WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 155

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155.

I quickly checked on everyone caught in the explosion. They had been flung in every direction, and each of them was slowly pulling themself together while pouring out magical power. Thankfully, it seemed no one had died.

The damage was still serious, though. I frowned slightly. Some were coughing up large amounts of blood, perhaps badly wounded, while others had puppets so thoroughly broken that only fragments remained.

Restoring those puppets would take a great deal of materials and time. Even if they had blocked the blast with magical power, it was obvious they had failed to absorb all the shock that erupted at point-blank range.

My puppet quickly melted its body and regained its original form. It raised its sword and guarded every direction. I also scattered magical power and checked the surroundings.

This trap had clearly targeted us. If it had simply been meant to hunt people, there would have been no need to set it up here. This was a trap that could only be placed by someone who knew the exact path we were taking.

So the explosion would not be the end. With that thought, I searched the surroundings thoroughly with the puppet. Then I felt something catch on my magical power.

It was slowly approaching us. It was a faint sign of people, coming from beyond the thick magical power released by the corpse puppet when it exploded. They did not seem to have any intention of hiding their movement.

They pushed through the magical power and slowly revealed themselves. They were the two who had been stationed in the magic circle along with the corpse puppet that had just exploded. Seeing them made me frown slightly.

I had called them "they," but only one of them was giving off living magical power. The other showed an expressionless face along with hard, rigid magical power. That one had clearly died and become a puppet as well.

Leaving that corpse puppet behind, the only living person, someone in the shape of a boy, stepped forward. He looked around, then lightly clapped. Beyond his narrow eyes, I could glimpse a faint trace of satisfaction.

"Hmm, this is my first time using a mage bomb, and it’s quite good. As expected, there’s no material more efficient than a person."

He waved a hand. Then a puppet appeared behind him. Reeking strongly of blood, it began slowly absorbing the magical power produced by the explosion.

It was a woman’s puppet with a strikingly despairing face. The puppet that had taken in the magical power gave off an even thicker stench of blood. He gently patted the puppet’s leg, then turned his gaze toward us.

It was Ugo, whom I had seen before. Back then, too, no one except Mira had detected his presence. He seemed to have used that strange stealth technique again this time. He had clearly prepared this trap.

Facing Ugo, I clicked my tongue softly. I had never expected him to be here. Since he was the winner of the previous competition, I had assumed he would have headed for the center.

Once everyone confirmed it was him, they began moving quickly. They gathered around Gunda and slowly pulled back. I built up a magical power barrier in front of them and joined their formation.

They added what strength they could to my magical power barrier, increasing its thickness. It was to prepare for any possible attack. But Ugo paid no attention to our movements and simply stroked his chin.

Ugo showed no intention of moving. If anything, he kept letting out sounds of admiration as he looked at the traces of the explosion. He wore a mischievous smile, as if this were some kind of game.

While watching his reaction, I glanced at Gunda. I could read a little tension on his face as he raised a great deal of magical power.

"Is your body all right?"

At that, Gunda let out a faint bitter laugh. He looked down at himself and quietly shook his head. I could see the pain on his face.

"I managed to protect my body somehow, but I took the explosion head-on, so my foundation was badly shaken. At this rate, I don’t think I can use much strength."

Gunda lightly tapped his armor. The armor was also covered in countless hairline cracks. It was barely maintaining its shape, but it looked as if its circuits would split apart with the slightest movement.

It made sense. He had charged forward at the very front. In other words, he had been in the middle of the explosion. If anything, it was fortunate he had endured this much, though he had paid a great price for it.

The others were the same. I looked over the people around us. Among those caught in the explosion, Gunda was probably the most intact. There were not many who looked capable of fighting properly.

Biogan might be the only one. I glanced at him. He was holding his sword high and glaring at Ugo, fierce magical power rising from him.

But he had also been caught in the explosion. As proof, his complexion was a little pale. He was not in proper condition either.

As Ugo watched us, now completely battered, he rubbed his chin. He leaned against the woman puppet beside him. His eyes inspected each of our faces one by one, then soon turned toward me.

"Everyone is staggering this badly. I didn’t know this batch of newcomers would be so pathetic. I suppose there’s no need to trample all of you."

Ugo let out a small laugh. At his casual attitude, I felt Gunda frown slightly. Since both of them were positioned on the same fourth floor, those words must have provoked him.

But Gunda did not bother refuting him. It was true that we had been caught properly by the trap. He only focused on recovering his body with magical power.

Ugo lightly waved his hand. Then the corpse puppet behind him moved slightly. The people around us let tense magical power leak out at the puppet’s movement.

If he blew that thing up again, we needed to dodge quickly. But the puppet only stood there and stared blankly at us while leaking magical power. Ugo sneered as he watched us. That was clearly a kind of display.

