Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 121 (Part 2)

“Is there no solution?”

“I don’t know how to teach it. Why don’t you ask the young master?”

“My brother? Would that help? He’s not a swordsman.”

“The young master has a sharp mind and can think outside the box. He might come up with a suitable solution.”

Larry remained silent at Karis’s advice.

He already owed Rodin so much. His entire life now was thanks to him.

Still, he wanted to ask for help once more, despite knowing it was selfish.

“I’ll ask him.”

“The young master won’t find it bothersome.”

“True. He’s never refused any reasonable request. That’s why I feel even more guilty. I almost wish he’d said no sometimes.”

“He only helps with what he can manage. Your requests haven’t been particularly taxing for him.”

There were few 7th-circle mages on the continent. Originally, there were four, but two had died, and one new 7th-circle mage had emerged.

This left only three 7th-circle mages, followed by Rodin, a 6th-circle mage. He could handle most tasks with ease and would receive high noble titles if he joined any kingdom.

For someone like Rodin, Larry and Bianca’s requests seemed minor.

The most challenging task had been creating the training space and teaching swordsmanship. Everything else was simple and only required some effort.

The next morning, Larry approached Rodin with his concern. Judging by his bloodshot eyes, he had spent the night agonizing over it.

“Reaction speed, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Reaction speed. Let’s test it.”

Rodin retrieved a coin from his dimensional pocket and held it right in front of Larry’s eyes.

“I’m going to drop this coin. Try to catch it.”

“That’s easy.”

“Not from below. You need to swipe from the side and catch it like this. Got it?”

“Of course. I’m a swordsman. I can definitely handle—oh!”

Rodin suddenly let go of the coin. Larry swung his hand quickly and barely caught it.

“Open your hand.”

“See? I caught it.”

The coin was wedged precariously between his pinky and palm. If he had been even a little slower, he would have missed it.

“You did catch it. Hold on. Bianca!”

“Yes?”

“Try it too.”

“The same thing?”

“Yes. I’ll drop the coin, and you—”

Rodin let the coin go again, catching Bianca by surprise. She, too, swung her hand and managed to catch it.

“Hehe, I got it!”

“Open your hand.”

“Ta-da!”

Bianca had caught the coin, securely held between her middle finger and palm.

“Larry, you and Bianca both caught the coin. Do you see what’s different?”

“Huh? Oh!”

“The position where you caught it is different. Why is that?”

Though it was phrased as a question, the answer was clear. Larry realized the truth he hadn’t known before, feeling a wave of frustration.

“My reaction speed is slower than Bianca’s, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Your reaction speed is significantly slower.”

Larry’s was below average but not to a hopeless extent. It was something he could overcome.

“What should I do?”

“Fortunately, unlike strength or speed, there are ways to improve reaction speed.”

“How?”

“There are two methods. You can directly train your reaction speed or use predictive movement.”

There was no need to choose just one. He could try both and focus on what worked best for him.

*

From that day, Rodin started crafting something inside the carriage. Whenever they stopped in a town, he bought various materials.

Ten days later, Rodin placed a device with two attached cylinders in front of Larry. It was about the size of two hand spans, not too large.

“Brother, what’s this?”

“You know how to activate an artifact, right?”

“Just by infusing aura, right?”

“Exactly. When you infuse aura into this, a metal ball will shoot out in one to ten seconds.”

Rodin demonstrated by putting a small amount of magic into the cylinder. About three seconds later, a metal ball popped out.

The ball rose to about two meters before dropping. Its speed wasn’t overwhelming, but it was sudden enough to be challenging to react to.

“So the ball is the key.”

“Right. When you infuse aura, a ball will shoot out. Your job is to either catch or deflect it.”

“Sounds simple.”

“There’s a condition. Before the ball launches, this part of the cylinder will flash different colors: red, blue, yellow, and white. Only when it flashes white will the ball be launched.”

He had to identify the color before moving. Acting when other colors appeared would be a waste.

“So I need to distinguish the color.”

“Yes. When it flashes white, the ball will launch in half a second. Your goal is to deflect the ball without any false moves.”

“That means I need to recognize the color and decide within half a second whether or not to move my hand?”

“Exactly.”

As they talked, the device fired another ball. This time, Larry noticed the brief white flash before the ball launched.

“The timing and colors are random. Guessing won’t help; you need to move only when you see the correct color.”

“I’ll try.”

“Here are the balls.”

Rodin handed over a pouch filled with metal balls, about 100 in total, with an extra 20 preloaded into the device.

“Oh! These are slingshot balls.”

“Yes. I found them at the blacksmith’s when we visited town.”

“The cylinder can hold 20 balls at a time. Refill it when needed. Let me know when you run out.”

“I’ll use them sparingly.”

Larry infused the cylinder with a bit of aura, which stopped its firing mechanism.

“One press to activate, another to stop.”

“Understood.”

“Good luck.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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