#297. The Spring of Mana (3)
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102, 93, 82, 71 meters…
The numbers appearing on the panel indicated that Ray’s current position was rising rapidly.
No, even without checking the panel, it was clear.
The overwhelming presence growing stronger and closer to the surface of the spring was impossible to ignore.
And finally—
*Whoooosh───!*
Ray burst out of the spring, carried by a whirlwind.
In the silence that followed, the boy slowly set foot on the ground and, glancing around at the surrounding confusion, spoke.
“What happened?”
The very person who had caused the commotion speaking so nonchalantly only left Kan and the researchers more bewildered.
Once they collected themselves, the researchers hurried over to examine his body and equipment.
“Are you alright? Cherot! Check his pulse first!”
“Everyone outside the spring was worried. You suddenly looked like you were falling.”
Although some of the equipment was slightly cracked or broken, Ray’s body was completely fine.
The moment it was confirmed that the boy had withstood the mana pressure at the bottom of the spring, the researchers once again let out exclamations of awe.
At that moment, Khan approached with his hands behind his back.
“It’s truly a relief that you’re not hurt. A belated question, but may I ask your teacher’s name?”
“I don’t have a teacher.”
“You don’t have a teacher? Then who taught you magic?”
“I taught myself.”
Khan was briefly stunned.
Then, he chuckled softly.
“I thought you had a dry personality, but you’re good at joking too. If that was a sensitive topic, I apologize. It’s just my wishful thinking—you don’t have to answer.”
No, I’m serious though.
It seemed Khan had mistaken him for the disciple of some reclusive hermit.
Ray felt a bit wronged, but he thought it would be too much trouble to clear up the misunderstanding, so he stayed quiet.
“So, did you gain anything?”
At that, everyone turned to Ray with eyes full of anticipation.
Even at depths of 30 to 40 meters in the spring, the training efficiency was several times that of normal conditions.
And yet Ray had stayed at the bottom, nearly 100 meters deep, for a long time—no one could begin to imagine how great his results must have been.
Ray didn’t answer. Instead, he showed them.
*Wuuung!*
The mana circulating around his circles began to rotate in unison, and the surrounding mana in the air, caught within the gravity of that force, began forming a fierce vortex around Ray.
───────!
“Urgh!”
“Th-this is…!”
Some couldn’t withstand the suddenly ferocious mana flow and began vomiting or collapsing to the ground.
The only one who remained composed was administrator Khan.
After gauging the number of circles emanating from around Ray’s heart, he spoke in a low voice.
“Congratulations. You’ve surpassed the wall of the 4th Circle and reached the 5th.”
The vortex stopped instantly.
The air regained its calm, but the researchers were busy groaning on the ground, dealing with the aftereffects.
“I was lucky.”
“Luck? No, that was skill. Withstanding the pressure of mana while simultaneously focusing on circle construction—what else could that be if not skill?”
At Khan’s request, Ray went on to describe the environment at the bottom of the spring and what he had experienced there.
The researchers, having collected themselves by now, diligently took notes as they nodded along.
“This was at the bottom.”
“This is…”
Kan carefully took the compass Ray handed him.
He inspected it this way and that, but couldn’t feel any traces of mana—and neither could the researchers.
“…Since it was at the bottom of the spring, it’s certainly no ordinary object. If we examine it carefully, it might hold tremendous value. But for now, this belongs to you. Even if it was found in the spring owned by the Harmony School, it was you who retrieved it.”
Ray accepted the compass again.
As he had expected, Khan was not a man driven by greed, so there seemed to be no need for a dispute over ownership.
“I’ll take this, then. But I brought something else to give to the Harmony School.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Ray turned toward the spring and gestured.
Then, objects wrapped in wind floated upward from within.
“……!”
“Those are…!”
They were the remains of the ancestors and predecessors of the Harmony School—remains the school had repeatedly tried but failed to recover.
*
*
*
Having received deep bows from the members of the Harmony School, Ray moved through a spatial gate and returned to the settlement.
When he opened the watchtower door, Rael turned around from where he was standing at the railing.
“You’ve arrived.”
“On the way up, I heard people praising you left and right. Looks like you’re adjusting well.”
Rael shook his head.
“I merely gave a few pieces of advice as someone who’s lived long. About harmony with the elves, or the direction the dwarf race should take. There are many shortcomings. It wasn’t like this in my time, but these days, dwarves seem…”
At the end of his words, there was a subtle *tsk*.
Philip had a term for this kind of moment… con… con… something.
As Ray searched through the dictionary of his memory, Rael spoke again.
“There have been a few changes to the construction of the underground city. You’ll likely be able to see its completed form in a few months.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’ll resemble the style of the old times. Of course, back then, the city was above ground.”
Rael gave a short lecture on the architecture and culture of the old era.
Then, with eyes full of a subtle expectation, he looked at Ray.
“Do you remember anything?”
“Not really.”
“There will surely come a moment when your memories as the Rainbow return. But it’s hard to say what might trigger that restoration.”
After discussing memory for a bit, Ray took out the compass and explained it.
