Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 69

#069. Artificial Emotions (3)

The photo was blurry and difficult to identify.

However, two characteristics of the guy who was raising his head could be clearly identified.

Blue skin.

A blue gem hanging on the forehead.

‘That’s not the guy I saw.’

Although their skin colors were similar, the one I saw in person in the wilderness did not have a jewel on its forehead.

A thought that lingers for a moment.

One possibility occurred to me.

“Is this a manipulated photo?”

“Yes, that’s right. As expected, you’re quick-witted. I hired a professional who specializes in photo manipulation. I tried to recreate the appearance of the rock deer as the old man described.”

“It must have cost a lot of money.”

“Of course. But to see the benefits, you have to make a certain investment.”

Skye was extremely confident that if he showed John the photo, he would definitely come out of the hotel.

“The old man’s obsession with the Rock Deer in his delusions is beyond imagination. In the past, he had placed requests to other places besides our mercenary group.”

He added:

“Even so, I am someone who knows how to properly handle and use human desires. An old man like that is just easy prey.”

It wasn’t a story that I was particularly curious about.

But what I want to ask is─.

“What percentage of the money do I get if the plan is successful?”

“I’ll give you 10 percent of the total amount in John’s account.”

Ray was silent.

John added hastily.

“13, no, 14…? Up to 15 percent is possible. No more than that. I made most of the plans, and considering the portions I’ll be giving to my subordinates…”

The appearance of protesting to somehow protect one’s share.

In fact, it didn’t matter what the lay ratio was.

John did not cause any significant damage to this side and never showed any hostility.

‘It goes against the principle.’

You get what you pay for.

Either repayment or retaliation.

Could not harm the opponent.

Unless you are attacked first or have a special interest.

However, it was definitely a good idea to save up money to cover the cost of the admission ticket required to enter the wizarding city.

Ray’s gaze turned to the card.

“Bank Ignis.”

Below that, Skyle’s name was also embossed in small letters.

Ray said after making his decision.

“Okay, I’ll accept your offer.”

*

Early the next morning.

In front of the inn where Ray and his party are staying.

“Hey, don’t push me, kid!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I came here first.”

There were five vagrants there, pushing and shoving each other.

They were the leaders of five gangs occupying the nearby streets.

“Tsk tsk. The order isn’t important. The quality of the information you bring is.”

“What the hell. Are you scared? Your area is the smallest, so you don’t have much information, and that’s why you’re saying such things.”

“This isn’t the end of the report. I told you to come every morning.”

Bam!

The moment the door opened, the commotion stopped.

As soon as they saw the person who had appeared, instinctive fear and horror took hold in the bowls of the vagabonds.

“It looks like you all gathered a lot of information overnight. There are still 20 minutes left in the designated time, and it looks like everything is gathered like this.”

Ray said, looking over the gang leaders.

Then he went into the inn and brought Philip out.

“Oh, oh? You’re already here? I’m not mentally ready yet─. Seriously… .”

Ray had to leave the inn early in the morning for an appointment with Skyle.

That’s why Philip was assigned to receive the reports from the vagabonds.

“Uh… Did you… eat breakfast?”

A vagrant with a similarly distracting physique and soft, sharp features.

Philip stood in front of her, hesitantly.

There’s nothing to be afraid of when Ray is around, but it’s a different story when you have to face them alone.

The tramp, who caught Philip’s hesitation, immediately opened his eyes wide.

‘Yes. This is normal reaction when standing in front of us.’

‘Just looking at it should make you tremble. This body is like a bloody monkey wrench from 13th Street.’

‘That’s right. That white-haired bird… No, that person is strange.’

They glared at Philip with all their might, trying to restore their battered pride.

“Teachers… Ha, haha. Did something make you feel uneasy this morning…?”

Philip tries to change the mood.

But it wasn’t of much use.

Ray, who was looking at the emotions contained in the bowls on both sides, approached Philip and whispered.

“Go out there and be strong. Don’t look down on them. If they see you as prey, they’ll try to eat you at every opportunity.”

It would have been best to have Philip with me during every threat, but physical constraints meant that this wasn’t always possible.

Philip also had to get used to this kind of thing.

“You can do it.”

“… … .”

“Think of yourself as superior to others.”

“I’m above…?”

“Yes. You are the supervisor. On the other hand, those guys are, as you call them, subcontractors. You have the authority.”

“authority….”

“The power to inspect work and to find fault with any small mistake or flaw and punish it.”

Philip nodded slowly.

With an expression that said he had gained great insight.

The fear that had been in the bowl gradually faded away, and in its place confidence and courage rose.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

Ray left the inn, leaving Philip in charge.

I think I walked about ten steps like that.

─I’ve gathered this information! The notebook you wrote your information in is so useless that even the homeless will give up using it as a blanket or firewood!

The advice seemed to be effective.

I didn’t ask you to do that though.

‘If possible, I would have injected courage and confidence directly into the vessel.’

After returning to the inn after meeting with Skye yesterday, Ray devoted himself to his experiments on injecting emotions into other people’s vessels.

All the rest of the day.

Forget even exploring the sector.

“Wow! Ray was resting alone at the inn! We came back after running around with sweaty feet!”

“There must have been a reason for that.”

“That’s true.”

“…Why do you understand so quickly?”

“That’s not wrong, is it?”

Thanks to that, there was a bit of a fuss, but thanks to that, we were able to confirm some meaningful facts.

first.

‘Not everyone can inject emotions into their vessel.’

Some people were able to inject emotions into a vessel, while others were unable to.

The ratio was overwhelmingly higher in favor of the former.

Pedestrians on the street, shop owners.

Vagabonds, homeless people.

They immediately laughed, cried, or got angry, depending on the type of emotion injected into the bowl.

