WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 212: 212

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I looked at Professor with a hint of tension. She sipped her tea with her eyes closed, as if savoring its aroma. Before long, I saw her give a small nod.

“Today’s is good too. I’m satisfied.”

Professor slowly opened her eyes, a faint smile on her lips, and set down her teacup. I let out a sigh of relief and bowed deeply. Today had been quite a challenge, so I was very glad she seemed pleased.

I placed the empty dishes onto a tray and lightly examined the magical power lingering within them. Wild magical power brushed against my fingertips.

It was the magical power contained within the Sky Ray’s heart.

I nodded quietly. Even the lingering trace of magical power, which had already lost its form and begun to scatter, created such an impressive flow. It truly was worthy of a spiritual beast that commanded such a high price.

“There’s no more of that, is there?”

Professor asked with a small smack of her lips.

I lightly shook my head. There was truly none left now. What I had acquired had only been a small piece of heart, enough to cook a single meal.

“Yes. It’s difficult to obtain, after all.”

A Sky Ray was a spiritual beast that never left the clouds from the moment it was born until the moment it died. Even mages could not easily catch one. There were none to be found at the university at all.

How much effort had I put into obtaining that one piece of heart? If Hwaryeong had not helped me, it surely would never have ended up in my hands. Remembering that, I smacked my lips.

“Hmm... Then I suppose I should catch a few next time I go out. It tastes very different from when I used to tear into them and eat them myself.”

Professor’s eyes gleamed faintly. It seemed she liked the taste of Sky Ray.

I smiled softly at the sight. My steady efforts had paid off after all.

Recently, I had been troubled by something. Professor’s reactions no longer seemed the same as before.

Perhaps she had simply grown accustomed to my cooking. And that also meant my cooking skills had stopped improving.

That was why I wanted to take on something new. Cooking the Sky Ray had been the result of that decision. To handle a Sky Ray, I had needed to overturn every method I had used until now.

Sky Rays grew by feeding on the magical power of the sun. So even while cooking it, I had tried to keep it alive by using only the sun’s magical power.

And as I could see now, that attempt had been a great success.

Cooking was like magic. There were many paths to follow, and no end to the ways one could achieve something.

Without proper knowledge, firm intent, and enough magical power, you could not bring out the flavor of even the finest ingredients.

I lightly clenched my hand. Thanks to this experience, I could feel that my skills had improved. A small realization was stirring in my chest.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

I bowed lightly to Professor. Today’s meal was over.

Professor nodded lazily.

I carefully backed out of the room. Then I took out a mirror bug and checked the message inside.

It had arrived from Hwaryeong that morning.

-Could you visit as quickly as possible? There’s something I need to tell you.

I rubbed my chin.

What could she need to tell me? Since she had contacted me so urgently, something troublesome must have happened.

That meant it was time to return to the workshop. I needed to finish my work quickly and leave for the city.

I slowly descended the stairs and headed toward the workshop.

When I opened its door, a very busy scene greeted me.

Puppets of similar shapes were piled up against one wall of the workshop, while No. 0 was imbuing them with magic.

No. 0 soon noticed me and gave a light wave.

I approached No. 0 and looked over the puppets. Under its careful management, they all appeared perfectly fine without any issues.

Seeing that, I nodded. Since they were all in such good condition, it did not seem necessary to make more puppets for now.

“Keep up the good work for a little longer.”

I lightly patted No. 0 on the shoulder.

These puppets had remained in good condition largely thanks to it. At my praise, it puffed out its chest and lightly struck it, as though telling me to leave it all to it.

I smiled and walked to the other side of the workshop.

A considerable number of people, no, puppets, were gathered there. One of them spotted me and raised both hands high.

“Slaughter!”

It was Rabbit, the girl with rabbit ears attached to a face that strongly resembled Professor’s.

She rushed toward me and began pulling at me as though urging me along.

“Slaughter, slaughter!”

