Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 115

Sssshhh!!

Lennox, pushing off the sand, rolled away from Daron, creating a distance of over ten meters in an instant. He rose, pulling up his magic power.

He had lost his balance from throwing a punch, and now he needed to use impact magic on his frozen leg.

Thwack!!

He drove a sand spear into his staggering thigh, then detonated a flash of magic to blind his opponent.

Flash!!

Avoiding the tail that flailed through the air, he slid backward and slammed the shotgun into his chest.

In every moment he wielded magic, he moved constantly, disrupting Daron’s vision and narrowing his escape angles.

This mobility was only possible on sand, but someday he would have the chance to move this freely on solid ground.

Waiting for that day, Lennox continued to move forward.

He dropped a fireball above his head and detonated it.

KABOOM!!

In the moment that obscured his vision, he began to chant.

He opened his left palm and inserted two fingers of his right hand between his middle and index fingers.

The important thing was to unleash the powerful image that came to mind. As he focused on that, the hand seals naturally formed.

[Fluttering Thunder]

Whirrrrrr….!!!

Two streams of electricity rose from his palm, twisting into a double helix, transforming into a form that combined arrow and spear.

The next moment, it pierced through the flames and struck Daron’s chest precisely.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

“Kkkkkkkkkkk!!”

Though it was only about a hand span in size, Daron’s reaction was violent.

He clutched at his chest, howling in a pain unlike any he had felt before.

From his cheek, where the metal surface was exposed, a liquid, whether tears or oil, streamed down.

The steel skeleton and nervous system. This complex structure was experiencing extreme interference from the direct electrical strike.

Before, he could withstand Lennox’s firepower thanks to his protective spells, but the pain he felt now was completely different.

As his body was closer to a machine, he was naturally more vulnerable to attacks with specific attributes like electricity.

If he had used magical engineering for his body modification, he might have gained spell resistance, but with Daron’s near-zero magic power, that was impossible.

“Ggrrrkkk….!!”

Zzzzzzz…!!

Daron stiffened, constantly emitting blue electricity as if trapped in a blue electric cage.

Fluttering Thunder, as its name suggested, was a focused electrical magic with powerful penetration, but its true value was revealed after it hit the target.

The extremely compressed electrical current exploded from the inside, destroying the target.

Since most of his body was made of machinery, the backlash was devastating.

“Not yet, not yet…!! Not yet, not yet…!!”

Repeating the same phrase like a broken machine, Daron slowly walked towards Lennox. Even to Lennox, he looked pathetic.

The neural network burning from the inside slowly began to paralyze the mechanical components that made up the person, and soon stopped even his life signs.

Lennox, watching Daron’s frozen figure staring blankly into the air, slowly removed the cigarette from his mouth.

“Hoo….”

Was this the side effect of using Feather Fall? [A magic that reduces the user’s weight]

The effect was fast, but the backlash seemed to come faster than expected.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan for times like this, so he didn’t panic.

He raised his trembling hand and pulled out the healing potion that Dre had given him as a gift.

It was a refined version of a regeneration spell called Headlock, which was said to restore damage inside and outside the body.

It was definitely the perfect remedy for Lennox’s battle-ravaged body.

“….Ugh.”

Even chewing sand wouldn’t taste this bitter or make his tongue tingle like this.

As Lennox grimaced, the earpiece in his ear began to vibrate faintly.

[…This is more than just stalling for time.]

Hina’s voice came through the earpiece.

[How could you take down a Falchion executive so easily…]

She tried to sound calm, but couldn’t hide the slight tremor in her voice from shock and admiration.

The other freelancers were too busy dealing with the aftermath of Lennox’s magic to even think about getting close.

A mage whose individual power had begun to surpass that of a group.

Everyone here had felt the power of an electric-type magic, which was at the peak of destructive power.

Their jaws dropped and their blank expressions didn’t return easily.

They could only repeatedly marvel and be shocked at the scene of violence that had unfolded before their eyes.

Even for the freelancers gathered here, the battle Lennox had shown was beyond what they had imagined.

The injured members of the 1st squad shook their heads as they looked at the other members of the 2nd squad.

“There was a reason why you guys trusted that mage so much. I never thought he would be such a thoroughly trained battle mage…”

“……..”

“No, we didn’t expect him to be this good either…”

The fire-wielder scratched his cheek awkwardly.

How many people had worked with a mage who could not only raise sand into waves but also drop white lightning from the clear sky?

Contrary to the initial plan to stall for time, this was the result, but it wasn’t surprising.

The moment he realized that he couldn’t shake off the pursuit without removing the source of Daron’s mobility, his spine, the outcome was already decided.

As always, it was an operation that couldn’t end without someone dying.

And Lennox had no regrets or remorse about that fact.

He touched his earpiece and immediately contacted Chen.

“I’ve finished with the base commander. How’s your side?”

