Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 159 (Part 1)

They had successfully hunted the giant wyvern, but another problem remained.

“Will this thing fit into the subspace?”

Rodin placed his hand on the carcass and activated his subspace bracelet. The massive body seemed to enter but then stopped, remaining in place.

“No, it won’t. Too big.”

Even if he coiled its tail around its body, its total length exceeded 10 meters, reaching nearly 12 meters. It had grown even larger compared to when he saw it ten days ago.

The largest object Rodin had ever stored in his subspace until now was a carriage, which was just under 3 meters in length.

Since volume increases, the giant wyvern was more than 60 times larger than the carriage.

Tap, tap!

When Rodin looked over his shoulder, he saw Jito tapping his head.

“What?”

— Kuweeng!

“Ah!”

Jito was signaling him to take off his robe, as he was about to transform into clothing.

Rodin ordered Undine to wash Jito, then removed the clothes he was wearing. As soon as he did, Jito stuck to his body and transformed into a robe of a similar color.

“But what should I do about this carcass?”

Rodin had little interest in the carcasses of mana stone-contaminated magical beasts. While they could be used as artifact materials, the impurities made them unsuitable for Rodin’s typically intricate artifact crafting.

However, he could sell it to places like the Magic Tower for a considerable sum. Even if he had no use for it, the Magic Tower would find it valuable as research material.

“For now, I should at least extract the mana stone.”

He initially considered using magic to cut open the wyvern’s belly but changed his approach. Instead, he infused his magic with physical force and pulled the mana stone from inside the creature’s stomach toward its mouth.

“Undine, clean this for me.”

— Heehee!

“What’s so exciting about it?”

Rodin examined the now-cleaned mana stone closely.

It was small. The mana stones he had obtained from the ruins of the Rophelia Kingdom were about the size of walnuts, but this one was only half that size.

However, the mana density was astonishingly high—several times greater than the mana stones found in Rophelia’s ruins.

“Did it absorb mana for a longer period? Or did it change after being consumed by the magical beast?”

This mana stone also contained too many impurities.

If he could remove them cleanly, it would surpass even the magic stones currently being refined in every aspect. Unfortunately, there was no known method to extract the impurities.

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

Rodin stored the mana stone in his subspace and turned his attention back to the giant wyvern’s carcass.

Even though he had enough space in his subspace, the massive body still wouldn’t fit. If he couldn’t store it anywhere, his only option was to leave it behind.

“Such a waste… Hm?”

Rodin detected a mass of mana to his right. A group of mages was approaching.

‘About 100 of them?’

Rodin focused on just one presence among the approaching mana signatures.

A person whose seven mana circles were swirling violently—a 7th Circle Archmage.

‘A 7th Circle Archmage… Is it Slavon?’

Rodin shared his vision with Jito and carefully observed the approaching figures. He could make out their unified robes in the darkness.

‘Doesn’t seem like Slavon.’

He focused on the embroidery on their robes’ chests. The blue-threaded emblem depicted blazing flames.

‘Where is that from?’

Rodin recalled all the mages he had encountered from various Magic Towers.

It wasn’t the snake emblem of the Eckrot Magic Tower.

It wasn’t the crest of the Landes Magic Tower, nor did it match the robe worn by Vetner from the Trasia Magic Tower.

He tried to recall every Magic Tower he had seen in villages and cities, but he had never encountered this emblem before.

‘It’s not the Cedria Magic Tower either. That leaves the Herius Magic Tower or the Chronoa Magic Tower.’

Aside from Slavon, which functioned more like a secret society, there were only four publicly known 7th Circle Archmages.

Excluding Francis, the Tower Master of the Landes Magic Tower, and himself, only two remained—the Tower Masters of Herius Magic Tower and Chronoa Magic Tower.

‘Hiding my circles won’t work against them.’

Rodin weighed his options as he watched the approaching group. Should he conceal his circles? It would be pointless.

The Four Great Magic Towers were known to have close ties. Whoever this 7th Circle Archmage was, they were likely acquainted with Francis.

‘They might have even heard about me.’

Since his identity would be exposed anyway, there was no reason to act secretive and arouse suspicion.

‘In that case…’

Rodin chanted an incantation and completed a spell—one of the 7th Circle spells, “Light of Purity.”

“Light of Purity” was the advanced form of the 6th Circle “Purification” spell. It imbued the very light itself with a purifying aura, cleansing everything within several dozen meters of its glow.

Additionally, as its name suggested, it could be used simply to illuminate the surroundings. Of course, no sane person would waste a 7th Circle spell for mere lighting when a simple 1st Circle “Light” spell would suffice.

However, sometimes it was used deliberately—as a statement, just like now.

When the bright light appeared, the approaching figures hesitated. They had realized that this was no ordinary “Light” spell.

Among them, one person stepped forward—the 7th Circle Archmage.

“So, it’s you?”

“Hmm.”

Rodin frowned at the man’s abrupt tone. It was utterly devoid of respect—completely insolent.

Even so, he couldn’t respond in kind.

If he fought them now, his chances of winning weren’t high. He might be able to handle the 7th Circle Archmage, but the other mages would be a problem.

‘Should I have brought Karis and Jena?’

Leaving without telling them was starting to feel like a mistake. If he had the support of two Master Swordsmen, fighting this entire group might have been feasible.

“I asked if it’s you.”

“What do you mean?”

“This light. That magical beast. Are you responsible for both?”

“Yes, I am.”

Although he was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, Rodin refused to act submissively. Even if a fight broke out, he was confident he could escape safely.

“Get rid of the light. It’s annoying.”

“You know exactly why I cast it.”

“You talk too much. I said, put it out!”

“Haah.”

Rodin’s patience was wearing thin. A part of him wanted to just go all out and break through the situation by force.

‘Hoo…’

He exhaled slowly, barely suppressing his irritation. He decided to endure a little longer.

“You see your senior and don’t even greet him?”

“A greeting? Yes, of course. I am Rodin, a Platinum-ranked mercenary.”

Rodin rose to his feet and bowed respectfully.

The man before him had reached the 7th Circle before him and was much older. There was no shame in showing courtesy.

“I am Bison of the Herius Magic Tower. But your introduction is too brief. Shouldn’t you also mention your master and affiliation?”

“You wouldn’t know my master even if I told you, so I didn’t bother. As for my affiliation, I have none.”

“Are you mocking me? Didn’t you register with the Landes Magic Tower?”

“That was just a formality at the time to get out of a difficult situation. I never considered myself part of the Landes Magic Tower.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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