WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 205: 205.

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Evron drew a magic circle and brewed tea. A fragrant scent soon spread through the area. A tray carrying several teacups floated toward us, borne by his magical power.

The tea Evron had offered a few times before had always tasted excellent. This was probably no different.

Still, no one reached for a cup.

Tea was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

I stared at Evron. He had not changed at all from how he had looked before leaving. Why was he here?

And I was not the only one wondering that.

“You, why are you here?”

Emery lightly waved her fan and glared at Evron. Her eyes were filled with deep caution.

Meeting her gaze, Evron gave a gentle smile.

“Obviously, I came to meet all of you. We were in the same group, after all. More importantly, it seems none of you need tea.”

How could anyone drink tea in a situation like this?

Evron looked us over and took back the tray with a disappointed sigh. After taking a few sips himself, he continued.

“What a shame. I used some quite expensive ingredients to brew it.”

He began putting the cups away.

Leaving him to it, I looked around. Had the eliminated examinees gathered here too? No, perhaps elimination itself had been a deception.

If every examinee had gathered here, Jaun should have been here as well.

Yet no matter how hard I looked, I could not find any trace of Jaun. All I could feel was a dark curtain rippling around us.

“No matter how long you look, Jaun will not be here. Jaun has gone outside. Giving up the test and obtaining power, that was Jaun's choice. Should we not respect it?”

Evron looked at me and smiled. He seemed to have immediately noticed that I was looking for Jaun.

Yet his words only deepened my questions.

If every eliminated examinee left, why was Evron still here?

“You are connected to the test, are you not? To hide your magical power well enough to deceive even my eyes. You are quite skilled.”

Emery narrowed her eyes.

Was Evron someone from the university?

I looked him over from head to toe.

His magical power had been about equal to mine. That was why I had never suspected he was connected to the university. As Emery said, he had hidden his magical power perfectly.

But even if someone hid their magical power, they should not have been able to hide their realm as well.

I looked at him with that question in mind.

Evron gave a small shake of his head and touched his body.

“Rather than hiding my magical power, this is simply the limit of this body. It was prepared for this test. If even Emery says so, I suppose this body was quite successful.”

Evron put a hand on his chest and slowly pushed it inside.

Then he continued speaking.

“I went to great lengths to recreate the body I had when I entered the university. I am very satisfied. Once I gather all the information from this test, I may even be able to make a more interesting body.”

I blankly watched Evron smile with satisfaction.

His hand, buried deeply in his chest, soon came back out. Not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound. It was an utterly bizarre sight.

In his hand was a small jewel fragment.

It carried the scent of the magical power Evron had possessed. That jewel was the core of his body.

Just as Evron had said, that body had truly been made artificially.

It was a constructed body, yet from the outside, it was impossible to feel even the slightest difference from a human.

Then I suddenly realized something.

The many puppets we had encountered during this test had given off a similar feeling.

Unlike Evron, I could tell that the souls inside those puppets were not human. But if I considered only their bodies, they were not that different from humans.

When I first encountered a puppet, I had mistaken it for an actual human corpse.

Just as with Evron’s body, those puppets must have been made by him.

And the fact that he could create such things also meant Evron had reached a realm far beyond ours.

Evron straightened his clothes. Standing beneath the light, he gave us a small bow.

“Now that I have revealed this much, I should introduce myself properly. Nice to meet you. I am Evron, a mage who entered the university one step before all of you. I am also responsible for managing this examination site.”

“If all of you pass, I will become your senior.”

With that, Evron winked at us.

He looked completely relaxed.

“...Why was someone like you among us?”

I carefully asked the question.

A university mage had been mixed in among us. I had never imagined such a thing.

Evron shrugged at my question.

“Obviously, it was to evaluate all of you. The closer I watched, the more I could learn. You all came here with me by moving through the story, and I have completed my evaluation as well.”

Evron lightly clapped and spread both hands.

The light above began drawing in even more magical power, illuminating the space that had been filled only with darkness.

I slowly looked around.

The first thing that caught my eye was a high platform surrounding us. It was divided into layers like stairs, and each level was lined with many chairs.

Was the name of the fourth chapter Trial?

In that sense, this place could be called a courtroom. This strange space had been designed as though it were looking down on us.

