WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 184

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184.

I slowly looked around. Dense magical power came into view, pouring down like rain. If I had been alone, just blocking it would have been more than I could handle. Each mass of magical power was that immense.

But I did not need to deal with it myself. I was currently being held in Mira’s arms. Every time she took a step, mist rippled around us and absorbed the magical power falling from the sky.

Maybe it was because I had spent almost a month in Mira’s arms like this, but her embrace felt completely familiar now. Mira stroked my head and looked up at the sky, checking the direction we were heading.

We were standing on a wide plain. And the first thing that caught my eye there was the ring of light floating in the sky. Mira looked up at it and narrowed her eyes.

“Oh my, seeing you this close, you’ve gotten quite plump.”

Mira let out a small laugh. I stared at the ring of light. Just as Mira said, the rim of the ring was about twenty percent thicker than when I had last seen it.

Plump, huh.... Was that how it looked from a treasure’s perspective? To me, it simply felt stronger than before. That difference in perception must be what came from the gap in power.

This was the treasure room where Ring of the Sky was located. And that was its main body. We had stepped into this place to meet it.

Mira walked toward the ring. Amid the scattered magical power, only the space beneath the ring was utterly peaceful. I did not know how far we had gone before I felt a strange will dig into my head.

[It’s nice to see you. I feel like it’s been a long time since we met face-to-face.]

That will was powerful enough to make my body tremble. Ring of the Sky seemed to have noticed our approach. I lowered my head slightly and smiled.

“It’s nice to see you too. Perhaps because it has been so long, you’ve grown a great deal.”

[Aah, don’t look. It’s only because so much magical power has been coming in lately. I’ve still been working hard to lose weight, you know.]

Ring of the Sky’s body trembled lightly as it floated in the air. Magical power spilled out and scattered like rain. It was the same magical power that had filled the path we came through.

No wonder the way here had been rougher than usual. Had it been deliberately releasing magical power? I felt Ring of the Sky’s will flow through my body as I silently fiddled with the ring.

An increase in volume meant its power had grown stronger. And that increase was quite impressive. If Mira’s magical power had not been dwelling inside this ring, my body might have been contaminated by its will on the spot.

My mind was no different. From the moment I faced that shining ring, I had been drawn toward it. If the magical power net Professor had given me had not been gripping my mind firmly, I would already have lost consciousness.

So this was a treasure. Its power was truly vicious. When I frowned slightly, Mira lightly tapped my head. She looked up at Ring of the Sky and smiled with her eyes.

“Would you come down and speak with us? Evron is having a very hard time.”

[I didn’t think of that. Please wait a moment. I’ll come down right away.]

Ring of the Sky released its will and vibrated faintly. Soon, I saw a small crack form in the ring floating in the air. From that crack, a cluster of light quickly fell.

The thing that stopped before us was shaped like a small ring. That little piece, which held the same nature as the main body, felt like a kind of offshoot body.

To think it could split off its power this easily. It made me feel again that this place was a domain Ring of the Sky had created. I stared blankly at the tremors of magical power flowing around us.

After reaching the third floor, I had become more certain of my path. With that certainty, my magical power had expanded further. Even after that growth, though, the gap between me and this magical power was still unimaginably vast.

Of course it was. To these beings, I was nothing more than an insect. The difference in power was absolute. Feeling my body settle, I lowered my head toward the small offshoot body Ring of the Sky had created.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

[Aah, please don’t bow. I was the one at fault.]

Ring of the Sky shook its body. I gave it a small smile. Even though the difference in strength was so clear, Ring of the Sky still approached me with this much goodwill.

That was also one reason I respected Ring of the Sky. It had this much power, yet it did not indulge its greed like the other treasures.

In that sense, it could be called a very unusual being even among treasures. Ring of the Sky’s friendliness might have come from the direction of the desire it held.

Unlike other treasures, it pursued not its own happiness, but everyone’s happiness. I glanced at the things lying beneath the ring’s main body. In that sense, those could also be called things that bestowed happiness.

A wide field stretched beneath the ring. Pure magical power flowed through it, making the place seem like a utopia. Perhaps because of that, many things in that field were lost in sleep.

There were magical beasts, and there were also puppets I had placed inside. And in the middle of the field, I saw enormous spheres gathered together.

Those were puppets I had made according to Ring of the Sky’s request. They could be called a kind of cradle. Apparently, sleeping inside them let one feel even greater happiness.

In that sense, they were also prisons. Prisons made for treasures. Many treasures lay inside those cradles, deeply asleep within the comfort the cradles created.

Their number had increased greatly since before. When I first entered this room, there had been about eight treasures here, including Ring of the Sky. Now, that number had nearly doubled.

The treasures that had newly taken those spots had all been dragged here during the lecture over the past five years. There were also quite a few that had come in during this past month.

