Surviving in the Magic Academy - Chapter 256

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 256

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I slowly climbed the stairs, imbuing the tips of my feet with magical power. With every step I took, space folded, and countless rooms swept past beside me.

Space magic was reading my will and guiding me to my destination. I felt it every time I walked around here, but it truly was remarkably natural space magic.

That only showed how advanced the Magical Power Council was. As I walked, examining the magic, I soon realized I had reached my destination.

I had stopped before an old wooden door. This was the chairman’s room, the highest place on this mountain.

Sensing someone inside, I gave a light cough and knocked. Soon, the door began opening on its own.

It was an invitation to enter. When I stepped inside, I felt exceptionally pure magical power wrap around my body.

This was the first time I had felt magical power like this since coming to the university. It was fitting for the workshop occupied by the chairman.

Still, something felt a little strange. For the chairman’s room, it was quite small. It was only large enough for five or six people to lie down in.

It was surprising that the head of the Magical Power Council would stay in a place like this. The people I had met until now all wanted wider rooms the higher their realms became.

That was not simply because of vanity. It was also a matter of efficiency. The larger the space, the more magical power it gathered.

For mages who had to gather as much magical power as possible and advance to the next realm, nothing was more important than that.

From that perspective, making the top floor of the main tower so small was quite puzzling. It was like throwing magical power onto the ground.

Then why had he created such a structure? Surely, only the owner of this room knew the answer.

Only the chairman, who sat buried in his chair and looked out the window.

As I approached him, I stole a glance at the view he was watching. A sky full of clouds stretched beyond the horizon.

The mountain was floating through the sky.

It had traveled throughout the university and was now heading for the university gate at its center, the passage to the outside world.

Once it completed a full year next month, it would surely leave the university. Then it would wander again for forty-nine years before returning.

When I stopped before the chairman, who had been looking out the window, he turned to me. I met his eyes and bowed.

“Thank you for calling for me.”

“It is nothing. The most interesting young man in the council wishes to meet me. Of course I should meet you.”

The chairman waved a hand lightly. Then he looked around and crooked a finger.

The books piled throughout the room gathered together, forming a chair before me.

“Come, have a seat,” the chairman added with a faint smile.

I nodded and sat down.

The chairman held out a small cup to me. A pleasant magical power and sweet scent rose from the blue liquid swirling within.

“I heard you enjoy tea, so I prepared some. It is a fruit tea made by drying fruits grown on this mountain and brewing them with magical power. I hope it suits your taste.”

Fruit grown on the mountain. The chairman said it casually, but considering how special this mountain was, it could not be ordinary.

I carefully took the cup and sipped the fruit tea. Then my body trembled slightly. The moment the tea touched my tongue, its fragrance filled my mouth.

“It is excellent. I feel as though my eyes have been opened anew after being served tea like this.”

“Ha ha. Even if it is flattery, I appreciate it.”

“Flattery? My life may have been short, but I would still say this ranks among the five best things I have ever drunk.”

I closed my eyes slightly and took another sip. Along with the sweet fragrance, a strange refreshing sensation embraced my body.

The pure magical power contained in the tea was clearing away the murkiness that had gathered within me. It was astonishing that this was simply tea made from the mountain’s fruit.

Yet as I drank it, I began thinking of the Golden Fragrance Sound I had served Prince Beral before.

That was quite strange. Golden Fragrance Sound was tea made entirely from life force rather than magical power. This, on the other hand, felt as though it had been brewed from pure magical power alone.

The two teas stood at opposite extremes. Yet for some reason, the sensations they conveyed felt similar.

Perhaps extremes really did meet.

As I enjoyed the tea’s fragrance and leaned back in my chair, the chairman spoke.

“I received your gift. It was an excellent item.”

The chairman took out a scale the size of his palm. A magic circle that gave off an ominous aura was engraved on the dark scale.

It was a scale torn from Prince Beral, who had entered the snake’s body.

The chairman stroked the scale, his eyes gleaming.

“I never imagined a magical power curse could be contained so stably. It is truly remarkable. The work is so delicate, it is as if you experienced it yourself. At this level, no one could detect it unless they identified it with the naked eye.”

“I am glad my inadequate magic seems to have pleased you.”

I smiled slightly and met the chairman’s eyes. They were filled with interest in the magic I had shown him.

“You gave me such a gift, so I should listen carefully to what you have to say. Now, why did you wish to meet me?”

Hmm. He wanted to get straight to the point. That was what I wanted as well.

I readily nodded and smiled brightly at him.

“Just as the prince did, I would like you to join my Artificial Tree Project. My knowledge of magical power curses is lacking, and I fear there may be a problem with next month’s lecture if things continue like this.”

The chairman narrowed his eyes at my words.

I had decided to make the chairman an accomplice because he had studied Prince Beral for a long time.

He had devoted nearly ten years to that research. There could be no one who knew more than him about the magical power curse inside the prince.

