Surviving at the Magic Academy

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They were basically the same crowd as last lecture, right? Their next moves were pretty slick. This was a tactic I had mostly seen when factions were squabbling in the Tower before. Sneaky and straightforward tricks, you know?

First, they spread the rumor of a massacre. They claimed that the Individual Mage Alliance, who were their allies, had fallen to someone else’s hands. The targets they aimed for were the so-called ‘Buyer Faction’ that Luciela belonged to.

The rumor quickly spread through the entire second floor. No matter how much they tried to block the doors, they couldn’t muffle the whispers that easily. A little sense of crisis was hanging around among the students.

So, last lecture’s group spread those rumors while also starting to methodically hunt down isolated mages. They went about it with great skill since they were quite familiar with the Tower.

They spread news of their successful hunts quickly. The whispers rode the magical currents and filled the second floor. It was crystal clear why they targeted the Buyer Faction: they had built the largest organization in this lecture.

The plan to make them public enemies and cut down their power as much as possible was becoming obvious. Of course, we could see that since we were watching the scene unfold.

The students probably didn’t grasp it entirely. Some would be skeptical of the rumors, while others would fall for them. This was basically Jun’s favorite technique. He must’ve taught them well.

But they forgot one very important point.

Luciela and her faction remained unfazed by the rumors. They quietly began to track the source of those whispers. A lot of magic flowed back and forth in the corridor.

I watched a Mirror Bug. Inside, I could see Luciela deep in thought. Her calm demeanor, unperturbed by the chaos, made me nod in agreement. Perhaps an additional point for her mental strength?

She opened her eyes when the source of the rumor became clear. With a wild grin, she chuckled.

“It seems they think we’re a joke. In that case, we must smash them to bits.”

Once their enemy was evident, they quickly got to work. They didn’t deny the rumors but instead moved aggressively, almost brutally. They destroyed every room in their path and massacred students as they advanced.

They wanted just one thing: to slaughter those who opposed them.

Last lecture’s group was thrown into a panic. That was probably an unexpected reaction for them. They likely planned just to cause a little trouble. Like Jun, they probably aimed to spread rumors and instill a hostile reaction against them.

But sometimes, sheer strength can debunk all tactics easily. Just like that Buyer Faction, who was now moving forward. They had forgotten that.

Jun always dug multiple paths to prepare for such situations. In contrast, they lacked that level of ability. Did they really become a ragtag bunch just like that when their keystone vanished? I felt a bit disappointed and started lowering their scores gradually.

The Buyer Faction persistently targeted last lecture’s group, the ones who spread the rumors, and decisively crushed them. They fled in multiple directions, but being confined to the second floor meant they couldn’t get too far.

In the end, they all fell. Just like Hao, who had collapsed last. He slumped down, fading into the air. With his fall, last lecture’s group was completely wiped out.

The Buyer Faction wasn’t satisfied with that, though. They began to crush others without stopping. It seemed they finally had some understanding of the situation. Nobody stood in their way as they rampaged.

Thus, they began to reduce the number of mages. It wasn’t a fight anymore; it was a massacre.

-Ah, I love it! Watching people sweep away like autumn leaves. Oh, look over there! That person just got knocked out by magic! It reminds me of the time I got a stomach ache from eating a monster I caught fifteen hundred years ago, you know? Back when I didn’t know anything but eating…

The Tooth Necklace was blabbering away next to me. He had returned to the classroom the moment the fighting started. He promised not to interfere, after all.

He kept tapping his teeth, seemingly enjoying the situation as he watched.

As time passed, the chaos escalated even further. Other students, who were initially hesitant, suddenly started moving in response to their overwhelming display. Swordsmen, surviving mages, and several smaller groups joined in.

They tangled up and released magic at one another. I kept collecting the information they spat out through the dolls floating among them. The Tooth Necklace continued to chatter away while watching the fight.

Amid the fights, information about them became clearer. Thanks to having seen and gathered quite a lot until now, forming criteria for judgment was relatively easy. I could roughly estimate their averages.