However, there were some who could not put their emotions into the bowl no matter what they did.

Philip and Veronica are representative examples.

However, I couldn’t figure out exactly what the criteria were.

And secondly.

‘There is a limit to the type and amount of emotions that can be poured into a vessel.’

It was possible to artificially inflate and inflate only the types of emotions that already existed in the other person’s vessel.

In other words, it was impossible to create emotions in the other person that did not exist at all.

Also, the maximum that the swollen emotions can reach is slightly different depending on the type of emotion and the person, but it is generally about half of the container.

Anything more than that was impossible.

It’s as if there’s a limit to the emotions that can be forced in.

If you want to fill the entire bowl with one type of emotion, as in Skyle’s case, you have to layer on top of the artificially built emotions the emotions you naturally induce through specific words and actions.

Next, third.

‘it’s hard.’

Injecting emotions is a mentally exhausting task, and I feel completely exhausted after completing it once.

Of course, I thought that it would gradually get better as I became more proficient.

Magic that was difficult to use at first has now become as easy as breathing.

However, up until now, it was still effective to induce the other person’s emotions through words or actions.

And the last and most important.

‘I can’t infuse mana into my vessel.’

It was the part I was most looking forward to, but the result was as expected.

In the end, the only way to expand the range of emotions one can feel was to realize it directly through experience.

Knock—knock—knock.

Ray, who was walking down the street, stopped walking and looked back.

“Do you have anything to say?”

A man wearing a coat appeared from behind a telephone pole.

It was Michael.

“… You’re really skilled. You used stealth magic, but you noticed it right away.”

“Stealth magic?”

“Yes. It’s a basic magic that you learn at the Magic Tower… Since you don’t know it, I’m sure you’re not from the Magic Tower. It’s a simple magic that erases the sound of footsteps and makes it difficult to recognize your presence in the scenery.”

Stealth magic.

Could the colorful mana-mak that clings to Michael’s skin like clothing be a hiding magic?

Michael, noticing Ray’s doubts, demonstrated a series of steps to release and reactivate the stealth magic.

The colors of the various manas used as materials were reflected in Ray’s eyes.

“If you don’t pay attention, you usually don’t notice it’s there…?”

Michael’s pupils dilated.

“Uh, how? Didn’t you just ask what stealth magic was?”

Ray, who had figured out how it worked, followed Michael’s magic.

Even with a higher degree of perfection.

Because of this, Michael found himself in a situation where he would miss Ray’s presence even if his attention was distracted for a moment.

A state of cognitive dissonance where the eyes recognize something, but the brain rejects it.

As soon as Ray lifted the hiding magic, Michael’s wavering eyes stopped.

“Why did you follow me?”

“No, how, what the heck is this… This is ridiculous…”

Michael, who was muttering to himself in a state of panic, soon came to his senses and answered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tail you. I just couldn’t find a chance to talk to you…”

He explained that he had come to Ray to root out the nagging doubts that had been growing in his mind.

“When you used lightning magic in the hotel, the circle was definitely not detected.”

To use magic, you must use the mana within the circle.

Because of this, the existence of the circle has to be inevitably exposed to the opponent.

“I just couldn’t understand it. I’ve never heard of a way to use magic while hiding the circle.”

“… … .”

I heard that he is a person who rarely leaves John’s side.

But the fact is that he came to find me in person.

‘I guess you were really curious.’

In fact, Michael’s bowl was filled with a cloud of doubts that were as murky as a cloud.

There was no particular hostility or ill will shown.

A person I was planning to meet and talk to anyway.

‘Because there’s still time until the appointment time.’

It’ll be okay for a little while.

Ray was the first to answer Michael’s question.

“I used the mana that was waiting.”

“yes?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide my circle in particular. I just didn’t need to use the mana contained in the circle.”

Michael was dumbfounded for a moment.

Soon, I fully understood Ray’s words, but I felt even more confused.

“Are you saying that you used magic with unrefined mana in the air?”

“Yes. It attracted elements from the air and combined them in each location.”

“… … .”

Mana in the air is very sticky.

It was common sense that it was similar to cement just before it hardened, and that you had to concentrate to be able to move it even a small amount.

There is so little liquidity there that it is difficult to detect.

‘It might be possible to use magic once or twice. Even undergraduates sometimes use the mana on standby when they’re really in a hurry. But yesterday, it was definitely… .’

Lightning magic filled the area.

Crackle! Crackle!

Just like right now.

“… … .”

“Like this. Didn’t you feel any movement of mana in my circle just now?”

Michael stared blankly at the dozens of sparks flashing around him.

‘This is….’

It was a task of a whole other scale than using magic once or twice.

The former is an area that falls into the ‘possible’ category depending on the effort put in, whereas this is something that is ‘impossible’ in itself.

A long silence.

Michael spoke in a voice that was filled with exhaustion.

“… Yes. That’s right. When you used stealth magic, I felt the movement of mana in the circle at the heart. But this time, it wasn’t like that.”

Although I couldn’t accept it, I couldn’t deny what was happening in real time before my eyes.

What should I say?

It feels like all the decades of dedication to magic have been completely negated.

‘It’s so easy to use the mana in the air. Even the professors of the Magic Tower couldn’t show off such a skill.’

My heart was pounding.

Just how high a level of wizard has he reached?

The moment the stealth magic was used, only one ring was detected, but it was certain that there were many more rings hidden.

4 circles?… 5 circles… ?

The realm was unfathomable.

Michael’s vessel was filled with a thick feeling of respect and awe.

“… … .”

Ray, who was watching the scene, silently moved the mana in the air and mixed the colors.

That feeling.

Do you think you can grow it more?

Thinking like that.

Soon, mana of a color corresponding to awe and respect was created.

The color is a vivid purple.

Mana flew through the air towards Michael’s vessel.