Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 102 (Part 1)
Elder Fenail instinctively covered his ears and rushed out of the tent.
“What happened?”
“Someone came out of the tunnel.”
At his subordinate’s report, Elder Fenail’s gaze immediately turned toward the tunnel entrance.
It appeared that the loud explosion earlier had been from the entrance itself. A massive crater had formed at the entrance and around the surrounding area.
“It’s them! The ones who entered the ruins. Don’t let them get away.”
“It’s just one person, sir.”
“Whether it’s one or more, we can’t let them escape. Which direction did they go?”
“They headed east, towards Mount Sorian.”
Looking in the direction his subordinate pointed, Elder Fenail’s face twisted in frustration.
Mount Sorian was connected to the Lien Mountains. It was an enormous expanse, making it impossible to establish a perfect encirclement.
‘How could I have made such a mistake?’
They should have dealt with the intruder inside the tunnel. Now that they had exited, capturing them had become considerably harder.
‘I got careless.’
They had guarded this place for a full 14 days. Since no one had emerged from the ruins for a long time, Elder Fenail had assumed no one was inside anymore.
Just yesterday, he had lowered the level of security to normal. He believed that the ones who had entered the ruins had left long ago, rendering the guard useless.
“Ugh!”
As Elder Fenail impulsively moved to head toward Mount Sorian, he collapsed on the spot.
The injury he had sustained from the metallic door’s attack had not yet healed. Normally, an injury like this should have been completely treated with a single use of a 5th-circle healing spell, Recovery.
However, for some reason, the healing was progressing incredibly slowly. At this rate, it would take at least half a year for a full recovery.
“Dammit, are we just going to let them get away like this?”
Cursing didn’t change anything. This was the inherent issue with Slavon.
Slavon’s Tower Lord was an 8th-circle mage, and they had 19 elders, each a 7th-circle mage. As a single organization, they were undoubtedly among the top, rivaling Ballis Nova. Even the Ingram Empire of the Western Continent couldn’t be confidently said to surpass Slavon.
The problem was manpower.
The 19 elders commanded around 100 subordinates. To mobilize more, they would have to request help from another elder or contact the Tower Lord.
However, the Tower Lord was such an exalted figure that it was uncomfortable to ask for assistance. The elders, meanwhile, were too busy checking and competing with each other to offer help. As a result, most tasks were carried out with only the available subordinates.
This time as well, they had tried to handle the situation alone, which is why they were short on people. Had they had more personnel, they wouldn’t have lowered the security level.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, he recalled the report about the intruder heading toward Mount Sorian. By now, the Tower Lord should also be crossing Mount Sorian.
“Maybe we can still catch them.”
Hastily, he summoned his subordinate and initiated a magical communication. If luck was on their side, the Tower Lord might personally capture the intruder.
—
Rodin waited until he was sure the sun had completely set before making his move.
First, he cast Invisibility to turn himself invisible, then carefully opened the door.
Three mages were stationed around the entrance. However, they were all dozing off, so sneaking out wasn’t difficult.
‘Lucky for me, but they shouldn’t be this lax.’
Rodin wasn’t aware of it, but the mages of Slavon had their own circumstances.
This place was a tunnel in the barren lands of Maud. There was no food around.
The problem was that Elder Fenail had incredibly picky tastes.
Even if the food was of decent quality, he would often fly into a rage if it didn’t suit his palate. Offering rations or jerky as a meal would likely leave the day’s cooking staff in terrible shape.
Thus, the mages had no choice but to make the daily two-day round trip to the nearest city to procure fresh ingredients. Even mages got exhausted after such trips.
Though Elder Fenail had lowered the security level, their accumulated fatigue hadn’t disappeared.
‘What should I do?’
Rodin briefly considered whether to kill them or just leave quietly.
Killing even one of them would reduce the number of pursuers. Naturally, it would lower the danger if he was discovered later. However, there was a risk of being caught in the act.
It was a choice between lowering the chance of being detected or increasing his chances of survival after detection.
‘Let them live.’
Since Rodin didn’t particularly enjoy killing, he decided to leave them be for now. If they pursued him later, he would kill them without hesitation.
‘Using 4th-circle mages as guards… What kind of organization are they?’
All three of the guards looked to be in their 50s. They wore dark robes, but it was too dim to distinguish the exact color.
‘This area is clear.’
There were guards around the door, but as he traversed the tunnel, he didn’t encounter anyone else. There were no patrols.
‘Hmm, now comes the problem.’
He had reached the entrance. Six people were standing guard around it.
‘Not one of them is asleep.’
Mages were sensitive to magic. There was no way he could sneak past without being noticed while under an invisibility spell.
‘If I’m going to be detected anyway… I might as well do it with style.’
Rodin moved deeper into the tunnel, far from the entrance, before preparing his magic. He carefully made a series of hand signs, casting three 6th-circle spells in succession.
Thunder Storm, Flame Strike, Vacuum Explosion.
These were some of the most destructive 6th-circle spells. Especially Thunder Storm and Vacuum Explosion, which were so advanced that many 6th-circle mages couldn’t even use them.
‘Let’s go.’
Rodin sprinted toward the entrance. As soon as he stepped out of the tunnel, he unleashed Thunder Storm on the guarding mages.
Zzztzzztzzzt!
“Urgh!”
“Ahhh!”
In an instant, the mages were electrocuted, their bodies twitching violently as they collapsed, dead from the high voltage.
Beep!
Unfortunately, Thunder Storm had only hit three of the six mages. The others had been too far away to be affected.
He immediately launched another set of spells.
“An intru—”
“What the hell—”
BOOOOOM!
The combined force of Flame Strike and Vacuum Explosion engulfed the remaining guards.
The fierce heat from the flames and the blast from the vacuum bomb created an ear-shattering explosion.
Beepbeepbeep!
Even Rodin, who had cast the spells, was momentarily taken aback. The destructive force and deafening noise were far greater than he had expected.
‘This isn’t the time to stand still.’