WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 48

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Over the past while, I had managed to earn quite a lot of points. It was the result of providing them with all kinds of services. Among them, though, the biggest contributor was the mirror bug I had newly made this time.

Before building the stronghold, I had communicated with Cassian’s bear puppet countless times to correct my direction. At the end of it, I managed to complete the route and the map.

Back then, I had only tried it because it was the only method available, but thinking back on it later, the idea felt surprisingly fresh.

People far apart from each other could communicate, check their positions, and grasp the situation. In this thick fog, that was the ability everyone needed most desperately. The others had to feel the same way.

In the hazy fragments of my past life that surfaced from time to time, there had been a similar item. It was called a radio, something used on battlefields.

How could I possibly ignore the smell of money when it was this strong? This function was not something that would be used only during this lecture and then disappear. It was clearly going to stay useful in the future.

The first puppet shape I imagined was a tiny flying insect the size of a fingernail.

A little bug that could simply transmit another person’s voice. That was the simplest form to make. It would take little time to produce, so it would be easy to sell right away too.

But to communicate through this fog, which even blocked magical power, the bug needed a shadow’s will, just like the bear puppet did. That meant I had to tear off my stem again.

Still, adding only that much function felt lacking. I felt sorry for the shadows that would bloom in those bodies, and it did not satisfy me either.

So I kept thinking it over and gradually altered the puppet’s form.

Did it really have to transmit only sound?

The thought came to me suddenly. Seeing things with your eyes was more convenient, and the information would be easier to understand. Then how could I make information visible?

While rummaging around for the best material, I found a mirror. A mirror imbued with magical power could display a clear image inside it.

I thought it might work if I attached this mirror to the bug and made it possible to write and view text. If I used that, I could even synchronize things like maps, making it much easier to check one another’s positions.

After repeated revisions, the result was a palm-sized mirror bug. It flew through the air and floated a mirror in front of its owner’s eyes so they could view it comfortably.

The records they left were delivered to other stars through my shadow tree. Then they were displayed on the screen exactly as they were.

I had made it myself, but it really was a clean puppet. Nothing else would be this effective for exploring this fog. I could say that with confidence.

As if proving that thought, it received a huge response. Around fifty mirror bugs left in people’s hands.

I did not sell them. I only took points as a rental fee. One hundred points each. That was the cost of sending precious creatures with egos into a dangerous environment.

The tree in my chest trembled. It was withered and thin. That was the result of tearing pieces from its body to plant them in the mirror bugs. For it to recover again, I would have to rest for a long time.

The egos of the ones made this way were very faint. Part of it was because my tree had not fully recovered, and part of it was because the process that should have been carried out had been skipped.

It could not be helped. There was too little time.

Still, they were good enough to transmit information through the mirror. I would reinforce their bodies properly later. I fiddled with one mirror bug in my hand.

Like that, I earned points and enjoyed myself. I had enough to cover the interest and even pay off the debt itself. My heart naturally felt full.

So I never imagined things would turn out like this.

With a bitter smile, I looked at the clearing in the center of the stronghold. Every surviving student taking the lecture had gathered there.

They had gathered by group, each side pouring magical power toward the others. Perhaps because of that, an extremely taut tension hung between them.

Ten hours after making the stronghold, the entire area had already been revealed. There was no treasure inside the fog.

They had searched every place where the treasure might be hidden. They had even dug dozens of meters down into the ground at the center of the map, but they had not found the treasure.

The incident had happened only thirty minutes ago.

Five members of Jun’s group had disappeared without a trace. Even every mirror bug they had taken with them had been smashed.

From the shock of losing their bodies, the stars opened on my shadow tree had disappeared too. They had died just like that. That sense of loss still filled my chest.

“At that time, three people left their positions, and the most suspicious one among them is one of yours, sword-user.”

Jun said that, and Goro snorted.

“Sword-user? You must really want to die. And who left their position? We were all here.”

Jun gave a small sneer and jerked his chin. At the end of that gesture was a woman clinging to a bear puppet. It was Cassian. She paid no attention to the eyes focused on her and was playing around with the bear puppet.

I crossed my arms as I watched. I had noticed that she disappeared too. At that time, I had confirmed that she left the bear puppet’s side. With this, what I had suspected was half confirmed.

In a way, the reason they had gathered was also because of me. The moment I felt the mirror bugs break, I immediately informed everyone. After that, the situation flowed on and on until it reached this point.

As soon as I sensed signs that friction between them was about to begin, I hid inside the turtle. I had already collected all the fences too and gathered them onto its shell. The turtle shouldered its shell and let out a happy cry.

Goro laughed as he flexed his rugged muscles.

“Why would she bother touching small fry like you?”

“We wouldn’t know that. I’m only making a reasonable suspicion.”

The two looked at each other and poured out magical power. Even though Jun’s ability was a little lacking, he stood against Goro with remarkable force. His spirit was impressive. Was that the dignity of a leader?

