WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 248

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I slowly focused my mind on my fingertips. Following my will, I began to feel magical power flowing through the roots spread throughout my body.

This was a kind of groundwork. I looked at the carving knife in my hand.

The magical power flowing through my hand reached the carving knife and wove itself into a single flow. Carried by that flow, the carving knife gradually changed shape.

The newly transformed carving knife took on a long, straight form. It looked much like the sword Cassian used.

Perhaps I had copied her sword because I had spent so much time with Cassian lately. I slowly closed my eyes and searched through my memories.

As we talked, Cassian had explained a little about swordsmen. How they could advance to the next realm, why swordsmen wandered, and so on.

What had stayed with me most was what she had said about the swords they raised.

Just as mages raised trees, swordsmen raised swords. That was why the swords they forged did not simply hold magical power. They accumulated experience, time, and karma.

To a swordsman, such a sword was practically another self. As Cassian put it, a sword could be both a teacher and a student.

Cassian said that her path was to contemplate her shortcomings alongside her sword, engrave her mind upon its edge, and make the sword capable of existing on its own.

Thinking about Cassian’s path to enlightenment, I felt that the sword I had created was not all that different from a swordsman’s sword.

When I had first encountered it, this sword had been nothing more than a scale. I had changed its shape with my will and made it into a carving knife.

Following my will once more, that carving knife had taken the form of a sword. By now, this sword felt like a part of me.

So, just as swordsmen did, I simply needed to trust this sword and engrave my will into it. As I concentrated, it felt as though this sword was sending its trust back to me.

A faint smile rose on my face, and I snapped my eyes open. Then I gathered magical power and swung the sword in one motion, straight and true, as though drawing a line.

I felt the magical power flowing through my sword carve out a clear line. That line of magical power sliced in half the object floating in the air.

It was an egg the size of my head. As if resisting the line I had made, it began gathering powerful magical power within itself.

But the resistance lasted only a moment. Unable to overcome the magical power drawn by my sword, it revealed its insides.

I adjusted the magical power and placed the contents into a bowl I had prepared beforehand. Then I carefully checked whether anything had gone wrong.

Fortunately, nothing was amiss. After confirming that, I let out the breath I had been holding and shook my head.

I had tried several times and failed each time, but I had finally succeeded. Was this what a sword was? I felt that I understood a swordsman’s heart a little better now.

I had crossed another wall. A deep sense of fulfillment filled my chest, and I laughed aloud.

Then, at that moment, I felt a gaze prickling against my skin. It came from Professor Irian, who was sitting at the table.

“You’re doing something strange again.”

Professor Irian’s eyes were full of exasperation as she looked at me. I could only clear my throat awkwardly.

Right. I was a mage. I did not need to become this absorbed in a sword. Coming to my senses too late, I carefully set the bowl before the Professor.

“This is the dish I prepared today. I wove together five tree branches, sealed them in a magic circle, and grew an improved corpse mushroom at the center.”

It could be called an artificial egg. I had hardened mage tree branches inside a magic circle to form a kind of shell, then raised life inside it.

The corpse mushroom, the result of that process, wobbled like melted cheese within the split shell.

Since I had cut it so cleanly, it seemed unaware that it had been divided in half. It was giving off gentle magical power.

The Professor came closer to the bowl and observed the corpse mushroom’s flow. Soon, she wrinkled her nose as if she had sensed something strange.

Her sensitive magical power had surely caught a glimpse of the oddity within the corpse mushroom. I smiled slightly and placed the utensils I had prepared before her.

“You may use this. I’m confident you’ll experience a flavor you’ve never tasted before.”

I stood tall, bowed, and stepped back. The Professor picked up the utensil I had prepared.

It was a spoon I had carved from portions of the tree branches that made up the shell.

I had removed their magical power in advance, but they still caused resistance against the other tree branches nearby.

They would probably lose all their magical power and dry up within a few hours. Still, that would be enough time for the Professor to finish her meal.

Using the spoon, Professor Irian scooped up the corpse mushroom wobbling within the shell. Part of the mushroom stuck to the spoon and stretched upward after it.

The Professor examined it before putting it into her mouth. The moment she chewed it for the first time, something burst inside her mouth with a pop.

The corpse mushroom in her mouth had exploded. Her eyes widened, and her body stiffened.

