WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 175

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175.

I carefully climbed down from Mira’s arms. Rabbit came closer and tilted her head. Apparently, she had thought I was nothing more than an ordinary puppet.

I gently sent my will toward the one who stood a full head taller than me. She looked surprised for a moment, then puffed out her chest and laughed.

“Slaughter!”

Rabbit patted my shoulder. I could sense her satisfaction. She seemed quite pleased that I had become smaller than her.

Professor Irian, who had been quietly looking down at us, uncrossed her arms and slowly approached me. I gave her a slight bow. Then she began raising magical power.

That immense magical power wrapped around me in an instant, then flowed through my body. I quietly closed my eyes and responded to it. Under my guidance, it soaked through every part of me.

This could be called a kind of examination. It did not stop at checking my body. It went beyond my chest as well, toward the tree engraved in my mental image. After confirming its shape, she clicked her tongue.

It was probably because that tree had collapsed so badly. After checking every area, she slowly began withdrawing her magical power. Once all of it had left, she lightly patted my head.

At her touch, the magic circle engraved in my head slowly woke. I could feel the magical power inside it rousing my mind even further. It was the golden net Professor had once engraved there to hold my mind in place.

After checking even that, Professor nodded. She clicked her tongue, looked down at me, and frowned slightly.

“It really is you, Evron. I heard you were going to a puppeteers’ meeting, but I never imagined you would come back after throwing away your entire body. Your soul and tree are both a complete mess. It’s a wonder you’re even alive in that state.”

I could see a hint of amazement in Professor’s gaze as she looked down at me. I placed a hand on my chest. The flow I sensed inside was, just as she said, terribly faint.

It would not have been strange if that tree collapsed right away. To understand my condition just by sweeping over me once with magical power, as expected of Professor. She was still perfect.

I slowly looked around. It was a very familiar space. A huge bed, a wide window. Professor’s room at the top of the tower.

I had stopped by to greet her as soon as I returned to the tower. Originally, I had planned to go straight to my workshop and quickly make my body first, but Mira caught me, and I ended up being dragged here.

I let out a small sigh. At that, Mira slowly approached and poked my cheek. When I looked up, I saw Mira wearing a very stern expression. She lightly wagged her finger.

“Again. Evron does not make that kind of face.”

At that, I reflexively changed my expression. I felt a bright, innocent smile settle on my lips. I smiled foolishly at Mira. Satisfied, Mira stroked my head.

Still wearing that smiling face, I clicked my tongue. Maybe it was because she had corrected me again and again throughout the meeting, but now, whenever Mira so much as touched me, my expression changed like this. A kind of conditioning had been engraved into my body.

“What do you think? I dressed Evron up to match his appearance. Isn’t he truly adorable? What do you think, Irian?”

Mira gently hugged me. I smacked my lips. This was exactly why I had tried to flee to the workshop as quickly as possible.

Professor quietly looked at me. When her eyes met mine, I felt a slight emotion begin to settle across her face. Should I call it fondness? She gently nodded.

“Well, this is better than that gloomy man, at least.”

Professor reached out. The magical power flowing around her rippled and lightly drew my body toward her.

“Now, try petting him.”

Mira presented me to Professor. Professor hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand on my head. Then, just as Mira had done, she began slowly stroking me.

Her slightly awkward movements gradually grew more comfortable, and satisfaction slowly filled her face. Rabbit seemed curious too, so she approached and lightly touched my head.

“Slaughter!”

She was startled, then rubbed her hand. It was probably because of the magical power soaked into my hair. I looked at my hair as it fell around me. It was full of magical power processed by Mira.

That magical power was making my hair extremely soft and fluffy. Some of it had also settled in my body. Of course, that was not something I had wanted.

I glanced at Mira. The brooch hanging from her chest was giving off a brilliant light. This was the result of the power of transformation contained in that brooch acting on me.

I had not known she would use it this way. With a faint, bitter smile, I shook my head. Mira lightly covered her mouth and laughed toward Professor Irian.

“Hehe, I thought Irian would like him too.”

Mira lightly touched Professor’s hand. Professor, who had been stroking my head, let out a small cough and quickly withdrew her hand. When I looked up at her, I could feel her magical power swaying softly.

Just like the magical power she gave off, the way she looked down at me was terribly soft. The wariness she had shown toward me before I left had vanished without a trace.

I could see her guard melting away in real time. At that, I lightly stroked my chin. Maybe being in this form right now was a kind of opportunity. An opportunity to grow even closer to Professor.

So perhaps staying like this a little longer would not be so bad. But I had no choice but to quickly abandon that thought. I glanced back and saw Mira’s face, full of desire.

Earlier, under the name of punishment, I had received a kind of education from her. My body had adapted to it too. If I kept this current appearance, it might not be only my body that ended up in her grasp, but even my soul.

