WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 187

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187.

[Then have a safe trip. I will take good care of the tower.]

Isabella bowed her head and drew the letters. After thanking her, I glanced back and saw the turtle letting out a soft cry as it rose to its feet. It was time to head to Professor On’s tower.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? You might be able to hear about Ugo.”

Isabella gave me a bitter smile. Then she shook her head slightly. If she was refusing that firmly, I had to drop it. I gave a small bow and stood.

Perhaps because memories of being bound to Ugo still remained, Isabella had shown signs of avoiding meetings with puppeteers ever since she came back to herself. Still, I had thought she would at least be curious about Ugo.

I quietly studied her face. When she heard the name Ugo, her expression turned a little complicated. I had thought someone like her would feel at least some desire for revenge, but apparently my guess had been wrong.

There seemed to be some story between the two of them that I did not know. That meant I needed to respect her attitude. Besides, it was useful to have someone to manage the tower.

No. 0 came into view on the turtle’s back. Since it was coming with me as well, there would be trouble if Hao or Cassian caused an accident. In that sense, I was pleased to have one more person who could be entrusted with the tower.

“Then I’ll be going.”

I bowed to Isabella. She gave a faint smile and stepped back. With that, I climbed onto the turtle with Mira.

The turtle started moving. Each time its heavy feet shook the ground, trees were crushed and streams changed course. Sitting on that enormous back, I quietly closed my eyes.

After that, the journey to Professor On’s tower went very smoothly. It was thanks to Mira. I could feel her magical power flowing around us.

Small magical beasts approached the turtle, sensed her magical power, and fled, while magical beasts strong enough to ignore that threat were swallowed by mist and vanished as the turtle’s prey.

After the turtle ran for a long time, I felt a dense flow of magical power. Sensing my own magical power being disturbed, I slowly opened my eyes. This flow meant Professor On’s tower was close.

As if to prove it, a huge sphere perched atop a mountain came into view. It was drawing magical power in from every direction and forcing the flow into place. Perhaps because of that, the surrounding trees seemed a little smaller than those in other areas.

That was the tower Professor On had created. It could be called another world, polished and refined over thousands of years. No wonder it had such a strange form.

I had felt Professor On’s power deeply over all this time. I had also come to understand that being able to attend that lecture was a rare opportunity. And today was the last of that opportunity.

I lightly stroked my chest. In the spatial pouch there was the final assignment Professor On had given us. Feeling it there, I smiled faintly.

I folded my arms and looked at the tower as it grew closer. There was one thing I had learned while attending Professor On’s lectures over the past five years. Professor On was far more diligent than that indifferent manner suggested.

If one judged only by how Professor On spoke, there was no one more indifferent. Professor On still did not call any of us by name, after all. Perhaps, to Professor On, every human besides the puppets looked the same.

Yet despite that indifference, Professor On was thorough in everything. Professor On conducted lectures strictly according to principle and rules, and had never pushed work onto someone else because it seemed bothersome.

That attitude left a deep impression on me. It was the complete opposite of Professor Irian. I let out a faint, bitter laugh.

I thought back to the professors I had met so far. There had been three in total, perhaps. Professor On, Professor Heisen, and Professor Irian. As I recalled their traits, I paused.

Maybe Professor On was not the diligent one. Maybe our Professor was the unusual one. Professor Heisen had also been very diligent, had he not? He had even been passionate enough about his lecture to give me materials separately.

By contrast, Professor Irian was the incarnation of laziness. Even accounting for the traits of a dragon, she took it too far. It meant her own personality was simply that lazy.

I lightly shrugged. Ironically, from my perspective, I might have to be grateful for Professor Irian’s laziness and lack of diligence. If Professor had been diligent, she would never have thought of taking me in as a servant.

So I needed to repay that kindness too. I would assist her at her side so she could keep living lazily from now on as well. That was how I could repay her goodwill.

Feeling the turtle’s steps come to a stop, I lightly nodded. We had reached the tower. When we climbed down to the ground, the turtle cried, “Meeh,” and shook its body.

The turtle poured magical power into itself and gradually shrank. Once it was small enough to fit on my palm, it crawled onto my chest.

As I stroked its head while it let out a small yawn, I looked up at the tower. The towering structure had transparent stairs extending from its lower part to the ground.

No. 0 took the lead and began climbing the stairs. It looked a little gloomy. I could fully understand why. To No. 0, this lecture must have been like welcome rain in a drought, filling in what it lacked.

Perhaps because of that, No. 0 had prepared a great deal for today’s lecture. All with the single-minded goal of satisfying Professor On. Even I could not help but gasp in admiration when I saw the puppet No. 0 had made.