How much time passed after that?

Professor Irian looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“This is an interesting flavor. I like it.”

White smoke billowed from her open mouth. It was the disturbance in magical power created by the explosion.

“I’m glad you like it.”

I gave a small bow as the Professor reached for another spoonful. Seeing her enjoy it so much made me feel quite rewarded.

The Professor did not stop bringing spoonful after spoonful to her mouth. As explosions continued to go off, I began explaining the dish.

“As you can feel, each of the five tree branches possessed different magical power. The corpse mushroom absorbed all of it. Since those powers did not blend together, they were able to build up their individual forms and textures inside it like this.”

The Professor nodded lightly. Her face was filled with interest, probably because it could not be described in terms of ordinary flavor.

It could not be helped. It was more fitting to call that thing a lump of life than food.

I watched the Professor with a proud smile. The idea to grow corpse mushrooms in that form had come to me while researching tree branches.

When grafting tree branches together, I often used my soul fragments. I had no choice, since the tree branches would create resistance if I did not.

Still, I had thought it would be a waste to discard that trait. If I used that resistance, I might be able to create another kind of possibility.

After continuing my research, I was able to weave tree branches together and create an egg like that.

The magical resistance produced by the tree branches forming the shell was directed inward. Inside it was a corpse mushroom I had painstakingly altered.

Of course, I could have placed other things inside, but I chose the corpse mushroom because it absorbed human magical power best.

Corpse mushrooms were mushrooms that grew on human corpses. They grew by feeding on the magical power left in the body.

That was why, if a mage’s corpse was not carefully handled after death, it would be covered in corpse mushrooms in less than a week.

For that reason, corpse mushrooms were treated as a type of magical beast. That trait made them best suited for this egg.

The corpse mushroom I had repeatedly improved had its ability to absorb magical power strengthened so it could focus solely on that task.

Thus, the corpse mushroom absorbed all the magical power produced by the resistance between the branches and succeeded in growing perfectly, just as it had now.

There was a small problem, of course. As another explosion sounded from inside the Professor’s mouth, I put the sword, now returned to the form of a carving knife, into my clothes.

Because the corpse mushroom focused solely on absorbing magical power, even a small impact made it explode like this. The moment the magical power within it collided, resistance occurred.

That was why I had split the shell in one stroke with my sword. If even the slightest impact had occurred while cutting the shell, the mushroom inside would have exploded immediately.

That was also why I had made utensils from tree branches. The corpse mushroom would naturally move toward them when it sensed magical power like the power it held within itself.

The corpse mushroom, which had retained its form, then entered the Professor’s mouth. The moment she chewed it, the magical power within it mixed again, and an explosion occurred.

It was somewhat similar to the process through which I created soul Saplings using tree branches.

The difference was that, when making this egg, I had focused more on producing a deeper flavor.

Within the explosion, the magical power held by the branches mixed together and carried a small spark of life. Then it rapidly burned out.

As the Professor showed now, the flavor was truly special. With a smile on her face, she ate every last corpse mushroom inside the egg.

The Professor let out a satisfied yawn and lightly patted her stomach. Magical power like fluffy clouds drifted from her mouth.

“Your cooking seems to have improved after visiting Icewall City. Using tree branches in a dish must have cost quite a lot, but you still managed to prepare it.”

“How could I consider points wasted when the Professor is eating it?”

I bowed deeply and did a bit of calculation in my head. As the Professor had said, making this had cost quite a lot.

That one egg alone had cost around thirty thousand points. Of course, that was excessive for a single meal, but it was still an understandable amount.

However, when I added the losses from all the previous failed attempts, the cost became much greater. Altogether, it had surely cost around three hundred thousand points.

No matter how many points I had earned in Icewall City, it was a little excessive to spend that much just to develop one dish.

Still, I had prepared it to refine my own skills and express my gratitude to the Professor properly. She had given me a great gift after I returned from Icewall City.

As I looked at her with respect shining in my eyes, the Professor clicked her tongue.

“Those troublesome eyes again. Did something happen to that one?”

“No. What problem could there be after the Professor cast magic on her?”

I immediately knew who Professor Irian meant by that one. She was referring to Isabella.

I was reminded of when we had returned to the tower after leaving Icewall City. Had it already been about two months? Time seemed to pass so quickly.