Then who would judge us?

As I considered that, I noticed the very highest seat at the end of the layered platform, where chairs had been piled upon chairs.

An enormous chair sat there.

And reclining in it was a young girl.

I blinked quietly.

The girl looked a little familiar. She resembled the Treasure Keeper girls from before.

Yet I could immediately feel that she was a completely different existence from those Treasure Keepers.

I carefully stepped backward.

A powerful sense of crisis rippled through my chest. The moment I saw that girl, my instincts seemed to scream at me to get out of here immediately.

The girl yawned and rubbed her eyes.

I froze as I watched her. Every time she moved, the magical power rippling around her spread through the surroundings in a threatening wave.

It was stronger than the treasure I had seen before, the axe.

Could a person really possess that much magical power?

Even from so far away, the girl’s magical power surged around me as violently as if it were right beside me.

I put a hand on my chest.

My senses were telling me to leave the range of that magical power immediately. My instincts had always warned me whenever danger approached, but this felt different.

It was like fear.

The girl was so strong that my senses were desperately issuing a warning. If I were caught in that magical power, I would surely vanish without leaving even a shape behind.

Power I could not resist was always a threat.

I swallowed hard and stared at the girl.

Fortunately, nothing my instincts feared happened.

The magical power around us only passed by.

Beyond it, I saw Evron lower his head slightly toward the girl. Then he pointed at her and smiled at us.

“Here, all of you will look back on your previous actions. And that person will assess your potential. Let me introduce her to you. This is Professor Irian, the overall supervisor of this test.”

A professor?

I opened my eyes wide in surprise.

While living as a wandering mage, I had heard a few stories about university professors. The most recent one had been about a being that crossed the sea.

At first, the Empire had mistaken it for a magical beast and sent a large force after it. But apparently, it had been a puppet.

They said a university professor had moved it while briefly leaving the continent.

Crossing a sea filled with bizarre things using a puppet.

I did not know how credible that rumor was, but it proved how powerful professors were said to be.

And that girl, no, Professor Irian, was such a person.

No wonder she possessed such extraordinary magical power. That magical power was practically proof that she was a professor.

Evron covered his mouth slightly, as though watching Professor Irian’s mood.

Then he spoke in a whisper.

“It would be best if you all made a good impression on Professor. Whether you can enter the university is in her hands.”

“Tch, enough pointless talk. Announce the points. I want this over quickly.”

Professor Irian waved a hand filled with magical power.

The magical power flew through the space and lightly struck Evron on the head.

Evron rubbed his head and nodded.

“I will do as Professor says. Then let us reveal the points first.”

Evron lightly waved his hand.

A familiar screen appeared before each of us. We had seen it repeatedly during this test.

But nothing was written on it.

I looked over the empty screen. The others seemed to be looking at the same thing.

Evron slowly approached us, then stood before Gang and met his eyes.

“Then shall we examine Gang first?”

As soon as Evron spoke, words slowly began appearing on Gang’s screen.

Gang’s eyes twitched slightly as he looked at it.

“Gang showed some quite admirable moments. When everyone was hesitating over fighting the Black Mage, you were the first to step forward and speak of human decency. Even I found that moment quite impressive.”

“Perhaps that is what one would expect from a swordsman.”

Evron added that with a smile.

For some reason, I could feel goodwill toward Gang in his eyes.

Swordsman.

Very few mages called sword-users that.

I glanced at Emery. She was staring at Evron with a thoughtful expression.

I remembered hearing her praise swordsmen before.

Why did she call sword-users swordsmen? Before now, I had never been able to understand it.

Yet I thought I understood a little now.

When Jaun and I had considered running, Gang had chosen to move forward. Standing at the edge of a blade and advancing. At that moment, I could clearly sense that dangerous way of life.

Perhaps Gang might pass because of that.

Evron was saying good things about Gang too.

But after giving those compliments, Evron soon began shaking his head.

“Still, there were many disappointing points. You chose to retreat from the final battle against the Black Mage. Of course, Emery said she would remain behind alone, but Gang could have made another choice. Yet you did not.”

“You stepped away from the center of the story.”

Evron added that and narrowed his eyes.

“The second and third chapters were much the same. I could clearly see that you wanted to help Emery, but you were only dragged along by the story. For that reason, some points were deducted. Your total deduction is thirty-eight points.”

