Surviving at the Magic Academy

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Koit tilted his body back dramatically. Then he chewed his thoughts about the dream he just devoured, making some weird noises with his mouth. Soon, he let out a small burp.

After wiping his mouth, he scratched his head and looked at me. I could see a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“You’re really something else. I didn’t think eating one dream would fill me up like this. Of course, judging by the rancid taste, it doesn’t seem to be just yours. Too many anchors weighing it down.”

“Anchors?”

What’s that supposed to mean? I blinked a few times in confusion. Koit gave his chubby cheek a gentle tap and nodded. Then he infused some magic into his fingers and lightly pressed them against the table.

“Yeah. Usually, a dream has one anchor. For Doll Manipulators, those anchors are especially vivid. Like that Professor Ilian character from your dream. But you seem to have way too many.”

A wave of his magic lightly pressed down on the table. He tilted his head in a curious manner, then shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Maybe it means something else is mixed in there. I don’t know what that is yet, but you should find it out since it’s your dream.”

I lowered my head slightly at those words. Could it really be that just by looking at and consuming my dream, he was able to learn so much? It certainly seemed surreal.

I placed my hand on my chest. So, the anchors, meaning that professor was affecting me like this? I suddenly felt how massive my obsession had become. To look for the professor even in my dreams, this needed to be resolved.

“Of course, I could give you a bit of help. But as I just said, I think it would be better if you dug a little deeper. So, how about continuing our earlier conversation? Are you thinking about buying a dream?”

Koit said this while leaning slightly forward. He clasped his hands together and smiled wide enough to show his teeth. His eyes still shimmered with mischief.

What I had just experienced was merely a demo version of a dream. But even that felt surprisingly real. If possible, I wanted to try out a proper dream. But my points were lacking—like, severely.

“Well, you’re probably short on points, right? If it really comes down to it, I don’t mind giving you a line of credit.”

Koit leaned back, resting his plump body against the chair. I slowly calculated in my head. Credit, huh? How many points would I be able to get?

From the Tower, I consistently received ten thousand points. That was the cost of renting a Mirror Bug. And aside from that, I was bringing in about five thousand points—mostly from selling information or commissions from tributes.

So when I added up the points coming in monthly, it was around fifteen thousand points. The lectures were solidifying, and the flow of points was steadily increasing. I could say it was quite stable.

However, that one hundred thousand points was a daunting number. My income also came with expenses, after all. Points were always a vaporous commodity.

Just before I got here, I’d spent points on ritual magic amounting to several months’ worth of my earnings. Of course, all of it had failed. So, I needed to use more points on the next ritual without any breathing room to gather more points.

Sitting there, I merely fiddled with the teacup set before me and forced a smile. Koit casually scratched his nose as he watched me.

After thinking for a moment, he gently stroked his chin. Then he grinned widely and gave me a thumbs up.

“Well, no choice but to give you a junior discount.”

I blinked at that. A junior discount? Koit nodded while letting out a small burp. A bit of magic leaked from his mouth.

“Ugh, I’m stuffed. But I’ll give you a good deal. I’ll discount it by about 70%. Let’s jump into your dream.”

Seventy percent? That was practically a steal. If I was going to dream something worth one hundred thousand points, I could do it for only thirty thousand points. That seemed manageable.

After momentarily finishing my calculations, my eyes sparkled. A junior discount! What a wonderful phrase. Seeing my reaction, Koit chuckled lightly, then casually picked his nose.

“Just kidding, though.”

He snapped his fingers, and a booger shot off into the corner of the room. As I stared blankly, Koit squinted his eyes at me. He then patted his belly enthusiastically.

“A discount? Please! I’m not into that Freund-style management. That last demo I let you in on was enough of a favor. Normally, for exploring dreams, you’d have to cough up a cool fifty thousand points.”

If I’d known your dream was this weird, I wouldn’t have given it out for free. He grumbled, crossing his arms and looking at me with a sulky face. His eyes, however, looked cold and calculating.

“I heard from Mauro that you were looking for help, so I’m doing you a favor. Providing assistance to a fellow Doll Manipulator is his principle. I’m different; in relationships like this, points need to be accounted for even more meticulously.”

He gestured lightly, and a drawer of the table opened, revealing a piece of paper that floated lightly in the air. He confirmed it and placed it down on the table.

“And don’t forget that one hundred thousand points is the base cost. As I said, the more options you add, the more expensive it gets, so let’s check it out.”

He held out the paper to me. I carefully took it and began reading its content, while Mira leaned in to check it out with me.

“Oh my, the prices are outrageous!”

