Surviving at the Magic Academy

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There were only two rules at the university.

One was the right to survive. Every student had the right to their own survival. Others couldn’t infringe upon that without permission.

The other was the right to possess. Every student had the right to what they owned. Similarly, it couldn’t be taken without consent.

I stared blankly at the page detailing these rules. Only then did I understand why the city was functioning, at least somewhat, properly.

Seriously, how could mages prance around the city like innocent lambs? They were the type who would kill if their opponent was weaker and take what was good. I’ve never understood how they could live together while smiling.

If such basic rules existed, then it made sense. The moment I read that phrase, my sapling throbbed. I instinctively understood. It was some sort of contract bestowed upon all students. If they didn’t abide by it, the noble tree would surely rot away. So it seemed everyone quietly earned their points to survive.

I turned the page.

The story written on the next page proved to be quite useful.

It said the university was essentially a continent. Just like I had peeked at from high above with the professor’s help, every piece of land was made up of mountains, forming a massive mountain range.

At its center was the northernmost, tallest mountain. A place no one dared to approach.

And it was surrounded by the sea. This sea was said to have a very vibrant hue. Due to its unique refreshing magical properties, some people even lived in the sea.

That sounded incredibly fascinating. How could the sea be blue? The fact that one could live there was hard to believe for someone from an island like me.

I flipped to the next page and then another. It took me less than an hour to read through the thin booklet, which was about a hundred pages long. I closed the book with a satisfied feeling. Then, the book disintegrated into dust.

I had spent five hundred points on that thing. I knew it would disappear, but seeing my points fly into the void filled me with bitterness.

At first, I hadn’t planned to spend this many points.

The first time I heard the name “Abyss Secret Association” was at a pub. Even after that, while digging for information, the name kept cropping up. It was a name I had seen on a map, a massive organization that owned an entire city.

I heard it was an organization that dealt with all the information existing on the continent. There was a base of theirs in this stalactite city. I thought I had enough points, so I decided to pay them a visit.

Sure enough, they seemed to know an awful lot, as expected from an information organization.

They even had information about me. They knew I was a new student who had just entered and was residing in Professor Ilian’s tower, and that I had skipped two classes.

They didn’t even ask me why I was visiting. They just handed me a booklet along with a paper that had my information on it. That was the “Beginner’s Guide to the University” I had just read.

They told me, in a somewhat dazed manner, that this would be the most useful information I could acquire within the points I had. Blinded by those words, I bought the booklet.

And indeed, they were right.

This was packed with information about the university. It was incredibly valuable for someone like me who was a new student. But for others, it might really just be common information.

Thus, all information ultimately equated to points. They were a massive organization monopolizing that information. The reason the Abyss Secret Association could dominate a university with only twelve cities lay there.

I felt an intense desire to earn points rising within me. I couldn’t return to the tower just yet. I needed points.

This time, I had managed to gather points by selling lecture spots. But classes were a five-year deal. It wasn’t a regular income. If I relied solely on that, the next tier upgrade would be a distant dream.

I thought of registering for classes. Five thousand points were just an entry fee, nothing more.

Just like selling my spot, unless I was connected to that class in some way, or paid even more points, there was no guarantee for me. Fortunately, I had heard I could register for classes thanks to the promise made by Professor Ilian and Professor Heisen.

Anyway, I desperately needed a clear way to earn points.

The reason I had stayed in the city for the last two days, gathering information, was partly to understand the university, but also to see how others earned points.

Of course, I enjoyed some culinary delights along the way. Initially, I only ate ham and drank beer, but gradually my palate opened up to other foods. Dishes made from monsters and herbs effortlessly left me in awe.

I thought I might study it further when I returned, so I spent points on multiple cookbooks. In this splurge, only three hundred points remained.

The majority of mages took on requests. They varied widely—some were put out by the university, while others came from various organizations. Of course, there were personal requests as well. All of this exchange was happening at the request brokerage I had checked out earlier.

But it felt too trivial. And it wasn’t something I could do.

When I returned this time, I’d be tied up at the tower. Supervising classes, managing the tower, creating dolls, and training that I hadn’t done yet. I wouldn’t be able to go out and fulfill requests.

I also didn’t fancy wandering around outside like everyone else, nor was that my specialty. So I needed to make use of my strengths.

I jumped up from my seat. I burst through the inn’s door. My target was the shops where other doll manipulators stayed. The booklet I had just seen contained a map of the entire city. It also showed where the doll manipulators were located. It was an area I had passed before.

