Surviving in the Magic Academy - Chapter 220

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 220: 220

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While I was devising new magic, they had not been sitting idle either. I glanced at the small glass bottle beneath my hand. Inside, the corpse puppet I had rented before stood still with its eyes closed.

A small mirror was attached to the corpse puppet’s arm. It was the behavior-guiding promotional mirror Jegang had mentioned before. They had attached one to every puppet they sold.

It did not contain advertising functions alone. It could hold points and information, and even served as a membership card for using the trading company’s services.

I lightly stroked my chin as I looked at the mirror. I had kept that puppet until now to learn how they operated. There were things I could only discover by examining the puppet directly.

Still, I had not expected them to move this way. I let out a quiet exclamation as I checked the information stored in the mirror.

I had originally been able to draw away their customers because my puppets allowed more direct exchanges with their owners. I had successfully created a new need rooted in emotion.

That was why I had found it somewhat strange. Jegang had certainly succeeded in reducing my customer base. He had spent a great many points to forcefully cut down my scale. But that was something that would recover with time.

As long as they continued operating the puppet workshop, the need people felt for my puppets would not disappear. My puppets would always remain higher-grade than theirs. Naturally, people would begin flowing toward me again.

So Jegang needed to satisfy that need. It was not enough to simply reduce my customers. He needed to block the path through which people could flow to me at its source.

But how could he make that possible? Their puppets clearly differed from mine in quality. Under those circumstances, the system Jegang had put forward as an alternative was one like this mirror.

Jegang had used capital to provide services exclusively for customers who used their puppets. He opened dedicated inns where those who rented puppets could stay, and he also created service counters linked to the trading company where they could use points.

Furthermore, rather than only dealing with people who visited the store, they dispatched consultation mages who came to modify functions in person. Customers could now have their puppets’ functions checked anywhere without needing to visit the shop.

Stores that placed advertisements on the mirrors also gave puppet users many benefits to match that system. The entire process had moved so quickly that even I was surprised.

Jegang’s intentions were clear. Just as I had created an emotional need by connecting puppets and individuals, he wanted to create a new need of his own.

As he intended, the massive network covering the entire first floor and all the benefits it offered were things I could not provide. Compared to their puppets, mine had revealed their own shortcomings.

By not merely giving customers puppets, but having the trading company itself manage customers directly, he had been able to hold on to the customers drawn toward me.

As long as they were tied to such a system, exchanges with a puppet could not hold much meaning. They had succeeded not in creating exchanges between individual puppets and customers, but between customers and the massive group known as the trading company.

Their response had been excellent.

Against first-generation puppets, at least.

A faint smile crossed my face. Then I focused my mind on the space beyond my chest. Among the shining stars, I reached for the star of the puppet called Chad. My consciousness settled inside that star and quietly illuminated its memories.

Then I saw several wandering swordsmen and mages staring with sparkling eyes at Chad, who was showing off his muscles. It was apparently one of the social gatherings Chad held from time to time.

“Good heavens, that is an impressive puppet. Does it have any other magic?”

One of them asked Ivrio. Ivrio looked up at Chad with a proud expression.

Chad burst into laughter and raised his magical power.

Chad’s magical power poured over Ivrio. Before long, Ivrio’s body began to swell. Delicately sculpted muscles, just like Chad’s, completely covered their body.

It was magic that synchronized the puppet with a physical body. Ivrio struck a pose that showed off those muscles.

Those watching let out cries of admiration and clapped.

“Oh, wonderful. Excellent!”

Ivrio looked over them with a satisfied smile. Chad met Ivrio’s eyes, lightly patted their shoulder, and gave them a bright grin with a thumbs-up.

I could not help but snort as I peeked into that memory.

The fact that the puppet had carved that memory into itself meant that the event had deeply impressed its owner, Ivrio. The puppet called Chad had become closely connected with Ivrio, allowing part of Ivrio’s memories to be inscribed into the puppet as well.

I slowly opened my eyes. About a month had passed since I introduced second-generation puppets. During that time, their system had become firmly established, and my first-generation puppets could not overcome it.

But second-generation puppets tore down that system’s wall and stole their customers. If their functions had merely been the same, it would have been one thing. But the magic second-generation puppets showed was new enough to surpass that.

The Chad I had just seen was one such example. Hm. I had found it somewhat odd when Ivrio asked me to add synchronization magic. Had it been for demonstrations like that?

Chad had developed enough of a new personality to be shown off so proudly. The magic those puppets used moved for one person alone, so the results they produced could not help but be full of individuality.

Will was the most important force in magic. That was why those who encountered such puppets generally reacted the same way.

No matter how excellent their system was, how could someone turn away from a puppet that refined even its magic solely for its owner? I smiled slightly as I thought of No. 0.

There was a reason Professor Heisen’s shadows were so popular. They would even give their lives for their masters. My puppets were the same. Unless it involved harming me, they always did their utmost for their owners.

