Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 281

#281. Hat under the tree (1)

“Magic? Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

Philip looked back at Ray with a bewildered expression.

It's not like I've never tried to learn magic before.

Even if you don't necessarily participate in battle, being able to use magic can provide many benefits in your daily life.

"This is how you do it."

"I'll give it a try."

With Veronica's help, I tried various things to feel mana.

But since they all ended in failure, there was no choice but to draw a conclusion.

He said he had no talent for magic.

'Ray must know that too.'

Why are you suddenly asking me if I want to learn magic?

Ray said, reading the questions and bewilderment contained in Philip's bowl.

“Anyone can become a wizard here. It’s different from outside the walls where we originally came from.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

At Ray's gesture, dozens of building materials piled up on one side of the vacant lot flew over and circled around.

Truly overwhelming mana control.

The surrounding workers forgot what they were doing and had blank expressions on their faces.

“Philip, what do you think is the first thing you should do to learn magic?”

“Uh, um, I need to feel the mana first. Then I can create a ring, and I can use the purified mana to cast magic.”

Ray nodded.

“That’s correct. However, it’s not easy to sense mana. Mana basically doesn’t gather in one place, but rather disperses. Its presence is vague, and only those born with a sense of energy can sense it.”

It was then that the building materials that had been revolving around the two boys began to pile up one by one.

Knock! Knock knock! Knock knock!

In an instant, it rose above my head and created a hemispherical structure.

A ball of light rose from Ray's hand and illuminated the dark interior as if it were daylight.

“But what if we could forcibly confine the scattered mana to one place?”

“Even the most insensitive person can’t help but feel mana?”

Judging from the way he grasped the situation and responded right away, Philip was indeed quick-witted.

Ray nodded and spoke while releasing two blasts of yellow and green mana to increase the concentration of mana within the space.

“This space is a training room that will be installed inside the Magic Tower as planned. The walls and ceiling are made of a special metal that blocks the penetration of mana.”

“It means that you can artificially create a space filled with mana.”

“That’s right, you can create an environment that is conducive to feeling mana and building rings.”

The mana concentration inside rapidly increased in real time.

A task that would originally have taken several days to accomplish, requiring the procurement of dozens of mana tanks.

Ray was doing it in just a few minutes.

“And this.”

"bracelet?"

“It’s a tool that increases mana sensitivity. I borrowed it from the Listoa School.”

In fact, it was closer to extortion than borrowing, but that wasn't the main issue.

Philip received the bracelet and put it on, closed his eyes and focused on the sensations in his whole body.

How much time has passed like that?

“Three, my goodness, is this Mana…?”

“Can you feel it?”

Philip nodded quickly.

My whole body trembled with fear.

A feeling I've never felt before, like being immersed in soft, warm water.

Then I could feel Ray's palm touching my back.

“I am now sending the orb of mana around your heart and spinning it. Do you feel it?”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that yet.”

“Focus a little more on your senses.”

A few more minutes passed.

“I feel it! It feels like the inside of my chest is tickling! There are little beads moving around!”

“Yeah, that’s the feeling. Try to control the Mana Orb.”

Ray added.

If you keep orbiting that orb of mana, you should be able to create a ring.

“Anyone can build up one circle. Anything beyond that is a matter of talent, but it’s true that the difficulty is much easier than outside the walls.”

“… … .”

“I guess you can’t hear me because you’re concentrating. Actually, the receipt I showed you earlier wasn’t all there was. In reality, I spent twice that amount.”

“Ray, I can hear you.”

After quite some time, Philip was unable to control the marbles on his own.

“I’ve heard that it’s rare to succeed on the first try. If you keep practicing without giving up, you’ll see results.”

“Of course, how could I give up?”

Philip, soaked in sweat all over his body, spoke in a firm tone.

Although he was mentally tired, his eyes were clearer than ever.

*

The furniture that had been ordered over the course of several days began to arrive at the completed tower.

Meanwhile, Ray and Philip went around the auction house, looking at items that might be related to the Rainbow Fragments.

“What do you think? That ring?”

“I don’t feel anything.”

Ray said, staring into the distance at the platform next to the auctioneer.

A ring placed on a stand.

A crimson gem embedded in it.

The yellow and green gems sleeping on his body were not responding at all.

Philip added an X to the list of items on the pad screen in his hand.

“This one’s a dud too. There aren’t many properties left to look at.”

“How many are left?”

“Two special auction items including the Tears of Aurea, and three first-class items.”

“I guess I should go upstairs.”

The building of the auction house Tenenbaum was dozens of stories high and had a shape similar to a giant tree.

The structure is such that the higher the auction is held, the higher the grade of the items.

Among them, the special auction was held in a separate room at the end of a corridor that extended in all directions like branches on the top floor.

At that moment, I was about to get up from my seat because there was nothing more to check.

“The item I’m introducing this time is an ancient relic unearthed from a ruin in the northeast. It’s a special device that can maximize the efficiency of training by increasing the fluidity of indoor mana. The measured effective range is 10 square meters. Then, let’s start with 2 million shillings!”

"oh."

Ray looked straight back at Philip.

“No, Ray.”

“… … .”

“I’ve already bought dozens of items at this auction house.”

“… … .”

“Do you know how much money we spent in just a few days?”

“… … .”

“Think about whether that is really something that is needed for the Magic Tower.”

No matter how many words of persuasion I tried, Ray's eyes didn't waver.

Philip shouted with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

“Two million shillings!”

“2.7 million! 2.7 million came out!”

“2, 2.8 million!”

“2.8 million came out.”

Lakes pouring out from all over.