When we returned, the Professor had been half asleep. She had clearly just woken up.

Yet she knew everything we had experienced in Icewall City, even in greater detail than I did.

She had probably glimpsed reality through her dreams. The magic the Professor had previously used to connect multiple worlds had surely created that miracle.

After watching us, the Professor had shown considerable interest in Isabella. It was only natural, since she had liked the various puppets I had made before.

Fortunately, Isabella seemed to have passed the Professor’s standards as well. The Professor had engraved a spell on her as a gift.

Considering that the Professor had not even known Isabella existed before we left for Icewall City, it was a complete change in attitude.

The magic the Professor had engraved on Isabella was similar to the magic she had placed on me.

I lightly touched my head. Then I felt the golden ring of magical power engraved deep inside it.

This was magic that kept my mind whole. Not even the magical power of treasures could overcome it.

The Professor had engraved this magic on Isabella as well, so her mind would not easily collapse because of anything.

As long as she did not reach the limit her mind could endure, there would be no danger of it breaking down.

The Professor had placed a safeguard on Isabella. And she had not stopped there. She had helped me as well.

I slowly bowed.

“Thank you again for your help. It would have been quite troublesome if the Professor had not stepped in.”

After I had freed Isabella from the contract, many people had approached me. Some had even demanded that I hand Isabella over.

But those visits had abruptly stopped at some point, because the Professor had acted.

“Well, it was interesting, so I should at least do that much.”

The Professor waved her hand as she yawned. She looked as if she did not care much, as though she had only dealt with a trivial matter.

But despite that attitude, it was clear that the Professor had paid close attention to my affairs. She hated troublesome things, yet she had acted personally.

It was a clear declaration that I belonged to her. Before, I had merely been a tool for solving troublesome matters. Now, perhaps, I was at least being treated like a person.

Since others had seen the Professor step in personally, they surely would not be able to touch me as easily as before.

Perhaps that was the Professor’s reward for finding this incident interesting. As I looked at her with sparkling eyes, the Professor narrowed hers.

“So you’re leaving again.”

“Yes. I plan to visit the Magical Power Council for a while.”

At the mention of the Magical Power Council, the Professor’s brow creased slightly. She seemed to have heard the name before.

Perhaps realizing why I intended to go there, she nodded lightly.

“Hmm. I wonder what kind of trouble you’ll cause this time.”

“What trouble? Nothing will happen this time. I was invited.”

I took a small gem from my clothes and shook it. The dot engraved on the gem began scattering a deep glow. It meant there was not much time left until the council convened.

“Well, do as you like. I don’t care as long as you don’t bring back anything troublesome.”

The Professor stretched lazily. Watching her, I gave a slight bow and began drawing a magic circle.

It was the Perfect Tea spell. I planned to prepare it to go with tree branch cookies for dessert.

Thus, the Professor’s lunchtime came to an end, and the half-asleep Professor sent me out.

After leaving the Professor’s room, I glanced at its tightly shut door before slowly making my way toward the workshop. I needed to prepare to leave the tower again.

When I opened the workshop door and entered, I felt something black rush at me.

But I did not react and simply received it with my body. There was no need to avoid it.

The black object that struck me flowed down my body and pooled on the floor. Then something slowly began rising from within it.

Soon, No. 0, now in perfect form, proudly held out the black object it had been contained in.

I took it and slowly examined its internal structure. Then I let out a small sound of admiration.

“Hmm. You’ve improved since last time.”

I stroked No. 0’s head. A smile appeared on the lips of its face, which resembled mine.

This was a kind of spare body. Just as I had cast off death during the previous competition, No. 0 had made a new shadow it could immediately transfer into even if it died.

Of course, compared to what I had created, it was quite lacking. Still, there was no doubt that it had surpassed some of its limits.

No. 0 had already far surpassed the person I had been before entering university. I was looking forward to seeing how far it would go at this rate.

Perhaps it would reach the next realm before I did. With that hope in mind, I patted its head and went inside.

Isabella and Mira were talking in the back of the workshop. Noticing my arrival, both looked toward me.

I bowed to them and sat beside them.

“The Professor has permitted us to leave. We need to wrap up the lectures as well, so let’s depart in a week.”

