Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 60 (Part 1)
Rodin gave up searching for his sister and set his course southeast.
During the journey, he encountered countless imperial soldiers. He tried to avoid them as much as possible, but there were times when evasion was impossible.
In those moments, he quietly approached, killed only the minimum number of imperial soldiers necessary, and moved on. He also made sure to erase any traces left behind.
He continued heading southeast for quite a while.
Once again, he crossed the front line established between the Ingram Empire and the Riyaz Kingdom. During a brief investigation at home, he discovered that the front line had been pushed significantly further south.
“They really can’t hold on.”
Even after entering the Riyaz Kingdom, he didn’t stop moving. He continued southward, then eastward without resting.
Before the sun fully set, he arrived in a mid-sized city called Stren.
“Wow, potion prices have really skyrocketed.”
This city was located in the southern region, far from the battlefield. It wasn’t a major city with a large transient population either.
Yet, the general store had posted that it was buying healing potions for 30 gold. This meant they were being sold for more than 40 gold at the front lines.
Rodin took out just one potion from his stash of ancient arcane potions and sold it.
As soon as he received the thirty gold coins, the eyes of rough-looking men nearby gleamed with greed. Their gazes were filled with avarice.
“I hate dealing with this kind of trouble.”
To shake off these potential threats, he casually cast a small fire spell, holding it in his palm. Then, as if playing around, he passed the flame from one hand to the other before naturally extinguishing the magic.
In an instant, the greedy stares vanished. A simple display of power had been enough to preemptively deter any troublemakers.
“Shall I head over?”
He entered the inn he had noticed earlier and requested a room for the night. A night’s stay cost 1 gold, with an additional 10 silver per meal.
He ordered dinner and breakfast for the following morning, paying 2 gold and receiving 80 silver in change.
“I should probably check the value of money here.”
Rodin paid the innkeeper the requested amount, not wanting to argue. He couldn’t tell if he was being overcharged or if the price was reasonable.
The price of potions, which used to be 10 gold, was now 30 gold even in this rear area. It wasn’t just the price of potions that had increased; the prices of food and daily necessities had also risen due to the war. Lodging costs were no exception.
“I’ll check it later.”
He sat at a table in the hall, waiting for his meal. Soon, a slightly watery soup, well-seasoned and cooked meat, salad, and boiled potatoes were served.
He cut a small piece of meat with his knife and put it in his mouth.
It was quite a decent meal. As Hedler had mentioned, food outside the training center tasted about twice as good as the meals he had there.
The soup was good, the potatoes weren’t dry, and even the salad had a fresh feel to it.
“But the portion is a bit…”
The portions of soup, meat, and boiled potatoes were all lacking. It was about half of what he was used to eating at the special forces training center, so he didn’t feel full.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Could I get another serving?”
“That’ll be 10 silver.”
He handed over the money and waited for the food. During the wait, he pondered what to do next.
“The central continent isn’t the answer.”
Cory had already gone there, and Hedler and Lant were planning to go as well. The central continent was where many trainees were headed.
But Rodin knew. There was no such thing as a beautiful utopia in this world.
The central continent had its own hardships.
Aside from the lack of a slave system and being relatively safe from the flames of war, the central and western continents weren’t much different.
“Wars and slave marks don’t concern me anyway.”
He was a 5th Circle Mage. Moreover, he was confident that he was significantly stronger than most other 5th Circle Mages or 5th Tier Knights.
As long as no one set up a thorough encirclement or a powerful adversary specifically targeted him, he wouldn’t face much danger here either.
“I should completely erase the slave mark today.”
There was still a slave mark on the back of Rodin’s head. He had only erased the explosive magic circle so far; if he shaved the back of his head, the slave symbol would still be clearly visible.
He planned to erase that symbol tonight as well. It wouldn’t take much time.
“Your meal is ready.”
“Thank you.”
A meal slightly different from before was served. The soup and salad were the same, but the meat had been seasoned differently, and instead of boiled potatoes, warm bread was provided.
“This is good too.”
Although the menu had changed, this meal was still better than the food at the special forces training center.
After finishing the satisfying meal, he headed to his room on the second floor.
As soon as he entered the room, he began the process of completely removing the slave mark.
He meticulously manipulated his mana, erasing the foreign magic left on the back of his head bit by bit. Since the magic had been crudely engraved in the first place, it didn’t take much effort to erase it completely.
“Mirror Image.”
After about 40 minutes, the slave mark was entirely gone.
He calculated the coordinates and cast a spell to see the back of his head. The scene of the back of his head appeared before his eyes.
“Let’s see.”
He carefully examined his scalp, checking to make sure no marks were left.
Fortunately, it was clean. The distinctive red and blue colors of the slave mark were completely gone.
“Perfect.”
As he considered what else needed to be done, he remembered that he hadn’t done his mana training for the day. He immediately moved the items on the floor to the walls and began to cast a spell.
“Print. Mana Concentration Magic Circle.”
He drew a magic circle on the wooden floor, one that he had stored in memory. In the center, he placed a low-grade mana stone.
It would take about three or four hours for the mana to gather. Since it was around 7 o’clock now, he figured he could do a cycle of mana training before bed.
“What else?”
He opened his backpack and took out a statue he had found in the underground chamber of the Elrov Committee earlier that day. The staff from which the orb had been removed was already leaning against the bed.
“What is this statue? Light.”
He cast a light spell to illuminate the statue. It was a finely crafted figurine of a person.
“Is that an apron? And this… could it be a chef’s hat?”