WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Wizard of the Abyss
[Translator – Aren]
Chapter 31 - Growth (6)
I glanced back and forth between the golden pipe and Dercia.
"...What kind of expression is that supposed to be?”
"I just don’t know how I’m supposed to take this.”
"It’ll be easier if I showed you.”
Then Dercia suddenly started to rummage through the clutter around her.
Yes, clutter. Taking a look around, the library no longer resembled the clean and pristine place I had seen when I first came here. It was now filled with all sorts of research equipment and reagents.
This was supposed to be a public library, and yet she was using it as if this were her private space.
She said that the law couldn’t bind her. I guess she was right.
-Squeak! Squeeeaak!
"...?"
Dercia pulled out a transparent box containing a white rat from this mess. And to my surprise it wasn’t dead, but alive.
What the hell did she need a rat for? While I was confused beyond all belief, Dercia grabbed a kettle and poured water directly into the box.
The rat did its best to survive, thrashing about desperately, but as the container slowly filled up with water, it soon ran out of any breathing room.
I watched the poor, distressed rat’s movements slowing.
"What do you think?”
"Is this supposed to be… some sort of warning? That if I don’t obey you, I’ll end up like that?”
"...Keep watching.”
"Huh?"
When I looked at the container again, I saw the rat somehow swimming around without any problem now. It no longer looked like it was suffering at all.
Blinking, startled by that sight, I asked,
"Ah, is this some sort of liquid one can breathe in?”
"Not at all. It is able to breathe due to this arcane tool that I designed myself.”
Dercia nodded toward the golden pipe I was holding.
"It’s a respiratory-sustaining device I personally made. Once implanted in your body, it allows you to breathe in any environment. To be precise, it allows you to survive even when you stop breathing.”
"Oooh…!”
I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing.
Up to this point, I just had this vague idea of using wind magic to somehow make me able to breathe underwater.
I never expected for such a clear solution to suddenly fall into my lap. I grinned and bowed my head repeatedly.
"Thank you. This is far more valuable than any amount of gold or silver!”
"...Hmm, I’m glad you recognize its value. Artifacts crafted by a 9-star mage are priceless tools without compare after all."
"It really does feel that way!"
Dercia’s expression showed a hint of smugness.
Well, I didn’t mind flattering her a few times. After all, she had just given me an insanely amazing arcane tool…
...Huh?
"Excuse me, Master.”
"Hmm. So you decided to address me properly? I see. It does seem necessary. My… disciple? Hmm… that doesn’t feel quite right…”
"No, that’s not what this is about.”
I pointed toward the rat in the container.
It was floating, completely limp.
It was dead.
"Why did it suddenly die?”
"...Aah."
Dercia simply shrugged as if it was nothing.
"Rats are unable to use mana, so they can’t last long even while using the artifact.”
"What do you mean by that?”
"Artifacts naturally drain mana. That’s only common sense. If you get the respiratory-sustaining device implanted, you’ll need to continuously feed it mana, 24 hours a day.”
"That’s impossible. It’s not like I can avoid sleeping.”
"You’ll have to condition yourself so that you can channel mana into it instinctively even while asleep. There’s no other way around it.”
"..........What about other side effects?”
"The moment it’s implanted, you’ll lose the ability to breathe normally, so if you fail to channel your mana, you’ll die.”
"Hmm."
I stared at the golden pipe with a hesitant expression.
So it wasn’t a perfect solution.
Dercia, however, just looked at me wearing a meaningful smile.
"Well, we can postpone it until later. You can come back once you’ve become more accustomed to magic, and I’ll implant it for you.”
"Let’s do it right now."
I held the pipe out to Dercia.
Feigning surprise, she posed another question to me.
"Are you sure?”
"You already knew that I would do this, right? It’s best to just get it over with quickly.”
"I can’t hide anything from you. But I didn’t tell you to wait for no reason. I am someone closest to the level of an archmage, a 9-star wizard. As a master who values her disciple, I’d rather dissuade you from it.”
"And as Dercia?”
"Survival is the epitome of greed for someone like you. If you insist on throwing a tantrum just to have it fulfilled, then you’d better be prepared.”
Those were definitely her true feelings.
I never even dreamed of having some sweet master-disciple relationship with her to begin with. If my desperate struggle could amuse and satisfy her curiosity, that would be quite the bargain.
