WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 22

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I waited quietly in front of the tent. I had to make it clear that I was holding my place and waiting. That was the only way Professor would be satisfied. If I wandered off and got on her nerves, I was certain she would hit me again later.

While I was setting up the tent, quite a few more people had gathered. There were easily several thousand of them. On top of that, people were still coming through the gate. This year’s incoming students numbered over ten thousand, so more than twice this many mages would be gathered in one place.

I had never seen so many mages gathered before. Even in the university city where the university gate was located, the number of mages had not exceeded a thousand. The same was true on the outskirts of the slums.

And yet here were this many mages, all in one place. Most of them were probably better mages than me, too. I felt my body stiffen slightly with tension.

When I checked the time, it was a little past ten. The acceptance certificate had said to pass through the university gate by exactly twelve, so there was still plenty of time before the entrance ceremony.

Should I look around until then? With that thought, I studied the clearing carefully. People were gathered in groups more than I had expected. Like me, they had decorated sections of the clearing in their own ways.

The most impressive was a massive mansion. The beautiful mansion, carved from ice, was transparent enough that anyone outside could see everything within. Several people were gathered inside, talking.

A great many people had crowded around the mansion. But no one approached it easily. That was because of the people guarding the area around it. At a glance, I could tell every one of them was a powerful mage.

They were using people like that as guards? I wondered if some high-ranking people had arrived. Then I felt someone among them looking at me. Who was it? Curious, I focused my magical power and checked the owner of that gaze.

It was Hongryeong. I hurriedly stood and bowed my head in greeting. Hongryeong gave me a small nod in return, then went back to talking with the people beside him.

I quickly looked away. I still had not forgotten the exam. Sometimes his face, full of hatred, appeared in my dreams and startled me awake.

I should not look at him or pay him any attention at all. Since Hongryeong was there, that side was clearly packed with people from great families. They lived in a completely different world from me, so there was no need to concern myself with them any further.

After that, I looked over the other groups of mages one by one. With different clothes and different distinguishing traits, they were already building factions before the entrance ceremony had even begun.

As I watched the others, someone poked my shoulder. I had not sensed anyone’s presence at all. Startled, I turned around. Ailey was waving at me with her usual smile on her lips.

“Hello.”

“It has been a while, Ailey-nim.”

“Hehe, it has.”

She glanced at the tent.

“What about there?”

“My Professor is inside. Another professor came to visit, so I came outside as well.”

For a moment, she looked surprised. After staring briefly at the tent, she looked back at me.

“What you said at the exam site, was that true?”

“How could I lie?”

I smiled gently and manipulated my magical power. A puppet brought out chairs and a table in front of us. When she sat down, the puppet smoothly pulled her chair up to the table.

Then the puppet poured a cup of tea and placed it before her. It was the tea she had enjoyed during the exam. After Ailey drank it, her smile deepened.

“It tastes better than before.”

“Yes, I improved the magic a little more.”

She and I quietly drank tea. Only after she had emptied the whole cup did she speak.

“Did you see Hongryeong?”

“Yes, I saw him in the mansion with the others.”

“What about Shaking Rope?”

She lowered her voice. Her tone was full of interest.

I was startled when I heard that. Shaking Rope was here? I had been watching the clearing the entire time, but I had not found her.

“No. Did she pass?”

“She did. Right now, she’s hiding among the other witches and glaring at Hongryeong. She’s hiding thoroughly so she won’t be noticed, so it might be hard to see her. Hehe, I think this will get interesting later.”

A bitter smile formed on my face. This was exactly why I had been careful not to earn other people’s grudges during the exam. Debts and grudges always dragged on in nasty ways. Shaking Rope was proof of that.

Of course, Hongryeong probably would not care about such things. He was from a great family. It was a problem only wanderers like me had to be careful of.

In that sense, Shaking Rope passing was a very bothersome matter. Passing under such unfavorable circumstances meant her talent was far from ordinary.

