WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 78

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Cassian sat in a chair, looking at the bear puppet with a soft smile. Her gaze was warm, but there was a trace of loneliness in it too. She picked up the teacup in front of her and began savoring its fragrance.

Paired with her usual vacant, hazy air, her appearance carried a fragility that looked as if it might shatter at any moment. She lightly sipped the tea, then set the cup down. Then she stared at the mirror bug on the table.

The mirror bug held Cassian’s image and displayed a countdown. 5, 4, 3… then the numbers disappeared.

“All right, that’s enough. We’ll end it here.”

Mira said it with a small clap. At the same time, Cassian’s face melted. Her body did too. She slumped over the table. As she let out a meaningless groan, “Mwek,” the bear puppet patted her back.

Cassian wriggled with her whole body and hugged the bear puppet. Then she sniffled a little and whined something at it. I gave a bitter smile. Mira’s training was thorough. She allowed not even the slightest error in Cassian’s behavior.

“You wore armor yesterday, so shall we try a dress today?”

Mira said. Cassian shook her head, looking utterly appalled. Fair enough. I had never seen her wear a skirt before. Most sword-wielders were like that. They always gave the impression that they preferred pants.

But Mira showed no hesitation. She dragged Cassian, who was clinging to the bear puppet, straight toward the dressing room. It was a temporary structure the puppets had built in one corner of the room. From inside came a small commotion, along with sounds of wriggling movement.

Soon, Cassian came out, led by Mira’s hand. She was wearing a soft dress that wrapped around her body, and she looked ready to cry. Maybe she was not used to it, because she kept fidgeting her legs.

“There is still plenty of time left. Do you really need to change already?”

“Right.”

Cassian nodded furiously, as if agreeing with me. Mira, however, shook her finger with a very firm expression.

“She needs to get used to the clothes. Only then can she fully use that sensation once the duel begins.”

As she said that, Mira gently poked Cassian’s body. She was making Cassian’s body adapt to the clothes and blend with them. Fog poured from her hand, wrapped around Cassian, and began gently warming her body. Cassian twisted slightly inside it and blushed.

Hmm, was that how it worked? Then I had nothing more to say. I looked vaguely into the air and sipped my tea. Combat was her field. If she said so, then that was how it was.

After all, I had won the last duel so easily thanks to her advice.

The third duel ended quickly.

Cassian’s clothes were cut a little, but she returned without many injuries. The second opponent had seemed harder. Looking back, the first was the real problem. Back then, treating her wounds had taken quite a while.

That did not mean the difficulty was getting lower as time went on. Her opponents were always stronger than the ones before them. It was just that her growth over the span of a week was far faster than the increase in their strength.

Even with all of us clinging to her and remodeling her body, that speed of growth was astonishing. While watching the video of the duel, I praised Cassian quite a lot. There were almost no point deductions.

Was it because of all the duels she had gone through so far? There was almost no waste in her movements. Changing the structure of those movements had also been quite important. During the duel, she often swung her sword in new ways, containing countless forms within it.

That seemed to have confused her opponent quite a bit. It made sense. The third opponent had once participated in a public duel with her. They had even revealed that they would be her next opponent.

At the time, they had fought fiercely. Of course, they had stopped midway without settling it. It could not be helped. The dueling location had its limits.

So the opponent was probably imagining Cassian as she had been back then. But by the time the third duel came around, she showed movements completely different from that time. Because of that, the opponent failed to adapt and fell apart on their own.

The next opponent would probably prepare for that kind of situation. It was a trick that could only be used once. But I was not disappointed. We had not aimed for it anyway, and experienced people would not be caught so easily.

The opponent had simply trapped themselves within their own narrow thinking. I was satisfied just getting through this one easily.

I was sipping my tea when I felt a sharp magical power approaching. It was coming from beyond the door. It was familiar magical power too.

Soon, the door opened, and a young man with sharp eyes walked in. He came straight toward us without hesitation. His magical power gently split the barrier that limited sight. The barrier opened a gap without offering any resistance.

He stepped naturally through that gap and into our territory. Mira confirmed who he was and stopped touching Cassian’s body. Cassian looked at the young man with a grateful expression.

He faced Cassian and gave a small, amused laugh. His cold air softened a little.

