Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 152

Irina said, unfolding her arms.

The man broke into a slight cold sweat at the blatant criticism.

His job was to sit in front of a computer and search databases, but if he had been dull-witted, he would have been knocked out and fallen on his face a long time ago.

If he didn’t know that the head of the group that had commissioned him to dig up information was this woman, and that she was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t even be qualified to take this money.

“Continue.”

“Yes. The last candidate is a freelancer named Ban, a rising star magician who has recently emerged in the outer district 49. He’s been working for a little over a year, and it seems he’s already building connections by working with big clients.”

“………”

“Even if you’re from outside the city, you know who ‘Hyungung’ is, right? He’s a new talent whose skills have been verified enough that there are rumors that the monster is keeping an eye on him. Even though he has no past experience, his work is very clean, and his methods are known to be quite cruel.”

The man said, pressing the button on the remote control again.

Unlike the previous two candidates, this man named Ban was such a unique figure that there was a lot to say about him, even though there were no past records left.

“As you can guess from the fact that he’s a solo magician, he’s a very unique person. He has a magical system that cannot be identified, he consistently uses firearms and auxiliary equipment without relying on magic, and he has a way of making you forget all those characteristics—”

*Beep.*

The video played, and the mouths of the silent exploration team slowly opened.

“Overwhelming combat sense.”

A video of a huge, lanky spearman, who looked to be over 2 meters tall, facing off against a magician head-on.

However, the back-and-forth exchange there was so fierce and desperate that it could not be explained by that one word alone.

The sight of him blocking dozens of spear strikes that pierced through space head-on, while simultaneously firing a revolver and magic, was a type of combat that even the members of the exploration team, who had been through thick and thin, had never seen before.

Lightning raged in a sea of fire, flames soared, and frost swept in.

After watching everything, from the moment the ripples that spread out endlessly in the air in response to the spear’s movements disappeared, to the moment the huge clock tower turned into the spearman’s tomb, groans flowed from all over.

“This is… too dangerous.”

“It’s not a level where you can measure skill simply by level.”

“What kind of unique magic did he learn? If it’s a one-person transmission technique, it seems impossible to find out information in advance.”

Even though they were people who had been exploring ruins and dealing with monsters and demonic beasts rather than humans, their accumulated insight did not disappear.

They could easily notice that the lanky spearman, who was being easily dealt fatal blows in the midst of the fierce battle and gradually collapsing, was by no means less skilled than them.

“Stop.”

As the conference room became noisy in an instant, Irina cut off the conversation like a knife.

“………”

The members of the exploration team shut their mouths instantly. It was a moment that clearly showed how tightly Irina Pesfield controlled this organization.

In the awkward silence, the man stammered and continued to speak.

“…Anyway, these are the three suspects I’ve identified as the culprits in this case. Well, I ended up talking a lot about the last candidate, but I’ve finished the data research to the point where I can answer any additional questions about the first two as well. After the briefing, I plan to back up by sharing the data I created separately…”

“Which one do you think it is?”

“Yes?”

“Out of the three people you introduced, who do you think is the one who killed my colleague and stole the artifact?”

“…………”

If honorifics and polite language were mixed, wouldn’t it mean that he was already losing his mind?

The man thought so and slowly continued to speak in order not to offend her.

“Uh…as I mentioned earlier, I personally think that the second wanted criminal, Sha Marah, is the most likely.”

“Why?”

“The traces left at the scene are clearly manipulation-type, but a skilled telekineticist can imitate those traces. In addition, Sha Marah was also a member of the notorious criminal organization ‘Nine Count,’ so I think there is a good chance that they targeted your group leaving the auction house.”

The man said that and closed his mouth, but the members of the exploration team quickly exchanged glances.

They had commissioned him to investigate in order to avenge the dead members and recover some of the stolen artifacts, but the man did not know that the exploration team was looking for the talisman of Yakseon [a mythical artifact].

