**#022. Veronica’s Bookstore (3)**
—
Practically infinite mana.
The boy’s dull emotions turned out to be an advantage when it came to using magic.
Recently, even the mental exhaustion from using magic had drastically decreased.
Raw mana, unrefined and floating freely in the air.
Refined mana, concentrated within the circles.
*”They said the former is of lower quality compared to the latter.”*
But what if he could overwhelm everything with sheer quantity?
The boy’s eyes gleamed.
It felt like he had taken another step closer to his goal of revenge.
*Tick. Tick. Tick!*
In the ensuing game, he abandoned all tricks and fought head-on.
*Vroom─!*
“Ha.”
Though the old man won, shock was evident on his face.
The speed Ray displayed had increased by dozens of times compared to the start.
*”This makes no sense. Among the elements, *Stability* is one of the hardest to handle.”*
The boy had not only analyzed the properties of the elements in real time but also learned how to control them.
A genius? No, that wasn’t enough to describe him.
Just moments ago, Ray had distinguished between the elements of *Stability* and *Duration*, something most magicians fail to do in their lifetime.
A chill ran down the old man’s spine.
Perhaps what stood before him was the raw gem of the most brilliant brilliance the world had ever seen.
And he was certain of one thing:
If he didn’t give it his all, he would never win another game against the boy.
The old man broke the silence with a question.
“You mentioned you would’ve died if you’d stayed in Sector 50. Do you know who put your life at risk?”
“It was a magician.”
“A magician, you say…”
Though curious, the old man refrained from prying further. The boy’s wariness was palpable, and he wanted to approach carefully.
Besides, the old man’s wealth of life experience often allowed him to fill in blanks through deduction.
*Tick. Tick. Tick!*
The winner was the old man once more.
But it was a narrow victory this time.
“Do you have a dream?”
“A dream? Like the ones you have when you sleep?”
“No, something you want to become. Something you want to do. Something you desire.”
“Oh.”
Ray fell silent, lost in thought.
His mind stalled.
No one had ever asked him such a question.
Something I want to become.
Something I want to do.
Something I desire.
*”I’ve never seriously thought about this before.”*
Ray wasn’t the type to imagine the future through daydreams; he lived firmly in the present.
He didn’t have a dream, but he did have a goal.
The moment Niles and the children died,
A goal had been carved deep into his mind and heart.
But could that goal count as an answer to the old man’s question?
Was it something he *wanted* to do?
Or was it something he *had* to do?
Or perhaps, both?
The line separating the two was as faint and indistinct as the two shades of gray mana he often visualized.
Ray organized his thoughts.
“I have something I want to do.”
“What is it?”
“There are people I want to kill. And people I want to save.”
The old man pondered his response.
*Tap. Tap—*
The silence was broken by raindrops tapping against the window.
It had been only hours since the clear rain stopped.
The sky was now preparing to pour down heavy black rain.
“I’ve heard many people say they have someone they want to kill. But you’re the first to say you also have someone you want to save.”
“……”
*Tap. Tap—*
The window trembled. Outside, more clouds were gathering, darkening the morning.
The next game began.
*Tick. Tick. Tick!*
The old man won again.
This time, he had to give his all to narrowly defeat the boy.
“Would you consider learning magic from me?”
“……”
Ray hesitated.
He had been quick to answer every question to move on to the next game.
This question caught him completely off guard.
No, was it even a question?
A magician with three circles.
If someone like that offered to teach him magic, there was no reason to refuse.
But it didn’t make sense.
Why would someone suddenly want to teach magic to a street orphan?
“Is there something you want from me?”
“No. All I want is for you to learn everything I teach you with sincerity and dedication.”
Ray’s confusion deepened.
To him, the world was a series of transactions.
Every action had either a reward or a foundational emotion behind it.
But the old man’s words lacked context, and his emotions were difficult to discern.
After deliberating, Ray gave his answer.
“Alright.”
“Good. For now, I want to see more of what you can do. I’m sure you still have more questions to ask as well.”
*Tick. Tick. Tick!*
In the next game, Ray emerged victorious.
The old man wasn’t too surprised; he had expected it.
What caught him off guard was what came next.
“I want to hear about rainbows.”
The old man hadn’t anticipated that Ray would ask about rainbows.
An old, faded memory buried deep in his subconscious stirred at the boy’s words and surfaced.
*Thud—*
The memory unfolded.
It was from his youth, just a few pages long.
But it was enough to evoke a poignant mixture of longing and excitement.
The old man reached out beyond his bed.
*Creak—*
A distant drawer slid open on its own, and an object flew into his hand.
It was a thick cigarette and a lighter.
*Click.*
“Forgive me for this. I’m an old man on the verge of death; I no longer bother with restraint.”
“It’s fine.”
“Thank you.”
*Creak—*
The window opened under telekinetic influence.
As the old man lit his cigarette, dreary gray smoke curled into the air outside.
*Hoo—*
Ray didn’t react.
He neither used magic nor waved his hand to disperse the smoke.
It was a scent he had grown all too familiar with on the streets.
Subconsciously, it even reminded him of Niles.
