Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 105 (Part 2)

Rodin went up to the first floor to clear his head and started running. He ran along the outer edge of the large garden, applying gravity magic to his body.

“My body has definitely changed.”

Ever since his body was reconstructed in the underground ruins, his physical capabilities had improved to an incredible degree. He was now almost on par with a third-rank swordsman.

This was something he could clearly feel while practicing swordsmanship.

Rodin felt a little sorry for Larry, but he was learning swordsmanship at a much faster rate than Larry. While he hadn’t yet mastered aura, in terms of physical ability alone, Rodin was superior to Larry.

“Hmm?”

Rodin suddenly stopped running. His gaze fixed on something in the distance, toward the main gate.

“What’s going on?”

Margaret and Matthew, who had just returned from the market, looked unusually serious. They had parked the carriage and sat there in a daze for a while.

Recently, the household had begun raising horses. There were now five horses, and they had also purchased a carriage for Margaret and Matthew.

Matthew, who always preferred to do things properly, even took lessons from a well-known horse breeder. When he asked for permission to take the lessons, Rodin offered to cover all the tuition fees.

In any case, between the lessons and managing the household tasks, Matthew was always busy. Rodin sometimes worried whether Matthew was getting enough rest.

Yet, despite his busy schedule, Matthew always accompanied his mother Margaret whenever she went out.

“Margaret! Matthew! Is something wrong?”

“Oh! Master.”

“Well, you see… it’s…”

“What is it? Judging by your faces, it seems serious.”

“The Marquis of Richmond has passed away.”

“What?”

The Marquis of Richmond was a 7th-rank swordsman, a Master. He was 77 years old, not exactly young, but considering the body restructuring that came with reaching the rank of Master, his lifespan should have been greatly extended. With proper care, he could have lived another 20 or even 40 years.

“They say he died in the war.”

“The war… it must be the Western Continent War, right? Hmm, does the Ingram Empire have someone capable of killing a 7th-rank swordsman? Well, they do.”

The Ingram Empire originally had no swordsmen who had reached the rank of Master. There were many 6th-rank swordsmen, but none who had taken the final step to become a Master.

However, recently, rumors circulated that a man named Count Ferrios had reached the rank of Master. After his promotion to Master, he was elevated to the rank of Marquis.

Rodin had no idea that the man he had nearly killed in a trap at Hamless Gorge was none other than Count Ferrios.

At the time, Count Ferrios had been gravely wounded, close to death. His injuries were so severe that even the healing mages thought of giving up on him.

Just when his family had gathered to see him in his final moments, his body suddenly began to deteriorate rapidly, only to recover just as quickly.

It was the body restructuring that all Masters underwent.

“Yes. Apparently, he was caught in a trap set by that Fer… something, along with some other swordsmen.”

“Hmm. It seems the rumors are quite detailed.”

“Everyone in the market knows about it.”

The Marquis of Richmond’s death was already old news. It had happened a month ago, and word had reached the marquisate about 10 days prior.

But the incident was so significant that it had been kept quiet for a while. Then, someone who knew the truth had told a close friend, who in turn spread it to others. And so, it spread like wildfire.

Once three people know a secret, it’s no longer a secret.

By now, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know about the death of the Marquis of Richmond.

“Hmm.”

“Oh, right. I shouldn’t be standing around like this. Matthew, give me a hand. We need to move these groceries right away.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Margaret and Matthew began unloading the groceries. Rodin helped them with magic.

At the same time, he pondered the impact of the Marquis of Richmond’s death.

‘His son is a 6th-rank swordsman, right? There won’t be any immediate problems. But…’

Rodin’s gaze naturally drifted eastward, toward the underground ruins where he had found the massive trove of books.

‘The volcano will erupt soon.’

He had erased the mana absorption magic circle engraved on the ruins’ walls to absorb mana. For now, the mana it absorbed was being used to block the external flow of lava, but that wouldn’t last forever.

‘At most, it’s only a matter of half a year.’

After helping with the groceries, Rodin shut himself back in his training room. He took out the box containing Frouval’s treasure and examined it carefully.

“Can I replicate this?”

The magic Rodin was trying to embed into an artifact was a state preservation spell. It was the same magic used in the box containing Frouval’s treasure and the walls of the underground ruins.

It wasn’t unfamiliar magic, but it wasn’t something easy to replicate either. The state preservation spell was a 7th Circle magic.

“If I’m lucky, I might be able to pull it off.”

Rodin retrieved a staff from his dimensional bracelet. It was the staff he had found last year after killing Elrov and raiding his underground vault.

The orb that had once been affixed to the staff’s head had been used in the trap to deal with the Ingram Empire’s pursuit squad. Now, only the wooden shaft remained, which had been lying unused since then.

The chef figurine that had been found along with the staff, on the other hand, was proving quite useful during campouts. Particularly the cooking tools that didn’t require washing—they were a time-saver during long journeys.

But the staff had become more of a nuisance. After acquiring the dimensional bracelet, it was less of a burden, but before that, it had always stuck out awkwardly from his backpack.

“Arovaine wood channels magic well. It’s delicate, so it might just work.”

Rodin had reached the peak of the 6th Circle. He was just one step away from the 7th Circle.

On the other hand, state preservation magic was a fundamental 7th Circle spell. It was tantalizingly close for Rodin, almost within his grasp.

“It’s doable.”

The Arovaine wood, which formed the staff’s body, was a rare blue-tinged wood known for its excellent magical conductivity. However, it was fragile and not suitable for use as a staff body.

Ancient texts indicated that Arovaine wood was mainly used in stationary, non-impact artifacts. It was rarely used in artifacts where durability was crucial.

“What should I aim for?”

Both the state preservation spell in Frouval’s artifact and the one inscribed on the underground ruins were the same, but their magic circles were different.

The one in Frouval’s artifact was far more efficient and refined. However, it was so advanced that it was even harder to replicate.

“In the end, I’ll have to imitate the magic circle from the underground ruins. But will it work?”

The magic circle on the walls of the underground ruins was based on mana. It was invisible to those without a special constitution, allowing it to be used discreetly.

However, it had a clear downside. To kickstart the mana flow, a significant amount of mana stones would be required. It needed at least twice the number of mana stones compared to a magic circle based on magic power.

“This is a challenge I can’t afford to fail.”

The Arovaine wood that formed the staff’s body was hard to come by. It was a rare material found only deep within the Beast Forest, and even in the Western Continent, which bordered the forest, it was seldom seen.

Rodin decided not to send anyone else but went to the commercial district himself. He visited a magical goods shop and bought all the top-quality mana stones and mana-conductive magical thread they had.

“I haven’t been this nervous in a while.”

Rodin’s house had two storage areas. One was for storing food, which Margaret and Matthew managed, and the other was for everything else. The carriage was also part of “everything else.”

Rodin headed to the storage area designated for “everything else.”

The interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside, thanks to the space expansion magic he had previously cast on it.

Rodin moved all the large items, including the carriage, outside. Then, he walked around the walls, erasing the space expansion magic he had inscribed long ago.

As the magic dissipated, the storage space shrank to half its original size.

Thanks to Rodin’s foresight in moving the larger items beforehand, there were no accidents like objects crashing into each other and getting damaged.

“Let’s get started.”

Rodin already had the blueprint for the state preservation spell in his mind. He had also planned out the other composite magic circles he needed to inscribe.

One by one, Rodin carefully carved the magic circles, meticulously checking each step as he went along.