Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 119 (Part 1)

The village had three inns, but all of them had been destroyed.

The group from the Crowder Trading Company and Rodin’s companions decided to rest outside the village. The air was thick with the stench of blood, but there was no other choice at the moment.

The caravan didn’t rush or delay their pace. They timed their travel to arrive at towns or cities by sunset.

The Crowder Trading Company adjusted their speed accordingly, so by the time they reached Bangst Village, the sun had already set.

“Spread out.”

“Gather information and regroup immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Daniel, the head of the trading company, and the mercenaries scattered into the village to gather information. It didn’t take long to understand what had happened.

“It seems it was the doing of that monster that let out that terrifying roar.”

“Goodness, to think that monster could devastate an entire village.”

Daniel sighed at the report from the mercenary leader, Cant.

They were not unaware that the monster was capable of causing trouble. Everyone had ignored it, yet deep down, they all feared, ‘Someone’s going to die.’

However, no one expected the monster to attack a village right on the Trading Company’s route, nor did they anticipate witnessing such massive destruction firsthand.

‘Should we have pushed ourselves to capture it?’

Rodin recalled the time he saw the monster through Jito’s eyes.

It was powerful. Even with two master swordsmen and himself, a 6th Circle mage, he couldn’t be confident of victory.

‘Sigh. This is frustrating.’

Although Jito was exceptionally fast, the monster was still quite far away. Factoring in the time to make a round trip and engage in battle, it would have cost at least six hours.

Considering the time and the odds, it was the right choice not to engage. If something went wrong, it wouldn’t just be him; Larry and Bianca would be left alone again.

“What is to be done about that monster?”

“Fortunately, the kingdom is taking action.”

“How did such a creature appear? It feels like the demon king from a thousand years ago has returned.”

It wasn’t the demon king. The demon king was a creature of evil that had bathed half the continent in blood. The comparison was unjustified; a mere giant minotaur paled in comparison.

“So the kingdom is getting involved? Are the royal knights being deployed?”

“They’ve called for the royal palace’s guard knights. Until they arrive, the domain’s knights will buy some time.”

On the central continent, it was customary not to seek the kingdom’s aid for anything short of a major crisis. Domains resolved issues independently or sought help from friendly neighboring territories when needed.

But the current crisis with the giant minotaur was different.

This creature was not confined to one domain’s problem. It roamed as it pleased, destroying and killing, consuming whatever it caught.

“Are the damages severe?”

“Yes. They say more than ten villages have been ruined like Bangst.”

“The destruction must be immense.”

“Fortunately, this beast doesn’t hunt down people in hiding. It only attacks what’s in plain sight.”

The creature didn’t wander to kill humans on purpose. It simply moved around without reason, without aim.

When it was hungry, it ate whatever it saw. If something bothered it, that thing is destroyed and killed.

“The important thing is where it is now. Do you know anything about its current location?”

“It seems to have headed west for now.”

“It wouldn’t be Asir, would it?”

Asir was a stopover for the Crowder Trading Company, as well as a place Rodin needed to pass through.

The city of Asir was near the border with the Kingdom of Tebia. Once a military city during times of conflict with Tebia, it had transformed into a thriving commercial city as relations improved.

“The creature is moving without a specific destination. It’s heading west now, but no one knows which city it will end up at.”

“I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.”

“If it suddenly turns our way, it would be problematic, wouldn’t it?”

Mercenary leader Cant directed this question at Rodin. Daniel also looked at Rodin.

Their eyes were asking whether Rodin could detect the creature’s approach.

“You all seem to be overthinking this.”

“Pardon?”

“That thing stands over 20 meters tall. It weighs a tremendous amount. If it moves, you could feel the ground tremble from several kilometers away.”

The monster was more than ten times a human’s height. If length increases by a factor of ten, area scales by a hundred times, and volume by a thousand times.

Assuming the same material, a volume a thousand times larger would mean a weight a thousand times greater.

If a two-meter human weighs around 100 kg, the monster would weigh a staggering 100,000 kg. Not noticing its movements was unimaginable.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought of that.”

“The village, though…”

“A village can’t move. But we can.”

“True enough.”

“Still, just in case, I’ll send out a familiar bird.”

Rodin planned to use familiar magic, not Jito. It was a 5th Circle spell that shared sensory information with a living creature.

“Thank you, Mage Rodin.”

“By the way, isn’t the Mage Tower intervening in this matter?”

“The Trascia Tower can’t. It’s too far.”

Rodin hadn’t expected the Trascia Tower to be involved.

The Trascia Tower was located on the eastern part of the central continent, too distant from the western Lennox Kingdom.

“But isn’t the Cedria Tower just a day’s journey from Asir?”

“Well, the Cedria Tower typically doesn’t engage in events that seem too perilous.”

“Hm, I see.”

There was no rule mandating that a mage tower must involve itself in dangerous affairs. It was not something anyone could demand.

The short meeting ended, and Rodin stepped out of Daniel’s carriage. Darkness had fully set in.

Rodin was followed by Mage Betner, who looked as though he had something to ask.

“Mage Rodin.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“This stone… it must be related to the monster, right?”

Betner held out the Failed Magic Stone, its surface polished from being handled frequently.

(T/N: I’m Changing the Mana Crystal to Magic Stone.)

“I can’t be sure, but I do think there’s a connection.”

“This looks like it was artificially made. Do you think it was made recently or in the distant past?”

By “recent,” he meant if someone had deliberately spread it. If so, there would be accountability.

If it was ancient, it implied something from a distant age. Perhaps an ancient site had opened up due to tectonic shifts or human error, containing an artifact that could influence monsters.

“What do you think, Mage Rodin?”

“I really can’t say. But if I had to guess, I’d lean towards it being something from an ancient era.”

Rodin put the Failed Magic Stone back into his pocket. No one else needed to see such an ominous object.