Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 25

Lenok took a sleeping pill with a glass of water, turned off the lights, and immediately lay down. Recently, he had been so engrossed in his magic research that he hadn’t been able to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, but Lenok tried to stick to a regular routine whenever possible.

He picked up his phone to pass the time before the cheap sleeping pill took effect.

Sometimes, when he looked at the display while lying down like this, it felt like nothing had changed.

Like back then, when he could snuggle under the covers without a care in the world, chuckling as he looked at his phone.

If anything had changed, it was that he no longer looked at sports or entertainment news.

The scandals of athletes and singers he didn’t know no longer held any interest for him.

Lenok went online and clicked on the [Breaking News] section that appeared at the top with a photo.

[Delegation from the Philemon Autonomous Territory Confirmed to Visit Balkan. Scheduled for Two Months from Now… Response Team to be Assembled to Discuss Specific Schedule]

[City Government. Has Consistently Maintained a No-Compromise Stance, but This Opportunity May Change Their Attitude.]

[Despite Promises from Corporations, Aronight Production Process Still Lacks Progress.]

Autonomous Territory… It was a term that felt familiar yet strange. It wasn’t a term you’d easily hear on Earth, at least.

It was difficult to grasp the details, but judging from the tone of the news headlines, a major meeting was likely to take place in Balkan in two months.

Was it big enough news for Lenok to pay attention to? He wanted to think about it a little, but drowsiness came over him instantly.

He put down his phone and fell asleep as if he had passed out.

#

A week had passed.

Instead of immediately accepting the requests Jenny had given him, Lenok postponed them and went on a couple of bounty hunts.

This was to check if there were any remaining shooting support magic he hadn’t yet used in actual combat.

Except for [Bloody Chase], which he used when tracking down criminals, he tried to actively use only shooting support magic instead of electric magic, binding magic, or magic with strong destructive power.

He had become so accustomed to dealing with criminals that he didn’t feel much pressure even without relying heavily on magic, which made this possible.

The results were satisfactory.

The moment they approached within range, he could just pull the trigger twice and hit both of their thighs, leaving the criminals unable to do anything but crawl on the ground.

With [Aim Correction], it was not difficult to capture other criminals and hand them over to Jorden, as long as the revolver’s range allowed.

Adding [Silence] magic made it even easier to subdue targets without anyone noticing.

It was simple yet effective, and Lenok was able to earn an additional ten million cells in ten days.

However, it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

The combination of the revolver and support magic had upgraded the gun’s specs by several levels, but the limitations of this shooting combo were clear.

In the end, no matter how much shooting support magic he used, it could only make the gun shoot faster and stronger.

This was because it was magic that supported the act of shooting itself, rather than giving some effect to the shot.

The number of support magic that a gun could handle was limited, and the efficiency was concentrated in a narrow field, which was the problem.

Considering these limitations, to maximize the efficiency of the shooting combo magic, it was necessary to focus on specializing in one area rather than raising the gun’s specs evenly across the board.

And that was difficult with an ordinary revolver like this.

Ultimately, to achieve better performance than now, he needed a new path, whether it was a better gun or more powerful support magic.

Even if he could solve the gun issue by investing funds, to obtain more powerful support magic, he would eventually have to acquire a unique magic system.

Even if it was a support magic system with relatively lower value, could he acquire a unique magic system with the money he had?

And would it be worth it?

‘…I need to look into related cases.’

Lenok was lost in thought as he walked down the street.

In the WORLD’s magic system, support magic related to shooting only existed within the common magic system.

This was natural since the job of a magic gunslinger itself could not learn unique magic.

Therefore, Lenok was planning to obtain a more powerful support-type unique magic system and then modify the shooting support magic of the common magic he knew within that system.

But what if the support-type unique magic of this world was different from what he knew? What if there was no room to modify the shooting support magic?

‘I need to think about it as much as possible.’

Nothing was certain. That’s why he had to be more careful.

It was important to understand the power of shooting support magic, but that didn’t mean he should be obsessed with it.

There was a lot to do. Right now, Lenok was barely managing to maintain a precarious balance in his life.

