Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 9 (Part 1)

Rodin finished studying the dictionary before 9 PM. He mentally listed the words he memorized today.

‘Done.’

The dictionary with over 600 pages contained more than 30,000 words. Many of them were words he wondered if he would ever use in his life.

Rodin memorized them all without discrimination.

And he searched his mind several times to find words he hadn’t forgotten. At some point, there were no words he couldn’t recall.

Snap!

He closed the last page of the dictionary. Just then, Cory came running over.

“Rodin, Rodin.”

“What.”

“Are you done studying?”

“Yeah.”

Cory didn’t think Rodin had memorized the entire dictionary. He just thought Rodin had quickly skimmed through it today and would continue to study with the dictionary in hand.

“Rodin, you said you memorized all the phonetic symbols, right?”

Looking around, Hedler and Lant were also watching eagerly. They seemed unable to study because they couldn’t remember the phonetic symbols.

“Yeah. Want me to write them down for you?”

“Can you do that?”

“I have some time left, so I’ll do it.”

The library closes at 9 PM. With only 10 minutes left, it was impossible to go there now. It was also a bit early to go to bed.

Since there was some awkwardly remaining time, it seemed fitting to spend it helping his friends.

“Do you have something to write with?”

“Here.”

Last night, each individual was given a notebook and a pen.

These were supplies provided once every six months, so they had to be used sparingly.

Of course, Rodin, who memorized everything after one look, didn’t need to write anything down. He probably wouldn’t need to use the notebook and pen in the future either.

Rodin wrote down the phonetic symbols he learned today in order. Then Hedler quickly approached.

“Write an example word next to each symbol.”

Although Hedler didn’t know the phonetic symbols, he knew many common words of the continent. If Rodin wrote a word next to each symbol, Hedler could understand the meaning of the phonetic symbols through those words.

“Sure.”

He wrote down 77 phonetic symbols and the words where those sounds were used next to them. He chose the simplest words possible to ensure Hedler knew all of them.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You’re the best, Rodin!”

“Thanks.”

When Cory tried to hug him, Rodin dodged lightly. Hedler lifted Cory’s waist and picked him up.

“Don’t damage our precious Rodin.”

“Hehe.”

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Rodin headed straight to the library.

As the instructor mentioned yesterday, there were no continental language classes in the morning from now on. For at least two months, the morning time was free.

For the other kids, this was a burdensome educational method.

Studying on one’s own is not an easy task. Especially for young children, they are likely to slack off when adults’ orders and compulsion disappear.

‘This is good for me.’

Rodin was stopped once as he entered the library. It was the assistant guarding the library.

“The library is open until 9 PM.”

“Yes, I won’t stay late.”

“Do not damage the books. And don’t go near the right passageway; it’s not allowed for you yet.”

“Understood.”

The right passageway the assistant pointed to led to the advanced archive. The advanced archive contained books that were only allowed after a major was determined.

Rodin first went to the bookshelf where the history books were placed.

Ever since he heard that this was a special forces training center, he had been curious about the history.

Why was such an abnormal place as a special forces training center created?

Had there been any precedent for such an organization in the past?

To find out, he started by looking into history.

He picked up a book that recorded recent history and devoured it on the spot. He hadn’t yet found any convincing evidence.

“Hmm?”

The assistant looked over curiously from afar and then strode towards Rodin. Sensing the assistant approaching, Rodin closed the book.

“There are desks over there. Take the book and read it there.”

“Can’t I read it here?”

Rodin felt it was a waste of time to take the book to the desk.

Going to the desk, reading it, and then bringing it back would take at least 5 to 10 minutes. He wanted to use that time for reading instead.

“It’s not that you can’t, but… isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“It’s fine. I’ll just read here.”

“Do as you wish. But I warned you. Don’t complain later about back pain or shoulder pain.”

“Yes, it’s my choice. I won’t blame you, Assistant.”

The assistant walked away. Rodin started pulling out books one by one and reading them again.

‘More efficiently.’

He didn’t want to waste time sitting and standing. So he pulled out several books at once and placed them on the floor.

‘What a shame.’

If he were a bit taller or stronger, he could have pulled out more books at once. It was frustrating that he couldn’t do so.

Two hours in.

As he continued studying history, the situation became clearer.

The origin of this matter wasn’t the Ingram Empire but the 13-nation alliance, to which the Riyaz Kingdom belonged.

‘There’s no mention of a declaration of war. It’s ambiguous, but it’s clear.’

The books contained content extremely biased in favor of the Riyaz Kingdom.

They greatly exaggerated the mistakes of the Ingram Empire and downplayed the faults of the 13-nation alliance. The mistakes made by the Riyaz Kingdom were glossed over as unavoidable.

But combining several books revealed the truth.

‘The Demon Forest… is it that terrifying?’

The Ingram Empire had been suffering from the Demon Forest since its founding. They expended massive national power to fend off the demon beasts that attacked irregularly.

Whether it was because they disliked this or because of the legend that the ancient magical empire’s relics were hidden in the Demon Forest, about 25 years ago, the Ingram Empire mobilized 500,000 troops to attack the Demon Forest. They threw most of their standing army into the forest.

The problem was that this expedition ended in failure within less than a year. Records showed that fewer than 800 survivors returned.

‘Sigh, so many died.’

They poured in 500,000, but fewer than 800 returned. The survival rate was less than 1%.

Anyway, while attempting to subdue the Demon Forest, the Ingram Empire suffered great losses.

At that moment, the 13-nation alliance, having grasped the situation, launched a surprise invasion of the Ingram Empire. Naturally, there was no declaration of war.

‘Did they think total occupation was possible?’

The 13-nation alliance also mobilized most of their forces. They intended to completely conquer the Ingram Empire and divide it among themselves.

But the resilience of the Ingram Empire was formidable.

The Ingram Empire lost half of its territory in an instant. At one point, the 13-nation alliance’s forces approached the imperial capital.

But ultimately, they conscripted an enormous number of civilians to fend off the 13-nation alliance’s attack and reclaimed more than half of the lost territory.

Hyung_Otaku2

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