Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 188

#188. Lael Lowe (1)

The huge silhouette took the shape of a castle.

The boy stopped moving for a moment.

My thoughts, which had been rapidly expanding to understand the unknown that had appeared before my eyes, reached out to a voice from the past.

“I realized it later when I came to my senses and recalled my memories.”

“The upper part of the shadow was shaped like a castle. The lower part had something like huge legs running forward.”

“At that time, there were quite a few people other than the mercenary group I was in who witnessed that figure.”

Sector 47, Madame Renia.

The story she told.

A moving castle in a sandstorm.

Judging by the emotions of the vessel at the time, her words were clearly not a lie.

However, from the perspective of a boy who lives on logic and reality, this was not something he could completely trust.

I’m sure I saw something like a fantasy.

but.

The huge shadow before my eyes now made it impossible for me to think of any other possibility besides the castle that Madame Lenia had mentioned.

‘The distance is close.’

The boy, having made his decision, immediately activated all of the mana in the ring.

The multicolored mana running through my entire body awakened all my senses, ready to be activated as magic at any time and any part of my body.

The distance to success is just around the corner.

It’s not clear yet, but if the other party was an enemy or had malicious intent, it could have been the worst situation they’ve ever been in.

‘Lakri─.’

The boy who was trying to awaken the spirit, who had recovered its energy after a long rest following its encounter with the giant sandworm, stopped for a moment.

The snake was already awake.

…yellow mana was running wild as if a small storm was occurring inside the jewel.

Why on earth?

Without even having time to question it, I concentrated my mind on controlling my mana.

but.

───!

Yellow mana repelled the interference with strong repulsion.

A slight feeling of embarrassment arose.

Since acquiring the jewel, it was because the yellow mana had become something that could be handled at a considerable level through continuous training.

Woohoo──!

Summoned the jewel into his hand.

Lakhria immediately ran out as if running away and climbed up the arm.

The jewel was emitting a blinding brilliance along with a strong resonating sound.

It was at that moment that Madame Lenia’s voice rang in my head once again.

“There is a lot of debate among wizards. What powers that giant castle?”

When I raised my head, the silhouette of the castle was passing by the campsite as if it didn’t even recognize me.

There isn’t much time to think.

Thwaaa …

The boy who hit the bus with a stone jumped into the storm while drawing up the white mana of the ring.

A gusting sandstorm.

A field of vision that becomes cloudy.

Boom! Kwung! Boom! Kwung!

All the magic swirling in the storm roared as it crashed down on the boy’s defense.

But the boy did not give in.

I just ran along the silhouette that was staggering forward, checking the amount of white mana that was rapidly being consumed.

widely!

The boy standing in front of the silhouette’s advancing path looked up at the giant shadow approaching him.

And he held high the yellow jewel that was still resonating.

Woohoo──!

A lighthouse rising in the deep night of the wilderness gave off a brilliant light.

Isn’t it dangerous?

Stopping an unknown object?

That was a given.

However, a strong intuition that if he sent the silhouette away like this, he would never see it again made the boy move.

The boy waved his hand holding the jewel from side to side.

‘There is no response.’

Haven’t you seen this?

Anxiety rising in my chest.

White mana showing the floor.

For safety, it is best to immediately evacuate to a campsite.

But the boy, feeling regretful for having held onto his ankle, held on until the last moment and repeatedly waved his hand.

Crackle! Crackle!

And just before the protection is broken.

The boy could see waves of white mana flying through the storm.

‘Veronica, you understand the situation.’

I immediately strengthened my defenses using the white mana that arrived in front of me.

Indeed, the quality of the elements themselves was different, and the cracked shield was instantly restored.

The boy continued to wave his hand as he watched the silhouette closing in on him.

… … .

At some point I saw the figure of a person standing above the silhouette.

The figure seemed to be looking down at me, then quickly disappeared from sight.

and.

─────.

Before long, the huge castle stopped advancing.

*

Thanks to Veronica’s protection and Grinne’s support, weathering the storm at the campsite wasn’t too difficult.

As the storm began to clear, silhouettes obscured by the sandstorm began to emerge.

“Oh my god… I’ve heard rumors, but is that really real…?”

“I, I don’t know if what I’m seeing right now is correct.”

Damper and Jang couldn’t close their gaping mouths.

“Is this a dream…?”

Veronica muttered absentmindedly, not even thinking about spitting out the hair that had fallen out of her mouth.

“s*x…! A real s*x…!”

William continued to mutter without stopping, his face looking entranced.

“What on earth is that?”

Grinne expressed his curiosity without showing any sign of embarrassment.

Towering under the clear night sky, it could be described as a living, moving rock mountain covered in complex mechanical devices.

There were elevators and bridges everywhere that served as passageways.

Huge cannon barrels of unknown metal jutted outwards.

There were also caves on the mountainside that seemed to lead into the interior.

“A castle…? A mountain…? A tram…?”

Veronica’s confusion deepens as she becomes overloaded with thoughts.

A voice rang out loudly from the lowermost of the cubic devices mounted all over the rocky mountain.

─Who are you? Why do you have our power source?

Our power source.

Ray could be sure that his prediction was correct.

“Ray, you ask us why we have a power source. Do you know what you mean?”