After a fierce battle, Philip, who had emerged victorious, muttered with an exhausted face.

“In the end, I have to pay for this too… I have to pay for it all… It’s not too late… I have to quickly hand over Philip’s position to this fox…”

“Krung?!”

At that moment, the announcer struck the gavel and gave the final conclusion in a loud voice.

Bang! Bang!

“3.6 million shillings! This property was sold to Ray, a member of the Imagination School, for 3.6 million shillings!”

Imaginary School.

There was a murmur everywhere.

“Damn, it’s that school again? I don’t know how many times I’ve had my stuff stolen.”

“This is my first time hearing about this place.”

“Didn’t you get a message from the Association a few days ago? A new school had been founded.”

“But there was no thesis attached. I have no idea what kind of school it is.”

“Huh? You say there is no thesis? What on earth is President Gustak thinking of approving it…?”

“No matter how you think about it, isn’t this an abuse of power?”

“Then why don’t you try filing a protest at the Builders School?”

“Ahem, that’s a little… .”

The name Imaginus was already known among various schools of thought.

A mysterious new school of thought that announced its creation without a thesis.

And an unidentified school of thought that has been sweeping away all the items on auction houses in the span of a few days.

Even if there were no particularly noticeable actions, the public's opinion of the Imaginary School was not good.

Because the vast majority of them felt strongly uncomfortable with the mere fact that a new competitor had appeared in the magical community.

“But isn’t that just a little kid who doesn’t even look like an adult?”

“You must have come as a representative. There must be a separate office manager.”

“Ugh, by the way, I don’t know how much money there is.”

Hostile stares and whispering.

Ray didn't care one bit.

I took the dumbfounded Philip outside and got on the elevator straight to the next auction.

Wheein─

Philip, who had come to his senses while the floors were rising, said.

“Well, the next auction will be the last one. It’s a special auction where the items are the most expensive, so you should try to avoid impulse buying as much as possible. Okay?”

“The relic you just purchased will also help you in your training.”

“That’s true, but.”

Philip, who was groaning, floated a small ball of light in his hand.

“The level of completion has become quite high.”

“Really? This isn’t just empty words?”

“Compared to the first one, the shape and brightness have improved amazingly.”

Philip's face brightened at Ray's compliment.

After several days of hard work, the ring has been successfully built.

Since then, I have been practicing the magic to create a sphere of light.

But why is that?

“… … .”

“… … .”

Every time he looked at the orb of light, Philip's bowl was filled with feelings of longing and sadness, as well as joy and excitement.

Ray, who was staring blankly at the colorful mana swaying in his chest, asked.

“Is there a reason why you wanted to learn this magic in the first place?”

“Huh? Oh, there is. It’s not like there’s any special reason.”

His mother left him a long time ago to go to another sector, saying she would make money.

Before we broke up, my mother said she always kept all the lights in the house turned off.

“I was 6? 7? I don’t remember clearly because I was so young. It was very dark in the house at night. It was as if he was afraid that someone would come looking for him. Thinking back now, it may have been just to save money. He did work, but I don’t think the pay was that good.”

Philip's eyes, looking at the ball of light, gradually became hazy.

“That’s why I always wanted to turn on the lights at night. I whined to my mom a lot. I was scared of the dark house, and I couldn’t ask her to read my favorite storybook.”

“… … .”

“When that happened, my mother would go under the tree behind the house and put a pillow on my lap. I remember this clearly. There were little bugs floating around there that gave off little lights. They weren’t very noticeable from far away, but they were bright enough to read a book up close. I remember falling asleep there while listening to my mother reading to me.”

Pot.

The sphere of light went out at that moment.

Philip said, his eyes returning to theirs.

“That’s why I wanted to learn this magic first. When I reunite with my estranged mother, I want to tell her that she can turn on the lights without worrying about money anymore.”

“Turning off the lights at night isn’t going to save you much money.”

“Crunch! Crunch! Ray, please give me back my emotions!”

They reached the top floor while Ray was trying to stop the angry fox Phillip from biting them.

Ray, who got off the elevator first, looked back and said.

“I’m sure you’ll find it. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

A voice that doesn't waver.

Somehow, I felt at ease.

“Of course I can find it. I plan to search the whole world.”

Ray and Philip walked down a corridor that extended like a branch and arrived at room number three.

“Your identity has been confirmed.”

“I hope you get what you’re looking for and go out.”

There were a number of guards strictly guarding the entrance, but since I had already proven my wealth when I first entered Tenenbaum, I was able to enter and exit without difficulty.

A structure in which tiered seating surrounds a central stage where auction items are displayed.

Philip whispered as he sat down.

“It definitely feels narrower than the lower-level auction houses, perhaps because there are fewer people qualified to enter. There are also a lot more people with their faces covered by masks.”

“I guess since you spend so much money, you don’t want to reveal your identity.”

There were about 30 participants.

As the host appeared and greeted the audience, Ray looked around the seats, and then his gaze stopped at the seat opposite him.

A woman wearing a butterfly mask.

Brown hair peeking out from under the hood.

Four rings containing flesh-colored mana.

There was a person who immediately came to mind.

'Up access.'

A Murcred executive encountered in the last forest.

It was then that the announcer's loud shout was heard.

“Then I will reveal it to you! The treasure that has been revealed to the world for hundreds of years, the Tears of Aurea, that all the distinguished guests here have been eyeing!”

Flutter!

The red velvet cloth was peeled away, revealing the contents of the glass case.

The moment I saw the brilliant crimson jewel hanging from the end of the necklace.

Heart pounding.

Ray's heart began to beat.