WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 85

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I saw the giant hand.

It was giving off magical power so strong it could not even be compared to someone like me. That power poured down on me, and the giant hand opened its grasp in my direction.

A chill ran through me as I stared at its fingertips. The hand was a mass of countless fingers. They hung from it, wriggling toward me.

If that thing caught me, it would tear out my soul on the spot. Just as I had experienced before. I tightened my grip on the key in my hand.

If it did not respond, I had to run at once. Several mirror bugs floated around me. They carried words and pictures, flashing light toward the hand.

But it showed no reaction at all. It only came closer, greedy to grab me.

I tried sending my intent through magical power as well. But the moment that magical power reached it, its fingers caught it, and it vanished.

The thing followed only its instincts and rushed straight at me. This one really had no hope. Well, I had thought as much from the moment I first saw it.

The grotesque magical power stretching from its fingers began to bind my body. The Lump of Fingers tied me up and leaped as if to swallow me in one bite.

And in that instant, a single line was drawn.

The line split the space in half, cutting away the fingers it had stretched toward me. Cassian stood in front of me, her black hair fluttering lightly.

She raised her sword and faced it. The thing regenerated its fingers in an instant and reached out again.

But when she swung her sword, another line appeared, and the fingers were cut away once more. She glanced at me and smiled.

“How is it? This friend still isn’t responding, is it?”

She looked back at it and let out a mischievous laugh. Its fingers had already regenerated again, but now it had stopped and was hesitating.

Had it gained a little reason? Thinking that, I sent my intent to the mirror bugs. They flashed again. The message inside roughly meant that we should talk peacefully.

But it only stopped for a moment. It ignored my signal and charged at us again. Cassian blocked it.

“This one won’t work. Let’s retreat for now.”

I spread my magical power. The mirror bugs received the signal and returned to my chest. I poured magical power into the key in my hand and held it up to empty air.

Magical power flowed from the key, and a door appeared before it. As if the thing realized it was a passage, it suddenly went wild and lunged at us.

But the barrier created by the door blocked it, and it crashed headfirst into the ground. I lightly sent a sheet of paper flying toward it. The paper settled near the thing.

“If you happen to come to your senses later, please take a look at that. If you act like this on my next visit as well, I will judge that there is no hope for you.”

It wriggled and tried to stand again. I watched it for a moment, then slipped through the door. Cassian crossed after me.

Beyond the door, everything was very quiet. Around a wide hall, countless doors surrounded us. This was the treasure vault on the sixth floor.

I glanced at the door we had just come out of. Above it floated a phrase that looked almost like Professor’s scribble.

Room 2 - Stuff that eats people, more or less.

The door was firmly shut and sealed again. The hand was surely rampaging where we had disappeared from.

“What a shame. It used to be a friend that could think a little, too. Oh, right. If we feed it, it might come to its senses. Should we try?”

Cassian said it with a bright smile. Her eyes were also giving off a very clear light. Her face was lively in a way it had not been before. Then she came over and clung to me.

I lightly caught her. At the same time, her expression changed a little. She looked faintly horrified.

“U-um. Please don’t cling to the old man like that.... It’s my body, for now....”

No sooner had she said that than her expression changed again. This time, a mischievous smile appeared on her face. It was the sort of smile Mira often wore.

She pressed herself even closer to me. As if she meant to hug me with her whole body.

“Hmm, didn’t you agree to leave this body to me while we were in the treasure vault? That was our promise, you know? Hehe, since things turned out like this, shall I enjoy myself plenty with this body?”

As she said that, she smiled lightly at me. Then she gave me a small wink.

“Evron-ssi, what do you think? This body is better than you’d expect, you know?”

Then she puffed out her chest. I shook my head and took a step back. I had no time to play along with her joke.

“Enough games. We have a lot to do. We don’t have much time either.”

I glanced at her body. I could feel a slight trembling from it. Blocking that giant hand seemed to have put some strain on her.

The puppets on standby poured magic into that body and restored it at least a little. The work was not over yet. We had to move quickly.

