Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 178

#178. Wilderness (5)

Gaiole approached with calm steps and offered words of congratulations.

“I heard the story. I was looking in a different direction at the time so I didn’t see it myself, but I heard that he used magic to single-handedly defeat the Sandworm. That’s truly amazing. Don’t you think so?”

The surrounding agents nodded in agreement.

“It’s just a shame I couldn’t see it in person. But I can’t believe it was done by a 1st Circle wizard. Isn’t it actually more than a 2nd Circle wizard? No, maybe it was a 3rd Circle wizard that I’ve only heard rumors about.”

Gaioll naturally changed the subject and asked in a quiet voice.

Suspicion in the eyes.

A bowl full of caution.

Ray got the impression that Gaiol didn’t welcome the presence of a powerful figure among the expedition team.

‘It seems like he’s wary of situations where his position is diminishing.’

Thinking so, I nodded my head under everyone’s expectant gaze.

The atmosphere became lively with exclamations.

“Why did you hide your skills?”

“You seem to be more skilled in combat than Greene, who is in the same 2nd circle.”

Ray watched Gaeol’s reaction amidst the cheers.

He had a smiling face, but… the emotions in his bowl told him that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

Afterwards, the crew dispersed to rest and reorganize, while Gaioll and Damper stayed behind to chat for a while.

“Damper, can you take the lead when we break through the next habitat?”

“Yes, it is possible.”

Damper asked hesitantly.

“But isn’t it difficult to give general orders while driving? It would be better if you sit with me and just focus on understanding the situation and giving orders…”

“Haha, thank you for your concern. But this isn’t something you’ve been doing for a year or two. There’s no need to worry.”

“…All right.”

Ray could see an emotion moving busily around Damper’s bowl.

It was a suspicion.

“Do you think Gaiol is a trustworthy person?”

Those words woke me up from a deep sleep.

Judging by the depth of the color, it is a feeling that has existed in the bowl for a very long time.

There was no need to cast artificial emotions separately; just giving it a gentle push seemed sufficient.

“Raygun, I ask that you take good care of me during the remainder of the exploration period.”

Gaiole shook hands and disappeared.

“… … .”

Damper moved his lips as if he had something left to say, but he left without saying a word.

Ray looked at the backs of the two and asked Veronica.

“what do you think about it?”

“Huh? What?”

“Two people.”

Veronica, who understood what Ray was asking, thought for a moment and then answered.

“I’m not sure yet, but Mr. Damper doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“For treating you like a classy young lady?”

“Yeah, that’s right… No! Of course that’s true, but there have been a few times when I felt like people were pure during conversations.”

Ray nodded and asked Jang this time.

“What do you think, Jang?”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Yes, honestly.”

Jang hesitated for a while before answering.

“I agree with Miss Veronica about Mr. Damper. But about Guyol… I have a gut feeling that I’ve met many people, but something about him feels off. His words and actions are so flawless that it makes me feel uncomfortable.”

When Ray remained silent, Jang added hurriedly.

“Sorry, sorry. I think I was being presumptuous.”

“No. You don’t have to apologize. I think so too.”

Ray said so and looked away.

Mrs. Greene and her disciples were looking this way, but the boy kept making eye contact with only one of them.

“We’re leaving now!”

After finishing maintenance and resting, the expedition team set off again.

Boooo …

We passed through several sandworm habitats over two days, and each time there were fatalities.

“Unfortunately, Rotten and Kedman did not follow instructions and drove on their own.”

Gaioll would always give speeches to calm the anxiety of the expedition team while strengthening his own position.

The trust among the members grew stronger day by day.

In some ways, it was a natural thing.

In an expedition consisting mostly of new members, Gaiol, with eight years of experience, was someone they could absolutely rely on.

But Gaiore wasn’t the only one he trusted.

“Thank you, wizard.”

“Thanks to you, I survived this time too…!”

Ray was the main force of the expedition along with Gaiol.

It was thanks to his great performance every time he crossed the Sandworm habitat and his continuous sharing of useful information by unlocking Binjin’s memories.

“I think you said it was your first time during the interview. You seem to know a lot about the habits of sandworms.”

Gaius’s wariness grew with each passing day, and eventually he began to show his discomfort directly.

And the third day.

When you pass the 4th sandworm habitat.

─Two sandworms are approaching from underground. They will likely rise to the surface in about 15 seconds, so dodge to the left.

Ray, who received a radio transmission from Gaeol on the roof of the bus, stared at the scenery unfolding before his eyes.

A single sandworm on the ground, chasing at a close range.

‘And the two underground.

There was no sign of the ground rising, indicating that they were being chased from quite deep.

Although there was a tremendous shaking from the ground, it was impossible to determine their location from that alone due to the various noises that were tangled together.

But it didn’t matter.

The boy had a much more reliable way of sensing than vibration.

The boy’s eyes, staring at the ceaselessly flowing land, were filled with colorful mana.

It was the mana flowing through the bodies of the sandworms rushing through the deep underground.

It was as if I had identified the existence of Lacria in the top basement.

The only difference from then is that the ability to identify mana over obstacles has improved further since reaching the 3rd circle.

‘Avoid to the left?’

Two underground sandworms were approaching from the right.

According to Gaeol’s instructions, the situation is one where they are taken by surprise.

‘It seems my presence was uncomfortable

I was somewhat expecting this, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.

All I had to do was quickly go down to the first floor of the bus and give instructions to the manager.

“I heard you on the radio. Dodge to the right, not the left.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The man with a hardened face immediately turned the steering wheel to the right.

