Surviving at the Magic Academy

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The workshop was bursting with magical energy coming from the tower. And that energy was rapidly gathering at the center where I stood.

As I observed the flow of that energy, I began to walk slowly.

Bright circuits filled the surroundings, writhing as they passed by me. These circuits devoured the magical energies flowing in from all sides, moving as if they were alive.

Carefully avoiding their thrashing movements, I started to examine the circuits. Even amidst the chaotic flow of energy, the circuits were operating quite normally. I nodded. It was time to begin the consciousness.

Moving forward, I headed toward the center of the circuit. That place was also the core of the magical circle. As soon as my feet touched the center of the magical circle, I felt the rampaging magical energy settle down.

The flow of energy was now completely tranquil. It was a stark contrast to the writhing circuits just a moment ago. The circuits, too, absorbed the flowing energy and remained still as if asleep.

Of course, this was merely an appearance. The energy coursing through those circuits was being finely tuned. I quietly moved my arms. Threads of energy began to drip from my fingertips like droplets.

The threads slowly moved, starting to extend toward the nearby circuits. Once the threads reached the circuits, they began to burrow into them.

The magical energy flowing through the circuits started to meet my energy, slowly moving in response. Soon, the entire circuit began to writhe. The circuit naturally flowed along the threads back toward me, wrapping around my body.

Slowly, the circuits began to seep into my body. With that connection, I felt it clearly. The pathway was stabilizing. I infused more magic through that pathway.

As a result, the magical circle absorbed my magic and scattered it toward many other circuits. The circuits, which were merely swaying aimlessly, began to crawl slowly toward me.

Those circuits glowed brightly, imbibing my magic. Consciousness was beginning. Standing at the center of the magical circle, I quietly accepted those circuits into my body. They connected not just to me but even to the wood contained within.

The circuits stuck into the wood started sucking up everything contained within. I knew all too well what that was. My strength drained from my body, and I began to stumble slightly. I steadied myself once more.

What escaped the wood was magic that originated from treasures, a part of my domain, and a trace of my soul. They began to converge toward the magical circle.

The peculiar mass emitted a hazy light. It flowed along the circuits and began devouring the magic that constituted them. The magic blended with it, giving off the same light.

I was more than ready. I carefully took out a small doll from my pocket. It was a tiny doll the size of my upper body. It bore a striking resemblance to Professor Ilian. I lightly patted its head. With that, my magic was conveyed to it.

As it received my magic, the doll began to breathe. The Magical Heart started to awaken. It rose to its feet. But its eyes remained tightly closed.

In that state, it slowly began to catch its breath. A dark magic emanated from the corners of its lips. It wasn’t sourced from me. It originated from the core of the lantern held within its heart.

If that was the case, it could withstand the burden of this ritual. It was something I had received from Mauro before. I had gathered plenty of information after acquiring it. I needed to identify the source before handling the materials.

I learned quite a bit about this lantern. It was a unique monster found inside the university that didn’t exist outside. It was a colossal underwater monster dwelling in the sea of this university.

It was something I had seen before—specifically, that giant snake I saw on my way to the Chancellor. This was the best material I could procure for this ritual.

I closely observed the raw magic flowing from the doll. It was merely a doll without a soul. Its magic was so raw that I couldn’t instill a soul into it. Thus, I had to fully guide that flow myself.

But perhaps this pure doll was precisely suited for the ritual I wanted to perform. After all, it meant there were no impurities within. The core of the lantern contained within would be the key to this ritual.

The bizarre magic stemming from the doll began to stretch toward the magical circle. It explored the circuit delicately, lightly shaking it. Then it swelled and engulfed the flow I had created.

The circuits of the magical circle began to intertwine with that magic. They slowly began to be consumed by it. During that process, the magical circle started to emit a progressively darker light.

Once I recognized that change, I quickly severed the connection with the circuit imbedded in my body. The circuit that had exited the wood started to quiver in the air. It drifted aimlessly for a moment before re-establishing its objective.

It turned toward the doll linked to the magical circle instead of toward me. The circuits intertwined with the doll. And along with that, everything the circuits contained flowed toward the doll.

It flowed along the outside of the doll in a bizarre circle. Like a baptism, the doll began to slowly be engulfed by the unknown substances. And inside that, the doll began to open its eyes.

I watched it, my eyes sparkling. Was this a success? And then I realized, dang it. Every time I thought that, I ended up failing. I had a foreboding feeling it would happen again.

And that ominous feeling was correct. It happened the moment the doll opened its eyes and raised its body.

