WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 158

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158.

I carefully adjusted the threads of magical power spreading in every direction. At the same time, the presence of the barrier making up this building began to blur little by little. This time, I needed to maintain this state for about ten minutes.

As I refined the magical power, I saw the door slowly open. I glanced that way and saw Biogan. He gave me a slight nod and entered my room.

I lowered my head to him as well and smiled lightly. Gunda, who had arrived first, waved at him as if glad to see him. But Biogan showed no reaction and simply sat at the table.

It was an incredibly prickly attitude. Gunda looked at him, then scratched his head. With an awkward laugh, he turned his gaze toward me.

“Ugh, he really hasn’t changed. I can’t help thinking this friend hates me. Isn’t there too much of a difference between how he treats you and how he treats me?”

I laughed at his almost playful grumbling. Then I shrugged and shook my head.

“There is no way that is true. Biogan is simply a little quiet. If he hated you, Gunda, he would have no reason to keep spending time with us like this.”

I glanced at Biogan, who had already settled into his seat. As always, he merely sat there with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

A difference in attitude. Of course there would be one. I had put in quite a lot of effort to earn his favor. Over that time, we had at least reached the point where we could exchange greetings like this. Not only with him, but with the others in the group as well.

Perhaps because time flowed differently here from the outside, this competition had been going on for quite a while. In that time, I had managed to build enough familiarity with the people in the group to laugh and greet them.

They were like shields who would step forward for me. The more familiarity I built with them, the more attention they would pay to what I said, so there was no need to keep them at a distance.

Since both of them were here, it was time to talk. I faced them as they sat down and arranged the lines of magical power. Gunda looked at me, then glanced lightly outside the door.

“The mood is pretty bad right now. Everyone looks tired.”

He clicked his tongue softly. Even from his sour expression, I could feel a bit of exhaustion.

I nodded. Just as he said, the mood among the people in the group was not exactly good right now. I had said there was a traitor among them, but nobody knew who that traitor actually was.

“It cannot be helped. To make things feel a little more realistic, the others need to make a sacrifice. Still, if they endure this brief exhaustion, we should be able to filter out the traitor. Then everyone will be satisfied.”

I glanced at the clock in one corner of the table. It was something I had made simply by carving wood. In any case, there was not much time left for us to stay here. There were only about three hours left until the departure time I had announced.

Gunda and Biogan also looked at the clock. After checking the time, each of them fell into thought. I looked at the two of them and frowned slightly.

If the traitor was one of these two, they needed to move before that time came. I had only told these two that I had formed a cooperation with Ugo. They had to pass that on to the other side.

Of course, that was a lie. But they had no way of judging whether it was true. They had been trapped underground, after all. To judge it properly, they needed to contact the person they were colluding with.

I sent my will to my puppet. It had spread throughout this underground and answered my signal. It told me that nobody had left the underground. They still had not moved?

I quietly stroked my chin. I had set things up to look this urgent, so I thought the traitor would reveal their tail easily.

For that, I had even turned suspicion in another direction and told them the entire structure of this barrier. If they had wanted to leave this underground, they should have been able to slip out at any moment.

And if they had, my puppet’s senses would have caught them and exposed their identity then and there. That was what I was aiming for. But whoever it was between these two, the traitor was extremely cautious. They had not moved at all.

They clearly still had not let go of their suspicion toward this situation. Still, they would move in the end. I would make them. The preparations for that were already finished. I smiled slightly and placed teacups in front of Gunda and Biogan.

At the clattering sound, they looked at me. I drew a simple magic circle and filled the cups in front of them with tea. I savored the scent and nodded.

“So, did either of you find anyone suspicious?”

I looked at Gunda. He took a sip of tea and scratched his head. After thinking for a moment, he shrugged. As he lightly rolled his eyes, I could feel a bit of awkwardness from him.

“Ahem, I’m not sure. Everyone is so busy suspecting each other that their movements are all careful, you see. Hm, hm, and I was also busy repairing my armor. It’s been quite hard to watch the others.”