I recorded the thing from just now in the mirror bug. It had not been that hard to deal with, so should I give it Grade 2? On top of that, it had been hostile enough to ignore our words.

That made it a Grade 2 hostile entity. I wrote that beside the name Lump of Fingers. I would be able to confirm that grade the next time we visited.

Cassian, no, Mira inside her, looked at it and laughed lightly.

“Hmm, now I’m curious. Did you write about me in there too?”

I nodded. I had thought she would be curious. I opened the part where I had recorded her and showed it to her.

Sixth floor, Room 2, Fog Heart, Grade 3 friendly entity.

“Grade 3 is the highest for now. I set that as the limit for the sixth floor. I’ve been judging the treasures’ grades based on you, Mira-ssi.”

“Hehe, is that so? I like it.”

She smiled with satisfaction. With her hanging from my arm, I turned and looked back at the door. We had to enter the place we had just escaped from again.

We had to go in quickly, then leave quickly before the hand noticed. A faint fog rose from her body.

It rippled very weakly. She said it was impossible for her to release any more than that right now. Even so, this much should be enough to slip past the hand’s senses.

“Then let’s go back in. There are still three treasures left to check.”

I looked at the treasure list written on the door. We had checked seven so far. Except for one, none of them understood a word we said. In the end, we had only kept fighting.

Still, this one should be fine. The treasure we were visiting this time was the “Eye That Hung on a Star” we had taken out before. It might be possible to talk to that one, at least.

I raised the key again. It must have found opening and closing the door fun, because it was giving off a bright light.

I inserted the key into the door. The barrier tightly wrapped around it came undone, and the door gently opened, revealing the inside.

I stepped through.

As I expected, it was possible to communicate with the thing to some degree. Though it needed a little persuasion.

I looked around. Since the wraiths had been cut down, gray magical power was rippling around us. It was the result of Cassian cutting down around a hundred wraiths that formed the center of that eye.

The lake-like eye stared quietly at us. At first, it had ignored my signals and kept charging.

Of course it had. If an ant waved its antennae to send a signal, who would respond? To the thing, I was no more than an ant.

If Mira had not held it back, it would have kept coming down on me. Thanks to the restraint known as Mira, we were able to have a meeting like this.

I handed it a sheet of paper and went outside again. I saw her stagger.

We needed to let that flesh rest as much as possible. As soon as Cassian’s body came outside the door, the puppets quickly clung to it.

The thing’s power was stronger than I had expected. After all, Mira had sent me a signal that holding on for about two minutes would be difficult. I wrote it down at the very edge of Grade 3.

Still, there were two left. Not many.

One of them did not respond no matter how many signals I sent. It only came down on us. So we had no choice but to run away.

The other one was fairly friendly. I was not sure if the clicking of its teeth meant we were communicating, though. Still, I left it a sheet of paper.

That paper was a kind of map marking where we would meet. I had scattered one to all the others as well.

It would be easier to gather the interested treasures first, then hold the conversation all at once. If they did not come, then there was nothing I could do.

After resting enough, we crossed the door again and went to the location marked on the map. Three treasures were waiting for us there.

One long tongue, a giant eye, and a necklace made of teeth. I had roughly expected these ones to come. They were the ones that had at least responded to our words.

“You all came. Thank you for agreeing to my request.”

I lowered my head slightly as I said that. They looked at me and rippled a bit of magical power. They seemed to be sending some kind of signal, but I could not understand it at all.

I took several mirror bugs from my spatial pouch and sent them flying toward them. The bugs boasted very large bodies. They were also as sturdy as their size suggested.

They lightly clung near the treasures. The treasures opened their magical power and quietly accepted them.

“Now, if you use these, you should be able to communicate easily. If you project your intent through magical power, these children will interpret it into simple text. The reverse is also true.”

The things I said appeared as text in the mirror bugs. That became a kind of magical power and was transmitted to them. They also began leaving words inside with awkward movements.

- Eye That Hung on a Star: This? Correct?

- Tongue of unknown origin: dldirlwhgektjdrhdwjr

- Tooth Necklace: This is a very good means of communication. I am quite surprised. It has been frustrating not being able to speak all this time, but if I use this, I think I will be able to converse very comfortably. Ah, this can do things besides words too.

