WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 250

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The world was centered on magical power. That was why everything in this world was bound to grow further.

Animals absorbed magical power and became magical beasts, while people absorbed magical power and became mages. Plants were no different. Through magical power, they too became strange beings.

Everything grew like this. That was the law of the world.

And even enormous masses of inorganic matter, like mountains, were no exception to that law.

Perhaps that was why a legend, or rather, a somewhat unbelievable rumor, circulated among wandering mages.

They said that mountains which had accumulated age over a long time would sometimes vanish overnight. That they absorbed enough magical power and rose into the sky.

But most rumors passed among wanderers were lies. So I had never particularly believed the stories about floating mountains.

Yet the rumor had been true.

I blinked blankly and looked down the path we had climbed so far. Between the towering trees, clouds flowed like a stream.

I filled my eyes with magical power and looked beyond the clouds. The university scenery gradually grew impossibly small.

The mountain really was flying. And I was standing atop that mountain, walking through the clouds.

When I stopped at the strange feeling, Merov, who had been leading the way, glanced back.

“Hm, is something wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. This is simply my first time seeing a sight like this, so I find it quite fascinating.”

I lightly touched the clouds flowing beneath my feet and glanced at Isabella. Perhaps she had seen mountains like this several times before, because she was not as amazed as I was.

Still, thankfully, I was not the only one seeing this sight for the first time. The turtle was clinging to Isabella’s chest and hiding itself, as though frightened.

The turtle hid inside its shell, only poking its face out as it let out a Meee.

Isabella softly laughed as she stroked its shell.

I rubbed my chin. The turtle had always liked being held by women, but recently it had been clinging to Isabella rather excessively.

I knew the reason well enough.

Isabella’s will probably felt like a refuge to it. The two of them stood at opposite ends within my mental landscape.

Simply being held in her arms would surely make it feel comfortable. But that still did not seem like enough reason for it to cling to her so tightly.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the turtle’s somehow lecherous expression.

The turtle had strict standards for those it chose to cling to. Isabella had surely passed those standards with flying colors.

Considering that, it was obvious it was pretending to be frightened so it could cling to Isabella on purpose.

I was about to say something sharp to it, but I had no choice but to close my mouth. Merov had approached and patted me on the back.

“With skill like yours, you’ll see far more interesting things in the future. The world is wide, after all.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

I readily nodded. Merov continued walking forward.

The turtle had already pulled even its head into its shell. I quietly watched it, then clicked my tongue.

Since Merov was here, I would let it slide for now. I followed behind him and looked around. Then I sensed powerful magical power flowing along the mountain’s veins.

In truth, I had flown through the sky several times before. I had traveled by airship, and I had floated through the air using my own magical power.

So a floating mountain was not exactly an astonishing thing. I could imitate something similar myself.

Even so, I was surprised because this levitation was semi-permanent.

The earth always pulled everything toward itself with the grasp of a hungry demon. Things that rose into the sky could not withstand that pull and were dragged back down.

An airship descended once the mana stones inside it ran out of power, and mages floating in the air likewise had to land when they could no longer endure their burning magical power.

The earth even sought to embrace things falling from beyond the world. Many of the treasures in the tower had been lured by such a pull.

Even things that held such powerful strength fell to the earth. In that sense, it was very strange that this mountain had overcome the earth’s grasp and remained aloft.

A mountain belonged to the earth. How could something like that leave the ground and fly?

But it was also undeniable reality. I was standing on it myself.

If so, I needed to accept the phenomenon and analyze its cause. Curiosity rose within my chest, and I lightly closed my eyes as I released magical power.

My magical power traveled through my feet and began to penetrate the vast mountain. At the end of it, I sensed an intense current rising from the mountain’s center.

When that current repelled my magical power, I let out a quiet exclamation. I gathered my magical power again and recalled stories about mountains.

Ancient mountains were bound to contain a heart. It could be a mineral, a living creature, or even a phenomenon like wind.

Many people doubted such things existed, but I knew the stories were true.

After all, even the mountain where Professor Irian resided had a heart. Her tower could be called both the mountain’s center and its heart.

This mountain likewise held a heart. Judging from the flow of magical power, it was probably a mineral deep within the mountain.

As I quietly felt the magical power it released, I naturally began to understand why the mountain could rise.

The mountain was like a world of its own. A small world created by the magical power released from its heart.

That meant the area occupied by this mountain was itself another earth.