The next moment.

Kwaaaaang──!

With a loud noise, I could see the giant body of the sandworm breaking through the ground and narrowly missing the side of the bus.

And not long after.

────!

There was also one vehicle on the other side of the line that had overturned and was being swarmed by sandworms.

The expedition team, having left the habitat, stopped the vehicle next to a rocky mountain and checked the number of people.

After encouraging the crew as before, Gaiole approached Ray and spoke.

“I’m sorry. It seems that the sensor system had a momentary error. I could have caused a big problem because of me. I sincerely apologize.”

Gaiore nodded.

There was genuine regret and guilt in her voice, but it didn’t have much effect on the boy.

Because the boy was currently staring at the man’s bowl full of despair.

‘You must have been planning to get rid of me during this crossing.’

Being young had its advantages.

It’s so easy for the other person to reveal their true feelings through their actions.

… Maybe it’s time to stop accompanying Gaio.

Ray parted his lips as he thought about that.

“It’s okay. It was the machine’s fault, not Mr. Gaiole’s. Anyway, he survived.”

The corners of Gaio’s mouth went up beneath his deeply bowed head.

As the sun was setting, preparations for camping began immediately.

A fire was lit, a meal was prepared, and someone else set up a tent.

A sense of camaraderie had developed, as friendly conversations could be heard here and there.

A black curtain quickly covers the sky.

────.

The son-in-law became quiet.

Second floor of the bus.

Ray straightened Veronica’s pillow position while she was sleeping on the bed.

“Umm… Raya… Hand… Then Rockdeer… give it to me.”

Tossing and turning and talking in sleep.

‘What are you asking me?’

Ray, who had been holding his finger under Veronica’s nose to hold her breath for a moment, straightened his bent back and turned his gaze.

After checking on Jang, who was fast asleep from driving fatigue in another bed, I got off the bus.

Knock knock knock knock

In the center of the campsite was a huge bonfire burning.

A wall formed by vehicles tailing each other in a circle as much as possible.

There was no one in sight.

Except for one person in front of the campfire.

“Change.”

“Oh, isn’t today the first night’s guard duty? The number of magicians is kept to a minimum.”

“that’s right.”

“Yes, then take care. If you have any questions, feel free to wake me up any time.”

“If necessary, I will.”

The former employee nodded and disappeared into the tent in front of the van.

Ray sat on the folding chair and adjusted the incline to recline deeply.

“… … .”

I could see stars twinkling faintly in the pitch-black sky.

Certainly the clouds were getting lighter the farther away we got from the sector.

The black stains left on the ground by the black rain are also decreasing.

…the starry sky seemed to be telling us that the cause of the black rain was humans.

Knock knock knock knock

A rising flame.

The boy thought calmly and thought about those who had starlight in their bowls.

Meanwhile.

“… … .”

I felt a gaze coming from somewhere in the car.

I closed my eyes and held my breath.

How much time has passed like that?

Self-sacrifice.

I heard footsteps behind me.

“… Wizard?”

Then a voice whispered.

The opponent, who had been standing still for a moment, approached me with steps that made as little noise as possible.

And then.

Wheeeeeeee!

Ray, who got up like lightning, turned around behind his opponent and wrapped his arms around his neck.

He kicked his opponent’s knee with his foot, knocking him over and lowering his posture at the same time.

He whispered in my ear in a low voice.

“I guess you didn’t have much to be tired of while the sun was up. Seeing you wandering around like this without even sleeping.”

The captured opponent spoke urgently.

“Ray, why are you suddenly like this?”

“That sounds like something I should say. Isn’t it? Gaiore?”

Ray extended his other hand forward, the one not wrapped around his neck.

Gaiore struggled to keep the object in his hand from being taken away, but he was unable to defeat Ray, who was using strengthening magic.

“You were trying to feed me this?”

“No way. It’s just medicine I take for a chronic illness.”

Gaiole was quite calm.

It seemed like he thought he could get out of the situation by talking to them.

“That’s funny. I’ve never seen you take medicine. What kind of chronic disease do you have?”

“I have a weak respiratory system. Even now, it’s hard for me to breathe because of your arm. Cough! Cough! Hey, I think I need to take some medicine, so let me loosen this up for now.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ray forced open Gaeol’s mouth and poured all the pills from the bottle into it.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“It’s strange. Everyone wanted to give me medicine, but no one wanted to take it themselves.”

Ray continued talking, making Gaeol continue to swallow the pills.

“According to Damper, your expedition has never had a double-digit number of returnees.”

“Ugh!”

“It seems like your way of advancing is to sacrifice inexperienced agents to ensure your own safety, and then leave only the essential personnel behind to maximize your gains. Is that correct?”

“Whoa!”

“As my influence grows, the plans get disrupted, so they must have tried to eliminate me. If they’ve already tried to eliminate the 2nd Circle Wizard, that means the crossing of the wasteland is almost over.”

bang!

An empty bottle rolled on the ground.

Gaiole, freed from Ray’s arms, was breathing heavily, his palms pressed against the ground.

Then he did something evil.

“Someone! Someone help me! Come out here!”

But there was no response from the vehicles.

There is just a terrible silence.

It had to be that way.

As soon as Gaeol approached, he deployed soundproofing and distortion magic.

Ray bent his knees to get eye level with Gaiol, thinking about what to do with him.

Then I turned my gaze back to something I felt.

‘… … .’

I saw it, made of sand and wind, flashing with colorful colors.

He stood up silently and released the soundproofing and distortion magic.

And said to Gaius.

“Get up, wake up people.”