Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 617

Relic-level crafting tool.

As soon as Renok mentioned that name, Nasisa closed her mouth and stopped reacting.

“Generally, relic-level artifacts with such unique functions are difficult to find or create.”

Renok nodded, looking at the silent Nasisa.

“At the very least, I think it’s equipment that a Meister-level [Master-level] artisan would use for a very special process.”

“What was the artisan’s personality like?”

Nasisa asked absentmindedly.

“Tell me what you think the artisan who made this artifact was like.”

Renok tilted his head at Nasisa’s question, which suddenly deviated from the main topic.

“It’s a bit of a leap to guess someone’s personality based on just one object, but…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“……”

Renok didn’t know why Nasisa was curious about that, but it wasn’t difficult to share the guess he had made through the pendant.

Renok silently fiddled with the artifact, which had returned to the shape of a pendant, and then slowly opened his mouth.

“I would guess they were extremely sensitive and neurotic.”

“……Why?”

“The very idea and principles used in this automatic crafting tool are like that.”

Renok said, putting down the pendant.

“The microscopic particle alteration of magic power that rarely occurs when there is a difference in the manufacturing time of parts. The fact that they tried to apply that principle itself to create an artifact is very unusual. Among the artifacts I’ve seen, such cases are very rare.”

“……”

“A near-obsessive fixation. A compulsion for precision. Beyond that level, they would try to perfectly control everything that touched their hands, and they might have had a perverse tendency to enjoy that process itself.”

The subtle alteration of magic power in different timelines.

It was a principle that even Renok had learned while studying Kaise’s pocket watch, so in a way, it was a very difficult and obscure idea to explore.

To put it simply, it could be said to be one of the trials and errors of high-level sorcerers trying to approach the concept of time through magic.

The fact that they had obsessively delved into such a concept to create an artifact of this size, and that in the process, they had manufactured and used different parts at different times.

And the fact that they didn’t leave any trace of that fact even after making the pendant, making it difficult to repair.

“Almost all the design structures left on the pendant don’t seem to belong to a person with a good character…”

Renok stopped there, coughed, and then rephrased his words appropriately.

“Perhaps they were someone who had a more artisan-like aspect than anyone else.”

At that moment, Mauzer, who had been watching silently without saying anything, opened his mouth.

“……It’s the Master’s.”

“Mauzer.”

Nasisa looked at him with a sharp gaze.

“Watch your mouth.”

“Now?”

Mauzer shrugged his shoulders, not caring.

“That pendant. It’s not from another customer, but something that woman directly asked the artisans to repair.”

“……”

Only then did Renok, realizing why Nasisa had brought this pendant, look at her with a dumbfounded expression.

Come to think of it, there was no way she could arbitrarily use another customer’s item to test Renok’s abilities.

It was natural that she would use her own belongings, for which she could take responsibility for both the purpose and liability.

But he never imagined that Nasisa would not only entrust the pendant to Renok but also want to hear about her master from Renok’s own mouth.

Mauzer also seemed to have the same thought, as he sneered at Nasisa with a face that had completely sobered up.

“Hehehe, you’ve been serving that grumpy old man like a father your whole life, but you’re still curious about other people’s opinions, aren’t you?”

Mauzer continued, looking at Nasisa, who didn’t say anything.

“That man was a madman who was only interested in his own glory until the day he died. He even thought of the artisans who became his disciples as disposable consumables.”

“……”

“You must have known when you were old enough to inherit the workshop. You just pretended not to know to keep your position, didn’t you?”

In the cold silence of the workshop, Renok put down the pendant, rubbed his temples, and asked.

“Master Mauzer. Who are you talking about right now?”

“Didn’t we say that we both served the same master in the workshop?”

Mauzer said with a hearty laugh.

“There was once an old man who was revered as the best blacksmith in the Machine City, called the Furnace Lord.”

“……”

“He’s already passed away, but his disciples are still scattered throughout the Machine City, flaunting their power.”

The Furnace Lord. A grand title that only the best blacksmith in the Machine City could possibly be called.

It was also ironic that Mauzer and Nasisa had both worked as disciples of the Furnace Lord and were now completely separated.