I would steal their know-how for selling dolls.

On the outskirts of the city, deep in a shady area with little light, I found their shops. As I entered that street, I was first greeted by rows of dolls laid out along the pavement. The doll manipulators were clustered together in a few small buildings beyond that pavement. They too formed a sort of association.

I stepped into the largest shop. It was a familiar place with a sign that read “On’s Doll Workshop.” As I entered, countless dolls hanging on the walls caught my eye. I couldn’t see where the owner had gone.

I slowly looked around. The first thing that caught my attention was a doll sweeping the shop with a broom. The structure of the doll was very simple. Efficient movement, efficient magic, efficient materials. It was all about extreme efficiency.

I was quite impressed by that extreme efficiency. I realized I couldn’t create dolls like that. My dolls sought visible beauty instead. But it was a brilliant form with noteworthy qualities.

While I was admiring the dolls, I heard some rustling. From a spot concealed by the dolls, someone walked out.

“Looks like we have a customer.”

It was an old man, his face lined with wrinkles. Wearing a monocle, he approached me. I bowed my head and greeted him. I hardly felt any magical pressure; it seemed he had lost most of his power due to old age.

I had heard there were quite a few students who were aging and dying off like this. I hadn’t thought I’d end up like that.

“Good day. I’m here to acquire a few dolls.”

He scanned me up and down. Then, his gaze lingered on my fingertips. I fidgeted nervously, wondering why he was checking my hands so closely.

“You seem to be fond of touching dolls. Why don’t you use your own?”

I was taken aback, momentarily speechless. How did he know that? I glanced down at my fingertips. They were smoother than a typical mage’s, with only slight calluses.

“How… did you know?”

“It’s my secret, so I won’t tell.”

The old man smiled mischievously and began to toy with the cleaning doll I had been examining. The doll he’d perfectly disassembled now fully revealed its interior.

“I guess you were planning to dismantle it, huh? Why not just take a look here?”

“No, no, that’s not it. Why would I ever think to do that?”

He had hit the nail right on the head. Feeling embarrassed, I waved my hands in rejection and straightened my expression. The old man just continued chuckling.

My gaze naturally drifted back to the disassembled doll. I probably shouldn’t be looking, but the beauty of the circuits drew me in, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

He asked. I absentmindedly nodded. Those circuits, that magical circle. While it looked like it pursued nothing but efficiency, its inner structure was incredibly beautiful. It was beauty achieved only through the relentless pursuit of efficiency.

I examined it for quite a while until the old man finally spoke up again.

You don’t seem to have been here for long, have you?”

“Yes, I just enrolled this year.”

“That explains why I haven’t seen your face before.”

After a moment’s thought, the old man pulled a few small dolls off the wall. He then handed them to me.

“Here, it’s a gift. Take it.”

“No, that’s alright.”

I felt uneasy about his unexplainable kindness and quickly stepped back, but the old man was more skilled than I. He simply threw the dolls into my arms. I caught them hurriedly.

I replied blankly. I was still trying to wrap my head around what was happening. I had come to scout out your competition, and here I was receiving gifts.

Wasn’t that supposed to be On? I looked outside. Seeing the sign “On’s Doll Workshop” had led me to believe that was the name. The old man laughed, noticing my gaze.

“On is the name of our doll assembly. It was named after the first head of the association. I’m the current president, so I’m using that name.”

The old man continued assembling the cleaning doll as he spoke.

I awkwardly nodded. The old man glanced at me and then refocused on the cleaning doll.

“It’s a long-standing tradition in our association to gift dolls to new members. Even though you’re not a member, you handle dolls, so it’s still a gift for you. It’s been almost thirty years since a new doll manipulator has shown up.”

I carefully bowed my head in gratitude. After all, there was no need to refuse a gift.

The old man smiled as he watched the completed cleaning doll come to life, moving smoothly with magical energy. It moved even more neatly than before. The fact that it could be optimized any further was astonishing.

He waved his hand. The cleaning doll then guided me out. I stumbled out, still bewildered, glancing down at the dolls in my arms. They felt heavy, to the point where I almost couldn’t believe this was happening.

What was going on? I stashed those dolls away in my spatial pouch. I had received them, so I had to go back and analyze them. The old man surely wanted me to study the dolls he had gifted.

I surveyed my surroundings again. Other doll workshops came into view. Clearing my throat, I began to head that way.

