Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 66 (Part 1)

An unbelievable level of magical energy was resonating from the east. It was far beyond what Kreate, the chairman and a 6th-circle mage, could have possibly conjured.

“A grand mage, perhaps?”

It was conceivable that a grand mage could create such a fluctuation of magical power, though Rodin had never encountered one before to be sure.

“But it can’t possibly be an 8th-circle mage!”

Rodin shouted in panic, hurriedly packing his backpack. He slung two backpacks over his shoulders and opened the window.

The stables were just a stone’s throw away from the window. It was the quickest route to reach his horse.

As Rodin was about to jump out the window, he suddenly paused.

“Huh? The magic hasn’t been triggered yet?”

The preparation for the magic was taking an unusually long time. If it were a grand mage or even an 8th-circle mage, the spell should have been cast by now.

“Oh! It’s a mana concentration.”

Rodin recalled something he had read in a book.

It was a method where multiple mages pooled their mana to cast a powerful spell. This technique was known as “mana concentration.”

Mana concentration involves gathering the mana of several mages, making the resulting spell extremely powerful. However, simply gathering mana doesn’t immediately allow for a spell to be cast. The mana, collected from various mages with different attributes, needed time to stabilize.

“We have some time.”

The time needed to stabilize the mana depended on the skill of the leading mage and the amount of mana gathered.

With this much fluctuation in mana, a 6th-circle mage was likely at the center. They wouldn’t lack the ability, but the sheer volume of mana being gathered was overwhelming. Even a 6th-circle mage couldn’t stabilize it instantly.

“We have at least a few minutes, maybe even several dozen minutes.”

With that thought, Rodin felt a bit more at ease and lowered his leg back down from the windowsill.

“Whoo.”

He took a deep breath and left the room, heading to the adjacent room to wake up Bron and the others.

“Hmm? Rodin, what’s going on?”

“Bron, the enemy is here. We need to pack immediately.”

“Enemy? What enemy?”

“Just pack up! If we’re late, we’re all dead. Someone wake up Ellice. Aqua Shower!”

Rodin shook the still half-asleep Bron vigorously and, finding it insufficient, conjured a spell to splash him with water.

“What the hell!”

“If you want to live, hurry up! Quickly!”

“What is going on?”

“Quickly! I’ll bring the horses to the first floor. Move now!”

Leaving Bron behind, Rodin rushed to the stables. He gathered all five horses and waited at the inn’s entrance.

Thankfully, Bron didn’t ignore Rodin’s warning. Although he was uncertain, he woke everyone up and hastily packed their things.

It took less than five minutes for the entire group to gather on the first floor. Ellice, still half-asleep, was carried down by Baker.

“Let’s go.”

“What’s going on? Can you explain?”

“I’ll explain as we go. Hurry.”

Forced by Rodin’s urgency, the group mounted their horses.

They were slightly delayed due to Ellice still being in a daze, but Baker managed to lift her onto a horse.

“Can’t you feel the mana flux from the west?”

“No, how would we sense mana? Hey, Ellice! Wake up, Ellice!”

Bron shook Ellice, who still had her eyes closed. She grimaced and pulled back slightly.

“Stop shaking me. I’m awake. I’m just keeping my eyes closed. I’m fully awake.”

“Can you sense the mana flux?”

“No, I can’t feel anything.”

“This is frustrating. You really can’t feel it? The mana is gathering like crazy from the west.”

Rodin was frustrated by Ellice’s inability to sense the mana. It was one thing if she were asleep, but she should be able to sense it now.

Rodin knew Ellice wasn’t lacking in magical talent. Despite Marlon’s constant teasing, she had enough potential to join any magic tower.

But she wasn’t particularly bright, had a lazy nature, and struggled to focus on magic due to her scatterbrained personality.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Try harder. Ellice, your magical talent isn’t bad, so you should be able to sense it.”

Despite Rodin’s urging, Ellice couldn’t sense anything.

Sensing the mana coming from the west required pure magical talent. Ellice was decent in that regard, yet she still couldn’t feel it. That likely meant that other mages couldn’t sense it either.

‘The first group probably doesn’t know anything yet.’

The 11th and 20th trainees in the first group had less magical talent than Ellice. Since Ellice couldn’t sense it, they probably couldn’t either.

“I don’t know. I think I feel something, but I’m not sure.”

“Just run if you want to live.”

“Do we keep going on this road?”

“Yes. We’re heading east, toward the Lamaton River.”

Bron and his group increased the speed of their horses. Although they still didn’t grasp the situation, their trust in Rodin compelled them to move.

“Ellice, you’ve heard of mana concentration, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… We were taught not to do it because it’s dangerous.”

“That’s right. If the central mage loses control, everyone could die.”

“So you’re saying someone is concentrating mana in the west?”

“Yes, that’s what I think.”

Hearing the term “mana concentration,” Ellice realized that their opponents were not few in number.

Mana concentration is a kind of trick to amplify the power of a spell, requiring at least ten mages to work together. This meant that there were at least ten mages gathered in the west.

“Why would they do something so dangerous?”

“You’re familiar with the process of mana concentration, right?”

“Yeah, you gather the mana, stabilize it, and then activate the spell. It’s a simple sequence.”

Aside from the ‘stabilization’ step added due to using others’ mana, the process wasn’t much different from how a mage normally cast spells.

“They’re in the stabilization phase now. It means they’ve gathered the desired amount of mana.”

“How much mana are we talking about?”

“At least a 7th-circle level. Maybe more. I haven’t seen a grand mage before, so I can’t say for sure.”

Rodin still couldn’t grasp the extent of the power that could be generated from the mana he felt coming from the west. It was an overwhelming amount, something he had never even imagined.

“That’s impossible. You’d need over a hundred mages to gather that much mana.”

“Could it be the Empire? There were rumors, right? That the Ingram Empire gathered 500 mages to form a magic legion.”

“I heard that too.”

“Damn. Are we already surrounded?”

Bron’s group finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

It wasn’t just the magical attack they had to worry about. They also had to be wary of the onslaught of enemies that would follow.

They raced through the quiet, still night, until Rodin suddenly brought his horse to a stop. When he stopped, the others halted as well, turning to look at him.

Hyung_Otaku2

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