WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 193

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193.

The dimension beyond the door seemed to be made up of several dimensions, not just one. The moment I took a step, those many dimensions swept past me in an instant, and within them I felt as though I myself was being mixed together.

Amid that dazed sensation, I realized at some point that my feet were touching the ground. I blinked quietly and looked around. Tall buildings rose all around me.

Between those buildings, people moved in a steady flow. It was a sight I had seen a few times before. This was the scenery of the university city.

To think I had crossed worlds in an instant and come outside the university like this. I looked around in a daze. The university city, which I was seeing again after ten years, had not changed at all. It was still that strange sight of weeds and mages mingled together.

It had been an extremely long time since I had seen weeds. So it felt a little fascinating too. But that feeling did not last long. Pain was rising from my chest.

I sank to the ground where I stood and retched. “Keugh,” I groaned, deep and rough, and grimaced. The pain was coming from my tree. The magical power that formed my tree was burning.

The burning magical power soon scattered and vanished without a trace. Feeling the magical power trying to slip out of my control, I clutched my chest and brought my tree under control.

As I slowly gathered my magical power, I felt someone nudging my body with a foot. When I raised my head, I saw Professor clicking her tongue. She looked down at me with a pitiful expression and shook her head.

“Tsk. I didn’t think you wouldn’t even be able to endure this level of magical power pressure. Trying to come outside with a body like this? You’re fifty years too early. Train more.”

“I’m… sorry….”

I quietly lowered my head. Just as she said, this had happened because I was lacking. She stared down at me, then lifted her foot and lightly stepped on my waist.

Through her foot, I felt a little magical power flow into me. Her magical power went straight toward my chest and slowly wrapped around the magical power that had been scattering.

“I’m only helping you this once. Ask your puppet for the rest.”

Professor moved her foot away and yawned. Thanks to her magical power, I could breathe a little easier. I thanked her softly for the help and began circulating my magical power. With that, I felt my body slowly waking up.

Perhaps because Professor’s magical power had seeped into me, I felt a will flowing out from beyond my chest. It belonged to Myoil. The little one slipped out beyond the foundation and poked its head out of my chest.

Even though I had made a physical body for it, it often stayed in my foundation like this. Since it was still growing, that place must have felt more comfortable. The moment Myoil touched the outside air, its face crumpled.

...! Myoil opened its mouth wide and let out a silent scream. It sent me a will full of utter disgust, then fled back inside. It planted its roots in the foundation and ran magical power through its whole body as if performing cleansing.

I understood its reaction. The surrounding magical power was terribly thin compared to the university’s. That was also why I had collapsed like this. Since Myoil had the form of a soul, it was surely even more sensitive to magical power.

I glanced around. I spotted several others with pale faces like mine. The ones showing it especially badly were the puppets made inside the university.

Rabbit and Armor were leaning against each other with their eyes spinning, and even No. 0 had half-melted back into shadow. It was probably because this was their first time facing magical power outside the university.

Still, a few of them were fine. Mira and Isabella were like that. Mira approached me and slowly bent down.

“The side effects are worse than I expected. It seems you still weren’t fully prepared. I should have explained it in more detail.”

Mira smiled and laced her fingers with mine. Then her ring and my ring connected, creating a single flow. Riding that flow, mist entered me and wrapped around my surroundings.

The mist neutralized the magical power around me and made my body feel more comfortable. I coughed softly and rose to my feet. Then I bowed my head to Mira.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Hoho, it was nothing. Then I’ll help the others. Irian ordered me to, after all.”

Mira smiled slightly toward Professor, who was yawning, then turned and headed toward Cassian. Just as she had done for me, she wrapped Cassian in mist.

Beside her, I saw Isabella raising the fallen just as Mira was. Perhaps they were not affected by the surrounding magical power, because they looked quite fine.

I quietly placed a hand on my chest. I could feel my tree drying out in the thin magical power.

Feeling that, I shook my head slightly. Before coming out, I had already been told that the magical power would hit me like this. I had prepared for it quite a bit too.

But I had not known it would be this severe. I shook my head at the faint magical power flowing around us. How could they be fine in this kind of magical power? The answer came to me at once.

Unlike my still-immature tree, they had reached a completed realm on their own. That must be why they were unaffected by the surrounding magical power.

At the same time, I understood why only mages who had passed the advanced course were allowed to go outside. Unless one had a completed tree, that tree would surely dry out quickly, just like mine was doing now.

Thinking about it, my current state was similar to what had happened at the entrance ceremony. When I first entered the university, I had collapsed right away because I could not withstand the magical power pressure.