Once again, I had no choice but to revere Professor Heisen’s magic. The more I learned about shadows, the more I realized how bizarre No. 0 was. Aside from Professor Heisen, there was surely no one else who could create such a shadow.

If another chance came, it seemed like a good idea to take No. 0 to a lecture again. The more it grew, the more it would help me too. I followed after No. 0 with Mira and lightly stroked its head.

When we passed through the door connecting the tower to the outside, a buzz of conversation reached us. It came from the people filling the area. The tower was full of human traffic like this.

I narrowed my eyes and observed them. They looked like people, but they were all puppets created by Professor On. Even when I filled my eyes with magical power and observed their bodies, they still only felt human.

I clicked my tongue lightly. Over the past five years, I had done plenty of research, but creating puppets like them had been impossible. That was not simply because my realm was lacking.

If that were the case, other puppeteers would have been able to make puppets like them too. Those human-like puppets had very simple structures, after all. Yet aside from Professor On, I had never seen anyone create puppets like that.

Mauro had once told me something. What mattered in puppetry was not the size of the wood. He had been right. In puppetry, knowledge, experience, and talent came before magical power.

If realm had been what mattered, I would not have won the last competition. In that sense, puppetry could be called a magic that suited me very well.

So I would surely be able to create puppets like those one day. And today would be the day I proved it. I quietly touched my chest.

What I had learned clearly through my research was that I still had not accumulated enough experience or knowledge to make puppets like them.

Still, perhaps five years had borne some fruit, because I had reached the point where I could imitate them a little. The result of this assignment was something I had created based on that research. I was also looking forward to seeing what kind of face Tiena would make when she saw it.

After waiting for a while among the puppets, I felt a small ripple nearby. When I turned my gaze toward the wave of magical power, I realized that a transparent carriage had stopped in front of us at some point.

[Please get in. I will guide you to the classroom.]

Magical power carrying a deep will flowed from the carriage. It opened the door and created a path of magical power toward us. As we slowly climbed into the carriage along that path, the door closed softly.

As always, it had come to guide us to the classroom. We were the only ones in the carriage. Feeling it slowly pass through the wall, I leaned back against the seat.

“This carriage really is comfortable. If I could, I would like to take it back to our tower.”

Mira leaned against me and laughed. I glanced out the carriage window. The way this thing crossed space was endlessly strange. It was clearly a kind of magic, but I could not understand its principle or structure at all.

Still, there was one thing I could tell. This was a treasure. I lightly shook my head at Mira.

“Professor On won’t give it to us. Anyone would covet a treasure like this.”

“Hehe, I suppose so. Irian would have liked it if she had seen it, so it truly is a shame. If this came to our tower, it would have gone on about the 8th floor.”

Mira quietly licked her lips. “There were many interesting friends there. I miss them too.” After muttering that softly, she smiled with her eyes.

Since Mira was the one saying it, she was probably not wrong. Did that mean this carriage was on the same level as an 8th floor treasure? Hearing that, I let a little magical power flow toward the carriage. When the carriage naturally let my magical power slip away, I nodded.

To me, someone who had memories of losing consciousness and collapsing on the 7th floor, the 8th floor storehouse was an unknown area I could barely even approach. I did not even know what was inside.

So I had not realized this was that powerful. Well, Professor On was also a mage who had trained for thousands of years. Of course he must have many treasures like this.

There was a saying like that, was there not? The older the mage, the more gold they held in their belly. The same could be said of Professor On.

“The 8th floor, huh. It’s hard to imagine.”

I glanced out the window. The process of crossing space was truly strange. The treasures on the 8th floor probably each had traits like this. I was not confident I could control them.

Still, one day, it would become possible. Just as I had made up my mind to challenge the 7th floor this time. I lightly stroked my chin. While preparing for the next lecture, I planned to challenge the 7th floor storehouse once.

As the number of people increased, the number of treasures to share power with would also have to increase. Since it had become difficult to recruit more treasures from the 6th floor, it was time to go higher.

As I chatted with Mira like that, the carriage crossed space and soon arrived at the classroom. The door opened naturally and slowly pushed us out. Once outside, I lightly waved at the carriage.

Then the carriage vanished in an instant and crossed space. Just as when it had arrived, I could barely sense its departure. Once the lecture ended, it would come again.

When I glanced around, I saw people who had arrived in the classroom before us. It seemed we were the last. Feeling their gazes gather, I lightly bowed my head.

“Everyone, good to see you. It has been a while.”

“Oh, you’re here!”

Gunda raised his hand high and waved at me. His armored body was still packed with muscle. He came over and looked me up and down.