On top of that, the desire Mira showed was also growing. She had become a little more obsessive toward me than before. I knew the reason well.

It was probably because the scent of my soul was leaking out. I quietly tapped my chest. The slightly regenerated tree lightly shook its body. Small soul fragments flowed endlessly through it.

They were the ones that had woken from sleep to refill my depleted soul. With my current body, it was impossible to hide all of them. Because of that, their active movement spread into the surroundings as a kind of scent.

So before she tried to devour me outright within this scent, I needed to change bodies quickly. She should have nothing to say about it either. The period Mira had declared as my punishment had already ended once we arrived at the tower.

“So, why did you throw away your body like this? I doubt you simply caused trouble for no reason.”

Professor crossed her arms and asked. At that, I smiled gently. Then I stroked my chest again. In response to my will, the small soul, Myoil, slowly began rising.

The one who had hidden inside my tree earlier to avoid Professor’s magical power peeked its head out from my chest. Professor saw it and opened her eyes slightly wide.

She infused it with magical power and seized its soul. Then she pulled it straight out of my chest. It began trembling within that magical power.

Deep fear was engraved on its face as it looked at me. It was even worse than when it had seen Professor On before. That could not be helped. Dragons were perfect beings from birth.

No matter how much power a mage held, they could not surpass the perfection a dragon possessed. In that sense, incomplete beings like us had no choice but to be drawn to her.

I sent my will to it and soothed its mind. It began glancing at Professor from inside the magical power. It seemed it had also felt the dignity settled in Professor’s soul.

Professor began slowly examining its soul with magical power. I simply waited quietly and watched.

There was no need for me to add an explanation. Professor would surely notice most of the process by which it had been created. After checking it for a while, Professor nodded.

At the same time, the magical power binding it melted into the air. It slowly stretched and began watching Professor’s mood. Wearing a faint smile, she lightly patted its head.

“Interesting. It imitated a soul well. Did your body become this thing’s egg?”

She looked down at me. I could see a slight gleam flicker in her eyes. She sent it flying back to me and stroked her chin.

“How curious. If I leave you alone, you keep pulling out interesting things one after another. Keep doing exactly this from now on.”

She stroked Rabbit’s head beside her. Rabbit said, “Slaughter,” and accepted her touch with a pleased face. Professor petted Rabbit like that, then looked at me.

I could tell there was a bit of satisfaction in her gaze. At that, Mira let out a small laugh. She touched my hair and spoke to Professor.

“Hehe, if things go just as Irian says, Evron may leave the tower. At the place he visited this time, he was even offered the successor position.”

I never thought she would bring that up here. Startled, I looked at Mira. She gave off a slightly mischievous air and winked at me.

Professor’s eyes widened at Mira’s words. I felt her magical power ripple violently. She looked at me, wrapped me in magical power, and lifted me into the air.

That magical power was sharpened as if it held killing intent. I had no choice but to stiffen while breaking into a cold sweat. Professor narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

“What does that mean?”

I quietly scratched my head. Seeing that, Professor seemed to realize Mira’s words were true, and she released even more magical power. The magical power coming from her searched through my chest.

Soon, she frowned slightly and flicked her finger. Then the spatial pouch in my arms opened, and one coin stored inside it popped out.

It was the token that represented Professor On’s successor position. Professor seemed to know what it meant. After confirming it, even more violent magical power began scattering from her.

“I thought I sensed some strange magical power. That damned old fossil. Someone about to leave the university dares try to steal what’s mine.”

She clenched her hand tightly. Her magical power poured over the coin as if to crush it. The coin released a strange magical power and tried to resist, but it could not withstand that force, and cracks gradually began forming.

It was clearly about to break. I had put so much effort into getting that thing. I could not just sit back and watch. I shot my hand up and blocked her line of sight.

“You misunderstand. I have no intention of leaving Professor’s side at all.”

Professor’s magical power flinched to a stop. She narrowed her eyes and looked at me. I bowed my head slightly and continued.

“Mira only played a small prank. This does signify the successor position, but it is not mine. I am merely holding on to it for a while.”

Feeling the sulky look on Professor’s face, I changed my expression. I put on that bright face Mira had hammered into me again and again. Then I approached Professor and lightly held her hand. I gave her an affectionate smile.

“How could I leave Professor Irian? You are the benefactor of my entire life. Serving you in this tower could be called my dream.”

I quietly lowered my head. I felt Professor looking down at me. When I glanced at her face, I saw the suspicion in it gradually fading.

My sincere words, carrying magical power, seemed to have persuaded her at least a little. Professor looked satisfied and calmed her magical power. She crossed her arms and nodded.

“Hmph, of course you should.”