“How are the treasures that came in this time?”

When I asked, Ring of the Sky shook its small offshoot body. I could sense a somewhat cheerful air from it. It began writing, not with will, but with text.

-They’re doing very well. Some wake up from time to time, but in the end, they’re persuaded by my happiness and fall into a sweet sleep. Whenever I see them happy inside those deep dreams, I feel rewarded. It feels like I become happy too.

“Is it all right if I put more in?”

Ring of the Sky trembled and gave off an even more delighted air. As it emitted magical power, there was a trace of ease around it.

-Of course. Please do as you wish.

At that, I quietly nodded. There was only one concern with this prison. The issue of whether Ring of the Sky could truly restrain the treasures well enough.

Judging by the current situation, though, that limit was still far away. It was only natural. These treasures were weaker than Ring of the Sky. On top of that, Professor had half-sealed their power with her own hands.

“Then please tell me if you need anything. I’ll handle most things for you.”

That was the sort of polite courtesy I often said. But at my words, Ring of the Sky seemed to fall into thought. My eyes widened slightly. Was there some problem with this prison?

-In that case, could you perhaps stop the mages? These days, they’re even trying to offer their own bodies. I’m worried I might be dragged out like last time.

Thankfully, it was not a problem with the prison. Still, it was an issue that needed attention. I clicked my tongue lightly. Mm, so the students were doing things like that too.

These days, I had reduced the number of times I checked the tower. After all, I had been tied to Mira and had to spend time making puppets. It was also because I had felt relieved after dealing with all the treasures that had been up to nonsense.

To think they had been doing something like that during the brief moment I let my attention slip. I silently nodded. It made sense that Ring of the Sky felt burdened.

An offering ritual could cause an accident if even a little went wrong. Hao had tried to drag Ring of the Sky out that way before. It was something Ring of the Sky did not want at all.

That was not the only problem either. Through that offering ritual, something other than a treasure might crawl out from beyond the tower’s space.

I remembered the tower’s environment in the early days. Back then, the magic had been unstable, and accidents where space split open and some unknown thing crawled out from the void happened from time to time.

Over the past ten years, I had thoroughly stabilized the space to eliminate such cases. If they performed a ritual like a body offering in that state, the tower’s magic could warp slightly. That could not be allowed.

“I’ll take action quickly. So please don’t worry. Ring of the Sky, you only need to pass your power to whoever you want.”

-Mm, thank you. But I’ll have to think more about who to pass it to. None of them seem happy enough.

Ring of the Sky shook its body and showed signs of worry. Well, it did not matter if it chose no one. If that was Ring of the Sky’s decision, I would simply respect it.

Facing it like this, I could understand why the students were trying to perform offering rituals. Nearly a month had passed since I gave the final assignment.

One could say half the time still remained, but one could also say only half remained. So the students who had not been chosen yet had no choice but to become even more frantic.

I looked at the treasures lying in the cradles. The ones captured this time were the result of that behavior. They had cooperated with some students and tried to create offshoot bodies.

Through that, they had tried to escape. They had attempted to act in secret while the tower was chaotic because of this assignment. But they ended up being caught like this.

Even the plan they had made was something I had already prepared for. The tower was already in my grasp. Because of that, I could crush whatever plans they made in advance.

I quietly smacked my lips. Maybe because I had caught them so easily, this matter was not all that fun. From beginning to end, it was practically something I had guided myself.

In that sense, I felt more accomplished when Tooth Necklace had plotted things so thoroughly. Though it had caused me losses, the way Tooth Necklace used its head was worth respecting.

“Then we’ll do what we came here to do.”

-Yes, I’ll open the cradles for a moment.

I looked up at Mira. Mira, who had been quietly waiting with me in her arms, met my eyes and smiled lightly. She walked toward the cradles where the treasures that had come in this time were placed.

Ring of the Sky poured magical power toward those cradles. Then the magical power flowing over them began to slowly reveal gaps, as if opening a shell.

“Then please be careful. The magical power will shake quite a bit.”

Mira lightly stroked my head and scattered mist. I quietly nodded and wrapped magical power around my body. After confirming that, Mira slowly moved the mist and pushed it into the cradle.

The mist seeped beside the sleeping treasure and slowly flowed across its body. Then it began assimilating with the power dwelling inside it. During that process, just as she had warned, I felt the magical power surge violently.

Mira, who had been pouring out mist like that, soon clenched her hand tightly. The mist also flowed quickly and wrapped around the treasure’s body. The mist that had assimilated with the treasure’s power created intense pressure and tore away part of its body.

Even though its power had been torn away like that, the treasure did not wake from sleep. That meant it had fallen that deeply into its dream. Mira gathered that power into the mist and compressed it as much as she could, forming something like a crystal.

