Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 8 (Part 2)

Cory seemed to be in a good mood, smiling more brightly than he had before the class started, full of anticipation.

On the other hand, Hedler and Lant looked unhappy.

Lant, who had always disliked studying, was understandably gloomy given the impending tough test. But it was surprising to see Hedler, who was good at the continental common language, looking so down.

“Hedler, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve never learned phonetic symbols before.”

“But you’re good at the common language. How can you not know the phonetic symbols?”

“I always had a servant who knew the common language following me. Whenever I asked, they would speak clearly for me. Why would I need to learn phonetic symbols?”

Hedler’s way of learning the common language was very aristocratic. It was an approach that couldn’t be replicated in the Special Forces Training School.

“Then just memorize them. That’s all.”

“I’m not confident.”

Hedler knew more than the other kids. He knew the common language, mathematics, etiquette, and more, having received an education that couldn’t be compared to what others had. But this knowledge was thanks to his early education, not because he had an exceptionally brilliant mind.

When learning something new, Hedler became irritable and sensitive, likely because he had been constantly compared to others during his education.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Yes, I had an older brother, ten years older than me.”

“He died, right? Are you okay?”

“It’s all in the past. He died foolishly attempting an unsuccessful rebellion.”

Hedler’s family was wiped out while preparing for a rebellion.

He was the only survivor.

All his family members, parents, and siblings were executed on the same day.

Hedler barely survived by hiding in the slums but was eventually caught by a slave trader about a year later.

Those from the Special Forces Training School were the ones who had taken him.

Hedler hadn’t been forcibly taken; he had become a slave through a legitimate transaction.

Hedler had only one wish: to escape the Beros Kingdom. He was willing to become a slave if it meant achieving that.

“Aren’t you angry at the Beros Kingdom?”

“Of course I am. I don’t even want to look east. But the rebellion was too foolish.”

When Hedler mentioned it, Rodin also thought the rebellion had been doomed from the start. There were hardly any supporting nobles, and they lacked sufficient troops.

‘There might have been another reason.’

Rodin didn’t dismiss Hedler’s father’s choice outright.

There must have been a reason behind it. He might have had hidden support or been in a position where rebellion was the only option.

“Let’s go back.”

“To the quarters?”

“Yes, to the quarters.”

—

The four of them walked in line to room 301 on the third floor. They scattered to their beds, collapsing like laundry hung out to dry.

“I’m hungry.”

“Hold on a little longer.”

There were only 30 minutes left until lunchtime. The instructor had ended the class a bit early, making the timing awkward.

“Does anyone want to look at the dictionary now?”

At Rodin’s question, the others turned their eyes to him.

Lant shook his head as he looked back and forth between the thick dictionary and Rodin.

“I don’t think I can handle that.”

“So no one wants to see it now? Then I’ll just… Oh, someone help me lift this.”

The dictionary was too thick and heavy.

Rodin’s current body couldn’t move it to the desk.

Hedler got up and lifted the dictionary easily. He was not only tall but also strong.

“Thanks.”

“Have you memorized all the phonetic symbols?”

“Yeah, there aren’t that many.”

Rodin opened the dictionary to the first page. About 30 words with phonetic symbols were written on each page.

“Aren’t you going to the library? You were always talking about it before.”

“I can’t read the books if I don’t know the letters. I’ll go later.”

“I don’t get it. What’s so good about books? Ah, forget it.”

Hedler flopped onto the bed. Lant and Cory quickly followed, wrapping themselves in blankets.

Meanwhile, Rodin matched the words in the dictionary with the phonetic symbols he had memorized.

About ten seconds later, he moved his gaze to the next page. Another ten seconds passed, and he turned the page. It took about 20 seconds to read two pages.

Rodin quickly flipped through the pages, embedding the words in his mind.

“It’s lunchtime!”

“Let’s go. Let’s go.”

Before they knew it, it was almost noon. Rodin put the dictionary down and stood up.

Many children were already in the dining hall. Some were murmuring the phonetic symbols written on scraps of paper.

“Everyone’s working hard.”

“Shouldn’t we study hard too?”

“Right. We can’t lose to the kids from other rooms.”

“Yeah, we can’t lose.”

Hedler and Cory, with their competitive spirits, were unnecessarily fired up.

After lunch, Rodin delved back into the dictionary.

He quickly flipped through the pages, memorizing the contents. By the time the afternoon class began, he had gone through more than half of the dictionary.

“Another study session, huh.”

“My head hurts.”

The afternoon class was math. They reviewed the numbers taught by the assistant on the day they ran 33 laps around the field and learned the concepts of addition and subtraction.

Addition and subtraction were already familiar to Rodin.

In the village, the chief used addition to combine the harvests of each household. He used subtraction when distributing the harvests or selling some to merchants.

However, the ‘math symbols’ were new to Rodin. The chief hadn’t used math symbols.

“There are many other math symbols besides these. There are multiplication and division, and many more. From now on, we’ll learn how to use these math symbols every afternoon.”

The class ended, and it was time for dinner.

“Ouch.”

“I don’t understand anything.”

“My parents got by fine without knowing this stuff.”

Rodin looked around at the kids. Not a single one enjoyed the math class.

‘Strange. How can they dislike something so interesting?’

Rodin found the class enjoyable.

Reviewing the addition and subtraction he already knew was a bit dull, but discovering new math symbols was thrilling.

‘We can use the library, right?’

He wanted to study everything. He wanted to learn the math symbols he hadn’t studied yet, master the continental common language, and delve into history, etiquette, and royal law.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here. I don’t want to stay in this classroom any longer. It just… feels really bad.”

“Me too. I want to go to a world without math.”

It was a conversation between Hedler, Cory, and Lant.

Rodin chuckled and stood up.

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