. If Mira had not told me, I probably would not have noticed the approach so easily.

Once I perceived that magical power, I began to feel the thick stench of blood contained within it. At first, it was nothing more than a faint smell, but the closer he came, the stronger it grew.

And when he climbed onto the park and dropped that magical power, it became strong enough to fill the surroundings completely. He was deliberately revealing it. At that, people stopped talking and looked at him.

“Everyone gathered here without me. To think I would be left out like this. I am truly lonely.”

The first thing I saw was his narrowed eyes, with a faint blue glimmer showing between them. He had the shape of a small boy. With a mischievous smile like a little troublemaker, he slowly approached the table.

The thick stench of blood was flowing from the puppet beside the boy. Miorang smiled slightly toward him and spread both hands.

“Left out? That is a misunderstanding. We simply did not dare speak to Ugo, the previous winner.”

Miorang said that with a bright smile. But unlike his smiling face, I could see thick wariness in his eyes.

“Oh, come on. No matter how pathetic you all are, do you think I would ignore even that? I need to learn more about you so it feels good when I trample you to death.”

The boy called Ugo smiled brightly. Previous winner. He must have meant the general assembly from twenty years ago. I could clearly tell why Miorang was wary of him. It was definitely because of the puppet beside him.

Ugo swept his gaze over the puppeteers. The others met that gaze and looked uncomfortable. As his gaze swept over us, it soon turned toward Mira.

“The reason I came here is because of that puppet. Our association head told me to make sure I smash the newbie’s puppet.”

Saying that, he approached me. His eyes, which were examining Mira, were hidden inside those thin slits. I lightly clicked my tongue. I usually read people’s emotions through their eyes.

That was also my specialty. But facing those slit eyes, I could not read him at all. He stared at Mira and smiled deeply.

“Mm, she would even make a fine match for my Master. She looks like she would be satisfying to rip apart and kill. I’m really looking forward to what kind of face newbie will make when I break this puppet!”

Breaking a puppet? What a terrible thing to do. I frowned slightly. Did he have no consideration as a fellow puppeteer? But the others who heard that showed little reaction. As if it were only natural.

I glanced at the puppet beside him. That puppet, which had the form of a woman, was extremely beautiful. It too was full of a humanlike atmosphere.

But its face was deeply stained with pain and betrayal. As if that exact expression had been preserved. The stench of blood coming from that puppet was similar to what I had felt from the huge association head, Gaon, earlier.

That meant it was also the result of using a person as a puppet’s body. Was that the trait of their association? More importantly, he had been told to smash my puppet. It seemed the irritation aimed at Mauro had reached me as well.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Ugo grinned. Then he seated the woman puppet and gently stroked her face.

“Isn’t she truly beautiful? She is my Master. You would not believe how much trouble I went through to obtain this corpse. I was so happy when I stabbed my Master in the back while she was drugged with aphrodisiacs and poison. That face full of betrayal, that atmosphere from that moment, I worked so hard to bring it back.”

He smiled brightly, then hugged the woman puppet sitting in front of him tightly.

“My powerful Master became my puppet like this and pours her love only on me. How could I not be happy? This is why I cannot stop making puppets.”

I glanced around. The others did not react much to those words either. It seemed he often boasted about his puppet like this. Mira smiled softly and leaned against me.

“Hehe, what an interesting person. He has so much personality.”

She stared straight at the woman puppet. I also looked at the woman puppet and shrugged. Well... fixing it with such a bizarre face must be his taste. Everyone’s tastes deserved respect.

When had that puppet been made? The university had the bare minimum safety measures in place. So he had probably turned that corpse into a puppet before entering the university.

That too could be described as befitting a puppeteer. Humans were the most suitable material for puppets, after all. Because of that, the stronger the mage, the more valuable they could be called as material.

Still, to think he would stab his own master to death just to make such a puppet. I quietly nodded. That could truly be called mage-like behavior. Betrayal was a mage’s basic nature, after all.

Once again, I could clearly see the difference between their association and ours. At least the puppeteers of our association did not give off a mage-like feeling. Well, perhaps that was why we had the fewest members. That thought occurred to me.

The power of that corpse puppet looked extremely strong. Even if it was not as strong as Mira, compared to the puppets of the people around here, it felt like a drake among wyverns. That puppet was probably the source of his previous victory.

Ugo smiled brightly at me like that. I quietly let his gaze pass. There was no need to continue talking in this situation. Like that, I quietly closed my eyes.

Then he soon made a sullen face and approached the others. He spat various insults at them as well and enjoyed their reactions. After wandering around like that, he seemed to lose interest and dropped down to the ground.

After confirming that, I smiled slightly and got up. Since the hostile one was gone, it was time to gather information again. Even very simple information might prove useful somehow.

Time passed like that. Within that time, the discussion seemed to have ended, because the door to the castle the association heads had entered slowly began to open. Then the association heads appeared from within.

I felt them lightly raise their magical power. They were clearly gathering the people of their own associations. The people who noticed that stopped talking and sprang up from their seats.

Like that, people gradually began leaving the park. And behind that flow, Mira lightly stroked my chest. When I met her gaze, she looked at me and smiled with her eyes.

“Hehe, was he called Ugo? His puppet had an incredibly sweet scent. That must mean it is a corpse holding many talents. Would you not need my power to face that puppet?”

I gently shook my head and stroked my clothes. The puppet inside was far lacking compared to that. So it would definitely be difficult to face that power. But that was exactly why it had value.

If I could defeat that, I would certainly be able to gain confidence in myself. This could be called the stage of my proof. So I did not need Mira’s help.

“It is fine. Then let us get moving too.”

Saying that, I rose from my seat. I could see the people of our association gradually gathering beside Mauro as well. Mira lightly held my arm and nodded.

When we stood in front of Mauro, he gave me a slightly troubled smile. Seeing that, I blinked. What had happened inside that castle? Stroking his beard, he quietly opened his mouth.

“Mm... this competition will be a little dangerous. You might die. So be careful.”

“Oh my, are you truly sure you do not need my help?”

Mira murmured. At that, I scratched my head. Uh... mm, even if this was my stage of proof, was it really worth that kind of risk? Hearing that I might die made me feel a little hesitant.

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