WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 34

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The turtle carefully set one foot forward.

Was everything all right?

The moment I let out a relieved sigh, the walls on both sides split open, and a giant mouth burst out. Packed with serrated teeth, it bit down on the turtle. The sudden pressure cracked the turtle’s shell.

A chill ran through me. If I had been up there, I would have been cut clean in half too. I poured magical power into the turtle and ordered it to run forward. The turtle began charging ahead, undeterred by the pressure of that giant mouth biting down on it.

The serrated teeth dug hard into its shell like awls, but they could not overcome the turtle’s tremendous mass. In the end, the mouth lost its grip.

The turtle ran for a long while and escaped the area. A place where several paths connected appeared, and only then was the turtle able to stop.

What in the world had that been? I never imagined something would hide inside the walls and attack. Until the turtle was bitten, I had felt no fluctuations in magical power at all, so I had not even noticed there was a trap there. Thankfully, the thing seemed to lack mobility, because it did not follow us.

I looked around for a while. I could not let my guard down like that again. But no matter how long I stayed alert, nothing happened. This place seemed safe, at least.

I slipped up from inside the turtle and examined the traces the magical beast had left behind. The shell was cracked along the teeth marks. Those were not the only marks on it, either. It was covered in all sorts of wounds from breaking through traps until now.

A bitter laugh slipped out. That magical beast just now had actually been on the easier side. The turtle had been able to escape it on its own, after all.

I remembered the trap right before this one. Pillars of flame had surged up from every direction and swallowed the turtle whole. The fire had been strong enough to melt the turtle’s legs in an instant. If I had not rolled the shell and barely escaped the flames, the turtle and I would have been cooked together inside them.

If only the turtle’s legs had been fine, we might have dodged quickly enough before being bitten just now. That bothered me more than anything. I had poured in the materials I had brought and restored the legs, but they still had not stabilized, so they could not react as quickly as before.

Every trap I had passed through so far had been full of malice, as if it wanted to kill its target. At the same time, though, they had all been at a level I could barely escape if I used all my strength. I could picture Professor cackling with laughter.

Professor must have placed the traps like this on purpose, just to enjoy watching me suffer. The traps for the others were probably even more vicious than mine.

But now, the turtle had reached its limit. If there were even one or two more traps ahead, it would definitely break. I carefully followed the path. Thankfully, it seemed that last one had been the final trap.

Up ahead, I began to see a clearing. It was several times larger than the one before. The area seemed to have formed where many paths gathered, and many people were already sitting there and resting. It looked like about half of the remaining participants were there.

When I reached the place, they looked me over. After seeing the miserable state of my turtle, they turned back to tending to their own bodies.

Even though the labyrinth had changed like this, not that many people had dropped out. Everyone looked like they still had enough room to breathe. That meant most of the ordinary ones had already been filtered out, leaving only the skilled ones behind.

I moved the turtle to one side of the clearing and laid it down. It sprawled there like a corpse. I quickly began maintaining it. Of course, I did not forget to set up the tent in front of it first. Even in this situation, business could not stop.

The labyrinth had changed, and the traps had grown more vicious. Many of my puppets had been lost inside it too. I could not move a single step now. No, I did not even want to move. Outside the clearing was far too dangerous.

While I was repairing the turtle, I detected a signal. It was the signal from a coffin puppet that had retrieved someone. I sent the few puppets I had left to collect it. The thing had somehow endured that chaos, and after entering the tent, it spat out a person.

I was startled when I saw the face. It was Jun. I had not expected him to still be here. When we parted, he had already been half-collapsed, yet he had made it this far. He must have had some trick up his sleeve. Once again, he hung artificial organs all over his body and began restoring the flow of magical power.

He would get up on his own once he recovered. My turtle was still in no condition for me to wait until he woke. I left the tent and went back to fiddling with the turtle. The sorry sight made a sigh escape me.

Then I felt the gazes of a few people in the clearing. I followed them and saw people I had not run into once since entering the labyrinth. One of them approached me. It was Hongryeong, the young man who always wore that distinctive smile.

