Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 71 (part 1)

Inside the box, there were three items.

On the left side lay a plain-looking ring without any embedded jewels. It was so simple and rough in design that even petty thieves wouldn’t be interested in it.

“A ring… It looks like an artifact.”

He couldn’t immediately identify the nature of the artifact. Wearing a ring without knowing its identity would be too dangerous.

The first thing to do was to check the magic imbued in the ring. He planned to wear it only after he was certain it was safe.

“What is this? It doesn’t seem to be a potion.”

In the middle, there was a bottle containing a clear liquid. He had no clue what the liquid might be.

“It can’t just be water.”

Not knowing whether it was poison or medicine, he couldn’t drink it recklessly. It seemed like something precious, but he decided to check it later.

To the right of the bottle containing the liquid, there was a pocket watch. The projection that started the training was coming from this pocket watch.

“Let’s turn off the projection for now.”

He couldn’t just leave the projection talking to itself endlessly. It was getting noisy with its constant chatter.

“Let’s see.”

The pocket watch had one button to press and one mechanism to turn.

“Hmm.”

He closed his eyes and inspected the magic contained in the pocket watch. It didn’t take long to determine that it wasn’t dangerous.

“It’s an artifact containing a training projection.”

All the magic inscribed inside was related to projections.

There were numerous runes he didn’t recognize, but judging from the context, they all seemed related to the projection.

Click!

He lightly pressed the button designed to be pushed.

The projection that had been passionately talking and explaining vanished in an instant. The sudden quiet made the surroundings feel eerily still.

“This feels somewhat anticlimactic.”

He had gone through days of hardship to open the box, and now he had confirmed the items inside.

But it felt underwhelming. Given the magic engraved on the box, it wouldn’t have been surprising if something more extraordinary had been inside.

“A ring, a liquid, and a pocket watch.”

He still didn’t know the identities of the ring and the liquid. Perhaps these two were the real reason for the box’s existence.

Rodin took out the pocket watch and the ring, then closed the box. He decided to leave the unknown liquid inside.

The preservation magic on the box would prevent the liquid from deteriorating. Since he had no immediate plans to drink it, there was no need to take the bottle out in advance.

“Now, it’s time to research the ring.”

The research never ended. The subject of his research had merely changed from the box to the ring.

“It’s okay. It’s fun.”

Rodin began dismantling the pre-set magic in the room, removing the shields, barriers, and silence spells, erasing all traces that magic had been used there.

* * *

The next afternoon, the client who had requested the job from Bron’s group came to the inn.

In the first-floor dining room, the client carefully observed Bron’s group.

He scrutinized their equipment, their gazes, and even their mercenary guild records to ensure there were no disqualifying factors.

It was a year-long contract. Skill was important, but trust was the foundation.

“So that’s how they verify things.”

However, Ellice was excluded from the client’s evaluation.

For a wizard, equipment and experience didn’t matter much. Only two things were checked: how many circles the wizard had and whether their identity was certain.

Ellice was a 2-circle wizard. Although not classified as a full-fledged wizard, her skills were more than sufficient for mercenary work.

“Good. I’ll finalize the contract at the mercenary guild tomorrow.”

“You won’t be disappointed. We’ve never abandoned a job halfway through, no matter how it looks.”

“Yes. I’ve already confirmed your experience. See you tomorrow, then.”

The client left the inn.

Bron and Marlon sighed deeply and slumped into their chairs.

“Sigh, I don’t know why this moment always makes me so nervous.”

“It’s because we’re in a gray area. If we were silver-plate mercenaries, we wouldn’t be so tense about getting a job.”

Mercenary ranks ascended from the lowest wooden plate, then iron plate, copper plate, silver plate, and finally, gold plate.

The wooden plate was the basic rank given to those with no experience or unproven skills. Most started their mercenary careers with a wooden plate.

The iron plate was for those with some experience but were still classified as 1 Denas-level swordsmen. Bron, Marlon, and Baker had passed this stage a few years ago.

The copper plate was awarded to 2 Denas-level swordsmen. When a wizard or a spirit mage first started mercenary work, they began at this level.

Ellice, whose skills hadn’t yet reached that level, was still a copper plate mercenary. She needed to reach 3 circles to graduate from the copper plate.

Rodin, already a 3-circle wizard, was just beginning his mercenary career, so he started with a copper plate.

The silver plate naturally came after the copper plate. The minimum qualifications were being a 3 Denas-level swordsman, a 3-circle wizard, or a spirit mage contracted with a mid-level spirit.

Bron’s group wasn’t yet qualified for the silver plate. They lacked both skill and the required years of experience.

“Becoming a 3rd rank isn’t easy, is it? When will it happen?”

“Is Ellice far from her 3rd circle? She’s probably ahead of us, isn’t she?”

“How different could it be? At most, it’s a matter of a few months or a few years.”

As they lamented their situation, they couldn’t help but be impressed by Rodin. He was already a 5-circle wizard. In terms of skill alone, he could be awarded a gold plate right now.

But he was only 14 years old. Calling him merely talented didn’t do him justice.

Genius.

There was no other word to describe Rodin.

Rodin, indifferent to whether Bron’s group was watching him, sat in a corner, fiddling with the pocket watch.

He had fully grasped how to use the pocket watch.

As confirmed yesterday, the button was a mechanism to start or stop the training projection. Pressing it once would trigger the projection, and pressing it again would make it disappear.

The hour and minute hands of the pocket watch were used to set the stages of the training.

Turning the hour hand determined the broad level of the training, while the minute hand set the specific stages within that level.

Setting both hands to 1 would start basic-level training. He guessed it would be appropriate for children under ten years old.

And the higher the number, the more advanced the training would become, eventually reaching a professional level.

“What’s that? A watch?”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

“Hmm? The time is off. Are you fixing it?”

“No, I’ll just leave it as it is.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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