Surviving at the Magic Academy

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“Are you saying the lecture reviews… went completely haywire?”

I mumbled that in disbelief, rubbing my face for a moment. My hands obscured my vision, plunging me into darkness.

“Yes, absolutely no room for excuses.”

This voice came from across the table. I snapped back to reality and faced her. Hwa-ryeong was awkwardly smiling, sitting across the desk.

She pulled out a stack of papers from under the desk and handed it to me. The stack floated toward me, guided by her magic.

“If you check it yourself, you’ll probably understand what the problems were.”

“Is that so?”

I stared at the stack of papers quietly. A wry smile escaped my lips. To be honest, I never expected to hear something like this. I came here purely on a whim.

In the week leading back to the tower, I encountered a whole bunch of monsters. Actually, ‘a lot’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Monsters were pouring down like raindrops. So, I ended up fleeing quite a bit.

But unlike before, my hunting efficiency had improved quite a bit. Kashian had gotten stronger. Perhaps in her effort to adapt to the magic, she charged ahead to fight whenever a monster appeared. And she slashed.

As a result, piles of monster corpses stacked up like mountains. They crammed the turtle’s belly, and even filled my spatial pouch to the brim. This was the reason I came to the city to sort things out.

And there she was, presenting this to me right now.

I glanced at Hwa-ryeong for a moment. She noticed my gaze and offered a gentle smile. It was a much more natural expression than the first time I saw her.

However, there was still a bit of awkwardness, particularly evident in her eyes. She still hadn’t shaken off that coldness residing in her gaze. Just like now.

Yet, I could clearly tell she had become proficient. It was also evident from the name tag hanging on her chest, which had changed once more. I briefly examined the golden tag.

3rd Grade Deputy, Hwa-ryeong

“Speaking of which, you’ve been promoted again. If you’d told me in advance, I would have congratulated you.”

Hwa-ryeong giggled, covering her mouth. It was just the two of us in the room. Kashian and Mira had left to explore the city, leaving everything to me.

Thinking back, it was Mira’s first time coming to the dripstone city. Ever since she entered the doll’s body, she had always stuck by my side. I had no intention of coming to the city, so she never had a reason to come. I could tell she was a bit excited about it.

“What good news is there to share with Ebron? In a way, it’s a promotion I got by selling you out, you know.”

She said that, and I nearly choked on my breath. I stifled a laugh. Yeah, after the auction house incident, she had become entirely in charge of me. Just like today.

I fiddled with Hwa-ryeong’s medal in my hand. This was what brought her to this position. A 3rd-grade deputy. The last time I saw her, she was a 2nd-grade employee. She had risen two ranks in two years. That promotion speed wasn’t normal.

“It’s all thanks to your capabilities, Hwa-ryeong. Now that we’ve become partners helping each other out, isn’t that good enough?”

“Hehe, even if it’s just words, I’m grateful to hear that.”

She replied with a smile. I chuckled in response to her grin. As we engaged in light conversation, a thought struck me. So, I asked her.

“By the way, why did you stay as a trainee for so long? With your skills, you could have climbed up anytime.”

At my question, Hwa-ryeong placed her hand on her cheek and let out a small sigh.

“I haven’t been in the association long. I’m only in my 6th year now. The first time I met Ebron was when I was living at rock bottom.”

She looked at me, her gaze filled with a strong sense of satisfaction. No wonder. I was her first achievement. I had helped her climb a bit higher, and I engraved that fact in my heart.

“People from noble families traditionally find it hard to join associations. They can only barely get in after reaching the 4th floor. It’s also a tradition of the association, an effort to avoid being completely subservient to noble families. Other organizations are somewhat similar.”

I remembered the time I asked Hongryeong if he wasn’t joining the association. Hwa-ryeong and Miryeong, their family members were there too. He had just shook his head with a smile in my direction.

Since he couldn’t join yet, he said he was going to establish a new organization. He told me to let him know if I had any interest. Of course, I had dismissed it, peeking at his spine. I still vividly remembered the entrance exam.

Was this the reason he wanted to set up a new organization? It was news to me, something only those not from noble families would understand. I nodded slightly. It suggested that the organization was not fully united within.

It made sense. Where there are people and mages, conspiracies always sprout. Such large organizations would particularly be rife with them. So, the Blade Association was just an odd bunch. This was the norm.