Professor snorted and sent magical power toward me. Within that magical power, the coin naturally bounced toward me. I caught it and put it back into my arms. Its magical power had grown very faint. It had nearly broken.

I looked at Mira with a little resentment. She winked at me again. At that, I could only smile bitterly. I understood her intention.

This was a way of giving Professor a sense of crisis. Professor began stroking my head. Her attitude had become far more natural than before.

This was the first time Professor had treated me so comfortably. It seemed the words I had just said had captured her heart. This body was probably having an effect too.

“If you received that, then I suppose you’ve improved a lot. I knew before that you had talent in puppetry, but I didn’t expect Professor On to take a liking to you.”

Professor slowly stroked my head. At that, I could only blink. Had Professor just praised me? That was almost a first.

There was something she had said when I came to this university. That I did not have the same talent as others. So clinging to others would be my way. By moving forward as she said, I had been able to reach this point.

Without her, this would have been impossible. I bowed my head with that gratitude. Professor looked at me, clicked her tongue, and continued.

“Extract as much as you can from Professor On. Still, in the field of puppetry, there probably isn’t anyone like that mage.”

“Do you have some connection with Professor On?”

Professor On. She was probably talking about Professor On. Her face looked displeased as she brought that mage up. Had something happened between the two of them before? At that, Professor Irian snorted.

“Ha, connection, my ass. I only know Professor On is a madman. Among the old people at the university, there’s probably no lunatic who surpasses that one. The moment we first met, Professor On said my body would be torn apart and turned into a puppet.”

I scratched my head at that. I had occasionally brought up Professor On in front of Professor Irian before. After all, I had to leave the tower to attend class.

Each time, she had only snorted. Now I finally knew why. To treat her that lightly, a senior professor really was different.

A mage who wanted to turn a dragon into a puppet. I could not imagine how lofty that level must be. As I had felt before, it seemed certain that Professor On was an even more powerful mage than Professor.

I quietly stroked my chin. Huh. Now that I thought about it like that, I felt a little tempted by Professor On’s successor position. Maybe holding on to it for a while would be better than simply giving it up.

As if noticing that mood from me, Professor narrowed her eyes. Seeing her magical power rise murderously, I quickly changed my face and smiled brightly. Then I gently leaned against her.

Professor naturally reached out and began stroking my head. Under her touch, I gave up on the successor position. It seemed that if I tried to take it for myself, the losses would be large.

That was the result after quickly weighing profit and loss. Not only would I have to deal with the association heads, it seemed I would also have to endure Professor’s jealousy. I glanced up. Then I saw Professor wearing a pleased smile.

“Hmph... Clinging like that. Still, I do like you in this form.”

Professor lightly pushed my forehead with her finger. At that, Mira quietly approached our side. She met Professor’s eyes and smiled faintly.

For some reason, a dangerous air seemed to flow from Mira’s eyes. She looked down at me and her eyes shone. At the same time, a faint ominous feeling began rippling in my chest.

“It is as Irian says. In that sense, there is something I would like to ask of Irian.”

“Say it.”

Professor jerked her chin toward Mira. Mira gently grabbed my shoulder and released mist. I felt it wrap around my body.

“How about fixing Evron in this form completely?”

What? I blinked. Then I shook my head violently. But it was hard to escape that mist. Suppressing my resistance, Mira continued.

“Hehe, would this innocent boy not suit the tower better than a gloomy man? If you fix him in this form, I will educate him properly. As a servant only for Professor.”

Mira showed an enchanting smile and licked her lips. Professor seemed somewhat tempted by that and began stroking her chin. In contrast, my face had no choice but to stiffen.

She was right. If I received Professor’s help, my soul might be able to settle naturally in this body.

This was also something Professor had already attempted before. She had embedded the Fog Heart into a puppet’s body and created the being called Mira. In a similar way, she only had to trap me inside this body.

This was a serious crisis. No wonder she had wanted to bring me to Professor right away. To think she had prepared this kind of trap.

Making Professor feel familiar with me earlier must have been groundwork for bringing this up. I tried to move quietly, but Mira’s mist blocked all of my movements.

Mira kept tempting Professor. The more she did, the more Professor’s gaze toward me slowly changed. At this rate, I might be bound to this body.

That could not happen. I had no idea what else Mira might do to me. So I needed to escape this place.

And I had already prepared a method for that. I let out a small cough. Then both of their gazes gathered on me. I bowed my head to the two of them and slowly began raising magical power.

“Mira’s words are interesting, but personally, I prefer my original body. I will take care of my own body, so Professor need not worry. Since I have finished greeting you, I will take my leave first.”

I closed my eyes. Then I sent a response toward my puppet. The one staying in the tower answered my will and slowly began creating a connection.

