WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 19

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On the morning of the twelfth day, I began to sense a heavy magical power coming from the forest below the mountain. It was the sign of a new magical beast. The thing climbed the mountain very slowly, prowling along. It was a giant lion made of rock.

Its skin, hard as solid stone, held magical power and boasted incredible durability. Even when it collided with the spinning turtle, only a few cracks appeared. This was not an opponent I could even think of stopping.

In both strength and magical power, it surpassed the defenses I had prepared. I had no way to attack it that would reliably cause damage.

But the others were different. Even Sieger, who had already decided to drop out, handled it with ease.

Professor had been absolutely right. I had no talent for offense at all.

If these things had charged in a pack like the other magical beasts, defense or anything else would have meant nothing. Thankfully, though, there were very few of them. That meant I did not need to fight them head-on.

Every time a rock lion passed through the maze and shook the ground, I felt my heart tremble with it. If I had tried to block them, the entire maze would have burst apart on the spot.

So I had no intention of stopping them. Instead, I opened the path so they could naturally leave the maze. A more powerful force was waiting above to deal with them.

Why had I formed a cooperative agreement with Hongryeong as soon as we arrived at the mountain? For situations exactly like this.

The rock lions passed through my maze that way. They headed upward along the wide-open path. Soon, they reached the foot of the cliff wrapped in wind. Hongryeong looked down at them from above the cliff.

Now that he was protecting Sieger's area as well, he had to defend an enormous region combining three people's zones, yet a relaxed smile spread across his face. I stepped into view so he could see me and offered an apologetic bow.

"You have worked hard until now, Evron-ssi, so I will handle this."

Hongryeong spoke quietly. He lightly raised his hand. At that moment, the wind barrier split open, and an enormous current of wind began to form. The wind gradually whipped up harder and circled the cliff.

Following the magical power flowing from his fingertips, the magic circle drawn on the cliff changed shape without pause. The wind responded to Hongryeong's command as if it were a living creature.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, turning into a storm. Then, following Hongryeong's will, it rushed toward the rock lions.

The rock lions' stone-hard skin split apart in an instant inside the storm and began shattering to pieces. Their bodies, which had been so tough, turned to dust and vanished in the blink of an eye.

I swallowed. It was a brutal sight.

Even while controlling such massive magic, he wore a fresh smile, as if it cost him nothing. The storm turned every approaching rock lion into dust. After swallowing all the rock lions, the storm calmed again, then became the same barrier as before and blocked the cliff once more.

The situation was resolved surprisingly easily.

From the twelfth day to the fourteenth day, I managed to hold back the waves of magical beasts without any further major difficulty. The rock lions' unexpected movements damaged the maze a little, but it was still within a manageable range.

I had already paid dearly for letting my guard down, so I stayed sharp and carried out every task without leaving any gaps. I turned blade wolves into puppets and kept them by my side, and whenever I had time, I steadied my mind.

Like that, the night of the fourteenth day faded away.

The endless number of magical beasts gradually began to decrease, and by the time the sun rose again, not a single magical beast came anymore.

Task 4 was over. In that instant, all the tension left me, and I sank down where I stood.

I remembered thinking this was a very kind task when we first prepared the fortress. I must have been insane. Thinking that way was why I had gotten careless. It had been the hardest and most difficult task in all eleven years of exams.

After confirming that no more magical beasts were coming, all of us gathered in front of the hourglass.

Everyone looked fairly intact. I was the only one covered in wounds from head to toe. I smiled bitterly. No matter how hard I struggled, there really was such a thing as the limit of talent.

But talent and passing were separate matters. I had learned that from Professor.

In front of the hourglass, I quietly watched the last grain of sand fall.

This tense stretch of time came to an end like that. And at the same moment, the hourglass shattered.

The sand inside the hourglass slowly floated into the air, then gradually changed into five sheets of paper. The papers fluttered in the wind and landed in front of us. There was only one sentence written on them.

'Select the First Contributor and the fifth contributor.'

This was the final task.

It was the easiest task so far, but if one considered what would happen after the exam, it was also the hardest. What if someone wrote another person's name, and that person held a grudge and attacked later?

Still, it was time to choose. Each of us wrote a name on the paper. I wrote a name as well. Once everyone had finished, the papers naturally turned back into sand and gathered inside the broken hourglass.

I looked at Hongryeong. As if he sensed my gaze, he glanced over at me and smiled. I lowered my head slightly in answer to that smile.

Once all the sand had gathered again, it hardened and transformed into a single stone monument.

Then letters slowly began to be carved onto it.

First Contributor, Hongryeong.

