Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 157 (Part 2)

“What do we do?”

“Let’s head back for now.”

“What about the others?”

“They’re already preparing. Besides, without a mage, it’s nearly impossible to take down a flying beast.”

Though the Wyvern had targeted Larry, everyone had seen it. The creature was so massive that it was impossible to miss.

—

“You’re right. Let’s go.”

“Stay alert and keep an eye on the sky.”

“Got it.”

With that, Larry and Jena made their way toward the County of Aramia, never letting their guard down.

The Wyvern, seemingly recognizing that they were no easy target, refrained from diving again.

*

After several days of research, there had been some progress.

Rodin was on the verge of successfully casting a Spatial Teleportation Spell.

Carefully, he reviewed the incantation that had failed to activate by the slightest margin.

“Maybe instead of ‘move,’ I should use a rune that means ‘cross’? No… ‘manifest’ seems like a better fit.”

Adjusting a few parts of the existing spell, he memorized the modifications.

After repeating them several times under his breath, the new incantation rolled smoothly off his tongue.

“Set the arrival coordinates to the master bedroom.”

Rodin, seated on the sofa in the reception room, chanted the newly revised spell. He visualized the arrival coordinates and painted the image in his mind.

Finally, completing the incantation, he spoke the activation word.

“Teleport.”

Like a light artifact flickering out when its magic power is depleted, his body suddenly vanished with a pop. Rodin’s vision shifted abruptly.

“It’s done.”

He quickly scanned his surroundings—it was the master bedroom. He had successfully arrived at the designated coordinates.

“I’ve finally created it.”

Though it was premature to call it perfect, as there were still many rough edges, he had at least managed to cast the spell. Now, all that remained was refining it further through repeated use, optimizing its efficiency.

“The formula matters more than the runes.”

The runes used for the teleportation spell were ones he had already learned in the Special Forces Training Institute. In fact, most magic could be created using just the 8,000 or so runes taught in the early stages.

Of course, merely going back in time wouldn’t have allowed him to create the teleportation spell.

Runes were the ingredients of magic, but to cook a proper dish, one needed a recipe.

Through Frouval’s Illusionary lessons, Rodin had learned the formulas that served as the recipes for rune combinations. Having studied thousands of different rune arrangements, he was now able to experiment with various possibilities when creating new spells.

“I’ll have to check the coordinates every time I move.”

Now that he was using teleportation, the number of coordinates he needed to track had increased.

Previously, it was enough to know relative coordinates, using himself as (0, 0, 0). Whether it was a spell flying in a straight line or falling from midair, the default reference point was always the caster’s position—(0, 0, 0).

But now that he was a 7th-circle mage and using spatial movement, he needed absolute coordinates.

Regardless of where the caster moved, fixed coordinates were necessary for teleportation to a specific location.

For now, Rodin designated the clearing in front of the annex of this inn as (0, 0, 0).

If he wanted to move elsewhere in the future, he would need to determine the direction and distance from this spot, as well as the height difference.

“Still, getting past the first hurdle puts me at ease.”

Leaving the master bedroom, he returned to the reception room and sat back on the sofa. Just as he leaned against it, thinking to rest for a while, the door burst open, and people rushed in.

Bianca, who had been practicing magic in the clearing; Larry and Jena, who had gone out to hunt Lizardmen; and Karis, who had been guarding the entrance.

All four members of their group had returned.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone here?”

“Brother, you didn’t know?”

“If you cut to the conclusion without any context, how would I?”

“The giant wyvern we saw on our way here—it’s appeared over Aramia.”

Hearing Larry’s words, Rodin stepped out into the garden. He looked up at the sky, searching for the giant wyvern.

“There it is. That thing’s wounds are almost healed.”

“You can see it from here?”

“It’s flying quite high. It doesn’t seem like it plans to attack anywhere just yet.”

Rodin couldn’t actually see it with his naked eye. It was soaring at such a great height that even looking for a mere speck was difficult.

But Rodin had Jito.

Lifting Jito’s red gemstone eye upward, he scanned the sky. Through their shared vision, the giant wyvern came into view.

“Jena and I were hunting Lizardmen, but that thing attacked us.”

“You and Jena?”

“Yeah.”

Rodin instinctively checked their bodies. Fortunately, neither of them seemed injured.

“Why you two, of all people? Were you the only ones hunting?”

“Young Master, I think it’s because we were the easiest targets. There were no Lizardmen around, so we had put our weapons away, and it was just the two of us.”

On the third day after arriving in Aramia, Rodin had visited the Lizardman hunting grounds with Larry. His goal was just to assess the environment, and after doing so, he had returned to the inn.

At that time, several mercenary parties were scattered around, hunting Lizardmen. The groups varied in size—some had as few as five or six members, while the larger ones had thirteen or fourteen.

“It attacked just because there were only two of you? What about the other parties? Were any of them attacked?”

“No. We were the only ones. No other party has been attacked as far as we know.”

“Then… that thing’s going to be even harder to catch now. Before, it was at least reckless. Now, it’ll be nearly impossible to pin down.”

Rodin realized the creature’s behavior had changed.

The wyvern that had swallowed the Magic Stone was losing its reckless nature.

“Why’s that?”

“Do you remember the people who tried to hunt the giant wyvern before? How many were there?”

“Uh… There were about 300 soldiers and 50 knights.”

“And 10 mages. Back then, that thing still charged in, despite being outnumbered 300 to 1, because it believed in its own strength. But now, it avoids fights whenever there are even a few people gathered.”

If they had finished off the giant wyvern back then, when the Ekrot Magic Tower and the knights of the Larien County were involved, things would have been much easier.

But their failure had changed everything.

The giant wyvern had learned the danger of humans.

It had come to understand that groups of humans were formidable, that armed humans were difficult opponents.

“Ah… It must have suffered badly back then.”

“Yeah. That’s why it’s even harder to catch now. If as few as five or six people gather, it won’t attack.”

Right now, the giant wyvern was weighing its options.

Should it hunt humans, or should it seek out other prey?

Among the many creatures it could feed on, humans were one of the most troublesome.

They resisted fiercely, fought in groups, and used their intelligence to set traps.

On top of that, their clothes and equipment made them a hassle to eat even after being caught.

“What do we do?”

“Hmm. A wyvern of that size… The entire Aramia County must be in turmoil.”

“Yeah. Things were in an uproar on our way back. Looks like the news has spread.”

“Then there’s nothing for us to do. The Count of Aramia will handle it for now. Besides, the ones who failed to catch it before must also be in the county right now.”

“Oh! That’s right, they’re here too.”

Even if the mages from the Ekrot Magic Tower were currently in Aramia County, Rodin doubted they could capture the giant wyvern.

‘There’s no way it’ll fight them again.’

The wyvern now understood the danger of knights and had experienced firsthand the destructive force of magic.

Most importantly, it had learned that fighting on the ground was a disadvantage.

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