Back then, magical power had completely changed my constitution itself. What was happening now could be called the backlash from that magical power. It was like a fish stepping onto dry land without water.

The place where I had stayed near the university city before had been a fairly rich area in magical power too. But now that I had returned, I could tell clearly just how lacking this place was compared to the university.

The university was practically a space filled with magical power. There were surely very few places in this world that held that much magical power. I was reminded all over again that people did not come to the university for nothing.

Still, perhaps because I had received help, I gradually calmed down and finally managed to adapt to the outside magical power. I got up and slowly looked around. The people passing by were staring at us.

Those walking on the ground, the weeds who were not mages, bowed their heads to us with deep respect. Seeing how they showed no emotion despite us being sprawled on the ground, they must have often seen people coming out of the university.

And as she watched them, Mira was quietly smacking her lips. Perhaps she had woken all the others, because she was looking around with a slight desire in her eyes.

After noticing that, I approached her and gently blocked her path. Perhaps because we had come outside, the university’s restrictions had completely disappeared. But this place was near the university too. I could not let Mira run wild.

“There will be another chance to come out next time. Let’s move for now. Professor is waiting as well.”

Mira touched the arm I had wrapped around her waist and stared up at me. Soon, she began to control her desire. She seemed to calm down a little. She leaned her head against me and laughed softly.

“Hoho, I got a little excited because it’s been so long since I saw the outside world. To show such an ugly side when Irian is here too, how embarrassing.”

She laughed quietly and thanked me. I could understand her. Since she had come outside after so long, she could not help feeling excited. I looked around quietly, then shook my head.

First, we needed to leave this place quickly. My magical power was still burning. I took one more small piece of paper from my pocket.

Then I slowly walked toward the door we had come out of. I could feel the door creating a strange flow, as if it had sensed the magical power flowing through the paper. I carefully stuck the paper onto the door.

The paper seeped in, and the door slowly opened. This was another permit. This time, it was an item leading to the exam site.

Like this, the door sometimes connected to spaces other than the university. The entrance exam site was one such place. Since it could not be reached from inside the university, it was also a space we had to come outside to reach.

Inside the university, a door could only be opened to a completed world, or so Professor had told me. It was also something I still could not properly understand.

Professor tore the half-open door open by force and stepped inside. The others followed her beyond the door. Before I crossed it myself, I glanced back.

The scenery of the university city came into view. Seeing the outside like this after so long made me feel a little better. One day, I would be able to leave this place on my own two feet. With that thought, I crossed the door.

The place we arrived at after crossing dimensions again had richer magical power than before. Perhaps because magical power somewhat similar to the university’s flowed there, I could feel my burning magical power calming down.

The surroundings were filled only with pure white. Should I say it felt like a world that had stopped halfway through being made? Within that pure white space, I saw a single neatly arranged path. Someone was walking toward us along that path.

It was a woman with a brightly shining name tag on her chest, Hwaryeong. She bowed to Professor.

“Professor Irian, you’ve arrived. I’m truly sorry I couldn’t come out to greet you in advance.”

“It’s fine. You said the preparations were done. Hurry up and guide us.”

Professor yawned and waved her hand. She looked entirely focused on finishing the work quickly and resting. Hwaryeong looked slightly flustered, but soon smiled and nodded. Then she began walking slowly along the path.

As I followed behind her, I stroked my chin. The exam really was not far away now. So I needed to get ready to move too. I gave Isabella a look and nodded.

Responding to my will, she smiled softly, then began rummaging through the shadows together with No. 0 beside her. Then I saw many puppets rise up from their shadows.

I also shook out my spatial pouch and took puppets from it. Watching the gathered puppets move together along the path, I smiled slightly. As if proving that I had been making them steadily all this time, there were a great many puppets.

Roughly a thousand. This should be enough to use for the exam. This exam was also a place to show off the puppets, after all.

After following Hwaryeong with the group of puppets for some time, I saw a giant face at the end of the path. Seeing it made my stomach start to burn.

That was the face I had faced during the ten years I challenged the exam. I remembered spending a great deal of money on that thing for evaluations. When we stood before that face, it quietly opened its eyes and looked down at us.

It bowed its head toward Professor. Then it slowly opened its mouth and revealed the space inside to us. It had opened the entrance leading to the exam site.

So now I could cross through this place for free? With a faint smile, I went through its mouth. Then I had no choice but to stop. It was because of the circuits engraved around us.

The circuits stretched in every direction as if embracing the incomplete space. They gave off a faint energy, as if they had even been engraved beyond the space itself. The sight of black circuits dyeing the pure white space black was beautiful.