“I am glad she passed. Did you see Sieger-ssi?”

“No, that uncle probably failed.”

Ailey shook her head. It seemed he had failed, just as he had expected early on. He was the only person in our group who failed. Put the other way, four of us had passed.

Should I be glad there were familiar faces here? Considering Shaking Rope, it was not necessarily a good thing. We drank tea and idly watched the clearing.

Hm, was this my chance? There was no one around us, and Hongryeong was not paying attention to us either.

“Ailey-nim, are you not going to that mansion?”

I lightly prodded Ailey. The reaction came at once. The smile vanished from her face. She narrowed her eyes and stared at me coldly. In an instant, the air froze, and her magical power became ropes that began tightening around my body.

“Hmm. I’m not going.”

She leaned both arms on the table and brought her face closer to mine. That sharp gaze slowly swept over my face. I simply endured it with a bitter smile. The scent of blood was thick in her magical power.

“Who did you hear that from?”

She whispered. Her voice had a sharp edge to it.

“Hongryeong-ssi. He told me when the exam had ended.”

“Hmm, I see. So that young master said that?”

A smile returned to her face. But that smile carried an unpleasant feeling. I could not tell what was hidden inside it. But the bloody killing intent was gone. That coldness was probably aimed at Hongryeong now, not me.

I let out a deep breath inwardly. I did not know what kind of relationship these two had or what intentions they had in approaching me. All I could do was either hide everything or reveal everything.

Between those two, I chose to reveal everything. I thought that was the safer path. If Hongryeong came to see me, I planned to tell him about this as well. The more I hid, the more bothersome my existence would become, so if I laid everything open from the start, there would be no reason for them to suspect me.

The mood settled again, and we began talking about ordinary things. As she talked about how she had spent the past month, she naturally brought up a mage she had killed. Apparently, after killing them, she found out they had been a mage who had passed the university entrance exam.

“Haha, you tell good jokes.”

I tried to treat her words as a joke and laugh them off. But cold sweat ran down my back. I really did not know why she was bringing up this kind of story. Did I perhaps look like a convenient tool to use? That would be better, at least. If she was using me as a tool, that meant she would not kill me.

For now, I had to change the subject quickly. If I got any more entangled here, I might naturally end up involved in her business too.

What she was most interested in right now was tea. Then I should dress that story up as much as possible and explain it. I began exaggerating how I had developed my tea-brewing magic over the past month.

I did not just talk. I showed her the changing colors and aromas of the tea.

Several cups began appearing on the table. Her eyes followed them, beginning to sparkle. I had finally caught her interest. Letting out a small sigh, I served her tea with a story inside it.

As I talked for a while like that, the clearing became crowded before I knew it. People were filling even the area around us. They had come all the way out to the edge. I checked the clock. It was almost twelve.

“It’s time.”

No sooner had I said that than the shadow covering the tent was sucked into the ground. Professor Heisen slowly walked out from inside. I quickly stood and bowed my head. He glanced at me, then melted into his own shadow.

“Is that your Professor?”

Ailey asked. I shook my head slightly.

“No. He is someone who came to see my Professor. He said his name was Professor Heisen.”

While I was explaining, Professor Irian kicked the tent open and came out. I did not know what they had talked about inside, but she looked utterly exhausted and was grumbling nonstop. I stood while whispering quietly to Ailey.

“That is my Professor.”

I quickly approached Professor and bowed my head.

“You came out.”

Professor looked at me and pouted. Her face was full of dissatisfaction.

“You. When course registration opens, apply for that guy’s class. That’s what was decided.”

“His class?”

My eyes widened in surprise. She glared at me. That was a mistake. I had talked back to Professor when she looked this upset. On any normal day, I would have been hit right away.

“Yeah. Got a problem?”

“No, I will apply immediately.”

I had no idea what lecture he taught or how to apply for it. But for now, I did not make a sound. If I added anything else here, her fist would definitely fly first.

