WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 36

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A week had passed since the lecture ended.

I looked at the tower before me.

The tower was pitch-black. Its dark form, without even the faintest trace of light, rose straight upward as if it meant to cover the sky. The shadow cast from it flowed down the mountain ridge, soaking the mountainside like a river.

Black streams wrapped around the mountain and spread outward. They were filled with writhing greed, swallowing every trace of light and color nearby. Wherever the streams passed, the land turned pale, as if all color had been drained from it, and the magical power pouring from those places was so intense that even approaching them seemed impossible.

Yet the power stretching out from the tower and dyeing the mountain white was only the tower’s shadow spilling outward. If that was all it was, then how much power did the tower at the source itself possess? I could not even imagine it.

I carefully avoided the shadow crawling toward my feet and swallowed. If I were dragged into that, I would melt on the spot. On my way up the mountain, I had seen a few birds get eaten that way.

I had come here to attend Professor Heisen’s lecture. I had arrived with excitement in my heart, wondering what kind of lecture it would be, but I had never imagined the tower itself would have this much personality.

Plenty of people were standing around me, just as tense as I was. They had clearly gathered for the same purpose.

But something felt off.

Every single person here was on a ridiculous level. They were all giving off dense magical power. Even people like Hongryeong or Goro would look cute next to them.

How should I put it? The atmosphere was a little different from the lecture I had imagined. I was starting to think I might have signed up for the wrong thing.

Come to think of it, Hwaryeong had told me this when I registered for the lecture. Professor Heisen’s lecture was extremely high-level, so few people applied. Did high-level not mean the lecture itself was high-level, but that the students were? A groan slipped from my lips.

While I was watching the people around me, ten o’clock arrived. It was time for the lecture to begin. At the same moment, the tower’s huge doors slid open.

An incredibly thick darkness spread out from within like fog. The others began stepping into it without hesitation. I hesitated for a moment, then slowly let the fog take me.

After walking through the fog for a short while, I found myself inside the tower. A strangely sunken darkness and cold air wrapped around my body.

I looked around. Unlike what I had imagined from the outside, the interior was surprisingly neat and orderly. I slowly followed the others. Smooth black walls stretched on, and faintly wavering shadows moved along them, carrying the tower’s magical power.

The lamps placed along the walls gave off a weak light, giving those shadows depth. The entire tower flowed with a strange magical power, like one living creature.

I slowly made my way inward along the wall. The farther in I went, the thicker the shadows became, and the light gradually disappeared. When I arrived at the central hall, I saw a huge sphere.

It rippled and constantly changed shape like liquid. Our figures were faintly reflected on its smooth surface.

The shadows stretching out from the sphere flowed along the ceiling, floor, and surrounding walls, filling the space like the roots of a giant tree. This was where all the shadows we had seen so far began. It felt as though the magical power of the entire tower was contained inside that sphere.

In front of it stood a woman who looked utterly exhausted. Her whole body sagged, and her expression was lifeless. She reminded me of Professor Heisen when I had seen him before.

She slowly looked over us as if counting heads. I could not move an inch. The others seemed the same. It was because of the horrifying aura she gave off. A chilling sensation froze my body solid, like I was facing something that should not exist in this world.

Her magical power was strong enough to overwhelm everyone here. For a brief moment, it even reminded me of a professor.

“Ah… everyone is here…. I am… Myra… and I am in the… specialized research program… under Professor Heisen….”

She mumbled as she spoke. Her voice was so quiet that I could not hear her unless I focused. She seemed awkward with the very act of speaking.

A specialized research program. She was someone on a very high level. Higher than anyone here, certainly. I had heard that people who wanted to become professors usually advanced that far, but this was my first time seeing one in person.

“Then… close your eyes… and entrust your body… to this child….”

She pointed at the black sphere. Then it opened halfway, revealing a pitch-black interior. From within, a long tongue split into two flicked out.

It snatched up the closest person and swallowed them. A few people flinched and stepped back at the sight. I was one of them.

“The path… has been connected properly… so do not worry…. If you open your eyes… you may be taken away… so be careful….”