He let out an awkward laugh. I glanced over him. His body, wrapped in a robe instead of armor, was packed with enormous muscles.

It stood in sharp contrast to Biogan’s slender build. Looking only at their bodies, Gunda seemed more like a swordsman.

More importantly, his armor. I thought about its condition and nodded slightly. Gunda had been standing at the center of the explosion. Because of that, his armor had been badly damaged too. If judged only by the state of their puppets, there was probably nobody worse off than him.

Since we would soon be leaving, it seemed he intended to repair it a little more. I narrowed my eyes. Maybe he needed to repair it for the escape. Well, I could not be sure yet.

“Then please keep working a little longer. If I were the traitor, I think I would begin moving soon. They will definitely show an opening.”

Gunda nodded. I turned my gaze and glanced at Biogan. Among us, he looked the most intact. It was the result of having gotten far enough away from the explosion’s range.

In that sense, he clearly knew more than Gunda. Blurring the magical power of the barrier just now had also been a request he made of me. He had asked me to create enough of a gap for one person to move through.

The fact that he made such a request meant he had surely found someone suspicious. Biogan quietly opened his eyes and stared at me. Then he gave a small nod.

“I found one suspicious person. They stayed near the barrier for a moment, timed to when it weakened.”

At those words, my eyes widened. Gunda must have been surprised too, because he stared at Biogan with round eyes just like me. Had he really discovered that movement?

“Who was it?”

I asked quickly. Biogan tapped the table and frowned slightly. It seemed he could not properly remember the name.

“It was the one who used a magical beast’s corpse as a puppet. Jurban... was that it? I think it was a name like that.”

“Yes, then it is probably Jurban. Jurban is the only one who controls a magical beast corpse.”

I searched through the list in my head and nodded. Jurban, huh. Like these two, Jurban was one of the few people I trusted somewhat. That was why I had told Jurban the real route earlier as well.

In that sense, Jurban could be called a suspect on the same level as these two. But unlike Gunda or Biogan, I had quickly abandoned my suspicion toward Jurban.

The reason I trusted Jurban before was simple. Jurban was the weakest in this group. Jurban’s realm was even lower than mine. That puppet did not have anything special about it either.

Because of that, inspecting Jurban had been very easy. I had traced back all the records and even secretly searched through the belongings, but I had not found a single suspicious thing. So I had erased all suspicion toward Jurban.

And yet that same person was showing suspicious movements. I quietly tapped the table. The fact that Biogan, who showed little interest in people, had spoken that name meant Jurban had really moved.

I sent my will to my puppet. It sensed Jurban’s movements and delivered the details to me. Jurban really was checking beyond the weakened barrier. I slightly stiffened my face and looked at Biogan.

“Jurban is touching the barrier even now. Of course, that alone does not tell us whether Jurban betrayed us. So please guide Jurban’s actions well. If Jurban is the traitor, make it so the barrier can be left naturally.”

Biogan nodded. Gunda also made a serious face and quietly stroked his chin.

“Did that friend really betray us? Well, thinking about it, it does sound plausible. If one of us were to be eliminated, that friend would have the highest chance. So Jurban is trying to sell us out and move to the other side?”

Gunda muttered, then clicked his tongue hard. I saw a bit of contempt in his eyes. It was understandable. Selling out comrades to survive. It really could be called a vile act worthy of a mage.

“That is some nerve. If that is true, I won’t let it slide!”

Gunda clenched his fist and shouted. Biogan merely touched the sword at his waist with a calm face. I saw a hint of murderous intent ripple across his expression.

Facing them, I also silently nodded. Thanks to Biogan, I had learned useful information. I gave him a slight bow and slowly released the seal covering the door.

Like that, Gunda and Biogan left my room once more. Since we had shared enough information, there was no need for them to stay longer. Perhaps to check on Jurban, they hid their presences and headed outside the building.

