Chapter 297 – The Spring of Mana (Three)

102, 93, 82, 71 meters…

The numbers displayed on the panel indicated that Ray’s current location was rapidly ascending.

Actually, one could tell even without checking the panel.

The overwhelming presence, growing closer and closer to the surface of the well, was impossible not to feel.

And finally.

Whoooooosh───!

Ray erupted from the well along with a swirling wind.

In the silence, the boy who slowly set foot on the ground looked around at the surrounding confusion and bewilderment and spoke.

“What happened?”

When the very person who was the cause of the commotion said that, Khan and the researchers felt even more bewildered.

The researchers, having regained their senses, hurriedly approached and examined his body and equipment.

“Are you alright, Nero? Check his pulse first!”

“Everyone outside the well was worried. We saw what looked like a sudden fall.”

Although the equipment was a bit cracked and damaged, Ray’s body was perfectly fine.

At the very moment it was proven that the boy had truly withstood the mana pressure at the bottom of the well, the researchers once again let out sighs of amazement.

Then Khan approached with his hands behind his back.

“It’s truly fortunate you seem unharmed. It’s a late question, but may I ask the name of your master?”

“I don’t have a master.”

“No master? Then from whom did you learn magic?”

“I learned it on my own.”

Khan was momentarily stunned.

Soon after, he let out a small laugh.

“I thought you had a dry personality, but you’re skilled at jokes too. If it’s a sensitive topic, I apologize. It was merely my hope; you don’t need to answer.”

No, I’m serious.

Khan seemed to consider him the disciple of some reclusive master.

Feeling somewhat unfairly judged but thinking it would be troublesome to clear up the misunderstanding, he kept his mouth shut.

“So, were there any results?”

At those words, everyone looked at Ray with eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Even at the 30-40 meter point of the well, one could enjoy training efficiency dozens of times greater than normal.

But having endured for a long time at the bottom, nearly 100 meters deep, they couldn’t even imagine how great the results must have been.

Ray didn’t answer with words but instead showed them with action.

Vroom!

He simultaneously rotated the mana flowing through his rings, and the atmospheric mana within the range of that immense gravitational pull began to form a fierce vortex centered around Ray.

───────!

“Ugh!”

“T-this…!”

Those unable to withstand the suddenly violent flow of mana vomited or collapsed to the ground.

The only person maintaining composure was School Master Khan.

He counted the number of rings he felt near Ray’s heart and spoke quietly.

“Congratulations. You’ve crossed the 4th Circle barrier and stepped into the 5th Circle.”

Instantly, the vortex stopped.

The air regained its stability, but the researchers, suffering from the aftereffects, were busy staggering and getting acquainted with the ground.

“I was lucky.”

“Luck? No, it’s skill. Succeeding in withstanding the mana pressure while simultaneously focusing on constructing rings—if that’s not skill, then what is?”

At Khan’s subsequent request, Ray described the environment at the bottom of the well and his experiences there.

Meanwhile, the researchers who had regained their senses and gathered diligently transcribed Ray’s story into their notebooks, nodding their heads.

“This was at the bottom.”

“This is…”

Khan carefully accepted the compass Ray handed over.

He examined it this way and that, but no trace of mana could be felt, and it was the same for the researchers.

“…Since it was at the bottom of the well, it’s certainly not an ordinary object. A detailed investigation might reveal hidden, immense value. But for now, this is your possession. Although it was found in the Harmony School’s well, you were the one who retrieved it.”

Ray accepted the compass back.

As predicted, Khan was not a person with strong material desires, so it seemed there would be no need for an ownership dispute.

“I’ll take this. In return, I’ve brought other things to give to the Harmony School.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, Ray turned his head toward the well and gestured.

Then, objects enveloped in wind floated up from inside.

“……!”

“That’s…!”

They were the remains of their ancestors and predecessors, which the Harmony School had attempted to retrieve many times but failed.

Ray, who left after receiving deep bows from the Harmony School members, crossed over to the settlement via the Spatial Path.

Opening the watchtower door, Rael, standing before the railing, turned to look at him.

“You’ve arrived.”

“On the way up, I heard praises for Rael from various places. It seems you’re adapting well, which is a relief.”

Rael shook his head and spoke.

“I merely offered some advice as one who has lived a long time. Regarding harmony with the elves, and the direction the dwarf race should take moving forward. It seems there are many shortcomings. In my time, it wasn’t like this, but why are dwarfs these days…”

I thought I heard a ‘tsk’ sound at the end of his words.

Philip had a phrase for times like this… something about being… sti… stiff… what was it?

As I was searching through my memory dictionary, Rael’s voice came.

“There have also been some modifications to the construction of the underground city. You’ll probably be able to see the completed form in a few months.”

“I look forward to it.”

“The style will be similar to the Ancient Era. Of course, the difference is that back then, the city was located above ground.”

Rael gave a brief lecture on the architectural styles and culture of the Ancient Era.

And then he looked at Ray with eyes containing a hint of expectation.

“How about it, does it ring any bells?”

“Not really.”

“There will surely come a point when your memories as the Rainbow return. However, what exactly triggers the restoration of memories is not clearly guessable at the moment.”

After exchanging a few words about memories, Ray took out the compass and explained about it.

“A compass that can track Redran’s true location… I understand. I will take responsibility and repair this.”

