Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 103

#103. Back to where (5)

Beyond the curtain was a ward.

Jijik─

Under dim white lights.

Dust mixed with concrete powder was floating around in a pungent manner.

“Huhhh… Huh…”

“Brother… It hurts… Ugh… It hurts so much…”

The rusted frame of the bed creaked as the injured tossed and turned.

One of your limbs is blown off.

The skin is ugly and wrinkled.

Or dead and blue as if rotten.

“They are all under the spell. We’ve already administered first aid, but we don’t have a professional doctor… .”

Colin said in a bitter voice.

It’s not that there weren’t any doctors or people with medical knowledge within the sector.

However, the opposition party, which has an overwhelming majority of the occupied territory, has secured all of those personnel.

In fact, even if a doctor came, it was questionable whether their lives could be saved.

Because the wounds suffered by the personnel here were fatal enough to make anyone who saw them think of death.

“With magic… can an injury this serious be healed?”

“I think it’s possible.”

Colin’s cautious question.

Ray said as he looked at Veronica passing between the beds with a shocked face.

The red-haired girl’s bowl was filled with several times the amount of worry she usually held when seeing someone less fortunate.

‘The power of magic is proportional to one’s emotions.’

There were three factors that determined the power of magic that Ray had identified.

Associated emotions.

The amount of mana used in magic.

And the skill of the magic caster.

Most of Veronica’s ring was filled with white mana, the core of her healing magic.

Also, Veronica had been using her healing magic repeatedly lately – although the cause was mostly a boy who rolled his body like a racing car tire – and her proficiency had improved greatly.

Emotions. Mana. Skill.

It may not be the maximum, but it is definitely not a level that can be ignored.

So the boy was curious too.

‘How effective would it be if Veronica used all her power on healing magic?’

At that moment, Veronica’s white mana began to shake.

“You’d better close your eyes.”

“Huh? Uh, huh─?”

Colin was confused as he saw Ray and Philip wearing sunglasses that he didn’t know where they came from.

Paaaaat──!

I lost my eyesight due to the light that covered my eyes.

“Hey, wait a minute, what is this─”

Colin, who had been flustered with squinted eyes, soon realized that a change was taking place and fell silent.

The groans of the injured were fading away as the light dimmed.

When the light finally disappeared completely and Colin opened his eyes, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

The skin that had been crushed returned, the swelling of the affected area went down, and the blood that had been oozing through the bandage without stopping stopped.

Although it cannot be said to be a complete cure, it was clearly a tremendous improvement that could be seen with the naked eye.

Haaa …

Hooooooo─

The faces of the injured, distorted in pain, became calm, and their breathing became easier.

“This is magic….”

While Colin was still in shock, Ray got up from his seat.

He walked quickly and supported Veronica from behind as she fell.

“I did well, right?”

Veronica asks, looking up at Ray with an exhausted smile.

The girl’s ring was completely empty.

The worries that had been filling the bowl were also significantly reduced.

“Tell me quickly that I did a good job.”

The girl pinched the back of the boy’s hand.

It seemed like he felt proud of what he had done and wanted confirmation of it.

Ray looked down at the pain he felt on the back of his hand and spoke calmly.

“good job.”

Now I think I can roll my body more in battle.

A satisfied smile spread across Veronica’s face as she received the compliment.

Ray helped Veronica back to her seat.

Knock knock──

And he said, closing the curtains.

“Can we talk now? You don’t have to move.”

Beyond the curtains, the only sound was the sound of peaceful breathing.

*

“I didn’t know that healing magic would be this powerful. Especially since I’ve never seen it used by enemy magicians.”

Colin said with a face full of emotion.

Ray thought that was somewhat of a given

It was assumed that the type of element contained in the ring would vary depending on the wizard’s disposition.

White mana is contained in a circle of people who are considerate and concerned about others.

It seems unlikely that those who commit crimes live with such a mindset.

‘It’s not impossible that there is white mana in the ring.’

In any case, the type of elements contained in the ring only reflects the tendencies at the time the ring is created.

The story is that if a good person in the past created the ring at that time, they may still have white mana.

Of course, even if you use healing magic with it, it won’t be very effective.

One of the factors that amplifies the power of magic is emotion.

Those who forget to care and be considerate will not be able to use healing magic effectively.

“Brother Niles was like a father to me.”

Colin, freed from the afterglow of the healing magic, began to speak slowly.

“He had a different depth of thought. It’s hard to believe that he’s only one year older than me. Brooke… I’m sure he thought of you as a father figure. At least back then.”

Niles, Colin, and Brooke.

