WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 91

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A deep satisfaction welled up inside me. A smile naturally spread across my lips.

It was finally complete. How much time had I poured into this? I looked at the mirror bug before me. Moved by emotion, I carefully stroked it.

What splendid magic this was. With this, my shadow tree would surely grow finer and more beautiful than ever.

On the outside, the mirror bug looked no different from before. It was still just an ordinary puppet with a palm-sized mirror in its belly. What had changed was not its appearance. It was what had been placed inside.

I sent my will to it. Sensing that, it flew into the air and smoothly began displaying a screen inside itself. Small letters were written there.

Score Sheet 2.0

“Mira-ssi, what do you think of this new Score Sheet?”

I smiled at Mira. Mira, who had been sitting at the table drinking tea, let out a sigh. She glanced at me and clicked her tongue.

“Are you going to keep using that name?”

I gave a light nod. I had made this Score Sheet 2.0 together with her. When she saw it, she suggested calling it the self-diagnosis system. But when it had such a clear predecessor, how could I change the name so easily?

Before, she had given Score Sheet 1.0 the name combat analysis system. If I had listened to her, this magic would have been bound by that name, and its limits would have been set. The name self-diagnosis system would probably do the same.

But the name Score Sheet was wonderfully free. Within that name, it had evolved even further than before. It had become more beautiful, and more perfect.

Mm. Calling it perfect did make me a little uneasy. Whenever I attached the word perfect to something, I felt like some small incident always followed. Still, I shook my head slightly. If I did not call this perfect, then what could I call perfect?

The mirror bug flew through the air and spotted Cassian. She was sitting side by side with the bear puppet, staring blankly into empty space. The mirror bug approached her and captured her image on its screen.

Soon, scores began appearing on that screen. The mirror bug moved in front of Cassian’s eyes and displayed a few short comments along with the scores.

-Physical score, 100 points. You are in a perfect state. Just keep going like this.

-Mental score, 61 points. Oh dear, that is 1 point lower than yesterday. Something seems to be making you uneasy.

-Soul score, 54 points. Nothing is wrong. Your soul is still stable.

Overall comment: Your scores are stable, but to have a slightly better day, you may need to raise your mental score a little more. Shall we take a walk together? Your score should recover then.

Cassian saw the writing and nodded blankly. Then she slowly rose from her seat. The mirror bug led her out of the room. The bear puppet quickly followed behind her.

I nodded. It was a very satisfying result. This was a kind of observation system. If the previous Score Sheet had merely reported scores, this one contained a function that had advanced beyond that.

It checked where points had been deducted, then naturally gave feedback about the deduction. Those scores were based on that person’s initial information built into the Score Sheet, as well as their usual information.

The self-diagnosis system, the name Mira had given it, described the function of this Score Sheet at least a little. Those who used mirror bugs would be able to confirm for themselves that they could grow and improve through it.

I had been planning this ever since returning from Canyon City. Of course, if I had simply wanted to assign scores based only on the body, the work would have been very easy. A great deal of data had already been gathered, so I would only have had to use that.

But I did not want to stop there. I wanted to place the full essence of life inside this. Only then would I be able to understand the target more perfectly.

Of these three elements, judging the mental score was quite difficult. Unlike the body, where changes appeared clearly, the mind was hard to grasp.

So I based it on external behavior. The target’s words and actions, expression, tremors in magical power, and so on. Through those, I judged a very basic score, then used the magic built into the mirror bug to test the mind’s stability.

This also required the person’s consent. The mirror bug needed to examine their mind steadily every day. On top of that, there were clear limits.

Unlike the physical score, the mental score fluctuated greatly. Depending on the target’s momentary emotions or mood, the rise and fall could be very large. And unlike the physical score, which had clear standards, its standards were vague.

Even so, it was quite useful. If more information accumulated, that score would surely stabilize as well. Just like with Cassian a moment ago, the average value could be accurately found from a large number of samples.

Of course, the soul was also unseen. But unlike the mind, it did not change much.

Because its limits were clear, once it was precisely examined and recognized, things became simple afterward. I only needed to check whether anything was wrong, like just now.

