WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 198

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198.

Left. Danger.

The sensation in my chest was telling me exactly that. The instant I felt it, I rolled aside, following my instincts.

The moment I moved, a tentacle shot up from the spot where I had been. If I had stayed there, it would have skewered me from below. Cold sweat ran down my back as I scrambled to my feet.

Dodging one did not mean it was over. My senses warned me again, and this time I threw myself backward. A tentacle followed my movement and brushed past my side.

The attacks continued without end. On the verge of tears, I rolled again. My senses had sent me another signal. Like that, I kept fleeing, following the escape routes my senses showed me, through the next one, and the one after that.

When was that magic supposed to be ready! They had clearly said they would send a signal, but I had not expected to hear nothing at all until now. Just as I began to hesitate, wondering if I should simply run away, a voice filled with magical power rang beside my ear.

"All survivors have been rescued, so flee now. This lady shall rain her magic down there."

It was Emery’s voice. With a bright smile, I turned and ran along the path that felt safest.

I could not afford even the slightest delay. This narrow path was steadily closing in, which meant Emery’s magic was falling over my head. So I had to run. Fast.

The mass of tentacles inside this giant pit tried to grab me, but before they could reach me, my senses warned me. Led by that instinct, I moved frantically.

When I came back to myself, I realized I had somehow reached a safe place. I glanced back. Then I saw enormous flames falling over the tentacle pit where I had just been.

The flames devoured the tentacles, and even the shadow they had been dwelling in, and began burning everything away. I thought I could hear strange, grotesque screams.

Was that it? Was this solved now? I shot one last tentacle crawling toward me with the crossbow in my hand and let out a sigh of relief. After dodging tentacles over and over, my wounded body finally lost its tension and collapsed to the floor.

First, I needed to deal with my body. As I used magical power to tend to my wounds, I sensed someone approaching me. When I glanced up, I saw Emery. She lightly patted my head.

"To think you passed through even that. You are more useful than this lady expected. Since your effort is commendable, this lady shall praise you again."

She smiled while fluttering her fan. She seemed satisfied with what I had done. Then she took a small pouch from her chest and tossed it to me.

"Thank you!"

My eyes sparkling, I caught it carefully. Then I clasped my hands together and bowed deeply to Emery. Another blessing like this. It was a good thing I had not run away.

I quietly opened it and checked inside. Mm, there were quite a few mana stones in it, though a little fewer than before. It was enough to replace the arrowheads I had used this time.

As I smiled in satisfaction and fiddled with the mana stones, I began to feel a sharp gaze. It came from Jaun. They were smacking their lips while staring at me.

They seemed jealous that I had received mana stones like this. Under that gaze, I hurriedly hid the pouch in my chest. I had earned this through my own suffering. I could not hand it over easily.

Had Emery not said so herself? She would give these mana stones to anyone who acted as scout. If Jaun wanted them, they could simply take the lead in my place. I looked at Jaun with that meaning in my eyes.

Jaun fell into thought for a moment, then shook their head. They seemed to be giving up on their greed. Well, that was only natural. I looked down at the shadow pit I had just escaped from.

Even though the flames Emery had created were burning everything away, the tentacles inside continued to appear. It was a truly horrible sight. If hell existed, would it look like that?

Jaun was a fairly strong mage too, but it was clear they could not last in there. I would have died quickly as well if not for the guidance of my instincts. Watching Jaun steady their magical power, I shook my head.

When we stepped forward to rescue the survivors, the black mages did not simply sit still either. Because of Cassian, they could not move too aggressively, but they had quite a lot of monsters under their command.

Perhaps that was why they laid all kinds of traps to stop us. That pit was one of those traps too. It had hidden beneath a group of survivors, using them as bait to devour us.

Like that one, the traps were vicious to the extreme. But we broke through all of them. It was the result of using me as bait to crush the traps.

I ran, and Emery burned them. The others blocked whatever leaked out in the process. It was a perfect division of roles. Except for the part where I was being worked to death.

The traps were getting harder and harder to escape from, so I was scared, but after receiving mana stones like this, I did not feel any complaints. Instead, I felt grateful that she had entrusted scouting to me.

On top of that, there was one more thing I had gained through all this suffering besides mana stones. I quietly placed my hand on my chest. Then I felt the Sapling shaking its branches as if cheering me on.

Following that movement, a strange pattern began to form. It was something I had never seen before. The pattern slowly building up seemed to take the shape of magic.