The dolls of the fallen ones also went to the infirmary to care for their owners. In the shock of death, many of them had lost consciousness. The dolls stacked them onto various beds in the infirmary.

As time flowed, the boundaries of the groups blurred. A kind of free-for-all unfolded on the battlefield. It now hinged not on strategy but merely on strength.

And within that chaotic racket, brightly shining individuals emerged.

They dominated the battlefield with overwhelming strength and cold judgment. Their ability to steer the situation favorably with just their personal might was undeniably beautiful to behold. I gave them a bunch of bonus points.

They flaunted their strength as they took down other mages. Each of them poured magic out generously, for the treasures were as valuable to them as well.

At the center of them was Kashian. Another mage fell to her blade. She dusted off her sword, a satisfied smile on her face as blood splattered on the floor.

This fray also had her hand in it. She charged at the clustered fighters without hesitation. They collapsed before her sword. Their magic couldn’t even graze her body.

She methodically evaluated each student as she dispatched them one by one. With each fight, her movements began to evolve slightly.

She carefully experimented with what she had learned from Mira in the treasure vault. I awarded her top scores. Probably, there wouldn’t be anyone surpassing her among them.

Even Luciela, who led the Buyer Faction, was bound to become prey for Kashian. It made sense; her performance was quite prominent from afar.

Previously, I had heard from Hwa-ryeong that she belonged to some noble family. She exuded enough strength to warrant that understanding. And she must have seemed like an attractive opponent for Kashian.

She unleashed an enormous flame during this battle. The inferno didn’t just consume dozens of mages; it writhed and spread outward. It even caught Kashian in its path.

From then on, Kashian chased Luciela exclusively. But surprisingly, Kashian couldn’t land a hit on Luciela. Luciela avoided her moves gracefully, dragging out the time.

Rather, she unleashed flames toward others. It seemed like she was prioritizing clearing out the simpler targets rather than dealing with someone troublesome. She appeared to view this fight as a sort of scoring game, much like everyone else did.

As the students poured their intent to kill toward each other, some fell and faded away. While spectating their clashes, the remaining time seemed to evaporate in an instant.

The bell rang, and just like that, the fight ended.

Only seven remained standing.

Kashian and Luciela were among them. Kashian licked her lips as she looked at Luciela. It was apparent she regretted not being able to take her down. Luciela, however, showed a face of sheer horror at Kashian.

Shadow Dolls, which had hidden to escape the fight, approached and quietly guided them to the infirmary. They slowly began to recover among the mounds of fallen students.

Everyone regained their senses roughly an hour later. The students returned to the classroom.

A slight sense of menace hovered among them. It was inevitable. They had just fought like they wanted to kill each other, and some even actually did. Yet, those who survived until the very end wore satisfied expressions.

Amidst the crowd, a clattering sound caught everyone’s attention. They turned to see its source.

The Tooth Necklace was floating in mid-air, slamming its teeth together. Along with it, a mirror placed before the students began spewing out text.

-Ah, watching people get swept away like autumn leaves was just delightful! It was amazing! I was especially moved by the confident looks of those who made it through to the end! Let’s give them a round of applause, everyone! Hands together!

Along with those words, he cheerfully clinked his teeth, resembling the sound of clapping. The students awkwardly mimicked him.

-Hmm, the fight was great, and I liked you all too. I was touched by how hard everyone tried! So, I decided to pick even more people. I originally planned to take only twenty, but now it’s thirty-two! You all impressed me quite a bit.

He floated across the students, making his way up to the podium. With a big grin, he raised his teeth toward them. The faces of the ones who had survived until now lit up with joy at those words.

-Shall we pick right away? First up, this one!

The Tooth Necklace landed right on the head of the person sitting in the front row. The chosen student stared blankly at the Tooth Necklace that had settled on his head. A mark descended on his brow.

After a moment of fiddling with it, the student erupted into cheers. Hearing that, the Tooth Necklace shook with delight.

-Alright, seeing such happiness makes me glad. Now for the next one!

The Tooth Necklace jumped up to land on another person’s head. One by one, it began to bestow marks upon others. Joy radiated from the chosen while despair hung heavily over the rejected.