“You are wearing another unusual outfit today. Are you planning to duel in that?”

He said it. I quietly nodded. At that, Cassian collapsed beside the bear puppet with a gloomy expression. The bear puppet comforted her.

“The place you mentioned has been prepared. Since you should inspect it, I will extend your outing time today. If you speak to them, they will guide you there immediately.”

He said it while gesturing at the watchers with his chin.

“Thank you. Only a day has passed, so I did not expect it to be ready already.”

I gave a bitter smile. What we had requested was a dueling location just for Cassian. We had originally planned to request something else, but we hurriedly changed the condition.

The clearing had become difficult to use. Recently, the friction with the street vendors had grown too severe. It could not be helped either. Whenever she came, the people crowding around interrupted their business.

I clicked my tongue. If people gathered, that should have meant more customers for them, so it ought to have been good. Why had they refused to cooperate with us?

I thought about it for a moment. Come to think of it, even if we drew people in, it might not have benefited them much. It was not as if they sold food, nor were they selling seats.

I sold all of that. I had touched every area that could become points. Mm, was that why? What petty people. Anyway, there had been some friction yesterday because of that.

In the end, we needed a new place. But even if we changed floors, the same thing was bound to happen. So after a little discussion, everyone agreed that we needed a new duel arena.

A free place anyone could enter, and a place where people could swing their swords as much as they wanted without restrictions. The existing public duels had too many limits. They had to be careful not to injure their opponent.

It would be even better if it were somewhere an opponent could still be properly treated after being stabbed, somewhere that could handle the aftermath. When we told him all that, he smiled in amusement. Then he nodded and said he understood. And now he had come like this.

“We used a place that already existed.”

He said it lightly. Then he looked at me.

“More importantly, what do you call that thing? The floating mirror that shows videos. I saw an interesting video there. It showed the second duel.”

I smiled a little awkwardly. So he had seen that. In truth, I had wondered whether to use it or not. But I used it anyway. I figured they already knew we were analyzing the duels.

After all, we had referenced the previous duels when working on her body and behavior. It would have been impossible if we had not checked those duels. They would have noticed well enough how her changes had happened.

“But since she has grown this much through it, I do not mind. The others have been moving in roughly similar ways until now anyway. Just make sure you are not caught at the scene.”

A slight chill ran down my spine. I would need to hide the mirror bug on the bear puppet a little better. They must already know the bear puppet was the one doing the filming.

“Come to think of it, I still have not heard your name. May I ask what it is?”

“Ah, I have not told you my name yet. I am Aldric.”

When I heard that name, my eyes trembled slightly. It was a name I had seen somewhere before. But I immediately steadied myself and smiled brightly.

“Aldric-ssi, thank you for all your help.”

“Not at all. I have high expectations, so I only hope she does not fall midway. Then I will be going now.”

The young man turned and left. I stared at his back. The door closed, and I felt his magical power grow distant.

Where had I seen that name? I set that aside for now. In any case, we had secured a new dueling location. Then we needed to promote it too. We had to move quickly.

Thinking that, I rose to my feet.

The dueling location they told us about was midway up the canyon. It was a wide space that looked as if it had been made by carving down a massive protruding rock. In terms of position, was it around the fourth floor? It was a place where the entire city could be seen at a glance. The city would be able to see this place very clearly too.

On top of it was a huge training arena. They said it was a place many people visited when the city held events or had important matters to handle. Just as they said, various spells had been cast over the training arena. If someone fought up there, it did not look like anyone would die.

Many people had gathered, buzzing among themselves. They had come to watch Cassian’s sparring, and also to participate. It was the result of going around not just the third floor, but several floors, and handing out leaflets.

By number, there were around a hundred people. The fact that this many had followed even after we moved to a new place was impressive in itself. As usual, puppets scattered light, and mirror bugs captured her image and decorated it beautifully.

Cassian stood at the center of those puppets. She looked around with an uneasy expression. But when Mira gave her a look, she put on a soft smile again.

“All right, then we will begin the duels!”

Once I said that, the puppets moved in perfect order. Those who wished to participate took waiting tickets, and for those who came to watch, we sold various foods and magic. Cassian cut down her opponents.

