Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 630

Designer (4)

Clearly, even when I went out with Mauser to discuss the Furnace Army and Nasisa, there was virtually no progress in the conversation.

However, after waiting briefly for Mauser to finish his cigarette break behind the workshop, Elaba’s condition had completely changed.

The way she struggled to control her senses and power was gone, replaced by a sponge-like absorption of Mauser’s advice, like a student hungry for knowledge.

“I don’t believe people never change, but personality and habits are not easy to alter… I’m really curious what kind of miraculous secret you used.”

At those words, Renok, who was leaning against a chair in one corner of the workshop, smiled weakly.

“Sometimes, a shock treatment works better than a miraculous solution, wouldn’t you say?”

“…Shock treatment, you say?”

“Sometimes, a mental approach works better than theory. I was lucky.”

Strictly speaking, he had solved the problem with a solution based on cerebral domain theory and logic more thoroughly than ever, but since he had actually started by using Uroboros [a symbolic serpent eating its own tail, often representing cycles of life and death] to deliver a shock, it wasn’t wrong.

Ibert, who also didn’t think Renok had rummaged through Elaba’s mind in that short time, was silent before turning his gaze away.

“Elaba has received a lot of attention from Ex Machina since childhood due to her unique constitution.”

“……”

“But because of that, she couldn’t settle in one workshop and wandered around for a long time even after reaching adulthood. The fact that she didn’t meet expectations might have become a deep regret for her.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Renok replied quietly.

Ibert agreed.

“Indeed. It’s clearly not her fault, but in this city, failing to meet expectations can be a sin. That’s why my master also…”

Ibert, who had been absentmindedly agreeing, stopped talking there and shut his mouth.

He smiled awkwardly, picked up his coat, got up from his seat, and bowed slightly.

“Thank you for this. Of course, even if you can’t completely fix Elaba’s constitution, just the fact that her condition has improved will be a great blessing for her.”

Renok smiled and waved his hand at Ibert’s polite greeting.

“It’s alright. I’m also gaining my own meaning through these kinds of things.”

“Is that so…”

Ibert looked as if he had realized something at Renok’s words.

“Material rewards and forms aren’t the only things that can leave meaning. I’ve forgotten that for too long.”

“……”

He had indirectly mentioned that he had copied the program code that existed in Elaba’s mind and obtained it, but Ibert seemed to have completely misunderstood in a different direction.

“I can’t understand why a craftsman like you received a hold decision in the Meister selection ceremony. I will definitely help you at the upcoming convocation.”

“Ah, yes… Thank you.”

After that, Renok spent some time talking with Ibert about major events and happenings inside the Machine City, and then sent Elaba and Ibert away after spending an appropriate amount of time.

“The ground border will be tightened for a while due to the city inspection in three days. The enforcers will also be a bit sensitive during this time, so be careful, brother.”

“You’re talking like I’m going to cause some kind of accident. Are you becoming like Nasisa?”

Ibert laughed off Mauser’s blunt retort and left the workshop with Elaba.

Looking at the direction they were going, it seemed they were planning to stop by the hospital near the workshop district, as Renok had mentioned.

Although he tried not to show it, Ibert seemed to care quite a bit about Elaba.

“Ban, is it okay not to ask for additional compensation for this? Ibert has already sent the payment to the account, but you could have gotten more than that.”

Mauser asked.

“He’s a guy who works as a Meister [master craftsman] in Nasisa’s workshop. He must have a lot of money, so there’s no need to be considerate.”

“It’s alright.”

At Mauser’s words, Renok smiled and put his hand into his pocket.

“I’ve already got what I needed.”

A small chip, about the size of a finger joint, was grasped in his pocket.

Renok copied the code into the chip’s storage space and used his phone to check the identity of the program.

He couldn’t check it properly due to the lack of memory on his phone, but it was clear that the program’s function was a code used to unlock some kind of lock.

Combining Ibert’s words and Elaba’s actions, this must be the core program code needed to forcibly open the door of the Mind Chamber.

Renok thought that far and picked up a small box placed in front of the workshop door.

“What’s that?”

“It’s something I personally requested from the Cyberd artisan. It’s something I asked for as compensation for the last job, and they got it faster than I thought.”

Renok replied, tearing open the box’s packaging on the spot.

Inside the box were two batteries covered in dust.

Mauser, who checked the engraved patterns on the inside of the batteries, muttered with a slightly surprised expression.

“It’s from the Ultras Workshop. It’s a stolen item that’s hard to find even in the Machina’s central district now.”

“Didn’t you say the Cyberd artisan has connections in many areas? I asked just in case.”

“Hmm… The battery condition isn’t very good.”

Mauser said with a groan.

“It’s a used item. It’s been used for a while. There might not be much power left, is there a reason why you had to get these batteries?”

Renok didn’t answer and quietly took out the batteries, caressing them.

Kaise’s pocket watch. The batteries from the Ultras Workshop, which were used as fuel for that artifact, were these stolen items.

If possible, he wanted to change the artifact’s power supply method itself so that it could be used at any time, but that was difficult for now.

Then, he had no choice but to obtain batteries in this way to borrow Kaise’s power.

“I’ve roughly gathered the necessary preparations.”

Renok said, gripping the batteries tightly.

“All that’s left is to check it directly.”

* * *

Swaaaa!!

The cool sound of waves circling his ears. The clear sea breeze, with a faint salty taste on the tip of his tongue.