So if I worked with him, we might be able to resolve the prince’s current problem quickly.

Perhaps I could even go further and achieve my own goal sooner than expected.

Considering that, with only one month remaining, there was no better choice than cooperating with the chairman.

However, there was one problem to solve before drawing him in.

How could I make the chairman move?

The chairman was an ancient being who had lived for an unimaginably long time. He might have lived as long as the president.

Naturally, it would not be easy to bring him into my plan. Cooperation ultimately meant offering the other party something beneficial.

I could not compare to the chairman in strength, knowledge, wealth, or years. So to draw him in, I needed to know exactly what he wanted.

That was why I had spent several days trying to sound him out.

I had slipped materials about my soul Sapling into the library and wandered the mountain, studying the structure of the council.

I glanced at the scale in the chairman’s hand. Giving it to him had been done with the same intention.

If he showed deep interest in it, I intended to negotiate with him through magical power curses.

But in every case, the chairman had not taken my bait. Rather, like someone who had lived a long time, he had quickly noticed that I wanted something from him.

Perhaps that was why the chairman had called me here. He wanted to hear directly what I desired from him.

And I had no choice but to follow his wishes.

I was desperately short on time. Only one month remained, and I had to produce results that others could accept within that time.

I could not continue negotiating with the chairman under such unfavorable circumstances. So even if it meant yielding a little to him, I intended to gain his cooperation.

“If you want my research materials, I will share all of them with you. I will teach you the magic I created as well.”

What I had felt within the Magical Power Council was that it possessed quite a lot of material on magical power curses.

That also meant the chairman had a great interest in them.

To someone like him, the Snake of Curses magic I had created would surely be very interesting. It was magical power curses turned into magic.

He probably had not imagined that magical power curses could be made into magic. What madman would plant curses in his own tree and try to study their flow?

In that respect, the Snake of Curses was magic that only I could create. Handing it over would be a major concession for me as well.

If the chairman cooperated, the spell’s completeness would surely improve even further. This should have been enough to tempt him.

I watched him with shining eyes.

It would be good for him and good for me. There was no reason to refuse a situation that benefited us both.

Perhaps my words had interested him, because the chairman began rubbing his chin. Then he studied me and spoke.

“Hmm. It is a plausible offer. Very plausible. But I believe there may be a better way for me.”

“What way would that be?”

There was a better way than this? I tilted my head slightly.

The chairman smiled at me.

“I could simply tell everyone else about this. Then you would be buried beneath a mountain of debt, and the magic would naturally fall into my hands.”

“Still, with Professor Irian here, you might survive,” the chairman added with a shrug.

I narrowed my eyes.

“Must you really do that? It would be better to choose the path that benefits everyone. The prince also wants you to join us.”

“Hmm. I may not look like it, but I am the head of this organization. Naturally, I must consider the organization’s interests before yours.”

At the chairman’s firm words, I quietly closed my eyes.

I wanted to believe in people’s goodwill. That was why I had revealed all my intentions to the chairman.

But he had betrayed my goodwill.

The brutality that pervaded this university had taken root in him as well.

So I had no choice but to treat him in a brutal manner too.

Was this how it had to be in the end?

A feeling of gloom filled my chest, and I let out a quiet sigh. I had not wanted things to go this way.

I looked out the window. Watching the clouds drift by, I spoke leisurely.

“This mountain is truly an attractive place.”

It was a comment far removed from the current situation. The chairman looked slightly puzzled.

Meeting his eyes, I lightly swirled my teacup. Then, savoring the tea’s fragrance, I continued.

“Even this tea shows how much effort you have put into nurturing this mountain. This place feels like a world of its own.”

“Is that so? Thank you for viewing it so favorably.”

The chairman wore a faint smile.

I nodded and continued.

“That is why I would appreciate your unconditional cooperation.”

At my words, the chairman tilted his head slightly. He seemed unable to understand what I meant.

“…What are you talking about?”

I quietly faced the chairman. Then I nodded toward the scale in his hand and smiled faintly.

“If you do not cooperate, the owner of that scale will smash this mountain’s heart.”

“Prince Beral should be wrapped around the heart by now,” I added, taking a sip of tea.

The chairman’s face stiffened.

Many layers of protective magic had been placed around this mountain’s heart. A low-ranking mage like me could not peel away even one layer of that magic.

But all of it was made of magical power.

And the magical power curse within the prince’s body rejected magical power.

Moreover, the strongly amplified magical power curse melted all magical power.

Seeing that, I had come up with a useful idea.

To clutch the mountain’s heart, just as we were doing now.

If I could get hold of it, the chairman would fall into my hands as well.

The prince had secretly advanced through the protective magic carved near the heart and succeeded in clutching the mountain’s heart.

The chairman must have noticed it too, because he began glaring at me.

I shrugged.

Originally, I had intended to negotiate with a very cooperative attitude. It was the path that benefited everyone.

So if the chairman had accepted my goodwill, this would never have happened.

But the chairman had rejected it.