Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 65 (Part 2)

Rodin found Bron’s group as soon as he left the inn. Ellice and Baker were waiting nearby, not far from the entrance.

“Rodin! Where did you go?”

“I just looked around a bit. There are a lot of people.”

“Sure, you wouldn’t get lost or anything, but still, let us know if you’re going somewhere. We were worried.”

“Got it.”

Rodin joined Bron’s group, and they found another inn. Fortunately, this one wasn’t as crowded and was rather quiet.

They unpacked their things and then wandered around the village.

Rodin bought a few sets of clothes and some camping supplies. Bron replaced a few worn-out pieces of equipment, and Baker bought enough food to bring back to the inn.

“What should we do tomorrow? Leave early? Or should we rest well and leave late in the morning?”

“It doesn’t really matter when we leave since we’ll be skipping the next village anyway.”

“Right. If we’re not stopping at another village for a while, let’s rest up and leave after breakfast.”

Bron’s group rarely stopped in villages, often camping outside instead. They only stayed at inns when they felt particularly tired.

This was also due to financial reasons.

Staying at an inn meant paying for lodging and meals. With their limited funds, Bron’s group avoided villages whenever possible.

“It only takes two or three hours to get to the Lamaton River.”

“That’s right. And Rodin said he’d handle the river crossing. Great, let’s have a good rest and leave after breakfast tomorrow.”

After finishing their meal, everyone retired to their rooms.

As the only woman, Ellice naturally had her own room.

Bron, Marlon, and Baker, in an effort to save money, shared a room.

The only one who stayed alone was Rodin.

Rodin had plenty of money. Just from collecting the dead merchant’s belongings, he had over 10,000 gold. If needed, he could also sell potions to raise more funds.

“This could fetch a good price.”

Rodin took out a necklace from his belongings. It was a valuable item that had belonged to the deceased merchant.

“It’s not an artifact, though.”

The gemstone embedded in the necklace was no ordinary stone. It was a diamond, nearly the size of a walnut. Even high-ranking nobles would find it difficult to acquire such a gemstone.

‘Of course, I can’t just sell it as it is.’

A necklace with a diamond of this size was extremely rare.

The moment it appeared on the market, someone would likely recognize its original owner. There was a risk that people connected to the deceased merchant might come looking for it.

“I’ll make an artifact out of it later.”

A diamond of this quality was an excellent material for making artifacts. Especially when paired with a high-quality mana stone, it could be used to create an artifact containing a 5th-circle spell or higher.

“I’ll need to do more research on this.”

He set the necklace aside and took out a box. It was an item that the deceased merchant had handed to him.

The box emitted almost no magical energy.

Yet, it was undoubtedly an artifact, something that surprised Rodin greatly.

Emitting magical energy meant it was being wasted. Rodin himself tried to ensure that his artifacts leaked as little magical energy as possible when he created them.

But this box was on another level.

Even with his highly attuned senses, he could barely detect any energy from it. He had to close his eyes and focus intently to feel even the faintest hint of magic.

“It might take a few more days.”

Rodin still hadn’t managed to open the box. He had been studying it intermittently during their travels, but he hadn’t yet figured out how to unlock it.

However, he had confirmed that the box was sealed with a spell that prevented anyone but a specific person from opening it.

The next step was to imitate that person’s method to open the box.

“I’m almost there.”

Rodin set the box aside and pulled out a book.

He had been reading books every night, burning each one after he finished it.

It had been over ten days since they left the training center. He had already burned most of the books he had taken from the advanced library, leaving only three.

As a result, his backpack had become much lighter since their departure from the special forces training center. As he completed the potions, the bulk of the materials decreased, and burning the books created more space in his pack.

Today, he had bought camping gear and some clothes, but his backpack still had plenty of room.

“Or am I the strange one, carrying two backpacks?”

He usually tied his packs to the horse, so he didn’t feel the weight as much since he rarely carried them himself.

Rodin took out the 400 potions, spare clothes, and other items he had bought today, including jerky, and set them aside. Now, only the empty backpack remained.

*Tap, tap!*

Dust puffed out as he patted the backpack. He roughly brushed it off with his hand and then used Undine to wash it clean.

The backpack was now somewhat cleaner. He carefully packed his belongings back into the backpack.

“I’ll check out some spirit stones when we reach a big city.”

It wasn’t yet time for Undine to grow. They needed to spend more time together.

But it was clear that the time wasn’t far off.

Even without rain, Undine’s sensing range was quite wide. Her expressions were also more distinct than before, like a mute child trying to communicate.

Around 4 a.m., still dark outside with the sun yet to rise, Rodin suddenly woke up from a deep sleep.

‘Magic power?’

He sensed an enormous amount of magic power coming from the west. The scale was unimaginable, and it sent chills down his spine.

Hyung_Otaku2

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