Even the fact that Nasisa, who seemed to have inherited the Furnace Lord’s legacy, had asked Renok about him while holding the pendant he had made.

But while Renok was thinking about that contradiction, Nasisa seemed to have come to her senses, grabbed the pendant, and stood up abruptly.

“……It was just part of the evaluation to set a standard.”

Nasisa said with a stern expression, glanced down at Renok, and nodded.

“But I can’t deny that the evaluation of an outsider who knows nothing about the Furnace Lord was more accurate than I thought.”

“……”

“I’ve thought of something new I can entrust to you in this city.”

With those words, Nasisa turned her back and walked out of the workshop without hesitation.

Renok, with his chin slightly propped up, watched her go, and then belatedly realized what her words meant and asked.

“Then, has the location of the workshop’s relocation been decided?”

“……”

Nasisa looked back at Renok with a slightly displeased expression and chuckled lightly.

“See you in the upper workshop district.”

Squeak!!

Immediately after, following Nasisa, who was leaving the workshop without hesitation, the soldiers who were escorting her turned around.

Mauzer finally let out a sigh of relief, and Renok watched him with a faint smile.

Among them, the soldier who remained in the workshop until the very end hesitated slightly, then took off the helmet she was wearing.

Renok, realizing that she was the female soldier who had touched the weight of the pistol before, tilted his head slightly.

“……You are?”

“I knew you’d do well.”

She smiled, waved her hand, and then quickly put her helmet back on and followed the formation.

Mauzer looked at Renok in disbelief and said.

“You’re quite something. How long has it been since you came to Machina, and you’re already…”

“No, she’s a customer who visited the workshop before.”

Renok quickly waved his hand and said.

“In the first place, a person who does business shouldn’t have private conversations with customers, right…”

Renok stopped talking as if he had realized something, and Mauzer slammed a bottle of alcohol in front of Renok as if he had caught something.

“Alright, alright. Even though it’s been over twenty years since I’ve dated, it’s not hard for me to listen to your complaints over a drink.”

Mauzer nodded, leaning against the workbench with a relaxed face.

“Let’s talk about that woman all night tonight.”

“No, that’s not it…”

The advice Renok had given the female soldier when she first visited this workshop was in an area that could not be definitively said to be completely private.

Intentionally replacing the weight of the pistol with a new one, ruining the sense of zeroing itself.

Wasn’t he the one who directly advised that the very fact that such a thing happened meant that someone next to her wanted the bullets to miss?

And now, the person that soldier was guarding was none other than Nasisa, who had just visited Renok’s workshop.

Reaching that point, Renok put down the glass of alcohol that Mauzer was offering on the workbench and stood up abruptly.

“I think I need to give a warning again.”

“Wa, warning? What warning?”

“I once told them that the person they were guarding might be in a dangerous situation.”

It was a rule that if you carelessly ignored an ominous thought, it would come back with a great price.

Renok had no intention of foolishly ignoring the danger that might arise under the assumption that his guess was wrong.

Renok quickly grabbed the coat hanging on the workshop wall and answered.

“And if Master Nasisa is in danger, it’s not like this is the only time they’ll be patrolling in the middle of this workshop district-”

Bang!!

A gunshot so intense that it pierced through the workshop’s soundproofing.

Only then did Mauzer, realizing what Renok was talking about, also stand up abruptly with a stiff face.

Mauzer, holding a hammer on the workbench, rushed out of the workshop in a panic.

Renok also quickly grabbed a pistol near the workbench and immediately ran after him.

“Huff, huff…!!”

Pushing through the crowd of people who had come out into the middle of the street after hearing the gunshot,

Mauzer’s face turned pale as he looked past the soldiers who had turned into a murderous force and were aiming their guns at one side.

“Na, Nasisa…!!”

Nasisa, bleeding and collapsed, and a soldier who had collapsed with her while hugging her.

And in front of those two, another soldier with a venomous face was looking back at them.

“Don’t come closer!!”

The assassin, aiming his gun at the fallen Nasisa and the soldier, shouted sharply at the other soldiers.

“These two. They’re not dead yet. If you come closer, I’ll kill Nasisa right away…!!”