“That puppet looks interesting. May I have one as well?”

Hongryeong said, holding out his hand. He was probably talking about the coffin puppet. I promptly handed one over. As I did, I checked the direction he had come from. His companions, who looked like people from great families, were chatting with one another without the slightest hint of fatigue.

Hongryeong examined the coffin puppet from all angles. Soon, he held out his ring. I carefully brought my ring against it. Two points came in.

“When I asked the others, they said two points would be enough. It seems to be made from the same material as the turtle I saw before. Very useful. I will use it well and return it to you.”

“I can only thank you for saying so. By the way, why have you all gathered here?”

I asked. Hongryeong’s smile turned slightly bitter. He shook his head and raised one hand. There was a very faint wound on his palm. Inside it, a viscous curse remained, trying to force the wound open. Hongryeong’s magical power was burning the curse away, but the thing held on stubbornly.

“The traps are quite difficult, so we cannot advance as we did before. We have not found the treasure either.”

“I see. No wonder so many people are gathered here.”

The conversation ended there. I was about to go back to repairing the turtle, but for some reason, Hongryeong did not seem ready to move. I quietly watched his expression. He was just staring straight at me.

It seemed he had something more to say. I carefully looked around. I could feel the others watching us. Did I need to prepare a place where only the two of us could talk?

The tent was fully open so people outside could see in, so I had only one hidden place available. I opened a path in the turtle’s side. It led to the temporary workshop Hongryeong had visited before.

I led Hongryeong there. I set out a table and chairs, then served him tea. Hongryeong took a sip and savored the aroma.

“Mm, it has been a while since I drank this, and the taste has become cleaner.”

“I am sorry this is all I can serve you. So, may I ask what this is about?”

Hongryeong narrowed his eyes and looked at me. After a moment of silence, he began speaking in a slightly light tone.

“Evron-ssi, where do you think Professor hid the treasure?”

What he said was unexpected. I smiled awkwardly and shook my head, saying I did not know. Hongryeong continued, unconcerned by my reaction.

“We know nothing about Professor. We have not even seen Professor’s face. In truth, you were the one who led us here, Evron-ssi. So I cannot help thinking this. Perhaps you know where the treasure is.”

Hongryeong had a very deep smile on his lips. Mm, it was a natural suspicion. I would have thought the same in his place. Even if I said I did not know here, he would not believe me at all.

With an awkward smile, I showed him my left hand. When I circulated magical power over it, the contract text engraved on my wrist began to grow clear. Hongryeong looked at it and raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I do not know either. I am only in a position where Professor orders me around. I entered this place only because Professor told me to follow along. I have none of the usefulness you are imagining, Hongryeong-nim. That is why I am earning points by selling puppets like this.”

I poured out my sense of injustice. Of course, even after I said that, he did not look very convinced. That was only natural, since this contract text did not prove my innocence.

I had shown it only to let him know my situation. My relationship with Professor, that was all. He seemed to understand that too, because he laughed lightly.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Hongryeong leisurely drank his tea. I sat across from him and drank tea as well, but cold sweat poured down my back. I had no idea what he might say next. But he did not bring up anything else. He only reached out a hand. A ring was on it.

“I made a busy person stop and pour me a cup of tea, so I should pay for it. I will give you some points.”

He looked firm, as if he would not accept a refusal. I carefully brought my ring forward. Points came in along with the flow of magical power. When I quietly checked, there were more points than I had expected.

One thousand points. I thought I had seen it wrong, but it was the same even after I counted again. It was one thousand points.

Not knowing what this meant, I looked at Hongryeong in confusion. He only smiled. I swallowed dryly. It was far too much to be tea money. This was probably him telling me to spit out whatever I had. I slowly organized my thoughts.

Should I return it? But it was far too precious for that. I cleared my throat and quietly approached him. Professor was surely watching this whole conversation. So I probably should not say anything too direct.

