Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 31 (Part 2)

“Ah!”

“This is the research lab and the production lab.”

“Research lab, production lab.”

“From now on, you will spend your days here. Come here after breakfast and stay until two hours before bedtime. Lunch and dinner will be provided by the assistants at the right times.”

The joy of discovering new books vanished.

This was practically imprisonment. He was to sleep in the dormitory but spend the rest of the time here.

“Is there anything specific I need to do here?”

“Did you see the books on the first floor? They include texts on artifact production and severely damaged books. They are unorganized. Read those books and research potion production.”

“Potion production? Just from reading books?”

“If you need materials, tell the assistants outside. They will provide them. Time is short. War will break out soon. Ensuring the supply of potions is crucial for the survival of this country and the training institution.”

It was essentially an order to stay locked up and make potions. This was no different from being a prisoner or a slave.

‘Ah, I am a slave.’

Though he bore the slave mark, he had never been treated like one.

Until now, he had been treated as a promising soldier and a talented aspiring magician.

“Do you need the potion recipes? Or do I have to make the potions myself?”

“Of course, you have to make the potions.”

He expected this answer. He had never hoped for anything from battle magicians in the first place.

They were experts at breaking and burning, but they were terrible at making and fixing things.

“What is the deadline?”

“Come here after breakfast tomorrow. There is no set deadline. Until I tell you otherwise, you will read the books on the first floor and develop potion recipes. Further instructions will be given depending on the situation.”

“Understood.”

He was boiling with anger. He wanted to charge with magic and run away.

But after a moment of thought, he decided to accept it for now.

He was curious about the books on the first floor. Artifact production had always been an area of interest to him. The fact that these were books he had never seen before made him even more interested.

* * *

Back at the dormitory, Rodin explained the orders he received today to Hedler, Lant, and Cory.

He told them that he wouldn’t be able to have lunch and dinner with them anymore.

All three were angry, but Hedler was especially furious. He immediately recognized that Rodin’s situation was no different from that of a prisoner.

Rodin worked hard to calm his comrades. Not just telling them to calm down, but actually trying to remove their anger from within their bodies.

If they harbored this anger, it could show in front of the instructors.

There was still a lot of time left to spend at the training institution. It would be problematic to fall out of favor with the instructors so early.

The next morning, after breakfast, Rodin entered the lakeside library. Through an assistant, he learned that this place was called the Advanced 3rd Library.

“It’s too humid to be considered an advanced library.”

The lakeside was a humid place, not ideal for storing books.

Yet, they built the Advanced 3rd Library in such a location because they had the means to control the humidity.

“There it is.”

On the ceiling of the first floor, there was an artifact that controlled humidity.

By reading the flow of magic within the artifact, he could easily understand its function.

“First, I need to find books related to potions.”

He walked along the bookshelf, quickly reading the book titles.

They were randomly placed without any organization, making it difficult to find the desired books.

Though it was frustrating, he first checked and memorized all the book titles.

There were books without titles and many that were too worn to read the titles. He remembered such books with the keyword “untitled.”

After memorizing all the book titles, he had a good idea of which books to read.

“No need to organize the books.”

There was no reason to organize them for someone else’s convenience. He already knew where every book was. He just needed to set aside the untitled books he remembered.

He didn’t feel like putting in the effort to organize the books for the instructors or committee members who might come here next.

“First, the potion books.”

While carefully inspecting the bookshelves, he noticed that the assistants outside were listening to the inside. They seemed to be monitoring his every move.

“It must be the committee’s order.”

He subconsciously paid attention not to let any sounds escape his mouth. He didn’t want to cause trouble with a careless remark.

“These and these.”

Just like in the library, he read the books while standing next to the bookshelf. He didn’t want to waste time going back and forth to the desk.

While Rodin was confined to the Advanced 3rd Library, the first class trainees left the special forces training institution.

After a year of military service, they would return for the graduation ceremony.

With the first class gone, the second class became the senior trainees. And the third class was now the second highest class in the special forces training institution.

Rodin restored the potion recipes in just six days. He combined the scattered contents from various places and utilized all his knowledge of runes.

“No need to reveal it early.”

The committee probably didn’t expect the restoration of the potion recipes to be completed quickly. They would have allowed at least a few months, so he decided to use that time to leisurely read books.

If he reported the restoration of the potion recipes, he would have to start making potions immediately. His personal time would be drastically reduced.

“There’s no need to rush the artifacts. There will be plenty of opportunities. Let’s focus on the unidentified books first.”

The committee wouldn’t be satisfied with just potions. The greedy ones would definitely order him to make other artifacts as well. When that time came, he could read the books related to artifacts.

“Ugh, this is garbage.”

He had high expectations for books without titles, wondering if they might be precious books.

He had hoped to discover some ancient forgotten magic and forgive the committee for locking him up.

But he couldn’t hide his disappointment as he checked each book.

Why were there so many romance novels written by some unknown person? About half of the untitled books were love stories.

There were also books boasting about how great the author was, and some asking for revenge for some injustice.

“What kind of trashy erotic story is this?”

The beginning was grand, but it quickly turned into a vulgar story. Each time he encountered such a book, his anger towards the committee members who imprisoned him grew.

“Hmm?”

Of course, not all the books were garbage. There were also books with knowledge, and many that made him gasp in admiration.

“Ah!”

It was a book related to ancient magic.

While it didn’t contain magic spells, it did feature many runes he hadn’t known before.

“To find such a treasure here.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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