Surviving at the Magic Academy

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I stared blankly at the wasteland spread out before me. A quick glance back at the path I came from revealed that both ahead and behind looked exactly the same. It was just this dry expanse stretching endlessly.

The journey still had a way to go. I quickened my pace, thinking about that, slowly walking through the wasteland under the dimming light.

As I was wandering thoughtlessly, things suddenly took a turn. The moment I stepped forward again, the ground shifted slightly, and a different scenery began to fill the surroundings.

In an instant, trees sprang up, and the air felt a tad clearer. I could faintly hear the sound of insects chirping. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Surprised by the sudden change in scenery, I paused for a moment and looked around. All I could see were towering trees. It was so dense that the sky was nearly obscured.

The wasteland had vanished, replaced by a lush forest. I crouched slightly under the trees and stroked my chin. When changes like this occurred, it was important to assess the situation.

Where had I seen this scenery before? What on earth happened here? Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the surroundings. On one side of the dense forest, I spotted some trees that had toppled over.

Approaching them for a closer look, I could see that something had violently crushed the trees, snapping them in half. A clear path stretched out from that spot.

It looked oddly familiar. I tapped my forehead with my finger, pondering where I had seen this before. I calmly observed the towering trees and the signs of destruction.

This wasn’t a place I’d seen at the university. The trees there grew much taller than these. So it must be outside the university. And there was only one forest that could make such marks. I lightly clapped my hands together.

I hadn’t wandered much in the forest, so I was sure of that. If a forest had left enough of an impression on me to remember, it could only be one. It was the forest I saw during the entrance exam.

Ah, memories. I nodded, glancing at the tracks. It was such a tough time back then. If it was now, perhaps I could ace that exam. It’s been so long since then, after all.

That was where I faced the Mist Monkey. The thought made me halt for a moment. If this was indeed that forest, it meant the Mist Monkey existed here too.

Everything I’d encountered up to now had led me to this point. Almost as if to prove it, a thick mist began to settle in the forest. I could feel the magic shimmering within it. This was no ordinary mist.

Seeing that, I quickly gathered my magical energy and started digging into the ground. I then threw myself into the hole I created. Once I completely covered myself with dirt, I condensed my magic around my body.

This effectively concealed me. The Mist Monkeys were sensitive to magic. If my magic were to catch their attention, those little rascals would go wild. That would definitely complicate matters. I had to avoid that situation.

The mist began to creep around my body. It lingered in place for a while, perhaps sensing the remains of my magic. But I was already hidden below.

After a while, the mist dispersed. Thankfully, it couldn’t seep into the ground, so my hiding spot was solid. I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the mist slowly pass by.

It seemed to have made it through without incident. I lifted my body and surveyed the area around me again. The mist had disappeared into the distance, leaving only the view of the forest in my sight. I felt safe now.

I resumed my steps. I needed to get out of this forest first. I sighed, wishing if only the turtles had been around, I could have stomped them dead right away. I clicked my tongue in disappointment as I brushed off the dirt on my body.

But the turtles were waiting outside. It was unavoidable. In this dream under the pretense of exploration, it was impossible to bring along any sentient dolls. Dreams could easily sweep you away.

So, the only dolls I could bring were these. Small explosive bugs crawled into my hands from underneath my robe. Just simple dolls without any sense of self. Those little fellows were sticking right to my body.

It had been a long time since I had moved with just these guys. I lightly flicked one of the explosive bugs into the air and chuckled. I hadn’t used them since coming to the university. I hardly ever had the need to fight.

Still, they were among the best options to bring into a dream. I couldn’t drag along a large doll, so I planned to gather these little ones in bulk. It was the most efficient choice, after all.

Of course, using just these wouldn’t be enough to face all those monkeys. After all, there’s no need to confront beings that could be reborn even after being killed. I cautiously began to weave my way through the trees.

I had to get out before the mist rolled in again. I carefully glanced around as I moved. I nodded at the scenery of the forest. It really felt so real.

But it was also clear this was a dream. I briefly placed my hand on a tree. It felt like my hand sank right into it as if I had touched water. When I waved my hand lightly, gentle ripples formed on the surface of the tree.

I withdrew my hand and dusted it off. It didn’t feel like the texture of wood. It felt more like I was touching pudding. That unusual sensation coursed through my hand.

And it wasn’t just this tree that felt peculiar. As I lightly brushed against other trees along the way, they each had their own peculiar sensations. Some felt like they were on fire, while others felt freezing cold.

Each of these trees had appearances that belied their strange contents. It was a very clear sign of a dream. And just as this memory showed, it was a dream birthed from me.

