Surviving at the Magic Academy

---

“`html

A deep sense of satisfaction bubbled up from within. A smile naturally formed on my lips.

Finally, it was complete. How many hours had I invested to get here? I gazed at the Mirror Bug in front of me, overwhelmed with emotion, and gently stroked it.

This was truly magnificent magic. With this, my Shadow Tree would undoubtedly grow even more splendidly and beautifully.

Outwardly, the Mirror Bug looked no different than before. It was just an ordinary doll the size of my palm, cradling a mirror in its belly. What had changed was not its appearance, but what it contained.

I sent my will to it. Feeling that, it took to the air and began projecting a screen inside itself. Written on it were small letters.

Grading Sheet 2.0

“Mira, what do you think of this new grading sheet?”

I smiled as I looked at Mira. Sitting at the table sipping tea, she sighed. She shot me a sideways glance and clicked her tongue.

“Are we really keeping that name?”

I nodded slightly. This Grading Sheet 2.0 was developed alongside her. She suggested naming it the Self-Diagnosis System, but how could I just change the name so easily when there’s a foundation for it?

Previously, she had named Grading Sheet 1.0 the Combat Analysis System. If I had listened to her, this magic would have been bound by that name and thus limited. The same would apply to the Self-Diagnosis System.

However, the name Grading Sheet was incredibly liberating. It had evolved within this name, becoming more beautiful and perfect than before.

Hmm, saying perfect made me somewhat uneasy. Every time I attached the word perfect, something would always go wrong. Nonetheless, I shook my head slightly. If I don’t call this perfect, then what would I call perfect?

The Mirror Bug flew around and spotted Kashian. She was sitting next to a Bear Doll, staring blankly into space. The Mirror Bug approached her and captured her image on the screen.

Soon, scores began to appear on that screen. The Mirror Bug moved closer to Kashian and printed out a few words with her score.

– Physical Score: 100 points. In absolutely perfect condition. You can just keep going like this.

– Mental Score: 61 points. Oh no, that’s one point lower than yesterday. It seems there’s something concerning going on.

– Soul Score: 54 points. No issues here. The soul is still stable.

Overall Assessment: Stable scores. However, to have a slightly better day, it seems you need to raise that mental score. Shall we take a walk? It’ll help recover your scores.

Kashian read the text and blankly nodded her head. Then she got up slowly. The Mirror Bug began leading her out of the room, with the Bear Doll quickly following behind her.

I nodded. This was a very satisfying result. It was a type of observation system. While the previous grading sheet merely provided scores, this one included more advanced features.

It checked where deductions occurred and naturally provided feedback for those deductions. The scores were based on the person’s initial information embedded in the grading sheet and their usual data.

The Self-Diagnosis System, the name Mira gave, explained a bit about the functionality of this grading sheet. Those using the Mirror Bug would be able to confirm their growth and development through it.

Since returning from Canyon City, I had been conceptualizing this continuously. Of course, if I just wanted to assign scores based solely on physicality, that would have been quite easy. I already had amassed much data; I could just use that.

But I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to encompass the essence of life within it. Only then could I understand the target more perfectly.

Judging the mental score among these three elements was quite difficult. Unlike the physical body, where changes are clearly evident, the mind was hard to quantify.

So, I established the basics on external behavior. The person’s words and actions, expressions, and fluctuations of magic power, etc. Through that, I would judge a very basic score and experiment with the stability of the mind using the magic embedded in the Mirror Bug.

This also required the person’s consent. The Mirror Bug needed to regularly check the mind daily. Additionally, there were clear limitations.

Unlike physical scores, mental scores were highly volatile. A person’s temporary emotions or moods could cause significant fluctuations in the scores. Plus, unlike the clear standards set for physical scores, the criteria were vague.

Still, it was quite useful. Moreover, as more information accumulated, those scores would undoubtedly stabilize. Just like with Kashian, the average would be accurately derived from many samples.

Of course, souls were also invisible. However, unlike the mind, they didn’t change dramatically.

Because of that clear limitation, if I conducted a precise examination once to recognize it, afterward it would be simple. All I needed to do was confirm whether it surpassed that threshold.