So no matter how Jegang tried to keep his customers with a new system, the situation was bound to turn in my favor. Their system had already become something of the past.

To deal with me, he needed a qualitative innovation that surpassed it. But such innovation could not come easily to people who merely copied me. These puppets contained the work of my entire life.

As my puppets changed, the number of customers leaving gradually decreased. Even when they tempted people with points, they no longer fell for it.

Rather, it became difficult to handle the growing number of customers. On top of that, rumors about these puppets had apparently reached the upper floors, leading to an unexpected result.

At that moment, I sensed someone approaching. When I turned my gaze, I saw Isabella. She gave me a slight bow.

[Master, your scheduled guest has arrived.]

I immediately sprang to my feet after hearing Isabella. They were already here? Then I needed to respond quickly.

“Could you guide them to the reception room? I will greet them personally.”

[They are already inside.]

Isabella gave an awkward smile and gestured outside. I followed her gaze beyond the workshop.

A woman sat on the reception room sofa with her arms crossed.

Damn, was she in that much of a hurry? I quickly straightened myself and headed to the reception room. Then I bowed deeply to the woman.

“If I had known you would arrive so quickly, I would have come out beforehand. I sincerely apologize.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at me. Frost-like magical power leaked from her eyes, which carried a thoroughly cold impression. I swallowed quietly as I felt that powerful magical power.

“Thank you very much for visiting. I also heard from Koite that you recently reached the 7th floor. Congratulations, Lumira.”

I gave a light clap.

She was Lumira, whom I had met before at Koite’s Dream Theater. She had wanted to overcome her inner demon in a dream to reach the 7th floor. The memory of that time still remained vivid to me.

About five years had passed since then, yet she had already reached the 7th floor. It was an incredible accomplishment. I quietly looked her over.

Lumira snorted at my behavior.

“Congratulations? It was only natural.”

“Then I will prepare some tea.”

I raised my magical power to cast Perfect Tea. But my magical power was disrupted halfway through. Lumira had stopped it.

She looked around the room and spoke.

“Do not bother with something so troublesome. Bring out the puppet immediately. I do not intend to remain here long.”

Lumira frowned slightly. The murky magical power of the first floor seemed quite unpleasant to her. I adjusted my magical power and nodded.

“I had already prepared it. I believe you will be fully satisfied.”

I rummaged through my clothes and took out a small box. Layered seals covered the box, which contained gentle magical power. I handed it to Lumira.

Lumira carefully accepted it and moved her magical power. Under her magical power, the box’s seals began to unravel. Soon, she slowly opened the fully unsealed box.

The magical power swirling inside the box began gathering toward what it contained. As the box opened, the thing inside began waking from its sleep.

The puppet inside stretched and let out a yawn.

Lumira’s eyes sparkled as she looked at it. She held out a finger toward the puppet.

The puppet, which had been rubbing its eyes, saw Lumira and smiled faintly. Then it rubbed its transparent wings, flew into the air, and rested its head against Lumira’s finger.

The puppet was shaped like a tiny fairy. Lumira gently stroked it with her finger before placing it into the pouch hanging from her chest.

After stroking the puppet for a moment with a small smile, Lumira turned serious and looked at me.

“There is nothing wrong with this child, correct?”

“Yes. It is a third-generation puppet, so it will eventually be able to speak. It will remember everything that happened in the dream as well.”

I looked at the puppet gazing around from inside Lumira’s pouch. How much had I invested to make that? It did not merely contain materials. It even held a soul.

I touched my chest, which felt slightly empty.

Until now, I had steadily created soul Saplings through my unique magic, Fake Life, and planted them in my foundation.

The number of those souls had increased sufficiently. There were enough that I could plant one in a puppet.

As a new experiment, one of those soul Saplings was now taking root inside that puppet.

“Ian, I have finally met you again. I will not let you go this time.”

Lumira looked down at the puppet with smiling eyes. Then she slowly rose from her seat. It seemed she intended to leave immediately.

As I saw her out, I scratched my head. I had not expected her to leave so quickly.

I blinked as I watched her disappear in an instant.

It was Koite who had introduced Lumira to me this time. She wanted to meet the fairy called Ian again.

Lumira’s process of overcoming her inner demon had been highly successful before. But conversely, that process, the memories of the dream, had ended up binding her somewhat.

The memory of Mira devouring the fairy had become engraved in her.

That was why Lumira wanted to meet the fairy again, even if only in a dream.

But that being had been something I acted out. It had only been an illusion. So the memory engraved in Lumira had no choice but to settle into her as a new inner demon.

That was why Koite had connected Lumira with me. They wondered whether the individuality of my puppets could contain the fairy called Ian.

It was an interesting thought.

So I began designing that puppet. I placed all the actions I took while playing the role of Ian, as well as all the memories from that time, into that soul.