(A picture of teeth neatly arranged as if smiling) (A picture of teeth clacking together)

Like this, you see. Oh, I like this very much. Are there other functions besides this? Oho, this works too. Perhaps this as well? Oho. Good, very good.

I smiled bitterly. That Tooth Necklace adapted very quickly. An enormous amount of text was pouring down like rain. The message board newly opened for the treasures began to fill with its writing.

“We are trying to gather those of you who can converse like this and create a structure where you can communicate with one another. If you wait, you will soon be connected to other areas too. Many treasures will gather here.”

- Tooth Necklace: Oh, communication, you say. I was already at a loss thinking about continuing to stay with these frustrating friends, and now such a fine opportunity has come. Thank you very much. ...But is that all?

The Tooth Necklace began clacking madly. Sharply honed magical power began blooming inside it. I quietly shook my head.

“Of course not. Did you think I handed those out just so we could talk? Rather, I came here because I have a proposal for you all.”

I smiled lightly as I said that. I could feel them focusing on me.

“Do you not wish to see the world again, beyond this stuffy room? I will create that opportunity for you.”

At those words, they became wildly excited and sent magical power at me. The mirror bugs could not properly output what that magical power meant.

Instead, the bugs were being crushed by that magical power and breaking little by little. I hurriedly waved my hands and stopped them.

“You must not break the mirror bugs. I put a great deal of effort into making them. Please handle them carefully. You must not insert your consciousness into them, and you must not eat them either.”

At those words, they calmed down a little. The mirror bugs trembled lightly and began restoring their damaged parts. It was a good thing I had placed various spells inside, just in case something like this happened.

“It is fine to write. But if I judge that you are having a negative effect on the message board or the bugs, I will cut the connection at once and lock you in the vault forever, so please be careful.”

- Tooth Necklace: Of course, of course. Who would do something like that? How foolish!

After seeing that text, the eye’s pupil twitched slightly. Mira looked at it with amusement. The eye slightly avoided Mira’s gaze.

They continued asking questions like that. I smiled and answered them. Even so, a streak of cold sweat ran down my back.

Those treasures kept letting magical power flow as they looked at me. As for that tongue, it was openly drooling and melting the floor.

It was clearly feeling a strong appetite toward me. But they did not attack recklessly. Part of that was because Mira was beside me, and part of it was because they had grown interested in what I was saying.

The tongue was Grade 1, the necklace was Grade 2, and the eye was Grade 3. For now, I classified all of them as uncertain entities. Since they were things that ate living beings, I could not properly grasp their tendencies.

A dreadful energy rippled from the magical power pooled on the floor. I subtly moved half a step away from them and checked the mirror bug.

I could confirm that they had roughly left signs of agreement. It seemed the first step had been taken successfully.

I lightly stroked the key in my hand. Since I had achieved my goal, it was time to leave. I did not want to stay in front of them any longer than necessary.

“Then I will visit again next time. If you need anything, please contact me through these bugs. If it is something like magical beasts, I can supply you with enough. Wouldn’t it be nice if we helped each other live?”

- Tooth Necklace: Can you not let us out? Like the friend beside you. That would be very nice.

The necklace clacked its teeth. At those words, Mira covered her mouth and laughed.

“Hehe, you should have seized the opportunity first. You and I are in different positions now. Look. Isn’t this body truly beautiful?”

She spun once in front of them as if showing off. The treasures watched and began releasing even stronger magical power. I pulled her back and bowed my head to them.

“Professor has forbidden me from taking out any other treasures, you see. I would like to help if I could, but that much is beyond my power. Then I will be going now.”

After saying that, I left. I could open the door anywhere, but there was no need to show them that for no reason.

They did not move from where they were and kept examining the mirror bugs. We left their field of view, opened the door, and escaped the room.

The sixth floor was still peaceful. My body, which had been tense the whole time, began relaxing little by little. I sat down on the ground and let out a sigh. Mira lightly climbed onto my back.

“That was quite successful.”

