Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 482

The Pentarect throbbed in his grasp, a distinct sensation.

The Apostle’s gaze was fixed on Lenok, sharp and assessing.

Heads turned, drawn by the sudden tension, and eyes converged from all directions.

Lenok felt Pio and Laperd’s agitation, poised to act. He needed to think fast.

‘This is a mess.’

No matter how he played it, remaining undetected was clearly the best option.

Lenok, or any Watcher [a person who monitors and intervenes in situations], would have to expend considerable effort to restore the situation to normal.

But instead of dwelling on the problem, Lenok began to consider how to use the time he had left.

Specifically, he was contemplating whether to gamble on the Pentarect’s throbbing.

‘Artifacts aren’t all-powerful. I know that very well, but…’

Even in this world of magic and mystery, artifacts were ultimately just tools.

No matter how powerful an item or relic-grade artifact might be, it was still a device designed with a specific purpose or function in mind.

It might excel in situations and for purposes aligned with its design.

But flexibly responding to a complex situation like this was virtually impossible.

However, even though Lenok knew this, he was caught in this moment of contemplation because he remembered how the Pentarect had helped him when he first used it.

It hadn’t conveniently transformed into a powerful artifact to suppress his surroundings.

Was the Pentarect’s transformation into a life support device in Lenok’s hand at that moment really just a coincidence?

The Pentarect’s ability was useful in a very indirect way, rather than simply transforming to defuse the situation.

And Lenok had kept the possibility that it might not be a simple coincidence or luck in his mind.

Above all, Lenok knew all too well that he was far from ‘lucky’.

“Apostle Zaif? What are you doing there?”

“Hurry back to the platform. Archbishop Nadri is waiting for you.”

The commotion had slowly reached the platform, and the deputies, who had been sitting listlessly on their chairs, began to look their way.

Some deputies urged the Apostle called Zaif with rather arrogant words.

Not only did they speak directly to an Apostle, but they also seemed to be powerful individuals with skills at level 7 or higher.

Perhaps they were the strong representatives of each branch of the Order.

Despite the urging of the bishop with a distinctive eye patch and the fat priest, who were particularly imposing among the deputies, Zaif did not turn back.

That was probably because he was feeling an unknown sense of familiarity from Lenok.

There was no time to ponder for long.

“…Okay.”

The answer that came from the edge of the hood was not directed at the Apostle in front of him.

As Lenok’s hand slowly reached inside his priest’s robe, he grasped the throbbing Pentarect.

At the same time as infusing magic into the artifact, he secretly signaled Pio with his other hand.

If the Pentarect’s ability resulted in something worse than failure, Pio’s transformation ability would be used to draw attention, and they would have to leave this place immediately.

Rather than relying solely on the Pentarect’s ability, he created a definite alternative before taking a gamble.

With that thought, Lenok swallowed hard, and before he could even check the transformed Pentarect.

Zaif suddenly grabbed the front of Lenok’s priest’s robe.

“What are you hiding?”

Whack!!

His reaction was slow because he hadn’t anticipated a fight.

The transformed object of the Pentarect, which even Lenok hadn’t properly checked, entered the sight of both of them almost simultaneously.

Both Zaif and Lenok were speechless.

“…What is this?”

A name tag with the Order’s emblem engraved on it.

It was just a name tag, rusted and faded, with no power at all.

At the edge of the name tag, in barely legible letters, was written ‘Martinez’.

Lenok was slightly troubled by the Pentarect’s transformation into such an ordinary object, but Zaif’s reaction was completely different.

“…”

As if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, the Apostle stared intently at the name tag with wide eyes.

Looking back and forth between Lenok and the name tag with an incredulous expression, his gaze darted around as if he was in extreme confusion.

“Zaif!!”

“…I’m going.”

The resolution didn’t take long.

Zaif, with a faintly trembling hand, threw a small ticket at Lenok and turned away.

Lenok held it and stared at Zaif’s back.

His attitude, which had been questioning Lenok just a moment ago, was strangely devoid of any lingering feelings.

He strode through the crowd and onto the platform, where the deputies were scolding him.

Zaif brushed it off, saying he must have mistaken him for an outsider.

The service began under the guidance of Archbishop Nadri.

Lenok quietly eavesdropped on the conversations on the platform, then glanced at Pio and Laperd, who were quietly watching him nearby.

The three of them quietly left the square and walked quickly down the street, opening their mouths.

“What happened?”

“I thought for sure something was going to go wrong, but suddenly things got weird.”

“What did you do to deceive the Order’s Apostle?”

“I don’t know…”

Lenok said, glancing down at the Order’s name tag with the name Martinez on it.

Considering the way the Pentarect had changed its form and helped Lenok before, and the events that had occurred in the process, it didn’t seem like a coincidence.

The key to suddenly defusing or overcoming this situation was in this name tag and name.

“Martinez…”

Someone from the Order, someone named Martinez.

