Surviving at the Magic Academy

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Why does the Mist Heart want to enter my body?

That’s been my concern all along. Even though I knew it wouldn’t work, it kept trying to burrow into me. It looked different from other treasures.

The others chased after me just to devour me. Their movements were rough and simplistic, driven solely by instinct. If they had any sense, I might have been caught long ago.

The Mist Heart was different. If it simply wanted to suck away my mind, it would have already tried to take everything from me within the mist. But there were no signs of it doing so.

Instead, it seemed to protect me from other things right now. This meant it didn’t see me merely as food, unlike other treasures.

So, I could somewhat understand its intentions.

Aside from the professor, I was the only one who could come and go here. So, it wanted to possess my body, I guess.

“Really?”

The Doll asked, its eyes wide open. There was a hint of excitement in those words. It took a step closer to me.

“Yes. So you don’t need to try to enter my body. I have other ways to get you out besides that.”

I recalled the professor’s words about giving one treasure. This heart fit her words perfectly.

A treasure that could communicate with me like this and also protect me. It might just be the most suitable thing for me. I opened my mouth to speak.

“But do you really have to go outside?”

At my question, the Doll slowly moved its feet. It started walking around me like it was taking a stroll. With its lively step, it looked around.

“Well, I can’t grow stronger if I’m here.”

The surroundings were filled with silence. Only the distant sound of a giant hand tearing through the ground reverberated occasionally.

In this place where no other sounds could be heard, the Doll lightly kicked a small stone that was caught at its feet. It flew somewhere and disappeared from view.

“Let’s share a story about Ebron while we’re at it. I used to be just a lump of mist. Without any rationality, I chased living things and devoured everything in sight. Then I met Ilian…”

It spoke as if it was digging up memories. The Doll trembled momentarily, immersed in recollections. Slowly, it started adding onto its previous words.

“So my body was torn apart by that person, and it became fixed like this in the shape of a heart. In the process of this transformation, a faint longing was born. A desire to taste that one day.”

A slight blush appeared on the Doll’s face. It gently touched its own body. A sticky mist oozed from its hand. It licked its lips with its tongue as it smiled.

“That longing grew larger, giving me intelligence, and that became my long-standing dream. The way this body changed reflects that dream too.”

“I see.”

I nodded quietly. To hunger for something and have its form change to resemble it—that was quite a chilling thought.

That said, the professor was likely listening to this story outside. Did she know about such thoughts? A hint of curiosity bubbled up.

She probably did. But she might not have cared that much. After all, this heart was just one of her common treasures.

“But until recently, I had all but given up on going outside. The walls surrounding this place were too solid, after all. I had lost hope to the point where my reason was very faint.”

The Doll brought its hands together to form a round circle. It was the shape of the walls surrounding this land. It was a form I had confirmed a few times as I ventured to the very edge. As she said, those walls were isolating this place.

“But the other day, as I tasted memories of people little by little, my desire surged again. It’s so boring here. I want to go out and devour living things again. And with that power, I want to devour Ilian too. I’m so curious about that taste.”

It stroked its face with a dreamy expression. From that gesture, an intense hunger was palpable.

I let out a bitter smile. After such a long explanation, the reason it wanted to go outside was just one thing: it wanted to eat living beings like before.

So, in the end, it was just like other treasures. It merely moved to consume life. The only difference was that it was a bit more efficient in its movements, thanks to its intelligence.

The Doll stopped walking and looked at me. Its gaze was filled with intense desire. It smiled brightly.

“If that’s true, I’ll do my best to help you. Here and even outside.”

I nodded. Eating living beings—what’s the big deal about that? As long as it wasn’t me, it was fine.

In fact, having such a clear desire was easier to deal with. The old Mages at the university couldn’t even grasp such emotions properly. I recalled Maira’s shy smile.

“You can trust me. Professor Ilian said I could take one treasure out with me. If you help me, I’ll definitely make sure you get out.”

“Hehe, sounds good.”

A bright smile blossomed on the Doll’s face. It was a clear smile that didn’t suit the professor at all. It placed a hand gently on its chest and closed its eyes.

“It’s such a joy to have hope. My heart is racing even when I’m just standing still.”

The Doll paused for a moment in that state before slowly opening its eyes. It then came closer and gently wrapped its arm around mine.

“Shall we go to where that friend is? It’s nearby.”