Since they were entrusting the reasoning without knowing one of the important motives in this matter, it was possible to get good information, but it was difficult to expect a proper judgment from him.

“…Thank you for your hard work. You can go now.”

Irina also understood that immediately, gave the man a suitable reward, and sent him away.

The man left as soon as he confirmed that the promised amount had been deposited into his account.

He had understood well that Irina was telling him to get lost right now in a roundabout way.

The door of the conference room opened and closed, and as soon as the man’s presence faded, Irina said.

“We need to investigate the magician named Ban. We need someone much more professional than that mediocre guy from earlier.”

The members turned their gazes with bewildered expressions at the name that came out as if it had been decided from the beginning.

“Isn’t it a little too early to move yet…?”

“Shouldn’t we discuss it a little more?”

“Can you tell us what the basis for the captain’s thinking is?”

“There’s no need to think too hard. It’s simple if you think about when we explore ruins, right?”

Irina, looking around at the silent members, smiled coldly.

“It’s already decided who the most unpleasant person to deal with among these three is, isn’t it?”

“………”

“These kinds of bloody things always happen with the person we least want to encounter.”

Was it the captain’s arbitrary decision, losing her reason due to anger?

Or was it the intuition she had built up while leading the exploration team for a long time?

Either way, the members could not even think of going against Irina’s words.

And as a result, they didn’t even realize that it was the closest judgment to the correct answer.

“Check Ban’s movements, and grasp all of his magic, weapons, combat style, residence, environment, and clients. Contact our sponsors.”

Irina got up from her seat and muttered quietly.

“If we deviate from the existing plan any further, we will be the ones who will bleed.”

The plan had already gone wrong from the point where they failed to obtain the talisman of Yakseon.

In addition, the death of Brook, a capable member, and at the same time, the damage to the artifact that was put up to obtain the talisman.

They had to finish the job before the purpose and means were reversed any further.

The sacrifices needed for that, hadn’t they been paying them all along?

They just had to do what they always did.

Irina’s eyes shone coldly as she looked at the members who had begun to move according to her words.

#

On his way home from the university library, where he had been looking through books, Lenok naturally blended into the crowd as he passed through the bustling downtown area, as he always did.

He passed through several streets, walked across crosswalks, and went back and forth between buildings without any meaning, going through blind spots.

Since the things Ban had done were considerable, he had to put a lot of effort into hiding Lenok’s identity.

In the shade of a narrow alleyway where no one could see, he put on a dark mask and tried to blend in with the crowd naturally, when he suddenly stopped as he confirmed that the occasional sense of déjà vu was being caught by his magic detection as a clear basis.

‘Tail.’

The feeling was similar to when Rayan, who had lost his business in District 44 and came to Lenok, had tailed him before.

However, it was much more subtle and sharp.

It was proof that someone was deliberately tailing Lenok.

No, strictly speaking, it meant that someone was tailing Ban.

And if there was a force trying to dig into Lenok’s background at this time, there were not many candidates.

Lenok’s mind raced, and he began to narrow down the most likely backers.

‘The remnants of the Siger Bank or the executives of Falcion. The members of the drug trafficking organization I encountered in the last request… They all seem plausible, but the exploration team is the most likely.’

By now, Irina would have received the news that the members of the exploration team, including Brook, had died, and it was not strange that she would have taken action.

It was not at all strange that she would have taken revenge, putting aside the cause of the incident, due to the death of her colleagues who were aiming for the talisman of Yakseon.

Rather, it felt much more natural to Lenok that she would send people in this way.

He lightly raised his magic power and called Davi.

“Check the surrounding CCTVs. Are there any eyes monitoring this area?”

[Electronic devices within a 100m radius are being blocked in real time. It’s not a physical disconnection, so it can be restored within 5 minutes.]

“Not monitoring, but blocking? Hmm…”

He had suspected it, but were they planning to kill Lenok right here?

At least it was clear that the opponent was chasing him with that much determination.

[That’s a lot of confidence.]

