Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 88 (Part 2)
The next day, Rodin taught his younger siblings a magic training technique. It was an entry-level method used to measure magical aptitude.
“If I learn this, can I become a mage?”
“No. This is just for measuring your aptitude. You’d need to live a thousand years to become a mage with this alone.”
“Aptitude?”
“Memorize everything written here and keep the method in your head.”
Rodin hadn’t originally planned to teach his siblings the cultivation method.
Though mages and knights were impressive, they also lived dangerous lives. Rodin intended to let his siblings live ordinary lives unless they expressed a strong desire to pursue magic or knighthood.
‘Nobles don’t take territorial wars too seriously. The problem is that ordinary people get caught up in them.’
Watching the territorial battle the previous day had changed his mind.
In the Western Continent, wars were fought by soldiers. Ordinary people simply got swept up in the destruction.
But territorial wars were so common in the Central Continent. In a place like this, power was necessary to avoid being caught up in the conflicts.
“When do we start?”
“In three days. You have until then. Can you do it?”
Rodin had given them plenty of time. In the special forces training academy, recruits were taught the method in the evening and had to begin training the very next day.
“If I have high aptitude, will you teach me magic?”
“If you have enough aptitude, of course.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then we’ll test your aura aptitude. I can’t do that, but when we reach the Richmond Marquisate, we’ll find someone suitable.”
Magical aptitude could be measured without a specialized device. Rodin’s sensitivity was so refined that he could measure the increase in magical energy more accurately than any device.
But measuring aura aptitude was beyond Rodin’s expertise. He had better-than-average perception, but not enough to determine someone’s aura potential without proper tools.
“I’ll definitely learn it.”
“Brother, me too. I want to use magic too.”
“Do your best. I’ll check in three days.”
Larry and Bianca weren’t lacking in intelligence. While they struggled with staying focused during study sessions, Rodin believed that would improve with time.
Three days passed. At dawn, Rodin woke up Larry and Bianca, who were still fast asleep.
“Brother… why?”
“Brother, I’m so tired.”
“Get up. Have you memorized everything I told you to?”
Rodin yanked off their blankets, ensuring they wouldn’t fall back asleep.
Larry and Bianca tried their hardest to stay in bed, burying their heads in their pillows and wriggling on the floor, but it was useless. Rodin called upon an undine to splash water on their faces.
“Ah! Wait, just a moment!”
“Agh! Brother!”
“You’re awake now? Let’s start.”
“Let me check one more time.”
After some futile struggling, Larry and Bianca gave up on going back to sleep and began mumbling the runes Rodin had given them three days ago.
“There’s no time. Let’s begin now.”
“Okay. Should I go first?”
“You’ll do it together. We’ll run one full cycle.”
When using a specialized device, magical cultivation normally took an hour. Without such a device, the standard was four hours of training.
If someone’s magic potential was too low, even a specialized device wouldn’t detect it properly.
But Rodin’s senses were sharper than any device. Even without a cultivation room, one cycle was enough for him to gauge their potential.
“Don’t read from the notes. Close your eyes and focus.”
“Yes.”
Larry and Bianca both entered the first cycle at about the same time.
‘Not much talent here.’
Bianca finished first. Her one cycle took around 20 minutes, which was rather long for a basic cultivation method.
Larry took even longer, needing nearly 30 minutes to complete his first cycle. It seemed Larry had little to no talent for magic.
‘I can’t be certain yet.’
Larry and Bianca looked at Rodin expectantly as they opened their eyes, but Rodin calmly shook his head.
“Not yet. We’ll run another cycle in three hours.”
“Three hours?”
“Yes. Have breakfast.”
“Okay.”
In the special forces training academy, trainees’ potential was decided after just one hour of training and a single measurement. With so many recruits, they couldn’t afford to take individual differences into account.
But different people had different times of day when their training efficiency was higher.
Some excelled at dawn, some just before bed, and others performed best in the middle of the day.
To accurately assess aptitude, it was necessary to conduct training at various times and measure the increase in magical energy each time.
Three hours passed. Larry and Bianca focused on their training again.
Then another three hours. And another.
Starting at 5 a.m., they repeated the process every three hours, finishing close to midnight.
“Hmm. I’ve assessed your potential today.”
Gulp.
It was already well past midnight.
Aside from the fire Rodin had lit, the surroundings were pitch black.
“Magic aptitude is usually measured on a scale from 1 to 99, with 99 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Larry, let’s start with you.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have it. Your magic aptitude is somewhere between 2 and 3. With this level, even if you trained all day, you’d see little improvement.”
At Rodin’s words, Larry’s head drooped.
The disappointment was so great that he couldn’t lift his head for a long time, and eventually, he began to sob.
“Brother, does that mean I really can’t do it?”
“For magic, yes. But we’ll still need to check your aura potential.”
“Aura…”
“Don’t be too disheartened. I’m not an expert on aura. We’ll check it out when we reach the Richmond Marquisate.”
Rodin had known Larry didn’t have much potential for magic from the first cycle of training. He had spaced out the sessions every three hours, but the result was as expected.
While people could show differences in their aptitude depending on the time of day, there were limits to this.
If Larry’s magical potential was almost non-existent at dawn, the chances of it being significantly higher later in the day were slim.