The great family group watched their fight from a distance. Soon, Goro’s gaze turned toward them.

“And I don’t know why you’re only suspecting us. A few people from that side left their positions too.”

“Are you referring to us?”

Hongryeong raised his eyes slightly. He smiled gently and shook his head.

“An ambush? We do not do such undignified things. Well, perhaps they were attacked by a magical beast. They are rather weak, after all.”

Hongryeong smiled as he looked at Jun. But unlike the smile on his lips, his eyes were colder than anything.

“Even if someone did ambush them, would that be a problem? Who knows? One of them might have had the treasure.”

When Hongryeong said that, the mood sank heavily. Everyone had been suspicious, but no one had said it aloud.

It was the guess that someone might already be hiding the treasure while taming it. Just like that, everyone’s gazes turned toward one another. Strong suspicion blazed in their eyes like fire.

“Then the attacker might have the treasure? Hand them all over. I’ll check them myself.”

Jun said that with his eyes dyed blood red. Magical power surged from his whole body along with his rage. The people standing behind him also began releasing stronger magical power. Then the great family and the sword-wielders on the other side smiled and raised their own magical power.

I really had not thought things would end up like this. I clicked my tongue and muttered. There was nothing I could do. Their heads were probably already full of thoughts of killing each other. I sipped tea and watched the clearing.

Their voices kept rising, and magical power clashed, scattering sparks in the air.

Then someone used magic. One student collapsed, split in half. Then that student scattered into the air and disappeared. They had been eliminated.

The people who saw that began shooting magic at one another. All kinds of magic filled the space between them. Along with that, the magic forming the stronghold began to vanish.

Cassian’s circle was the same. It rapidly shrank and tried to cut down the other mages inside it.

Jun struck it hard. But he could not withstand its force and was flung backward. Only after several of the people behind him were cut did the circle finally break.

Then the fog rushed in. The fog had been growing thicker all this time, to the point that I could no longer even see myself properly.

I layered defensive magic again and again to block the fog’s approach. I examined the fog through the turtle’s eyes, but I could not hear a thing.

I did not properly count how much time passed after that. I simply drank tea and waited, and then I felt someone approaching the turtle. Through the shadow tree, that star was shining brightly.

I slowly moved the turtle and headed there as well. At the end of my advance, I saw one bear puppet. And a small circle floating around it. She stood there with a sword in hand, smiling.

I got down from the turtle and carefully stepped inside. I looked around, but I could see no one except her. I shrank the turtle, put it into the spatial pouch, and headed toward her.

“Are you all right?”

I asked her carefully. Covered in blood, she nodded.

“Of course.”

She shook her sword. The blood clinging to it fell to the ground. She strode toward me. With a bitter smile, I said,

“I don’t know what I should call you, but I would appreciate it if you ended this without making it hurt.”

She looked at me with round eyes. Then, in an instant, she thrust her sword at me. It happened in the blink of an eye.

The pain was not that great. When I looked down, I saw the blade piercing deep through my chest. If the sword was pulled out like this, I would be eliminated too.

“You knew I wasn’t the owner of this body?”

She asked. I shook my head slightly and spat out the blood filling my mouth.

“I was only... guessing, but now... I know it’s true.”

“I see. Then I’ll see you next time.”

She smiled and pulled out the sword. With that gentle force, I collapsed to the ground. My body gradually began to grow heavy. My eyes closed, and I lost consciousness.

Then I quietly woke up.

I was in the infirmary. I could hear other people murmuring and talking. The infirmary was crowded with quite a few people.

I must have fallen in that battle just now and woken up here. When I raised my body, I saw Cassian sprawled on the floor. She saw me and jumped to her feet. Then she grabbed me with a desperate look on her face.

“Mister, where is my bear?”

“I will bring it to you once the sixth floor is all cleaned up.”

I shook my head as I said that. She collapsed again with a despairing expression. People began to gather around her. They were probably the ones who had died by her hand in the fog.

But that had not been her.

“Do you have any memories from before you came here?”

I asked her. She roughly folded her fingers and said,

“Mm. The lecture started, the fog rushed in, and when I came to my senses, it was now.”

I gave a bitter smile. As expected. The one I had faced at the end had been the treasure. The Fog Heart.

Truthfully, I had not suspected it from the start. As I kept meeting her, I had only vaguely realized that something was suspicious.

Her habit of drinking tea, her attitude when talking, those behaviors were a little different from usual. It was probably because it had not absorbed her memories perfectly.

That damned bear puppet confused me several times too. Even though its owner had changed, it stuck right to her. So I wondered if I was mistaken.

Only after the incident finally happened could I be sure.

The Heart had devoured her. I never imagined a treasure would have that level of intelligence. On top of that, its last words were rather ominous.

See you next time. Somehow, I had a feeling I would meet it again, just as it said.

The lecture ended like this.

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