“Shall we see if they have the skills to back it up?”

Lenok crossed his arms and turned his back, waiting for the opponent to approach.

The five fingers of the artifact Enakphil in his arms were fully prepared to be used at any time.

For Lenok, who had realized how to deploy the magnetic field, there were not many factors that could interfere with the use of magic.

The confidence that he could run away at any time turned into curiosity about the opponent, and he was waiting for them.

The opponent, who realized that the tail had been discovered due to Lenok’s changed attitude, immediately changed his momentum.

*Sss sss…!!*

A desolate noise like the wind crawling low on the ground.

A cluster of sharp killing intent became a series of flows and penetrated every corner of the narrow alleyway.

When he came to his senses, it had already turned into a single black shadow and was looking down at Lenok.

A man sitting crouched on a street lamp, staring at Lenok with a calm gaze.

A black robe and shaggy hair. The attire of a warrior who seemed far removed from the world.

However, the magic power flowing through his body was extremely pure and stable.

A warrior who had trained himself harshly. He was also a skilled person with a considerable level of infiltration skills.

“I made a mistake.”

The young man, who had been making eye contact with Lenok for a while, slowly opened his mouth.

“Until I got here, you seemed like you didn’t notice anything, but you were waiting for me here from the beginning.”

“……..”

“Maybe this street isn’t your real address either, and it’s just a relay point that you can throw away at any time. In this case, I have no choice but to interrogate you directly to find out the information.”

“You followed me all the way here, but you’re a chatterbox.”

“…..What?”

“Why don’t you just ask me if you’re curious?”

Lenok replied, taking out a long stick from his arms and putting it in his mouth.

It was a solidified version of a medicinal extract that was also used as a portable health food.

It was famous for its terrible bitter taste, but it wasn’t so disgusting.

It was a product with a just right level of nauseating taste, so Lenok also used it often.

Lenok had become accustomed to the taste of these bitter herbs.

The young man smiled bitterly at Lenok’s words and said.

“Hey, I hope you don’t misunderstand. Do you think we would have done this without doing any research on you?”

“……”

“We’ve finished investigating how you move when there are no requests. And we’ve also figured out what kind of magic you use.”

“That’s very interesting.”

Ignoring Lenok’s indifferent reply, the young man snapped his fingers, and at the same time, a small bead that rose from his hand burst, instantly scattering a thick powder throughout the area.

“If we block the electric magic, the range of your response ability will also be greatly reduced…!! Show me all the cards you have!!”

The young man said that and became a streak of shadow, rushing towards Lenok in an instant.

*Whoosh!!*

The speed at which he shot out, riding the outer edge of the shaded building like a wave, was extraordinary.

Judging from the flow of magic power moving in his body, it didn’t seem to be magic or a technique, but rather a kind of martial art that manipulated shadows.

Lenok, who was about to respond immediately, shook his head, guessing the identity of the powder that was thickly spread around him.

“It seems like you picked up some strange theory somewhere. Are you aiming for a dust explosion?”

Was he trying to spread flammable particles in the air and hope that Lenok would be swept away by the firepower he created?

No, the opponent was not a fool.

He wouldn’t even think that Lenok, an excellent magician, would be hit by an explosion he created himself.

Then what was the reason for his actions now?

Lenok immediately found the answer.

‘It looks like a deserted alleyway, but it’s actually quite close to the downtown area… If an explosion occurs here, it will definitely cause damage to civilians.’

Lenok didn’t have any unnecessary sense of duty to protect innocent citizens.

However, he wanted to avoid attracting attention and disrupting his freelance life by involving civilians in this kind of thing.

The opponent noticed the subtle difference in his attitude and took the first move to pierce through that small hesitation.

‘Even if I consciously limit the magic that emits strong firepower, there are still many magic that I can use. But if he predicted even this and spread the dust?’

Assuming that the young man belonged to the exploration team, what would they want to see from Lenok’s hands, excluding fire magic?