It would be a lie to say that the name didn’t remain in Lenok’s memory.

Indeed, what the Pentarect gave Lenok was not some unheard-of, transcendent artifact.

Rather, it was a clue that could thoroughly reverse the current situation to his advantage by thoroughly reviewing Lenok’s own memories or the situation.

“Evan?”

“…Sorry. I was just organizing my thoughts for a moment.”

Lenok said, then mingled with the crowd and casually spoke to the two of them.

“We need a decoy. Can you prepare it?”

“Uh, I’ll prepare it. If I use a transformation spell, it’ll take about 20 seconds to look like you…”

“No, not you two, but someone completely different needs to be made to look like me.”

“What?”

Leaving Pio, who was rolling his eyes, Lenok subtly turned his gaze.

Since Apostle Zaif had backed down from Lenok, none of the deputies on the platform had made any further moves.

Nevertheless, almost all the deputies there had certainly recognized Lenok’s presence.

It was possible that they knew that Lenok, Pio, and Laperd were walking around together on the street.

At this point, if Pio disappeared and only Evan’s appearance appeared instead, it could raise suspicion.

They needed a decoy to replace Lenok, while maintaining Pio and Laperd’s appearances.

“…”

“If you can’t think of any other way, I’ll prepare it. It’ll take a lot of magic, but if I cast an illusion around the artifact…”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Laperd, who had been walking at Lenok’s feet with his tongue out, said.

“I have a way. Let’s go somewhere secluded for a moment.”

The railway track was located at the lower end of a quiet alley.

On the abandoned track, which seemed to be out of use, all sorts of trash were scattered.

As Laperd, who had returned to his giant dog form, made a hand seal, a faint glow appeared behind him.

Whoosh…!!

The glow that descended from behind slowly transformed into a human form and landed in front of the three of them.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Laperd nodded to Pio while maintaining the hand seal.

“I didn’t intentionally fix the appearance, so use your spell to overwrite Evan’s transformation data.”

“W-wait a minute… What is this anyway?”

Pio pointed at the human-shaped glow that had appeared in front of him with a slightly surprised expression.

“Is it okay to overwrite a spell on something with such a high magic density?”

“It’s a power that was made for that purpose from the beginning. You don’t have to worry.”

Lenok also muttered, looking at the figure with a somewhat curious expression.

“An Incarnation [a manifestation of a deity or spirit in physical form].”

“You remembered?”

“You showed it to me in the battle just before entering the Hanghasa Labyrinth.”

In the small-scale battle on the floating island summoned by Lapis, Laperd had shown considerable prowess in both close combat and group battles through the Sanctuary and Incarnation of the Primal Faith.

Incarnation. In other words, Avatar.

It was a power closer to spiritual energy that dealt with spirits rather than a system of magic, but its usefulness and power were widely known.

Rather than simply being treated as a clone of the caster, it was a concept closer to the representation of the self in a spell-like sense.

It was a complex spell that was defined as the embodiment of another self, while still being the caster himself.

Lenok had also briefly tried to imitate the implementation of an Incarnation, but he had forgotten about it because his sense of dealing with spirits was too vague at the time of the labyrinth.

Laperd had arbitrarily summoned his own Incarnation to create a dummy to act as a decoy for Lenok.

“Hmm, I see… Very interesting…”

Lenok circled around the Incarnation, not even giving Pio a chance to apply the transformation spell.

His eyes showed a great deal of enthusiasm that had not been seen before.

“Evan?”

“It feels more like it has a stronger meaning of support, cooperation, resonance, and correspondence in terms of spells rather than physical strength… Even better. It’ll be very useful in many ways like this…”

He had simply passed it by when he didn’t have knowledge of spirits, but now that he had a deep understanding of military command through the battle with Madrich Onion, it was different.

Lenok could see at a glance how valuable and useful this Incarnation, implemented through Laperd’s Primal Faith, could be in terms of spells.

Enough to make him forget about the current situation for a moment and focus on the principle of the Incarnation.

After observing the Incarnation intently for a while, Lenok turned his gaze sharply towards Laperd.

“Do you have to believe in that religion to use this kind of feeling?”

“…Of course not.”

Laperd replied with a dumbfounded expression.

“Implementing an Incarnation is just proof that you have honed your spiritual talent to a high level. The method varies from person to person.”

“…”

“If you’re tempted by this and thinking of joining a faith you don’t even believe in, you shouldn’t. You’ll only bring trouble upon yourself.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Even if you ask me…”

Laperd coughed awkwardly and said.

“If we were to find a way, it would be best to visit Yorta. There are plenty of researchers and sorcerers there who specialize in handling Incarnations.”

“Okay.”

Lenok nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was a concept closer to a spell-like cooperative entity rather than a simple clone.

If he could adjust it well, he might be able to play a one-man two-role, even if it was clumsy.

“Okay. So, we just need to overwrite the transformation spell on Laperd’s Incarnation, right?”

