Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 228

#228. Labyrinth and Records (2)

Palak─

My fingers, turning the pages, quickly reached the front page.

Upscess’ notebook was filled with diaries, not the doctor’s orders.

[The person who will take us has finally appeared! A big hat and mask! I haven’t seen his face, but he must be a very! very kind person! He will adopt not one, but all six of us. Should I call him father now? My friend Philia! And I’m so glad I won’t be separated from my brother and sisters!]

Neat and straight handwriting.

It was a diary that seemed to have been written while he was living in an orphanage with other executives during his childhood.

Palak─

[My father is such a strange person. He praises me for things that would have gotten me in trouble with the director. Like when I’m greedy and don’t lend my friends things, or when Philia can’t control her curiosity and goes around looking through the rooms. No matter what, he just smiles and pats my head.]

Palak─

At first, the gap between entries in the diary was only a few days, but it gradually widened and the time skipped significantly as it went on.

[Lab life is more fun than you think. It’s sad and regretful to be separated from my friends and not be able to see them again… but I have to overcome it bravely!]

Palak─

[The researchers are all kind. They never get angry, and they listen to whatever you need. My father said that it’s because he has set his emotions to be favorable, but what does that mean?]

Flap- Flap-

[It’s frustrating. How many years have I been here? I want to see the sunlight. My father said that once the experiment is over, I’ll be able to roam the outside world without any worries… … Will the experiment ever end?]

Flap- Flap-

[I see things I didn’t see when I was young. The first thing I realized was that my father was not a very easy-going person. He always conducted experiments as if he was being chased. Looking back, it’s been like that since long ago. As if it were a habit, I muttered, “Before that person comes back.”]

Flap- Flap-

Flap- Flap-

Flap- Flap-

[When did time become like this…? I feel like my memories have been cut off. Did I… have a child? If so, where is he now…?]

Palak─

Palak─

Palak─

[My father, who had come to visit after several years, said this. Stop all the missions you are currently carrying out. There was a child in the photo I received. At first I thought it was a black and white photo, but soon I realized that it was just white hair and skin.]

[He said he was heading to a place called the Last Forest. He told me to eliminate the child in the photo. If the destination is the forest, he was also to be burned.]

[Is that him? My father nodded slowly at my question. Showing a wariness I had never seen before.]

widely.

The boy closed the notebook.

He focused his mind on the presence calling him from somewhere in the labyrinth.

Heart pounding.

A heart that beats in resonance with presence.

It was exactly the same feeling as when I stood in front of the underground stairs of the ruins.

‘There were stone tablets and murals in the basement. They were left intact, thanks to Vicious not discovering them.’

What if the presence you feel now is actually another mural or stone tablet?

Then it naturally explains why the doctor wanted to burn down the forest.

…what on earth is it?

What on earth is the doctor trying to hide from me?

Ss …

“… … .”

The vines and stems that were gradually beginning to block the path woke Ray’s thoughts.

One thing that was certain was that we had to reach a place where our presence was felt before the newly opened roads closed.

Ray closed his eyes and focused his senses on the flow of mana throughout the area.

───.

It feels like I’m underwater.

The subtle movements of the Mana currents could be felt through my skin.

Where did you get stuck and then come back out?

Where did they split and come together?

… Normally, it would have been possible to understand the structure of the surrounding space in this way.

‘Right now, the labyrinth is too wide.’

It was vast beyond measure.

Considering the circumference and height of the World Tree, I thought it would be about the size of several sectors combined.

I tried injecting mana into the direction given by the elf outside.

Toong──!

The sound produced moved forward through the passage in front of my eyes, then after a while hit the opposite wall and returned.

The distance shown on the compass is 83 meters.

Although the functionality seemed quite precise, it was slow to operate and was not a suitable tool for the time-pressed situation.

He asked, placing his palm against the wall of the labyrinth.

‘Johnny?’

Again, no answer came back.

‘Lacria is still resting.’

After reaching his conclusion, Ray took the two creatures that had been wriggling in his pockets and placed them in his palm.

“I think I need to borrow your strength.”

The shrews made no response.

He was busy taking seeds out of the pouch on his stomach and eating them.

When I tried to tap its long nose as Gwendel had told me, it waved its small hand as if telling me not to disturb it.

Squeak squeak!

“oh.”

One more time.

Squeak!

“oh.”

One more time.

Crunch!

“My fingers aren’t meant to be eaten. We’re not close enough to ask for a favor while we’re still busy, are we?”

Ray, who had taken the guy hanging from his finger, waited for the meal.

Even after the shrews had eaten all the seeds in the pouch, they continued to move around the palm of my hand as if searching for something.

‘Are you still hungry?’

Click!

He took the carrots and potatoes out of the bag and cut them into small pieces.

You could see shrews eating contentedly, their cheeks puffing out.

‘You’re eating well.’

Boo-wook─

As I took out the jerky and started chewing it, the shrews suddenly wiggled their long noses and looked this way.

“You want it?”

I cut it into small pieces to show great curiosity.