I could sense her desire for me to wake someone up.

I lightly patted Rabbit on the head and stepped among the puppets. Then I slowly looked around.

Every puppet had a face that strongly resembled Professor’s. They were all inner demons that had gained bodies and escaped into reality.

And now, they had gathered to welcome another inner demon.

I had not expected Cassian to be here as well, though.

I glanced at her. She was observing the cradle among the inner demons alongside her bear puppet.

Had spending time with these inner demons earned her an invitation here? Overcoming the barriers of inner demons full of vigilance was quite an impressive feat of sociability.

I approached the cradle they were watching.

The cylindrical cradle held a great deal of magical power and gave off a translucent glow. I had named it a cradle for one reason.

An inner demon was sleeping inside it.

I placed my hand on the cradle and carefully sent magical power into it. The magical power within resonated with mine, creating gentle ripples.

At the same time, I felt the reaction of the puppet absorbing that magical power.

Feeling the faint flow of intent reaching me, I nodded.

It really seemed time for it to wake up. The time had come to keep my promise.

I focused on that faint intent and formed a stronger connection with it. At the same time, the magical power contained in the cradle began rapidly seeping into the puppet at its center.

The puppet, now sufficiently stabilized, accepted that magical power without hesitation.

How much time passed like that?

I felt all the magical power in the cradle disappear.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked inside. A single puppet lay within it.

Like the others, it was a puppet that strongly resembled Professor. Its body twitched slightly.

Then it slowly opened its eyes and looked around.

It had awakened successfully.

The others nearby applauded to celebrate its awakening. Amid their response, it met my eyes and smiled faintly with its eyes.

You kept your promise. I believed in you.

It sent that intent as though whispering.

I quietly nodded.

Promises had to be kept. That was my principle, so wasn’t it only natural?

The one who had awakened this time was Nun.

And with her, my promise had finally come to an end. Every inner demon had finally gained a body and stepped into the world.

“Slaughter!”

Rabbit took out the clothes she had prepared for Nun. It was a nun’s habit with a loose, flowing fit, made in the exact same style as the one Nun had worn in the dream.

Nun stepped out of the cradle, lightly ran her fingers over it, and looked down at herself. After confirming that she was wearing simple clothes soaked in magical power, she gave a small nod and began changing.

I made a wall with magical power for her and waited quietly.

It was not long before she emerged. She bowed to me.

“Thank you very...”

“Slaughter?”

Rabbit abruptly grabbed Nun’s hand and cried out energetically. I could feel Rabbit’s intent to show her around the tower as her senior.

Nun blinked in surprise after being interrupted, but she could not escape Rabbit’s grasp. Perhaps because she had only just awakened, she lost out in strength.

Rabbit then confidently ran out of the workshop with Nun in tow.

The inner demons followed after the two of them.

I snorted softly as I watched them leave. Well, I would let them enjoy themselves for now. There would be another chance to speak with them later.

More importantly, I needed to give a warning.

I stopped Cassian as she tried to quietly leave the workshop after the inner demons.

She blinked and met my eyes.

“Could you spare me a moment?”

“Uh... What is it?”

Cassian tilted her head slightly.

I took out my mirror bug and showed her the many posts left on the message board. Every one of them was about her.

“There have been many complaints from the students. They say you’ve recently been picking fights and disturbing them. So I’d appreciate it if you restrained yourself a little from now on.”

Cassian flinched slightly, as if that struck a nerve.

But she soon looked at the inner demons’ backs and puffed out her cheeks in protest.

“But those friends are playing just fine.”

I firmly shook my head at her excuse.

Those inner demons were connected to treasures. Under the tower’s rules, they could interact with students. But Cassian had nothing to do with the current lecture, so she should not influence them.

I narrowed my eyes at Cassian.

To begin with, I did not understand why she was here. She had a lecture she was currently attending. She should have left the tower to attend it today.