I looked at Gang’s screen.

It seemed to list where Gang had lost points.

The center of the story.

So that was what they considered important.

It was similar to what Emery had guessed. I let out a sigh of relief. If not for her, we would surely have had trouble figuring out the standards of this test.

And in the end, we would have failed.

But thanks to Emery, we had overcome that danger.

Gang’s points proved it.

A deduction of thirty-eight points meant Gang had received sixty-two points. He had cleared the passing threshold.

The university was within reach.

My eyes brightened, but then I heard someone click their tongue beside me.

I glanced over and saw Emery wearing an unhappy expression.

Why was she making that face?

I quickly learned why.

Evron began smiling with an oddly sly expression.

“These were the deductions based on Gang’s actions within the story. We must deduct more points after this, though. You lost two group members.”

I could not help but flinch.

As Evron said, we had lost two people. Ten points for each person, twenty points in total.

I had thought those points were already included.

My face stiffened.

At this rate, Gang would fail. I stepped forward and faced Evron. There was one part of his words I could not accept.

“You said you were an evaluator. Then why are you deducting points because you left?”

Perhaps his leaving first had been a trap meant to make us suspicious.

Yet deducting twenty points because of it was absurd.

Evron wore an amused smile at my suspicion and slowly shook his head.

“Hmm, there is a misunderstanding. I did say I was evaluating you, but before that, I was also your group member. I accepted this test as an examinee too.”

Evron lightly tapped his head with a finger.

“So I did my best to create the story too. I chose to watch rather than step forward. I did not try to ruin the flow of the story. What would be fun about acting that way?”

I narrowed my eyes.

He had not tried to ruin the story?

Had he not escaped the test first? Jaun and I had decided to leave the test by following him.

If he had not moved, that situation would never have happened.

Evron faced my expression, shrugged lightly, and continued in a relaxed voice.

“In the story of the second chapter, I escaped first simply because I was the easiest person for Isabella to approach. The roles in the second chapter were divided according to the points from the first chapter. I was assigned the servant role because I had the lowest point total.”

“Emery probably noticed that.”

Evron added that with a light smile.

I clicked my tongue.

So the clothing in the second chapter had carried that meaning. I had thought it was assigned randomly.

“Well, if you were put in that situation, what choice would you make? I wanted to judge the situation as a wandering mage would. So I ran. Like that, I only faithfully acted according to my role. And you were the ones who created that situation.”

Us?

I frowned slightly at those incomprehensible words.

“If you had created a more complete story in the first chapter and awarded me more points, I would have had no reason to run. The story you completed in the first chapter changed my choice. And besides...”

Evron trailed off and met my eyes.

There was a strange hint of enjoyment in him as he lightly rubbed his chin.

Then he slowly continued.

“Before I left, I told Ivrio that I had found something suspicious about the treasure. I also made enough of a show for the others to notice. Yet all of you failed to stop me from leaving.”

“This is the first I have heard of that. Did you really hear such a thing?”

Emery asked.

I had heard it.

I nodded.

Emery clicked her tongue with an expression that said she found it pathetic.

“Foolish.”

“No, how was I supposed to know that? Anyone besides me would have easily overlooked it.”

At the time, I had not even properly understood the situation. I spoke with that frustration in mind.

But Evron only tilted his head and put a hand over his chest.

“Then shall we check the other areas?”

Evron scattered magical power.

The space around us distorted slightly. Something began connecting to him.

Not long after, he opened his eyes again.

“Hmm, around two hundred people were placed in similar circumstances. And one hundred and fifty of them stopped me. They did not receive deductions for elimination.”

I quietly shifted my gaze.

Evron seemed to have examined the other groups taking the test.

More than half of those in similar situations had stopped Evron?

Then I had nothing to say.

I wanted to argue, but I could no longer open my mouth. I could tell his words were right.

What would have happened if Isabella had approached Jaun or me?

Could I have rejected her offer immediately?

I could not be certain.

I had already been lured by temptation and gone right up to the treasure before.

Damn it.

In the end, this deduction could be called a mistake caused by me.

I looked at Gang apologetically.

I had to accept any resentment he had toward me.

But Gang only touched his sword sheath and shook his head.