If he got caught up in one thing, it wouldn’t be strange if he fell without being able to resist.

When he entered the bar, Jenny was waiting for him, smoking a cigarette.

When he first met her, she didn’t put anything in her mouth, but these days she was always surrounded by smoke.

It seemed she had been holding back until she had become somewhat familiar with Lenok.

Jenny made eye contact with him and slowly got up from the bar she had been leaning against.

“You’re finally here. Did you enjoy your vacation?”

She said, extending her hand as if asking for something.

“Amnak Pharmaceutical Company, right? I don’t have time, so give it to me quickly.”

“How did you know?” Lenok asked, taking out the documents from his pocket and handing them over. Jenny laughed.

“That’s the only request with a deadline left until this day. And you, you’re strangely interested in drugs, so I had a feeling it would be that.”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t wrong, so Lenok nodded quietly.

“Anyway, contact them. Do I need to make a separate appointment, or can I get a briefing here?” he asked, sitting down on an empty chair at the bar. Jenny immediately picked up the phone.

“Wait a minute. A representative will probably come here.”

“Is it that urgent?” Lenok muttered, but Jenny was already busy talking to someone on the other end of the line.

He had no choice but to open a bottle of liquor on the counter when someone sitting a seat away from him spoke to Lenok.

“So, you’re the new client Jenny was talking about.”

A gentleman with a dignified appearance in a suit. He looked younger than Jorden, but his face had a weighty presence that suggested experience.

Lenok, who had been staring at the man tilting his glass with his back straight, asked, “Do you know me?”

“Of course, I know you. Aren’t you the famous electric mage? The word is out in this business. A very persistent bounty hunter who’s obsessed with bounties and chases after petty criminals.”

“……..”

Certainly, he had been repeatedly chasing and catching criminals to make money, so he couldn’t deny being called that.

Compared to the various abilities Lenok had, catching criminals was quite easy, not very laborious, and most importantly, he had the advantage of choosing his opponents himself.

He had been avoiding getting involved with large organizations as much as possible and chasing after those with somewhat satisfactory bounties, and it seemed that such rumors had spread.

“It’s not a bad thing. After all, in this city, most of the people with bounties fall into two categories.”

“Two categories?”

“Small fry that no one would care about if they disappeared. Or big shots who wouldn’t even care if someone was after their heads.”

“….That’s quite extreme.”

“Right. People in between try to live while keeping a certain line. The same goes for District 49. Murders and robberies happen almost every day, and there isn’t a day without the sound of gunfire, but everyone still tries to stay within the lines. Am I wrong?”

Indeed, there were several unwritten rules here that you could feel in your bones without having to say them.

Complete indifference, the existence of freelancers who moved for a price, and various requests that were processed through intermediaries.

The man’s words were light and cheerful, but the content was serious enough to make you think about it.

“So, who are you?”

“You’re quick to ask.”

He smiled faintly and flicked a business card from his pocket with his finger.

Lenok raised his finger to catch it without thinking, then stopped.

The business card the man had flicked was floating very slowly in the air.

A psychic.

It was a clear violation of the laws of physics. However, Lenok’s sharp senses did not detect any magic.

The man clasped his hands together, watching Lenok catch the business card with two fingers.

“Call me Sebastian. I do similar work to Jenny.”

If he did similar work to Jenny, it meant that he was also in the business of connecting clients and freelancers in this field and taking a commission for it.

In other words, he was her partner and competitor.

But Lenok was more focused on thinking about what had just happened.

The number of abilities that could be used without magic was not small, but the number of abilities that worked in the way Sebastian had just shown was limited.

Direct and visible results. A feat without any particular prelude. Considering that there seemed to be no special consumption value, it was probably the type that consumed mental power.

The answer was clear.

“…..You’re a psychic.”

And a fairly common one, a type that used telekinesis.

At Lenok’s words, the man burst into laughter with a cheerful expression.

“Hahaha!! I showed it to you right in front of your eyes, isn’t it obvious?”

“……..”