“I heard you climbed to the third floor. It has been ten years now, was it? You really are overflowing with talent. Congratulations.”

Gunda grinned and lightly patted my shoulder. The rumors seemed to have already made it this far. I smiled lightly and bowed my head.

“Thank you for your kind words. But I was only lucky. It will be hard to keep advancing at this speed from now on. I’ve come to feel just how far away the road to the fourth floor is.”

“If it is you, I’m sure you’ll go farther. ...More importantly, there is something I need to tell you.”

Gunda scratched his head. Then he continued with a slightly awkward smile.

“Our association head came to see me this time. Since the lecture is almost over, she asked me to tell you that you should consider visiting our city once.”

Was Aronia looking for me? I nodded slightly. I had also been thinking of meeting the association heads this time. I needed to use my wish ticket, after all.

“That was all I had to say. Then let’s both do our best in the final lecture. I cannot lose this time either, you see. I have to protect my pride as a fourth floor mage, don’t I?”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Gunda laughed and waved again. Then he returned to his seat. I also bowed slightly to him and glanced around.

The students attending the lecture were talking among themselves. Compared to when the lecture first began, they had become fairly close.

This could be called a change brought about by the last competition. People who would originally have been nothing more than strangers had kept their promises in the competition and gained a little trust in one another.

And at the center of that promise was me. Just like Gunda, the others also came up to me and quietly shared stories and business. I answered them politely and smiled.

This connection would surely continue even after the lecture ended. Everyone was bound together by the large framework of the puppeteer association. In that sense, this could also be called influence I had created.

It would help little by little when I did things in the association from now on. Of course, right now, they were all nothing more than competitors. I quietly examined their faces. Some looked half resigned, while others were full of confidence.

Just like the lecture I had attended before, this lecture would also divide us into those who passed and those who failed. Since there were twelve of us in total, at most two would pass. Perhaps it might even be only one.

So I could not let my guard down either. No matter how I had won the last competition, that did not guarantee I would pass this lecture.

Passing would be judged only by the contents of the lecture. In that sense, there was someone else with a higher chance of passing this lecture. I headed toward Biogan, who had his arms folded and his eyes closed.

The closer I got, the more I felt sharp magical power ripple. It was flowing from the sword in his arms. That sword was the one he had made during the previous competition and Professor On had reinforced.

“It has been a while, Biogan.”

Biogan noticed my approach and slowly opened his eyes. Then he gave me a small nod. After checking our surroundings, he lowered his voice and spoke.

“Please tell Miorang that I heard the news about Ugo last time. I would appreciate it if you delivered this as well.”

I took a scroll from my spatial pouch and handed it over. Biogan accepted it and tucked it into his clothes, then fiddled with the scabbard. A piece of paper hidden inside the scabbard was passed to me.

It was from Miorang. After quickly checking the contents, I nodded. I looked down for a moment at Biogan as he closed his eyes again and sank into silence.

I remembered how he had betrayed us during the competition. At the time, I had not judged his reason. From the moment I found the traitor, knowing the reason for the betrayal had held no value.

Still, after the competition, I had grown a little curious. And while exchanging letters with Miorang like this for information, I learned the reason.

As I tucked the paper into my chest, I shook my head. Thinking of him as a traitor had been my misunderstanding. He had never been on our side in the first place.

Miorang was not from a great family, but he was the child of a mage family that dominated one region. As befitted the child of such a family, he had also kept several underlings at the university. Biogan was one such case.

In that sense, it could not be called betrayal. Biogan had already been connected to Miorang before the competition. If he had been Miorang’s person from the start, what was there to call betrayal?

I needed to reflect a little on looking down on him as a fake sword-user. He had simply been loyal to his master.

Because of that, I instead had no choice but to admire Miorang’s skill. To think he had planted one of his own people in another city association like this. I could understand his intentions very well.

Just like me, he was trying to expand his influence in the puppeteer association. There were surely a few underlings he controlled in other associations as well.

His ability was truly impressive. From the moment I first learned that fact, I had made up my mind about one thing. I had to maintain a very good relationship with Miorang.

I did not know what he wanted to accomplish through the association, but there was no need to oppose him. Why create friction when there was a perfectly good method called cooperation?

Like that, we reached a kind of agreement. He had also been the one to tell me where Ugo was. I then leaked that information to the people tracking Ugo.

Would it not be better if we slowly swallowed the puppeteer association through cooperation like this? In that sense, Biogan was a good intermediary. He was useful as a source of information, just like now.

Of course, right now, he was the most likely competitor. He had succeeded at every assignment Professor On had given. His talent for puppets was real.