I looked at the backs of those two and smiled slightly. Then I quietly stroked my chin. Jurban’s movements were truly suspicious. Soon, those two would watch Jurban and become convinced that Jurban was the traitor.

There was definitely a traitor in our group. My puppet had personally confirmed their existence, and Ugo had also hinted at it. Based on those clues, I had even learned that the traitor was one of those two.

But there was one more thing I was worried about. Was there really only one traitor?

I did not know who had planted this traitor among us. I also did not know what method the other side had used to make them betray us.

Of course, I could guess a little. Maybe they had promised one spot in the next competition. Or perhaps they had offered benefits outside the competition itself.

In that sense, a mage sensitive to personal profit would obviously betray us. They would think belonging to the side capable of creating such subtle betrayal held more possibilities than sticking with this rookie group.

And my worry also came from that point. If a first traitor had appeared, it was entirely possible for a second to appear as well. The fact that one person had been tempted meant there was an opening that could draw in others too.

So I needed to think about other traitors as well. I quietly tapped the table. That rhythm slowly calmed my mind.

That was why the scam I had arranged this time worked as a kind of double trap. It was not simply aimed at those two. It could be called a large trap made with everyone in this underground as a suspect.

Since Jurban moved first, if there was another traitor, they would act after seeing that. The traitor hidden between those two would do the same.

I felt their presences through my puppet and stroked my chin. It was now time to finish this search. I could not stay tied to this place forever.

Like that, Jurban began probing deeper and deeper into the barrier. Jurban briefly left the building and even wandered through the underground space with the puppet.

Gunda and Biogan’s eyes focused on Jurban. The others also began to recognize how suspicious Jurban was. And soon, an incident happened, letting everyone notice even more.

Jurban had secretly slipped out through the barrier. The first to realize it was Gunda. He said he had even checked Jurban’s room, but could not find any trace.

I quickly headed to the room. Just as Gunda said, nothing could be found there. Jurban’s luggage and puppet were all gone.

Only a single magic circle remained, scattering faint light. I quietly examined its structure. It was a kind of illusion magic meant to make it look as if someone was still in this room.

Thanks to that, the others seemed to have failed to notice Jurban leaving. Gunda lightly wiped his forehead.

“Ugh, it looks like Jurban was set on leaving entirely.”

Gunda clicked his tongue with a troubled expression. I met his eyes and nodded. There was no doubt that Jurban had left this place.

“It seems Jurban decided staying was no longer possible. Since we revealed that there was a traitor, Jurban must have thought we had a way to find them. That would be why Jurban fled like this.”

“Then I’ll chase quickly. We can’t just let Jurban escape like this. If we stay still, wouldn’t that be stranger?”

Gunda was right. Sending the traitor out was clearly what we had intended. So we needed to track the trail afterward too. And in the end, we would have to catch and interrogate the traitor. Only then would the information feel more truthful to the other side.

Gunda stiffened his face and raised his magical power. He erased the magic circle that was still releasing magical power and scanned the surroundings. Biogan also stroked his scabbard and gave off signs that he was ready to move.

“Then please split directions and move separately, you two. I will lead the others and proceed with the search.”

They nodded. Then they quickly moved and left the barrier. I quietly watched their backs with narrowed eyes.

Thanks to Jurban, they had now left this space and could move freely. So now it would become clear who had betrayed us. It would be hard to find a better chance to pass on information than right now.

I grinned and gathered the people. Then we also slowly left the underground and chased after Jurban. But the surroundings were already settled into darkness.

The hour was too late. Perhaps because of that, even though we spread out widely and searched every corner carefully, we could not easily find any traces. There was no way to know how far Jurban had gone.

Of course, I was not too worried. I did not need to chase Jurban myself. The traitor among Gunda and Biogan would surely find Jurban on their own.

So all I had to do was watch these people carefully. As they carried out the search, I killed my presence behind them and observed.

