WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 209: 209

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I quietly looked over the stack of papers in front of me. The densely packed writing made my eyes swim. I had already been reading them for several minutes.

Still, reading them made me want to smile. I rubbed my tired eyes and glanced at Hwaryeong, seated across from me. Like me, she was looking through several sheets of paper.

I looked around. The neatly decorated room was Hwaryeong’s office, a place I had visited from time to time before.

After the entrance ceremony, Hwaryeong had apparently been so busy handling work that she had kept herself shut away for days. I had come to see her after hearing that she finally had some free time.

She set down the papers and sipped her tea with a gentle expression. She seemed quite satisfied with their contents. I felt the same way. I tapped the stack of papers and looked at her.

“Is this score really correct?”

Hwaryeong nodded. I looked down at the papers for a moment, and a line at the very top caught my eye.

-The giant bear is the strongest. Fighting the others was fun too. So this gets 5 points as well.

The moment I saw it, I knew who had written it. It had to be Cassian. She had given us 5 points again. A giant bear... I was glad she liked it. I nodded lightly and ran my hand across the papers.

This stack contained evaluations of the lecture we had run over the past five years. The scores left by its students filled the pages.

I quietly closed my eyes. I had bad memories of the previous lecture evaluation. I still remembered that score clearly. It had been 2.1 points, a score scraping the very bottom.

Cassian had been the only one to give us 5 points then. Those who passed and left had given us fairly high scores, but most of the others had given us the lowest possible rating.

Those harsh reviews had naturally driven down the price of lecture slots. But now, Cassian was no longer the only one giving our lecture a perfect score.

-One crazy sword idiot kept bothering me, but I’m satisfied because I gained enough power. I wouldn’t attend again, but I would recommend it to anyone who gets the chance. 5 points.

-It was fun to spend time communicating with the treasures! I even found someone I was connected to. I think it was a very good experience. 5 points.

-I did not pass, but I was still able to obtain a small fragment of a treasure. Learn the treasure’s tendencies and habits before attending the lecture. Information about treasures can be bought from the Abyss Secret Association. 5 points.

-... 5 points.

Many more favorable reviews followed. Together, they had produced a score of 4.1 points, nearly double our previous score.

More importantly, they had already acquired all the information about the treasures from the Abyss Secret Association? No wonder more people had succeeded in persuading treasures near the end of the lecture. Hwaryeong nodded lightly and met my eyes.

“I never expected such a good score. Even the people who bought slots last time contacted me separately. Are you planning to run the next lecture in the same format?”

“Yes. Professor seems quite interested in this lecture format as well.”

I nodded. We had received good reviews this time, so there seemed to be no need to change the lecture itself. Of course, it would still need a few adjustments.

4.1 points. It was a high score, but that also meant there was still a missing 0.9 points, a blemish on an otherwise fine result. I had kept looking through the papers to find what we lacked.

And I could not help agreeing with the complaints I found. Some said they could not focus on training because of accidents caused by treasures. Others found the ever-increasing number of rules annoying.

I intended to address those shortcomings more thoroughly in the next lecture. Then we could receive an even better score. I could not be satisfied with our current rating. I had to make a more perfect lecture.

One idea I had was to add more treasures. More than fifty treasures had provided power this time, but I planned to bring in even more next time.

I smiled lightly as I thought of the magic tome that had recently entered the storehouse. The magic tome Professor had named the Book of Greed possessed an interesting power.

It absorbed the strength of living things and engraved it into itself. Through a kind of magic, that power became contained within its pages. In that respect, it was an excellent type of treasure for stripping power from.

Of course, perhaps because it had spent so long wandering outside, it was full of wildness. Even when I borrowed Cassian’s body to try speaking with it, it only wanted to rampage. It was not suitable to show in a lecture.

Well, most of the treasures we encountered on the sixth floor were like that. Out of the hundreds of treasures in the storehouse, we had only managed to persuade a little over fifty.

That was only possible because they had been trapped in the storehouse for hundreds of years. If they had not longed for freedom, they would never have considered speaking with a human like me. How could they communicate with something they saw as food?

The sixth-floor storehouse was still full of treasures that considered me food. That was why I had not bothered approaching them. But now, I had found a way to control them.

The Book of Greed had been placed in the same room as Blood Axe. No matter how much it wanted to rampage, it would not be able to overcome Blood Axe’s magical power. The Book of Greed was only a Grade 1 entity.

I sipped my tea and smiled leisurely. Blood Axe had paid off quite a bit of its debt through this examination, but it still owed plenty. The interest continued to grow through compound interest magic.

That allowed me to make useful use of Blood Axe by holding its points over its head. Of course, I could not ask too much because Blood Axe might refuse, but it readily accepted a few requests.