Ailey had already risen from the table at some point. Professor walked up to the table and looked at her as she stood there politely with both hands gathered. Professor’s eyes slowly looked her up and down.

“What’s this?”

I carefully introduced Ailey, gesturing toward her with my palm.

“She is a group member who took the exam with me. I received a great deal of help from her during the exam.”

Professor’s gaze on Ailey gradually deepened. After staring at her for a long while, Professor soon shook her head slightly.

“The smell of blood is too strong. Not my taste. It’s annoying, so keep your distance.”

Ailey did not lose her smile even at those words. She calmly bowed her head.

“Yes, Professor. Then I will see you next time. Evron-gun, contact me anytime if you need my help.”

She slowly left. I watched her back and waited for Professor to speak. Professor stared at me. Her eyes held a trace of playfulness and sharpness at the same time.

“I wondered how you passed with all four limbs intact. Did you seduce a woman?”

“No.”

I hid my confusion and answered with a forced smile.

The wall of status and the wall of skill. How could that possibly happen when those huge, impossible obstacles stood in the way? On top of that, her dangerous air really did not suit me. I was the type who pursued safety and comfort.

Professor seemed to lose interest and turned her head.

“Anyway, once the entrance ceremony ends, you have to go straight to my tower. A ton of things came up that need handling.”

Professor’s face as she said that was full of dissatisfaction and spite. I quietly bent at the waist. At times like this, if I caught Professor’s eye the wrong way, it would not end with just one broken bone.

Then, far away near the platform, people began murmuring. Professor Heisen was standing on the platform. Many people had not even noticed he had appeared there. With a young man who looked like an attendant behind him, he looked around.

Soon, every eye in the clearing turned to him. Professor Heisen slowly opened his mouth, looking exhausted.

“Congratulations to all of you on entering the university. I am Heisen, the one who supervised this entrance exam.”

His words were soaked with exhaustion and listlessness. After looking around for a moment, his gaze turned toward Professor Irian. He stared at Professor briefly, then continued with an even more tired face.

“I don’t have much I want to say. You can now do whatever you want at the university. As long as you obey the university rules, everything is free. As for the university rules, well, find out later.”

The more he spoke, the more annoyance showed on his face.

“All existing currency cannot be used. From now on, you will calculate everything with points. The same goes for this exam’s results. The higher ranks receive more points, and the lower ranks receive fewer.”

Professor Heisen’s voice gradually lost strength. By the end of his sentence, it was almost too quiet to hear. He looked as if even continuing to speak had become a bother.

At that moment, the young man standing behind him stepped forward with a broad smile. Professor Heisen looked at him and said briefly,

“You can hear the rest from this guy.”

Then he sank into his shadow and disappeared. He soon appeared beside us. Rubbing his eyes, he spoke in a tired voice.

“I came back because I didn’t know what else to say. That guy will take care of the rest.”

Professor Irian heard that and cackled. The dissatisfaction that had filled her face was already gone.

“Greetings, everyone!”

A large man spread both arms and shouted. His voice carried enormous magical power, and the entire clearing trembled with the resonance. It was not simple sound. It was a kind of massive magic that engraved his presence into my soul.

“I will not speak at length. It would all be useless talk anyway. I will only add to what Professor Heisen said earlier about points. Let us use the first transaction held in celebration of your admission as an example.”

He took out a sheet of paper covered in writing. The paper fluttered in the wind at his fingertips.

“The magical beasts you faced during the exam were all provided by our organization, Beast Corporation. You killed many of our beasts during the exam. Since you touched our products before even purchasing them, you must pay us the appropriate cost.”

The surroundings stirred for a moment at his words. What kind of forced sale was this? Professor Irian only kept grinning, as if she found the situation funny.

