Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 243

**#243. Element of Creation (4)**

—

The spirit stared at the boy.

It was certain he wasn’t a human with ill intent, but it was still too soon to lower its guard completely.

The very fact that he had reached the island via the World Tree was proof enough that he wasn’t an ordinary human.

He had defeated a powerful foe they had been helpless against, using ancient-style magic.

And—

────────!

The mana wave resonating from deep within the boy’s chest was impossible not to sense.

**[How do you possess two shards of the Rainbow?]**

Ray understood.

Depending on how he acted now, Blue might choose to attack.

…But why?

He found that he didn’t care.

Right now, he just wanted to follow what his body and heart told him to do.

*Whoong!*

Two gemstones—one yellow and one green—appeared, summoned to float above his palm.

The resonance and vibrations emitted by the three gems surged uncontrollably, and then, a dazzling swirl of lights flooded the basin.

Within the slowly fading world of light, Ray and Blue continued their conversation.

**[I’m searching for the Rainbow. I’ve been gathering these gems, thinking they might be its fragments.]**

**[Why are you searching for the Rainbow?]**

**[Because I heard that if I find it, any wish can be granted.]**

**[Do you have a wish you want granted?]**

A brief silence.

Then came the reply.

**[There are people I want to see again.]**

**[So you’re cursed with memory too.]**

He didn’t deny it.

The memory of that day in Sector 50, when the black rain fell, remained vivid and unforgettable.

**[If you’re collecting the fragments, do you plan to take the blue gem from me too?]**

Ray looked at the gem embedded in Blue’s forehead, then shook his head.

**[I don’t plan to. There’s no guarantee I’d win a fight, and without the power of the blue gem, you wouldn’t be able to create oases for the land animals anymore.]**

More than anything, he had become certain of one fact: the “Rainbow” referred not just to a natural phenomenon, but to a person.

In other words—

To fulfill the wish, he had to find not the gems, but the person who *was* the Rainbow.

**[Blue Horn, what about you?]**

**[I have no intention of taking the gems from you either. My mission is only to deliver the blue gem to the Rainbow. I’ve not been given any other instructions regarding the other shards.]**

As the light subsided, their vision returned to normal.

The scenery hadn’t changed, but the thick tension that had hung in the air was gone.

Afterward, Blue began repairing the lake, while Ray remained on the island for several more days to recover his strength.

Partially in case the dark red sphere reappeared.

‘…Peaceful.’

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

The only attacks came from spirits constantly eyeing the mana of the gems.

**[Is he asleep?]**

**[Looks like it.]**

*Rustle. Rustle.*

Fox cubs crept carefully toward Ray, who was lying in the grass with his eyes closed.

Some burrowed between his arms and legs, while others lay beside him and dozed off.

Some even climbed on his stomach—it was heavy, but the warmth they brought wasn’t unpleasant, so he didn’t push them away.

**[This person’s mana feels the best.]**

**[Yeah, it’s warm and cozy.]**

**[I hope he doesn’t leave the island.]**

The gem’s mana flowed outside his body involuntarily.

It spread like paint through the air, blending gently with the island’s mana in a kind of communion.

‘This never happened on the surface.’

It must be because both the gem’s and the island’s mana were highly pure.

Then, through his half-lidded eyes, Ray spotted Philip approaching.

With a stately gait, Philip scolded the fox cubs.

**[I told you not to disturb Lord Ray’s rest. And not to climb on his body without permission.]**

The cubs, chastened, quickly and quietly scattered.

Confirming that no other spirits were around, Philip turned and hopped onto Ray’s stomach.

*Poke poke.*

After pressing down with his front paws, he began to curl up.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Ray sat up, causing Philip to slide off.

“Oh, you’re awake. I thought your belly might be cold, so I was going to warm it up with my body heat.”

“Looked more like you were indulging yourself.”

“Growl, surely you don’t think that of me.”

Unfazed, Philip delivered his report on what Ray had requested.

“We finished exploring all areas of the island an hour ago. Regretfully, we found no stone tablets or murals.”

It seemed the only stone tablet on the island was the one at the lakebed.

Ray looked at Philip and thought,

‘I only named him Philip because of the marks around his eyes that looked like glasses, but… the more I look, the more he really is like the actual Philip.’

His glib tongue, his political savvy,

His efficiency in getting things done.

“Would you want to come down to the surface with me?”

“So, that concludes the explor—what? Growl? What?”

“I asked if you wanted to come down with me.”

“Grr? Grr?”

Philip tilted his head like he’d broken down and just growled softly before asking,

“Are you serious?”

“You can speak both human and spirit languages. When I’m not around, you could act as a mediator between people, spirits, and animals. And I might need your knowledge of spirits.”

Philip let out a long groan.

Unlike other spirits, he’d always yearned for knowledge, not power.

The unknown world beneath the clouds—until now, only recalled through inherited memory.

…It was a temptation difficult to refuse.

“Could you give me some time to think it over? I’ll have an answer before you leave tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

Philip vanished into the forest on the opposite side of the lake.

His constantly swishing tail betrayed his excitement.

**[So you’ve decided to leave tomorrow?]**

Ray turned his head—Blue had approached before he noticed.