Cracks began to appear on the doll as it breathed. The cracks widened with each breath it took. And the moment it lost that breath, it was completely engulfed by itself. With that, its physical form began to destabilize, causing everything inside it to swell.

Watching it, I grimaced. I wondered if it might work, but of course, it didn’t. I quickly signaled Unit 0. The one waiting outside the magical circle unleashed the preparatory spells he had ready.

Magic barriers began to stack upon themselves. These were defensive spells I had engraved in anticipation of such situations. Leaving behind the doll that was already collapsing, I swiftly moved away.

The moment I exited the magical circle and crossed the barriers, the doll couldn’t handle the magic and exploded completely. It all happened in an instant, without even a sound. The magical circle began to tremble unsteadily.

It was due to the disappearance of me, the doll, and what formed the center. The magic gradually grew unstable. Slowly, cracks began to appear in the circuit as well. The cracks grew, and at some point, they shattered in an instant.

With that, a pure explosion of magic occurred. The magic barriers attempted to fend off that explosion, but its power exceeded my expectations.

The explosion ripped through the barriers in an instant. The thick barriers crumbled like paper in front of that explosion. Although the barrier took in Unit 0’s magic and quickly began to recover, it couldn’t completely withstand the force of the explosion.

The protective barrier burst instantly. And that explosion swept through the workshop.

My body was thrown from the shockwave. The blast affected about half of the workshop. I quickly stacked my magic to protect myself against the subsequent impact.

Bouncing off the ground, I barely managed to steady myself. Coughing softly, I circulated magic into my aching body. Luckily, it seemed Unit 0’s protective barrier absorbed most of the explosion’s force, so the shock wasn’t too great.

Lying on the ground, I looked at the place where the magical circle had been. The remnants of magic had left a strong magical trace. Black smoke was rising from that spot like a puffy cloud.

Unit 0, who had also stumbled to the ground like me, rose and began to use the workshop’s magic once more. The environmental optimization spell started to calm the murky air.

Soon, the magical trace gradually settled down. And the appearance within it was fully revealed. In the completely shattered center of the magical circle was what had been the doll.

No, the doll was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was just a strange stone in the center. The core of the lantern, it remained relatively intact even amidst the shock of the explosion. Of course, its magic seemed diminished compared to before.

That sturdiness made me think that this ritual might succeed. It was strong enough to withstand the magic that formed this magical circle.

Yet, I had ultimately failed once more. This was already my tenth failure. I sighed softly. I had hoped this time would be different, but it seemed insufficient yet again.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I slumped slightly. Someone brushed past me. I could feel a faint rose scent tickling my nose. The only person who possessed such a fragrance was Mira.

A glance confirmed it. Mira was examining the magical circle that had exploded. It seemed she came to check the traces of this explosion. She headed right toward the center.

Then she picked up the core of the lantern, which had been embedded in the doll’s Magical Heart. Inspecting it from various angles, she shot me a sidelong glance, pouted slightly. I could sense her discontent through her slightly pouty face.

She drew closer to me. Slowly folding her legs, she sat beside me. Leaning against me lightly, she tapped my chest. In her hand was the core of the lantern.

After briefly examining it, she clicked her tongue softly. Then she tucked it into her own embrace.

“I thought I liked it, but I didn’t expect you to treat it so roughly. I won’t let it go unless it’s a sure thing now. So please be careful.”

She turned her head to the side and puffed her cheeks slightly. At her words, I scratched my chin and forced a wry smile. I truly thought this time would be the one.

Gazing at the shattered magical circle, I grimaced. That circle resembled the one I used previously to turn a turtle into the moon.

I had wanted to create something with the potential of treasure through that. Just as it had been with the turtle, and with Hari too. Of course, another failure occurred.

Closing my eyes, I assessed my current situation. The wood behind my chest was weakly shaking its branches. Maybe due to the ten failures, it had become quite frail. It seemed my tree has been suffering a lot lately.

However, it wasn’t at the level to melt everything like when I created the turtle, so it would only need a bit of rest. If I held another ritual of that scale, my level would surely collapse.

This was merely a simplified magical circle I had created by modifying the turtle’s magical circle. Though, a simplified version was still burdensome on my tree as it was now. It seemed a few more days would be needed to fill up that empty tree.

What caused this failure? There were no abnormalities in the magical circle. The magic flowing through it was ample. The burden falling upon me was mostly borne by the core of the lantern.

It could be said that from a simple execution of the ritual, everything was perfect. Then what was lacking? Only one thing remained. The issue of the materials required to conduct the ritual. Initially, I wasn’t sure, but I became certain through this failure.

There was a lack of desire. Desire that could combine this ample magic together.