“Is it true that you came to the city after training in some remote place? Usually, people aren’t that surprised to see a psychic. If we’re talking about rarity, a young mage like you is much rarer than an old man like me.”

In WORLD, psychic powers had the advantage of being very intuitive, but to be honest, they were not abilities that were good for application or delving into deeply.

That’s why there were few players who chose psychic powers as their main focus… but here, psychic powers were only innate abilities, so it was natural that such common sense didn’t apply.

“Sebastian, when did you come to mess with my clients again?”

Jenny, who had finished her call, strode over and raised her voice. Her sharply raised eyes were fierce, but he leaned back leisurely and waved his hand.

“I was just having a little chat. Don’t get so worked up.”

“I wondered why I hadn’t seen you for a while, but if you come out like this, it won’t be fun.”

“Of course, I gave my business card to that mage friend, but I also came to give our feisty young lady something,” Sebastian said, brushing off Jenny’s words with a smooth attitude, and took out a file from the briefcase he had brought and handed it to her.

Jenny took it and immediately started reading through it on the spot. It was typical of her.

It didn’t take long for her face to show bewilderment as she read through the documents inside.

“A summons? Why is this coming out now?”

“It’s proof that the city government is in a panic. Didn’t you see the news?” Sebastian said, and Jenny replied with annoyance.

“There are still more than two months left until the delegation from the Philemon Autonomous Territory visits. They haven’t even formed a proper response team yet, so how can they issue such an order already?”

“It’s certainly not common.”

He leaned slightly into the bar and said in a low voice, “Rumor has it that one of the city councilors is pushing this agenda very strongly.”

“…..They didn’t get enough money from that side?”

“That’s unlikely. Aren’t they in a relationship where they hold each other’s weaknesses? There’s more speculation that they want something else.”

Lenok was listening to the conversation between the two while tilting his glass.

The two didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding it from Lenok, and they were just talking while he was nearby.

From what they were saying, it seemed that the city government had issued a separate summons to individual business owners due to the visit of the delegation from the Philemon Autonomous Territory, which was the news he had seen yesterday.

Since Sebastian, who did similar work to Jenny, had brought such news, it seemed that they had specifically called out the intermediaries in this field, but judging from the expressions of the two, it didn’t seem like a light matter.

Although their expressions were serious, the conversation ended quickly.

They knew that no conclusion could be reached right away, no matter how much they talked about it here.

Sebastian finished the remaining glass of liquor, got up, and shook hands with Lenok.

“Then I’ll be on my way. If you ever want to do something different from what Jenny arranges, feel free to contact me. I can offer you a different way and different rewards than she can.”

He said that, picked up his briefcase with telekinesis, and disappeared from the bar.

Watching his retreating figure, Jenny, who had been crossing her arms, grumbled.

“That guy is such a black-hearted person.”

“Have you known him for a long time?”

“Sebastian? He established himself in this business before me. He pretends to run a company in District 45, but his lackeys and clients are all similar types. It’s very unpleasant.”

From what she was saying, it seemed that they were not just acquaintances, but Jenny continued to grumble as if she was displeased.

Lenok pretended to drink and casually ignored her words. Somehow, she was becoming more and more talkative.

“Well, I have to admit that he’s good at talking to rich people and businessmen. If you want to take on requests from individuals, it might not be a bad idea to go to him once.”

Lenok was secretly a little surprised at Jenny’s words, which seemed to acknowledge Sebastian.

If they were competing with each other as freelancers, it wouldn’t be strange if she tried to stop him from going to Sebastian, but Jenny didn’t seem to be too fixated on that fact.

When Lenok asked her about it, she shrugged.

“Does a merchant stop a customer from leaving by telling them not to go? I’m just doing what I can do.”

“I see…”

If Jenny said that much, it might not be a bad idea to get a job from Sebastian once.

The requests she gave him from companies and other organizations were impeccable, but to be honest, the requests that came in on an individual basis were often unsatisfactory.

If Sebastian could offer conditions that would pique Lenok’s interest in that regard, Lenok could also look for work with an open mind.

“Let’s stop talking about him, how did the request go?”