One of those was training newcomers. I would take treasures that refused to listen to Blood Axe and have it educate them. Treasures that had not responded to us on the sixth floor surrendered under Blood Axe’s power that way.

Two had already joined the treasure network through that process. After being chewed out by Professor several times, it seemed Blood Axe had quickly learned how to chew out others too. This time, it was taking it out on the Book of Greed.

For Blood Axe, that training process was also a way to satisfy its desires. Treasures naturally tried to resist Blood Axe. It enjoyed crushing that resistance.

For something that pursued worthwhile battles, fighting treasures must have been quite satisfying. It was a virtuous cycle that benefited both of us.

With everyone happy, various opportunities and sources of power for the next lecture were being prepared. We were sure to receive an even better evaluation next time. Perhaps sensing my confidence, Hwaryeong nodded.

“Many people contacted me because your lecture left such a strong impression. People from the fourth floor, and even people from the fifth floor and above. I was honestly surprised when I received their messages.”

I blinked slowly. The fourth floor was the foundation stage, so that was understandable, but mages in the advanced stage had contacted us? That was unexpected.

Mages who reached the advanced stage usually fell into two groups. One group wanted to enter the service of a professor who used similar magic.

Myra, who worked under Professor Heisen, was one such case. But gaining a place like that was difficult with ordinary talent. It was even harder because professors did not always accept people.

That was why most mages settled in places like cities, gathered points, and repeated missions and training. Like Koite, who ran the Dream Theater.

From the fifth floor onward, the realm of the completed tree, it became more important to develop one’s own territory. Unless it was a core lecture aimed at them, it was rare for people like them to covet a lecture.

The fact that even they wanted my lecture showed how successful it had been. But their interest went beyond my intentions. I quietly shook my head.

“I appreciate that. However, just as before, I intend to hold this lecture for the second and third floors.”

“I see. Then I will have to ask the others for their understanding.”

Hwaryeong muttered as she sipped her tea. I could sense some regret from her. If they entered the lecture, they would surely pay a great number of points. That would become part of her achievements as well.

But if they joined, I would surely be unable to control them. They wanted the lecture to obtain fragments of power.

There was something I had learned deeply while running the previous lecture. Treasures naturally stimulated a mage’s desires. In that sense, I was not ready to deal with mages in realms higher than mine.

Even in the previous lecture, I had only managed to hold them back with a few rules by using Hao as bait. If the others had caused even more chaos, we certainly would not have received a score like this. I needed to prevent that this time as well.

“Then how many slots are you planning to sell this time?”

Hwaryeong asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. I considered it for a moment, then tapped the table and spoke.

“About half should be enough. I plan to increase the capacity to three hundred people this time, so that would be around one hundred and fifty.”

“One hundred and fifty. That sounds good.”

Hwaryeong’s eyes sparkled. Deep desire seemed to overflow from them. I had not sold that many slots last time. The price had been one reason, but I had also been wary of creating a group beyond my control.

But now, I was confident that I could respond to any situation. I had not reached the third floor for nothing.

Besides, as I had experienced before, those who paid points to enter were usually strong. Would it not be beneficial to use people like that as stepping stones for my growth?

Selling slots like this had also been discussed with the treasures. They agreed with my opinion. They must have been thinking the same thing I was.

Most of the treasures had gained quite a lot from this lecture. I had torn away some of their power and scattered power among many people, yet they possessed more strength than before the lecture.

It was all because the students had desperately grown stronger. If more strong people entered, the treasures would be able to gain even greater power. Naturally, they had no choice but to welcome it.

“I will gather plenty of opinions and adjust the price for the next lecture. I will contact you as soon as it is decided, so please wait a little. I can only thank you for bringing me another great achievement.”

Hwaryeong bowed toward me. I waved my hand at her.

“What are you saying? If you reach a higher position, that benefits me too. It is best when we can support each other like this.”

We looked at each other and smiled softly. Through this relationship, where we exchanged benefits, I would be able to slowly approach the trading company. In the end, I might achieve my small revenge as well.

I did not think Hwaryeong was unaware of my hidden intentions. Yet she only continued strengthening our cooperation. Perhaps she even wanted me to approach the trading company more closely.

If so, I only had to make use of her. Using everything that could be used, was that not the spirit of a mage? Just then, a small vibration began in my chest. Someone had contacted me.

I took out the softly vibrating mirror bug. It rose into the air and revealed a small screen. Everything was ready now. After confirming that, I nodded.

“The message came at the right time. You seem busy too, so I should get going first.”

I slowly rose from my seat. Hwaryeong blinked, then lightly clapped her hands.

“Ah, today is the day. It looks like everything is ready already.”

“Yes. The location is small, so there was no need to spend long decorating it. We decided to simply fill it with puppets.”