I carefully drew back the magical power I had stretched out around us. I had checked thoroughly in case he had companions, but I could not find any trace. Ugo alone had been waiting for us.

I could feel his confidence very clearly. He believed he could face all of us by himself. To be fair, our condition was that bad. Most of us had been rendered powerless by a single explosion.

"Still, you came faster than I expected. Originally, I planned to link two puppets together and prepare something grander. Hmm... looking at you now, I’m glad I didn’t. I didn’t know you would be such boring people."

Ugo laughed. As I listened to him, I discreetly looked at the others. The reason Ugo knew our movements was that someone among them had leaked that information.

At least it was fortunate we had expected that and moved faster than planned. Since the explosion had not been prepared perfectly, we had been able to respond, even if only to this degree. If the scale of the explosion had been just a little larger, someone might have died.

Of course, the crisis was not over yet. The owner of the trap remained. I looked at Ugo, then pulled back and approached Gunda.

I quietly sent magical power toward Gunda. Sensing it, he met my eyes. I raised three fingers toward him and lightly shook them.

It was a signal I had prepared with him in advance, just in case. It meant to run. Gunda saw it and nodded.

Everyone had taken the explosion head-on and was in danger. They needed time to recover. To do that, they had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Gunda let magical power flow out and sent a signal to the others. Once they confirmed Gunda’s magical power, they began building the magical power barrier around them even thicker, so that those outside could not properly see what we were doing.

"Then please escape first. I’ll stay here."

"Alone? It won’t be easy to stop that man. Wouldn’t it be better for all of us to fight together?"

Gunda lowered his voice and asked in a whisper. I gave a slight bitter smile and glanced at Ugo. Whatever we did, he simply stood there with a relaxed smile.

Of course, if I fought together with everyone here, we might be able to win. The violence of numbers could not be ignored. But we would have to accept a sacrifice just as large.

And if we lost that many people, it would become difficult to deal with those at the center. What I wanted was not that kind of wounded defeat. I needed to move toward the most efficient victory instead.

So there was no need to spend all of them on dealing with Ugo. They were a kind of meat shield meant to stand in front for me, after all. I smiled slightly and shook my head at Gunda.

"If he’s that relaxed, then he must have something. So I think it would be best to run for now. I’ll cover the rear. Don’t worry. You know my puppet doesn’t die, don’t you? I’m probably the best suited to tying him down."

I lightly patted Gunda’s shoulder. Then I slowly stepped outside the barrier. The Cassian puppet followed behind me, sword raised, pouring out magical power.

Ugo smiled faintly as he looked at me. He seemed to pay no particular attention to the people beyond the magical power barrier. Meeting his gaze, I gave a bitter smile.

The moment I stepped out, Gunda raised his magical power strongly. Under his guidance, the magic circle forming the magical power barrier began transforming quickly. The barrier formed a kind of rotation and instantly dug down into the ground.

It happened in a flash. Like that, they quickly disappeared. Since they did not know what might be on the paths in and out, they had chosen to dig deep underground and move that way.

After confirming the traces of magical power rapidly moving away, I nodded. Now they would head toward the new hideout we had made on our way here. There, they would recover enough before moving again.

Now all I had to do was somehow escape this place. With that thought, I scratched my head while facing Ugo. He did not bother paying attention to those moving farther away. He only smiled while meeting my gaze.

"Really, they’re finally gone. Why did those useless things drag this out for so long?"

He shrugged slightly and looked at the Cassian puppet beside me. His eyes were hidden by his narrow lids, so I could not see them well, but I could at least tell he was scanning my puppet from top to bottom and analyzing it.

After confirming that, I gave a light fake cough. In truth, there was one more thing I had not told Gunda. It was that Ugo seemed to be aiming for me.

From the moment he showed himself until now, he had never taken his eyes off me. That was also why I had stayed here. If I had tried to leave with them, he would definitely have followed.

That was probably why he had set this trap too. To filter out the group I had created. Even for him, dealing with them must have been a burden.

I looked at the corpse puppet beside him. It was not as if he could kill all of them and turn them into puppets like that one. In that sense, having them all withdraw like this could be called an unspoken agreement between him and me.

Of course, it was a little more favorable to him. He was clearly confident that if only the two of us were left, he could get rid of me easily. And that was true too.

But the moment we fell into that trap, this kind of situation had become unavoidable. My meat shields had grown weak from enduring the trap, and only if I stayed would Ugo not chase them.

That was probably why Ugo had kept waiting. He had wanted to make me step forward on my own like this. He also clearly knew why I had made that group. I clicked my tongue lightly and opened my mouth.

"I never imagined you would kill the others and make a trap out of their corpses. If you had asked to talk, I would have gladly accepted without you preparing something like this."