“More importantly, should you even be here? I heard from several swordsmen that missing that lecture would make things difficult for you.”

Cassian’s lecture was for swordsmen at the fourth floor or below. Naturally, its professor was also a swordsman.

A swordsman who had risen as far as becoming a professor. I could not even imagine what kind of person the professor was.

The professor was probably similar to Professor On.

For a swordsman, the opportunity to receive teaching from someone like that would be like rain after a drought. Yet I could not understand why Cassian was here.

“They told me I had nothing left to learn and to just come down the mountain. They said they’d give me a pass, so I didn’t need to come anymore.”

Cassian leaned against the bear puppet and proudly puffed out her chest. Then she lightly waved her sword with a smug expression.

I could only let out a hollow laugh.

An early pass?

I slowly shook my head. No wonder complaints had sharply increased recently. Had it been because her lecture had ended?

She had begun attending that lecture when ours started as well. That meant she had effectively completed an entire lecture in only two years.

Once again, I realized just how great her talent was.

And I also realized how helpful it was to have her tied to this tower.

I glanced at the bear puppet. It was taking out a handkerchief and pretending to cry, as though proud of Cassian.

“...All right. Then there’s nothing to be done. You may go now. As I said, I’d appreciate it if you simply refrained from bothering the students.”

I nodded.

If her lecture was over, then there was nothing I could do. Cassian raised both hands and immediately rushed after the inner demons. The bear puppet followed behind her.

I watched them and placed a hand on my chest.

The vast domain created by my shadow tree welcomed me. The domain reaching all the way to the city was so wide that it was hard to believe it belonged to a mage who had only reached the third floor.

There were probably almost no others besides me who had expanded their domain this much at the Young Tree realm.

It would have been impossible through my power alone.

My domain had grown so large thanks to the many puppets created by splitting my tree. I smiled as I felt the countless stars decorating the shadow tree’s domain.

Compared to two years ago, the number of those stars had increased by dozens of times. They now filled almost half of this vast domain.

That sense of fullness seemed to fill my chest.

This was all the result of what I had achieved in the city. I had gained thousands of customers and distributed puppets among them.

I surely could not have achieved this if I had remained only at the tower.

Among those countless stars, one stood out the most. It was a clear constellation shaped like a bear.

It was freely flying through the night sky as if stirring up my domain.

That was the ego of the bear puppet beside Cassian.

The bear puppet’s ego, which had fully taken on its own form, was incredibly clear, as though it held its own body within it.

Such clarity meant that its ego had grown very steadily. At this rate, it would surely be able to endure for quite a long time even if it moved far away from my domain.

The bear puppet had grown this much through its long interaction with Cassian.

Cassian considered the bear puppet closer than people, like family.

Through those interactions, it had even begun to take in part of Cassian’s talent. I had been so startled when its claws filled with magical power and tore through the air.

It possessed enough power to easily rip apart a mage at the Sapling realm.

Perhaps even I would not be able to defeat it easily. That was enough to give me a sense of danger.

When I thought of how the bear puppet could barely send out intent when I first made it, its growth truly was unmatched.

That was why I had made it the model for my other puppets.

My decision to start a business in the city had also been based on them. I had wanted puppets and owners to form relationships like Cassian and the bear puppet, allowing the puppets to become more complete through interaction.

And that intention was proving highly successful.

So many stars were shining within my chest.

I lightly tapped my chest.

At that moment, Mira passed Cassian and entered the workshop. After noticing me, she narrowed her eyes and slowly approached.

I gave her a small bow.

“You worked hard today as well.”

“That’s right. I worked very hard today too. Making me work this much is truly outrageous.”

Mira linked her arm with mine. Then she began playfully poking my chest with her finger.

After spending a moment like that, she continued.

“There were no particular problems today either. Around forty people were selected by the treasure and shared in its power.”

As expected.

I quietly nodded.

The treasure used in today’s lecture was the Book of Greed, which Professor had picked up during a previous entrance exam.