I nodded. It had been our first visit, yet the results were better than expected. There was a reason Mira had strongly recommended it. Who knew there would be this many treasures we could talk to?

“I don’t know why they went so wild last time. They communicate so well like this.”

At those words, Mira laughed quietly. She reached out and placed a hand on my chest.

“Because that intelligence was asleep. It had no chance to wake up either. Back then, they were all too excited after getting drunk on Evron-ssi’s scent.”

Hearing that left a bitter taste in my mouth. The scent of my soul. It was something she always talked about. I had no idea how strong it was.

I quietly fiddled with the key in my hand. Still, as long as I had this, there was no need to worry for now.

The protection of this key was very powerful. It could even wrap around part of the shadow tree’s connection.

If they tried to burrow inside me through the mirror bugs, I only had to cut off that connection. There would be some damage, but I clearly would not die.

“Then, since today’s work is done, shall I return to that stuffy body?”

Mira stood up. Then she approached her original body, which the puppets were guarding. It lay quietly on the bed as if asleep. She placed a hand on its chest.

Thick fog began leaving Cassian’s body. It flowed straight into the puppet’s body. Like that, the puppet’s body slowly opened its eyes.

At the same time, Cassian collapsed to the floor. The bear puppet that had been waiting in advance caught her body. At that, she let out a short scream, “Mwek.”

It seemed even that light impact caused her quite a bit of pain. That was understandable. Dealing with treasures was not easy. It was also something beyond her limits.

Even so, Cassian looked quite satisfied. She raised a trembling hand and waved it here and there. It looked as if she was roughly reviewing Mira’s movements. She looked at Mira.

“Unni, this is fun.”

Mira gently stroked her head. Then she began correcting Cassian’s movements little by little.

“You should do it like this. But be careful. If you use your body this way, it can break quickly.”

Following her guidance, Cassian’s arm twisted in a strange direction. When Cassian swung it like that, a sharp sound split the air. There was power in it that went beyond the limits of that flesh.

When facing the treasures, Mira did not move like a human. How should I put it? She moved as if she were wringing Cassian’s flesh dry.

Every bit of that body’s blood, muscles, and flesh twisted for the sake of a single swing of the sword. The movements were so strange that I had never seen anything like them before.

She treated flesh like a consumable in that way. Of course, that was also why she had been able to deal with the treasures.

“Still, next time will be easier than now. I got a little excited this time because it was my first time handling it.”

Mira said that while feeling over Cassian’s body. Fog flowed from her fingers and wrapped around Cassian.

It seemed she was treating that body. Cassian’s face flushed slightly inside the fog.

I quietly watched that scene. To return that body to normal, she would clearly have to rest for about a week.

That meant it would be difficult to enter the treasure vault again during that time. If we did not have enough power, the treasures would not pay attention to us.

With the course registration period and the time until lectures started added together, there were roughly three months left until the first lecture. We also had to rest in between, so the number of times we could enter the vault was very limited.

I fiddled with the mirror bug. I needed to draw as many treasures as possible into this.

Scattering mirror bugs among the treasures. This was my new possibility.

I had previously imagined spreading mirror bugs across the entire university. That had been the surest way to achieve my growth. But it had been blocked by other people.

Then I had to find another way. And I had been able to think of that new direction by looking at Butler. It had grown its ego enough just by feeding on Professor’s magical power.

If so, there was no need to gather complex information from many people. Wouldn’t it be enough to receive it from a powerful few?

And such things were scattered all around me. They were the treasures.

Those were also items that belonged to the tower. So there was no danger of being caught by the contract.

Of course, there were risks that came with it. The treasures might try to encroach on me through the mirror bugs, and they might scheme to escape the vault.

But with that danger came the chance to grow that much faster. Opportunity and danger always existed on the same path. They did not know how to separate. So I had no choice but to carry them and move forward.

And this was also necessary for the lecture I was planning. Treasure Hunt was now a lecture of the past, one that had already had its day.

The new lecture from now on would become a meeting plaza where treasures and students conversed with one another. And I would earn a huge number of points through it. I could clearly picture the sight.

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