I silently looked down at the stack of papers in front of me. Lecture reviews, now that was something I hadn’t expected. I glanced at Hwa-ryeong. She was just looking at me with a smile, looking even more natural than earlier.

“Well then, let’s check it out.”

I took a deep breath. Then I turned the first page of the stack she handed me. And I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t help it. The first page was packed with shocking content.

Overall Score: 2.1 / 5

Hmm, now I understood why she was showing this to me. It meant our lecture had caused quite a stir of complaints.

Why on earth, and from where?

I recalled the last lecture. It was flawless. Naturally, since I had poured my heart and soul into creating that lecture. But why on earth was the score like this? I flipped to the next page, where several comments were written.

– I went because they promised treasures, but aside from the first lecture, no one got any treasures. There were no clear rewards for successful applicants either. Compared to other lectures, I couldn’t find a reason to attend this one except that it was cheaper. 1 point.

– Should I say it’s the tower’s overseer? That Ebron guy rubs me the wrong way. He’s too eager to show off his points. 1 point.

– The lecture and tower design are inefficient. There are quite a few elements that hinder training. 1 point.

– The tower’s opening hours are too limited. 1 point.

– There are plenty of parts where points are needed. 1 point.

– … 1 point.

…

Below that, the 1 point celebration continued. It was clearly listed from the lowest scores. Just a barrage of curses.

I stopped reading and crossed my arms. Sneaking a glance at Hwa-ryeong, she too had the same stack of papers in front of her. It seemed she was following along with my reading. She paused her reading and looked at me.

“Is there no way to find out who wrote this?”

Hwa-ryeong smirked, seemingly amused by that question.

“Nope, the collection of reviews has to ensure complete anonymity. We protect those identities thoroughly. They earn points for leaving reviews, so everyone participates diligently.”

I sighed. The second offender. I really wanted to know who that was, but alas. Well, who would write such a thing if anonymity was not guaranteed? If they got it wrong, they would surely face the consequences.

“Then there’s nothing I can do, huh.”

So I turned the page again and continued checking the content. With each word I read, my mood began to sour. My name was showing up quite a bit in a negative light.

Hmm, this was quite a blow to my pride.

I never expected my evaluation to be this poor. A strong sense of betrayal moistening my heart. While they called me manager, Ebron, buddy, and so forth, laughing in my face, I never imagined they would stab me in the back with such critiques.

As expected, people couldn’t be trusted. And among them, particularly mages couldn’t be counted on. An old thought resurfaced. Look at those swordsmen. I thought of all the swordsmen I had faced over the last two months. They were so dignified, pure even.

The same held true here. Their style gave away their swordsmanship. They even boldly revealed their names.

– I’m Goro, and the lecture was fun. Especially because there was a lot of fighting.

Just like that. I read it with slightly sparkling eyes. A review from Goro, who I ran into again in Canyon City. Look, just like this, Goro was boldly showing himself and praising me…

– … But I’m getting too many points. That Ebron guy. So, I gave 2 points.

Two points. I squeezed my eyes shut at this. Hmm, swordsmen were the same, too. People couldn’t be trusted, it seemed. The stinging sense of betrayal stirred deep in my chest.

However, as I read through those reviews little by little, I started to understand the reasons behind their curses. The score, that was the crux of the issue. Thinking back, I had been rather arrogant about accumulating points over the past five years. Just simply calculating, it must have reached several hundred thousand points.

They must have roughly calculated how much I would earn. And they must have been astonished by the number of points I had. There was even a review like that. Just pure jealousy expressed by those who snagged points awkwardly. That only meant I was gathering points aggressively.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, and then I squinted my eyes shut a bit. Should I reflect on my attitude? I pondered deeply.

Suddenly, my eyes opened wide. Was that wrong?

No. Points belonged to those who earned them.

If it were the old me, I would have been troubled about lowering my points after reading those opinions. But not anymore. In front of the new transformed me, they were merely point vending machines.

The part I should reflect on wasn’t being hell-bent on ripping their points away.

Be it Arcana General Meeting, Abyss Secret Organization, or other smaller organizations, they all had a certain area claimed. People did not question the prices they set. They merely utilized that system.

Likewise, my position in the tower was that. I merely pocketed a small commission in between. Were the points expensive? Not at all.

The price to use the Mirror Bug was merely 50 points monthly. Enhancements and functional additions to the doll, those were all their choices. And yet they held grievances.