It had received thorough mental training under Blood Axe, so it surely would not cause an accident.

I checked the mirror bug. There were quite a lot of favorable reviews.

Just as Mira had said, there had been no major problems.

Did that mean we had now achieved two years without accidents?

A satisfied smile formed on my face. It had been a good decision to reorganize the rules.

I glanced at the mirror bug.

It displayed the tower’s twelve rules, which had been announced on the message board. They were mandatory rules that students had to follow.

Perhaps because everyone had followed those rules well, no major incidents had occurred since the lectures began. There had been a few minor issues, of course, but things had generally gone smoothly.

There was nothing much for me to do amid that peaceful flow.

Mira was handling all the lectures anyway.

I glanced at her. Since I had confirmed the lecture was over, it was time to head to the city.

“Then I’ll be heading to the city.”

“Already? I’m jealous. You’re leaving me behind again.”

Mira complained and sharply poked my chest.

The pain made me let out a small cough. Mira stared at me with narrowed eyes, then lightly shook her head.

“When this lecture ends, I’ll make you pay properly. You should prepare yourself.”

“Of course. I’m simply grateful that you’re willing to handle the lecture.”

I nodded with a bitter smile.

After going to the city, I often had to leave the tower. I had felt the need for someone else to take responsibility for the lectures.

And Mira was the only one around me who could do that.

One needed sufficient strength to control treasures.

That was why I often asked Mira to handle the lectures.

Mira had gladly accepted my requests. Of course, as she said, I would need to pay a suitable price.

She smiled mischievously and stepped away from me.

A thick desire rippled from her as she lightly licked her lips. I could not help breaking out in a cold sweat.

What exactly was she planning to demand when the lecture ended? I had no idea.

Still, since she had helped me, I needed to grant her request.

Well, wouldn’t my future self take responsibility for that?

For now, all I could do was gratefully accept her help.

“Then please be careful. If you need me for anything, let me know. I’ll always be waiting.”

Mira waved lightly.

I bowed to her once more and headed toward No. 0. I remembered Isabella asking me to bring several more puppets, so I needed to take care of that.

It did not take long to leave the tower and reach the city.

I gently patted the turtle’s back, thanking it for its hard work during the journey, then slowly stepped onto the dock.

I followed the flow of people toward the street where my shop was located.

After walking for some time, I spotted the shop with its door wide open and people coming and going.

Evron’s Puppet Workshop.

I lightly touched the sign, which I never grew tired of seeing, and entered the shop.

Inside, Isabella was seeing off other customers.

She met my eyes and gave me a gentle smile.

I approached, bowed slightly, and took a spatial pouch from my clothes.

“It’s good to see you, Isabella. I brought the puppets you requested.”

Isabella carefully accepted the spatial pouch and checked what was inside. Then she nodded lightly and began writing.

[Thank you. It’s fortunate, since we needed some more extras. That person brought another large group of people.]

That person.

I rubbed my chin. I knew exactly whom Isabella meant.

And as the saying went, speak of the dragon and it appears. The person Isabella had mentioned stepped over the threshold and entered the shop.

“Boss, you’re here at just the right time. I came to buy another new function today.”

A very lively woman’s voice rang out.

I quietly nodded and faced her.

Her face was very familiar. Naturally, since I had been seeing her for years now.

It was Repo, the freckled woman.

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll show you inside.”

I gave Isabella a small signal and headed toward the reception room. I had originally planned to leave immediately, but an important customer had arrived, so I needed to greet her myself.

After sitting on the sofa with Repo, I showed her the catalog Isabella had brought. It contained the puppet’s various functions.

Repo studied it closely, then selected the Gold Card.

“I’ll take this.”

I could not help being a little surprised.

It had only been a month since she bought one before. Did that mean she had already gathered that many points?

After thinking for a moment, I nodded. It did make sense.

“Then please wait a moment. I’ll bring it right out.”

