WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 165

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165.

My body shimmered faintly and flowed along the magical power. A strange sensation wrapped around me, as if I were crossing the boundary of space. Then, after who knew how much time, I felt my body settling somewhere.

And just like that, the sensation of reality formed my body again. The first thing I felt was the pure magical power flowing around me sinking into my body.

That magical power soon settled into stillness. Along with it, I felt the light surrounding me fade, and I slowly opened my eyes. A black curtain surrounded me.

It followed the circle on the floor where I stood. It was probably the magic that had helped with the transfer. As if its purpose had been fulfilled, it was slowly fading away.

I stood there and clenched and unclenched my hand a few times. The distinct, unpleasant sensation I had felt in the competition grounds, that strange flow that had restricted my magical power, was gone. That meant I had left that place.

The black curtain soon vanished completely. I carefully stepped out of the small circle beneath my feet. Only then could I take in my surroundings.

I was not the only one here. Everyone who had passed the first round of the competition was stepping out of a circle and checking their body, just like me.

“It seems we all meet again.”

I dipped my head slightly and smiled. The others bowed their heads in return. Everyone seemed fairly relaxed. The tension that had lingered on their faces had eased quite a bit.

I was probably the same. Of course I was. The fact that we were facing each other like this meant the first round of the competition had ended successfully.

There was no need to be wary of them anymore. According to Mauro, there would be no fighting in the second round of the competition. That meant there was no reason for us to clash now.

Even if I wanted to, I could not. I placed a hand on my chest. I felt a kind of contract connect to the tree rooted inside me.

It was the restriction I had received when entering the university. The one that said I could not violate another person’s survival zone or property rights. That rule was binding me again.

Now it was impossible to kill each other or steal puppets like before. I could clearly feel that I had left the competition grounds. That was why everyone was so relieved.

“Looks like this place is outside, then.”

Gunda said that while looking around. I lightly rubbed my chin and nodded. This place was closed off on all sides, and it had the feel of a reception room.

Of course, there was not much furniture, but warm magical power filled the room. I blinked quietly. For some reason, it felt familiar.

Where had I seen this kind of atmosphere before? After thinking for a moment, I lightly clapped my hands. It was the same comfort I used to feel in the drawing room when I occasionally visited Tiena after lectures.

That meant this was Professor On’s tower. It seemed the second round of the competition would be held outside now. Well, since we had no reason to fight each other anymore, there was no need to enter the competition grounds again.

As I stayed still, I felt the room’s magical power wrap around our bodies and melt away the fatigue and wounds within us. It felt similar to the infirmary in Professor Irian’s tower.

“I will rest for a moment, then. Judging by the situation, they will probably call us when the time comes.”

I shrugged, found a spot, and closed my eyes. Before the second round of the competition, I needed to get my body back into proper condition. Gunda nodded, then moved away.

My body recovered quickly inside that magical power. The softly burning magical power restored my body to its optimal state. The others must have felt it too, because one by one, they found places and rested comfortably.

Then, after who knew how much time, I felt a faint ripple of magical power. Within that magical power, the room’s wall slowly began to split open. It formed a path.

It was telling us to come that way. Since a path forward had appeared, we needed to move. I brushed myself off and stood up. Then I looked around at the others and smiled softly.

The faces watching one another carried strong confidence. Now that it was a contest between individuals, everyone was clearly thinking about victory. Of course, that victory would be mine.

Like that, I slowly followed the path with the others. It was not that long. We soon reached the end and crossed into another area.

It was a wide hall, its walls covered in decorations. As if congratulating us on our victory, they shone and lit the path ahead. Beyond those decorations, I could see a tall platform rising up.

The moment everyone saw the top of the platform, they stopped in place. Then they quietly bowed their heads. I did the same. I lightly smacked my lips.

Even from this far away, I could clearly feel the dense magical power flowing from the platform. Those varied currents of magical power tangled together as they brushed past us. Each one carried its owner’s distinct nature.

I quietly examined the platform. The owners of that magical power were seated there. Professor On and Tiena, along with the association heads of each city.

As I wondered why they were here, I saw someone waving at me. The magical power I felt from him was extremely faint. It was even weaker than mine.

There was only one person with magical power at that level. Mauro, the head of our association. When his eyes met mine, he burst into hearty laughter.