Rael disappeared through the open door toward the stairs.

Left alone, Ray turned his head to look down at the landscape on the ground.

Then.

“Veronica.”

He spoke, sensing a certain presence that had approached behind him without him noticing.

Turning his head, there was Veronica with her eyes wide open.

“How on earth did you know? I was trying to sneak up super quietly to surprise you!”

“I told you before, I can sense where you are no matter where you are.”

At Ray’s words, Veronica, who was momentarily dazed, soon broke into a bright smile.

“How did you get to the settlement? The bus is in the City of Wizards right now.”

“Yeah, Curie opened a new Spatial Path for me. Now I can come and go freely anywhere even without the bus.”

“Does that mean you have some free time from your duties as the Saintess?”

Veronica’s clothes were not the splendid and majestic Saintess robes of the Order, but everyday wear.

“I decided to take a short break.”

“Because it was too much?”

“Yeah! No! Because there are no more patients to heal!”

Veronica shouted in a confident voice and continued her story.

“At first, I was really swamped. Patients really poured in from all sectors. On top of that, I had to wear those cumbersome Saintess robes and make appearances at official Order events. Phew, I really needed several bodies.”

But as time passed, she began to have some breathing room.

The biggest reason was the development of her skill in handling Healing Magic.

Vroom!

“See, can you feel it? Different from before, right?”

“…Very different.”

Ray was a bit surprised as he looked at the cluster of white light forming above Veronica’s hand.

Furthermore, having gained some new insight, Veronica had also surpassed 3 rings and was on her way to completing 4.

“Now, even if a hundred patients come in a day, it’s no problem. Whether they can’t use their legs or can’t see, I can heal them all, hehe. Uh, huh? Is there something on my face?”

Veronica was flustered by Ray, who was just staring silently.

“Just… you seem calmer. In the past, you would have been so excited you’d be punching the air.”

“W-when did I ever do that! Umm… It’s true I do feel calmer lately. Maybe it’s a magic cast by the Saintess robes.”

The White Sun rose unfailingly above the vessel of Veronica, who was fanning her flushed face.

“The reincarnation of the Rainbow… there’s a possibility it might be me.”

“Huh…?”

Ray calmly explained the events he had recently experienced in the City of Wizards.

The meeting with the robot that inherited Rael’s memories, and the colorless gem that reacted to the reincarnation of the Rainbow.

“So the possibility isn’t low.”

“……”

Why was it? Veronica realized she wasn’t feeling as surprised as she thought she would.

And soon she understood the reason.

She had been waiting for this moment to come.

If she said she had never imagined, never considered, that perhaps the Rainbow loved by the Sun might be Ray, that would be a lie.

‘Ray might be the Rainbow.’

Although it was merely a mentioned possibility, she felt a deep sense of relief.

Sniffle.

“…Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“Sniff, h-hic.”

Ray was rarely flustered.

Following a predetermined action strategy, he hugged Veronica, patted her back, and wiped her tears with his collar.

After calming down a bit, Veronica, who had pulled away, took out a mirror and could see her own face, a mess with smeared makeup and tear stains.

The girl glanced at the boy.

Ray’s clothes were covered in dust and full of tears here and there, showing how roughly he had been living.

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that, Veronica?”

“Don’t you have any clothes to change into in the City of Wizards?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then why don’t you change?”

“They’re still wearable.”

Veronica felt a bit dizzier than when she heard about the possibility of being the Rainbow’s reincarnation.

Because I’m not by your side, your old habits come right back out, don’t they.

Veronica lunged at Ray to take off his coat.

“I’ll wash it and give it back… no! It’s better to send this one off and buy new clothes to wear!”

“Calm down, Veronica. I can still wear this for another 20 years.”

A few minutes later, the two, having exhausted their stamina from a fierce physical struggle, ended up sitting on the floor of the watchtower.

Ray, whose coat had disappeared somewhere, looked up at the pale, cloudless sky where ash dust swirled and spoke.

“Actually, not a single memory from the past has come back to me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do as the Rainbow either.”

“I’m the same. People suddenly tell me I’m the Sun’s reincarnation, Saintess, things like that, but it doesn’t feel very real.”

A brief silence flowed between them.

Then Ray spoke again.

“I plan to spread Imagination to the city’s people.”

Veronica looked back at Ray.

She saw his characteristic expressionless face, from which thoughts were unreadable.

“I think it might be dangerous, don’t you? Imagination is the power to manifest images in one’s mind into reality. If it spreads incorrectly, it could be misused.”

“That’s certainly true.”

Ray suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

As if he’d had a conversation with a similar feeling sometime in the past.

Focusing his mind, a vague memory surfaced.

Before the Rainbow breathed the color named emotion into the primordial ancient races.

Back then too, had some warm being worried by his side?

‘I think the Sun was worried.’

But the Rainbow carried out his own hope and wish to color the earth.

While recognizing the dangers of emotion, with a heart that trusted the living beings of the earth.

Ray’s lips moved unconsciously.

“It’s okay.”

Because as a parent, trusting your child is a natural thing.

…Of course, I should prepare at least some safety measures.

And a few days later.

Before the Imaginous Mage Tower, exchange scholars selected from each school had gathered, waiting only for the doors to open.

The total number was 124, and not a single school had refused the exchange.