I saw Unit 0 slowly tidying up the remnants of the broken magical circle. It was erasing the traces left behind, while the doll that followed behind began recording the entire process of this experiment on a scroll.

This would be a stepping stone for the next experiment. Based on this, I would be able to create a more perfect composition next time. However, it felt a bit daunting this time. Desire, I never expected it would be lacking.

Through the process of making Hari and the turtle into something like ‘gods,’ I had come to understand treasures deeper than before. That was how I was able to construct this simplified magical circle. It was because my senses for treasures had sharpened.

Treasures were the crystallization of desire and magic. Well, I had already recognized that in the past. After all, I had seen so many treasures.

Then, which was more important between the two? Without a doubt, it had to be desire.

Creating a device that encapsulated that power using just magic was an easy feat. But that wouldn’t be considered a treasure. It was merely a magical tool that anyone could mass-produce. Therefore, it wasn’t special.

Those things referred to as treasures possessed a uniqueness that set them apart from mere magic lumps.

As the professor had mentioned, both the turtle and Hari had the potential to become treasures. Their power was insignificant compared to existing treasures. But still, the reason the professor cherished them was due to the clear roots of their desires.

The turtle had boundless love from the dolls, while Hari had an endless faith toward the heavenly ring. To be called a treasure, a desire strong enough to form a self was required.

And I had another existence beside me that proved that. I glanced at Mira. She met my gaze and gave me a gentle smile. Then she leaned against me and started to release mist to help me stand up.

A faint glimmer began to appear in the corners of Mira’s eyes. She licked her lips lightly. After scanning my body up and down, she subtly covered her mouth. I could see a string of drool trickle down beyond that.

“Could it be because of the soul imbued in this magic, but you smell really nice. Please be careful. It’s hard to resist when you tempt me like this.”

From her words, I could clearly see her gluttony shining in her eyes. I cleared my throat softly and refined my magic, shrouding my body. It was to conceal the wounds of my soul somewhat.

Whether it was effective or not, she smiled gently and leaned against me. I could feel the slight connection flowing from her. Beyond that, wispy desires lingered.

She, much like now, did not attempt to hide her desires. If you think about it, Mira could also be regarded as an artificially created treasure. As she explained, the professor had condensed her into the shape of the Mist Heart.

Perhaps due to that, she now harbored an intense desire to consume the professor. At this moment, I felt a bit risky too, though. Watching her lick her lips again caused me to take a slight step back.

Seeing me like that, she let out a light laugh, appearing amused. I scratched my head slightly and looked at Unit 0. The chaotic scene from earlier had somehow been neatly organized under its hands.

It approached me and handed me a scroll. Taking it, I sighed deeply. I thought this would be sufficient.

I placed my hand on my chest.

Beyond that, I felt a strange loyalty, no, obsession endlessly rising toward the professor. I believed this would be my center. So, I had also conducted this experiment.

But ultimately, it had failed. That’s probably because it wasn’t my genuine desire. It was insufficient to create a gift for the professor.

As I recalled the professor, my chest began to churn again. My hands shook. The opportunity to seek her forgiveness was slipping away once more.

The pain of failure, the shattered doll of the professor. All of those flooded me with sorrow like waves. I forced a wry smile at that intense sensation.

I needed to escape this sorrow. Slowly, I rose. And naturally, I headed toward a corner of the workshop. The very place where I used to create dolls. There stood a crafting table.

In front of it, I slowly began to shape a wooden block. I could feel the rough texture of the wood under my fingertips. Along with that, I felt my mind calming down a bit.

Closing my eyes, I felt the flow of the wooden block. I sensed the grain it produced. Calmly, I felt those through my fingertips as I took out my knife. Then I plunged the blade into the grain.

Magic flowed into the tip of the knife. As I gently moved the blade, the wood split like water. Slowly, I began to pull out the shape contained inside it.

Even in the darkened vision with my eyes closed, I could vividly feel how it was shaping. As I carved the wood, the emotions swelling within me naturally began to flow into it.

I poured out my obsession toward the professor and my sorrow into that wooden block. After a hefty amount was offloaded, my mind became somewhat clearer.

I opened my eyes. The obsession and sorrow had vanished without a trace. Instead of lingering in me, they flowed out into the wooden block before me. And through this process, the wooden block had transformed into a doll.

I cautiously lifted it up. Then, I headed toward a small room located right behind the crafting table. That room was covered with layers of concealment and sealing magic. I quickly scanned the workshop before breaking the seal. It began to creak open slightly.

As I stepped inside, the magic decorating the room shone out a clear light. It slowly illuminated the room. I began to look around. The golden waves reflected the light with a brilliant luster.