I placed the pipe into her hand.
"So how does the procedure work?”
"I don’t have any experience with surgery, so I designed it with that in mind. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt much.”
"Huh?"
The end of the pipe suddenly sharpened.
There hadn’t even been time for me to react before it floated into the air, spun around, and pierced my heart.
"Kurgh…Huh?”
"It doesn’t hurt, right?”
"...Right.”
All I felt was a light sting. I watched with fascination as the pipe slowly pushed itself into my body, somehow spreading through every part of it, without even a single drop of blood spilling out of me.
While I couldn’t be sure, it seemed to be attaching itself to my organs.
If I had to pick a word to describe how it felt, I’d definitely pick “horrible.” It didn’t hurt, but it sure felt incredibly uncomfortable.
"Thank you for the gift. Master.”
Still, I didn’t forget to express my gratitude to her.
Even if it was a bit hypocritical, it could still be considered a good thing. Whatever she hoped to gain from me, if it meant she’d help me survive, I would gladly give her everything.
"I heard you say it before, but it does have a nice ring to it.”
She smiled faintly before bringing over a stack of old-looking grimoires from nearby.
"These will be the materials for your next lesson. It seems like you mainly use wind magic in elemental magic, correct?”
"Yes. I thought that it was the most likely solution to my drowning problem. Though, I believe it might not be necessary anymore.”
"You chose well. Once you begin to learn intermediate magic, it’s better to focus on a single branch rather than on many different ones.”
"Intermediate magic… I’ve heard of it. That’s where you start combining elements, right?”
"Yes. Elemental magic on its own is merely the generation of simple phenomena. By combining these phenomena, one ventures into the realm of the more incomprehensible, into true magic.”
"Hmm, I can’t quite grasp it, even if you put it that way.”
"It’s the difference between creating a ball of fire and creating a living fireball. Ah, and from this point on, I forbid you to use any magic originating from the Abyss Realm during my instructions.”
"...Wait, what? Why?”
I had intended to obediently follow her lessons, but I couldn’t help but protest at that.
I had finally found a way to somewhat alleviate the water pressure, right?
"Wouldn’t I get far better results if I combined my magic with elemental magic?”
"Yes. Possibly.”
"Then, why…?”
Instead of answering, Dercia suddenly approached me and—
Pushed me hard in the chest.
Naturally, I fell backward.
However, my fall was much slower than normal.
"..."
I wasn’t hurt. There was only a soft “thud” when my head hit the floor.
I knew that my burden had increased again, but it seemed like it had been by a lot more than I expected.
I sighed and stood back up.
"I didn’t expect it to be that bad. Did you anticipate this?”
"I saw it in your gait. You moved as if you were cutting through something.”
"...Hmm, it’s quite convenient, and I didn’t really feel any strain from it anymore. At some point, I just stopped resisting entirely.”
"I’m not blaming you. Telling you to not use that power is like telling a bird to not use its wings. Absurd. But we still need to set a limit.”
"A limit?”
"Yes. If you come to understand your abyssal magic any further in your current state, your burden will become too much for you to bear. You should delve more into it after you’ve trained enough to endure said burdens.”
"Understood. I guess I have no other choice but to seal all of those powers away… The currents, Tide Sense, and water pressure.”
"...?"
Dercia tilted her head slightly.
"I understand the first and the third, but what’s the second?”
"It’ll be faster if I just show you. Hold up your fingers behind your back. Okay. You switched to three, now four… No, don’t just keep changing it. Nine.”
“...”
Her brows furrowed, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Your progress… is far too fast.”
"Is it strange for a bird to fly?”
"It is strange if its feathers haven’t even dried yet after coming out of the egg. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. You are absolutely forbidden to use it without my permission.”
"I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll completely seal it away and focus on training magic.”
"When did I ever say I was going to teach you magic?”
"?"
"Open it.”
I had assumed the books she brought over were grimoires, but when I opened one, I was faced with quite familiar content.
Body Strengthening Techniques.
"Haha."
"There’s no helping it. Jern, right now what is most important is your burden. Even if you won’t be able to withstand the pressure completely with this, you need to create a body as tough as steel that won’t be completely crushed or swayed by it…”
"No, I think we can skip the first stage.”
This time, Dercia tilted her head.