This was magic for the students, and also magic for me, but at the same time, it was magic for the mirror bugs too.

In truth, most of the shadow puppets I had made recently were mirror bugs. I had to make some to distribute to the treasures, and I also had to keep producing ones to send to the city.

But these mirror bugs had one problem. To increase the efficiency of communication, I had given up most of the growth of their egos. Because of that, they had clear limits.

This was a resonance system for them. If they used this, the mirror bugs would be connected more closely to their owners. And they would hold more information inside themselves. Through that, they would grow faster than before.

I uploaded the completed Score Sheet 2.0 magic to the shadow tree. The mirror bugs sensed my will and took it into their own bodies. The mirror bugs spread all over the tower displayed the Score Sheet on their screens, along with the announcement I had written.

-Evron: Score Sheet 2.0 has been released! Everyone, please try this new function. It is a chance to understand yourself perfectly. Create a new and perfect day together with your mirror bug!

(It will be provided free for three months, and after that, 50 points will be charged each month.)

It had been two weeks since the first lecture.

The mirror bugs spread quickly throughout the tower. Had it taken about a week? I also put quite a bit of effort into selling them. After all, this was the simplest and most valuable method I had for drawing points out of them.

I had to gather points. That was a concern just as important as growth. Puppetry required better materials the more skilled one became. And within it, points flowed away like water and vanished.

At the center of that was Mira. I glanced at her. She was drinking tea while checking a catalog.

It had been sent by Arcana General Trading Company. Quite expensive materials were listed inside. I saw her checking off several of them.

Among the puppets I had, she was the most useful. She was also the one who took the most points. Of course, she could use Cassian’s body, but that was only for a very brief time. It was not as though I stayed attached to Cassian all the time.

In the end, I had to strengthen that body. It could not be helped, and it was also what I wanted. The better the body she had, the more power she could use.

At any rate, that meant I had to gather points. The first step toward that was this mirror bug. It was also why I had added this new function called the Score Sheet. If I satisfied them with more varied functions, they would spend points without holding back.

The mirror bug had three major functions.

The first was the message board. Trade, information, free discussion, and communication. Within these four categories, the students freely talked and bought and sold many things.

Thanks to this function, the mirror bugs spread in an instant. At the center of that were the students who had attended the last lecture. They rented mirror bugs without hesitation.

That was also why I had accepted them. After all, they would be familiar with the structure of my tower. If they were here, others would surely be able to settle easily into the system I had created.

My hope came true exactly as it was. The mirror bugs spread through the tower in an instant. Of course they did. I was confident about this convenience. I knew very well that they would be satisfied.

The second function was the offering feature. It was also a function I had added after discussing it with the treasures.

The treasures’ message board was separate from that of the students. I did not know what would happen if I connected them. That was an area that needed control. The treasures agreed with that to some extent too.

The offering feature was created through that agreement. Through it, the treasures communicated with the students. Of course, right now, Tooth Necklace was the only one who could do that.

As it happened, someone was making an offering. A mirror bug flew up and displayed the screen. Seeing it, I gave a faint smile. It seemed a signal would come soon.

A young man with a somewhat simple-looking face appeared beyond the screen. This time, it was Hao again. He carefully knelt in front of the mirror bug placed before him.

“Great Tooth Necklace-nim. How can I use this power better than I do now? Here are the points you mentioned.”

-Oh, one thousand points! Good, good. I will give you another piece of advice. When devouring a living creature, always aim for the neck. Bite down hard on the path where magical power flows the most. During that process, the opponent must absolutely not die. Let them melt into the fear of death until all of it seeps into the tooth. Then the absorption rate will rise by thirty percent!

Writing appeared on the mirror bug like that. In the meantime, some points flowed to me as well. One hundred points. It was ten percent of the points they exchanged.

The student offered points or goods to a treasure, and the treasure granted knowledge or power in return. That was the role this function had. I also collected a small fee in the middle. Everyone was happy.

I had not seen many people using this function yet. Aside from Hao, that is. He steadily offered tributes to Tooth Necklace like that.

“Thank you!”

