Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 72 (Part 1)
Time flew by quickly, and before anyone realized it, the day had come for Bron and his companions to set off on their quest.
Rodin shared breakfast with Bron’s group in the morning. Then, as they prepared to leave, he said his farewells to each of them one by one.
Baker was the first to come out, having packed his bags. After exchanging goodbyes with Rodin, he went to the stables to get his horse.
Next came Marlon and Bron. They hugged briefly and promised to meet again someday.
Finally, Ellice emerged, her familiar robe pulled tightly over her head.
“Ellice. Here, take this.”
“Hm?”
Ellice absentmindedly accepted the staff Rodin handed her, then tilted her head in confusion. There was something different about the staff.
“Different, isn’t it?”
“Huh, what did you do?”
Two days earlier, the day Rodin received his mercenary license, he had borrowed Ellice’s staff. He had prepared a response in case she asked why, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
Without a single question, Ellice had simply said “Sure,” and handed it over, not even wondering why he needed it.
Rodin had made a few adjustments to the magic within her staff.
“I made a few changes to the magic. Remember when I told you there was no need for a mana circle Detection?”
“Right. It’s dangerous anyway.”
Many mages were highly averse to measuring their mana circles. It was also a risk to ask, especially when dealing with the more irritable and temperamental types.
If these two circumstances overlapped, Ellice could have ended up in a precarious situation.
So, unless it was absolutely necessary, mana circle detection was rarely performed. If someone really wanted to know, they were better off asking to see a demonstration of magic instead.
“I’ve enchanted it with Magic Shield and Healing spells. It should be much more useful than measuring a mana circle.”
“What? You made an artifact?”
“Just a small talent of mine. Both spells are 2nd Circle magic, but they turned out better than I expected.”
Ellice’s face went blank as she listened to Rodin’s explanation.
She ran her hand over the staff repeatedly, as if caressing a lover.
“Thank you. I… don’t really know how to express my gratitude.”
“Just use it well. As for how long it takes to recharge the mana, you’ll have to check that yourself. I couldn’t test it.”
“Okay. I’ll take good care of it. Thanks.”
“Go on. They’re all waiting for you.”
Rodin gently ushered her along.
Bron and his companions, already mounted on their horses, watched Rodin for a long while.
“Take care. We’ll meet again someday.”
“Yes, travel safely. I hope you return to the Central Continent without trouble.”
“Right. We’re off.”
Rodin watched Bron and his group ride away, keeping his gaze on them until they disappeared from view.
‘Is this the end of another connection?’
It had only been a few months since his ties to the special forces academy were severed. That abrupt connection had now come to an end as well.
‘We’ll probably meet again someday.’
Rodin returned to his room.
He still hadn’t decided what to do next. Until he made up his mind, he intended to stay here.
He spent five more days at the inn, using the magic in the pocket watch to attend lessons whenever he had the time.
During these lessons, he discovered something shocking.
The teacher conducting the lessons wasn’t human. From the front, they looked entirely human, but when they turned, Rodin noticed a short, thick tail. From the back of their head to the tip of the tail, they had small, densely packed scales.
‘Could this be from the Mage Empire era?’
The pocket watch, the ring, and even the box they were stored in—all were imbued with astonishing magic. Naturally, Rodin had assumed they were relics from the Mage Empire.
But it wasn’t human-made. It had been left behind by some other beings, similar to humans but not quite the same.
‘What kind of race could it be? I’ve never read about anything like this in any book. Could it be from before the Mage Empire? Or after?’
Scholars of the current era unanimously hailed the Mage Empire as the greatest magical civilization to ever exist.
Even documents from the periods after the Mage Empire often revered that era, with talk of restoring it or wishing to return to that time.
Artifacts from the Mage Empire, discovered once every few centuries, contained extraordinary magic that was unimaginable in this day and age.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’
Though it was surprising that the artifact wasn’t human-made, Rodin decided to let it go. After all, it wasn’t as though he would ever meet the beings of that era. All he needed was the knowledge stored in the relic.
“Still, this is so frustrating.”
Even when he set aside the artifact’s origin to focus solely on studying, his progress was painfully slow. His once sharp mind couldn’t comprehend the teacher’s words, and that was the limit.
At the special forces academy, he had easily absorbed knowledge just from the books he read in the library. He had even been told there was nothing more for him to learn in math.
But when it came to the lessons from the pocket watch, he felt like a fool.
He managed to follow along by interpreting the teacher’s gestures and the images floating beside them, but his progress was agonizingly slow.
“I feel like an idiot.”
What made it even worse was that there was no way to confirm whether his interpretations were correct. Even when he made some progress, he couldn’t feel confident about it.
“I used to read several books a day, and now I can’t even get through a single chapter. Ridiculous.”
Whenever the lessons became too frustrating, his eyes would wander to one particular place. The ring, which he had stored separately in his bag.
“There’s got to be something in that ring to help with the lessons.”
The ring was an artifact for storing things. The only rune words he had deciphered were simple ones like “store” and “remember,” but he was almost certain it had something to do with education.
“Should I put it on?”
It was a thought that came to him every time he looked at the ring, but each time, he sighed and gave up.
“I can handle a box, but the ring… sigh.”
If the ring exploded, his finger would surely be blown off. If he were unlucky, he could lose his entire hand.
For someone like Rodin, who used magic formulas by hand, his fingers and wrists were particularly important. Losing them would severely impact his magical abilities.
“Should I do it? Or not?”
Whenever the lessons became frustrating, the ring came to mind. And whenever he looked at the ring, fear washed over him.
This cycle repeated several times a day, and Rodin was getting fed up with his indecision.
“I can’t just stare at it forever.”
Rodin knew this much.
He had already learned everything he could without putting the ring on. To delve deeper into its secrets and continue with the pocket watch lessons, he would have to wear the ring.
“Maybe I should have a drink first.”
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he took action.
Rodin bought five bottles of the strongest liquor available at the inn and ordered some snacks to go with it.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
No need for a glass. He tipped the bottle directly to his lips and chugged. The bitter, burning liquid slid down his throat.
“Doesn’t feel like much.”
There was no sense of intoxication. It just felt like forcing down some horribly flavored liquid.
“One more.”
He downed another bottle.
Two bottles now. He felt the burn and the bitterness, but again, there was no sensation of being drunk.
“What a disappointment. This stuff is….”
That’s where Rodin’s memory cut off. He had no recollection of what happened after that.
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