I pulled out a copy of the Knights’ Body Strengthening manual I had been carrying around and handed it to her.
"...Where did you get this?”
"I have my ways.”
"Haha."
"Haha."
We looked at each other and let out a laugh.
"Breathing, Body Strengthening… It seems you have reached the same conclusion as me.”
"Well, my methods are incomparable to yours, though."
"That’s just a difference in means available. Let’s see, it should take you about a month.”
"...What will?”
As soon as I finished that sentence, the whole pipe had sunk into my body.
And immediately after that, I felt myself unable to breathe.
"Hugh..."
Seeing me like that, Dercia calmly offered me advice.
"Circulate your mana. Push it directly into your respiratory system if you have to. That is the only way you can breathe from now on.”
I still couldn’t breathe.
However, strangely enough, the suffocation sensation I had been feeling up to this point completely vanished.
I stared down at my limbs, exclaiming in awe.
"...Phew. How fascinating. Can I even do this while asleep?”
"You have to. And that’s not all. You’ll need to be able to do it unconsciously, even in the middle of intense combat or while unconscious. Otherwise, even the slightest mistake will lead to death.”
"Do you have a training method for this?”
"Of course. Making your body learn through experience would be the fastest way.”
She then pulled out a poster that had been tucked between the books.
It read, [End-of-Semester Combat Exam/Children’s Division].
Naturally, I was quite puzzled by it.
"Erm… What is this exactly?”
"It’s the first combat trial noble children are to undergo. You will participate.”
"?"
"This has to become second nature to you. The act of channeling your mana has to happen before you even think about doing it. Go there and let yourself be beaten as thoroughly as possible. If you pass out, just ask them to pour water on you to wake you up.”
What would happen if I remained unconscious before I could instinctively push mana into my lungs?
After pondering over it for a long time, I made up my mind.
"Please remove the pipe.”
"Impossible."
It seemed like it couldn’t be removed.
* * *
Dercia had taken on a disciple.
It didn’t take long for that rumor to spread.
"...What? Didn’t that elf even refuse the princess?”
"She did. Just what kind of dazzling talent did that boy have for her to choose him instead? Which family was he from again?”
A wizard who carried 9 stars in her eyes.
Such people didn’t easily take on disciples.
That was why, when she rejected the princess, most people were surprised but still understood.
A wizard of her level wouldn’t act unless one possessed a talent that truly impressed them. That was their conclusion.
"I-I heard he’s a commoner, a natural-born…?”
"??"
That was where the problem began.
"He also seems to be the tutor for that failure. A kid Aletus had picked up from an orphanage…”
"No, what in the—”
The noble’s tea parties were getting set ablaze again and again by those absurd rumors that went against all common sense.
But—no matter what they did, their conclusion always converged on the same point.
There wasn’t any other conclusion they could reach.
"...Just how brilliant is he?”
The disciple she chose after even rejecting the princess.
A commoner and orphan. A mongrel they wouldn’t even have honored with a single glance.
Even if he had racked up some achievements by saving the children, no one in their right mind would pick someone like him.
And it wasn’t like Dercia was one to give someone extra credit for having done a good deed or saving others.
So—just how dazzling, how brilliant did his talent have to be?
Why else would she take someone as lowly as him as a disciple?
The rumors just kept on growing and growing.
"...Gulp."
And.
The one who stood closest to the one in question, Elisia, couldn’t help but swallow dryly as she stood in front of the library.
Because she knew. She knew that contrary to others’ popular belief, Jern wasn’t that much more brilliant than others.
He was just an ordinary kid, not much different from herself…
That was why she feared that all these speculations that had come into being in just two weeks might be tormenting him to no end.
'...I should comfort him.’
Elisia clutched the letter in her hand.
She had been summoned here for her very first class.
...to this library.
Her hands were trembling. The thought of having to be under Dercia’s piercing gaze again made goosebumps appear all over her body.
But she still valiantly pushed open the doors for the sake of Jern, who had saved her.
-Clang!
"E-excuse m—Kyaaaaaaaah!!!”
As soon as she stepped through the door, Elisia couldn’t help but scream.
"Not bad. Let’s go again.”
Jern was submerged in a cylinder filled with water, his legs tied together.
"...Jern, you truly are out of your mind.”
Sighing, she watched on as Dercia shoved his head back into the water.
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