“Nearby, you say?”

I glanced around. Since we were on top of a mountain, the surroundings were visible at a glance. However, nothing unusual was in sight.

Seeing my expression, the Doll covered its mouth and let out a small laugh. An expression of joy appeared on its face.

“Actually, we don’t even need to go looking for it. That friend has been following us all along. I was just gradually moving away from it.”

As she said this, she pointed somewhere with her hand. My gaze naturally followed. But there was nothing there. Just the sunken ground stretched out before me.

“Wait, let me clear the mist for a moment.”

With those words, the Doll sucked in the mist surrounding us into its body. With that, the ground I was looking at cracked open. Very naturally.

Within, there was a gigantic eye. It emitted a strange glow, as if it held stars within. And it was looking at me.

The eye continued to radiate deep magic. It shot up like a hook and embedded itself into my body. And that magic began to pull my body along.

The key shone brightly, blocking that power. Then, the eye started to pour out even more magic.

Thus, the magic cascaded around me like a waterfall. I broke out into a cold sweat, trying to absorb as much as I could.

The key effectively barred the eye’s intrusion, but the slight shock from the process began hitting me.

Gradually, my mind started to get tainted by the magic of the stars, and my body trembled from that pain.

“That should be enough.”

The Doll said. With that, the mist wrapped around us once again. The eye’s magic was blocked and faded away like that. I took a deep breath.

“Phew, is that what the eye is?”

Blood-mixed phlegm crawled up my throat. I coughed it out as I asked, wondering how it escalated so quickly in just a brief moment. But at the same time, I could tell the limits of that thing as well.

As long as I had the key, it could never consume me. It could only inflict slight pain like this. It was nothing compared to the experiences I had with the professor thus far.

The eye continued pouring magic over the mist. The Mist Heart, in turn, expelled mist even more forcefully. The accumulated mist gradually thickened to the point where I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

“Yeah, quite the wild friend, huh? Then let’s move.”

The Doll gently led my body. I walked forward, following the Doll’s guidance through the mist.

How long had it been? The Doll cleared the mist. Suddenly, the surroundings began to come into view again. We had somehow moved to another place.

The eye was still rampaging with magic where we had been on the mountain’s peak. It seemed it couldn’t properly keep track of where we had gone.

I took a handful of the mist surrounding me. It was surprising that it wouldn’t even notice my departure right in front of it. I knew it had helped me avoid other treasures, but I hadn’t expected it to be this efficient.

“That friend has a degree of intelligence. So it’s able to think unlike other friends. It will soon chase after us again since, even if Ebron can’t find us, it will remember the faintness of my mist.”

It had been chasing after us in that manner all this time, the Doll remarked. I looked at the Doll absentmindedly as I heard those words.

And I was taken aback by the sight.

The Doll’s body was riddled with cracks. And through those gaps, mist was faintly swirling.

It emanated a precariousness, as if it would shatter at any moment. The Doll inspected its own body and smiled softly.

“What a sight, huh?”

“Are you okay?”

I lightly infused magic into its body. The Doll didn’t resist it.

The cracks were not just on the outside of the Doll, but also deeply within. Even its spine, the very core.

It seemed unable to handle the power of the mist. For now, it was gradually recovering, and the cracks were getting filled little by little.

A bittersweet feeling filled my heart. I hadn’t expected this body to be so weak that it couldn’t even handle this brief moment of power. If it had tried to take in even a little more, it surely would have broken.

I had felt it since the moment the giant hand had clawed at the Turtle’s shell, but these treasures here were far stronger than I had anticipated. Even more so than I had felt in class.

Perhaps back then, it had been restricted to match the skill level of the students. I absentmindedly stroked that cracked body.

The Doll I had completed was so immature. There was a shortage of materials, but even more so, my skill in creating it was lacking. It was clear where I needed to improve moving forward.

“Hehe, that tickles.”

The Doll said with laughter. I hastily withdrew my hand, scratching my head sheepishly.

“I apologize. I got a little carried away with pity.”

“It’s fine. But with a friend like that, what should we do now?”

The Doll asked lightly. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. I had found it, but how on earth could I bring it to the professor?

I couldn’t negotiate. Even if the Doll had a bit of intelligence, the eye I had seen moments ago was filled with nothing but overwhelming greed towards me.

I had to worry about being devoured instead of being approached to talk. And forcing it to yield was out of the question, as well.