This was a magic for students, myself, and also for the Mirror Bug.

In fact, most of the Shadow Dolls I had created recently were Mirror Bugs. I needed to churn out something to spread among treasures and keep producing new ones for the city.

However, these Mirror Bugs had one issue. To enhance communication efficiency, I had mostly sacrificed their personal growth. Thus, they carried clear limitations.

This was an attunement system for them. Using this, the Mirror Bug would be more closely connected to its owner. And it would house more information. Through that, they would grow faster than before.

Thus, I placed the fully developed Grading Sheet 2.0 magic upon the Shadow Tree. The Mirror Bugs, sensing my will, absorbed it into their bodies. The Mirror Bugs spread all over the tower and began displaying the grading sheet on their screens, along with the announcement I had written.

– Ebron: Grading Sheet 2.0 released! Everyone, give this new feature a try. It’s a chance to understand yourself perfectly. Create a new and perfect day together with the Mirror Bug!

(For free for three months, and after that, a charge of 50 points per month will apply.)

A week had passed since my first lecture.

The Mirror Bug spread rapidly throughout the entire tower. It took about a week, I’d guess. I also put considerable effort into selling it. After all, it was the simplest and most valuable method I had to extract scores from them.

I needed to accumulate scores. That was as significant an issue as growth itself. Mastery in Doll Manipulation required better materials as one advanced. Within that flow, scores seemed to vanish like water.

At the center of it all was Mira. I glanced at her. She was sipping her tea while checking the catalog.

It was something sent from the Arcana General Meeting. It contained quite a few expensive materials. I spotted her checking off a few.

The most useful doll I had was her. Likewise, she also took away many scores. While I could use Kashian’s body, that was only temporary. I wasn’t always right by Kashian’s side.

In the end, I had to enhance that body. It was unavoidable and also something I desired. Because the better body she had, the more strength she could wield.

Anyway, which meant I had to accumulate scores. The first step towards that was this Mirror Bug. It was also the reason I added this new feature, the grading sheet. If I satisfied them with more diverse functionalities, they would eagerly offer their scores.

The Mirror Bug had three primary functions.

The first was a bulletin board. Transactions, information, freedom, communication. Within these four categories, students could freely interact and buy or sell many things.

Thanks to this functionality, the Mirror Bug spread rapidly. At the center of it were the students who attended my last lecture. They borrowed the Mirror Bugs without hesitation.

That was why they accepted it. They were familiar with the structure of my tower. If they were there, others would surely find it easy to settle into the system I had created.

Such hopes of mine turned out to be true. The Mirror Bugs rapidly spread throughout the tower. It was only natural. I had confidence in this convenience. I knew they would be satisfied.

The second function was offerings. It was also a feature added after discussion with the treasures.

The treasures had a separate bulletin board from the students’. I didn’t know what would happen if I connected them. That was a part that required control. The treasures also somewhat agreed to this.

What emerged from the consensus was this offering function. Through it, treasures communicated with students. Of course, at present, only the Tooth Necklace could do this.

There was someone currently making an offering. The Mirror Bug flew up and called up the screen. I couldn’t help but grin. It seemed a signal would come soon.

A young man with a somewhat naive appearance appeared on the screen. It was Hao again. He cautiously knelt before the Mirror Bug placed in front of him.

“Great Tooth Necklace, how can I utilize this power better? Here, the points you mentioned.”

– Oh, a thousand points! Great, great. I’ll give you another piece of advice. When devouring creatures, always aim for the neck. Bite down right where magic flows the most. Just make sure they don’t die in the process. That fear of death should soak into the tooth completely. Then, your absorption rate will rise by 30%!

Such words appeared on the Mirror Bug. In the meantime, some points flowed to me. A hundred points—one-tenth of what they were exchanging.

The students offered points or items to the treasures, and in return, the treasures bestowed knowledge or power. That was the role of this function. I collected a little commission on the side. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Still, I hadn’t seen many people using this functionality yet. Except for Hao. He consistently made offerings to the Tooth Necklace.

“Thank you!”

– Seeing you that happy makes me happy too. Shall I give you another tooth piece? Wouldn’t it be great to have one on each side? Just 500 points!