-Seeing you so happy pleases me too. Shall I give you one more tooth fragment? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to put one on each side? For only five hundred points!

“Ohh, truly?”

-No. That was a lie. Kkekek!

Tooth Necklace’s communication cut off just like that. Hao froze still and looked down at the mirror bug. Watching that scene, I shook my head.

In truth, among those who had received teeth, there were not many who used them without the slightest hesitation like Hao.

The others used them in quite varied ways. Some created new magic based on them, and some processed them like magic tools to raise their stability.

That was the most reasonable method. They must have been well aware of the danger of treasures.

And those who simply embedded them were people who desired to rise higher. Like Hao, they placed them in their mouths and sucked dry many lives. The magical beasts around the tower were nearly wiped out.

They grew stronger quickly through that. And among them, Hao was the most reckless. In that way, Hao succeeded in reaching the tower’s third floor.

It was surprising. Only two weeks had passed since he received that power. Yet someone who had been at the very bottom had risen to a level similar to the others.

The tower’s third floor was a kind of standard.

The renovated third floor had changed quite a lot. After all, it had to receive students. If it had been a completely open space like before, it would surely have been uncomfortable for everyone.

Originally, the third floor had the appearance of a library. In the past, I had once grown curious and asked Professor why she had made the tower this way. According to Professor, this was the most basic form of a tower built by the university.

When I heard that, I narrowed my eyes slightly. She had definitely left it this way because changing it was too much trouble. She had probably just left it as it was. I remembered when I first arrived at the tower. That dust-covered sight.

At any rate, that meant I could change it however I wanted. That was also why I had entrusted the first floor to No. 0. I used the many bookshelves on the third floor to create several rooms.

The bookshelves themselves contained a great deal of magical power and magic. The rooms made by stacking them had become places where magical power gathered. The flow of magical power there was extremely powerful.

The students called them training rooms. There were one hundred such rooms. And the higher up they went, the purer the magical power they contained.

Because of that, they fought each other to claim better spots. In that way, the third floor became the realm of the strong. And they were not satisfied with that. They wanted to head to the highest place.

This was also the method I had planned. If I did this, the rankings of the students would be clearly revealed. I would be able to refer to them later when deciding who passed.

Unlike last time, this lecture was carried out thoroughly as an individual competition. After all, that hierarchy played the most important role. They fought over places, won, and claimed them. In that way, the hierarchy was decided.

Those outside the top one hundred were scattered across the first and second floors. Hao had been one of them. But that Hao had entered the third floor. It had happened two days ago. That news caused quite a stir in the tower.

They would feel a sense of crisis too. And they would struggle not to have their places taken. In that process, they would also reach for the third function I had just added, the Score Sheet. Thinking of that future, I smiled lightly.

Through this mirror bug, information would circulate, magical power would circulate, and magic would circulate. Through that, I would naturally grow.

I closed my eyes and focused on the shadow tree. Mirror bugs were always flying around near the students, and shadow puppets followed behind them. Information about the tower kept accumulating inside me without pause.

Then it was time to move again. I looked at Mira. Noticing my gaze, she lightly rose from her seat. It did not take long to find Cassian. We brought her along and headed for the stairs.

It was time to enter the storehouse again.

Twenty treasures were not enough to satisfy me. The shadow puppets staying near the treasures ate their magical power and information and grew quickly.

I needed more treasures. The more treasures gathered, the faster my growth would become.

That day, we broke through one room and added two treasures to the message board. It was quite a large harvest. The treasures on the message board welcomed the new arrivals.

Yes, it had been a very satisfying day.

But the day did not end there.

It happened after night fell. It was almost time for Professor to sleep. In line with that, the students left the tower. I was thinking that everyone must have gone out by now, when the puppet that had gone to lock the door sent me a signal.

It told me that someone was still inside. Following that signal, I headed to the first floor. I caught a faint scent from somewhere. It was somewhat familiar. I had an idea who it belonged to.

The scent grew stronger little by little. When I reached its source, I saw a man. He was crouched down, staring quietly at the ceiling.

