Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 16 (Part 1)

Disappointed, Cory stepped back, and Rodin stood before Instructor Serion. He was within arm’s reach.

Instructor Serion patted the shoulder of trainee number 108, the shortest among the three batches. It was an unconscious action.

Number 108 was famous among the instructors. No, he was the most talked about even among the committee and assistant instructors.

Reports indicated that he used the library whenever he had time. From the first batch to this third batch. It was the first time in three years of operating the Special Forces Training Center that something like this had happened, so it naturally drew attention.

Moreover, he was the youngest among the third batch of trainees.

Despite this, he had passed most of the tests with the highest scores so far. As an instructor, it was impossible not to find him admirable.

“Ahem, ahem. Stand straight.”

“Yes.”

Instructor Serion brought a measuring device to Rodin’s chest. Then, as before, he closed his eyes and used some kind of magic.

The measurement was over quickly. It only took a few seconds for the results to come out, and Instructor Serion’s eyes widened.

“Hmm, we need to measure again.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

The measurement was conducted once more. This time, too, the results came out quickly.

Instructor Serion slightly opened his mouth as he looked at the fine measurement orb displaying the second record. His face was full of disbelief.

“Ha, this is…”

Gulp!

Cory swallowed his saliva as he waited for the announcement.

Cory was more nervous than Rodin. Half of him hoped his friend Rodin had outstanding magical talent, and the other half selfishly wished Rodin’s score was lower than his own.

“I said earlier that a score above 20 points indicates ‘excellent’ talent, right? A score above 50 points is described as ‘genius’. It means you are in the realm of geniuses, not ordinary people. If you reach that level, elders or tower masters from any magic tower would beg to take you as their disciple.”

Instructor Serion wasn’t sure if he should reveal the measurement value. There was a concern that Rodin might become complacent and neglect his training.

He also worried about the jealousy of other trainees.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Revealing the measurement value was a matter decided by the committee. It wasn’t something he could change at will as an instructor.

“Your score is 58 points. In terms of magical power, you have a genius-level talent. You can be proud of that.”

“Wow! …”

Cory’s voice rang out loudly from behind. The score of 58 points was an astonishing result even for Rodin.

‘How did I get 58 points?’

The method for measuring magical talent was so simple that one cycle was extremely short.

In Rodin’s case, one cycle took about 5 minutes and 5 to 10 seconds. In an hour, he could complete 11 cycles.

However, Rodin finished the practice after just 5 cycles. It was less than half the number of cycles.

‘I know I had talent for magic, but I slacked off so I don’t get noticed.’

He was a bit surprised but quickly calmed down.

As Instructor Serion said, magical talent didn’t directly translate to magical ability. Many factors were necessary for magic besides magical power.

Whether he could succeed as a true magician could only be determined by learning magic directly.

“Return to your place.”

“Yes.”

Rodin went to stand next to Cory.

Instructor Serion took out two blue cards from his pocket. He caressed them with a look of emotion.

“Finally, I get to give out these cards. You’ll find out when you return to the barracks, but today’s measurement results were the worst.”

There were two types of cards. The blue card was the key to the magic training room, and the golden card was the key to the aura training room.

Today, not a single trainee from the third batch received a blue card. Cory and Rodin were the only trainees receiving blue cards.

“Take it. This is the key to using the magic training room from now on. Ah! Number 108, you visit the library often, right? You need this key to access the advanced archives with professional literature.”

“Thank you.”

“Are we returning to the barracks now?”

“No, you two have more to do. Follow me.”

With Instructor Serion leading, they went past the magic training room to the back.

A forest with fresh, lush greenery unfolded before their eyes.

“Huh?”

“As you can see, it’s a forest. Keep following me.”

“We weren’t told about this.”

“The place we’re going to now is prepared to measure your talents in spirit and beast summoning. The trainees who took the magic measurement earlier? Since they don’t have magical talent, they never had to come here.”

Magic was essential for summoning spirits or beasts. Without magic, even if one successfully contracted, summoning was impossible.

Thus, those with low magical talent didn’t need to attempt spirit or beast summoning.

“Are we the only ones?”

“That’s right. Out of the third batch of trainees, only you two have magical talents above 10 points.”

“Ah.”

“You will attempt spirit and beast summoning in the center of the forest. We will start with spirit summoning first. Number 107.”

“Yes.”

Cory responded energetically and sat down.

He had been feeling down because his magical talent was only ‘good’, but hearing that only two of them had been selected suddenly lifted his spirits. He felt like someone chosen.

“Oh.”

About 10 minutes into Cory’s concentration, a black dot appeared before his eyes. It was much larger than the black dot Rodin had created yesterday.

‘Cory has a talent for spirit summoning.’

Even though sweat was dripping from his forehead, Cory was trying his best to widen the passage. It was commendable to see Cory concentrating.

Instructor Serion approached Cory and measured the size of the black dot. Judging by his bright expression, it seemed quite a remarkable talent.

“Huff, huff.”

“Lie down. Lie down and rest.”

“Um, um… Do I have talent for spirit summoning?”

Hyung_Otaku2

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