I spoke while glancing at Isabella. She nodded slightly.

“Yes, Master. I’ll prepare everything without any shortcomings.”

A translucent tube had been inserted into Isabella’s arm. The tube stretched out and connected to a bag floating in the air.

I moved magical power to check the amount of liquid in the bag, then silently rubbed my chin. About half remained.

It was a concentrated extract made by boiling tree branches. This time, I had mixed in around ten branches from mages around the second floor.

I had invested quite a lot, so I thought it would last a week. But it was being used up faster than expected. At this rate, it surely would not even last three days.

That meant Isabella’s tree was taking root quickly. In one sense, it was a good thing. But it was also a serious problem.

The deeper the patchwork tree took root, the stronger the resistance Isabella would need to endure.

It was a problem I had considered from the moment I decided to plant a new tree in Isabella.

No matter how powerful Isabella’s mind was, creating a new soul from the patchwork tree could not be anything but difficult.

The tree itself struggled to escape Isabella’s binding, so it was only natural for resistance to occur as it did now.

Supplying her with boiled tree branches like that was a way to make that control smoother. I had plenty of points, so I could probably maintain it for decades.

But it was ultimately only a temporary measure. I needed a more certain solution.

And I knew exactly how to solve this problem.

The patchwork tree continued to resist because the magical power of the tree branches making it up still remained.

Trying to control all those different kinds of magical power at once naturally had its limits. The solution was simple as well. I needed to bleach that magical power and give it a single color.

But although I knew how to solve it, I had not done so because I could not.

Bleaching magical power required a mage of exceptional skill, someone with deep knowledge of magical power as well.

That was why even the Professor could not carelessly touch Isabella. She possessed overwhelming magical power, but she was not very skilled at delicate treatment.

Knowledge was what mattered. And I knew a place where that knowledge gathered.

I took out the gem I had shown the Professor and watched the magical power flowing inside it.

I had heard plenty of rumors about the Magical Power Council. They were said to be people who pursued the purity of magical power.

Since the opportunity had come, it seemed necessary to seek them out.

Then Mira poked my side. She looked a little upset.

“You’re leaving again? I’m quite disappointed that you plan to leave me behind like this.”

I scratched my head as I looked at her complaining. The lectures had begun again, so I could not take Mira with me.

Just as before, after I left, she was the only one who could control the treasures.

“I’ll return as quickly as possible. As I promised, I’ll grant your wish too, so please bear with it a little longer.”

“This is the last time. I don’t think I’ll need to receive wishes from the next lecture onward.”

Mira narrowed her eyes as she spoke. I silently nodded.

From the next lecture onward, I would have no choice but to remain in the tower as well. If I wanted to bring the 7th-floor treasures into the lectures, I would need to change the lecture structure.

I lightly rubbed my arm as I recalled the view of the seventh floor I had last seen the other day.

Exploring the seventh floor was something I had intended to continue steadily after returning to the tower. I had entered various rooms with Cassian, Mira, and Hao, whom we would use as bait.

The memory of facing that strange eyeball before was still vivid, so we ran away immediately whenever we sensed anything suspicious.

After continuing our investigation carefully, we encountered a fairly friendly treasure that seemed capable of conversation. It was a strange statue called the Thunder Hawk.

After taking some of Hao’s magical power, it approached us, perhaps out of interest. When we mentioned lectures, it even displayed some of its power.

The moment I witnessed that power, I understood clearly. The seventh-floor treasures possessed power far too great for people like us to handle.

The mages of the second and third floors whom we had chosen for lectures, no, even the mages of the fourth floor would surely struggle to endure that power.

Just as with the sixth-floor treasures, if it scattered fragments of its power, everyone would become contaminated in less than half a year.

Of course, if I only intended to handle the sixth-floor treasures, there would be no problem maintaining the current lecture structure.

But I did not want to stop here. To strip away the savagery deeply rooted in this university, I needed the power of these treasures.

There was a limit to the influence I could exert alone.

So I had to contain the seventh-floor treasures.

That was another reason I was going to the Magical Power Council this time. The method for stabilizing Isabella would also give treasures new possibilities.

Giving new life to treasures.

I closed my eyes as I recalled that possibility I had glimpsed through Isabella.

When I visited the Magical Power Council convening this time, I would learn what the result might be.

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