All three were orphans from the streets, and they said they initially met as enemies, each leading different gangs.

“Every day, a life-threatening battle continued. It was inevitable. On the streets, the moment you look down on someone is the moment you get eaten.”

Philip nodded in agreement.

The winner of the long war was Niles, and the gang was united as one.

“Brooke and I both showed great resistance at first. But it didn’t take long for us to realize that Niles was a different person from us. From then on, we followed him wholeheartedly.”

Since then, the three have been together.

To realize Niles’ ideal, he created an organization and ran tirelessly.

And at the moment when everything seemed to be going well.

“… that incident occurred.”

Niles was defeated by remnants of a hostile organization and fell into the Elton River.

A search was conducted, but not even a body was found, and the man who had followed her for half her life did not show up for months.

“Everyone outwardly denied that my brother was dead. But subconsciously, they all acknowledged it. He floated down the river and went to a place where he would never be found.”

BAM──!

It was at that moment that Colin’s fist came down.

The glass covering the table shattered into pieces.

“But, Brook, that damn… brat… thud… I finally understand. The fact that he waited for you to disappear and then voiced his opposition to the existing policy, and the fact that he’d been strangely obsessed with his own faction all along, all of it.”

The drops of blood dripping from his fist didn’t seem to enter his eyes.

In the bowl, a terrible anger was surging.

“He planned it. No, you could say we were stupid. We may have had ideological differences, but we never thought he would attack his own comrades.”

Brook, who succeeded in secretly attracting outside forces, surprised the supporters who were in the same hideout.

The defenseless supporters were chased into the streets and slaughtered brutally.

“More than half of the supporters died then. Yes, by the hands of those who had been their comrades until yesterday.”

A drop of blood flowed.

A sector map spread out on a table.

Following the pen marks drawn along the street, it flowed like a long river.

“Once again… I ask you formally. Wizard, can you help us?”

Colin’s earnest request.

Ray turned his gaze to Philip and Veronica.

“I will follow your opinion.”

“That’s right. You are the leader.”

The two left the choice entirely up to Ray.

‘Ray said with his own mouth that he barely felt any emotion.’

‘But if you just listen to his story, he seems like a teacher. Doesn’t it feel like I’m looking at my grandfather?’

In a way, it was respect.

Because I thought the character Niles would have a special meaning to Ray.

However, Ray, who was given the choice, showed a lukewarm reaction.

‘Am I missing something?’

The thought of helping Colin still didn’t occur to me.

The only thing that bothered me was the regret and longing Niles felt when he spoke about Sector 46.

Regret and foolishness.

I didn’t know before, but I know now.

Because the two emotions that appear together when sadness is brought up are regret and foolishness.

“If only I had run a little faster.”

“If only we had arrived at Guldari earlier.”

“If that were the case, Niles and the Guldari children wouldn’t have died.”

When you leave behind what you haven’t achieved in the past.

That’s when regret and foolishness appeared.

‘Niles also left something in Sector 46.’

The fact was clear.

But even after listening to Niles’ story from Colin, he couldn’t figure out what ‘something’ was.

Am I missing something?

Is there something I haven’t caught yet?

“Can I have your answer by tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, of course!”

Colin’s face lit up at Ray’s words that he would consider it.

Colin then finished giving Ray a brief rundown of the situation to help him make his decision.

“If there’s anything you need during your stay, please let us know. There are few shops open on the street, so it’ll be quicker for us to get it for you than for you to go out.”

The group left the office with Colin.

Outside, the organization’s members were flocking like birds.

“So was Niles really alive? Then why didn’t he come back? And those kids… .”

“Isn’t he really Niles’ son? The white-haired kid has a similar vibe to you.”

“Nonsense. You just said it yourself. White hair.”

“There’s no rule that says your hair color has to be your dad’s. Ah! Brother! You’re here!”

All eyes were focused on each other.

A dozen pairs of eyes looked at Colin and his party, but most gazed at Ray.

“Brother, what the hell is going on─”

“I’ll only explain this once, so listen carefully. Also, make sure to convey it to the people who aren’t here right now. I don’t have time to gather everyone, whether it’s the security team or the patrol team, and explain it to them.”

Ray sneaked into the conversation.

“Is it okay if I look around the hideout?”

“Yes? Oh, of course! The space you will be staying in is upstairs, and I will give you more detailed information later.”

The group left the place, receiving a polite greeting from Colin.

“I’ll move our car to the front of the hideout. I’m sure it’ll be here until tomorrow morning.”

“It won’t be dangerous since I’ll bring it from nearby, but just in case, I’ll go with you.

Philip and Veronica opened the door on the opposite side of the building and went out.