**[I can’t leave the settlement below the island abandoned for too long. And it feels like I’ve found all I can here.]**

*Whoong!*

A swirl of vibrant mana gathered in Ray’s palm.

Moments later, a brilliant white orb the size of a fist appeared.

**[This is the biggest I can make right now. If I use only the gem’s mana instead of mixing in atmospheric mana, I can make it whiter—but I’d lack the necessary colors.]**

Ray molded the orb like clay, shaping it.

The light gradually faded, leaving behind a single flower.

It was, quite literally, creation.

**[Incredible. To think you can do this with mana.]**

**[…]**

Blue silently watched the scene unfold.

Magicians of the ancient era used magic through free imagination.

Unlike the present day, they were not bound by formulas or laws.

Their magic always resulted in phenomena bordering on miracles.

But undeniably—

None of those ancient mages had ever performed a miracle as flawless as what this boy just did.

Except, perhaps, for one.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind.

Could this boy be—

It felt like a theory too unlikely to dismiss, but with his memories stolen, he couldn’t be sure.

**[If anything comes to mind, I hope you’ll tell me.]**

**[The lake’s memories? They’re a bit tangled, but if anything surfaces, I’ll tell you right away.]**

**[I don’t need the others. Just one.]**

**[Which one?]**

**[The memory of how to recognize the Rainbow. The one the Violet Guardian gave me.]**

**[Got it. I’m curious about that too.]**

Blue used the mana of the blue gem to create a small ice crystal for Ray.

It didn’t melt and wasn’t cold.

**[If you ever need help, or need to summon me, inject mana—]**

*FLASH!*

A pillar of light shot into the sky, and the ice shattered instantly.

The boy’s vessel overflowed with curiosity and the desire to explore.

**[Oh.]**

**[…]**

Blue briefly considered impaling Ray with his horn but chose instead to make him another crystal.

**[Use it wisely.]**

**[I’ll try.]**

Blue returned to the lake to resume repairs, while Ray pocketed the crystal and continued practicing the creation element.

*FLASH! CRACK!*

**[Moderate yourself.]**

And so, the next day arrived.

Standing at the island’s edge, Ray looked down at the thick black clouds below.

The massive hole blown open by the explosion of the crimson sphere had already closed up with newly gathered clouds.

Blue, standing beside him, spoke.

**[This is baffling. If I hadn’t offered to take you down, you were going to jump to the surface?]**

**[Not just freefalling. I was going to jump to around that cloud layer. The top of the World Tree touches down there.]**

**[One misstep and you’d die.]**

**[It’s fine. I have a friend who’s really good at healing magic.]**

Blue’s back, once transparent water, solidified into a physical form resembling a saddle.

Ray climbed on.

He gripped Blue’s now tangible horns like handles, and before departure, looked back toward the forest entrance.

‘So he’s staying after all.’

Philip hadn’t appeared, even at the final moment of departure.

It was understandable—it wasn’t easy to leave the only home you’d ever known.

**[I’m ready.]**

**[Let’s go, then.]**

The moment Blue leapt from the island’s edge—

**“Grr! Take me with you! Why are you leaving me behind?!”**

From the forest entrance, a fox darted out. It was Philip.

Running with all his strength, Philip launched off the island.

Ray quickly conjured an ice platform in midair, which Philip used to jump again.

*Tap!*

He dove cleanly into Ray’s open bag.

In the slightly cramped space, Philip turned once, poked his head out, and said:

**“I thought about it a lot! But this feels right! It’s not like I can’t ever come back!”**

Blue pierced through the black clouds in an instant.

The darkness parted, revealing a vast and open view.

“……!”

Philip was speechless as he saw the world beneath the clouds for the first time.

The small creature’s heartbeat was transmitted to the boy.

Blue descended rapidly, spiraling around the World Tree like a staircase.

Suddenly, he asked a question.

**[Boy, what kind of world do you dream of?]**

It was hard to guess the intention behind the question.

Ray took a moment to think.

The old him would’ve said he didn’t care what happened to the world.

But now, things were different.

Veronica, Philip, Ayla, Ain…

Jang, Parun, Isra, Grine, Gant…

He had met countless people throughout his journey, and with each, he’d heard the kind of world they wished for.

Such exchanges had undoubtedly left an impression on the boy’s unconscious.

At some point, a certain thought began to take root in his heart.

“A world brighter than now.”

Ray lowered his posture and pressed his body against Blue’s back.

“A world where more colors exist.”

The rushing wind wrapped around the boy’s body.

In the distance, he could see people lifting their heads to look this way.

*

And at that same time, in Sector 37.

A man with his hood pulled low was hurrying toward the eastern outskirts.

He arrived in front of a mansion and, without hesitation, rang the bell.

*Click.*

Behind the door that opened, a gentleman in a neat suit appeared.

It was Jang, the rickshaw man, now serving as the butler of the mansion’s annex thanks to Ray’s consideration.

“What brings you here… Ah, you’re Sir Solite from the Order.”

The face revealed under the hood looked uncharacteristically anxious for Solite.

“Has Lord Ray returned, by any chance?”

“He has not yet returned from his travels, but do you have an urgent message?”

Solite nodded.

It was a very urgent message.

Because this morning, the Saint who would breathe light into the artificial sun had been found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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