Yes, it was magic. My own unique magic.

Because it had only just formed, it was still extremely faint, but I could still feel the magical power flowing through it. Ever since this pattern had appeared, my sense for detecting danger had grown even stronger.

As I refined that magic, the cleanup of this area soon came to an end as well. Emery’s flames burned everything away and scattered into the air.

Emery folded her fan, settled her magical power, and took out the map. I slowly got up and headed to her side. The others did the same.

The map was now filled with black. Only a few areas remained. We were successfully completing the city lord’s mission.

But even as things went this smoothly, my worries kept growing. Even this newly awakened magic was carving warnings into me. Some great danger was clearly approaching.

I glanced at Emery, holding onto the hope that since we had come this far, she might stop. But the words that came from her mouth betrayed that hope.

"This area has been cleared as well, so we shall advance to the next. Everyone, move."

She folded the map. Then she looked around at us and fluttered her fan. My shoulders drooped. Did I have to suffer again after all? The danger felt as if it was right on our doorstep.

But I had already accepted a pouch full of mana stones. I needed to follow her orders. When I thought of the mana stones, a smile somehow started creeping back onto my face. Well, would it not be fine?

Just as Emery was about to wrap things up and leave, someone raised a hand. Emery waved her fan and looked over. The one raising a hand was Jaun. They pointed at the sky and shrugged.

"Do we really need to move ourselves? I think this much should be enough. The barrier already seems half broken too."

At Jaun’s point, everyone paused. We glanced up at the sky. A night sky covered in cracks came into view. Small clusters of light were seeping through those gaps too.

It had already collapsed considerably, enough to confirm with the naked eye. That was because we had kept gathering survivors. Since it could not absorb the magical power of the sacrifices, the ritual was crumbling.

There was no way such a damaged ritual could be completed safely. Even if the survivors in the few remaining areas were devoured, maintaining its current state would be the limit. Successfully completing the ritual was impossible.

In that sense, it was easy to understand why Jaun was complaining. Until now, they had only suffered losses while consuming corpses. In that situation, advancing to the next area would bring even greater consumption.

So, of course, for Jaun, it was best to stop while they still could. If I had not received mana stones, I might have been the first to say something like that.

At that thought, I suddenly froze. Had I been guided all along? I fiddled with the mana stone pouch in my chest.

When I first received this, I had only felt grateful. But at some point, I had become half obedient to her. To the point that I was half ignoring even the instincts in my chest.

Emery was using me with incredible skill. As a convenient tool. No wonder she kept throwing me out there.

But no anger rose in me. I could feel the dense magical power of the mana stones. If she paid me like this, then maybe it was fine to be used as a tool. That thought came to me instead.

Unlike me, Jaun had received no payment at all. So that must have been why they said that. Jaun looked around at us and continued.

"I believe we have already completed enough of the request. If we go farther from here, there will only be danger, and there probably aren’t many survivors left. So I think it would be better to return to the castle. If we simply set up defenses there, the ritual will collapse on its own."

It was a very reasonable opinion. I nodded right away. I could feel that the path they described was the safest. As expected, they were someone I got along with very well.

I quietly looked around at the others. Then I saw Gang with arms crossed, deep in thought. Gang seemed to recognize that Jaun’s proposal was fairly persuasive too.

"Aha, that is also a decent method. What do you think, Emery?"

Evron nodded. With a slightly interested expression, he looked at Emery standing beside him. Emery narrowed her eyes and looked around at us.

"How foolish. Do your thoughts lead only to survival? To think you cannot even recognize that what you said is nothing more than a poor plan. ...For your sake, this lady shall explain a little."

She fluttered her fan. In her eyes, half hidden behind it, I could see a hint of contempt, as if she found us pathetic. She shook her head slightly.

"If we hide in the castle as you said, the black mages will gain a little breathing room. Then they will gather their remaining strength and attack the castle. They need to devour the survivors to complete the ritual, after all."

That was what I had expected. But that was also the safest path. There was no way the black mages, with their ritual growing unstable, could defeat Cassian.

Perhaps that thought showed on my face, because Emery glanced at me and clicked her tongue. She continued.

"Of course, we can stop them. But in the process, many of the survivors we went to the trouble of saving will die as well. That is why we are continuing to advance like this, to force their actions."

Emery pointed at the white parts of the map with her fan. They were the areas where survivors still remained.