And now I was tracing up through that dream. It was the moment I took another step into this little forest. Everything around me suddenly changed. The trees vanished in an instant. I blinked in shock.

Turning back, I saw that the forest I had come from no longer existed. Just as it had emerged suddenly, it had also vanished in the blink of an eye. Only the barren plain surrounded me again.

I looked up at the sky. The black sun floated above, lightly swaying towards me. It had been obscured by the trees in the forest.

The dark light pouring from it shone towards my path, beginning to illuminate it in a hazy manner. I nodded slightly and followed the trail.

How long had I walked? I glanced back again. The path I had come from still looked indistinguishable from the way forward. Except for the path illuminated by this sun, that is.

Observing the swaying black sun, I stroked my chin. This was surprisingly useful. No wonder Koit had recommended it so strongly. There was indeed a reason for that.

This sun was the only one among the various options attached to my dream that influenced the dream itself. It was sort of a guiding beacon. The sun was leading me toward a destination.

Although I had no idea where that destination was. I scratched my head. Up till now, all I had done was to follow it in the dream. I wasn’t sure if this path was the right one.

Still, it was a lot better than having nothing at all. After all, I didn’t know which way to go. It felt like this direction was indeed correct. The more I followed it, the more memories piled up in front of me.

There must be something at the end of this path. I wondered when I would be able to escape this place. I pulled out a piece of paper and fiddled with it. There, the words “Escape Token” were written in big letters.

This was another option. Just as the name suggested, it was something that allowed me to escape from the dream at any moment. It was also the only way to break out of this dream. I couldn’t go back the way I came.

My dream was constructed with these various options. There were other options apart from these two, but they were nearly unnoticeable. Most of them were used to design the dream.

I wondered if it was possible to insert options that would explosively increase my magic. Pondering that, I tucked the escape token back into my pocket. I needed to resolve this quickly so I could use it.

I walked slowly along the path. The pace felt a bit slower than usual. But that couldn’t be helped. As I walked this path, memories often rushed at me like that. I needed to be prepared for it.

It felt like I had been in this dream for what seemed like three days. Though that was just my perception. Perhaps only an hour had passed outside.

That thought was likely correct. Nothing was as unreliable as my physical body in this dream space. This unrefined dream was indeed bizarre. Time, space, and many concepts were all mixed up and flowing together.

I could see many things along the way. Memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. It was a landscape from an island. I was pleased to see the caretaker’s face after so long.

Those memories swept by like before. Memories from the island, memories from outside the university, and memories from the university itself. As I walked along this path, various memories would occasionally pop up and block my path.

Of course, it wasn’t just memories that came back to me. I held my breath for a moment as I spotted something massive in the distance. It was something hovering in the sky, slowly flapping its wings.

It was a bird of enormous size, large enough to block the sun. The creature had seven heads and began to approach me, uttering eerie cries.

For a moment, I felt tense, but soon couldn’t help but chuckle. The closer it got to me, the smaller it became. By the time it reached me, it was even smaller than my finger.

I swatted at the creature that was radiating malice towards me with my palm. It burst apart in a puff of smoke. I shrugged off the faint magic that lingered. A bird with reversed perspective? That was quite fascinating.

Such bizarre monsters birthed from dreams also existed. One could say they were figments of imagination. Most of the memories and monsters that zoomed by were generally hostile towards me.

Just as that forest had been, so too was this monster. So I had to be cautious. I had already died once.

Glancing up at the sky, I focused on the depths beyond the sun and noticed cracks forming in the sky. Beyond those cracks, I sensed a deep darkness lurking.

That was something born from my death. When I died, the dream would tremble, as those cracks would suggest. That turbulence would destabilize the dream, and if I died a few more times, my dream might crumble entirely.

Next time, I really might have to collect that score of 400,000. I thought about Koit. If I remembered those greedy eyes, a single failure would surely mean the end of this dream.

So I couldn’t afford to be expelled so carelessly from this expensive dream. I hadn’t even met what I was searching for. I needed to hurry toward my destination.

But where exactly should I go? I stared at the sun. I slowly walked along the path it illuminated while stroking my chin.

No matter how long I walked, I couldn’t spot anything I wanted to see. I had expected to meet it soon, just like the last dream. Remembering the last dream where dozens of professors swarmed around.

Koit had said they were the anchors resting in my dream. So, I needed to find them. They surely knew more about my dream than I did. And it seemed their appearances were somehow related to my ideals.

