Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 85

#085. Black Rain and Seeds (1)

Philip heard the whole story of what happened in the canyon.

“Oh my god… I really should have seen that sight.”

As for the blue rock deer, I expressed great regret at not having seen it in person.

“John and Skyle, they’re dead. Attacking each other. Ray, it’s just as you said.”

Ray nodded as if he knew that his prediction would be correct.

“… Curiosa? A Murcred executive? A doctor? Wait, that’s too much information at once… .”

When talking about the people related to Murkred, he frowned for a moment as if his head was overloaded.

Then, with a look of understanding, he said:

“Then the main direction of the trip will be to find the executives of Murcred.”

“That’s right. But it doesn’t make any difference. We were already moving up the Elton River anyway.”

The direction pointed by the magic arrow of binding is also the upper reaches of the Elton River.

As we continued on our way, we naturally encountered the executives of Murkred.

“Then is the jewel embedded in Blue’s forehead a fragment of the rainbow?”

“I think it’s possible. At the very least, it’s clear that it’s a gem that holds a huge amount of mana.”

The blue jewel that Blue has.

The red jewel that Murkred possesses.

If we combine the list of orders Walter received and Curiosa’s story, the hypothesis that the rainbow is a jewel becomes more persuasive.

“It smells, man. Aren’t we going to be the first investigators to discover a rainbow?”

Ray shook his head at Philip’s fuss.

“We’re not at a point where we can be certain yet. It’s just a possibility. We’ll continue our investigation centered around the gem theory, but we’ll also keep other possibilities open.”

“As expected, you are wise, our leader.”

Philip smiled.

He then became lost in thought and then spoke with a slightly serious expression.

“But if you need to collect all the jewels, it won’t be easy to get them from Blue. He walks in the sky and creates an oasis in the blink of an eye. Is he a creature that can be caught by human strength?”

Ray recalled the moment he had encountered Blue in the empty lot.

A distant longing that welled up in my heart.

It never occurred to me that I should catch Blue.

‘…even if I had tried to catch it, I wouldn’t have succeeded.’

Blue was an unknown creature to the world, but one thing was clear.

The fact that it is a transcendent being that far surpasses human power.

Even the four-ringed Curiosas gave up on capturing Blue and just watched him leave.

If you had attacked Blue, there’s a high chance you would have lost your life.

To borrow Curiossa’s expression, you would have become an ice statue in the wilderness, subject to indiscriminate licking by passing animals.

‘… If you think about the rainbow as your goal, it’s right not to miss any opportunity that comes.’

Ray, who had been thinking hard, came to a conclusion.

‘Let’s not be impatient.’

I repeated to myself.

Just confirming Blue’s existence and getting information about Murkred through Curiosa is a big enough harvest.

Ray opened his mouth, which had been closed.

“You can put aside your thoughts about Blue for now. After we complete the hypothesis that the rainbow is a jewel, it won’t be too late to find a way. For now, we’ll leave as soon as we finish gathering information here.”

Philip and Veronica nodded at Ray’s words.

In any case, the group was a community of destiny on the same ship, and Ray was the captain who set the ship’s course.

Of course, it was natural that such acceptance was based on feelings of trust.

“And I have something else to show you.”

Ray took out the photo he found in Walter’s basement and showed it to the two.

“This is a photo of what is believed to be Dr. Murcred and his executives.”

“Wow. That’s a really old photo. It’s in black and white. It’s blurry and hard to see.”

“Still, each of the children’s names is written above their heads. I can recognize them. Walter, Curiosa, Alleghar… ”

Philip paused for a moment and muttered in a blank voice.

“Up access… .”

Philip’s finger stopped next to the girl in the middle of the children.

Ray asked.

“Why? Is that a name you know?”

“No. It’s the first time I’ve seen that name. It’s just…

.”

“just?”

“It’s just… because it looks familiar.”

The photograph was old and worn, making it nearly impossible to make out the faces of the people in it.

Still, Philip couldn’t take his eyes off the girl in the photo.

Then, after a long time, I gave the photo back to Ray.