It was the result everyone had expected.

Hongryeong simply stood there smiling. Everyone had no choice but to acknowledge his ability. If he had not been in this exam, we would definitely have run into many limits.

Of course, more important than that was the fact that he had secured three votes in advance during the exam.

The stone monument did not stop writing there. The exam was choosing two people, not one.

Soon, another set of words began to appear. When the result came out, a piercing scream rang out.

"Why is my name there!"

fifth contributor, Shaking Rope.

Her face, which had been lowered all this time, twisted like a demon's in an instant. She sprang up from her seat.

"Why did you write my name? Sieger-ssi already gave up on the exam!"

Her voice was full of confusion. The fingertip pointing at Sieger trembled wildly from agitation. She turned her eyes toward Sieger. Sieger smiled bitterly and avoided her gaze.

"I am sorry. I owed the young master a debt, so I had no choice."

His voice was heavy with apology.

"The same goes for me."

I spoke briefly as well. Shaking Rope glared at Sieger and me.

A tremendous killing intent burst from her eyes. Black magical power leaked ominously from her fingertips and began wrapping around the area.

Then her gaze turned to Ailey. Ailey said with her usual light smile,

"It wasn't me."

Then Ailey shrugged.

Shaking Rope's eyes turned blood-red and gradually began to fill with madness. Cracks appeared in the glasses covering her eyes, and they shattered in an instant.

With the glasses gone, the gentleness disappeared from her face, revealing the strange eeriness unique to witches. I was startled when I saw it. The glasses must have been a magic tool. There was a way to change one's impression like that?

After sweeping over Sieger and me, her gaze soon moved to Hongryeong. I could feel deep killing intent in the way she looked at him.

I let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, her anger was not aimed at me. I subtly moved away from them.

"It was a perfectly reasonable decision."

Hongryeong spoke in a calm voice.

"There are several reasons. First, I do not abandon those who cooperate with me. That is the belief of our family."

As Hongryeong said that, his gaze rested on Sieger and me.

"In that sense, Sieger-ssi and Evron-ssi provided sufficient compensation and served beyond my expectations. Considering that value, I did not write their names."

Hongryeong's words were calm, but the will within them was cold and firm. Shaking Rope's breathing grew rougher and rougher.

Along with it, her magical power also began to churn. The air rotted and gave off a fishy smell, and the grass around her turned black, giving off an uncanny color.

"Then what about Ailey-ssi? Why did you not write Ailey-ssi?"

Shaking Rope asked. In that instant, Hongryeong gave a faint, sharp smile.

"Because she is stronger than you."

Shaking Rope gritted her teeth and said nothing more. But her eyes, glittering with madness, failed to hide her emotions at all.

During that argument, the stone monument collapsed and formed a dimensional gate. Just like when we had first arrived at the exam, a black rift opened.

Shaking Rope, who had been pouring out magical power for a long while, quickly passed through the rift as if she no longer wanted to stay here. She glared at Hongryeong one last time. He simply smiled and let that gaze slide past him.

Everyone silently watched her cross the rift. Then Sieger respectfully greeted Hongryeong and slowly crossed through the rift. As if he was not pleased with this situation at all, he disappeared with a short sigh.

"Not fun. This kind of thing isn't fun. What are they doing, not even fighting?"

Ailey grumbled like that and crossed the rift.

"Ah, see you later at the entrance ceremony, Evron-gun."

She stuck her head out from inside the rift and waved.

"Yes, of course. I will greet you first."

I smiled and lowered my head in greeting as well. She disappeared beyond the rift just like that. With that, all of our companions were gone, and only Hongryeong and I remained there.

Hongryeong quietly smiled and looked at me.

"Are you curious why I chose her?"

Hongryeong asked. My chest went cold. I put on a puzzled expression and asked back.

"Did you not explain everything just now?"

The smile on Hongryeong's lips deepened. He shook his head.

"I simply did not like her."

The words were so simple and honest that I froze for a moment. Hongryeong saw my reaction and raised his hand. Four fingers were spread out.

"I am very honest with my feelings. Sieger-ssi is a soldier. He devotes his life to protecting the Empire. As someone staying in the Empire, there is no way I would dislike someone like him."

Then he folded one finger.

"Evron-ssi was a little ambiguous at first. As you yourself know, you were the weakest one here, weren't you? But afterward, I liked the way you understood your position exactly and acted accordingly."

Another finger folded.

"And Ailey-ssi. You may not know this, but she is also from a great family. If you meet her next time, it would be best to show a little more formality."

With that, another finger folded. Only one finger remained.