Soon, I nodded. Thankfully, they showed no notable movement. They merely searched through the jungle, determined to find the traitor.

It seemed no other traitor had appeared. Of course, I still could not be certain that was true. But the chance was very low. If I had to leak information, I would not miss an opportunity like this.

In that sense, these people had given me enough trust. Then what about the others? As I thought that, I felt a faint signal ring inside my chest.

It was the faint ripple of will transmitted from my puppet. It was calling me. At that, I smiled brightly. Ah, it seemed my puppet had finally caught that tail.

“Now, everyone, let’s go this way. My puppet seems to have found something.”

If we raided the scene, everyone would notice the traitor’s existence. Then their bond would become stronger than before. So we needed to move quickly. If we were too late, my puppet would not be able to hold out.

After advancing with the others like that, we found a barrier. It was magic that hid the area from surrounding attention. When we broke it and entered, we found Jurban.

Jurban was completely covered in blood. Seeing Jurban leaning against a tree and panting, I smiled brightly. Then I lightly waved my hand.

“You held out well. Thanks to you, we were able to arrest the traitor.”

Jurban looked at me, eyes shining behind those thick glasses. Perhaps because all strength had left that body, Jurban slumped down on the spot. In front of Jurban, my puppet stood in Cassian’s form with its sword raised.

Its body was covered in all kinds of wounds. It was the result of using its body to protect Jurban. Of course, because of its regeneration, its flesh was quickly filling back in.

Still, if we had been a little later, Jurban might have been eliminated right there. The Cassian puppet quickly recovered its body and faced the person in front of it again.

I also looked at that person. Because the surroundings were steeped in darkness, I could not tell what kind of face they were making. Still, I could at least tell they were a little flustered after seeing us.

“Mm, were you a little surprised?”

I quietly scratched my head. Then I glanced at Jurban, who had collapsed on the ground. Jurban had plenty of reason to betray us. Among us, Jurban had the lowest chance of moving on to the next competition. That was why nobody doubted that Jurban was the traitor.

Of course, contrary to that suspicion, Jurban was not the traitor. Instead, Jurban was the person I had informed of the traitor’s existence before anyone else.

I had already performed all kinds of inspections on Jurban. And as a result, I had come to believe Jurban was not a traitor. In that case, there was no reason not to use Jurban.

That was why I had formed a cooperation with Jurban like this. Even if Jurban really had deceived me and betrayed us, it would not have mattered. The process of this plan would not have changed anyway.

The bait used to fish up the traitor would simply look a little better. Yes, Jurban was a kind of fake traitor I had prepared. Bait to put them more at ease.

If they did not move, I only had to make them move. This escape commotion had been staged for that. Only when they thought they had not been exposed would their traces finally show. And like now, I had successfully caught one.

“Now, come this way.”

Jurban raised that body slightly. The snake magical beast puppet wrapped around Jurban’s upper body supported them. Jurban staggered for a moment, then gathered magical power and slowly approached my side.

The traitor glanced at Jurban, but did not hastily move their magical power. That was because everyone who had gathered was watching everything.

After checking the wounds carved into Jurban’s body, I frowned slightly. The traitor’s methods were extremely vicious. They had clearly tried to drive Jurban to the brink of death and force a surrender.

“I really didn’t think I would be attacked.”

Jurban let out a bitter laugh. With that small frame, this incident seemed to have been a bit of a shock, because Jurban’s face had turned deathly pale. Looking at Jurban, I lowered my head slightly.

“Thank you for your help.”

Jurban had gone through a lot. The reason I had dragged Jurban outside like this was to force the traitor to act. The traitor would have already sent all the information as soon as they came outside. Then they would have come to check on Jurban.

That person had two choices. One was to help Jurban escape. If Jurban really was the traitor, and if Jurban was captured by us, Jurban might spit out information about them too.

In that sense, the second choice was similar. It was to remove Jurban from this competition entirely, like now. If they did that, there would be no need to go through the bother of helping Jurban escape, and no risk of that information leaking out.