“Ivrio did nothing wrong. I went through a similar situation too. Only after he left did I realize something was suspicious.”

Gang seemed quite calm.

Even though he was facing failure, there was no sign of agitation. It was the complete opposite of me, who was clinging to my points.

Ah, was that why swordsmen were respected?

Because he always calmly accepted the result.

I thought I might understand him a little.

As the surroundings fell quiet, Emery slowly opened her mouth.

“Fine. I can tell that you did not do it intentionally. Then I have one question. What happened to the one who left this place by following you?”

“Of course, he left with sufficient compensation.”

It was clearly about Jaun.

Had Jaun truly left with power?

Yet even at Evron’s words, Emery only snorted and shook her head.

“Nonsense. Someone as vicious as you would not have simply let him go.”

Evron scratched his head as though he had nothing to say.

He looked oddly wronged, smacked his lips lightly, then looked at the girl on the platform.

“Hmm... I suppose I should show all of you. Professor, may I borrow a screen for a moment?”

Evron politely bowed toward the girl.

Professor Irian, who had been yawning, waved her hand.

The space before us distorted, and a large mirror appeared.

Jaun appeared within it.

Jaun was looking around while holding a small jewel. It was clearly a fragment of power that had come from a treasure.

“What do you think? As I said, Jaun left with power. I never deceived any of you during the test.”

Jaun really had left with power.

Still, something seemed strange.

Jaun was covered in injuries.

When Jaun left the test, Jaun had clearly been unharmed. Why did Jaun look like that now?

As I considered that, magic fell near him.

Someone had attacked him.

Jaun quickly fled from the magic, but there was not just one person targeting him.

Wounds slowly began appearing across his body.

That was not the only strange thing.

I looked closely at the fragment of power Jaun held.

The power dwelling in it was terribly faint.

The power of the treasures I had encountered before had been overwhelmingly strong. It had far surpassed my own strength.

And that had been true of the power Jaun had received as well.

Yet what he held now contained only magical power as faint as a candle flame.

Why had it become like that?

Evron shrugged.

“Well, there are some side effects.”

Emery clicked her tongue as she watched Jaun.

I could feel that she found him pathetic.

“Tch, so it turned out that way after all. That is why I warned him. I suppose it is a fitting ending for a fool.”

“Do you know how Jaun ended up like that?”

I carefully asked Emery.

She lightly waved her fan and looked at Evron.

“Judging by this, the test must be taking place across several dimensions. The one called the test administrator cannot be watching only our group.”

Evron lightly clapped at Emery’s words.

He seemed somewhat impressed.

“That is correct. We are currently inside a dimension fragment. It is magic the Professor created. Within that magic, I am divided across several dimensions and meet with the examinees.”

I blinked.

This test had been created through such strange magic?

I had not noticed at all.

Evron looked at me and smiled lightly.

“The other things you encountered, such as the treasures, are the same. Jaun received their power from within a dimension fragment. That means the power is naturally affected by other dimension fragments.”

Evron narrowed his eyes at the mirror.

Then he continued slowly.

“Of course, if Jaun alone had received the power, its complete form would have stayed by Jaun's side. But most of the people taking this test made similar choices. So the fragments of power were scattered as well.”

After hearing his explanation, I finally understood Jaun’s situation.

If the fragments of power had scattered in every direction during the process of combining dimensions, they would want to come back together.

The fragments of power would naturally be drawn toward each other.

And those who held them would inevitably clash.

The mages who had given up the test to obtain that power would not easily let it go.

Jaun must have been caught up in that kind of fight.

And such fights would naturally draw the attention of others too.

Those who had failed to obtain fragments of power might join those battles as well.

My eyes trembled slightly.

If I had run away after Jaun, I would surely have been drawn into the same fights.

Into pain with no end in sight.

But fortunately, I had stopped here.

I slowly let out a sigh of relief.

There was no paradise on the road of escape either.

My choice had not been wrong.

I realized once again that the only answer was to keep moving forward.

The mirror slowly melted into the air after showing Jaun’s fleeing back one final time.

Could Jaun survive?

I did not know.

I glared at Evron.

What a vicious trap. Had we not been group members?

Yet Evron only looked back at me and tilted his head.