“Here you are.”

Mira held the crystal out to me. I gave a slight bow in gratitude and took out the box I had prepared. It was an item I had enchanted with many spells to contain this power.

When I placed the crystal inside the box, layers of seals formed and stabilized the power within. I stroked the box and let out a satisfied smile. Thanks to them causing trouble, I could tear power away like this.

Before, I had to set traps and secretly steal power. Because of that, the amount of power I could tear away was very small. But now, I did not need to do that. I had received Professor’s permission.

That could be said to be thanks to the armor-professor who had awakened this time. Like Rabbit, that one had half-settled into the tower. It was to make that body more stable.

That being also possessed the potential to become a treasure, just like Rabbit. Maybe because of that, Professor liked it too.

Perhaps because I had created even a second success, she had shown trust in my puppet-making process. She had come to acknowledge tearing power away from treasures that had committed crimes like this. It could be called tremendous progress.

Mira sent mist into the other cradles in the same way and extracted crystals. With a pleased smile, she touched the brooch on her chest. After extracting all the power, Mira slowly stepped back.

Then the cradles closed their gaps again and began emitting stable magical power. With this power, the other inner demons would surely be able to wake much faster. Ring of the Sky flew beside us and shook its body.

-Then shall I quickly wake the next one too?

Ring of the Sky scattered magical power near the treasures whose power had been torn away. I felt it settle into the cradles and create an even deeper flow. I nodded lightly.

“It would be better to finish quickly and leave. If we stay here, we’ll be a burden to you, Ring of the Sky.”

-Aah, that’s not true. I don’t mind if you stay here for a long time!

Ring of the Sky shook its body as if flustered. I smiled lightly at it and shrugged. It was a small joke. At that, Ring of the Sky emitted magical power as if sulking.

Soon, Ring of the Sky gave off a sullen mood and approached one cradle. Then it began melting the magical power there. I quietly watched it.

The magical power melted by Ring of the Sky seeped into the treasure inside. Filled with that happiness, it slowly awakened the treasure. Soon, the treasure began trembling.

[Slaugh...ter....]

The treasure released its will while still half asleep. Magical power flowing from it groped through the surroundings. For some reason, it seemed unable to come to its senses easily. I glanced at Ring of the Sky.

-It will wake up soon. Reality is painful, after all.

That will was full of certainty. As if proving Ring of the Sky’s words, the treasure soon fully came to its senses. It floated into the air and poured out its will.

[Slaughter!]

The will filled with magical power spread through the surroundings like a shockwave. I felt the magical power contained in the red blade cut through the area. Perhaps because it had been asleep all this time, its power had grown rather weak.

I quietly nodded. I had visited this prison to tear away power, but there was also another purpose. I was here to escort one treasure whose imprisonment period had ended. That was the treasure in front of me, Blood Axe.

Blood Axe, which had been pouring out magical power, must have fully come to its senses, because it shook its body threateningly. But it soon had no choice but to stiffen. It had seen the treasures imprisoned in the surrounding cradles.

I spread both arms toward it and smiled.

“You’re awake. How was it? Were the dreams you had all this time happy?”

-Of course. I worked so hard to take good care of them.

Ring of the Sky cut into my words from the side. Blood Axe looked around as if trying to grasp the situation, then began gauging Ring of the Sky’s reaction. It seemed to realize at once that this place was a domain created by Ring of the Sky.

-Sla..., slaughter.

What reached me was the meaning that it had been very happy. It expressed its will in writing like that. The treasure released its will haltingly, completely intimidated. It was probably because it had been tied up in this prison for so long.

-To think a fellow treasure would sympathize with my happiness like this, I’m touched. Then how about staying longer? I’ll show you a deeper happiness than before.

Ring of the Sky excitedly shook its body. At that, Blood Axe jumped in shock. Then it shook its body violently. It was a strong gesture of refusal.

-Aah, what a shame.

Ring of the Sky released magical power as if smacking its lips. Blood Axe avoided the magical power Ring of the Sky created and approached our side. I gave it a slight smile.

“First, let me offer my congratulations. Professor has forgiven you, Blood Axe. The reason we woke you like this is to return you to your original room.”

-Slaughter?

It was asking if that was true. I shrugged. Why would I bother deceiving Blood Axe?

-Slaughter....

Blood Axe watched me and quietly released its will. I could feel resentment in it, as if asking whether I had not already deceived it before. I narrowed my eyes.

“Then shall we just leave? If you don’t mind going back to sleep.”

-Slaughter!

Blood Axe shouted urgently. It was saying it had never seen anyone as truthful as me. I nodded at that magical power brimming with sincerity.

-Slaughter, slaughter... Slaughter!

That was practically a declaration that it would never leave the tower again. Blood Axe began begging me to please get it out. Somehow, that sight felt similar to Rabbit.