Even if the restrictions connected to the university had weakened, to think he would really kill people. It was something I could not have imagined. The others must have been the same. Everyone would have fully recognized the aftermath that would result from it.

At that, Ugo shrugged. The corpse puppet beside him stood completely still with an expressionless face. He lightly patted the puppet’s waist and hummed.

"It was an accident, an accident. It’s not like I killed these people because I wanted to. Things just happened to turn out that way."

Ugo waved his hand. Then a small gem flew up from inside his robe and rippled with light. That light poured toward the corpse puppet.

The corpse puppet slowly disappeared within the light. It seemed that gem was also a place for storing puppets, like my spatial pouch. He put the gem back into his clothes and smiled slightly.

"Well, if I’d known you were this sharp, maybe I shouldn’t have used the corpses, just as you said. These are all materials for the next competition, you see. More importantly, if you’re this sharp, then you know why I came, don’t you?"

Ugo folded his narrow eyes and smiled slyly. Facing him, I nodded slightly. He had probably come for this. I took out one coin fragment I had hidden inside my clothes.

It gave off a strange magical power, and it was also the object symbolizing the wager between the association heads. Had they said the one who gathered all of them would win that wager? Ugo saw it and raised his thumb.

Then he rummaged through his clothes and pulled out several small fragments. They were similar to the one I had taken out. He flicked them and scattered magical power, then gave a satisfied smile. He seemed to have felt my fragment and his resonating faintly.

"You figured it out right away. My association head told me to collect these, you see. If the others had all understood me this well, they wouldn’t have had to die. But they all refused to hand them over... and in the process of fighting, some unfortunate accidents happened."

He shrugged. From him, I felt an extremely wronged air. As if killing them and making them into corpse puppets had not been his intention at all.

"Common sense says, who would kill people on purpose? It’s obvious what would happen outside if you did. Why didn’t they surrender? It’s just a real pity."

I nodded as if agreeing with him. Yes, by common sense, no one would do such a thing. Just as he said, some kind of accident must have occurred.

But intentionally creating such accidents was more than possible with just a little preparation. I clicked my tongue inwardly. Even I could think of several ways to kill people indirectly.

Had the people watching us from outside failed to notice his intention? No, that would not be the case. Even so, he had killed people so freely.

Of course, just as he was so confident, all of it would be handled as accidents. But the resentment born from it would surely be clear and intense. That meant he was confident enough in his own ability to endure that kind of threat.

And he would not bear everything alone either. I wondered if the association head above him, Gaon, was involved in this as well. Ugo alone would not be able to bear the resentment of the other association heads.

Should I see this as a kind of power struggle? If so, we were chess pieces moving inside it.

I lightly shook my head. I did not know yet. I could not be certain either. The only thing that mattered right now was that Ugo was that dangerous.

"Hmm, I’m glad I came here. I really didn’t think the newcomer would be here. Hand that fragment over to me. Then I’ll let you live."

I lightly stroked the coin fragment. The faint magical power flowing inside it soaked my fingertips. The reason I immediately realized this was what he wanted was because of his attitude.

If he had simply wanted to hunt people, he would have targeted all of us. But he only looked at me. And he let the others go.

The reason he was certain I had this was very clear. I was the only one from our association who had entered this place. So naturally, I was the only one who could have the fragment.

I lightly felt the fragment and nodded. Handing over this fragment was not that burdensome. Of course, I could not simply hand it over. I met Ugo’s eyes and opened my mouth.

"Can you tell me one thing in exchange for me giving this to you? Who was it that handed our information to you, Mr. Ugo?"

I had sensed it while watching how he treated us earlier. He had half-disabled us with a trap. Yet even so, he showed no sign of trying to touch us directly.

Considering his attitude, showing enough confidence to kill people and turn them into puppets, there was no reason for him to leave us alone. That meant he had a reason our group needed to stay alive.

In that sense, I did not think he was in direct contact with the traitor inside our group. If he had been communicating with that person directly, he would have shown some greater reaction when facing us.

So someone had clearly leaked information to Ugo. Ugo gently stroked his chin. Then he wore an amused smile.

"Aha, your thoughts went that far? You really are interesting. It would have been even better if you had brought that fascinating puppet. What a shame."

Ugo inspected the Cassian puppet and smacked his lips. At that, I clicked my tongue slightly. He did not seem to intend to say anything more.

He must have thought the fragment was already half in his hand and saw no value in answering my question. Still, from his attitude, I could tell he was more or less confirming my guess.

My guess had been correct. I silently admired whoever that person was. To manipulate an enemy named Ugo and make him deal with us naturally, what an utterly vile method. It was also just as effective.

I glanced at Ugo. He probably knew he was being used too. Ah. My eyes flashed slightly. I quickly realized another fact as well.