He lightly beckoned to us. Following his lead, we slowly walked forward and headed to the front of the platform. Once we arrived, Professor On silently looked down at us.

His eyes carried no emotion at all, and they were terribly cold. Tiena, who had been leaning against his arm, lightly tapped him. Then he gave Tiena a gentle smile.

After lightly kissing her forehead, he looked at us. Then he nodded and spoke.

“You worked hard. Come here and sit. Then I will tell you about the second round of the competition.”

Professor On gestured. Chairs rose up in front of us. There was one for each of us. The magical power flowing from him pulled our bodies and quickly seated us on those chairs.

I already knew how the second round of the competition would proceed. And yet he was going to explain it again? It seemed something had changed. So I quietly waited for him to speak.

At that moment, I felt a gaze shoot toward me. I could not tell who the owner of that hidden gaze was. But I could tell they were hostile.

Magical power flowed into me along with that gaze. Inside it, I felt killing intent thick with the stench of blood. I had no choice but to freeze like a frog before a snake.

It slowly pressed down on my body. My expression hardened as I released my magical power, but it was quickly torn apart by the magical power eating into me.

I could not resist that power at all. Even though this was simply a clash of magical power, the difference in level was far too great. The fact that they could suppress me this easily meant the owner of this magical power was an association head.

At the same time, I could guess who it was. The magical power eating into my body flowed toward my chest. It seemed they intended to carve a wound into my tree.

I scowled and released as much magical power as I could. Then I looked at Professor On. There was no way he had failed to notice someone was harassing me this openly.

But he simply stared at me without making any attempt to stop it. It was exactly like him, giving no attention to anything other than puppets.

Just then, another magical power gently wrapped around my body. It severed the magical power that had been tightening around me. I let out a low, heavy breath.

Then I clicked my tongue. In truth, I had been full of confidence after winning the first round of the competition. I never thought I would crumble from magical power alone like this. In the end, this competition was also a fight among people far above me. As expected, a person needed to stay humble.

And I was not the only one breathing hard like that. Miorang also seemed to have been invaded by magical power like me, and he was getting himself back under control. The others were fine. There was only one person who would target just the two of us like this.

“Tsk, what kind of foolish nonsense are you doing? No matter how much things failed to go your way, you should at least know how to accept the result.”

A white-haired woman clicked her tongue and gestured. It was Aronia, Miorang’s association head. At her gesture, magical power stretched out like thread and gathered.

She was the one who had helped us. As I expected, her gaze was directed at Gaon. He had his arms crossed as he snorted.

“I only let a little magical power flow. They simply could not endure it.”

The reason he was doing this was clear. It was probably because we had eliminated Ugo, the one he had chosen. He was showing his resentment like this.

I never thought he would overreact this badly even with Professor On present. That meant Ugo’s role had been that important to him. Then he should not have told Ugo to target me.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. I did not forget grudges. So I had not forgotten that he had ordered Ugo to break my puppet.

His influence was part of why I had worked to eliminate Ugo from the first round of the competition. Since I could not target Gaon directly, I had at least tried to break his plan.

And judging by his reaction now, it seemed that had been quite successful. With a satisfied smile, I bowed my head to Aronia.

It was an expression of thanks for stopping Gaon’s retaliation. She glanced at me, then nodded. Mauro, who was sitting beside her, stroked his beard and spoke.

“Hoho, thank you for helping young Evron. It was hard for me to exert my strength, you see. Mm, if you, who rarely step forward, went out of your way to help him, it seems young Evron has caught your fancy.”

Mauro burst into hearty laughter. Then he turned his head and met my eyes. I could see a little apology toward me in his gaze. Was it because he had been unable to stop it himself?

I slightly shook my head. I had checked Mauro’s condition before. Right now, he was only at the Sapling realm. With that body, there was no way he could block their magical power.

I found myself curious about his story again. The fact that he stood shoulder to shoulder with people like this meant he had once been in a similar realm. I could not imagine how someone like him had fallen this far.

“Hmph, I only got interested. I learned he wasn’t someone who only fiddled with puppets like the people under you. The puppet was unusual too. So you, keep improving. You’re wasted under someone like Mauro.”

Aronia snorted as she looked at me. Her eyes were different from when I had met her before. Back then, they had been nothing but cold, as if she saw no value in me.