At my words, Hwaryeong looked somewhat apologetic and gave me a slight bow.

“I am truly sorry. I wanted to find you a better location as well, but that was the only available place. How about moving to a higher floor instead? I can quickly arrange somewhere for you.”

I quietly shook my head. What she had already provided was enough. Our relationship would last longer if we maintained a proper line between us, so accepting anything more would only be excessive.

“I appreciate the thought, but I do not think the location is important. Being at the very bottom has its advantages. I am not planning to sell expensive things.”

“I see. Then that is a relief. Though I do not really know what you’re trying to do.”

Hwaryeong tilted her head slightly. I paused as I was getting up and looked at her. Come to think of it, she was an investor too. She probably held around ten percent of the shares.

I needed to show an investor like that a little more respect. I held out my hand to her. As she looked down at it with a puzzled expression, I gave her a small bow.

“Would you like to come have a look too, Hwaryeong? I cannot neglect an investor.”

“Oh my. Then shall I take a brief look? I am quite curious too.”

Hwaryeong smiled lightly and took my hand. I gently helped her to her feet. Then she came to my side and began releasing magical power.

“Shall we go out, then?”

Hwaryeong’s magical power flowed through the room and formed a small door before us. She naturally opened it and stepped outside. I followed her through the door.

Once I crossed it, a street came into view. We had left the trading company building in an instant. I looked around and saw the lively city.

Mages giving off dense magical power, neatly maintained roads, and lamps glowing brightly with magical power. It was the scenery of the fifth floor.

I glanced at Hwaryeong. The fact that she could come up to the fifth floor meant she had taken an important position. If I stayed beside her, plenty would surely fall into my hands as well.

Together, we headed down. All the way to the very bottom of the city, the first floor. The moment we entered, murky magical power wrapped around my body.

It was entirely different from the fifth floor where we had just been. I led Hwaryeong, who seemed slightly uncomfortable with the gloomy streets and bustling crowds, into the flow of people.

Following that flow, we reached an area slightly outside the city’s center. It was a place where few people passed through, since going any farther would lead completely into the outskirts.

And that was where my shop was located. I slowly walked toward the building in front of me. Puppets were moving busily both inside and outside it.

[Master, you have arrived. I contacted you because everything is ready.]

“You have worked hard.”

I gave a slight bow to Isabella, who had approached me before I noticed. As the person in charge of managing the puppets, she had been running the shop thoroughly. The fact that she had contacted me meant it was time to open it.

My shop. I looked over the building. This building, which seemed to grow upside down from the ceiling, was quite small compared to the others. It could not be helped, since it was located away from the central district.

Still, it was not a bad location. It was not far from puppet street, and it could be seen at a glance from the dock.

I found myself smiling a little. It reminded me of when I first came to this city.

Back then, I had agonized over whether to buy ham that cost 5 points. Owning a shop like this had felt impossibly distant. I had worried that I would need to struggle for a hundred years.

But after only ten years, I had my own shop again. I rummaged through my clothes and took out my spatial pouch. From inside it, I pulled out a sign I had treasured for a long time.

I quietly ran my hand over it. It was only an old wooden sign with nothing special about it. But it held great value for me. I hung it in front of the shop.

<Evron’s Puppet Workshop>

It was something I had taken with me while closing my shop outside the university. It was also an object that held my determination. The determination that, after graduating from the university, I would open a puppet shop in the Empire’s capital.

Having a shop within the university was the first step toward that dream. I nodded with satisfaction. Isabella lightly clapped beside me, as if congratulating me.

I quietly thanked her, then entered with Hwaryeong. A clean, orderly interior came into view.

There was a well-arranged rest area, rooms for consultations, and a space where puppets for sale stood. It was decorated far better than I had imagined. As I smiled contentedly, I saw Hwaryeong frown slightly.

Why was she doing that? I followed her gaze and nodded lightly. Ah, that was why. Hwaryeong was looking at the puppets for sale. After examining them, she looked at me.

“Are you really planning to let them go like this?”

I quietly nodded. Her brow furrowed further as if she could not understand. Well, that was understandable. I looked at the puppet in front of us. The smoothly carved puppet looked quite convincing.

I had made it with great care, so the magic built into it was excellent as well. Its production cost alone was surely around one hundred points. Yet the price written beneath it was only 1 point.

“It is not the sale price. It is the rental fee. I will receive 1 point each month.”

“Even so, it is still hard to understand.”

Hwaryeong let out a small sigh. I shrugged as I looked at her. It could not be helped. I had to accept losses for my plan.

I smiled slightly. One point. This nearly free price was exactly the direction I wanted to pursue. Sacrifice was necessary for greater growth. That principle applied not only to people, but to business as well.

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