If I met them, I would have plenty to ask. But as the current situation showed, they were nowhere to be found. I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Was the last encounter just a fluke?

It certainly felt that way. Since entering this dream and feeling the way it was, I realized that the place I visited last time was a bit different from where I was now. The ground back then had also been unstable. In contrast, this place felt stable.

It implied that place was located deeper than this one. I looked at the sun. It was delving deeper into the horizon. Instinctively and intuitively, I understood that place was underneath.

As the sun moved forward, the path it cast grew dimmer. I could easily tell that I was heading deeper.

I continued walking along the direction the sun guided me, all the while deep in thought. The further I went, the darker it became around me, and fragments of memory began to appear.

Grabbing a small toy lying on the ground, I gave it a shake. It made a tiny ringing sound. I didn’t even remember using it. Looking at it, it seemed like an object I had used when I was a baby.

Did such a thing exist? I could definitely tell the depth of the dream was continuing to grow. Leaving that behind as it scattered like mist, I cautiously took another step forward.

Memories began to wash over me more intensely. Perhaps because the depth was deepening, they were approaching me in a more hostile manner. They were almost declaring that I didn’t belong here.

I dealt with them appropriately as I continued forward. How long had it been? The memories approaching me began to fade. Now they could barely even maintain their form.

Seeing that, I lightly kicked the ground. The impact sent a cloud of dirt flying into the air. It began to rise slowly, heading toward the sky. I nodded to myself. I had fully entered the depths now.

Looking at the sun, I noticed it hung lower in the sky. That indicated my destination was drawing nearer. All the walking had finally paid off. Of course, I still had a long way to go.

I stretched a little and continued along the path at a slow pace. How long had I walked? I instinctively felt the surroundings changing slightly. I glanced around to take a quick look.

Against my nagging senses, the area was still filled with wasteland. The dim light that dangled above dyed the wasteland in darkness, leaving it eerily quiet.

Could I have been mistaken? I furrowed my brow. That couldn’t be right. My instinct, or rather my perception of danger, had grown stronger in the dream. Something was definitely off.

But I couldn’t tell what it was. The surroundings appeared to be perfectly ordinary. Just as I cautiously took a step forward, I suddenly heard a click sound under my feet.

I must’ve stepped on something. I peeked down to check. Beneath me was a small metal chunk, shaped like a round box, emitting a red light.

What could this be? Had I seen something like this before? The fact it existed in my dream meant it was definitely something linked to me. But it felt completely unfamiliar.

Within a brief moment, many thoughts flickered through my mind. Following behind those thoughts, an ominous feeling began to surge. I quickly began weaving a protective spell as I stepped back.

It was done in less than a second after I stepped on it. At that moment, I noticed the red light from the box intensifying after I pulled my foot away. Then, it detonated in an instant.

It was a powerful explosion. It managed to tear through one of my magic barriers completely. I poured more magic into it to maintain the barrier as firmly as possible.

As the shockwave subsided, I narrowed my eyes at the pieces of metal that had embedded themselves in my protective magic. That was the aftermath of the metallic box exploding into shrapnel.

The metal box could be described as a device meant to kill. The fact that it could create such a powerful explosion without any magic was genuinely astounding.

I carefully scanned the area using my magic. The spot where the explosion occurred was marked with a small hole, proving the force behind it.

I confirmed where it had been located and nodded quietly. I was slowly piecing together its workings. Was it triggered when I stepped on it? A rather basic trap.

This meant that the prepared traps weren’t just limited to this one. I spun my magic like threads, sending it outward to explore the area. Like a snake seeking out evidence through the ground.

Since it was an object devoid of magic, I had to directly confirm its presence. After my exploration, I found several similar objects embedded in the ground.

I carefully unearthed them to inspect their structure. What could these be? I recalled the recent explosion. That grand detonation had felt oddly familiar. Had I encountered a similar explosion before?

As I inspected the bombs, I suddenly shuddered. An overwhelming sense of malice poured down upon me. I quickly scanned my surroundings but found only the eerie quiet of the wasteland. I had no clue where that malice was coming from.

“Is anyone there?”

I said that as I cautiously stood up. No response came. I couldn’t help but let out a small wry smile. I couldn’t quite grasp this situation, but judging by that malice, it was clear it aimed to do me harm.

Perhaps I should leave this spot for now. That thought crossed my mind as I attempted to inch back. At that very instant, something began floating in the air. Several dozen flying insects appeared.

I blinked in surprise. The explosion had reminded me of something familiar. I thought for a moment but quickly realized what it was.