That was why the mountain had no choice but to leave the earth. If it had remained embedded in the ground, it would not have been able to rise any further.

Just as mages advanced to the next realm through sacrifice, the mountain had to give up its stable foundation to reach a higher place, following the laws of this world.

At the same time, however, the mountain was still too fragile to advance high into the sky, beyond the world itself.

So the mountain would have become earth above the earth, settling between sky and land.

But as I sensed the process through which the mountain had risen, a question came to mind. At that moment, Isabella approached me.

“Master, is there something you are wondering about?”

“Hm? How did you know?”

I blinked, and Isabella covered her mouth as she let out a gentle laugh. Then she met my eyes and spoke.

“I could see your curiosity on your face. If it’s something I can explain, I’ll teach you with all my heart.”

“Um... I was wondering why I’ve never seen a mountain like this at the university.”

I rubbed my chin as I observed the mountain’s magical power surrounding me. The magical power released by the mountain’s heart had a somewhat different grain from that of the university.

It resembled that of the outside world more than the university’s. That was surely not just my imagination, since this mountain’s vegetation differed from that of the university as well.

I touched a nearby tree and tilted my head. It contained too little magical power to be a tree from the university.

That meant this mountain had not risen from the university. It had been brought in from the outside world. Judging by the condition of the trees, it had clearly remained outside until recently.

That was where my question came from. The university boasted magical power of greater purity than the outside world. So why did the university’s mountains not rise into the sky?

Isabella gave a small laugh at my question and looked up at the sky. Following her gaze, I sensed the magical power flowing from the sun.

“It can’t be helped. The sky is blocked here.”

Isabella pointed at the sun and shook her head.

The sky was blocked?

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the sun. Before long, I had no choice but to nod. I understood what Isabella meant.

“...Ah, I see.”

The outside world had a sky. A vague boundary connected to beyond the world.

That was why the magical power of the sky, like the earth, pulled at things on the ground. It explained why beings from beyond the world sometimes lured people away.

But the university was a space that had bloomed atop the death of a powerful life-form called the turtle. Without the turtle, this world would likely have struggled to sustain itself.

Perhaps that was why there was only one center that maintained this world: the earth. Unlike the outside world, the magical power of the sky did not support this world.

Naturally, the university’s mountains had no need to rise into the sky. Even if they rose into the closed sky, they could not overcome the earth’s restraints.

Rather than creating a world of their own, they simply rooted themselves in the turtle’s corpse and fed on its magical power. That was likely the limit of mountains in this closed world.

Of course, that was not purely a disadvantage. The university had towers.

Mountains that had risen high over time were bound to contain great magical power, and those who became Professors coveted such mountains.

Thus, mountains took towers as their hearts and held even stronger magical power within themselves. That magical power was stronger than that of the mountain beneath my feet.

Considering that, perhaps the university’s mountains were not growing in the wrong way.

They were not wrong. They simply had a different direction.

I placed a hand on my chest and smiled lightly. Just as mountains rose in different ways, the forest I held within me could also be one of the ways mages advanced.

That was why I needed to show the people of the Magical Power Council my way more clearly during this visit. That was the reason I had been invited here.

How much time passed as we climbed the mountain?

Merov stopped and turned toward us.

A magnificent building stood behind him. We had reached the mountaintop.

“Now then, this is the Magical Power Council.”

Leaving the somewhat proud-looking Merov behind, I carefully examined the building.

It looked as though three towers had been joined together.

Seeing magic circles carved throughout the dark gray bricks forming its outer walls, I knew I needed to be careful in how I acted.

As I approached the building alongside Merov, I could clearly feel the magical power it contained.

Delicate patterns, like flowing light, guided the flow of the mountain’s magical power. That power traveled into the rounded main tower, the tallest of the three structures.

Then the magical power from the main tower flowed back into the mountain. The mountain received magical power that was purer and clearer than before, then released even stronger magical power.

My eyes shone as I confirmed their symbiotic relationship. The mountain supplied magical power, while the council’s towers partially processed it into spiritual power for the mountain.

They had formed a relationship that benefited both sides. That was likely why the mountain, which surely possessed a little intelligence, allowed the Magical Power Council’s building to sit atop its head.

As I admired the beauty of its design while studying the structure, Merov patted my shoulder and spoke.

“The inside is more interesting, so let us go in. Wear the gem I gave you over your chest. It is a token for guests.”