“Oh, really?”

– No. Just kidding! Haha!

With that, the communication with the Tooth Necklace was cut off. Hao sat there, frozen, staring at the Mirror Bug. I shook my head at the sight.

In truth, few among those who received the teeth could utilize them without hesitation like Hao.

Others used them in quite varied ways. Some based new magic on them, while others refined them like magic tools to enhance stability.

That was the most rational approach. They were probably aware of the risks that treasures entailed.

And those who simply implanted it were the ones wishing to rise to greater heights. They were like Hao, jamming it in their mouths and sucking out many lives. The monsters around the tower had nearly been wiped out.

They grew rapidly within that. Among them, Hao was the most unstoppable. He successfully ascended to the 3rd floor of the tower.

It was quite an astonishing feat. Only two weeks had passed since he received that power. Yet a person who once lay on the bottom had risen to a level similar to others.

The 3rd floor of the tower was a sort of reference point.

After the renovations were complete, the 3rd floor looked quite different. I had to accommodate students, after all. If it were still an entirely open space like before, it would surely be quite inconvenient.

Originally, the 3rd floor had been styled as a library. I had once been curious and asked the professor why the tower was structured like this. The professor said this was the fundamental appearance of a tower established by a university.

Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes slightly. There was no doubt they left it as it was out of laziness. They just sort of left it be. I remembered how it looked when I first arrived at the tower. It was all dusty.

Anyway, that meant I could change it as I pleased. That was also the reason I entrusted the 1st floor to Unit 0. I created several rooms by utilizing the many bookshelves present on the 3rd floor.

The bookshelves themselves contained plenty of magical power and spells. The rooms built from stacking them became a place where magic converged. The flow of energy there was incredibly potent.

The students called it a training room. There were a hundred such rooms. And the higher one went, the more refined the magical energy contained.

Because of that, they fought among themselves for better spots. The 3rd floor thus became the territory of the strong. Furthermore, they weren’t satisfied with just that; they aimed for the highest places.

This was also the strategy I had envisioned. That way, the rankings of the students would clearly manifest. I could use it as a reference when distinguishing successful candidates later on.

Hence, this lecture was conducted meticulously as a personal trial compared to the last one. The hierarchy played a vital role in this case. They fought for the spots and claimed them through victories. That established their ranks.

Those outside the top hundred were scattered across the 1st and 2nd floors. Hao was one of them. But then Hao entered the 3rd floor. That was two days ago. The news had stirred quite a buzz in the tower.

They too would feel a sense of urgency. They’d struggle to keep their spots. In that process, they would likely reach for the third feature I had just introduced—the grading sheet. I chuckled lightly at the thought of this future.

Through this Mirror Bug, information would circulate, magical power would flow, and magic itself would circulate. In that process, I would naturally evolve.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the Shadow Tree. Around the students, the Mirror Bugs fluttered constantly, and Shadow Dolls trailed behind them. The tower’s information was flooding into me without pause.

Then, it was time to move again. I looked at Mira. She noticed my gaze and lightly got up from her seat. It didn’t take long to find Kashian. I gathered her up and headed for the stairs.

It was once again time to enter the warehouse.

Twenty treasures weren’t enough to satisfy me. The Shadow Dolls lingering near the treasures grew rapidly, absorbing their magical power and information.

I needed more treasures. The more I gathered, the faster my growth would be.

That day, we broke through one room and added two treasures to the bulletin board. It was quite a considerable harvest. The treasures on the bulletin board welcomed the newcomers.

Yeah, it was a very satisfying day.

But the day didn’t end there.

It was after nightfall. Soon, it would be the professor’s sleeping time. With that, the students began leaving the tower. Everyone must have gone by now. Just as I was thinking this, the doll that had locked the door sent a signal.

It told me that someone was still remaining. Following that signal, I headed to the 1st floor. I felt a faint fragrance wafting through the air—one that was somewhat familiar. I had an idea who the owner might be.

The fragrance gradually intensified. When I reached its source, I saw a man. He was curled up, quietly gazing at the ceiling.