He paused for a moment and let out a deep sigh. For the first time during the exam, the smile vanished from Hongryeong's face.

His face twisted.

"And I hate witches."

He spoke in a cracked voice. Thick disgust and contempt could be felt inside it.

"They use those lowly, disgusting spells, and even though they should be on their knees obeying me right now, they dare to hold their heads high and meet my eyes."

Endless malice toward witches was soaked deep into his words. After that, he poured out curses against witches for a long while and revealed his feelings.

Seeing Hongryeong so agitated, when he had always appeared calm and perfect, I could only stand there speechless and listen blankly.

I did not know why he hated witches this much, nor why he was saying all this to me.

After pouring out his emotions for a long time, Hongryeong smiled again. As if nothing had happened.

He looked at me with a smile.

"Now then, has your curiosity been resolved?"

Hongryeong asked. An unknown sense of danger pricked at me. In that instant, I realized it. My life depended on how I answered here.

I lowered my head and made a puzzled expression.

"As I said earlier, did Hongryeong-nim not explain everything? We made an agreement, and Ailey-ssi was strong, so you chose Shaking Rope-ssi. But my goodness, Ailey-ssi was from a great family. That is surprising!"

I heard nothing. I repeated that to myself and desperately pretended not to know. Hongryeong heard those words and smiled as if satisfied.

"Haha, this is why I like you, Evron-ssi."

Hongryeong waved farewell and walked toward the rift. Then he crossed the rift and disappeared.

I collapsed onto the spot. Strength left my body. The atmosphere had been terrifying. Hongryeong's strange words and expression, and even the emotions he had vomited out. I still did not really understand what had happened.

But it was clear that I had survived the crisis. As expected from someone of a great family. He belonged to a completely different world from me. In this enormous magic world, I was nothing but a small existence. I chewed over the words Hongryeong had left behind and calmed my pounding heart.

Anyway, the exam was over.

A whole lot of frightening things had happened at the end, but that was something to think about later. What I had to think about now was whether I passed or failed. I stared hard at the rippling rift.

I exhaled deeply and walked toward it. The moment I passed through the rift, a black current wrapped around my body. Inside it, I slowly sorted through what I had felt during this exam.

The exam had ended. My life from this point on would be decided by this result.

Professor's words came to mind. Had she said she would kill me if I failed? I had done my best. If I failed here, I would have nothing to say even if I died.

My surroundings gradually began to brighten.

When I opened my eyes, a sheet of paper was fluttering in front of me. I took it and quickly read through it.

-Scoring Results-

Solve the five tasks. (100 points total. Pass with 60 points or higher.)

Task 1. Escape the droplet within 30 minutes by using the provided magic. (10 points)

Points earned: 7 points.

Evaluation: The creativity and focus shown during the process of forming the magic were interesting, but the conception and completion of the magic were not carried out efficiently. Points were deducted because too much time was spent compared to the quality of the completed magic.

Task 2. Reach the destination within 24 hours as a randomly assigned group of five. (20 points)

Points earned: 14 points.

Evaluation: During the journey, the use of puppets to clearly define and faithfully carry out one's role was evaluated positively. However, carelessness and mistakes caused an unfavorable situation for the entire team. Points were deducted due to these issues.

Task 3. Build a fortress at the destination from Task 2. (20 points)

Points earned: 11 points.

Evaluation: The basic structure and design of the fortress were reasonable, but its magical defensive methods and countermeasures were limited. As a result, the fortress's defensive power showed clear limits, and there were not enough ways to compensate for them. Points were deducted for these reasons.

Task 4. Use the fortress from Task 3 to protect an important item and endure for 2 weeks. (30 points)

Points earned: 19 points.

Evaluation: The use of various strategies and methods to compensate for the fortress's limits was impressive. The task was successfully endured for 2 weeks in a stable manner, but there was a crisis in the middle where the fortress nearly collapsed. Points were deducted in terms of the task's stability.

Task 5. Select the First Contributor and fifth contributor for Task 4. (20 points)

Points earned: 10 points.

Evaluation: Basic points were awarded because you were not selected as a contributor.

--

I slowly added up the points for each task.

My hands began to tremble. Had I added them correctly?

I kept adding the points again and again. Even after repeating it dozens of times, the result did not change. The words written at the very bottom of the paper entered my eyes.

--

Total score: 61 points. Pass.

Rank: 12,952 (12,952 / 13,246)

--

My chest began to swell. All the emotions I had suppressed for so long burst out at once. Tears flowed before I even realized it.

I had passed.

It happened eleven years after I first began taking the exam, on my eleventh attempt.

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