Renok, having grasped the situation, immediately raised his magic power.

[Automatic Firing Algorithm ver. 5.0]

Renok’s hand moved at an invisible speed, pulling the trigger, and three bullets fired in an instant pierced through the formation.

The bullets, containing more than eight types of shooting assistance magic, including aim correction, trajectory correction, and penetration specialization, twisted in an impossible trajectory and pierced the assassin’s body.

Splat!!

The assassin’s body exploded on the spot, and something that popped out from inside began to flee towards the other side of the street.

“Ba… Lyman!!”

Renok, not caring that Mauzer was startled and looking back at him, immediately stood in front of the soldiers.

“I will check the condition of the injured, so please step aside.”

“……”

The soldiers didn’t say anything, but they slowly opened the way after confirming Renok’s calm words and the face they remembered.

Renok immediately approached Nasisa and the soldier who had collapsed while hugging her and checked their condition.

‘It’s dangerous.’

They were barely breathing, but in this state, it wouldn’t be strange if they went into shock from the bleeding alone.

Without delay, Renok took out a hemostatic agent from his pocket, applied it, and then forcefully injected painkillers into both of their necks.

‘I have to numb their senses as much as possible to minimize the shock.’

Perhaps the soldier that Renok had just shot and subdued was trying to assassinate Nasisa, and another soldier, noticing that, had tried to protect Nasisa by hugging her, and they were both injured.

Renok’s expression turned cold for a moment when he recognized that the soldier who had lost consciousness with Nasisa was the woman who had entrusted him with the pistol maintenance before.

But Renok didn’t show any reaction and stood up quietly.

Already, the commotion had reached far away, and an ambulance was rushing in from the other side of the street with sirens blaring.

Renok, having finished the simple first aid, finally turned around.

Mauzer, who had belatedly arrived, was returning, sweating profusely.

“Mauzer, I’ve finished the first aid. How about you?”

“I missed him. He was incredibly fast.”

Mauzer shook his head.

“We need to call the enforcers. If they find out that this happened to a member of Ex Machina, they’ll definitely…”

“It will be too late after calling the enforcers.”

Renok said, recalling the figure that had escaped behind the exploded assassin’s body.

“We need to track him down before things drag on.”

“How?”

Mauzer asked back.

“Considering the speed just now, he would have already left the district. He might have already reached the barrier…!!”

Renok stopped listening to Mauzer and stood up abruptly, heading to the rooftop of the building right next to him.

Mauzer looked back and forth between the fallen Nasisa and Renok, then gritted his teeth and followed Renok up.

At that moment, Renok took out a long rifle from his pocket, unfolded the stand, and pushed in the magazine.

Only then did Mauzer realize Renok’s intentions, and he stammered with his mouth wide open.

“Yo, you’re crazy. You’re going to snipe an assassin who’s escaping in the middle of the street?”

“Isn’t this why we’ve been repeatedly modifying and researching firearms?”

Click!!

The moment he finished loading and infused magic power, the shape of the rifle transformed on the spot, turning into the shape of a long fox.

[Adaptive Ammunition Recognition: Automatic Guidance Tracking Intelligence Activated]

“The opponent almost certainly allowed my bullet to hit him right before he escaped.”

The muzzle of the rifle, which had turned into a fox’s head, looked back at Renok and tilted its head.

“If they were hit once, at this point, I can almost certainly track them.”

Renok’s residual magic power remaining in the magic bullet that had successfully hit its target.

Adjusting the location and moving speed of that magic power with Davi’s calculation ability to implement 3D coordinates.

Using Renok’s space magic as a medium, he could follow those coordinates almost exactly.

[Designated Leap Coordinate Shot.]

[Transition.]

The moment Renok pulled the trigger, his body became a streak of light and disappeared from that spot.

Whoosh!!

At the same time as his vision went completely dark, a space transition occurred immediately after the coordinate designation.

But Renok, having succeeded in tracking the assassin’s location, stopped at the figure he saw right in front of him.

“……”

The assassin was standing with his back to Renok.

In front of him, a huge statue of a two-headed, four-armed being was looking down at him with overwhelming intimidation.