The part I needed to reflect on was that they were dissatisfied, which meant I failed to provide them with services and satisfaction worth that many points.

It was good to earn points. But, had I always done my utmost even to earn that single point? Had I moved on a certain inertia and only provided service that met the standards?

That was the point I needed to reflect on. To gather points, I must provide them with more solid offerings. Something that could satisfy them.

I continued looking at other reviews. As I moved further back, the scores grew higher. This one looked like it belonged to Hongryeong, and this one seemed like Jun’s. By the end, there was even someone who awarded 5 points.

– The Bear Doll is so cute. Sooo cute. It’s a 5-point review.

Hehe, this made me chuckle a little. It was Kashian’s review. She was the only one who gave a perfect score. Most swordsmen tended to score pretty generously. Well, except for that meathead.

As I finished reading until the end, I整理ed the papers once more. A total score of 2.1 points. It stood out clearly.

“If the score is this low, will there be any disadvantages?”

At my words, Hwa-ryeong nodded slightly.

“Yes, it seems so. The prices we set for lectures are based on these student reviews. In this case, the price will drop further. We received applications for the first lecture at a base score of 3000 points, but if we hold the same content again, it could drop to around 2000 points.”

2000 points, now that was a very low score. Hwa-ryeong continued.

“A good lecture generally scores over 10 points. Popular lectures for the 3rd and 4th floors can easily exceed 500 points just for the application cost. If you want to buy a spot, you’d need so many more points.”

As she spoke, she gently stroked the stack of papers in front of her.

“If these evaluations keep up, people will surely hesitate to apply. Eventually, only those interested in cheap costs will apply for the lectures.”

I imagined that scene. Only a bunch of nobodies filling the tower. They wouldn’t fight, nor resist. They’d merely occupy a spot and continue their training.

I wondered what Professor Ilian would think if she saw that. I could clearly picture her getting bored and pacing around in frustration. She would definitely find it annoying.

“In that case, there will also be no buyers for spots. I suppose the best way for me to improve my results is to sell lecture spots. I was anticipating quite a lot from Ebron’s lecture. I hadn’t expected it to turn out this way.”

As she spoke, she let out a small sigh. A look of regret appeared on her face.

“I’ll think of a way around this.”

I nodded slightly. If only nobodies showed up, it could mean a huge disadvantage for me. Would they even want to use my Mirror Bug? Those who hoard points like that.

The fact that the Mirror Bug wouldn’t become operational in my tower meant losing my biggest driving force for growth. I had to prevent that from happening. So, what could I do? I needed to ponder that a little. I couldn’t change the review scores.

At my words, Hwa-ryeong smiled again. Showing me those reviews must have been her way of warning me. She used her magic to collect the stack of papers on the desk, and looked at me as she spoke.

“Well then, let’s leave this topic behind and move on to the next matter. Please take out the items you’ve brought, and I’ll tally them for you.”

“Oh, here it is.”

I pulled out my spatial pouch and handed it to her. Everything other than what I intended to use was contained inside. Since the quantity was too large to spill out here, I passed the entire pouch to her.

She used her magic to probe inside and started calculating. It didn’t take long before she finished.

She placed a ring near the Mirror Bug and slyly checked the score. Quite a bit had come in. Of course, since I’d have to share with Kashian, the amount that came to me would be less.

Afterward, she and I engaged in leisurely conversation. Chatting about the city’s rumors and the new lectures, etc. While we were talking, the Mirror Bug started buzzing. It was a message from Mira. She must have wanted me to join her now.

I subtly asked Hwa-ryeong for permission and got up. She stood up to see me off. I bowed to her as I opened the door.

“Then, I’ll see you again during the next registration.”

“Yes, see you then. This has been Hwa-ryeong, 3rd-grade Deputy from Arcana General Meeting, Customer Service Division 5.”

She bowed and gave her final send-off. Leaving that behind, I walked out into the chaotic sounds of the city. Many people were bustling around.

Who would have thought the lecture would receive such a miserable score? It was unexpected. My head felt a bit muddled.

For now, I needed to meet Mira again. I checked the Mirror Bug and headed out. I pushed the thoughts of the lecture to the back of my mind for now. After all, there was little clarity to be gained from overthinking it at this moment.

What I did want, was to stop by somewhere as I was in the city. There was a somewhat frustrating point that I wanted to seek advice about. From the city’s doll manipulators.

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