Mira gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. I was probably sporting a face just as astonished. The paper lay out multiple items.

Those items were neatly organized in a table. At the top of the page was the base cost of one hundred thousand points. And with that base cost, there wasn’t much you could do.

Literally, you could only have a “one-night dream.” Reflecting on this location, I thought about it as a sort of entertainment establishment. With just the base dream, you could only satisfy the simplest desires.

So how could I go beyond this basic dream? I could see a helpful guideline right below. All sorts of options were listed there.

Adding more dolls, adding symbols, changing backgrounds, etc. There were all kinds of features that allowed me to set up a dream to my liking. Detailed explanations about each item accompanied each option.

As I poured magic into it, the meanings seeped gently into my understanding. I slowly began to grasp each option. I could change genders or even meet my past self. Each feature was incredibly fascinating.

And just like those fascinating features, the costs were equally fierce. “Black Sun”—even that sun that guided me through my dream was a sort of option. Seeing that made it clear that Koit had indeed been quite generous.

Just looking at this Black Sun feature alone was worth thirty thousand points. If it was as he claimed, adding just the options could easily lead to fifty thousand points.

Plus, counting the base points brought the total to one hundred fifty thousand points. The more options added, the higher the cost of the dream. If all options were selected, the number would change dramatically.

Staring at those numbers, piled high with zeros, I suddenly realized this place was on the seventh floor. I looked around quietly. The parlor we were in was extravagantly decorated.

The paintings on the walls and the light teacup before me also emanated magic. That meant they had considerable value. After a moment of hesitation, Koit waved his hand dismissively.

“A simple dream might not be enough. So, I recommend this course for you. Of course, the price will go up a bit.”

A faint wave of magic emitted from his hand and shaped into a pen. The pen floated over to the paper in my hand and began checking off several items.

Things that lead to deeper dreams and features that ensure you could regain consciousness within the dream, etc. Each one was incredibly pricey. Koit grinned at me.

“So, what do you think? Sounds good? No worries, it won’t be a rip-off. You’ll get what you pay for.”

He chuckled, collecting the pen. I glanced at the paper with mixed feelings. To purchase all the items he checked off would cost around four hundred thousand points.

One hundred thousand points was daunting enough; this was utterly unmanageable. Four hundred thousand points. The weight of that number began to loom heavily. This lightweight paper felt inexplicably heavy.

I remembered feeling the weight of those points when I was at the auction house. Just like then, this place was also sitting on the seventh floor of the city. The upper tiers, still a different world for me. That price was beyond imagination.

I set the paper down with a bitter smile and looked at Koit. He met my gaze and grinned again, his white teeth glistening in the light.

I was desperately short on points. That was impossible for me right now. Koit was very kindly highlighting my limits. The greed shimmering in his eyes was glaringly apparent.

He had already confirmed that I had no points. So why was he explaining everything, knowing I was broke? I pondered that for a moment.

And soon, I grasped one vital thing. He wasn’t just being nice; he wanted something from me in return. Otherwise, he could simply have booted me out the door.

So, I calmly waited for him to continue speaking. Koit scrutinized my face, tilted his head slightly, and then rose from his chair to address me.

“Well, since you seem to have caught on, I don’t think I need to keep talking. Normally, I’d squeeze points out of someone and drain them dry, but you don’t seem like you’d fall for that. I suspected you’d be quick on the uptake from the moment I laid eyes on you. Damn, I wish a guy like you were always with me. Other Doll Manipulators are just clueless.”

He clicked his tongue and clapped his hands lightly. Suddenly, a doll that had been waiting in the corner approached us. It was that rabbit-eared doll from earlier, still in costume.

As Koit reached out to the doll, it nodded its head at him. The doll produced a stack of paper from its pocket and placed it on the table. Koit leaned over the stack, licking his lips slightly.

“I don’t expect you to have points since you’re stuck in the lower ranks. I anticipated you’d be lacking. So, work something else out for me. Then I’ll let you see your dream.”

“What do you want me to do?”

I asked Koit, glancing at the paper pile. There had to be a reason he pulled that out; he probably had a favor to ask of me. I could say it was a kind of commission.

I scratched my head slightly. I felt as if I received such commissions quite often these days. Tiena had done so, Mauro had too, and now the Koit before me was doing the same. They were all Doll Manipulators.

He summoned magic and struck the stack of paper. The magical wave caused the stack to zoom towards me. I caught it and looked back at Koit.

He let out another small burp and glanced at Mira. She met his gaze and smiled lightly. Koit nodded after briefly scanning her from head to toe.