Since Rabbit was an inner demon that came from it, perhaps that was only natural. Well, seeing it beg that much, it seemed to have reflected a lot during this time. I lightly stroked my chin.

Waking Blood Axe like this was also something I had requested from Professor. The process of persuading Professor was rather easy. Though Blood Axe had come out into the tower as an offshoot body, it had not caused any major incident.

It had only spent its time showing off its strength to the students. In that sense, there were circumstances that allowed for leniency. And since I had also told Professor that it had merely been used, that was even more true.

I glanced at the cradle where Tooth Necklace, the one who had used Blood Axe, was sleeping. Its crime was very grave. Because of that, there was no telling when it would be released.

Not that Tooth Necklace cared about sleep like that. I clicked my tongue and smiled bitterly. I had once woken it before. I had done so to understand its intentions.

The happiness Ring of the Sky created numbed everything. If treasures stayed inside it, they were bound to become very obedient, like Blood Axe now.

But that thing instead showed signs of satisfaction within that happiness. It said the experience of being contaminated, that fall, was interesting. Then it laughed and told me to call it anytime if I needed it.

I even liked that confidence. By contrast, Blood Axe had a fairly simple mind compared to the power it possessed. Well, that was also why I had chosen it before.

I lightly beckoned to Blood Axe. Then it came closer to me. I shifted for a moment in Mira’s arms and drew out magical power.

“Then I’ll move you right away. Please do not resist.”

I pointed at it with my finger. Magical power flowed through my body and began rippling around my finger. Soon, a golden key emerged from the tip of that finger. It was the token of my role as storehouse keeper.

It released strange magical power and began drawing a magic circle in the air. The magic circle wrapped around Blood Axe. Then it gave off a flash of light and leaped beyond space in an instant.

Blood Axe vanished along the magic circle. Having finished its job, the key slipped back into my body and disappeared. This was one of the key’s functions. Moving treasures.

That was also how I had created this prison. I glanced at Ring of the Sky. It was drifting near the cradle Blood Axe had left. I could sense a faint trace of regret from it.

“Then we’ll be going now. I’ll visit again next time.”

I lowered my head to Ring of the Sky. There was no need to talk more here. Its illusion was already roaming around the tower anyway. Blocking the erosion from the will it sent was also burdensome.

-Is that so? You can come again next time! Ah, if you need happiness, please tell me. I’ll give you far more happiness than anyone else, storehouse keeper.

Ring of the Sky slowly trembled. I felt only pure goodwill from it. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll decline. I still have a long way to go.”

I glanced at the treasures in the cradles. They endured the contamination of happiness only because their power was immense. If I became drunk on that happiness, I would surely become nothing more than a puppet.

A slave drunk on the happiness Ring of the Sky created. For me, that was something I had to reject. But that kind of puppet could be called the final form of happiness that Ring of the Sky pursued.

A slightly chilling sensation brushed past my chest. Ring of the Sky was a friendly entity. As it was now, it was always filled with goodwill.

But Ring of the Sky was still a treasure in the end. Because of that, it also had a way of thinking different from humans. That goodwill would not always help me. So I needed to be careful in how I handled it.

Of course, it was useful right now, so that was fine. I lightly lowered my head and drew a door in the air. Then I went outside. Many doors came into view.

“Hehe, then shall we go find that friend again?”

Mira asked with a laugh. I nodded. Since I had let it out, it was time to settle the account again. Mira tapped my head and walked toward the door where Blood Axe would be.

When she opened the door and entered, I saw Blood Axe shaking its body wildly in the air. Strong magical power was rippling from it. I glanced up at Mira. Perhaps because her body had grown strong enough, she seemed able to endure this much.

-Slaughter!

I gave a slight smile as I watched the treasure, moved by finally being released. Mira walked toward it. Blood Axe seemed to notice us and flinched.

-Sla, slaughter?

It was asking why we had come. I smiled brightly at that. What an obvious question. Did it not still have a debt left? I slowly looked around.

This room was the solitary cell that had been prepared for it. It was what it had ordered. Many items that it had requested lay scattered around the room. All of them had been bought with my points.

“We need to calculate our debt. A lot of interest has piled up during this time.”

Blood Axe gave off a flustered mood. I had not woken it simply because its crime was light. More than that, it was because of the debt it had accumulated.

Back when Blood Axe was conducting the lecture, I had endured heavy losses to bind it with points. I had been trying to tear away its power. But somehow, that had naturally fallen into my hands.

I looked at Blood Axe with narrowed eyes. In that sense, none of the debt it owed me had been settled yet. Now that it was awake, it was time to use that.

Well, from Blood Axe’s position, this could be called a good thing in a way. After all, it had gained the chance to go outside the tower, just as it had wanted so badly.

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