After a few puffs, the old man spoke in a steadier voice.
“Rainbows, you say. Have you heard about them before?”
“I’ve heard they’re bands of seven colors.”
Rainbows weren’t exactly a secret.
Few people paid attention to them, but anyone could find plenty of information on the topic if they tried.
The problem was that all this information was speculative and inconclusive, which is why the old man had abandoned his research on rainbows in his youth.
“Seven colors, indeed. And what else do you know?”
“I heard finding a rainbow grants you a wish.”
“You know quite a bit.”
Extinguishing his cigarette in the ashtray, the old man conjured a breeze to clear the smoke out the window.
Then he called out to the door.
“Veronica, you can come in now.”
A presence was felt, and soon the door opened to reveal Veronica.
Looking like a child caught misbehaving, she spoke.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping! I was just waiting by the door to see when your conversation would end.”
“I know. I’m well aware of the kind of child you are. Come, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
The girl scurried over, happy to join the conversation, and sat beside Ray.
“……”
Ray observed Veronica’s vessel.
Pure white mana intertwined with a deep navy hue.
Her vessel danced with the conflicting emotions of worry for the ailing old man and anxiety about the uncertain future she faced with her siblings.
Heavy emotions for such a young girl to bear.
“Veronica, do you remember why I took you, Malta, and Yulfin in from the orphanage?”
“To pass on your knowledge. You said you wanted to leave as much of what you knew in this world as you could through us.”
Pleased with her precise answer, the old man nodded.
“That’s correct. You’ve got it exactly right. I think you should hear about rainbows as well. They’re part of the knowledge I possess.”
To pass on knowledge was a magician’s instinct.
Magicians are beings who spend their lives exploring their inner worlds and seeking truth.
Inevitably, they develop far stronger egos than ordinary people, along with an unshakable desire to leave their mark on the world.
Yet they also harbor a unique competitiveness and a tendency toward secrecy.
*”May my knowledge be eternal.*
*But let it remain unrevealed to the world.”*
Thus, they often chose to take on disciples, striking a balance between these conflicting desires.
Alternatively, they would seal their knowledge in grimoires hidden in places no one could find.
Taking a deep breath, the old man began his tale.
“No topic sparks as much debate among magicians as rainbows. Some dismiss them as fanciful nonsense, while others are convinced they’re real phenomena.”
His body remained in the present, but his gaze seemed fixed on a different time.
The old man took a deep breath and began his tale.
“The most prevalent theory is this: have you ever seen a perfectly clear sky?”
The boy and the girl fell silent, lost in thought, before quickly responding.
“Almost never.”
“I don’t think I have either. Even when the rain stops and the sky clears, it’s quickly covered with clouds again. Besides, there’s not much chance to look up at the sky anyway.”
The old man nodded knowingly.
“Yes, in all the years you’ve lived, the combined time you’ve seen a clear sky wouldn’t amount to five minutes. A sky without clouds is fleeting. Even for me, I doubt it would add up to thirty minutes.”
**Tap—! Plip-plop—!**
The sound of raindrops grew louder.
The old man’s gaze turned toward the window.
“The most prevalent theory holds that a rainbow is a band of vibrant colors that appears in a clear sky. But there are many other stories. Some claim it’s a special object imbued with power, while others say it refers to a transcendent being. If you combine all these ideas, there are easily over a hundred interpretations.”
His story continued.
“But not all of these theories are entirely contradictory. Across the various speculations and hypotheses, there are points where they converge.”
The boy leaned forward, clearly engrossed in the tale.
“The rainbow is said to consist of seven colors. And those who find the rainbow are believed to obtain a power capable of realizing anything they desire. These two facts are universally accepted.”
The boy asked, “Anything at all?”
“Indeed. They say you could even become like a god.”
“…What exactly is a god?”
It was a genuine question, born out of ignorance. In Sector 50, even the smallest chapel was nonexistent.
While he could infer its meaning from the context, he wanted to be certain.
“…I see. You wouldn’t know. A god is said to be the creator of this world, a being omnipresent and omnipotent. Though the details differ from person to person, these are the commonalities.”
The concept was utterly foreign.
The boy tilted his head, puzzled.
“Everywhere at once?”
“Present, though invisible. Think of it like mana.”
This explanation was of little help. For the boy, mana was something tangible, visible with the naked eye.
Further explanations followed, and though the concept remained unfamiliar, he began to grasp the idea of a god.
An unseen being watching everything from everywhere?
God sounded like a distinctly eerie existence.
“In any case, the rainbow is a story that has been passed down for ages. Even now, many magicians wander the world in search of it. I, too, pursued it in my youth.”
The boy searched his memory.
*”The magician came here looking for something. The rainbow… wasn’t it?”*
It was something Humphrey had said about the monocled magician.
‘Even with all those circles, did they still feel insufficient?’
It was starting to make sense.
If even a magician of that caliber yearned for its power, the strength granted by the rainbow must indeed be extraordinary.
“Then, the research you conducted on it—could it possibly—”
It was then that—
**Crash—!**
A large stone shattered the half-opened window and flew into the room.