But now, as she looked at me, I could feel a little softness in her eyes. I bowed deeply to her again. Mauro watched the two of us and let out a dry cough.

“Ahem, I thought you would covet him too. But what a shame. I don’t plan on handing this friend over. I cannot let you snatch away the newcomer who finally joined our association after so long.”

Mauro shrugged as if taunting her. At that, Aronia sent killing intent rippling toward Mauro. But Mauro’s face remained perfectly calm.

Mauro kept chuckling. Did he not feel that killing intent? No, rather than that, he seemed certain she could not touch him.

Aronia rippled her magical power with a crumpled face, then soon sighed. She calmed her magical power and rubbed her forehead. Then she glared at Mauro and clicked her tongue.

“You don’t have much time left to act so relaxed, so prepare yourself. Miorang completed the coin. You won’t be able to run away like before.”

“The competition is not even over, so what are you talking about? Did the rules not change by majority vote? If the owner of the coin fails to win, this wager will be treated as if it never happened. You agreed too, did you not?”

Mauro looked at me and gave me a thumbs-up. It meant that, just as he had requested, I had to win. I lightly smacked my lips and looked at Miorang.

He had taken out the coin and was fiddling with it. What on earth was that thing, for them to pay this much attention to it? Judging by the atmosphere, something important had to be at stake in that wager.

Aronia glanced at the association heads and lightly clicked her tongue. Then she crossed her arms with a face full of displeasure.

“Everyone is trying to keep me in check because it looks like I’ll win. It doesn’t matter. The winner will come from our association anyway. Our children are the largest group right now. As for the rest, well, they’re nothing but newcomers, so it should be simple.”

“Hoho, are you ignoring our young Evron right now?”

Mauro pointed at the puppet behind me and smiled faintly. At that, Aronia looked at me. Her eyes held a mix of slight interest and irritation. Mauro stroked his beard and continued.

“When you died, everyone was shocked. Your puppet, Miss Mira, gathered a great deal of magical power and tried to blow up the competition grounds, you see. Of course, you revived quickly and calmed her down. Still, it was rather dangerous.”

I lightly scratched my head. I had hidden the truth about the puppet in order to surprise her. But Mira had tried to do something like that?

I quietly smacked my lips. It seemed I would have to apologize to her once I went outside. Of course, I had to finish this competition before that.

Mauro winked at me. I could fully understand the meaning behind that playful gesture. He wanted me to show that offshoot body again.

It seemed he wanted to use me to brag about puppets. Mauro might act casually, but he was still my association head. So I needed to follow his lead.

I sent my will flowing into my chest. At that, the puppet standing behind me approached. The one that had been in Cassian’s form melted down. Then it took my form.

Facing it, I quietly closed my eyes. Then I let my will and soul flow into it and opened my eyes through its body. Perhaps because I inhabited the whole body, the flesh felt incredibly light.

“This friend has already pioneered a field of his own like that. So winning is as good as guaranteed. What do you think? Isn’t it quite amusing?”

Mauro smiled broadly and boasted to Aronia. She sent magical power toward my puppet’s body. Then she rubbed her chin and clicked her tongue.

The magical power of the other association heads also entered my body. Each of them scanned my puppet with interest.

Mauro continued his war of nerves with Aronia. As he did, I felt the gazes of the people seated around us gather on me. I looked back at the others.

Those sitting in the chairs were startled as they looked at the puppet in my form. I smiled as I met their gazes. This was a new possibility I had created. It could be called the sum of my puppetry and my life.

Now that the first round of the competition was over, there was no need to hide my puppet from them anymore. As Mauro had said, everyone outside already knew. So it was better to seize the initiative like this.

This was an expression of confidence, and also a kind of declaration. It meant I would defeat them and take victory. Perhaps they felt that, because wary expressions appeared on their faces. I moved my body back to the main body.

“You seemed strangely relaxed, and now I see you had a secret like this.”

Gunda smacked his lips from the seat beside me. I shrugged and smiled. Everyone hid one or two secrets.

Gunda looked at my puppet, then crossed his arms. A rather confident smile formed around his mouth.

“Well, it is an impressive puppet, but I have no intention of losing either. I have to offer victory to the association head, after all.”