At Merov’s words, I took the gem from my pocket. I turned it over in my fingers, then hung it over my chest. I could feel a faint current beginning from it and connecting to me.

I guided that current through my connection and extended it to Isabella. She would need to stay inside the council as well.

Merov watched us, then flicked the small medal on his chest with his finger. The doors of the main tower slowly opened, as though responding to his magical power.

When we entered, I saw that a very broad path stretched out before us, unlike what the building had looked like from outside. They had likely expanded the interior with magic.

Beyond that path stood a huge plaza. Following Merov into it, I saw quite a lot of people coming and going.

The first people to catch my eye were those who held great magical power. They were surely mages who had reached the university’s advanced course, or even the completion course.

All of them wore medals similar to Merov’s on their chests. They were probably marks identifying those affiliated with the Magical Power Council.

But they were not the only ones here. Like me, there were also people walking around with gems affixed to their chests.

My eyes shone as I watched them. Most of them possessed magical power greater than mine, but I saw some unusual things among them.

“An interesting sight, isn’t it?”

I quietly nodded at Merov’s words.

He was right. Among those wearing gems were some that looked like magical beasts, and there was even someone who possessed no magical power at all.

Yes, weeds.

Why had he been invited here? As my eyes shone with curiosity, Merov looked at me and spoke.

“Since you’ve come this far, I should give you some background knowledge about the Magical Power Council.”

“I’ll listen closely.”

I quietly listened. When arriving somewhere unfamiliar, one needed to understand its rules first. There was no reason to refuse when someone was willing to explain them.

“This mountain, the Magical Power Council, wanders the outside world for forty-nine years and stays at the university for one year. During that time, council members such as myself must collect things related to magical power and bring them here.”

Merov met my eyes.

I quietly touched the gem hanging from my chest.

What Merov had brought was probably me. I frowned, feeling as though I were being treated more like a test subject than a guest.

Merov smiled slightly and shook his head.

“The council members gathered this way exchange knowledge, then use it as the basis to determine policies for the next forty-nine years. So don’t worry too much. Everyone will treat guests well.”

Interest shone in Merov’s eyes. He looked completely different from the man who had been full of boredom at the evaluation hall.

Was he that excited about the knowledge he could gain from the council?

As I considered that, Merov began walking as though to cross the plaza.

“Come this way. I’ll introduce you to the council in greater detail. You’ll gain much from this opportunity as well, so you may look forward to it.”

“I’ll trust only in you, Merov.”

I bowed to Merov. He nodded and took the lead. I let out a quiet laugh as I watched his back.

I had made many guesses about why Merov had called me here. Almost nothing was known about the Magical Power Council.

The possibility was slim, but I had even prepared to flee in case they intended to use me as research material.

But judging by Merov’s behavior, there seemed to be no need for such concerns. He had plainly revealed his intentions.

To him, I was knowledge he had never seen before, a new direction. He had clearly brought me before the council to pursue his own interests.

I flicked the gem hanging from my chest and nodded. No wonder there were so many strange things wearing these. They must have been collected from all across the world.

I organized my thoughts as I followed behind Merov. I had no reason to object to his using me.

Was that not simply how matters worked among mages? As much as he used me, I could use him.

In fact, the fact that Merov had revealed his thoughts so plainly also meant that he held that much goodwill toward me.

As long as Merov held goodwill toward me, I intended to respect him as well. I looked around with shining eyes.

If they gathered every fifty years to share knowledge about magical power, the knowledge accumulated here was surely vast.

There would likely be a considerable amount of knowledge about magical power, trees, and souls as well. During this one year, I needed to examine every piece of information I required.

I was not worried about the cost.

After all, there was someone I was grateful to, who had been unstintingly generous to me.

I believed in my talent. Within this long yet short time limit of one year, I would surely find a solution.

And then nine months passed.

In that time which had flown by in an instant, I had managed to achieve fairly respectable results.

I slowly looked around.

Then I felt the gazes of many people staring directly at me.

Their gleaming eyes were filled with the intention to squeeze me dry to the marrow.

I swallowed lightly under the pressure. Then the man seated in the front row raised his hand. He smiled with his eyes from behind his white hair and beckoned to me.

“Then, please begin the lecture.”

“Yes, understood.”

I quietly bowed and glanced at Isabella standing beside me. She met my eyes with an awkward smile, as though she too found the current situation a little difficult.

I let out a small sigh and scratched my head.

How had things turned out this way?

I had never expected to be giving a lecture before all these people.

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