While the old man might have seen through my intentions, I figured I might as well check out everything while I was here. Thus, I stealthily dropped by other doll shops. Each had their own unique dolls on display.

Fortunately, others didn’t seem to notice that I knew how to handle dolls, unlike the old man. It seemed this was a skill of his alone. Feeling relieved, I stuffed my pockets with dolls, spending a hundred points on this endeavor.

Then I returned to the inn. Having blown so many points, I needed to produce equivalent results. I locked myself in the room and began dismantling the dolls.

Every time I examined their circuits, I fell into admiration.

The old man’s dolls held extreme efficiency, just as I had seen in the shop. Their forms made them appear like mass-produced items.

Designed to require minimal materials, with just a little manipulation, they left traces suggesting they could be produced endlessly.

One of the dolls was very light. It felt almost like a cloud. Interestingly, it was a doll made from ghost materials.

With every movement, its shining circuits beautifully adorned the space. How could someone create such a doll? I was in deep admiration.

Another doll was incredibly small. It was smaller than my fingernail and dozens of them combined into a massive one.

That doll, almost liquid-like, continuously changed shapes. These small dolls formed a circuit that created a giant magical circle. I couldn’t begin to imagine how many materials and efforts went into making this.

There were all types of dolls.

It took me an entire night to dismantle everything. Every doll contained its own unique intent. Techniques I could never hope to replicate.

All these doll manipulators were pushing their creations forward in different directions. Realizing the vast potential, I understood how lacking I was.

How long would it take me to create dolls at their level? It would surely require as much time as I had already lived.

I sighed at the inadequacies of my talent and time.

However, despite all this admiration, there was a major issue.

I hadn’t disassembled these dolls to advance my doll manipulation skills. My goal was to find ways to sell my dolls.

Yet, given their uniqueness, it seemed unlikely that these dolls would sell.

In retrospect, not many people passed through the doll district. It was clustered in the lowest part of the city, and the outer edges had their reasons for doing so. Why hadn’t I noticed this strangeness earlier?

In the end, I had gained nothing for the precious points I had poured in. Well, I did gain insights into doll manipulation, but that wasn’t the original goal.

Ultimately, the story came full circle.

Still, while I looked over these dolls, I realized one thing.

The reason they weren’t selling was that they were just too unique. Too much of the creator’s taste was embedded within; it was clear that customers who wanted that kind of thing would be very few.

Of course, they likely made enough to sustain their shops. Just look at their dolls! Who wouldn’t stop to take a look? Clearly, those interested were buying the dolls, keeping their shops afloat.

But I couldn’t be satisfied with that. I wanted to learn more and earn more. I could no longer be content with such a small shop.

I had to take these cases as a cautionary tale.

I slowly began revisiting how I had sold my dolls in the past.

In the shops, I had sold these kinds of dolls. There was nothing special about them. I merely displayed the dolls I was comfortable with and wanted to make. I was satisfied just because that was enough to bring in some business.

Thinking back, I was just like them. While I claimed to think of the customers, I was creating dolls that were saturated with my own tastes.

This could not be the case moving forward. I needed to think about how I could sell more dolls and amass more points.

So what had happened before there were any shops?

My memories of doll manipulation kept flowing back into the past. Before I set up a shop, when I wandered the streets selling dolls. When I worked odd jobs with dolls aboard airships.

At the end of those memories, one thing appeared.

A memory from the island.

What kind of doll did I make for my father back then? What request did he have?

My eyes popped open wide.

I made the doll my father wanted. I put in an immense amount of effort. Because of that, my father gave me the opportunity to leave the island.

That was where my doll manipulation began. That was the direction I needed to pursue. Back then, I instinctively knew how to make money.

Yet as time went on, the artisan spirit to create even better dolls had completely stifled my commercial instincts. Right up to this moment.

I had to revive that old sense. I needed to tailor the dolls meticulously to the customers and add features that would fit them. In doing so, I would surely achieve a significant differentiation from those doll manipulators in the doll district.

But there was another problem. I glanced around. I saw my cramped inn room.

Other doll manipulators had shops. But I had neither a clear shop nor recognition. Furthermore, I couldn’t just start a stall here; classes were about to start.

So then, where would I sell, and what kind of dolls would I sell?

My eyes glinted sharply.

There was a location that was extremely favorable for me.

Professor Ilian’s tower. It was also my base. Two hundred students would come to attend Professor Ilian’s lectures. I should create dolls specifically for them. Dolls they wouldn’t be able to resist buying.

 

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