Chapter 2 – The Boy on the Pile of Scrap Metal (Two)

The rain, which had been falling in scattered drops, began to pour down fiercely, lashing the world.

Whoosh—

All the filth of Sector 50 was washed away.

The grime caked on the shabby buildings.

The bloodstains and mud stains on the streets that had refused to fade.

And, for a moment, even the sharp-edged emotions the bottom-dwellers harbored for each other.

Splash. Splash.

The rainwater, laden with all manner of filth, flowed into the sewers.

And then out into the Elton River that cut through Sector 50.

The winding river split into several tributaries, one of which flowed to the lowest point of Sector 50.

The tributary passed under a bridge.

And on either side of the passageway beneath that bridge.

There was a worn-out tent there.

“Wow. Ray. You came just in time? You almost got soaked.”

Seeing the gray-haired boy who had just entered the tent, another boy inside spoke.

“Yeah. The weather’s been weird lately.”

Ray said, brushing water droplets off his clothes.

The blood he’d splattered when he knocked Ron down had already been washed away.

The faint lamp lit inside the tent.

Children of various ages were gathered around it.

Ray found a spot and sat down.

Pale, the leader of the group, asked everyone.

“How was everyone’s haul today?”

The children took out the items they were carrying and gathered them in the center.

Grimy coins and bills.

Canned goods and biscuits.

Food store vouchers and the like were revealed under the lamp’s light.

They were the money and food the children had obtained by roaming the streets, doing things like shoe-shining, selling newspapers, or begging.

Ray also took something out from his clothes.

It was a larger quantity than what all the other children had gathered combined.

“Whoa! As expected of Ray Hyung!”

“You got it by giving scrap to the Golem, right? Amazing, as always. He never takes what I bring.”

Ray said nothing.

The fact that the Golem only accepted discarded magical items with residual Mana flow was something only he knew.

It made sense, as he was the only one in Sector 50 who could see Mana.

He didn’t bother bringing up the topic of Mana.

Through much experience, he knew that differences and deviations from others usually brought more disadvantage than benefit.

Pale said with admiration.

“Thanks to Ray again today, we can stave off hunger a little. I’ll keep the money in the safe. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the food store to buy supplies. And I’ll distribute the food we’ve gathered right now.”

Pale started with the youngest and distributed the food.

Realizing the food wasn’t enough to go around to everyone, Ray subtly got up from his spot.

Plop.

And he took a seat by the tent entrance.

The food was insufficient.

As it always was.

Finding scrap with flowing Mana wasn’t easy either.

It took roaming all day to get today’s amount of food.

Grrrgle.

A sound from his stomach.

He didn’t mind.

One of the most important things for a boy to survive in the slums was physique.

It was more efficient for the younger ones, still in their growth spurts, to get the nutrition than for him, whose growth was mostly finished.

Not that their chances of survival were high anyway.

With luck, they might become third-rate gang drug peddlers or bullet catchers at best.

Grrrgle.

Still, Ray felt he had an obligation to support this group.

Because he owed them a life debt.

“Look here! There’s someone here!”

It was a cold winter day.

He had collapsed after wandering the city, not even realizing he had frostbite on his feet.

These children had saved him as he was being buried in snow.

They carried him under the bridge, thawed his frozen-solid body, and treated his frostbite with expensive medicine he had no idea where they got.

‘I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to just die like that.’

There was no particular reason to die.

But then again, there was no particular reason to struggle to live either.

In that situation, his life had been unintentionally extended.

Ray, who couldn’t feel emotions, had established a few principles to adapt to human relationships.

Repay what you receive.

Whether it’s repayment or retaliation.

That was why Ray had been supporting this group for nearly a year.

“…….”

Ray glanced sideways.

The food distribution was still in full swing.

In the children’s chests, Mana of various colors was repeatedly appearing and disappearing, as if playing hide-and-seek.

The second reason for supporting the group.

It was that he could observe others’ emotions up close.

Pale and the children showed more varied emotional changes than anyone else he had met so far.

