Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 34 (Part 1)

Rodin read books intermittently while making potions. At the same time, he strove to find ways to replace the magic training room.

In the meantime, the year changed.

The second group left to experience military life in the field, and the first group that had experienced military life for a year returned.

The faces of the first group returning to the special forces training camp were filled with pride. Their eyes were sharp, and a stubbornness could be felt from their tightly closed mouths.

Five days after the first group returned, a graduation ceremony was held for the first group of trainees.

“It’s the first graduation ceremony.”

“Yeah. But what happens to the first group after the ceremony? Do they go back to the unit?”

“No, I heard they’re staying at the training camp.”

The first group had experienced military life for a year, but that was only to give them a taste of military reality. The committee had no intention of scattering the special forces training camp graduates to various units.

The plan was to keep them at the training camp and mobilize them as needed.

Keeping all the trainees from the special forces training camp as one organization was essential to maintain influence over the entire military.

“That’s how the special forces training camp becomes a single army.”

“Army?”

“If the first group is spread out to other units, they’ll just become accessories to those units. But if they’re gathered here, they become an army that follows the committee’s orders, like private soldiers.”

As soon as Rodin heard that the first group would stay and continue training after the graduation ceremony, he understood the committee’s intentions. They were reluctant to send off the trainees they had painstakingly nurtured.

The royal family naturally opposed this decision by the committee. The military, including the northern army, also showed strong opposition.

However, the special forces training camp now had the power to push their agenda.

Thanks to the potions Rodin made, the committee was making a substantial amount of money. They no longer needed to rely on support from the royal family.

This also made it difficult for the royal family or the military to impose sanctions on the special forces training camp.

If it weren’t for the impending war with the Ingram Empire, they might have mobilized the army, but it was difficult to allocate forces for internal control at this critical time.

“Is this good or bad?”

“For now, it’s good. At least they won’t be used as cannon fodder.”

Hedler and Lant listened intently to Rodin’s explanation. Cory, pretending to play with a spirit, stayed nearby to listen.

“What do you mean by ‘for now’?”

“It’s good for the time being. If the war progresses favorably, there will be no issues. But if the war turns against us and defeats pile up, it will be bad.”

“Why?”

“War isn’t a game of one unit against another. There will be many times when we’ll need support from other places. But who will come to help us?”

No one else attended the graduation ceremony. Only 22 members of the first group were gathered in the vast training ground.

“Won’t they come?”

“If they have surplus resources, they’ll send help. Otherwise, they won’t. Or they might come late, using the excuse of disciplining us. That’s why I said there would be no problem if the war goes well.”

“But Rodin, aren’t you going today?”

“There’s an issue. Today is a rest day.”

Yesterday, one of the instructors on guard duty at the advanced library was caught trying to steal the potion formula. Documents with the initial potion-making process were also found in the instructor’s quarters.

Chairman Kser immediately took action upon understanding the situation.

The instructor was captured and imprisoned, and all the instructors who had been on duty at the library by the lake for the past six months were being investigated.

Because of one instructor’s misdeed, Rodin was given a day off. A holiday that was more trouble than it was worth.

“The graduation ceremony is over.”

“I’m going to class.”

“Me too.”

“Heh, Rodin, you’re left alone on a rare day off. See you in the evening.”

Everyone left, and Rodin was alone.

Rodin closed his eyes in the dormitory, organizing the knowledge he had gained so far. He was especially focused on the magic circle that gathered mana.

‘It’s different in principle from the training room.’

Mana aggregation magic circle.

Once created, it was better than using the training room. At least for someone with sensitive senses like himself, it was a much better choice than the training room.

‘I need mana stones. They won’t just give them to me.’

To obtain mana stones, he had to create a situation where they had to buy them for him.

‘I need to research artifacts too. Using the need for mana stones as an excuse.’

Theoretically, even a single low-grade mana stone could operate the mana aggregation circle for about six months. He could divert one low-grade mana stone every six months by claiming it was needed for artifact creation.

‘They won’t pay any attention to a magic lamp.’

Magic lamps were already produced by too many places, and their prices had dropped significantly. The committee wouldn’t be interested in something that didn’t bring in money.

‘It has to be more profitable than potions to catch their interest.’

That left only one option: activation-type magic.

If he could create an artifact with a Fireball spell, the committee would provide whatever was needed with eagerness.

‘Is Fireball too much?’

Fireball was a 3rd-circle magic. There were very few activation-type artifacts containing even 1st-circle magic, let alone 3rd-circle magic.

‘I should look for 1st or 2nd-circle spells.’

Creating an artifact with 3rd-circle magic would be a huge success, but the path to it was too difficult.

He had no idea how long he would need to research. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible.

‘What would be good?’

He reviewed all the books he had seen in the advanced library. Books he had seen in the advanced section of the library also flashed through his mind.

‘Am I thinking too hard? People buy what they need, after all.’

It didn’t necessarily have to be for combat. It just had to be an artifact valuable enough to buy.

‘An alarm or Wind Shield. Either of those might catch the committee’s interest.’

He visualized the runes for alarm magic and Wind Shield in his mind.

If he could deconstruct and recombine them well, it seemed possible to create an artifact.

‘The remaining issue is the mana stones.’

If he received ten low-grade mana stones and made only nine artifacts, they would obviously ask what happened to the remaining one. Using ten mana stones should yield ten artifacts.

‘That way, I can’t divert any mana stones.’

The only option was to process the mana stones without using them directly.

‘I remember seeing something about making them into powder.’

He recalled reading that “mana stones were processed into powder and used.” However, the specifics of how they were processed weren’t detailed.

‘That must be how they made magic crystals. It’s impossible for me now. Maybe if I research for a hundred years.’

The method to create magic crystals had been lost long ago. Many places, including the four major magic towers, had researched it for hundreds of years, but no one had succeeded.

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