As I was watching the duels, a shadow fell over my head. Someone had approached. I smiled and looked at them.

“Are you here to participate? If so, over there….”

I stopped midway. A huge man was scratching his head awkwardly. His muscles, swollen as if they might burst, stood out immediately.

It was also a face I had seen many times before. Well, this person was a sword-user too. Since the lecture had ended, it made sense for him to be here.

“Ah, it was you, Goro-ssi. It has been a while.”

“It has been a while.”

Goro answered with a smile. But his gaze was not on me, but on Cassian atop the training arena. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked his chin.

“That is… who? I saw the leaflet, and the face looked awfully familiar, so I came to take a look. I did not expect you to be here.”

“That is Cassian-ssi.”

I answered with a smile. His eyes widened. He blinked, then looked back and forth between me and Cassian.

“That friend can smile like that?”

I looked at Cassian. Even while carrying out a duel, she did not lose the smile on her face. That was thanks to Mira releasing a little fog as a warning every time it started to fade.

“Haha, we just dressed up her appearance a little. To gather people. If something looks good, does that not make the fight better too?”

“That is true, but why is she fighting duels like this without magical power?”

“There is a reason. Please just think of it as training.”

I said it with a bitter smile. The information had been released, but even so, it would not be good to tell someone else everything. Goro looked at Cassian for a while, then grinned.

“Then shall I fight her too, since it has been a while? The last time we fought was not very satisfying.”

He seemed to be thinking of the tournament in the tower. I smiled and nodded. A puppet approached and handed him a waiting ticket. Those before him fell one after another before Cassian’s sword. Her sword, freed from restrictions, was extremely fierce.

Soon, Goro’s turn came. Goro raised his sword with a confident expression. Standing before Cassian, he grinned and charged at her.

And lost. He returned to my side with a blank face. He looked as if his soul had left his body.

“So one can go that far even with a body without magical power.”

He let out a low exclamation. His eyes, which had been looking at Cassian, slowly began to shine. He quietly patted my shoulder and smiled.

“That was your doing, right? Could you teach me too?”

I narrowed my eyes. He knew Cassian and me well. We had spent five years together. So he must have noticed right away how her change had happened.

This was something I had been worrying about anyway. I needed more information. Looking only at Cassian meant the sample size was lacking. I needed to handle more samples and secure more variety.

But for someone I needed to appear right when I needed him. It was what I wanted, but it also made me a little suspicious. He might have been sent by the association. But it did not matter. We could use each other.

“Of course. But I need this in return. There is a lot of work to do, after all.”

I made a circle with my hand and smiled. Goro laughed and nodded. Goro was also the perfect test subject for me.

Originally, Mira’s body had been modeled after Goro. That meant I had stolen and stored a lot of information about him in the tower. Using information I already had was a very easy matter.

A mirror bug flew up from my clothes. Then it displayed the ‘Score Sheet.’

During the past while, Mira and I had scored many things. Those standards piled up and formed a single framework. That framework moved in two directions. Physical beauty and the perfection of combat.

I placed that inside the mirror bug and formed a new spell. That was this Score Sheet. I had made it so that, according to the standards we entered, the score of an action could be displayed in real time.

Mira called this a combat analysis system. But that was too long. Would it not be better to call it the Score Sheet, short, perfect, and clear in its meaning? After arguing back and forth with Mira over that, I won. It was a precious victory.

In the last third duel, Cassian scored 80 points through this Score Sheet. It was the same score we had come up with through our own analysis. In other cases too, it produced similar scores.

This Score Sheet seemed like it could be quite useful even after this matter ended. Just like now. It began capturing the scene of the duel between Goro and Cassian from just now. Then it began scoring the actions of those inside it.

A lot of information was needed for scoring, but there was already enough about Goro inside it. As the video played, Goro’s score began dropping sharply.

At this rate, it was obvious the score would hit rock bottom. I quietly raised my will and adjusted the score a little.

The resulting score was 30 points. Cassian, positioned opposite him, had 95 points. Goro took it and opened his mouth wide.

“You mean this is my score?”

“Yes. If it is 30 points, that is still quite a decent score. When we first scored Cassian-ssi, she started from 0 points.”

I said that to comfort Goro. But it did not seem to comfort him. He staggered in place for a moment.