“A compass that can track Redran’s true location… Got it. I’ll take responsibility for repairing it.”
Rael disappeared down the stairs beyond the open door.
Left alone, Ray turned his head to look at the scenery of the surface.
Then—
“Veronica.”
He sensed a presence quietly approaching from behind and spoke.
When he turned, there was Veronica, eyes wide open.
“How did you know?! I was sneaking up on you super quietly to surprise you!”
“I told you before. I can always tell where you are.”
Veronica was momentarily dazed by Ray’s words, then broke into a bright smile.
“How did you get to the settlement? The bus is still in the mage city.”
“Oh, Ms. Curie opened a new spatial gate. I can go anywhere freely now, even without the bus.”
“Does that mean you’ve got more free time as a Saintess?”
Veronica was wearing casual clothes, not the grand and dignified robes of the church.
“I decided to take a break.”
“Because it was too exhausting?”
“Yeah! I mean—no! It’s because there are no more patients left to heal!”
She raised her voice proudly and continued.
“At first, it was nonstop chaos. Patients pouring in from all sectors. And on top of that, I had to attend official events in that heavy Saintess garb. Ugh, I needed like three bodies to handle it all.”
But with time, she started to find breathing room.
The biggest reason was her advancement in healing magic.
*Wuuung!*
“See? Feel it? It’s different from before, right?”
“…Very different.”
Ray was slightly surprised at the white aura forming above Veronica’s palm.
Whatever insight she had gained, she had surpassed three circles and was nearing her fourth.
“Now, even if a hundred patients come in a day, I won’t flinch. Whether they can’t walk or can’t see—I can heal them all! Hoo-hoo. Huh? Is something on my face?”
Veronica became flustered as Ray stared at her silently.
“You just seem calmer. The old you would’ve been throwing punches in the air from excitement.”
“Wh-when did I ever do that! Hm… I do feel calmer these days. Maybe it’s the magic of the Saintess robes wearing off.”
Fanning her flushed face, a white sun floated above her head as always.
“There’s a chance I might be the reincarnation of the Rainbow.”
“…What?”
Ray calmly explained what had happened recently in the mage city.
The encounter with the robot that inherited Rael’s memory, and the colorless gem that reacted to the Rainbow’s reincarnation.
“So the possibility isn’t low.”
“……”
For some reason, Veronica realized she wasn’t as surprised as she thought she’d be.
And soon she knew why.
She had been waiting for this moment.
If she said she had never once imagined that Ray might be the Rainbow that the sun once loved—that would be a lie.
‘Ray might be the Rainbow.’
It was just a possibility, but it brought her deep relief.
*Drip.*
“…Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
*Hic, huuu…*
Ray, unusually flustered, followed the standard comfort protocol—hugging Veronica, patting her back, and wiping her tears with his sleeve.
Once she calmed down, Veronica pulled out a mirror and looked at her face—smudged makeup and tear streaks made it a mess.
She glanced sideways at Ray.
His clothes were covered in dust and full of tears—evidence of how rough his journey had been.
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that, Veronica?”
“Are there no spare clothes in the mage city?”
“It’s not that…”
“Then why haven’t you changed?”
“They’re still wearable.”
Veronica felt dizzier than when she heard he might be the Rainbow.
You fall back into your old habits the moment I’m not around.
Veronica lunged at Ray to take off his coat.
“I’ll wash it and bring it back for you—no! Actually, forget it! It’s better to just toss this and buy new clothes!”
“Calm down, Veronica. I can still wear this for another twenty years.”
A few minutes later, the two of them, exhausted from the intense struggle, were sitting on the floor of the watchtower.
Ray, now without his coat, looked up at the pale sky, devoid of clouds, where ash drifted in the air.
“To be honest, I don’t remember anything from the past. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do as the Rainbow.”
“I feel the same. People suddenly started calling me the reincarnation of the Sun, a saintess, and all that, but… it doesn’t feel real.”
A brief silence fell between them.
Then Ray spoke again.
“I’m planning to spread imagination among the people of the city.”
Veronica turned to look at Ray.
His face, as usual, was unreadable and emotionless.
“Don’t you think that could be dangerous? Imagination is the power to manifest the images in your mind into reality. If it spreads the wrong way, it could be misused.”
“That’s definitely true.”
Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu struck Ray.
It felt like he had once had a similar conversation in the past.
As he focused his mind, a hazy memory surfaced.
Before the Rainbow breathed the colors called emotions into the ancient race of the beginning.
Back then—had someone warm and kind also expressed concern by his side?
‘It feels like… the Sun had worried about me.’
But even so, the Rainbow had insisted on painting the world with colors.
Even as he recognized the risks of emotion, he carried out his will—trusting in the lifeforms of the earth.
Unconsciously, Ray’s lips moved.
“It’ll be okay.”
Because as a parent, trusting your child is only natural.
…Though of course, a minimum safety mechanism should be put in place.
*
*
*
A few days later.
In front of the Imaginus Mage Tower, delegates from each school of magic gathered, waiting for the doors to open.
There were 124 people in total, and not a single school had declined to participate.