I gently placed the doll into that golden space. Nodding, I realized it looked just like everything else. It resembled the professor.

The room was filled with dolls resembling the professor. Those dolls without souls simply leaned against the wall. The doll used for the recent ritual was one I had brought from here.

The peculiar magic flowed around those dolls. Mira, who had followed me into the room, wore a slightly awkward smile as she gazed at the dolls. She looked around, shaking her head slightly.

“I can never get used to this place. It really resembles Ilian. I can even feel a hint of her scent. I didn’t expect you would create such interesting dolls.”

“If I don’t do this, who knows when it might cause trouble again?”

I smiled wryly while speaking. Even after being sealed in the room, the professor would occasionally snoop around the tower. My workshop was no exception. She would no doubt be astonished if she saw these. That’s why I had created this room separately to keep it hidden.

This was something I had to stack up dolls. I placed my hand on my chest. Beyond that, I had calmed down sufficiently. I needed to empty out this obsession. Otherwise, the cycle of being consumed by desire would repeat itself.

Starting to make this doll had been something I instinctively attempted to do. When searching for a way to alleviate this bizarre obsession rising in me, my hands naturally gravitated toward the wood.

Thus, I began to create dolls one by one. With each doll completed, my mind also settled down. Before I knew it, they had accumulated so much.

Of course, there were limits. It had almost been a month since my soul had readjusted to my body. I could feel this obsession once again binding my soul.

So I needed to analyze the cause properly. I had to figure out what other than the power of the treasures was making me like this. And I felt like I might be able to discover the reason through this process of making dolls.

Lightly tapping my head, the magic lightly fluttered and began to envelop my mind. I checked the golden magic that spread like a net, sinking down, and nodded.

The treasure magic that had previously been surging in me seemed absent due to the ritual. This was the moment of opportunity.

“Let’s get out of here for now.”

I said softly, extending my hand to Mira. Together, we exited the room. Then, I re-enforced the seals once more.

This was a place that must not be found by the professor. The security had to be airtight. Once all preparations were complete, I met Mira’s eyes. I smiled gently at her as I opened my mouth.

“Would you like to step out of the tower with me for a bit?”

At my words, Mira tilted her head. She leaned against me lightly, her eyes sparkling.

“Where are you thinking of going?”

“I plan to head to the city. I think I need to meet other doll manipulators. And as I promised before, I said I’d take Mira to the Dream Theater.”

Creating a gift for the professor would have to wait momentarily since my tree’s condition wasn’t good. Thus, it was necessary for me to properly explore the root of this bizarre obsession that I carried.

In that regard, it could be said that now, with the magic of the treasure completely drained, was the best time. It would take several days for my tree to replenish that magic.

“The Dream Theater, you say? Hehe, I thought you forgot that story, lost in thoughts of the professor.”

Her words made me feel a slight pang of guilt. She was right. If I hadn’t thought about seeking out the doll manipulators, I might have forgotten entirely. I cleared my throat lightly and gestured with my hand.

“As if I’d do that.”

Mira gazed at me with her eyes narrowed slightly. Then, she smiled wide and clapped her hands.

“Well, I don’t mind. So when do you plan to set off?”

“Whenever you’re ready, I’ll move right away.”

“Then how about heading out right now? I think I’d enjoy roaming around outside more than being cooped up in the tower.”

I nodded at her words. Mira chuckled, looking pleased. Then, mist began to emanate from her body. The mist enveloped her form. Within it, she began to fidget as she slowly changed her clothes. It didn’t take long before she finished dressing up and was ready to head out.

Leaving a light message on the bulletin board, we exited the tower. The professor might see the bulletin, after all. Once outside, I set the turtle down on the ground. It mooed and quickly inflated its body.

I swiftly climbed onto its back. It let out a cheerful sound as it began to move slowly. Our destination was Canyon City. I had to meet the doll manipulators there.

If anyone could properly diagnose my current state, it would be them. I recalled scenes from the gatherings, where they clung to their respective dolls just like I used to.

And at the end of that journey, we could arrive at the Dream Theater. Right now, we were facing its owner, Koit, who was resting halfway back on his chair and staring at us intently.

I summarized my situation and relayed it to him. After hearing all of my tale, he lightly stroked his chin. Then, he gently patted his protruding belly and opened his mouth.

“Hmm, doesn’t that sound pretty ordinary?”

Koit tilted his head, asking. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. I had expected this answer. The responses from the doll manipulators I had consulted earlier had mostly fallen along these lines. Mira chuckled, seeing me like that.

 

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