“Hmm, this is not the time for Ivrio to worry about Jaun. Ivrio might fail as well. Now, let us examine Ivrio’s points.”

With those words, writing rapidly began appearing on the empty screen before me.

--

Chapter 4. Trial

Before judgment, look back on your story. Confirm your points.

Chapter 1. Black Mage

-You hesitated during the process of making choices. 1 point deducted.

-You ran away from the center of the story. 3 points deducted. (Your later rejoining has been reflected.)

-You...

Chapter 2. Ballroom / Chapter 3. Treasure

-You remained passive until the moment of choice. 2 points deducted.

-You failed to notice a group member leaving. 5 points deducted.

-You betrayed a group member to obtain a treasure’s power. 7 points deducted. (Your later abandonment of that choice has been reflected.)

-You...

--

I frowned at the deductions filling my vision.

It said I had hesitated while making choices. I could not quite accept that, so I stared at it closely.

Then the screen expanded, beginning to show even the smallest details.

It was filled with notes about how I had watched Emery’s mood.

I quietly clicked my tongue as I saw it.

The other deductions were the same.

I had not expected the scoring to be this detailed.

Evron examined my screen and quietly shook his head.

“Ivrio received quite a lot of points in the first chapter. You ran, but at the end, you changed your mind and chose to fight. But from the second chapter onward, you began wavering quite badly.”

He was right.

My points had been heavily reduced in the second chapter.

My total deductions were twenty-nine points.

That meant I had received seventy-one points. It was clearly higher than Gang’s total.

Still, it was not enough to pass.

My face twisted.

Like Gang, if twenty more points were deducted, this total would not be enough. It meant I had failed as well.

Only one person remained.

Evron approached Emery.

Writing began appearing on her screen too, but unlike ours, hers was very short.

“There is not much to criticize about Emery. Still, some points were deducted. You deliberately tried to abandon your group members during the process of their elimination. Your total deduction is eleven points.”

Eleven points deducted.

That meant her final total was eighty-nine points.

Her total was far higher than ours, beyond any comparison.

Evron’s eyes brightened as he looked at Emery. He clapped and smiled.

“Congratulations. Many things happened, but Emery has passed in the end. As expected of a guardian.”

I closed my eyes.

Failure.

I had failed again.

A year of effort had disappeared.

Yet for some reason, my heart was not shaken as much as I expected. There was nothing in this test that I regretted.

I quietly put a hand on my chest and drew out the magical power of my unique magic.

The magical power that reached my eyes began showing me a faint path.

The road before me was terribly dim.

But what about Emery?

I glanced at her.

A clear path stretched out from beneath her feet. It gave off a light so brilliant it could not be compared to mine.

Seeing it, I smiled slightly.

Perhaps because of my earlier realization, the path my magic drew no longer showed only my own survival.

Like this, I had become able to glimpse the paths of others too.

And Emery’s path was this clear.

If I had left the test like Jaun, Emery would have failed.

Even though she had received so many points, a deduction of thirty would have been too much.

But thanks to her help, I had been able to stop.

She had taught me that running away was not always the answer.

So I had no regrets.

I had failed, but Emery, who could be called my benefactor, had passed.

My third attempt had ended in failure.

Three times.

Many people said that after three attempts, one could judge whether someone had the talent to enter the university.

In that sense, I probably did not have talent.

But that was not a reason to give up.

I remembered the scroll I had already torn apart.

I had heard that the mage who wrote it entered the university only after attempting the test eleven times.

That number far exceeded how many times an average mage tried.

Then I needed to follow that example too.

I lightly clenched my fist.

I had failed this test, but next year’s chance remained.

All I needed was the resolve to keep moving forward.

If I continued challenge after challenge, one day I might enter the university as well.

“Congratulations.”

I gave Emery a small bow.

But she did not look at me.

She only waved her fan and looked at Professor Irian sitting above us.

Why was that?

The results had already come out.

As I looked at Emery, she finally opened her mouth.

“So, what comes next?”

What did she mean, what came next?

Emery turned and faced Evron.

“If this fourth chapter only existed to tell us our points, it would not exist at all. From what I can see, the test has not ended yet. We have not received our judgment.”

Evron narrowed his eyes at Emery’s words.

“You really are an interesting person.”

Evron muttered that and gave a small smile.

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