Pio swallowed hard with a nervous expression and held out his hands.

“Damn it, this is the first time I’ve used a transformation on something that’s neither living nor non-living…”

Whoosh!!

Contrary to Pio’s nervous words, the spell that extended from his hand covered the Incarnation’s body, changing its appearance.

The light within the Incarnation’s body faded, and its appearance and physique naturally changed to Evan’s.

Evan stood up with a blank face, stood on his two feet, and stared blankly around.

Even Pio hesitated with a nervous expression.

“D-did it work…?”

“Incarnations have excellent magic sensitivity and mana acceptance. The possibility of it resisting your spell was low.”

Laperd also said, looking at his Incarnation with a curious expression.

“However, I don’t feel a significant drop in condition like when Pio transforms… Was the transformation data itself not wrong?”

“Well, I don’t know about that either. Maybe it’s less sensitive to those parts because it’s not human.”

“That’s a valid inference. It ended much faster than I thought, so you guys go out into the street with this Incarnation-”

At that moment, the Incarnation, which had been standing with a blank face, suddenly vomited blood.

“Cough!!”

Even though he covered his mouth with one hand, red blood gushed out between his fingers.

The Incarnation, unable to stop coughing, sat down on the spot and began to tremble.

Everyone was speechless with their mouths open.

“Cough…!! Ack!!”

The sight of him stretching his hand above his head with wide eyes was truly miserable.

If the Incarnation, which had been fine just a moment ago, suddenly started vomiting blood and suffering, where on earth was the cause?

“…”

Pio and Laperd looked back at Lenok with shocked eyes.

There was no need to say what emotions were felt in their gazes.

Lenok, seeing the gazes of the two, couldn’t help but avert his eyes.

“The transformation spell… seems to have a serious error.”

“…”

Lenok muttered, looking at the distant mountains. But this time, no one could easily agree with his words.

* * *

Lenok sent Pio, Laperd, and the Incarnation disguised as Evan away and remained alone on the railway track.

It would have been troublesome if the state hadn’t stabilized after drastically reducing the magic power contained in the Incarnation.

There must be a reason why the Incarnation’s condition was worse than when Pio directly transformed, but there wasn’t much time to worry.

In any case, Evan’s appearance would be properly visible to people outside the street, and that alone was enough.

With that thought, Lenok glanced towards the very end of the railway track.

Swish…!!

The end of the quiet railway track, where there had been no sign of anyone until just now.

In the brief moment when the wind swept past and briefly obscured Lenok’s vision, a middle-aged man was standing on the other side.

Apostle Zaif, who had noticed Lenok’s presence on the platform and questioned him.

The man who had pretended not to know Lenok in the square was now back to find Lenok and face him.

Zaif, who had been staring at Lenok for a long time, opened his mouth.

“You managed to avoid the surveillance network. There must have been deputies watching you.”

“Wasn’t that what you wanted from the beginning?”

Lenok said, shaking the small ticket he was holding.

The ticket that Zaif had thrown to him just before letting him go.

It was an old ticket that was only used on the railway tracks of this long-gone train station.

It was obvious that the Apostle in front of him wanted to use this place as a meeting place.

All that remained was to resolve the small doubt that was lingering in his mind.

As he took out the name tag from his pocket, Zaif seemed to flinch.

“You must have wanted to ask me something after seeing this.”

“…Martinez of the Order. I know about that name.”

Zaif, who had been silent, spoke with difficulty.

“A missionary dispatched to the giant city of Balkan. Rumors of his success in the Apostle’s Descent were widespread even in the main headquarters.”

“You know it well.”

“I heard he died, so how do you have that name tag in your possession?”

Zaif’s eyes seemed to flicker faintly.

“Or, did Martinez really succeed in becoming an Apostle without going through the selection ritual?”

“…”

Before answering, Lenok took a light breath.

Considering what he had to say from now on, he had to prepare himself as well.

The reason why the Pentarect had transformed into the form of this name tag.

The reason why Zaif was so greatly shaken by seeing this name tag that he couldn’t hide it.

The answer to all the questions was with Lenok. All that remained was to act.

With that thought, Lenok fearlessly took out one item that he had shrunk and placed it in front of Zaif.

Thud…!!

What fell with a heavy roar was a giant carapace shield that exceeded Lenok’s height.

It was one of the weapons that Lenok often used in battle due to its solid and heavy weight, but that was not the important thing.

This carapace shield was the remains of Walter Martinez, who had transformed into an Apostle.

And there was no way that Zaif, who was also an Apostle, wouldn’t recognize it.

“This is…!!”

“My name is Evan Martinez.”

Lenok smiled as he saw Zaif, who was staring with wide eyes, take a step forward.

A step that drove a wedge into the doubt that was lingering in Zaif’s mind.

To complete this entire play, one more word was enough.

“As a fellow Apostle, I have come to tell you the secret that the Archbishop is hiding.”