Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 5 (Part 1)

The children straightened their shoulders, satisfied with their new clothes. Just like their seniors from a few hours ago, they struck a pose.

“Snort! Hahaha.”

At that moment, Cory started laughing at Rodin’s appearance. Rodin also couldn’t help but sigh at his own look.

It seemed that there were no clothes prepared for children under the age of five.

The clothes were too big. The bottom of the top extended below his knees. The sleeves were so long that they fluttered, and the hem of the pants was so loose that it could practically clean the floor.

“Sigh.”

Rodin reluctantly folded the sleeves. One fold wasn’t enough, so he had to fold them three times to barely expose his wrists.

He also folded the hem of the pants three times to a suitable length, revealing his old, worn-out shoes.

He still didn’t look cool. It was like a child wearing his father’s clothes.

“I should fold mine too.”

Cory, who had laughed at Rodin, was also short. However, he was much taller than Rodin, so folding the sleeves and pants once was enough to make it look decent.

“Attention!”

The children, who had been admiring their clothes, immediately froze at the word “attention.” The memory of being forced into push-ups and experiencing violence made them react instantly.

“The number engraved on your chest is now your name. Anyone who doesn’t know numbers, raise your hand! No, anyone who knows numbers, raise your hand.”

When he said “Anyone who doesn’t know numbers, raise your hand,” the children raised their hands in confusion. The instructor then changed the command.

Out of the 52 children, only six knew numbers. Rodin and Cory were among those six.

“You!”

The instructor pointed at one of the six who had raised their hands. It was Hedler, who stood at the far left.

“Read the number on your chest.”

“It’s 357.”

“Good. You! What’s the number on your chest?”

The instructor picked another child. This child, who was about middle height, answered nervously.

“It’s 387.”

The child knew numbers only up to ten, so he answered “three, eight, and seven “instead of” three hundred eighty-seven.”

“Listen up, everyone. From now on, the instructors and trainers will call you by your numbers. Remember your number precisely! Trainer!”

“Yes.”

“Teach the children their numbers.”

“Yes, sir.”

The trainers approached the children to teach them their numbers.

Hedler didn’t need a trainer since he could already read his number accurately.

One of the trainers approached Rodin and Cory as well.

“You! You said you know numbers?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me your number.”

“It’s 3107.”

The trainer clicked his tongue briefly at Cory’s answer. He seemed a bit annoyed.

“Your number is 3107. Not 10-7 but 107.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“You, tell me your number.”

“It’s 3108.”

The trainer shrugged at Rodin’s answer. He then came right in front of Rodin and looked into his eyes.

“You’re short.”

“Yes, I haven’t grown much. I haven’t eaten well either.”

“How high can you count?”

“I can count up to the ten-thousands.”

Rodin learned numbers by observing the village chief, who calculated the harvest and set prices after the harvest season.

The village was small, so he didn’t learn numbers beyond the ten-thousands.

“Smart kid.”

“Thank you.”

The trainer turned to Cory and explained why his number was 107 and not 10-7, teaching the concept of tens and hundreds.

“Attention!”

“Yes.”

“The children who have learned their numbers, move to the large playground behind that building.”

It was the instructor who had been watching the children from the front. Rodin looked at the trainer to ask for permission.

“Can I go?”

“You can go.”

“Come, let’s go together.”

Cory grabbed Rodin, who was about to head to the playground. Rodin looked at Cory briefly and then returned to his original spot.

“Alright, I’ll wait here.”

“I’ll learn quickly.”

“Take your time.”

The trainer didn’t just teach Cory that his number was 107. He also explained the principles behind it, teaching the concepts of tens and hundreds.

“Rodin! Have you learned your number?”

“I know it.”

Hedler approached without Rodin noticing. Rodin shrugged and pointed at Cory next to him.

“Wow, you knew the numbers?”

“By chance.”

“Friend?”

“Uh, maybe?”

Rodin wasn’t sure if Cory was a friend yet. They had just greeted each other today and hadn’t talked much.

However, Cory was the child Rodin had talked to the most, except for Hedler. If friendship were based on the amount of conversation, Cory was certainly the second closest among the 52 children here.

“Interesting.”

Hedler watched Cory learn with a small exclamation. Rodin also found Cory’s learning quite amusing.

Cory was smart. He quickly grasped the concept of tens and then understood the concept of hundreds in no time.

“That’s it. This should be enough.”

“Thank you, trainer.”

The trainer left, patting Cory’s shoulder as he did. He seemed quite pleased with the student.

“Let’s go.”

“Friend?”

“Maybe.”

This time, Cory pointed at Hedler and asked. Rodin gave the same answer he had given to Hedler.

“But we should use our numbers from now on, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Then I’m number 57.”

“I’m 107.”

Rodin didn’t like the idea of losing his name. It felt like losing something precious he had kept for nearly five years.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The three walked side by side to the back of the building, where they found a much larger playground compared to where they had been before.

“Wow! If we ran 33 laps here, we’d all be dead.”

“We couldn’t even run 10 laps here.”

A different instructor was standing with his arms crossed, and a few children who had arrived earlier were gathered in front of him.

Rodin and his friends also moved forward.

The instructor seemed intrigued by the appearance of the three newcomers, likely surprised that the youngest, Rodin, had arrived so quickly.

“You guys. Come and take a key each.”

“What is this key for?”

“Choose first. I’ll explain after.”

The keys were scattered randomly on a large table. There were no special markings on the keys, making them difficult to distinguish.

‘The numbers match the children.’

Hyung_Otaku2

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