*

The next morning.

Ray opened his eyes in bed and slowly got up from his seat and headed to the window.

Perhaps because I had taken a short nap between the afternoon and evening the previous day, I woke up earlier than usual.

Swaaa …

“… … .”

Or maybe it was the sound of heavy rain pouring down outside that woke me up.

The street was dark and quiet.

Among the thick raindrops that filled the field of vision, not a single store with its doors open or pedestrian was visible.

Well, it can’t be helped.

Because it’s raining black rain now.

The boy, who had been quietly gazing at the scenery, lifted his palm and placed it against the window.

Boom! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Raindrops as black as ink hit the window as if they wanted to come inside.

“… … .”

Anything that touches the black rain will become sick.

Whether it is the human body or the land.

Before leaving the clearing inside the canyon, Veronica said as she transferred some of the dirt from the ground into a ziploc bag.

“The Rock Deer’s Great Migration Period has come forward. It may be because they ran out of food in their original habitat.”

The dirt raised by magic was a color between brown and black.

It is contaminated with black rain.

It was known that no plants could grow on the land that had turned a color like coal.

‘What’s above the Elton River?’

The dark clouds pouring black rain have generally moved in from the upper reaches of the Elton River.

It was only recently that I realized this, when I started looking up at the sky more often, conscious of the rainbow.

‘It seems like the dark clouds that arose in the upper sector are coming down to the lower sector.’

Of all the people I’ve met, Michael has climbed the highest along the Elton River.

“I’ve been to Sector 31 before. It was to escort the representative.”

“Is that more? I didn’t feel the need to go up. I was already enjoying life where I was settled.”

It was said that black rain fell in sector 31 as well, so if that’s the case, then the starting point of the dark clouds is a sector with a lower number than that.

And the boy was guessing that the starting point might be the city of wizards.

‘The golem would send black smoke into the sky every time it moved.’

The golem’s method of movement was simple.

It moved by sucking in a large amount of mana from the atmosphere to the heart where the nucleus existed, using that as fuel.

Since you are not a human with emotions, there is no risk of becoming addicted to mana.

A truly efficient way to get around.

But there were also side effects.

Because the mana of each color that swirled in the heart had to mix together and end up becoming a single type of black mana.

That was the source of the black smoke that the golem was spewing out like steam with every step it took.

“… … .”

The boy drew in the mana around him and mixed the colors haphazardly.

The mana orb on his palm gradually became cloudy in color, eventually turning completely black.

Let go of the bonds and it floats into the air like a soap bubble.

However, unlike ordinary mana, it did not mix with the atmosphere and moved around until it passed through the window and disappeared.

‘I went up to heaven.’

Like the black smoke of a golem.

I could tell without even looking out the window.

Because it is a fact that we already know through countless observations.

‘And when it reaches the top of the sky, it will turn into a dark cloud.’

That was the reason why I thought the place where the dark clouds were created was the city of magicians.

‘For dark clouds to form enough to cover the sky.’

If so, then that place must be a place where powerful magic is used a great deal.

A very powerful magic that mixes many different elements to the point where mana turns black.

So Ray was lost in endless thoughts.

Shoo──

Without even noticing that the raindrops were gradually getting thinner.

*

In front of the accommodation, a morning with the rain having stopped and the dim sunlight shining through.

Chalbak-

Ray said as he stepped through the puddle of black water on the ground.

“If I don’t get any useful information by the end of today, I’ll have to move on to the next sector.”

“I think so too.”

Philip agreed from the side.

4th day of arrival at Sector 48.

It was enough time for the five gangs that received the order to search the entire sector in pursuit of the keyword.

Black rain. Rainbow.

A brown-haired woman with a scar on her neck.

If relevant information had been floating around the sector, it would have been caught in the gang’s search net long ago.

But the fact is that not even the slightest clue has been found until now.

‘I guess that means there’s a high chance that there’s no relevant information in the sector.’

Of course, we cannot completely rule out another possibility.

There is a possibility that information exists somewhere in the sector that we have not yet discovered.