A moment of silence passed, and Chen asked in a flustered voice.

[…You just killed that scorpion-like monster?]

“Did you deal with the pursuers on your side?”

[Yeah. About two people died, but we took care of all the pursuers. We just joined up with the drivers.]

“Tell me your location.”

[…No, we’ll go to you. While fighting those guys, we roughly figured out where the sand tomb is, so there won’t be any major problems driving the vehicles.]

After finishing the call with Chen, Lennox began to rummage through Daron’s corpse, which had stopped standing.

It was the first time he had seen someone who had modified their entire body to this extent, and he was also interested in the tail made of regenerative alloy that he had.

If there was anything that could help strengthen Lennox’s power, it would be good to take it for himself.

[……..]

Hina seemed to have noticed what Lennox was trying to do, but she remained silent as if she didn’t care.

After seeing Lennox’s skills, she probably understood how meaningless her doubts about him had been.

Rather, considering his contribution to the operation, this level of spoils was something he deserved.

Clank, clank…!!

Using magnetic control, Lennox opened Daron’s metal skeleton and examined the inside of his body, pulling something out.

A fist-sized engine that had been acting as a heart, embedded in his left chest.

It seemed impossible to use it fully because the circuits had been completely burned by the aftermath of the Fluttering Thunder that Lennox had fired, but it was still enough to understand its structure.

It seemed to be sufficient material to understand how body modifications that didn’t use magical engineering were done.

Lennox also took some of the regenerative alloy that had been used up near Daron’s spine, and the laser attached to his tail.

Since his opponent had modified his entire body into a machine, there were quite a few things to take even after killing him.

Finally, as he was looking around for the artifact that had been used to block Lennox’s [White Lightning], a low voice suddenly came from behind him.

[So, it ended up like this?]

“………!”

A strange voice. Lennox turned his head like lightning at the sudden appearance.

A lean physique, snake-like narrow eyes, and strangely braided hair.

The young man, who had appeared with his hand on Daron’s chest, had his head bowed, making it difficult to read his expression.

Lennox frowned for a moment at the fact that he hadn’t even noticed the opponent’s appearance, but he quickly grasped the truth.

‘It’s not real… It’s closer to an illusion using a medium.’

To be precise, it was a small earring that had fallen at Daron’s feet.

The residual magic emanating from the center of the gem was projecting the image of someone far away.

The fact that the young man could use such a spell with an artifact that had already been used once was enough to guess that he was an extraordinary mage.

Naturally, Lennox’s eyes also calmed down.

[You stupid bastard.]

A message to his friend who could no longer hear him.

[I told you that if you replaced your body like that, you’d be vulnerable to electrical attacks. I even made an artifact to lower conductivity and gave it to you… But that’s just you. I didn’t expect anything.]

The young man, muttering as if spitting out the words, slowly turned his head.

“……..”

A bored expression that seemed endlessly dull. That face, so out of place in the current situation, felt even eerie at first glance.

At that surreal emotional shift, Lennox naturally pulled up his magic power, even though he knew it was an illusion.

“Hina.”

[……..It’s Jaun Odis, the leader of Falchion. I never thought we’d meet like this…]

A voice full of tension.

She seemed more intimidated than Lennox, who was directly at the scene.

The young man, Jaun, glanced at Lennox and said.

[That’s the engine Daron was using.]

“……..”

[It’s expensive. I had to sell over 200 people while wandering the desert to buy it. I hope you use it well.]

Even with his comrade’s death before his eyes, what he was saying was completely off the mark.

That’s why Lennox couldn’t help but ask him.

If he could be shaken, he had to be shaken. To find out if that indifferent face, even after seeing the death of his acquaintance, was his true nature or a complete mask.

“Why did you join hands with the black mages?”

[What?]

“Originally, the inner city wasn’t an area you cared about. I’m curious why you suddenly started meddling in Vulcan now.”

[…Ban?]

Ignoring Hina’s voice, Jaun slightly raised the corner of his mouth with a blank face at Lennox’s question.

[You ask interesting questions. It would have been more fun if you had talked like that in front of me.]

“………”

[I’m just a person who’s honest with myself. I have no interest in such complex relationships of interest. I just want money, women, and toys to play with.]

Jaun’s eyes flashed sharply for a moment.

[And also, to get revenge on the bastard who killed my friend.]

At that moment, Lennox realized what the faint emotion that was leaking out from behind the young man’s smile was.

A deep-seated hatred. And a very strong bond.

That’s right.

Those inconsistent words were just a mantra to soothe himself. He was also a human being who was shuddering with grief over the loss of his comrade.

Lennox, certain of that fact, smiled faintly and said.

“Then we might see each other soon.”

Two gaunt mages stared at each other silently.

[Is that so.]

Jaun chuckled, breaking the silence.

In the slowly disappearing illusion, Jaun muttered.