The Tooth Necklace wove back and forth like it was playing around, clearly enjoying the reactions of those students. Roughly twenty were chosen.

The students began to murmur among themselves. While cheers from the selected rose here and there, they quickly became quiet, being cautious of the strange atmosphere in the classroom.

At the center of it stood those with stiffened faces. They radiated strong displeasure through their magic. Luciela was particularly glaring. She was practically scowling at the Tooth Necklace.

The Tooth Necklace didn’t choose her. It just circled around, taunting her before moving away. Others were the same. None of those who survived until the end received a selection from the Tooth Necklace.

The Tooth Necklace gleefully continued picking. The last one it landed on was on Hao’s head. Hao blinked. It was clear he didn’t expect to be chosen at all. After all, he had collapsed early in the fight.

Yes, the Tooth Necklace chose those kind of students. Those who had crumpled like straw at the very start of the fight. After marking Hao’s head, the Tooth Necklace returned to the podium.

Turning around, it flashed a light smile at the students.

-Oh, did you think this was a ranking game? Oh dear, it wasn’t!

It gleefully clanked its teeth together. It circled around Luciela’s face, seemingly enjoying her displeasure.

-Ah, that expression. Satisfying. But I told you from the start. I wanted you to fight and then fall pathetically! I absolutely love these useless ones! Look at this pathetic crawling around!

It showcased the Mirror Bug. Inside, footage of Hao collapsing was playing. He was engulfed in flames from Luciela, rolling about on the ground before disappearing with a horrendous scream.

-I’m curious just how far these frail ones can climb when they receive my strength. Yes, I want to see that! The initial thought came to me when I recalled my own childhood. Yes, back then, I was just as young, barely hanging on to two teeth…

It began spewing more text. Luciela glared at it, then closed her eyes. “I warned you from the start, think from a treasure’s point of view.”

If you’re thinking purely in terms of efficiency, it would make more sense to bestow strength on higher-ranking students. If you were worried about them all passing, then just give it to the mid-rank students.

But the Tooth Necklace didn’t do that. It simply followed its whims for selection. Going after those already on the ground.

By now, the students would have figured it out. The treasures didn’t think like us. Was it desire? Ignition? They were more interested in satisfying those feelings.

Individual strength, will, and talent could be a reference point, but they weren’t the reason for selection.

What delighted the treasure mattered most. That was also the motto for future lectures.

Stepping forward slightly, it seemed like it was time to wrap things up as the class had reached its conclusion.

“So, how was your first lecture? I trust it was quite entertaining. You probably got an idea of how we plan to conduct these classes going forward. Don’t be too disappointed if you weren’t chosen. There are still plenty of treasures out there that want to meet you.”

While saying that, it briefly showed them the bulletin board as seen through the mirror. The images of treasures lightly brushed by. The students began to perk up a bit.

“Those who were chosen, please wait a moment in the classroom, while the rest can freely explore the Tower now. The third floor is set to open shortly, so there’s no need to worry about training. We’ll be able to accommodate everyone.”

After finishing up with several more discussions, the students began to leave their seats. Some headed towards the city, while others stayed in the Tower to start exploring inside.

I headed towards Storage Room 2 with the dolls. That was where the Tooth Necklace was stationed. I opened the door and ushered the dolls inside.

The Tooth Necklace started handing out pre-prepared tooth fragments to the dolls. The sheer force of magic made the dolls stagger. They took the fragments and returned with them to the storage room.

I gathered those up and headed back to the classroom. The faces of those waiting were now filled with strong anticipation. I handed them the sealed boxes, which they carefully took into their arms.

Some began to fit the new teeth right then and there. It was Hao.

He grinned widely as he checked his modified teeth. A slightly refreshing aura leaked from him.

And just like that, today’s lecture came to a close.

Most people settled on the second floor. The third floor wasn’t set to open until about two days from now, and the first floor had its awkwardness due to the statue there.

Yet, looking at it, there was a somewhat endearing quality to it. That thought came to mind.

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