She spoke slowly. By the time she finished, more than half the people had already been eaten. The ones eaten first had definitely heard none of that.

In any case, the people in front of me were eaten one by one and disappeared. Standing there like this made me feel as if I were being offered as a living sacrifice.

I still had to get through it. I squeezed my eyes shut and walked forward. Then something slick wrapped around my waist. It dug through an incredibly strange magical power and carried me somewhere.

Soon, the movement ended, and the tongue let me go. When I opened my eyes, I saw an ordinary lecture room. It was similar in style to the one in our tower.

Many people were already moving around, finding seats for themselves. I stood at the very back and waited for the others to sit first. I was the weakest one here. No, I was not even weak. I was dust.

What if I sat down first for no reason and earned the displeasure of my seniors? With that mindset, I quietly kept my presence low and watched the room.

Soon, everyone had taken a seat. I went to a spot with relatively few people and carefully sat down.

I glanced around the lecture room. It was filled with silence. No one opened their mouth. The atmosphere felt as though everyone regarded one another as competitors. How exactly was this lecture run for the mood to be this suffocating and bleak before it had even begun?

After waiting with bated breath for a long while, Professor Heisen appeared on a shadow. I had not even noticed his arrival, and only realized he was there after he spoke.

“Mm, I see a few familiar faces.”

He stood at the podium and looked around. At those words, several people lowered their heads. Most of them were seated near the podium.

If they were acquainted with the Professor, that meant they had already taken his lecture before. They were probably retaking it. Professor Heisen looked over them without any particular emotion, then turned his gaze away.

“My lecture is always conducted in the same way. Myra, hand them out.”

He said that, and Myra slowly emerged from his shadow. She was carrying an armful of papers. She raised her magical power and floated them into the air.

The papers flew over and settled in front of the students. When I lifted mine slightly, I saw that it was packed with writing. It was a kind of questionnaire.

“It is a two-thousand-question questionnaire meant to understand you. You have one hour. Fill it all out and submit it.”

After saying that, Professor Heisen closed his eyes. I quickly took out a pen and wrapped it in magical power. I did not really understand what was going on, but for now, I had to do my best at whatever this was. I quickly skimmed the questionnaire.

1. Can the color you hate most deceive you?

2. If something that is not you controls you, how would you react?

3. If the fifth finger becomes the sixth finger, what is the reason?

4. When light vanishes and darkness approaches, which of the following do you perceive first?

1) Color 2) Sound 3) Flow 4) Presence

5. When do you think your death will come?

The questions continued in that sort of style. They were quite abstract and bizarre. But I had no time to think deeply. If I wanted to give two thousand answers in one hour, I had to move fast. I simply moved my hand according to whatever came out of my heart.

How many people have you killed so far? About a hundred. Describe when you used your first magic. Thirteen. Questions that seemed to have deep meaning, yet also seemed to mean nothing at all, flashed past.

At the end of it, I barely managed to fill in all two thousand answers. I completed it just within the hour. When I checked how the others were doing, most had already finished their questionnaires and were waiting. Professor Heisen stood in place with his eyes closed, not moving at all.

Soon, the full hour passed. Myra, who was behind the Professor, checked a clock and lightly tapped his shoulder. At the same time, she collected all the questionnaires placed before us. They sank straight into her shadow.

Professor Heisen slowly opened his eyes. He checked the clock Myra held out to him, then spoke.

“The sphere you passed through to come here is a place where the shadows of dead things collect. It is a subspace I created over many long years, and the things inside it always hope to take form. That is why they often parasitize the shadows of living things.”

As he said that, he pulled a shadow out from beneath his feet. How should I describe it? It was a very faint, wavering shadow. It was so hazy it looked as if it might scatter and vanish at any moment.

“Starting now, you will raise these for five years. The questionnaire was conducted to find the one most suited to each of you. Using your answers as clues, the most fitting shadow will follow you.”

He threw the shadow straight at the student seated in front of him. It burrowed into that person’s shadow and disappeared.

“These things grow by eating your shadows. All you need to do is raise them. Whatever you do, the shadow will gradually grow stronger. The stronger the master, the greater its total volume will become. You will take an exam once every three months with the ones you raise.”