“We have collected that cost in advance on behalf of all of you, who must be busy after your admission! It is one thousand points per person. You will be able to check this transaction when you check your points. Now, everyone, please accept this. It is a souvenir for your first transaction.”

After saying that, he took out a pouch and scattered a great number of things into the air. It must have been a spatial pouch, because items kept pouring endlessly from within. I lightly grabbed the thing that appeared in my hand before I knew it. It was a ring.

“We call that a point wallet. Since it synchronizes with your personal soul, even if you lose it, you only need to get a new one. If everyone places magical power into it, you should be able to check your points!”

I looked down at the ring. A complex magic circle had been engraved inside a ring made of dark, murky mineral. When I carefully placed magical power into it, the ring reacted and drew numbers.

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50

--

Was this my point total? When I touched the number with my finger, it displayed more numbers that looked like transaction details.

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+1,100/Admission

-1,000/Beast Corporation

-50/Beast Corporation

--

I had received 1,100 points as admission points. But all of it was gone. No, he had called it a souvenir, but it seemed they had deducted the price of this ring too. My insides boiled.

“Has everyone checked? This is also a lesson I am giving you. Everyone, do not trust people too much! Since you have already activated it, we cannot give refunds.”

The clearing filled with dissatisfaction. Small groans and sighs could be heard. But no one protested. The man standing on the platform was stronger than any new student here.

“I was Luo, customer relations director of Beast Corporation. How does everyone feel after completing your first transaction?”

After looking around for a moment, he laughed loudly.

“You all seem to have many complaints. With this, I believe I have explained this place to you well. In this place, you need power. And you need points too. That is everything, and you have none of it.”

He spoke with a smile, but the content was cold to the bone.

“So work hard to earn points. You will need points to take classes and to live. The entrance ceremony ends here. I wish you all good luck surviving!”

Luo floated into the air and flew away. But soon, he flinched to a stop. Returning again, he smiled awkwardly and shouted,

“Anyone interested in Beast Corporation may come to our office at any time. We have priority rights over this year’s new students, so do not go to other organizations for no reason and get yourselves into trouble!”

This time, he flew away without hesitation, as if he had truly finished saying everything. Once he disappeared, people looked at one another in confusion. Everywhere, people wandered around at a loss, unsure what to do.

The first to leave were the people from the great families who had been talking in the ice mansion. They formed a single group and left the clearing. Their steps were confident and unstoppable, as if nothing could get in their way.

Many people watched for a bit, then followed after them. Looking at that, I clicked my tongue. What would they do if those people suddenly changed their minds and stole all their points? How could they follow so innocently? I simply stayed where I was.

Professor Irian stretched. A smile spread across her face, as if she found this entire situation very amusing.

“How many points do you have left?”

I showed her my ring. She looked at it and grinned.

“Heh, that’ll disappear after one meal. But I told you, right? During the next course registration, you have to apply for this guy’s lecture no matter what. If you can’t, I’ll beat you until you’re just short of death.”

Professor Heisen heard that and laughed like Professor Irian. He seemed to find this situation funny too.

“Then I will go first. See you next time.”

Professor Heisen said that and melted into the shadows.

“Then shall we go too?”

Professor grabbed me with magical power and lifted me into the air. Her magical power shot us up into the sky in an instant. The wind struck my face hard, making it difficult to even open my eyes.

As we shot forward like that, I struggled to open my eyes and caught a glimpse of the university’s scenery.

Mountains.

Dozens, hundreds of huge mountains gathered together to form a mountain range. The mountains towered as if they would pierce the sky, giving off powerful magical power.

Held in her magical power as I flew, I stared blankly at the sight. It was vast nature. There was not the slightest trace of civilization.

The university’s appearance was different from what I had imagined.

So was the entrance ceremony.

I had not known points would be important.

I had known even less that they would all be ripped away as soon as I arrived.

And I had known even less than that, that a crisis I had to solve right away would appear.

It was an impressive entrance ceremony I would remember for the rest of my life.

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