"We rescue the survivors before they gain room to maneuver and break through the traps. Then we make them follow our movements and bring this play to a close. That is the direction this lady seeks. To think you did not even understand such basics. How truly deplorable."

Emery clicked her tongue and stepped back. As if she had said everything she wanted to say, she simply stood there and waved her fan. I stared blankly at her face.

What exactly could we gain by advancing toward danger like that? I did not understand. Jaun and Gang seemed to feel the same, judging by their thoughtful faces.

Unlike us, Evron let out an admiring sound and clapped. He approached Emery, smiled brightly, and bowed his head.

"To think you were considering the completeness of the story. I did not know you had thought that far."

"Hmph, at least one person understands. This lady does not wish to say more, so you explain."

She snorted and waved her fan. Evron gave a slight bow, then turned back to us.

"What Emery said is simple. She means that we should become the center of the story."

The center of the story? I blinked silently. Evron looked at me and gave a gentle laugh.

"As you all know, this is an exam. The exam only told us to reach the end of the story. Then how will we receive points?"

Points? I had simply thought that completing the story would be the end. Something more... As I organized my thoughts, I realized what Evron meant. I flinched in surprise and could not help letting out an admiring sound.

Until now, we had been given many choices. Like Jaun, I had only thought about reaching the end of the story. That was the direction the exam had presented to us.

That was why we chose only the safest path. Unlike us, Emery had not simply been thinking about passing. She had been thinking about this structure the entire time.

As Emery said, this was both an exam and a play. Then we, who had joined this story, could also be called actors.

What standard would be used to evaluate such actors? It had to depend on how much influence they had on the story.

Seen that way, Jaun’s proposal had a very large flaw. Of course, even if we holed up in the castle, the story would be resolved. Even if the black mages attacked, it would be difficult for them to break through an area protected by the swordsman Cassian.

But that story would have nothing to do with us. Of course, we would have helped, but the one who ultimately finished the story would be Cassian. Then we would not receive good points.

By contrast, if we advanced to the end like this, rescued the survivors, and directly collapsed the ritual, we would certainly receive higher points.

I watched Emery crook a finger at Evron. At that signal, Evron naturally brewed a cup of tea and handed it to her. She sipped it with a relaxed expression.

Looking at her, I let out another admiring sound. She had grasped the structure of the exam and prepared the strategy already? Looking at things from such a broad perspective was something I could not have imagined.

Somehow, I felt as if my view had widened another level. Was this the vision of a mage from a great family? She was on a different level from a wanderer who only grabbed the profit right in front of them.

I quickly rubbed my hands together and approached Emery’s side. No wonder she seemed so confident. There was a reason for everything. I had trusted her from the very beginning! She glanced at me and clicked her tongue.

Jaun also seemed convinced by Evron’s explanation and nodded. From the start, all of us were standing here to enter the university. Jaun seemed willing to accept some losses if it meant receiving better points too.

"Now then, as Emery said, let us quickly head to the next area."

Evron clapped and smiled. I nodded right away. Yes, should we not receive the best points possible? The university was right in front of us. This brief conversation had raised our unity even further.

Emery seemed to feel that too, because she snorted and walked forward. Like that, we followed her to the next area. Then we dug through the traps and found the survivors.

"They’re here!"

I waved toward the group. These were the last survivors in this area. At that, the group approached me and began checking the survivors’ condition.

Watching them, I rubbed my chest. The heavy sense of danger pressing down on me was still clear. As I tapped my chest, one thought suddenly came to me.

I had admired Emery’s words just now. To receive good points, we had to become the center of the story. But did resolving things so proactively not mean all the danger would focus on us?

As if proving that thought, the ominous feeling in my chest suddenly began to swell. It was more vicious than anything I had ever felt before. I quickly looked around.

But I could not find anything suspicious. The others also seemed to sense nothing as they simply approached the survivors. I sprang to my feet and let magical power flow. There was nothing, but for now, I had to trust my instincts.

"Everyone, be careful. Something is coming!"

After shouting that, I quickly ran toward the area that looked safest. I only had to get there. Just as I ran with that thought, I suddenly stopped. Emery had entered my sight as she began waving her fan.

At my warning, she was weaving a wide barrier as if to protect the survivors. And my instincts were warning me that the area beside her was the most dangerous place around. Whatever this unknown thing was, it was clearly aiming for her.

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