The sight of rich, deep-colored Mana moving about gave Ray great satisfaction.

The movement of Mana according to emotion.

It was perhaps the only field Ray felt interest and curiosity about.

And.

“Ray. You should take your share.”

These children didn’t treat him like a monster.

Ray stared intently at Pale, who had sat down beside him.

The group’s leader, Pale.

A boy the same age as him.

“Actually, you gathered almost all the food.”

At first, he thought that.

The reason they treated him warmly was because he was a big help in procuring food.

But after observing over time, that wasn’t it.

Pale and the children treated him as a human being.

They just treated him as a bit emotionally dull, an odd person.

They never showed fear or disgust.

Ray opened his mouth.

“I’m not hungry.”

Grrrgle.

“Your stomach says otherwise.”

“…….”

He didn’t feel the agony of hunger, but he couldn’t control every single reaction of his organs.

Ray accepted the half-biscuit Pale held out.

The two boys chewed their biscuits and looked out of the tent together.

Whoosh—

Pale suddenly asked.

“You know what, Ray?”

“What?”

“That rain falling right now.”

“It’s falling.”

“It’s black.”

“That’s right.”

“They say it’s because Wizards use a lot of Magic.”

“…….”

“They say Wizards live in the lower-numbered Sectors.”

Wizard.

Beings said to use Mana to cause mysterious phenomena.

But it was just a rumor; no one in Sector 50 had actually seen a Wizard.

Ray answered dryly.

“That could be.”

“I really think Wizards exist. Just look at the Golem. It must have been sent by some Wizard somewhere.”

“It could just be a machine.”

“No. It definitely moves by Magic.”

Pale’s eyes shone.

Ray didn’t show it, but he agreed with Pale’s words.

When the Golem moved, the surrounding Mana clumped into its core.

And, mixed together, it turned black, rose as smoke.

‘Mana must be like fuel.’

The smoke rising to the sky.

The Black Rain pouring down fiercely now.

He thought the two factors weren’t unrelated.

The conversation paused for a moment amidst the sound of rain.

The two boys continued their meal, looking at the hazy scenery.

Whoosh—

“The rain’s let up a bit. Still pouring heavily, though.”

Ray nodded.

As Pale said, the rain had weakened.

From a downpour to a steady rain.

The sun was gradually setting, and the day was growing dark.

Perfect conditions for activity.

“Huh? Hey! Where are you going!”

Seeing Ray take out an old raincoat and hurriedly put it on, Pale shouted.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Where are you going again? In this rain.”

“Keep an eye on the river. If it overflows the railing, the tent will flood.”

Pulling up the zipper and pulling the hood firmly forward, Ray stepped out of the tent without giving Pale a chance to stop him.

Whoosh—

The tent quickly receded behind him.

He climbed up the riverbank and entered an alley.

Winding his way, he crossed the street he emerged onto with quick steps.

No pedestrians were in sight.

The shops had also closed early.

The reason was simple.

Today was a day of Black Rain.

There was a story that getting caught in this rain would make you sick.

It wasn’t entirely baseless.

People who worked long hours in the rain were found with blackened organs when they died.

Also, blackened, discolored earth could easily be found throughout Sector 50.

Pitter— patter patter— patter patter—!

Jet-black raindrops relentlessly battered the raincoat.

It reminded him of the occasional gunfire echoing in the streets from clashes between organizations.

But not a single raindrop splashed onto Ray’s face.

A thin, bluish membrane clung tightly, enveloping his entire body.

The Mana of over a hundred colors existing in the atmosphere.

Pulling specific Mana from it and mixing the colors produced this result.

He didn’t know the specific principle.

He just did it, and it worked.

Ray thought this phenomenon was probably what people called ‘Magic.’

Lost in thought as he walked quickly, the street number changed.

From 17th Street to 18th Street.

Since the entire area was slumified, the scenery wasn’t much different.

Only the type of organization occupying the street had changed.

The organization led by black-haired Niles.

The organization led by the limping Hector.