As I stared blankly at it, Professor stood beside me and began examining the circuits. Soon, she tore off a handful of circuits, checked the inside, and nodded. After looking around, she smiled in satisfaction.

“Well, not bad. It’s better than what I constructed.”

Hwaryeong bowed her head at Professor’s praise.

Not bad, huh. Professor said it casually, but from what I could see, it seemed difficult to create a magic circle better than this. This was a form far more developed than the design of the magic circle I had sent her.

And that also meant they had used that many materials. They had poured in points and forcibly raised the power of the magic. It was enough to show how deep the company’s strength ran.

I glanced at Hwaryeong. The fact that they had invested this much meant they considered this exam that important. Then I needed to respect that will as well.

I quietly sent my will into the shadow tree. Then I felt the many puppets that had followed us respond, twinkling with starlight. The puppets began moving inside the circuits according to my will.

The puppets stood quietly between the circuits, in the positions arranged in advance, and refined their magical power. Hwaryeong, who had been watching them, approached me with a laugh. She jerked her chin toward the puppets, her eyes sparkling.

“Are those the preparations for this exam?”

“Yes. They are all puppets capable of independent action. They were designed to think for themselves and respond well enough even to irregular situations.”

I nodded as I spoke. At that, Hwaryeong stroked her chin and slowly examined the puppets. Those puppets did not contain that much strength. Any mage participating in the exam would probably be able to defeat them easily.

But this exam would not simply be a way to display strength. During the ten years it took me to enter the university, how much had I suffered because of barbaric exams that only pursued strength? I intended to break that barbarism.

“There are roughly a thousand, I suppose.... Then we’ll have to take around fifteen hundred points from each passer.”

Hwaryeong narrowed her eyes and laughed. She looked satisfied as she thought about the points. I quietly nodded. Fifteen hundred points. I also thought we should take at least that much.

Squeezing points from new students like this could be called a university tradition. Had I not also been squeezed for a thousand points during the entrance exam? A good tradition like this needed to continue steadily. I could not be the only one who suffered, after all.

Then how many points would be earned? I had heard that around ten thousand people usually entered each year. If so, the points earned alone would be around fifteen million. It was a truly dizzying amount.

Not that those points belonged to me. I glanced at Hwaryeong. Professor had prepared the magic, but Hwaryeong had put effort into all the work.

In that sense, this was practically her achievement. Because of that, all the points generated here were also planned to become hers.

Of course, I did feel a little greed for points too. Since I had provided the opportunity, I could have gained at least a portion of the profit. But there was no need to cause friction with Hwaryeong over such a small profit.

So I left all the points to her. That was also why I had been able to push my puppets into this exam. I looked at the puppets and smiled.

By giving up some points, I had succeeded in gaining an intangible profit. I could now promote my puppets to everyone here. It was the result of Hwaryeong and me each yielding one step.

“Haam, take out the bed.”

Professor yawned and gestured to me. I quickly approached her. Then I took a small box from my pocket. It was a space containing the bedroom prepared for her.

When I filled it with magical power and released the box, it quickly expanded and appeared in one corner of the space. It looked exactly like Professor’s room, just as it had when it was attached to the turtle’s back.

Professor looked satisfied when she saw it, entered the box, and lay down on the bed. She observed the magic circle through the glass window and nodded.

“So now I only have to put in magical power, right?”

“Yes, we’ve finished all the preparations. If you put magical power into this, the magic circle will activate naturally.”

Hwaryeong carefully approached Professor’s side and took out a small seal. It contained magical power similar to the circuits forming this incomplete space. Professor received it and lightly fiddled with it.

“Ah, I roughly get it.”

Professor muttered softly, then began pouring magical power into the seal. I felt magical power surge explosively through the seal and spread into the surroundings.

At the same time, I saw the circuits engraved around us ripple. As Professor’s magical power flowed, the magic circle was waking up. The circuits built up, and the resulting magic layered over itself again and again, beginning to release bright light.

Several layers formed, and the magic circle swallowed the incomplete space in an instant. I quietly watched the sight. The circuits scattered in every direction, embroidering the light, and the view was beautiful.

The magic circle soon condensed magical power to its limit and came alive. In a very short time, the magic circle had been completed. Professor threw the seal to Hwaryeong and yawned.

“That should do.”

Professor looked at the magic circle with a slight frown. Perhaps because she had poured in a considerable amount of magical power, her face had gone a little pale. It was the first time I had seen her look like that.

That meant this magic had burdened even her. I quickly approached Professor and put several cookies into her mouth. Seeing her accept and eat them naturally, I nodded.