The shape of those flying insects—I recognized them as something from my past life. Their forms were very familiar to me. I could clearly remember how they whirred around with their wings, adorned with various attachments.

They had to be drones. They were the mechanical bugs I had used as a foundation for my dolls, so I had a clear memory of their appearance.

Scanning my surroundings, I realized what I had just unearthed. Those were landmines. Were they also part of my dream?

Those drones quickly swooped down towards me, likely carrying bombs attached to them. I maintained my protective barrier as I flicked my fingers.

Receiving my signal, several explosive bugs surged out from my possession, launching toward the vertically descending drones. They detonated the embedded explosive magic within their bodies.

One by one, the drones were shot down by the bugs. It didn’t take long before every last drone was obliterated. I gently stroked the ones that returned and peered down at the wreckage of the drones.

Well, one could say those drones were the ancestors of these bugs. They’d be a great reference. I never thought I’d end up taking down my ancestors with my own hands. I chuckled slightly at that absurd thought.

The surrounding landscape had changed in the meantime. I frowned slightly as I surveyed the area. Smoke was billowing from everywhere, and intense sounds could be heard sporadically among that smoke.

This was a scene from my past life that I had caught glimpses of. It was the battlefield from which I had referenced when creating explosive bugs. The details of that battlefield were now depicted in much clearer and sharper detail than I remembered.

I pulled back slightly. At least I was relieved that Koit hadn’t witnessed this dream. An unrefined dream was hard to comprehend, or so they said. That meant I had to navigate it all on my own, which I was grateful for in hindsight.

Well, I wasn’t in the mood to dwell on that reality right now. More drones began to hover into the air, flooding towards me to compensate for the ones I had just shot down.

I too seamlessly released my explosive bugs into the air and began to move slowly. I needed to get out of this battlefield. Then, I felt a gust of wind flowing in.

Bang! The sound echoed among the drones. A sudden surge of anxiety filled my chest. Instinctively, I ducked my head.

As I did, the protective magic surrounding me shattered, and the wind swept past the spot where my head had been. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

I had almost died in an instant without even realizing it. I gently traced the mark left by the shattered magic. How on earth did it penetrate my defense? I didn’t yet fully understand. It shouldn’t have been easy to break through with just a single impact.

I quickly rebuilt my barrier and stayed on guard. I scattered my magic to check for landmines below my feet, and continued shooting explosive bugs toward the drones flying in.

Those drones soon began to crumble and fall apart. My bugs faced the same fate, failing to return unscathed. There were times they were swept into the explosions.

About a third of them managed to come back. I collected them into my arms and started to retreat. I couldn’t clearly understand what was targeting me. But one thing was certain—whatever had just broken through my barrier was quite effective against me.

Continuing a fight in an unknown place against an unknown foe was suicidal. Engaging in combat wasn’t my forte. So I needed to escape this spot.

A loud bang echoed again, resembling thunder. Then a sharp wind slammed into my protective barrier. Fortunately, this time, I managed to inject enough magic into it, preventing the fierce wind from breaking through.

I picked up one of the small metal pieces that had been rebounded off my barrier. I recalled what it was. Wasn’t this called a bullet? I could feel its power clearly enough. It shouldn’t have been able to penetrate my earlier barrier.

I frowned slightly and swiftly fled the scene. I needed to think about escaping this place first. As I started to do that, the bullets began pouring down on me again.

My magic-laden legs quickly tore through the battlefield. Where should I head, where to? No matter how I scanned my surroundings, I couldn’t discern the right path ahead. I noticed the drones and bullets beginning to bombard me again and twisted my body.

I needed to change direction. However, no matter how I moved, those drones and bullets zeroed in on me without fail. They appeared every time I hesitated about my escape route.

With each effort to dodge them, the sense of unease within me thickened. I thought I was running away, so why did it feel like I was getting cornered? Glancing up at the sky, I saw the sun was moving further away once more.

As I paused for just a moment, I noticed the drones swooping in again. I dispatched several explosive bugs to intercept them while moving swiftly. The sun seemed to grow even more distant.

Looking at the retreating sun, it suddenly dawned on me. Those beings were guiding me somewhere. By the time I realized that fact, it was much too late. A massive cannon lay right in front of me.

The cannon was affixed to a huge steel machine, directly aimed at me. I instinctively sensed it was slowly locking on to me. Oh crap. I muttered under my breath and raised my magic barrier.

At that moment, the cannon fired. With an ominous premonition, I tried to leap away to dodge it, but I was a beat too slow. The cannonball shattered my magic barrier in an instant.