“Recall the stories you heard from Madame Lenia.”

Veronica thought about Ray’s words for a moment, then realized something and looked very surprised.

Meanwhile, Ray tells Greene about the giant mechanical castle and his speculations about its power source.

“The possibility… definitely exists.”

There was deep interest and curiosity in Greene’s voice.

Ray took a step forward and showed off the object he was holding in his hand.

It was a yellow jewel that looked like it had been split in half, and although its glow was weaker than before, it still gave off a strong resonance.

“Power source, is this what you mean?”

The boy’s voice, amplified by magic, answered immediately.

─Yes. That’s the current stone that we’ve been looking for for a long time but haven’t been able to find anywhere. Where did you find it?

Current stone.

Ray somehow got the impression that his opponent didn’t know that the jewel was a fragment of a rainbow.

“I can answer your questions.”

─Yeah, where did you find the current stone?

“But only if you answer my question first.”

─What is the question?

“Do you have a current stone too?”

─have it.

The answer came back immediately without hesitation.

…is there no sense of vigilance?

Or is it the confidence that we can overcome whatever happens?

Since you can’t read someone’s emotions through their voice, it was something I couldn’t know.

Ray exchanged glances with Veronica and Grinne, then looked at their bowls in turn.

Tension, confusion, anxiety.

Interest, question, curiosity.

Although the two people’s bowls were at first glance contrasting, one emotion at the center showed something in common.

‘Anticipation.’

It was a feeling the boy also had.

Ray looked back at the cubic device and said.

“I’ll tell you where and how I found the current stone. But it’ll be a long story. Is that okay?”

─It doesn’t matter.

“No, it’s our concern. We can’t just stand here and talk forever.”

Ray went out strong so as not to miss an opportunity that might not come again.

This time there was no answer.

Instead, a little later.

─Wheein.

The cave door opened and a figure appeared and came down the elevator.

He was covered from head to toe with a thick brown cloak, and was wearing an unknown device resembling a gas mask on his face.

The person who approached said.

“Follow me. I will guide you.”

Although he was much shorter than Ray, looking less than 160cm, his voice was unexpectedly mature.

It was a voice that passed between boy and young man, as if he was just going through puberty.

‘There is no ring. I am not a wizard.’

Also, there was no particular hostility or malice in the bowl.

It would be correct to see it as indifference since it didn’t show any particular favor.

Ray said.

“I don’t think they asked everyone to come in.”

The other person seemed a little surprised by those words, then answered.

“That’s right, up to three people.”

“Jang, Damper, and William, the three of you remain here.”

A state where a mana storm has swept away everything in the surrounding area.

Since no beasts would appear for the time being, it would be okay not to leave the wizard behind.

Ray, Veronica, and Greene.

The three people followed the guide and got on the elevator.

Wheeing──

The sophisticated machinery gained altitude with a soft operating sound.

Veronica whispered to Ray as she looked at the scenery reflected through the glass.

“It doesn’t rattle at all.”

All of the elevators in the sector were mana-powered devices, poorly designed and made a lot of noise and trembled.

But the elevator I was currently in had nothing like that.

Even more surprisingly, there was no mana flowing through the frame at all.

In other words, this meant that the device was made with pure technological prowess.

‘There’s a high probability that it’s not human.’

While I was lost in thought, the elevator arrived in front of a cave located midway up the rocky mountain.

Following the guide, we passed through the silently opened door and entered the cave.

The inside scenery was completely different from what was expected from the outside.

‘It wasn’t just a cave.’

The walls and ceilings were made of smooth, light-colored building materials rather than rough stone.

The lights installed densely on the ceiling brightly lit up the interior, making it feel like broad daylight.

It felt like I was entering the interior of a large, stylish building rather than a cave.

Swish.

Then the guide took off his gas mask.

It was the face of a boy who looked no different from a human.

therefore.

Except for the scales and cracked skin that looked like drought-stricken land.

The guide, sensing Ray’s curious gaze, turned his head and asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re not human, are you?”

The guide stared at Ray for a moment, then turned his head away indifferently.

As if the question wasn’t really worth answering.

But it didn’t matter.

The answer was given by the many scenes that unfolded next.

In the middle of the twisted passageways like ant holes, there were wide spaces that were presumed to have had different purposes, such as storage and restaurants.

There, beings with the same external appearance as guides were busily going about their business.

Then they found Ray and his group and started gossiping.

“human being?”

“You’re human.”

“Is, what kind of human are you?”

They did not exceed a height that was considered small by human standards, regardless of gender or age.

“Grine said in a small voice.

“It seems like you don’t know what happened outside.”

“That’s right…! And as I walked by, I felt that it had a castle-like atmosphere where everything was provided inside.”

The guide called Isra gave curt answers to questions flying in from all over the place, saying that he was taking them to the elders, and then hurried on.

Walking down the hallway, taking the elevator.

How many more stairs did I have to climb?

The group followed their guide and arrived in front of a large door.

“… … .”

Ray put his hand on his coat and felt where the inside pocket was.

The mechanical bird that had been paused for a moment began to flap its wings again, and the yellow jewel’s brilliance was amplified so madly that it could be seen even from outside.

There was something.

Just beyond here.

As the guide opened the door, a voice was heard from inside.