It was Hao. Above him, statues decorated the ceiling. A statue with hundreds of arms hung from the ceiling, lowering its hands toward the floor, and around it, statues with hundreds of eyes looked in every direction.

Hao smiled lightly and carefully stroked the hand descending from the ceiling. I approached him.

“What are you doing?”

I asked quietly. Hao flinched in surprise and looked at me. I was reflected in his deep blue eyes. After confirming it was me, he gave a slight smile. Within that smile, one sharp tooth gave off a faint light.

“I’m sorry. For some reason, these statues look so beautiful. I can’t take my eyes off them.”

I examined his face. A dreamy air had spread through it. It was different from his usual face. A slight grotesqueness lingered over it.

“May I check your body for a moment?”

As I said that, I carefully sent a signal to a mirror bug. It quickly flew up. Then it captured Hao’s image inside itself.

Hao only stared blankly at the statues and did not refuse the examination. Several spells flowed through his body.

I had already grasped all of Hao’s information long ago. The mirror bug began calculating scores based on that.

-Physical score: 40 points. You have improved a lot! The magical power felt inside your mouth created bonus points.

-Mental score: 62 points. Minor psychological damage has been found in your behavior. You have dropped 28 points below your standard. Please report the abnormality to the administrator quickly.

-Soul score: 30 points. The wavering of your soul has weakened a little. It is 3 points lower than before. Damage to the soul is a very serious problem, so it needs to be recovered quickly.

Overall comment: It seems you have been bewitched by something. Your body appears to need cleansing.

I slowly read the writing. This was also something I had been on guard against. Being bewitched by a treasure’s power. Considering how much Hao had been using that power lately, I could understand this situation.

That was also why I had deliberately left him alone. I wanted to confirm what would happen when someone was influenced by a treasure. He had cleanly shown me the reaction I wanted like this.

I looked around. Statues filled the surroundings. I felt that it had been worth telling No. 0 to make these in preparation for this kind of situation. Now I could be certain this worked.

Should I tell No. 0 to place some on the second floor too? The treasures liked these statues. Mira was the same. Then those bewitched by their power would probably be the same too. That was my judgment.

After all, I had been the same. Looking at the statues that now only seemed cute to me, I gave a bitter smile.

I dragged him straight to the infirmary. Then I slightly adjusted the infirmary’s magic. I turned its intensity to maximum. Along with that, the magic circle began shining brightly.

The magic of the infirmary was a kind of time-reversal magic. That was also why I had not been too worried about Hao. If I turned it to maximum intensity like this, it could reverse any kind of erosion.

Of course, most of the treasure’s power he had built up so far would disappear along with the contamination. I looked at Hao. What else could be done? He had been too greedy.

He needed to learn from this experience. He needed to learn that the others were not handling the power of treasures carefully for no reason. Then from now on, he would probably be a little more careful too.

The magic began activating. Professor called this cleansing. It meant returning the body to its purest state.

Hao screamed inside it and then lost consciousness. His tooth seemed to have lost some of its light as well. I took out the mirror bug again and checked Hao’s scores.

-Physical score: 35 points. The magical power in your mouth has decreased a little. Still, you can build it up again.

-Mental score: 90 points. Your mental strength is good compared to other people. But how did you end up bewitched? Let’s stay a little more alert!

-Soul score: 33 points. Very normal. The damage has disappeared.

Overall comment: The cleansing was carried out perfectly. Please be careful next time.

Hmm. Seeing that, I nodded. It had been washed away perfectly. His body still gave off a refreshing scent.

I ordered the mirror bug to open the message board. Then I wrote an announcement on it. It was for the students.

-Evron: Safe Tower Use Guide for All Students

Hello, everyone. I hope you are all making good use of Professor Irian’s tower.

I am leaving this announcement because I am concerned an unfortunate incident may occur while using the power of treasures.

I plan to continue preparing related guidelines from now on, so please read and familiarize yourselves with this guide.

You are responsible for anything that happens due to your own negligence, so please always be careful.

1. There are many statues on the first floor of our tower. If these statues begin to look cute, beautiful, or charming to you, please come find me. A simple consultation and “cleansing” will be carried out in the infirmary.

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