It was Hao. Above him, statues adorned the ceiling. Statues with hundreds of arms dangled from the ceiling, their hands stretched towards the floor, while statues with hundreds of eyes gazed all around.

Hao gently smiled and carefully caressed one of those descending hands. I approached him.

“What are you doing?”

I asked quietly. Hao jumped and looked at me. My reflection appeared in his deep, blue eyes. Upon recognizing me, he flashed a slight smile. A sharp tooth glimmered faintly in that smile.

“I’m sorry. For some reason, these statues look so beautiful, I couldn’t help but stare.”

I examined his face. It was filled with a dreamy aura. It was a different expression from usual; a hint of strangeness lingered over it.

“May I check your body briefly?”

As I said that, I cautiously sent a signal to the Mirror Bug. It swiftly flew up. It captured Hao’s appearance within itself.

Hao merely stared at the statues, offering no resistance to the examination. Several spells flowed over his body.

I had already gathered all of Hao’s information before. Based on that, the Mirror Bug started to derive scores.

– Physical Score: 40 points. You’ve made a lot of progress! The magic felt in your mouth created bonus points.

– Mental Score: 62 points. A minor psychological disturbance detected in your behavior. That’s 28 points lower than the benchmark. Please report any abnormalities to the administrator quickly.

– Soul Score: 30 points. The pulse of your soul has weakened slightly. It’s three points lower than before. Soul damage is very serious; it needs to be recovered quickly.

Overall Assessment: It seems you’re entranced by something. Your body seems in need of cleansing.

I read that text slowly. This was something I had been wary of—the entrancing power of treasures. Considering Hao’s recent continuous use of that power, this situation made sense.

That’s why I had purposely left him be for a while. I wanted to observe what results would emerge when he was exposed to treasures. He had shown me the reaction I wanted so cleanly.

I glanced around. The statues surrounded us completely. I felt a sense of satisfaction from the fact that I had instructed Unit 0 to create these in preparation for situations like this. Now I could confidently assert that they were effective.

Should I tell them to set some up on the 2nd floor too? Treasures loved these statues. So did Mira. Hence, those entranced by that power would likely feel the same. I judged that.

After all, I was precisely the same. I looked at the oddly cute statues with a bittersweet smile.

I dragged him straight to the infirmary. Then I adjusted the magic in the infirmary slightly. I cranked it up to the maximum level. The magical circle began to shine brightly.

The magic in the infirmary was a type of temporal reversal magic. It was also why I didn’t worry too much about Hao. At this maximum level, it could reverse any corrosion.

Of course, most of the treasures’ powers he had accumulated would vanish along with the pollution, but still. I looked at Hao. It couldn’t be helped; he had been too greedy.

He needed to learn from this experience. It wasn’t without reason that others cautiously handled the powers of treasures. After this, he would likely be a bit more careful.

So the magic began to activate. The professor called this cleansing. It meant to revert to the most pure state.

Hao screamed within it before losing consciousness. It seemed his teeth had also slightly lost their luster. I took out the Mirror Bug again and checked Hao’s score.

– Physical Score: 35 points. The magic in your mouth has diminished slightly. But you can rebuild it again.

– Mental Score: 90 points. Compared to others, your mental strength is good. But how did you get entranced like this? Let’s keep your wits about you!

– Soul Score: 33 points. Very normal. The damage has vanished.

Overall Assessment: Cleansing has been perfectly executed. Please be careful next time.

Hmm, I nodded at that. It had been washed away completely. A refreshing scent still wafted from his body.

I instructed the Mirror Bug to open the bulletin board. Then I wrote a public notice within it. It was directed at the students.

– Ebron: A Safe Tower Use Manual for Students

Hello, everyone. I hope you’re all making good use of Professor Ilian’s tower.

I wanted to leave this notice in case any unsavory incidents occurred while utilizing the powers of treasures.

I will be continually preparing relevant guidelines, so please read and understand this manual well.

Every incident caused by your negligence will be your responsibility, so always proceed with caution.

1. There are many statues on the 1st floor of our tower. If you begin to find these statues cute, beautiful, or alluring, please come to me. We will conduct a brief consultation in the infirmary and perform a “cleansing.”

“`

 

---