Ah, so that was why. I realized why there were no lower-floor students in sight. I looked around. Everyone was giving off heavy magical power. In this lecture, the stronger you were, the greater your advantage. I knew something felt strange. A bitter taste filled my mouth. No matter what I did, I clearly could not beat the people here.

“Five years will pass that way. A total of nineteen people will be selected. They will pass. And eleven others whom I choose will also pass. Only those who pass in this way will have the right to continue possessing their shadows after the lecture. The rest will be recovered and disposed of, so keep that in mind.”

He said that. I also understood why so many people were retaking the lecture. They were after those shadows. For me, the odds became even more hopeless.

Naturally, I thought of Professor Irian. I had applied for this lecture because of Professor Irian’s order. Did she send me here knowing all this? I could not understand her intention at all.

“Then I will distribute the shadows. As long as you have one, you will be able to go anywhere in this tower, so move around as you like. That is all.”

At the same moment, shadows flooded out from beneath his feet. The wave of shadows swallowed the entire lecture room. Darkness filled my surroundings in an instant. And within it, I could sense a very faint existence connected to me. It naturally seeped into my shadow.

Soon, the darkness cleared, and the lecture room grew bright again. I looked down at my feet. There was a dark shadow there. From the outside, nothing seemed to have changed.

But I could tell that something was contained within it through the faint flow connected to my tree. It was a strange sensation. It even felt somewhat similar to when I had controlled the turtle with my Sapling before.

“We will end here for today. And you, follow me for a moment.”

Professor Heisen said that. Surely not me. As I was thinking that, the air around me began to turn cold. When I quietly looked around, I saw people staring at me. Professor Heisen was looking at me too.

“Yes!”

I shouted with all my strength and stood up.

At the same time, my shadow suddenly swelled and rushed over me. It happened in the blink of an eye. When I came to my senses, I had been moved to a room full of documents.

It seemed to be Professor Heisen’s office. He appeared naturally on a shadow, and with that lifeless face, he offered me a chair. There were documents piled on top of the chair as well.

I carefully put the documents down on the floor and quietly sat. I did not even dare to look around. I anxiously guessed at all sorts of reasons for why he had called me.

Professor Heisen sat at his desk and began handling the documents placed in front of him one by one. He did not seem to be paying any attention to me at all.

He opened his mouth only when the mountain of documents had shrunk by about half.

“You said your name was Evron, was it?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

I answered carefully. He glanced at me and continued.

“The reason I brought you into my class was because of a promise with Professor Irian. She told me to give you one shadow. I owed her a debt from before, so I gladly accepted.”

He pointed at my face with the pen in his hand. Magical power rippled fiercely from its tip.

“I already know that you are not at the level required to keep up with my lecture. So simply do your best. If you do, I will guarantee that you pass.”

For a moment, I could not stop a smile from spreading across my face. I had already half given up, but my place had been reserved from the start. I had not known Professor Irian would pay this much attention to me.

I did not know what kind of thing this shadow was, but seeing how the others were retaking the lecture just to obtain it, it was definitely no ordinary thing.

Without knowing this deep intention, I had simply thought of Professor as a petty brat. I engraved that reflection deep in my heart once more.

How could a candle understand the movement of the sun? All I had to do was trust and follow. Every single action Professor took had to contain a very deep meaning. For some reason, even the sight of Professor rolling around on the bed looked different to me now.

Professor Heisen watched me for a moment, then spoke again.

“I am telling you this for one reason. Engrave that person’s grace into your soul. Thoroughly, and with only sincerity.”

He said that and jabbed my forehead with the pen.

“You may go back now.”

Before I could even answer, the magical power blooming from there swallowed me. It was the same as before. In the blink of an eye, I was back in the lecture room.

Dazed, I rubbed my forehead.

Engrave Professor’s grace into my soul, he said. A bitter smile slipped out. I was already doing that. I looked at the contract carved into my wrist. The contract text written in elegant handwriting came into view.

More than that, I became a little curious about the relationship between the two of them. What exactly had happened between them for him to show such deep respect? I had no way of knowing.

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