Soon, he came back to his senses. Then he began staring intently at the mirror bug. Inside it, the reasons for each deduction were written in detail. He watched it, then handed the bug back to me.

“I will go first. I will come again tomorrow, so score me once more then.”

He left like that. His back, flying toward the city, looked very lonely.

And the next day, just as he had said, he really did come again. He looked a little more haggard than before. But his eyes were burning with a very intense light.

He dueled Cassian again. He was clearly better than yesterday. But because he was not used to being without magical power, he made a few mistakes, and collapsed under Cassian’s sword.

The result, though, was astonishing. The score he received this time was 60 points. It had risen by 30 points in a single night. It was a result I had not manipulated. Even so, he took it and clicked his tongue.

“So I am still only at this level.”

He muttered with a dissatisfied expression. Behind Goro stood about ten people. They were all familiar faces too. They were people I had lived with in the tower. They were sword-wielders who had formed one axis of the tower.

“It has been a while, everyone.”

I smiled and greeted them. They also gave slight bows. Goro looked at them and said,

“After the lecture ended, we carried out several large requests together since we had formed a cooperative relationship, so we became closer. When I said I was going to participate in a duel, they all came.”

They looked at Goro’s score and snickered. A sharp smile rose to Goro’s lips as he looked at them. He looked at me with shining eyes.

“Can you score them too?”

I readily nodded. Over five years, I had accumulated a decent amount of data about them too. Even if some parts were lacking, I could supplement them by referencing others. Then some rough scoring would be possible one way or another.

They entered the duels with confident expressions.

And they collapsed before Cassian’s sword. The mirror bug floating before their sprawled bodies displayed their scores one by one. 5 points, 15 points, 21 points…. Compared to Goro’s, they were utterly miserable scores.

“Hmm, it seems everyone needs to work hard.”

Goro mocked them. The sword-wielders ground their teeth and glared at him. Goro looked over his own score with a satisfied expression. As he read the list of deductions, he stroked his chin.

“Hmm, this is rather interesting. May I tell others about it too?”

“Of course. I was going to ask you for that, actually.”

I said that while organizing the scores I had received from them. I needed a lot of information. So I had been planning to promote this Score Sheet heavily, and if he spread the word for me, there was no reason to refuse.

Of course, I would have to examine the applicants’ bodies a little in advance.

I only had to cut them open with a knife a few times and check the inside.

After all, I only needed to give them rough scores like these people. If it was not a case like Cassian’s, analyzing the body was mostly easy.

Goro gathered up the fallen people and left with a smile. He waved, saying he would visit again tomorrow. I smiled and bowed toward him.

Then I looked at the duel arena. I could see Cassian avoiding her opponent’s sword with light, graceful steps. Her skirt stayed very stable in place without swaying.

Changing clothes like that over and over was partly for showing others, but it was also a kind of training. Like that, she adapted to various clothes and learned how to move within restrictions.

Inside those restrictions, she discovered the optimal path and learned movements different from before. With that unfamiliar flow, she carried out new duels every day. Within them, her movements became more varied, more refined, and more beautiful. Just like now.

Mira had said that just as a human body was a shell to her, clothes were a shell for humans. Honestly, I had half-doubted it. But to think she could really improve with only something like that. It was astonishing.

In this way, we made her body contain variety. I fiddled with the mirror bug that had returned to my clothes. The methods of the sword-wielders we had just extracted would also become a foundation for that. The information of those who came in the future would melt into her as well.

Like that, all the information would gather and gather, and complete her. Containing a thousand changes within her, that was what I wanted. With her body, it would surely be possible.

Cassian lightly cut down her opponent. Within that flow, the opponent sank to their knees. Watching the puppets clear that person away, she bowed her head slightly in greeting. The sword-wielders filling the surroundings clapped and laughed.

Starting the next day, people began coming to ask me to score them. I had originally planned to ask Cassian to promote it, but that became unnecessary. At that, she let out a sigh of relief.

In that way, information accumulated, time passed, and her body gradually approached perfection.

The fourth opponent was someone preparing to climb to the fourth floor. She received 87 points.

The fifth opponent was someone who had only recently climbed to the fourth floor. From them, she obtained 95 points.

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