I stood and headed for the storage room. There, I took out a small card.

The card shimmered with gold light and contained considerable magical power.

I returned to the reception room and held it out to Repo. Her eyes sparkled when she saw it.

She snatched it up and immediately tucked it into her clothes.

“Then I’ll collect the points.”

I glanced at her puppet.

It took out a small mirror from its clothes. It was something that held points.

I deducted fifteen thousand points from it and lightly nodded.

Repo stood and gave me a small bow.

I had been pouring tea for her when I stopped. It seemed she intended to leave right away.

“You’re not staying longer?”

“Hmm, I have a gathering to attend. I came because I needed points urgently.”

Repo smiled as she touched the card.

She already had an appointment. Then there was nothing to be done.

I nodded lightly. She seemed to be in quite a hurry, leaving the shop with quick steps. Just like when she arrived, she was gone in an instant.

I walked to the door to see her off and rubbed my chin.

A gathering. Had she reached the point where she could afford such leisure?

Isabella also seemed impressed. She stood beside me and watched Repo’s retreating figure.

[She has changed so much compared to when we first met her.]

Isabella was right.

When Repo first visited the shop, she had worn a very shabby robe. She had looked like a typical wanderer.

But none of that remained in her now. She wore a robe made of what appeared to be expensive fabric, along with several jeweled accessories.

The puppet standing beside Repo was just as impressive.

Its appearance was hardly different from a human’s, and it had been carefully decorated to suit her tastes.

If I remembered correctly, all the functions invested into it added up to two thousand points each month.

Of course, the cost she actually paid was probably less than a hundred points.

Repo had changed so much because of my shop.

This month alone, more than fifty people had already listed Repo as their referrer.

Over the past two years, she had brought so many people to my shop. The number of referrals she had gathered had already exceeded several hundred.

They were drawn in by the comfort of the puppets and added more functions. Some of those points then became reward points that flowed to Repo.

For each individual, it was only a small amount. But once it exceeded several hundred people, it became too large to ignore.

She gathered reward points like that and bought points from me.

The Gold Card she had just bought was one form of such an exchange.

It was a type of check issued by the trading company. Each one was worth ten thousand points, and she had bought it for fifteen thousand reward points.

The exchange rate was a little steep, of course, but that could not be helped because I was taking on risk as well.

Still, from Repo’s perspective, converting reward points into points was practically free money.

That was how she earned reward points by gathering customers, while those beneath her also tried to gather customers.

Over the past two years, only two kinds of people had visited this shop. Those who brought others in, and those who had been brought in by them.

There were almost no customers outside those groups.

It was rather strange.

Over the past two years, I had earned a considerable number of points. Naturally, word of our shop should have spread.

But nobody spoke about this shop.

I understood very well why.

Our existing customers did not want word of the shop to spread. It was probably best described as a mage’s selfishness.

To people like Repo, everyone else was no different from extra reward points. If the shop became widely known, they would have to compete over referrals.

That was why they tried to hide information about my shop instead.

As a result, only people connected to them came here.

I smiled with narrowed eyes.

Well, I could ruin their plans by advertising the shop everywhere, but I had no reason to do that.

Their behavior was exactly what I wanted.

The more they worked to earn points, the more a portion of those profits would flow to me.

Through this process, the connections among customers were becoming very strong. They even showed care for the puppets that served as their means of earning points.

In that sense, it was an excellent cycle.

They earned points, and I earned points too.

So rather than stopping them, all I could do was encourage them.

This structure, solidly built over the past two years, would continue into the future.

With that confidence, I laughed heartily.

But it did not take long for that confidence to collapse.

It happened after I left the shop and arrived at the Arcana General Trading Company.

“Someone is targeting you, Evron.”

I blinked quietly.

Someone was targeting me?

I looked at Hwaryeong.

Her expression was slightly stiff. Was this why she had called me?

I needed to hear the details.

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