That was also why I respected him like this. The misunderstanding about the betrayal, and its price, had already been paid in full by Miorang. After finishing my short conversation with Biogan, I rose from my seat.

It was almost time for the lecture to begin. I moved over and sat in a chair. Mira and No. 0 also took seats beside me.

Professor On appeared in the classroom the moment the appointed time arrived. Beside Professor On, Tiena was smiling and resting her head on Professor On’s shoulder. Professor On’s magical power flowed slowly, drawing our attention.

In the quiet classroom, Professor On stepped onto the platform. Then Professor On slowly looked around at us. Professor On’s face held a deep boredom.

Tiena lightly poked Professor On in the side. Professor On nodded and hugged Tiena. He gave her a small smile and spoke.

“Was today the last lecture? Teaching you has already come to an end. As expected, five years is far too short.”

Professor On quietly stared at us. His eyes flashed with an indifferent light. He slowly continued.

“I have been watching how much your puppets changed. Some met the standard, and some did not. There were also some I had never seen before.”

I felt Professor On’s gaze briefly pass over me. I bowed my head slightly.

“There is no time, so let us quickly proceed with the closing lecture. I will receive your assignments after that. They will be the final standard by which I judge you.”

Professor On waved a hand. Magical power bloomed from Professor On’s fingertips and reached us. Riding that flow of magical power, a book was delivered to each of us. It was the textbook we had used for this lecture.

It seemed he truly intended to hold class. No. 0 opened the book with a delighted look. Then it looked at Professor On. I was the same. Professor On looked around at us and slowly spoke.

“What I will tell you this time is about the completion of puppets. Then let us look at the book together. Turn to page 472. Here...”

Professor On’s class began quickly and continued steadily. As I listened to the lecture, I frowned slightly. When I looked around, the others had similar expressions.

They seemed unable to properly understand the contents of this lecture. It could not be helped. If the lectures until now had been taught at our level, this one was filled entirely with high-dimensional knowledge from the start.

It was the same even when I looked at the lecture textbook spread out before me. Professor On infused magical power into the air and drew a single figure. It looked like a heavily compressed magic circle. Holding it in his hand, he looked at us.

“This is the magic circle that forms today’s lecture. You probably cannot understand it. Even so, I am showing it to you so that you can engrave it into your memories. If you become able to understand this, your puppets will possess integrity.”

I stared hard at the magic circle. It was only a small magic circle, small enough to be held in Professor On’s hand, but the structure of the circuits inside was more complex than any magic circle I had ever seen. No wonder I could not understand it.

Professor On continued explaining while holding the magic circle. As I listened, I felt as if I could somewhat understand his intention. I quietly stroked my chin. It was best to see this as a process of passing down knowledge.

Since the final lecture had arrived and he would no longer be able to teach us, he was drawing a clear path so we could continue thinking about it in the future.

To think he would sincerely teach us until the very end like this. I felt a little moved. In some ways, he might not be lacking at all as someone to call a teacher.

So I also needed to respect his will and remember every word he spoke until the very end. I had to absorb as much of his knowledge as possible. After this, I would no longer be able to attend this class.

With that focus, a long time passed before the lecture came to an end. Professor On quietly closed the textbook and fell silent. Then he glanced at the textbooks placed in front of us.

After thinking for a moment, he lightly waved his hand. I felt the magical power soaked into the books slowly release.

“Shall I give those to you as gifts? It has been a long time since all twelve cities sent people. I hope you can look at them and come to understand my theory more deeply.”

I quietly stroked the textbook. The knowledge inside was worth a thousand gold. And he was simply giving it to us as a gift? I bowed deeply to Professor On.

I could clearly understand Professor On’s intention. He meant for us to develop further using this as a foundation. To think such consideration existed beneath that cold-looking exterior. I was simply grateful.

The others seemed to understand that too, because they bowed their heads like me. Professor On paid no attention to us and met Tiena’s eyes. Then Professor On smiled faintly and kissed her.

After continuing that kiss for a long while, he soon looked at us with a satisfied expression.

“Now the lecture has ended. Then I suppose we must decide who passes. That is the university’s rule, after all.”

I swallowed lightly. Then I fiddled with the spatial pouch inside my chest. Now the assignments would be evaluated. And based on those results, those who passed would be decided.

The final assignment Professor On had given was very simple. In some ways, it was similar to what I had experienced in the previous competition. It was to make the puppet one was most confident in making.

It was a fitting assignment to close the lecture. It was a place where we could show everything we had learned. And I was confident in my puppet.

I placed a hand on my chest. Myoil, which had taken root inside, sensed my will and poked its head out from my chest. As I stroked its head, I closed my eyes. The puppet I had made this time was also for Myoil.

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