Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 100 (Part 2)
Rodin was pondering the quickest way to store the books when he decided to enlist the help of Jenna and Karis.
There was only one requirement for storing items in the spatial bracelet: the object had to be in contact with either his left or right hand.
So, Rodin had Jenna and Karis hold him upside down. Just like using a broom to sweep the floor, they swung Rodin around as he brushed his hands over the books.
With his hands fully extended, Rodin stored everything they touched. Dust slipped in as well, but he didn’t mind. He could clean it later when things were calm.
Amidst the process, he heard a loud noise from outside. Instinctively, he knew someone had reached the entrance.
“They won’t be able to get in.”
The metal door was engraved with a magic circle powered by mana. Without the ability to see or sense mana, breaking the magic circle would be impossible.
“They could try collapsing the entire structure, I suppose.”
Rodin glanced at the walls, filled with runes. With so many defensive magic circles, the outer attacks would be held off for quite a long time.
“Let’s get back to work.”
Rodin directed Jenna and Karis to continue, diligently storing the remaining books. After a few more meals and brief breaks, they finally finished the task.
“All done.”
It had taken an entire day to store all the books in the spatial storage. Without Jenna and Karis, it would have taken twice as long.
“Now, for the walls.”
Rodin focused on one section of the wall and began reading the magic circles. As expected, there were too many unfamiliar runes for him to understand it all at once.
“This looks like some sort of preservation magic.”
It was the second time he had encountered preservation magic. The first had been when he analyzed the treasure chest of Frouval.
“But it’s different. They use similar runes, but the composition of the magic circle is different.”
Rodin compared the artifact’s magic circle with the one he had seen on Frouval’s treasure.
The magic here was of a higher level. The spatial bracelet and the battle dolls alone were proof of that.
At his current level, Rodin couldn’t even begin to replicate such magic. In fact, the current magic towers of the era would drool over the sheer sophistication of this ancient magic.
Yet, when it came to the composition of the magic circles, the Frouval’s was superior. Not just by one level, but by several. It was far more efficient, elegant, and durable.
The difference was like comparing a blacksmith who had been hammering for decades to a novice with talent but only a few years of experience.
“I’ll know more when I study the books later.”
Rodin couldn’t assume that the artifact he had seen represented the pinnacle of both factions’ magic. There wasn’t enough information to make such a conclusion yet.
Rodin set aside his curiosity and focused once again on the runes.
Unfamiliar runes kept popping up. Whenever they did, he memorized dozens of surrounding runes together in context, storing them in his mind for future study.
“Ah!”
Just before moving on to the next section of the wall, Rodin noticed a crack between two segments. It was a long, vertical fissure, disrupting part of the magic circle.
“So that’s why the mana was leaking.”
All the runes inscribed on the walls absorbed mana and used that energy to operate. Because of this, a tremendous amount of mana was compressed within the walls.
But for some reason, a long crack had formed. When that happened, the magic circle temporarily failed, releasing a large portion of the accumulated mana.
“A huge burst of mana must have occurred.”
Unfortunately, it seemed that Matthew had been the closest to this place when it happened. As a result, he had been exposed to the overwhelming concentration of mana and suffered mana poisoning.
However, the magic circle had a self-repair function.
After being disrupted for a while due to the crack, the magic circle had spent days, or perhaps months, restoring itself.
It had even reabsorbed the surrounding mana that had been expelled.
“It’s like a volcano.”
Rodin touched the crack and felt warmth emanating from it.
Gathering mana, he used a simple scrying spell to peer through the wall. Beyond it, he saw bubbling, molten liquid.
“This place… won’t hold out much longer.”
Although the defensive magic circle was impressive, the heat from the lava bubbling beyond the wall couldn’t be ignored.
Matthew had suffered from mana poisoning over three years ago. If such intense heat had persisted for so long, it was clear that this was no ordinary volcano.