The puppet thus came to hold Ian’s memories and body. It contained a personality no different from the fairy Lumira had encountered.

And that process helped me as well. The moment the puppet containing the life I had imitated appeared in reality, the magic called Fake Life expanded a little further.

I nodded as I felt the clear flow of unique magic within my chest.

Perhaps the imaginary Ian Lumira had encountered had now truly settled into reality.

Well, in that sense, it was good for both her and me. She could suppress her inner demon, while I could steal her magical power along with her points.

A light smile formed on my face as I thought of the points Lumira would pay. I was expected to receive roughly three thousand points every month for that puppet.

I had not expected her to spend points so freely.

Then again, Lumira had invested the enormous sum of 1.8 million points in a request to Dream Theater. To someone like her, three thousand points per month was probably nothing. It made me realize once more just how great the gap between the upper and lower floors was.

At that moment, I heard the door quietly open.

I shifted my gaze and saw Ivrio with several people they had brought along. They were the people from the memories I had peeked into.

Ivrio had clearly brought new customers. I walked toward them with a bright smile.

The day passed quickly like that. It was nearly evening by the time the work was finished and I closed the shop.

It had been another rewarding day.

I leaned my tired body against the sofa and quietly sipped tea. Isabella, who was enjoying tea beside me, began writing words in the air.

[At this point, they will not be able to harm us anymore. It is a certain victory.]

Isabella looked out the window and smiled softly.

I nodded lightly. She was right. It was unlikely that a crisis would come for me again.

Of course, Jegang had not remained idle after seeing my second-generation puppets. I did not know where he copied it from, but he had designed puppets similar to the form of magic I created.

I lightly rolled the glass bottle containing the corpse puppet. The magic stored inside this puppet was one such example. By dismantling it, I had also learned how they had put magic into their puppets.

They had personally redesigned the form of the magic circles. Just as I tailored magic to customers, they judged customer information and modified the magic accordingly.

It was a fairly good method. They only needed to rely on their system and continually change the puppet’s magic.

But at the same time, it was an action that could not help consuming many points.

Managing people was work, replacing magic was work, and maintaining puppets was work. Every one of those things required points.

Even so, there was no doubt they were chasing after me. They were willing to accept losses to hold me back.

And Jegang’s intentions had been fairly successful.

That was why I made third-generation puppets. The puppet I had given Lumira was the prototype.

As the name Fake Life suggested, third-generation puppets contained life within them. They no longer functioned as mere puppets, but as truly living beings.

Of course, making one was not easy. To create a single soul Sapling, I had to burn roughly half of my tree.

If I only gathered it little by little, it would take several months. That was why third-generation puppets had no choice but to be expensive.

Still, as Lumira showed, the result had been highly successful.

I narrowed my eyes and looked out the window.

They were already suffering considerable losses just by copying second-generation puppets. Could they create something like third-generation puppets as well? It would likely be difficult.

In that sense, third-generation puppets were a declaration. A declaration that they would only suffer losses if they kept chasing after me.

The more they chased me, the farther ahead I intended to go. Far enough that their capital could not follow.

If third-generation puppets spread, they would surely understand my intentions.

In that sense, I could say I had won the competition with them. No matter how much they accepted losses to crush me, my business had already settled into stability.

In the field of attendant puppets, they could no longer overcome the flow I had created. If they had drawn a massive map, I had become the road running through it.

That was how I was able to win the competition with them.

But winning did not mean I had completely defeated them.

I stroked my chin as I looked out the window.

Even if I had won, most fields still belonged to them. In the end, they had dominated the market with cheap puppets. With neither the influence nor the capability, I lacked the power to finish Jegang.

Jegang was someone directly sent by the trading company. How could I eliminate someone like him? If I tried to touch him, it would surely provoke a major backlash from the trading company.

But conversely, that meant someone else existed who could finish him even if I did not.

I lightly tapped the table.

The puppets had already spread throughout the city. As Lumira had come looking for me, people were talking about them even in the upper floors.

That was how much interest the field of attendant puppets had generated for others. The other members of the trading company would take an interest in this source of profit as well.

Then whom would they target?

Jegang was already suffering heavy losses. Even now, he was accepting losses. He had done it all to crush me.

Of course, I could understand why he had done it. If he caught me, no one would remain to disrupt his field, so he had likely wanted to monopolize it even at a loss. The People’s Council had likely accepted that as well.

But I had escaped, and the losses remained.

So someone had to take responsibility for them.

Could Jegang withstand all that pressure? If his conflict with me continued like this, he would certainly be driven out.

That was why I could somewhat predict how he would move next.

As if proving my thoughts, only a few days later, I saw a familiar face.

Jegang had visited my shop.

“What brings you here?”

I asked as I brewed tea and set it in front of him.

Jegang clicked his tongue softly and crossed his arms. Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“I came to seek cooperation.”

Cooperation?

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. I could understand what he was thinking.