At first, they were cautious and sniffed around for a while, but then they took a bite and soon started chewing frantically with their eyes wide open.

In an instant, he finished the given amount and poured out the carrots and potato pieces that were in his pocket and on his cheek.

… … .

… … .

And then Ray stared intently at the long piece of jerky he was holding in his hand.

Flowing stillness.

It wasn’t difficult to grasp the situation.

“You guys, I said your sense of smell is developed.”

The hand holding the jerky like a baton was raised toward the ceiling.

The shrews, who had raised themselves on both feet, kept twitching their noses as they looked at the jerky.

“I’m looking for a stone tablet with writing on it. It’s different from other stones. It’s made of a hard material that can’t be destroyed by any magic or external attack. Another important characteristic is that it smells like dry fallen leaves.”

The outstretched hand descended in a parabolic arc, the tip of the jerky pointing across the passage.

“If you find it, you will receive a corresponding reward─.”

Ta-da-dak! Ta-da-dak!

“─I’ll give it to you.”

The shrews had already descended to the ground and were running far away.

The leader of the Yookpo cult, who had cruelly corrupted the spirits in their natural state, ran after them with a strengthening magic on his body.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sound of heated footsteps echoing through the labyrinth.

Even if the level is low, is a spirit still a spirit?

The speed of the shrews was reminiscent of that of wild beasts running at full speed.

Driving around without stopping.

Up and down the slope.

Sometimes, they would transform into spirits and pass through walls.

widely!

I almost missed it the first few times.

However, as I became more and more accustomed to the unique mana waves emitted by the two spirits, it became easier to chase after them.

therefore.

‘If we summarize the contents of the murals seen in the underground of the ruins… .’

Enough to be able to think about other things while running.

Countless images flashed through my mind.

A world that existed only in black and white.

A figure walking out from under a rainbow.

A ray of light that spread throughout the world.

A landscape painted in a variety of colors.

The ancient races that developed facial expressions.

A world that is rapidly developing with the power of the seven pieces of light.

Magic that grows stronger and black clouds.

Malice towards each other, and war.

‘The mural ends with a figure holding a blue piece of light being surrounded by those holding the remaining six pieces. What happens next? Is the next mural in this labyrinth…?’

As Ray ran down the passage, he discovered vines reaching out towards him.

Sssssss!

No matter how many times I ran away, the vines kept coming.

Why the world tree?

I thought it was a sudden attack, but when I looked closely, it wasn’t.

The vines came right up close and swayed, but they didn’t show any further movement.

… Is there something you want to say?

I slowed down and grabbed hold of a vine hanging in front of me.

At that moment.

“… … !”

The boy felt as if something inside his body had changed.

When I looked around, the world was completely dyed in black and white.

Before I could even grasp the situation, an urgent shout came from behind.

─The wizards of the Red Citadel have invaded! Redran, that guy broke his promise!

─Elnain Forest! Drun Forest has been destroyed! This is the last place! Stop it with your life! Otherwise, there will be no place left on this land where we can set foot and live!

Ray turned his head.

Back of the passage.

In the black and white world, brightly shining green shapes immediately caught my eye.

The elves with long ears were running towards us with tremendous momentum.

There was no time to wonder where these people came from.

First, we stuck to the wall to avoid collision, but there were too many enemies and the passage was narrow.

‘We’re bound to collide.’

Woof!

I used my defenses with quick judgment.

But what happened the next moment was completely different from what I expected.

The elves passed through this body and disappeared into the other side of the passage.

Or maybe they just disappear through walls and into unreachable places.

“Spirit…?”

He soon shook his head.

The elves were all covered in green, but no mana could be felt there.

─Hurry up! Hold on somehow until support arrives!

─Abominable humans of the Red Citadel! Do you think our elves will be easily defeated by the likes of you?

After a few more groups of elves passed through the body, Ray began to think of a plausible explanation for the situation.

‘The World Tree is showing me a sight it saw in the past.’

I can’t tell exactly, but it felt like I had traveled back in time far enough to reach a point in time long ago.

Beyond the labyrinth walls, far away.

In all directions, a forest made of black and white stretched out endlessly.

There, countless red and green shapes were engaged in a fierce battle, firing magic at each other.

As if the location was a village outside the labyrinth.

‘… the scenery is overlapping.’

The World Tree of the past must have been smaller than it is now.

A significant portion of the area that is now a labyrinth would have originally been the site of a village.

If you think about it that way, you can easily understand the forest that spreads out beyond the labyrinth walls.

Knock knock knock!

‘But I guess the road I’m running on now was the same as in the past. Judging by the fact that the scenery doesn’t overlap.’

Ray spurred on the gallop.

The presence in the labyrinth became stronger the more I ran, and now I could tell where I was without the guidance of the spirits.

‘The location is in the center of the labyrinth.’

The destination is near.

My heart started pounding.

Then Ray sensed someone running towards him from across the passage.

‘Elf? No, it’s different from before.’

The moment he confirmed the color of the person he encountered at the intersection, goosebumps ran down the boy’s body.

The opponent was covered in the most rare color in the world.