“You’ve worked hard. Please rest comfortably.”

Everything I fed her helped with magical power circulation. Perhaps it helped a little, because Professor’s face relaxed as she chewed.

After swallowing everything in her mouth, she yawned again. Then she blinked drowsily and began rolling herself up in the blanket. With half-closed eyes, she looked at us.

“I put in the magical power, so handle the rest yourselves. ...Then I’m sleeping until the exam starts, so don’t wake me.”

Professor laid her head on the pillow and let it drop. Soon, she began softly snoring and fell asleep. It all happened in an instant.

At that, Butler, who had been quietly waiting in one corner of the box, began releasing magical power toward Professor. I could feel its magical power blending with Professor’s and slowly smoothing the magical power in the bedroom.

It was a very practiced movement. We should leave too. I gave a small look to Hwaryeong, who seemed a little dumbfounded, as if she had not expected Professor to fall asleep like this.

As though she understood right away that I meant we should leave the room, she nodded and carefully stepped outside the box. I followed her out of the room and sealed the entrance, so Professor could keep sleeping without being disturbed.

“Please don’t be too flustered. Professor likes sleeping. When the time comes, she’ll wake up on her own. I’ll prepare the rest.”

“Is that so.... What a shame. I wanted to talk with Professor Irian at least once. I learned a lot while drawing this magic circle, you see.”

Hwaryeong looked around with regret written all over her face. Her disappointment was easy enough to understand. I quietly nodded and looked at the magic circle wrapped around the surroundings.

It was stabilizing the incomplete space. But aside from that function, it looked very ordinary on the surface. The true value of this magic circle could only be felt after entering it.

I slipped my hand into the magic circle. Then I felt as if my hand had been separated from the body that remained outside. The hand that had come to exist independently began making countless movements at the same time.

Some let magical power flow, some quietly clenched into fists, and some felt around the surroundings. Like that, my hand was carrying out different actions at the same time, as if it had been split into several dimensions.

It was a feeling quite different from having my soul torn apart. I could fully feel every sensation from my hand. And that branching continued to happen.

As the many sensations made my head start to ache, I quickly pulled my hand out. Then I stroked my chin and let out a sound of admiration. I had been amazed even when I saw it as a design, but facing it directly like this felt completely new.

This magic circle was dimension-splitting magic, just as I had experienced. Everyone who entered this magic would experience the same world. It could be called a very suitable magic for handling exam participants numbering over hundreds of thousands.

I glanced at the sleeping Professor. Professor often used mirrors in the tower. This was practically the same as layering those mirrors over and over to divide one dimension into several.

It would not be wrong to call this her innate magic. I had heard stories that dragons were beings that crossed dimensions too.

That was also why her magical power had been needed. Magic that split dimensions like this would be hard to handle without a professor’s magical power.

As I felt the beauty of this magic, I was amazed all over again. Innate magic was something every mage held in their tree. But making it visible enough for others to recognize like this was difficult.

I quietly felt around my chest and searched for traces of my unique magic. Even I still could not properly recognize how the magic I had named Fake Life was structured. I only used it because I could use it.

Unique magic was something engraved into the soul. And it was my law, not the world’s law. So making it usable by others like this was close to impossible.

The fact that she had done that meant Professor possessed an extremely high realm. It also meant she fully understood her own soul and magic. So I understood why Hwaryeong felt regret.

Of course, that did not mean I could let her approach Professor. From Professor’s perspective, even preparing this magic had meant enduring a great deal of trouble. I could not make her deal with even more.

“Then please get ready, Mira.”

Mira, who had been leaning against me, looked up at me and smiled softly. Then she stretched lightly and looked at the magic circle.

“Hm, it’s been a long time since I acted like this. It feels like it’ll be rather fun after so long.”

Mira tapped my chest, then stepped into the magic circle. She melted into the magic circle and slowly headed to the promised place, according to the role assigned to her in advance.

“Then shall we do the finishing work? Hwaryeong, will you enter too?”

The best way to understand magic was to experience that magic directly. I asked Hwaryeong with that consideration in mind. She glanced at the magic circle and shook her head.

“It’s a shame, but I’ll only watch. I have to proceed with the judging too.”

“I see. Then I’ll send the others in.”

I nodded and gestured to the others. Cassian crossed into the magic circle with sparkling eyes alongside the bear puppet. Hao was led by Hari’s hand and slowly headed into the magic circle as well. The puppets, including Rabbit, did the same.

They would all move according to their respective roles. What I had prepared for this exam was one giant play, after all. This had also been prepared for Professor, who liked interesting stories.

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