That wasn’t all— the cannonball slammed into my body. It tore my magical energy apart with sheer mass and force. I had no choice but to collapse onto the ground from the shock of losing half my body. My head was spinning.

Those beings, for some reason, were incredibly adept at facing those who wielded magic.

They managed to target the vulnerabilities in my barrier with their bullets. It felt like they had thoroughly analyzed how to pierce through my defenses. It was as if they had been fighting like this endlessly before.

Even now, my defense thickened, and they smashed through it with brute force. Yet, in the muddled memories of my past life, I couldn’t recall any such instance. That place had no use for magic.

Where did they learn how to do this? Just as those hazy thoughts crossed my mind, my consciousness began to blur. Death was approaching. I gazed around, noticing the sky quaking slightly.

Those cracks were forming deeper. To think I would die within my past memories. The memories of that battlefield flashed across my mind again. I exhaled sharply and opened my eyes.

I rose to my feet as magical energy swirled around me. My body felt completely restored. Everything around me was just as it had been— the battlefield I had recently occupied was nothing more than a dream. It was desolate once more.

I had escaped those memories by dying. The sun hung brightly above, shining down with its warmth. It had retreated a bit farther away now. I needed to keep moving.

Evade the memories of my past life. Resolving to do just that, I started to walk again. But I frowned momentarily as I scanned my surroundings. An inexplicable sense of foreboding was encroaching upon me.

I became slightly tense, and then I hastily accelerated my steps. I needed to escape this place for now.

But just as the unease seemed to be subsiding, that nagging feeling intensified further. I had escaped those memories— what on earth was about to happen?

And soon, I would discover the answer. Dust began to swirl in the distance. Hurdling through that dust, the very steel machine that had shattered my protective magic earlier charged toward me.

The cannon was still aimed directly at me. Another bright flash echoed in the air. I leaped out of the way swiftly, letting out a sigh of relief.

This time, I was not too late. I glanced back at where I had been standing. I could see the ground there slightly impaled as if it had taken a hit. If I had been there, I would have undoubtedly died.

Quickly building up my magic barrier to suppress the shockwave, I could feel the metallic scent of iron permeating the air. Looking toward the direction of the dust, I sensed a powerful malice.

That steel machine was rolling in, but it was accompanied by numerous soldiers following behind it. The malice originated from them. I shuddered as I felt the accumulation of their hostility directed my way.

It seemed they were not satisfied with just killing me once. They were intent on driving me out of this dream entirely. I never expected the memories would chase me down like this.

Cloaking myself in magic, I began sprinting away. Running into those strange soldiers directly sounded cumbersome. It wouldn’t be an issue if they just shot bullets, but the way they could breach my magic was absurdly precise.

A barrage of fire from the soldiers began to rain down on me from behind. But as long as I could merely evade them, I’d manage to escape. Without magic, their bodies were painfully slow.

But I had overlooked one factor. In dreams, time and space tend to intertwine. Those beings belonged to the dream itself. In a manner of speaking, this dream was their domain.

I thought I had managed to shake them off, yet they continued to dog my steps. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t escape their relentless pursuit.

As their encirclement began to tighten around me, I stuffed the meager remaining explosive bugs back into my possession with a bitter laugh. It seemed like this life was coming to an end.

Reviewing the sun as it drew closer, I felt an odd taste in my mouth. I thought I would almost reach it; such a pity. I swore I’d escape in the next life. Just as the cannon began to point at me again.

The cannon, now firmly aimed in my direction, displayed a flicker of flames within it. I shut my eyes slightly. With a booming sound, the cannonball was shot forth. It detonated the moment it impacted my barrier.

As I braced for impact, something suddenly flew in from somewhere—it was an axe. It hit the cannonball and crushed it in an instant. The violent magic radiated shockwaves.

And something leaped into view, landing right in front of me. I slowly opened my eyes to see rabbit ears.

“Massacre!”

With a confidently exuberant shout, the axe cleaved through the air once more, and the steel machine crumbled.

Having dispatched the machine, the rabbit-eared figure huffed toward me. I stared down in silence. The girl donned in a rabbit costume was a familiar sight.

She looked just like the Professor I knew from before. It had to be the Rabbit Professor. I quietly observed her appearance.

“I told you not to go ahead.”

“Massacre! Massacre!”

The Rabbit Professor waved her hands about energetically. At that moment, a girl dressed in a nun’s outfit stepped forward, the Sister Professor. She smiled gently at me.

“It’s good to see you again.”

As she looked around, she lightly nodded towards me. Atop her head, the black sun shimmered. It seemed she was the target the sun was leading toward.

 

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