Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 45 (Part 1)

Today, I decided to stop here and left the central building.

Rodin restored the magical lock that had been deactivated. Although a few better magical locks flashed through his mind momentarily, he intentionally erased those thoughts.

Even though he couldn’t get inside, he had already unlocked the magical lock. Undine had also checked the physical locks.

“I should be able to enter tomorrow.”

There was no need to rush.

For the next few days, Commissioner Habinon would guard the central building at night. There was plenty of time to enter the secret space in the basement of the central building.

Leaving the instructors on guard behind, he walked east. It was the opposite direction of the dormitory.

In a slightly shaded area, there was a place named ‘Special Forces Training Ground Forge.’ It was a place to repair equipment.

Since there were swordsmanship trainees, it was natural for the Special Forces Training Ground to have a forge. With over 500 trainees, the scale was considerable.

However, no equipment was manufactured here. There were no craftsmen skilled enough for that.

This large forge only repaired minor damages or nicks. Equipment that was broken or had significant damage was simply discarded.

It was a waste of an expensive forge, but there was no choice.

With only unskilled novices, it was impossible to repair anything more than minor damages. They had no choice but to discard and buy new ones.

“I need to gather a lot. Magic Hand.”

Using Magic Hand, he gathered a lot of iron that had been discarded in an isolated area. It was enough to make a full plate mail, sword, and shield.

Rodin also visited the deep library by the lakeside. The instructors were also on guard here, but no one noticed Rodin.

“Sleep.”

With a simple spell, he put the two guards on watch to sleep. He caught the falling guards and leaned them against the wall.

“Magic Hand.”

If they woke up standing, they would think they had dozed off for a moment. It was common to doze off during night duty.

On the other hand, if they were lying down, they might suspect, “Was it magic?” No matter how tired one is, falling asleep while losing balance is unusual.

So Rodin put the guards to sleep and held them with Magic Hand. Even if they woke up later, they would just think they had dozed off briefly.

He placed the iron he had taken from the forge inside the advanced library. He didn’t forget to slightly hide it with a desk and chairs.

“Time to go back.”

He left the deep library. From a suitable distance, he released Sleep and Magic Hand simultaneously.

Stumble.

The guards who had fallen asleep quickly regained their balance.

It was rare for both to stumble at the same time, but they didn’t think deeply about it. They just thought they had dozed off briefly and focused back on their watch.

“Time to go back. I’ve been gone too long.”

It was almost time for the instructors to make their rounds to the dormitories.

He had set up some arrangements using magic and pillows, but it was best to return to the dormitory before the instructors made their rounds.

* * *

The next day, the same routine continued. He woke up in the morning, did a run, and finished breakfast. Then, with a calm face, he headed to the deep library by the lakeside.

“Good morning.”

“Number 108, you’re here. What was for breakfast?”

“Well, the usual. Steak, salad, bread, soup. Oh! The meat was a bit tough today. It seems the supplier has changed.”

“Sigh, it’s getting worse and worse.”

The price of potions kept rising. Consequently, the income generated by the committee also increased.

However, the cost of food also rose significantly. Especially meat, which couldn’t be stored for long, had increased almost fivefold compared to two years ago.

“Hopefully, it will get better over time.”

“I hope so. Go on in. Work hard today.”

“Yes. Take care.”

After a simple conversation as usual, he entered the deep library. The real work of the day was about to begin.

“First, the Mana Accumulation Magic Circle. Print.”

He created a magic circle on the floor in advance. Since it took time to absorb the surrounding mana, it was better to prepare it beforehand.

He placed a lower-grade mana stone in the center of the magic circle. The magic circle began to operate, drawing in the surrounding mana.

“Undine. When you entered the keyhole yesterday, recreate your form exactly.”

Nod!

Undine changed her shape, transforming into something resembling a key. It was the form she had taken when she entered the keyhole yesterday.

“If I make it exactly like this, it will be a key. Hmm, not the ones next to it.”

Undine reproduced even the gaps in the lock. Since it wasn’t necessary to create certain parts, Rodin lightly tapped them away with his hand.

“This shape should do.”

He took out the front part of a broken sword from the metal he brought yesterday. It was a piece broken during practice, abandoned as it couldn’t be repaired.

“Phew, another tough day ahead. Ignite, Shape.”

Using his magic, he cast the Ignition spell. The surrounding area heated up rapidly.

Rodin continued to project his magic while drawing hand signs. As he accurately inscribed each rune, the heat intensified.

Soon, the metal in the shape of a sword began to melt. At this moment, the Shaping spell intervened with the molten metal.

“Shape it accurately.”

It was said that one needed to be a 6th-circle mage to generate enough heat to completely melt iron.

That didn’t mean a 5th-circle mage couldn’t generate enough heat to melt iron.

In large-scale battles, it was common for parts of full plate armor to melt when hit by fire spells from 5th-circle mages. This indicated that the firepower itself was sufficient.

However, a 5th-circle mage couldn’t maintain the necessary heat to melt iron continuously.

There was no special reason. It was simply due to their insufficient ability to control their mana.

Rodin overcame this limitation with the hand-sign method. He projected firepower stronger than a 6th-circle mage and maintained the heat with precise control.

“Phew. Magic Hand.”

The key was completed. He used Magic Hand to bring the key close to his eyes. The heat hadn’t dissipated yet, so Rodin inspected the key with his eyes only.

“It turned out well.”

In addition to making the key, he had other tasks to do today. Thinking about his tasks made him sigh.

“Sigh.”

Rodin slightly lifted the floor he had torn up in a corner. Inside, there were 50 slave rod. To be precise, they were metal rods shaped exactly like slave rod.

It wasn’t the first time he had collected iron from the forge. He had been bringing iron for the past three days, making slave stick replicas here.

The fake slave rod were numbered from 57 to 106. He had made fake slave rod for all the 3rd batch trainees.

Number 107, Cory, had already had his slave stick retrieved and left. He had long been free from the constraints of the slave seal.

“Should I start with the 4th batch? Or the 1st batch?”

Hyung_Otaku2

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