The second path would actually have been more convenient for them. Jurban would not have been able to stop their power. They must have thought they could get rid of Jurban like that and push the entire burden of being the traitor onto Jurban.

That was why I had attached my puppet beside Jurban. I thought something like this would happen. If you guided someone’s actions like this, they would eventually fail to see what was beneath their own feet and fall into the trap.

I let magical power flow through my fingertips. It soon formed circuits and drew a magic circle. From within that magic circle, a hot, burning clump of light appeared.

That clump of light dazzlingly lit the dark surroundings and shot toward the traitor. Perhaps the light stung their eyes, because they raised a hand and covered them. Seeing that, I quietly shook my head.

“You mean that person betrayed us?”

One of the people behind me muttered softly. I met their eyes and nodded. Then I pointed at Jurban beside me.

“Exactly. I did not expect this result either. Still, we caught them in the act, so it must be true.”

The person who checked Jurban’s condition soon showed a heavy expression and clicked their tongue. The others were the same. How much time passed like that? With a faint rustling sound, I felt some magical power approach.

It was surely the suspect who had gone in another direction. They must have sensed us moving and quickly chased after us. The one who soon appeared looked at this scene, then scratched his head slightly.

“Umm... I don’t think I understand the situation properly. What exactly is going on here?”

“We caught the traitor. Jurban and I worked together. I can only apologize for not telling you in advance.”

I bowed my head toward the people of the group. At that, the suspect whose charges had now been cleared, Gunda, blinked with a puzzled face.

He looked at me, Jurban, and then Biogan standing inside the bright light. Soon, perhaps realizing something, he let out a small bitter laugh.

Biogan’s magical power was rippling fiercely. But perhaps he could not bring himself to face this many people at once, because he did not attack easily. Seeing him like that, anyone would realize he was suspicious.

Gunda stroked his chin and looked at me. In his eyes, a bit of discomfort and relief mixed together.

“Looking at how things turned out, everything you told us was a lie, wasn’t it? You didn’t tell us because you trusted the two of us. You were suspecting which one of us had betrayed you. How sinister.”

Gunda made a fed-up face. I smiled slightly at him and shrugged. It seemed I had really deceived them quite convincingly. Of course, I could not agree with the part about being sinister.

More importantly, seeing him reveal himself like that, I could now let go of another possibility. I lightly released my magical power. It was the protective magic I had been preparing from the moment Gunda appeared.

It was in case he attacked. There had been the possibility that it was not one of the two, but both of them who had betrayed us. Thankfully, it seemed nothing like that had happened.

“Umm, more importantly, I never thought you would betray us.”

Gunda moved his gaze and looked at Biogan. I also shook my head with deep disappointment. Biogan merely looked at me with a calm face, his sword drawn. All while his magical power rippled fiercely.

I had trusted him until the end, but I never thought he would disappoint me like this. As expected, no matter how much one handled a sword, a mage was still a mage. In the end, a fake sword-user could not be trusted.

The magical power I felt from him was gradually growing denser. It seemed he intended to force his way through us and escape. Seeing him, I smiled softly. Then I raised both hands.

Magical power flowed out through those fingertips. It was a kind of expression of surrender. At my hand gesture, Biogan flinched for a moment. After draining most of my magical power like that, I slowly approached him.

“Now, shall we talk? In a direction that helps everyone.”

I smiled brightly and held out my hand to Biogan. Of course I felt disappointment, but that did not mean there was any need to eliminate him. He quietly looked down at my hand.

The reason I had put this much effort into revealing the traitor was not to get rid of him. Both Gunda and Biogan were core figures in our group.

Because of that, it would be impossible to fill the empty space if they disappeared. So there was no need to do something so wasteful.

On the contrary, I wanted to ask him for cooperation. Not only from the traitor, but from the other side standing beyond him as well. Finding the traitor was the foundation for that cooperation. Just like right now.

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