Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 7 (Part 1)

After sending the third group of children back to their quarters, the committee gathered in one place.

Including the chairman, there were six members. These were the key figures leading the Special Forces training center.

“We’ve overcome one hurdle.”

Kser, a 5th-circle mage, muttered in a low voice. His voice was evidently relieved.

“Now that we’ve stamped the slave seals, we can proceed with the real education.”

“No, the real education will start in a few months. First, we need to teach them the alphabet.”

The special forces training center was not a school but a military facility. There were no kind teachers who would teach the children step by step according to their pace.

Here, they taught the basics and gave the children time. During that time, the children had to study and train on their own.

To study ‘alone,’ the continental common language was essential.

If you don’t know how to read, you can’t read books by yourself. You can’t even write down what you lack to report it.

“This time it’s two months, right?”

“Yes, it has to be. If they can’t keep up, they’ll have to study on their own.”

“It’ll be a busy evening.”

The trainees were given two months to learn the common language. During that time, they had to master it on their own.

If they couldn’t master it? They had to study during their evening time.

Listening to other classes during the day and studying the rest in the evening was no easy task.

The lack of rest was an issue, but being branded as a ‘lacking one’ among the children was a bigger problem.

“Well, they’ll figure it out. The previous groups managed on their own too.”

“I’d love to bring in teachers from outside.”

“That’s not possible. You know what this place is.”

This place was the ‘special forces training center’ of the Kingdom of Riyaz. The word ‘special’ had many meanings, but here it meant ‘secret.’

Unless war broke out, the existence of the Special Forces training center was a secret until then.

Only the royal family and a few people here were supposed to know about the Special Forces training center. This was due to the nature of the Kingdom of Riyaz.

The Kingdom of Riyaz had the most rigid class system in the western continent. The nobles clearly divided the roles of slaves, commoners, nobles, and royalty.

A slave becoming a mage? A commoner becoming a knight? The nobles would never let that slide.

Of course, if war broke out, there was no need to hide it forcibly. In a situation where even the immediate fighting force was lacking, classism could be ignored.

“Sigh, it’s frustrating. It’s really frustrating.”

“We don’t need to do everything. If we’ve selected the right children, they will grow on their own.”

“This time, we must get proper results.”

“We will. We saw results in the first group, and a few in the second group were promising.”

Among the first batch of trainees, the growth of numbers 7 and 8 was fast. Both were already at the level of Tier 2 swordsmen. With a few more years of effort, they were likely to grow to the Tier 3.

“We’ll have to wait and see if they become formal knights.”

“But the possibility is high. They’ve reached their current level after only a year and a half of serious sword training.”

“Well, I don’t deny the high possibility. I’m just saying we shouldn’t be complacent.”

The Tier system was introduced to clearly classify levels, similar to the circles in magic. It was a classification method used only in the western continent, and the divisions were similar to magic.

Just as a 3rd-circle mage was called a formal mage, a Tier 3 swordsman was classified as a formal knight. Additionally, just as a 5th-circle mage was called a ‘high mage,’ a Tier 5 swordsman was also an ‘advanced knight.’ A 7th-circle mage was called a ‘grand mage,’ and a Tier 7 swordsman was called a ‘master.’

“It would be great if just one out of ten grew properly.”

“I think it’s possible.”

“Me too.”

It was true that the cost of buying and educating the children was not insignificant. Even for the first batch, which consisted of only 22 children, the amount invested could train hundreds of regular soldiers.

However, the value of two formal knights was much greater than that of hundreds of soldiers.

Even if only one out of every ten in each batch reached the level of a formal knight, the money invested would be worth it.

“We need at least five from the third batch.”

“Haha, that’s wishful thinking, but I hope so.”

“But there are no mages. That’s a problem.”

“Oh! That’s quite a problem.”

Among the 22 children in the first batch, only two chose the path of magic. But both were still 1st-circle mages.

Moreover, their growth was slow, so it seemed unlikely they would become formal mages even after ten years.

The second batch was even more serious. Among the 34 children in the second batch, only two were pursuing magic.

However, it had only been a few months since they were introduced to magic, so it was too early to judge their growth rate. At least another half year was needed to gauge their potential.

“But we have a spirit summoner in the second batch, don’t we?”

“Still, it’s only one. Just one. And their talent is at a pathetic level. They’ve barely contracted with a low-level spirit. I have no expectations.”

“Having even one is something. There are no familiar summoners at all, right?”

“Well, we didn’t expect any from the beginning.”

The Special Forces training center had prepared educational courses for swordsmen, mages, spirit summoner, and familiar summoners.

But no one among the committee members or instructors had expected a familiar summoner to emerge. They were exceedingly rare.

Even if you combined the Ingram Empire, the 13-nation alliance, and the non-aligned Kingdom of Talekh, there were less than 30 familiar summoners. The ratio was about one in 10 million people.

“A familiar summoner. I’d like to see one, even just once.”

“Haha, there’s none in our kingdom.”

“But Chairman, you’ve been quiet for a while. Is there a problem?”

“No.”

Chairman Kreate was a 6th-circle mage, the highest level among those gathered here.

Before coming to the Special Forces training center, he was the court mage and head of the magical corps of the kingdom, with the highest status within the kingdom.

“Just tell us. What’s going on?”

“Sigh, it’s nothing. I’m just frustrated with an investigation I’m conducting.”

“Chairman, at least tell us what you’re investigating. You never know, we might have some information.”

“Hm.”

Chairman Kreate looked around at the committee members. It seemed they wouldn’t back down unless he spoke.

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