Soon, it sent a light signal. It meant all preparations were complete. At that, I nodded and exploded my magical power. The spells forming my body slowly began scattering.

Mira seemed to notice my condition and quickly tried to fix my body in place. But the collapse had already begun. It was beyond her power to stop.

Like that, the magical power collapsed first, then the body collapsed, and my soul scattered as well. That soul flowed straight along the connection toward my puppet. I felt Professor looking down at my body with shining eyes.

My mind returned not long after. I quietly opened my eyes and looked around. I saw my workshop. After confirming that, I slowly began touching my body.

A mirror bug approached and reflected my appearance in its mirror. I had the form of a boy who had grown a little more than before. It was the result of containing all the volume equal to the growth of my soul.

My previous body in Professor’s room must have lost its soul and melted away. Feeling it flow back into this room again, I shook my head.

Before, Mira had kept controlling me, so I had not been able to change my appearance. I had found that suspicious, so it was a good thing I had sent a puppet to my workshop in advance. If I had not prepared like this beforehand, things could have gone very badly.

My puppet’s help had been crucial in escaping like this. I looked at it. The one with an amorphous form like silver liquid was lightly rippling.

Its size had shrunk quite a lot. That was only natural, since I had torn off enough of its body to form my current body. This too could be called a kind of resurrection.

I lightly stroked its body. To think I had received its help even after reaching the tower. I needed to repay that help.

“You need a name now too.”

It rippled its body even more. I nodded toward it. I should gift it a name too, carrying my gratitude. I quietly stroked my chin.

It could be called a huge mass made from gathered soul fragments. That was why it could imitate others. Its method of transformation was the same as containing information.

And that composition had some similarities with Myoil, the Fake Life I had created. If Myoil had the shape of a soul, then this one had the shape of a body.

So I should give it a name similar to Myoil’s as well. Carrying that will, I gave it the name “Sinil.” It was a truly excellent name.

But my intent was rejected at once. It rippled its body and sent over a protest. Then it seeped into the floor.

At that, I clicked my tongue. Myoil had rejected it at the previous meeting, and now even this one rejected it too. I had never imagined this situation. I could not understand why it disliked the name Sinil so much.

I was about to persuade it, then stopped. Then I glanced toward the door leading into the workshop. Mist-like magical power was flowing into the workshop.

It belonged to Mira. She opened the door and entered the workshop. Seeing me, she looked slightly surprised.

“Oh my, did you change your appearance already?”

Mira smacked her lips. She approached me, showed a face dripping with disappointment, then shook her head.

“I did not know you would run away like that. I was just about to persuade Irian. What a shame.”

I narrowed my eyes and guarded against her. If she tried to target me again, I planned to run away immediately. She glanced at my face and laughed.

“Please be at ease. I will not force you anymore. Professor also said she would respect Evron’s opinion.”

She raised both hands. At that, I felt slightly relieved and nodded. I had thought it might turn out like this. The reason I had deliberately pulled only my soul out there was also to show Professor.

I knew Professor’s personality well. She tended to value what was contained inside more than the body itself. In that sense, I thought that after watching my great soul escape, she would pay more attention to my soul.

I felt Professor’s gaze pierce through the workshop and flow toward me. With this kind of interest on me, it was clear that her desire to fix me into a body would naturally disappear.

If my soul was bound to a body, it would not be able to flow freely like now. It seemed that guess of mine had been correct. Mira clicked her tongue as she looked at me.

She slowly approached and looked me over from head to toe. Then she reached out and began stroking my head. But I could not find the same satisfaction as before on her face.

“Hoo, this is not the feeling.... I have lost interest.”

It seemed my current appearance did not please her. She let out a deep sigh, then moved a little farther from me. She stretched lightly and glanced at me.

“Since all the fun things have disappeared, I should rest now. What do you plan to do, Evron?”

“I should examine the things I brought.”

I quietly fiddled with the spatial pouch in my arms. This pouch, half-entangled with my soul, had entered my hand again through the flow of my soul. Feeling its weight, I smiled faintly.

There were many things inside it. They were the harvests I had gained from this meeting. There were puppets, knowledge, and various materials. I needed to study them in detail.

Of course, before that, I had to cultivate my body first. I glanced at Mira. Despite saying she had lost interest, I could still feel a bit of desire lurking in her eyes.

She definitely had not completely given up yet. If things went wrong, I might lose my original form. If she persuaded Professor, binding me would be easy. So I had to make my body first.

I slightly stepped back and headed toward the workbench. No. 0 rose from the shadow and approached my side. It too showed an excited air, as if looking forward to what came next. I flowed magical power together with it.

A new body, new knowledge. I needed to organize all these insights again. Within that flow of magical power, time also flowed quickly.

A time of two years.

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