“Indeed, she’s marvelous. Let’s work together. It’s an extension of the business proposal we discussed earlier. I’ll need to borrow your doll for a while. And while I’m at it, I’ll borrow you too. I really need the hands.”

He gestured to the documents placed in front of me. Meaning he wanted me to have a look. I slowly flipped to the first page and blinked in surprise.

It was a sort of receipt stack detailing dreams purchased by someone. The credits accumulated were revealed at the bottom of the list: one hundred eighty thousand points. That was a staggering sum.

After confirming the various options hanging like annotations beneath it, I glanced at Koit. He had clasped his hands behind his head, sinking into the chair, appearing slightly pained.

“Normally, I wouldn’t even need to tell you this. It’s a three-month-old reservation, and now there’s just a month left. I thought everything was set, but, well, issues popped up. We’re short on dolls, see?”

Dolls? I scanned the room. Many dolls were stationed around, including that rabbit-eared one alongside well over dozens of others. Were these not enough? Confirming my thoughts, Koit clicked his tongue lightly.

He waved his hand as the dolls quietly backed away. Koit shrugged his shoulders toward me, then waved his hand dismissively.

“Not those kinds of dolls. I mean dolls with distinct personalities, like the one next to you. I had planned for our best dolls to fill that position. But, let’s just say, significant problems arose.”

He lightly tapped the table. The rabbit doll perked up its ears again. It slowly moved toward him, presenting a crystal orb that shimmered with something like mist inside it.

“This is the dream currently in progress, but all the other dolls are tied up with it. And it’s still unresolved. Damn it, my calculations were perfect. I can’t just let it go; it’s worth five hundred thousand points. The bastard locked the dream up tight.”

He grumbled, lightly slapping the crystal orb with his palm. A dream worth five hundred thousand points? That was truly a dream come true. I glanced at Mira; she probably cost about that much herself.

Her frame was strong enough to bear some semblance of Mira’s power. But are you telling me a single dream was sold for an equivalent price?

The pile of papers in front of me was no different. One hundred eighty thousand points. The forty thousand points I needed suddenly felt insignificant. Koit grumbled for a while, glancing at Mira before shifting his gaze back to me.

“So, I was contemplating canceling this reservation when the perfect opportunity rolls in! I can’t pass up such a bizarre coincidence. Thus, let’s handle this task together in a month. Dreams must continue on.”

He smiled at me, tilting his chin on his fingers while gently shaking his robust finger.

“Once we’ve wrapped everything up, the satisfaction of the customer will determine how much you pay for your dream. Plus, I’ll throw in a bonus for you. …Damn it, if the work hadn’t fallen apart like this, I wouldn’t be losing so much.”

Koit muttered, revealing his underlying thoughts. Hearing that eased my worries. There was urgency and desperation woven into his motives.

His emotions were deliberately laid out, trying to express trust towards me. A very skillful tactic.

And that meant this matter was crucial to him. While I caught on to that, my face remained stiff and uncertain.

I wasn’t exactly sure how these dreams would unfold. At present, I couldn’t even grasp the structure of this Dream Theater.

If I made a mistake and the dream collapsed, I might have to pay back all those points. I shuddered softly at the thought. Yet, those fears were merely speculative.

I recalled the dream I just had—the visuals of professors wandering about. That had been a fifty-thousand-point demo version. So, what sort of spectacle awaited in a dream where I invested far more points?

That made me a little curious. Also, to revisit my dream, I indeed needed his assistance. It would be interesting to see if these dreams would ultimately benefit me.

Of course, this wasn’t solely my concern. I glanced at Mira. It seemed Koit’s interest was more in her than me. Her willingness mattered.

Fortunately, Mira seemed to be quite invested in this prospect. Her eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands lightly. She then gently closed her eyes, exuding excitement.

“Oh my, does it mean I’ll be stepping into another’s dream? I’ve always wanted to try!”

She said, leaning towards me while playfully nudging my side. When I glanced her way, she slightly nodded—an indication to move forward with this.

“Alright. Since you asked, how could I refuse? I’ll do my utmost.”

Koit burst into an almost boisterous laugh, nodding in approval. Following his movements, his chin wobbled lightly.

“Hehe, this will be fun. I think it’ll benefit Ebron as well.”

Mira said, resting her head against my chest as she continued to whisper.

“So don’t forget my help, alright? This will count as a kind of debt.”

She beamed brightly. Meeting her smile, I gave a bittersweet grin. A debt, huh? I wondered what she might demand later. Slightly anxious, I decided to focus on doing my absolute best for the immediate task at hand.

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