Thus, I began to ponder solutions. In the meantime, the Doll slowly leaned against me.

And it softly traced my chest with its fingers. It locked eyes with me and smiled gently.

“I have a method.”

“What method?”

“I can only exert my original power if I have a physical body. Right now, this is just a doll. This lifeless body will only break like before.”

I nodded quietly. It was as the Doll said. Even with its borrowed strength, in this state, there would clearly be limits like just now.

“If I entered your body, I would be able to exert much more power.”

The Doll placed its palm on my chest. My heartbeat spread through that hand.

I let out a bitter smile at its words. Was it this story again? Seeing my expression, the Doll shook its head.

“But since you said you didn’t want that, I thought of another way.”

The Doll slowly removed itself from me. Then it brushed down its own chest.

Under that light gesture, its body split open. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that strange sight.

Within the split, a heart was pulsating. A white heart emanating mist.

The strange magic spilling out from within flowed through the Doll’s body.

The Doll reached into its chest and brought out the heart. After briefly watching its pulse, she infused magic into it and tore it in half.

At that, the magic and mist it contained began to faintly seep out. I was taken aback, staring blankly at the scene.

“Here.”

The Doll offered me one half of the split. I stared blankly at that half-heart. I couldn’t understand what this meant.

“I’ll give you my half, so please give me a half of your heart as well. If we share our lives in this way, we will be bound together by some form of magic.”

The Doll said with a smile, slowly approaching me while holding the heart.

“If we are connected like this, Ebron will be able to use my power a little bit too. This doll’s body will stabilize through a living heart as well. With the two of us combining our strength, we can easily deal with that.”

I swallowed. I recalled the mist that the Doll had emitted. That strange power that melted the mind and dominated the body—does that mean I could use it?

The Doll held that piece of the heart in front of my chest. If I didn’t refuse, it was destined to merge just like that.

The key wouldn’t block it either. Exchanging halves of our hearts was a kind of equivalent exchange.

No, the transaction would be more beneficial for me.

I reached out towards it. Power, I smiled bitterly.

Then, I gently pushed the Doll’s hand away.

“No, it’s alright.”

I shook my head as I spoke.

It was a powerful temptation packed with exactly what I needed right now. Yet, I couldn’t hide the sense of foreboding sealed within.

How could I trust this?

It had been dressed up in sweet words, but it ultimately bore a similar meaning to earlier. It was trying to nibble at my heart, saying it would only take half this time since it kept getting blocked by the key.

The claim of lending me power must be true. But that half of my heart would gradually merge with the Mist Heart.

And within the flow of that mist, my mind would melt away. This process would undoubtedly be something the key couldn’t defend against. After all, it wasn’t an external attack.

The Doll smiled brightly.

“Oh, you’re not fooled, are you?”

It immediately rejoined the heart and placed it back in its chest. When it ran a finger down the open gap, the fissure naturally healed.

“I remembered being tricked by your words twice so far, so I tried to spin a plausible tale myself.”

I chuckled bitterly. So it was just a light prank. The Doll tilted its head as if puzzled.

“So what should we do then? Without a body, I have limits in assisting you, don’t I? All I can do is hide and protect you.”

Hiding, that thought sparked an idea in my mind.

The mist had concealed my figure even from the eyeball that was right in front of me. So, couldn’t I utilize that?

“Is it possible for you to hide me from others as well, just like before?”

“Yes, if it’s other friends, it would be even easier. I just need to slightly distort the surroundings.”

The Doll nodded slightly. That was a relief. I could freely attempt this new possibility.

“I just thought of a method. If this succeeds, I will definitely keep my promise to let you out.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it!”

The Doll rested its chin on its hand, smiling.

“I’m curious about what your method is.”

Thus, I explained the general outline of my plan to it. I wasn’t entirely confident, but it was worth a shot. The excitement began to show on the Doll’s face.

As time passed, I stood upon the plain, feeling the Doll watching over me from a distance.

I quietly began to draw up my magic. My magic spread into the surroundings and started soaring off into the distance.

Gripping the key in my hand, I closed my eyes. If we found it hard to deal with, we could let something else do the fighting for us.

Soon, vibrations started to echo in all directions. The vibrations grew stronger, and I began to feel intense magical energies as well.

It was clear that treasures were sensing my presence and rushing towards me.

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