Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 132 (Part 1)

The appearance of a mage who had slain a colossal beast caused a massive gathering of people. The crowd was so large that distinctions of nobility or rank ceased to matter. Everyone pushed and shoved in the chaos.

It had been a long time since such a prominent figure had emerged. Before Rodin, the last person to become an Archmage was Francis, the Tower Lord of the Tower of Light, ten years ago.

What made this even more remarkable was that Rodin did not belong to any magic tower. Being unaffiliated meant he was available for hire, a prospect that excited many.

As a result, countless people gathered to at least exchange greetings or introduce themselves. Nobles prepared every kind of offer to recruit the newly risen Archmage.

“Phew, it’s not easy.”

The prestige of the Landes Magic Tower was significant.

As soon as word spread that he was affiliated with the Landes Tower, the nobles dispersed en masse. When the tower’s mages cleared a path, even the non-nobles couldn’t approach.

Through the path opened by the Landes Tower mages, Rodin and his group returned to their carriage relatively unbothered.

Walking amidst the noisy crowd had been nerve-wracking, but it was preferable to being directly harassed.

“Brother, you’re an Archmage?”

“I just became one.”

“I had no idea.”

“Neither did I. Big Brother Rodin, you’re amazing!”

Larry and Bianca hadn’t even known that Rodin had become a 6th-circle mage a year ago. Rodin wasn’t one to brag about himself.

They had assumed, as they had when they first met him, that he was still a 5th-circle mage. It was no wonder they were shocked to learn he had suddenly jumped not just to the 6th, but to the 7th circle, becoming an Archmage.

“Let’s go. It’ll be troublesome if night falls while we’re still here.”

“All right, let’s get moving.”

Just as they had on their way here, Jenna and Matthew sat up front and guided the carriage. The carriage moved slowly, leaving the crowded area behind.

Even after the carriage departed, some people followed them for a while. From a distance, someone even shouted Rodin’s name.

Rodin ignored them. Reacting to each one would only make things more exhausting.

By the next day, the number of followers had dwindled significantly. By the day after that, there was no one left following them.

After a few hours of traveling peacefully with their two carriages, Rodin’s group arrived at Hedenes, the gateway city of the Hedenes region.

Although classified as a city, Hedenes wasn’t very large. The floating population wasn’t particularly high either.

However, the city housed a significant number of mages and scholars studying the Paroma Mountain Range. Nearly all the residential areas near the western walls were homes for mages and scholars.

“We’ve finally made it this far, Master.”

“We still have more to go to reach our destination, don’t we?”

“Yes, that’s correct. From what I’ve heard, it’s only a few hours south from here.”

The village where Margaret was born didn’t have an official name.

Some people called it Oak Village because of the abundance of oak trees, while others referred to it as Hill Village because it was built on a hill.

The most commonly used name was Oak Village.

“The sun’s about to set, so let’s stay the night in Hedenes. I’ll stop by the mercenary guild while we’re here.”

“Should I find an inn for us?”

“No need to make it complicated. We’ll just stop at the first decent one we see.”

Guiding the carriage slowly through the city gates, they soon came across a street packed with inns.

“Brother, the city’s small.”

“Right? And there aren’t many inns.”

Despite being referred to as an inn district, there were only eight inns in total. Fortunately, likely due to the presence of mages and scholars, half of them were high-end establishments.

“Where should we go?”

“The biggest one. Let’s go there.”

They settled in an annex of the largest inn. It was a peculiar inn, with a strong herbal fragrance lingering throughout.

“The atmosphere of this inn is interesting.”

“This place used to be an herbal trading post established by the first head of the Verken Merchant Guild.”

Responding to Bianca’s remark, the staff member who guided them to the annex began explaining the inn’s history.

The mention of a familiar name piqued Rodin’s interest.

“Verken Merchant Guild? The one considered one of the top three merchant guilds in the central continent?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Six hundred years ago, an herbal shop was set up where this inn now stands. Though much has changed, traces of that time remain throughout the inn.”

Looking around, Rodin noticed antique tools displayed like decorations throughout the annex. They were old devices used for drying herbs.

“The first head of the Verken Merchant Guild—would that be Reynolds Verken?”

“Oh! You know of him? Yes, that’s correct. Reynolds Verken was born here in the Hedenes region. He came from a small village just three days’ travel from here.”

“He sold herbs here before expanding to other countries.”

“That’s right. With the funds he earned here, he built the central continent’s greatest merchant guild.”

The staff member shared more about Verken’s lingering influence on Hedenes.

The massive tower in the center of Hedenes Plaza was constructed by the Verken Guild 300 years ago. The 11-kilometer-wide road running north to south was built 500 years ago with the guild’s funds.

“Thank you for the fascinating stories.”

“No, thank you. It’s rare to meet someone who knows about Reynolds Verken.”

After the staff left, Rodin’s group left the annex as well.

Rodin, Larry, Bianca, and Jenna headed toward the commercial district, while Matthew wandered off, saying he had something to look into.

“Let’s start with the blacksmith.”

“I need to get something good.”

Larry’s shield had been damaged in a battle against the mages of the Cedria Tower. Having used the same weapons, armor, and shield for two years, Larry decided to replace all his equipment.

“Instead of focusing on quality alone, try out various pieces and find what fits your hand best. I’ll turn them into artifacts later.”

“Got it, Brother.”

At the blacksmith’s, Larry tried out various weapons and shields. He also tried on about ten suits of armor.

“This one feels right.”

“We’ll take these.”

“Yes, sir.”

Larry chose a shield, a weapon, and armor he liked. The weapon was lighter than his previous one, the shield was larger, and the armor was thicker and heavier.

He had changed all the equipment he was used to, and the first challenge would be adapting to the new gear.

But the equipment suited the defensive style of swordsmanship Larry had honed.

After equipping Larry, Rodin visited a magic shop.

“Do you have 500 low-grade mana stones?”

“Five hundred? We don’t have that many. Let me see… We have about 100. Why are you buying so many?”

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