The two largest factions dividing Sector 50.

From here on, it was Hector’s territory.

Keeping his guard up, he moved past buildings, alleys, and bushes.

Before long, he arrived at the outskirts of the street.

Going down a slope, he could see two makeshift buildings surrounded by a wire fence.

Hector organization’s buildings.

One was a food warehouse. One was a guard post.

He knew that on rainy days, all the guards gathered at the post to gamble.

Following the familiar routine, Ray moved along the fence and crouched deeply in a bushy area.

A broken section of the fence was visible.

Big enough for a person to pass through.

Also, the back wall of the food warehouse was right there.

Ray reached out and began removing the bricks composing the wall one by one.

It was the result of sprinkling concrete dissolver between the bricks little by little over the past few months.

Soon, a small hole appeared in the wall as well.

Ray passed through the holes in the fence and the wall in succession and entered the building.

It was pitch dark all around.

Fwoosh!

A small spark appeared above his hand.

This, too, was a Magic Ray knew how to use.

Ray had a few formulas for mixing colors.

With the correct color mixing, he could create a small ball of light or make a small object float in the air.

However, there were colors that were difficult to handle.

For example, the red Mana needed to create a spark.

Ray thought.

‘If I could feel the emotion corresponding to red Mana better.’

Then wouldn’t he be able to create a bigger spark?

Because Mana flows to where there is emotion.

The outlines of surrounding objects were revealed by the small spark.

Shelves lining both walls.

Boxes stacked on them.

Ray took several large cans from the box in the farthest corner and tucked them into his clothes.

This amount should be enough for the bridge-dwellers to last through tomorrow and the day after.

‘Should I take a few more?’

Ray, who was pondering, shook his head.

He shouldn’t be greedy.

There was a risk of getting caught.

Four at a time.

The amount confirmed safe through over a dozen past experiences.

Since food was periodically replenished in the warehouse, taking a little at a time wouldn’t raise suspicion.

That’s when it happened.

Tap tap tap—

The sound of footsteps running towards him.

Ray extinguished the flame and immediately twisted his body.

Swish—!

Something sharp grazed right past his face.

“What the? He dodged that?”

A voice followed.

“Idiot. Can’t you even catch that one?”

“The rat nibbling at our food has finally shown itself.”

The voices weren’t from just one person.

Three in total. Hector’s Operatives.

They seemed to have been hiding behind pillars and boxes.

Swish!

Ray kept moving his body, dodging the knife flying at him like a snake.

They were tracking his position precisely.

They must be wearing equipment like night-vision goggles.

He had once seen Hector’s gang unloading a truck full of high-end equipment.

Ray knew what that meant.

‘War.’

Hector was preparing for war.

“What the hell. How is this brat dodging?”

“Swing it properly, you idiot.”

“Damn it! You try catching him.”

“It’s like he can see all our movements.”

Flustered voices echoed through the warehouse.

Swish—!

Ray dodged the knives with measured precision.

Simultaneously, he sharply thrust his right elbow forward, driving into the chest of one Operative.

“Guhk!”

Clatter!

A knife clattered to the floor.

Without pause, he launched his body towards the next target.

“This brat! He knows exactly where we are!”

The Operatives’ guess was correct.

In the pitch-black darkness.

Ray’s eyes were seeing the brightly glowing Mana contained within their bodies.

Blood-like crimson red.

A deep, murky green reminiscent of a swamp.

‘He’s angry. And he’s flustered.’

Thwack!

“Damn it! How the hell is he dodging!”

Mana also spread throughout the body via blood vessels after passing through the Vessel in the chest.

By reading the flow, he could easily predict the opponent’s next move.

It served as a kind of night-vision device.

“Urk!”

Thud!

The difference in physique and strength was overcome by skill.

All the Operatives lay fallen at Ray’s feet.

Just as Ray hurriedly tried to exit the warehouse through the hole.

CRASH——!

Creeeak— BANG!

With a flash of lightning, the door was flung open.

Someone’s long shadow stretched deep into the warehouse.