The other side must also be forming a large group. Their power would be strong enough for Ugo to care about. That was probably why he had simply let our group go. He must have thought that if we stayed alive, we would get in the other side’s way.

Of course, all of this was only my guess. Then I needed to make that possibility more certain. Naturally, to do that, I first had to get through this situation safely. Ugo gestured toward me.

"Then hand over the fragment now. Otherwise, another accident might happen, you know?"

The fragment, huh. I looked down slightly at the thing in my hand. Then I slowly smiled. I put the fragment into my mouth and swallowed it. Then I pointed at my chest and bowed my head toward Ugo.

"I accidentally swallowed it. If you want it, you have no choice but to kill me and take it. An accident... That is quite an interesting story. Give it a try. You weren’t planning to let me go anyway, were you?"

"Oh, did you figure it out? Dealing with sharp people really is tiring."

Ugo clicked his tongue softly. I glanced at his puppet. I felt that puppet give off killing intent along with a bloody smell. From that puppet, I could sense a clear killing intent directed at me.

So that was how it was. I scratched my head while sending my will into the Cassian puppet. Just as he said, everyone who had the fragments had died and become his puppets. In that sense, it was obvious that he would never send me away intact.

So I needed to escape this place by my own power. The others would have already escaped safely too. The Cassian puppet filled its sword with magical power and stepped forward.

Facing it, Ugo’s woman puppet opened its mouth and began screaming. At the same time, colorful magic circles appeared from its hands.

Those magic circles, drawn rapidly, contained an enormous amount of magical power and instantly formed magic. It was a kind of lightning magic. The lightning shot from the end rushed straight toward the Cassian puppet.

The puppet merely raised its sword quietly against that lightning. Then it swung the sword down. Beneath that smooth motion, the lightning split in two and scattered in every direction.

The Cassian puppet filled itself with magical power and shot forward rapidly. It drew a semicircle in the air. Then the magical power rippling at the tip of its sword left the blade and began to flow.

It soon formed one black line, and that line poured toward the woman puppet. The puppet flashed magic circles and tried to block the line, but that silent line simply advanced, cutting through everything without a word.

Then, at the end, it split even that puppet’s body in half. Hmm, I could say that was what I hoped would happen. But reality was a little different.

The line drawn by the Cassian puppet eventually faded before reaching the puppet’s body. It was only a reproduction of magic that had not been mixed with enough will.

The puppet paid no mind to that failure and quickly charged toward the woman. But among the rapidly stacked magic, its body began to be bound little by little. Then countless bolts of lightning poured down toward it.

Even under the shock of that lightning, the Cassian puppet silently swung its sword and advanced toward the woman puppet. I also scattered magical power to assist its movement.

And that fight soon came to an end. I gave a bitter smile and leaned my back against a tree. Ugo clicked his tongue softly and approached me.

"I told you, you should be careful of accidents. This isn’t my fault, okay?"

He let magical power flow and pulled a small fragment out from inside my chest. It was the thing I had swallowed. The reason he could take it out so naturally was obvious.

I quietly looked down at my chest. There was a huge hole there. My puppet was completely shattered, scattered across the ground.

I had thought the puppet could deal with him well enough. And that thought had been half right. Its regenerative power was enough to endure that puppet’s strength.

So originally, this fight would not have ended so easily. The reason the puppet could no longer regenerate was because of an accident that happened during the fight. It would be right to call it a kind of mistake.

The magical power Ugo shot out clashed with mine, and the reaction sent my body flying backward. Then my body naturally slid and struck the tree I was leaning against now.

That tree just so happened to have a sharp branch that could pierce through my magical power barrier. It pierced straight through my body. From the outside, it would probably look like a coincidence.

But as the person involved, I could feel Ugo’s magical power in all of those movements. I felt that endlessly stealthy magical power holding my body in place.

I looked around. This place itself could be called a stage prepared to kill me. The area around us was practically a domain filled with his magical power.

The others had probably lost their lives to these minor "accidents" as well. I clicked my tongue lightly. Was that stealthy magical power his unique magic?

I closed my eyes slightly and sent out my will. Receiving that will, the Cassian puppet gave up on maintaining its form and slowly melted, seeping into the ground. It would escape like that.

I felt my eyes gradually closing. Through my fading vision, I looked down at my chest. Magical power that maintained my body continued leaking out through the wound there.

Swallowing a cough, I smiled at Ugo. Hmm... This time, I had failed to deal with him. But next time would be different. I had caught a glimpse of what kind of magic he used, after all.

Like that, I closed my eyes. Then my body began to melt. As Ugo looked down at me, I heard him click his tongue. "Was it a fake?" With those words as the last thing I heard, my mind slowly sank.

Then, feeling the sensation of magical power connecting, I snapped my eyes open. I carefully felt my chest, and a normal sensation returned to my fingertips. I had returned to my original body.

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