He looked straight at Aronia. A slight blush had appeared on his face as he looked at her. Mm... tastes were something to be respected.

As if she could not bear to lose, Aronia summoned the puppets of her association members, including Miorang. It had become a kind of proxy battle between puppets. The survivors each showed off their puppets once.

Then, amid that chaotic scene, dense magical power began to flow. Professor On, who had only been quietly watching us, lightly tapped the floor. At that, the people making noise instantly fell silent.

“Have you all finished talking? Then let’s get to the point. This competition was interesting. Of course, a few problems occurred, but they were handled well enough. That has nothing to do with you now. So I will only talk about the competition.”

Interesting, was it? Even though association members had died, Professor On’s attitude was completely indifferent. I glanced at Gaon. He had his arms crossed and his eyes silently closed.

He gave off the air of someone who had no problem at all. I quietly frowned. He could be that relaxed even after breaking the university’s rules? Tiena, who was sitting beside Professor On, only wore a faint, bitter smile.

“The second round of the competition is simple. You only have to make a puppet that satisfies me. The people here have gathered to evaluate you.”

Professor On continued. I tilted my head. Had Mauro not said that only Professor On would participate in the evaluation? It seemed that method had changed. And that must have been why the association heads had gathered here.

Professor On looked around at the association heads. They slightly bowed their heads to him. Professor On stared at them silently, then slowly continued.

“Mauro, explain the rest. You were the ones who changed the rules.”

After saying that, Professor On quietly closed his mouth. Then he stared at Mauro. Mauro stroked his beard and smiled faintly. Then he lightly cleared his throat and stood up.

“Ahem, it seems the Professor finds it bothersome to explain further, so I shall explain in his place. Each of you will make a puppet under identical conditions. Using the things you collected, that is.”

I quietly nodded. That was something I already knew. Then what had changed? I waited for him to speak. Mauro looked around at us, then continued.

“We will observe you. And through interim evaluations, we intend to decide who will be eliminated. If you show us a puppet that is too simple, we will eliminate you right away, so be careful. Show us the best you can make.”

After that, Mauro added many explanations. We would make a puppet over a period of one week. That time would be distorted, so about six hours would pass outside. Things like that. They were rather interesting details.

And while he explained at length, his story soon began to wander. He stroked his beard and gazed into the air. His eyes grew hazy, as if he were recalling the past.

“It was truly fun when I first participated in the competition. Back then, everyone loved puppets and dreamed together. But now, it feels like everyone has become too stingy. Look, accidents happen like this time too....”

Mauro came to his senses slightly and glanced at Gaon. There was reproach in his eyes. Meeting that gaze, Gaon snorted.

“They were simply weak.”

“...If you put it that way, well, I will say no more. Just know that I am watching carefully.”

Mauro narrowed his eyes as he spoke. At that, Gaon clicked his tongue and said nothing more. Mauro watched him for a moment, then sank back into his memories. Then he continued telling more stories about his past.

The somewhat dull story gradually made the atmosphere sag. Perhaps unable to endure it, dense magical power sealed Mauro’s mouth. Mauro tried to peel it away, but he could not overcome that power.

“You still talk too much. Shut that mouth. I will wrap this up.”

Aronia sighed. The magical power blocking Mauro’s mouth was stretching out from her hand. She gestured toward us with her chin.

“Everything that needed saying has been said, so move now. All of you, keep improving.”

She raised her magical power. Along with it, the chairs we were sitting on began to shine. The light wrapped around my body in an instant.

Then it pulled my body and began moving somewhere. The flow was incredibly fast. Like that, my body was released again, and bright light revealed my surroundings.

I quietly looked around. It was a large room closed off on all sides. There was not a single path leading out. It was literally a room where I could not leave unless I made a puppet. It was telling me to work here.

I never thought it would begin this suddenly. A clock hanging on the wall showed the remaining time. One week. Within that time, I had to make one puppet. Something that could satisfy all of the association heads and Professor On.

I quietly crossed my arms. I had already decided what kind of puppet I would make. It was something I had been thinking about since before I joined this competition.

I had participated in this competition because of Mauro’s request. But I had another request that was even more important to me. It was what Tiena had asked of me.

She wanted to have a child between Professor On and herself. Here, I planned to solve at least part of that request. Not perfectly, but by showing a possibility that could move forward well enough.

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