Seawater crashes against the inside of the barnacle-covered breakwater and scatters, fading away.

Water droplets that had splashed up onto his head were hanging like ornaments in Mauser’s bushy beard.

“Damn it, it’s too cold!!”

Mauser shouted angrily and asked Renok, who was looking at the sea from afar.

“Ban, are you sure it’s okay to try this today?!”

“Didn’t you get confirmation from the Ibert manager about Ex Machina’s schedule?”

Renok, who was standing at the end of the breakwater, extending his senses to the bottom of the sea, replied, unfazed by the rough waves.

“There’s a city inspection led by Ex Machina for the next two days, and the deployment of elite troops inside Machina is concentrated for that event.”

Swaaaa!!

Renok, who had deeply extended his magic detection into the waves and carefully checked the water temperature and the direction of the currents, got up from his spot.

“If not today, there’s no chance of safely exploring near the underwater barrier alone. No matter the weather, we have to try.”

It would be too late to get the old world’s magic gun, the End of Teremer, if he was officially summoned to the Mind Chamber.

Before the summons began, and during this rare opportunity when the sea border was lax, Renok was planning to explore the underwater barrier alone.

“Damn it, if we try in this weather, we’ll just end up as fish food under the sea.”

Mauser grumbled.

“Since I’m not the one going down, it’s strange to say anything more.”

“This sea area is near the factory district, where entry is prohibited to unauthorized personnel, so it will be difficult to enter again if not for this opportunity.”

Renok said, gesturing to one side of the coast.

“Even so, we can’t ask for this kind of favor twice.”

“……”

Among the large factory buildings lined up on one side of the coast.

A man holding a folding knife in one hand was waving vigorously in their direction.

It was the client who had come to Renok when he was working in the lower workshop district, asking him to fix his folding knife.

Renok had asked the client, who had introduced himself as working on the coast, if he could get him into the factory district’s seaside.

Of course, he didn’t ask for a favor for free, and he had slipped him some money, but it was enough that he had secretly let Renok into the factory district’s sea area, where entry was difficult.

Renok waved his hand at the client in the distance and immediately deceived the client’s eyes with a veil of illusion.

“With this, it will look like we’re just going to look at the sea and leave in that man’s eyes.”

“…Thorough. Can I go back now?”

“I’ve prepared a receiving device that transmits my location and direction latitude in real-time.”

Renok said, handing a small terminal that could easily fit in one hand to Mauser.

“Just connect this to the computer inside the workshop and check if the data is being output normally.”

“You’re planning to go directly into the sea, and you’re also trying to extract data separately?”

“If Machina’s underwater barrier is maintained through spatial distortion, we need to extract and compare data simultaneously from both inside and outside the distorted space.”

Renok replied calmly.

“Otherwise, we won’t be able to calculate the distortion rate of space and pinpoint the exact location of the barrier.”

“You think the underwater barrier itself is maintained through spatial distortion?”

“It’s not a thought, it’s almost certain.”

Renok, turning to Mauser’s surprised expression, reached inside his coat.

As if a black shadow flickered between his sleeves, the form of a giant night raven rose from within and lightly stepped onto the shore.

Clank!!

Renok, turning to Mauser, who had flinched slightly at the sight of the night raven flapping its steel wings, said,

“In a large metropolis like the Machine City, it would be impossible to change the location of the districts every quarter and move the barrier with physical design alone.”

“……”

“Master Nasisa mentioned the load of the barrier when moving my workshop to the upper workshop district. But she didn’t mention anything about the area or location of the barrier.”

“Hmm…”

“Moving the physical size or location of the barrier is not a big problem. Then, wouldn’t it be the same for the lower part of the underwater barrier?”

The steel barrier that divides and separates each district of Machina is a huge mass of iron, with a size of tens of meters and a thickness of several meters.

To move and relocate such a barrier every quarter to newly divide and define districts, how much metal would have to be moved and relocated?

And how much energy and raw materials would be consumed in the process?

It was beyond an absurd level, and it was something that could not even be attempted unless there was a way to drastically reduce consumption.

That’s why Renok thought that the technology to move the mechanical barrier in Machina must be related to space compression and distortion.

“The Sidesquad agent who tried to kidnap me from the workshop recognized at a glance that I was manipulating space through the night raven.”

Swaaaa!!

The moment the night raven fearlessly walked onto the shore and put its two legs in the seawater, Renok also put the goggles he had been wearing around his neck up onto his face.

“That’s probably because the Sidesquad agents were aware of how reality is distorted when space is altered.”

“…You were already speculating about how the Machine City works from that moment?”

“Of course, all these words are just difficult to confirm unless I go near the underwater barrier myself…”

Renok took off his coat, lightly patted his shoulders and chest, and formed a hand seal. His clothes changed into a slightly form-fitting suit.

A diving suit designed to withstand the force of water pressure as much as possible.

Renok, who had finished his preparations, put on a tablet watch he had prepared in advance, and said,

“At least, we’ll be able to achieve something today.”

Beep!!

A radar clearly appeared on the watch screen, along with the shape of a light source moving along with it.

It was equipment that Renok had created to track the magic power of the Pentarect [a magical artifact] attached to the End of Teremer in the sea.

The relic vault that exists under the most secret and dark underwater barrier in the Machine City of Machina.

It was time to enter the Mind Chamber.