“Now that I think of it, there is one strange thing.”

Hongryeong’s eyes gleamed.

“This space keeps changing, but how is that possible? There was no visible flow of magical power either. In truth, when I came up here a month ago, this place was just an ordinary area. Professor made it into this kind of labyrinth.”

I said only that much, then closed my mouth. In truth, I had a rough guess as to where the treasure was. While preparing for the lecture, I had heard a few things about the treasure from Professor.

But saying it directly was too dangerous. Actually, even this much explanation was plenty dangerous. Hongryeong thought for a moment, then drank the rest of his tea.

“Mm, you really do not disappoint my expectations. It was very delicious.”

He stood up just like that. I opened the path leading outside again for him. After seeing him off, I returned to my seat and sank down heavily.

One thousand points. He was very generous. Of course, considering the value of the treasure, it could be called a small amount. But what use was that to me when I had no intention of taking the treasure? It was information that would become meaningless once this lecture ended anyway. Selling it like this before then did not seem so bad.

The problem, of course, was Professor.

Fear rose in me as I wondered how Professor would torment me. The moment I said those words, it had been decided that I would suffer horribly in this place. Professor would surely make me feel that pain slowly until I was on the verge of death, no, until I died.

Then I would drop out and be dragged in front of Professor. I would be beaten there too. I had known all that, which was why I hesitated to speak, but the moment I saw one thousand points, I could not hold back. By the time I realized it, my mouth had already opened.

Should I go repair the turtle again? I awkwardly rose from my seat. I did not know when Professor’s punishment would arrive. If the turtle was at least intact, I would be able to endure a little.

For a moment, I thought about Hongryeong. He had willingly given me the huge sum of one thousand points. That was more than I had earned while struggling desperately until now. Then just how many points did he have?

No, in truth, points might not mean anything to him. That was what great families were like. Either way, the fact that I could earn points like this was very good for me.

Like that, twenty hours passed since I entered the labyrinth.

Only four hours remained.

I, who had been satisfied with those one thousand points, was once again wandering through the labyrinth.

Damn it.

During that time, quite a few people had been eliminated in bitter defeat. Now, not even half the course participants remained.

I had kept doing the same kind of work the whole time.

I rented out puppets, and they carried people back. I sent puppets down the paths people had advanced through and retrieved those who had become half-corpses. I recovered coffin puppets that had failed to return after getting caught in traps or by magical beasts.

And I was chased out of clearings.

I had been chased out of clearings six times so far. Perhaps Professor was annoyed that I had sold information, because whenever I showed signs of staying in a clearing, Professor created a trap and drove me out.

In the end, I had no choice but to carefully follow the paths others had advanced through and avoid traps that way. Just ahead, I saw a broken magic circle. As if a sword-user had passed through, the magic circle had been torn into several pieces.

I quietly slipped out of the turtle and examined the half-destroyed magic circle. It was full of high-dimensional circuits I could not understand.

The only ones I could recognize even a little were circuits with the meanings of lightning, soul extraction, and slash. The reason I could at least recognize them was because they were spells Professor had used on me before. They were lessons carved into my body.

Even one of these had been that painful, yet they had been gathered together and placed inside one circuit. And that was only part of the magic circle. How were the others breaking things like this as they went?

Still, it seemed that dealing with this trap had been quite difficult, because blood someone had spilled was scattered all around. I took the direction the blood flowed as my destination and carefully advanced.

At the end of that path, one coffin puppet was lying there. Perhaps all its legs were broken and it could not move, because it was crawling across the floor toward me.

It was surely the coffin puppet of the person who had been opening this path.

I quickly opened the coffin. But the person inside had already disappeared. Too much time had passed for the coffin’s magic to handle, so they must have dropped out.

Did that mean this path was no longer safe either? I would have to go back the way I came. I turned around with a bitter smile.

Still, when I passed through paths like this, traps were not created instantly the way they were in clearings. That, at least, was fortunate. Was it Professor’s consideration? I could not know.

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