Ray, who had been staring at the spot where the two people had disappeared for a moment, turned around and walked between the concrete pillars.

Damn it.

─Can’t we just shoot them? Considering that these kids were under the spell…!

─Hold on. As soon as you come to your senses, you will be questioned, my brother said.

Damn it.

─When you go up to the warehouse, bring that down with you.

─What is that?

─There’s that, that.

Damn it.

─Hey, over there.

─Ah, the one that Colin brought in earlier… .

Cement crumbs rustling at the foot of the stairs.

A soft conversation can be heard around.

Not everyone flocked to hear Colin’s story.

The rest were scattered throughout the hideout, doing their own things.

“… … .”

What should I say?

Compared to the situation where they were being pushed back miserably, the atmosphere was not that serious or subdued.

Rather, the air that filled the concrete space had a calm and pleasant corner.

There were also a few people playing cards or arm wrestling at the table, and laughter could often be heard.

But their real feelings were different from what was shown on the outside.

Each bowl was filled with fear and despair.

Knock—knock—knock—

I continued walking without paying any attention.

It was to find something Niles had left behind in Sector 46.

Knock-knock-

Knock-knock-

I went up and down the stairs.

I looked into every corner of the building.

‘They said that this building was where the three of them had formed a gang in the past and made their first hideout.’

Colin said so.

After organizing Nishohwa, the hideout was moved to another place, but the three of them still often visited here and reminisced.

‘So I thought I might find something.’

Knock-knock-

Knock-knock-

When I came back down to the first floor without any results.

“Thank you so much for treating Jake!”

“Thank you. If it weren’t for the wizards, Colin wouldn’t have come back.”

“Well, to be exact, it wasn’t us who saved it… .”

Ray was able to spot two confused chicks surrounded by a flock of eagles.

A distracting mass.

He gives off the impression that he is not very social.

With those men surrounding him, he must have felt considerable psychological pressure, even though he knew they weren’t his enemies.

“Oh, over there!”

Philip’s fingers found Ray.

As the crew moved towards Ray, Philip and Veronica breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Wizard, for saving Brother Colin.”

“I heard that Brother Niles was alive in Sector 50.”

It seemed like the story about Niles had been told.

Emotions such as sadness, longing, and regret were pouring into the members of the organization.

Perhaps to avoid dampening the mood, it was difficult to hold back my emotions and not explode.

‘… But the anger is much smaller than I thought.’

Ray, who was continuing the conversation calmly, soon realized one fact.

“… If it weren’t for those Heatherbone guys back then, Brother Niles wouldn’t have fallen off the bridge.”

That was the fact that Colin didn’t tell the gang about Brooke’s betrayal.

Why?

If we reveal the truth, it might only make the gang members more angry at Brooke?

I didn’t quite understand it, but I didn’t mention it because I thought Colin must have had something in mind.

The sun was setting outside the window.

The group ate with members of the Nisho organization, played cards, and talked about their common denominator, Niles.

“You learned how to fight from Brother Niles?”

“You didn’t even pretend to teach us, saying that we wouldn’t be able to use it even if we learned it.”

The members of the organization were curious about what kind of life the person they followed had before he died.

He treated us as if we had known each other for a long time.

“But aren’t you really Niles’ son?”

“This kid still hasn’t given up his foolishness.”

“The atmosphere is similar. Why, when we were young, Niles was also a calm and serious man when he was around Ray’s age.”

“Your personality has changed a lot since you became an adult. You’ve also opened your eyes to women.”

“yes?”

“I still remember. Mary in the grocery store, Serena in the brick house on Twelfth Street, Julia in the newsstand, Kaylee in the shoe factory, and….”

“Madame Februn of the Februn Bakery.”

“yes?”

“I met 7 people at the same time. When I was 19.”

“That was a legend.”

“Here, Ray, when you become an adult, you might not know. Hehe. You look different from those guys who went on strike with their eyes, nose, and mouth.”

“yes?”

Veronica’s head would swivel like a ping-pong ball whenever the conversation bounced, causing earthquakes in her pupils.

“Damn it! Ray-nim! You didn’t use magic!”

“How can you not win at least once? It’s like you’ve read all my cards.”

“Ray, have you ever played poker anywhere else?”

Philip looked like he had discovered a great business idea as he watched Ray win consecutively at poker by reading his opponents’ emotions.

“I have more questions to ask about Niles,” said Ray.

“By the way, where is Colin now?”

“Oh, if it were you, hyung, you went up to the rooftop to get some fresh air earlier.”

Ray realized at that moment.

There was still a place in this building that I hadn’t been to.