Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 134 (Part 1)

The next day, Rodin left Oak Village.

Parting with Matthew was regrettable. Having just sent Margaret off, the regret felt even greater.

Bianca clung to Matthew and cried bitterly. Larry teased her from the side, saying, “Did someone die or something?”, but Bianca’s crying did not stop easily.

With no other choice, Rodin quickly said his goodbyes to Matthew and got the carriage moving.

Bianca finally stopped crying long after the carriage had already started.

On the way, they stopped at the city of Hedenes to receive a mercenary badge. It was a platinum badge that cost a whopping 500 gold to replace if lost.

“Big brother Rodin, this is so cool.”

“When I grow up, I’m going to be a mercenary too.”

For the first time, Larry shared his dream.

A mercenary.

It was a decent profession if one worked on the Central Continent. Though dangerous, the treatment wasn’t bad. Moreover, the perception of mercenaries here was quite positive.

On the other hand, in the Western Continent, mercenaries were considered to be people who had hit rock bottom. A profession chosen by those whose lives were ruined. Worse than settlers and just slightly better than slaves.

The perception and treatment were worlds apart from the Central Continent.

“If we stop by a city, do you want to take the mercenary examination?”

“Already? I’m still just a 1st-rank sword adept. Can I even get a badge?”

“There are a lot of mercenaries weaker than you. Give it a try.”

“Alright. I’ll try.”

Not all mercenary guilds held examinations. Only the larger, more established mercenary guilds conducted them.

Unfortunately, on the road to the Richmond Marquisate, there were only a few cities big enough to hold mercenary examinations. In the Kingdom of Tevia, only the cities of Hedenes and Pheten qualified.

They had already passed through Hedenes, so there was no opportunity left there. Rodin wasn’t willing to backtrack just for Larry’s exam.

“We’ll have to go to Pheten.”

“Is that the place we stopped at on the way here? Why don’t I remember it?”

“Because we only stopped briefly. We arrived in the evening, slept, and left in the morning. You’ll remember it when we get there.”

The carriage continued moving while they chatted. Karis and Jena drove it at a steady pace, paying close attention to minimize any shaking.

Three days later, Rodin passed by the place where he had defeated the giant magical beast.

Over time, the people who had once crowded there had disappeared without a trace. Naturally, the giant magical beast’s corpse had already been taken by the Landes Magic Tower.

“Excuse me. Is this Mage Rodin’s carriage?”

A group of six appeared in front of the carriage. They all wore robes of the same color, and the same emblem was embroidered on each robe.

Hearing the voice, Rodin stepped out of the carriage. The robed man who had spoken first bowed his head deeply.

“Greetings, Grand Mage.”

“Yes, we meet again. You are Mage Haren, correct?”

“It is an honor that the Grand Mage remembers my name.”

It was a name Rodin had heard many times. It was always the first name mentioned by Tower Master Francis, so of course, he remembered.

“And what brings you here?”

“The Landes Magic Tower plans to research the corpse of the giant magical beast. We came to pay for it.”

When Rodin first met Tower Master Francis, the Landes Magic Tower had agreed to dispose of the giant magical beast’s corpse. There had also been talk that nobles would desire it as a trophy while the Magic Tower would covet it for research purposes.

“That was quick. I thought it would take months.”

“Our tower decided to take ownership directly. Melvin.”

At Mage Haren’s call, a man named Melvin appeared, driving a carriage toward them.

Rodin could sense a dense magical presence from the carriage. Waves of mana could also be felt. It was definitely something related to magic and mana.

“What’s in the carriage? It doesn’t seem to be just money.”

“Yes. The Tower Master said that money would likely mean little to the Grand Mage, so he had artifact materials prepared. We gathered materials worth 1 million gold. If you would prefer gold instead, please let us know.”

Tower Master Francis had done some research on Rodin in just a few days. The findings included details about Rodin selling a significant number of artifacts in the Richmond Marquisate.

For an individual—not a group like a Magic Tower—to sell so many artifacts, one would have to be enormously wealthy. Francis believed that money would mean little to Rodin, so he sent artifact materials instead.

“No, materials are better than gold. Please tell Tower Master Francis that I gratefully accept them.”

“I will pass along your message. May your long journey end safely. Farewell.”

The mages from the Landes Magic Tower disappeared in an instant, leaving behind a single carriage led by one horse.

“I’m curious about what’s inside.”

For now, Rodin detached the horse from the newly acquired carriage and tied it to the one they were already using. Then, he stored the entire carriage from the Magic Tower into his spatial storage.

“Young master, shall we set off?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

The carriage once again began moving east. Their destination was Pheten, which had a mercenary guild large enough to conduct examinations.

The carriage continued its journey eastward toward Pheten, which had a mercenary guild large enough to conduct examinations.

In the city of Pheten, the plan for Larry to take the mercenary examination had to be abandoned. The timing didn’t work out.

The city of Pheten only held mercenary examinations once a month, and unfortunately, they had arrived the day after the most recent exam. To wait for the next examination, they would need to stay for an entire month.

Leaving Pheten behind, the carriage resumed its journey. Their next destination was the western city of Asir in the Lennox Kingdom.

“We’ll have to go to Asir.”

“Asir? That’s where we stayed before, right?”

“Yeah.”

Asir was even larger than Pheten. The mercenary guild there was sizable, and examinations were held regularly.

The Asir mercenary guild conducted examinations three times a month. Even with bad luck, they wouldn’t have to wait more than ten days.

“I don’t remember it well.”

“We didn’t even stay a full day back then. Ah! Do you remember the merchant leader we traveled with for quite a while? Daniel, the leader of Trading Company.”

“Of course I remember him, Brother.”

“Big brother Rodin, I remember too.”

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