Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 137 (Part 1)

“Yeah? What is it? If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Sir Karis and I have other companion puppets (dolls).”

Rodin already knew that Karis and Jena’s previous master, Princess Elanarian, had originally created 100 combat dolls. He had read about it in the books left in the underground ruins.

“Calling them puppets feels a bit off. Let’s just call them companions.”

“Understood. Among those companions, Sir Karis and I are two of the 100 unit.”

“Hmm. Referring to them as ‘100 units’ feels wrong. Let’s just call them ‘100 people.’ It feels too lifeless otherwise.”

“Heh, as expected, Milord is different from the previous Master.”

Rodin had learned how to make combat puppets through a book. However, since it was a level of difficulty only achievable by a 9th Circle mage, it was knowledge he could only store in his head for now.

“But why?”

“Among the 100, there is one assigned to cooking.”

“What? There’s a companion who can cook?”

Rodin’s eyes lit up. He wanted to drop everything and go find that doll immediately.

“A royal chef demonstrated and taught every recipe they knew. I heard they know 10,950 recipes.”

“Wow! 10,950 recipes? That’s enough to eat a different meal every day for ten years.”

If you ate a different meal for each of the three daily meals, you’d need 1,095 recipes per year. The combat doll chef knew exactly ten times that amount.

“If we find Brox, the problem of meals will be completely solved.”

“You don’t know where they are, do you?”

“No. After separating Karis and me, Princess Ellanerien didn’t tell us where the other combat dolls were sent.”

This was something Rodin already knew.

Princess Ellanerien had created five secret locations in preparation for the Empire’s downfall. Each location was designed so you could only visit them in a specific sequence.

The combat dolls must have been distributed among these five secret locations. It was clear that Princess Ellanerien had arranged them so they could be retrieved one by one.

“But isn’t it strange? The underground ruins where you two were found definitely weren’t the fifth location.”

“I thought the same, Milord.”

“Then there should’ve been a clue about how to get to the fifth location, but there wasn’t.”

It was unclear whether there was no clue to begin with or if it had been missed. Since the volcanic activity had destroyed the ruins, there was no way to confirm it now.

“However, there wasn’t a lack of clues about the first secret location, was there?”

“Ah! The imperial capital. But to get there… haah.”

There had been a small mention of the first secret location in the books Rodin obtained from the underground ruins. It was written in the form of a letter, addressed to future generations, saying that the location was hidden near a safe haven in the imperial capital.

Since it was a secret location meant for future generations, the first starting point was likely inside or near the imperial capital during the era of the Magic Empire.

However, to reach that imperial capital, one would have to enter or pass through the Beast Forest. Even after becoming a 7th Circle mage, Rodin still feared the Beast Forest.

“The previous Master’s arrangements have already been disrupted.”

“That’s true. She couldn’t have anticipated the emergence of the Beast Forest.”

The appearance of the Beast Forest coincided with the fall of the Magic Empire. In other words, when the Magic Empire was intact, there was no Beast Forest. It only came into existence after the Empire fell.

“She couldn’t have anticipated your emergence either, Milord.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The underground ruins in the Moord Wasteland were not the first secret location. It was likely the second or third. Possibly even the fourth.

Originally, one was supposed to first visit the first secret location and learn the mana cultivation technique. The Moord Wasteland should’ve been visited only after becoming a 7th Circle mage.

However, Rodin had bypassed this sequence and entered the underground ruins through a loophole. Princess Ellanerien’s carefully arranged plan had been rendered meaningless.

“Is the Beast Forest really that dangerous?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never been there myself. But it’s the place that swallowed up 500,000 troops of the Ingram Empire, so it’s probably not somewhere you can take lightly.”

“They had numbers. Milord, you’re alone.”

In a place like the Beast Forest, overwhelming numbers could sometimes be a disadvantage. Even in a place crawling with beasts, moving alone would mean encountering fewer of them.

“That’s true. And our purposes are different.”

“Yes. The Ingram Empire’s goal was extermination, but Milord’s goal is simply to pass through safely.”

Rodin understood that he might be safer in the Beast Forest than the Ingram Empire’s extermination forces.

He could move cautiously by himself, and if beasts began to gather, he could summon Karis and Jena to handle them. Once the battle was over, he could store them back in the necklace and continue moving alone.

This method would drastically reduce the danger compared to the Ingram Empire’s forces.

“Well, in any case, there probably won’t be any combat puppet at the first location. And even if there are, it’ll be very few. Aside from you two, the others will likely only appear at the next location after the Moord ruins.”

“Why do you think that, Milord?”

“This necklace is proof. If there were combat dolls like you at a location before the Moord ruins, then the necklace would’ve been found there.”

Karis and Jena clearly remembered the past when all 100 combat dolls had gathered inside the necklace. The necklace had served as both a home and a place for recovery for all 100 dolls.

It made sense to store the first combat dolls and their base, the necklace, in the same location.

“Ah! I see. Then the other combat dolls must be at the next secret location.”

“Probably. But even if that’s not the case, we can’t move right away. We need to wait for Larry and Bianca to grow more. They should at least reach the level of a 2nd-Class Swordsman and a 2nd Circle mage to hold their own.”

“They’re already capable of handling themselves…”

“Wait! Someone’s up ahead,” Rodin interrupted, cutting Jena off. He knew what she was about to say, but now wasn’t the time.