But rather than staying in one place and continuing to waste time on that one possibility, it was much more efficient to move on to the next sector and continue exploring in a new place.

The two boys stopped walking on the street in front of their accommodation.

“Do you remember anything else about your mother?”

“Um… Actually, I don’t remember much because we broke up when we were so young. I think we broke up when I was around 6. I don’t even remember faces or voices very well.”

What remained in Philip’s memory was a feeling rather than an exact image.

That day, the colors of the park where his mother left him and the small sounds he heard around him.

The rustling feel of the biscuit plastic in my hand, and the sweet scent that filled my nose.

“I remember that you took great care of me. When I think back to when I was young, I vaguely feel happy. I don’t remember exactly though.”

“He loved you very much.”

Ray said, recalling the definition of love he had seen in the dictionary.

“Hmm… I think we need a stronger word than love. Attachment…? Obsession…?”

While two boys were talking.

─Hello!

─Good morning!

A shout was heard along with the sound of footsteps from across the street.

They were the leaders of five groups that had come to report.

Ray said after seeing them.

“Information, I guess you found something useful.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“The emotions reflected in the bowl are different from other times.”

“ah.”

Philip’s face lit up with admiration.

*

After finishing their meal, the group headed straight to 28th Street, located on the outskirts of the sector.

“Is that information really true?”

Philip answered Veronica’s expectant voice.

“I think it’s worth investigating. It might be a waste of time, but it’s a clue to one of our group’s goals, the Black Rain.”

Ray nodded slightly in agreement with Philip’s words.

Any little clue that was relevant to the party’s goal was worth investigating.

Knock knock knock──

Three pairs of footsteps echo through the street.

As we got closer to the outskirts of the sector, the surrounding scenery became increasingly outdated.

The place the group arrived was in front of a shabby hut in a slum.

“The kids said he was a gangster. He lives off of scrap metal from dumpsters, and he’s almost always drunk. I can tell without even looking.”

Philip said, looking around.

All sorts of junk was strewn about inside the crudely constructed fence surrounding the cabin.

Behind the cabin, not far away, a garbage dump with a mountain of scrap metal was visible.

Squeak──

The fence entrance was unlocked.

The group passed through the junk and knocked on the cabin door.

dripping-

There was no response from inside.

Knock knock─

This time too, the same thing happened.

“Isn’t it inside?”

“I guess he’s out.”

Philip and Veronica look puzzled.

Ray said about it.

“No, it’s inside.”

Then he poured mana into the doorknob.

Crunch.

I opened the door in an instant.

“It’s magic. The more I look at it, the more amazing it is and I’m jealous. Veronica, can you teach me something like that?”

“Hmm… I don’t think I could use it even if you taught me. First, I need to learn how to handle mana.”

The group entered the cabin.

In the middle of the cabin, there was a fireplace with a chimney connected to the ceiling, and furniture such as sofas and tables were arranged in a disorderly manner around it.

Spilled food, torn newspapers, and other miscellaneous debris were strewn about, making it difficult to identify a place where people could live.

“Uh… there’s no one here?”

“Yeah. You can wait until I get back or come back later….”

Leaving the two people’s conversation behind, Ray strode towards the wooden box in the corner.

1.5 circle.

That is, after the imperfect ring was created, Ray’s vision of mana changed.

‘It’s over there.’

That is, it was possible to see through objects and see the mana on the other side.

Right now, it’s as if a black lump of fear is visible inside the box.

Obstacles such as walls and furniture in the middle no longer hindered Ray in identifying his opponents.

Squeak─

“Okay, I was wrong! I’m sorry…! I, I’ll definitely pay you back, but I, I, I’ll at least give you my life…!”

When I opened the box, a man appeared.

A man with his face buried between his knees, his palms facing upwards.

“Mr. Hander.”

“Yes, yes?”

The man who raised his head looked dumbfounded for a moment as he realized that the other person was not a debt collector.

Above that, Ray’s voice fell.

“Let me talk to you for a moment. I think you have a story to tell about Black Rain.”