Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 757

A vacant, empty space.

It was eerily silent, filled only with a desolate emptiness.

Amidst the void where nothing seemed to be properly in place, as if it were not yet fully completed, only a massive black door stood tall.

“This place is a manifestation of the tower’s inner consciousness, a world of thought,” Lenok explained, walking slowly in front of the black door.

“The tower isn’t officially finished yet, so it’s closed, but it will open soon enough. The important thing isn’t what’s beyond the door, but the door’s existence itself.”

Lenok, turning around with one hand on the doorframe, spoke to the space behind him.

“By the way, how long are you planning to hide like that?”

[……]

The tower’s consciousness space, constructed through the power of the domain. Lenok wasn’t the only one who had entered it.

Another person had been looking out the window with Lenok in the Magic Tower conference room just moments ago.

Clarice Richelieu, a Saint-level mage of the Sinclair Magic Tower and Aris Richelieu’s teacher.

Clarice Richelieu had also been drawn into the consciousness space designed by Lenok.

However, as soon as she entered this space, she concealed her form with an unidentified cloud, showing no intention of coming out in front of the door.

[……This is unbelievable.]

Clarice’s voice, laced with a sigh, echoed slowly from beyond the cloud.

[To forcibly seize my consciousness from a place so far away and bring it into this space so easily…]

Whoosh!

Immediately, the cloud parted, and a huge, pure white figure slowly floated forward.

“…….”

What appeared was the form of a long-necked divine beast.

White feathers fluttered, but its exact appearance was difficult to discern due to the armor covering its body.

Beautiful, pure white armor, as if meticulously sculpted. The divine beast with floating white feathers.

Its body, gliding gracefully as if swimming through the clouds, was much taller than Lenok.

Was this the true form of Clarice Richelieu, a long-lived species of Kundara, who had lived for a long time as a non-human race?

An appearance that was both detached from the lifeforms of this continent and yet natural and elegant, as if it had always existed that way.

The wings, fluttering without a single breeze, added a strange mystique.

Lenok, meeting the soft blue eyes that shone from inside the white armor, asked,

“In the consciousness space, you’re projected in your true form. Was what you said about long-lived species earlier because of this?”

[An ordinary human consciousness wouldn’t be able to easily handle this form.]

Clarice replied calmly.

[Rather, I find you more strange. In this domain where only consciousness exists, you don’t seem to feel any burden at all even after seeing me-]

“Continue the explanation.”

Instead of answering Clarice’s question, Lenok continued his explanation, tapping on the door.

“This door is organically connected to all the facilities of the tower, allowing one to observe their status and circumstances. With a little application of that ability, like this-”

Clack, clack…!!

At that moment, golden letters began to densely engrave themselves onto the massive black door.

[Small Particle Accelerator. Carlyle Laboratory.]

[Magic Anti-inflammatory. Void Magic Tower.]

[Self-Repair Kit. Magic Engineering Production Association.]

[Stemonia. Auction.]

[Eternal Rosary. Stania Monastery.]

……

“It can be used as a database to record items brought into the magic tower.”

The moment Lenok brushed his hand over the [Self-Repair Kit] that had appeared on the door.

Swish!

A bundle of complex mechanical devices, enough to fill both hands, appeared before the two of them.

“Like this, you can indirectly construct images within the consciousness space and indirectly test their performance.”

For now, it was just a matter of listing and organizing the items on the door.

But once the magic tower was completed and the consciousness space was properly finished, it would be possible to fill it with virtual items.

Without being limited to the physical space of the tower, it would be possible to freely handle and distribute thousands of items.

“All that’s needed are mages to manage the branches and to deliver the scheduled items on time.”

Lenok said, leaning against the massive door, and asked Clarice,

“I plan to complete the magic tower within a month and adjust the consciousness space to build the system. By then, all the branches of the exhibition hall prepared on the lower floors of the magic tower will be operational.”

[And the amount of information and the capacity of the consciousness within this space will be handled solely by your processing power.]

Clarice shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it.

[A consciousness space that can barely be constructed even with the thought materials inherited by the magic tower lords for generations, how can just one person…]

“…….”

[Even if you are a great mage, it’s been a long time since I’ve encountered such a powerful and clear self-awareness.]

“Have you made a decision?”

[I understand.]

Clarice agreed without hesitation.

[There’s no magic tower that would refuse the opportunity to indirectly enter the Balkan internal market. I’ll go back and officially write a letter requesting cooperation.]

“Understood. So, are you going to move your main body right away and return to the Sinclair Magic Tower?”

[…….]

A strange atmosphere, completely different from the creatures in this continent’s ecosystem, yet possessing an unknown mystique.

Lenok, carefully observing her form, tilted his head.

“It’s certainly a form I’ve never seen before. I wonder if all the long-lived species living in the outer cities are like this.”

[It seems you have a misunderstanding about the concept of long-lived species.]

Clarice said, shaking her head slightly.

The blue eyes at the end of her long, curved white neck shone brightly.

[It doesn’t matter. After the rebellion of the Ascendant, everything that happens there will no longer have any meaning.]

“Are you talking about the Ascendant, Paud Older?”

[…….]

Clarice paused for a moment, but Lenok didn’t mind.

The Ascendant, the end of goodness. Real name, Paud Older.

A transcendent with various bizarre titles, such as the guardian of the law and the malignant star of Kundara.

His name itself was a kind of mark and signal.

Lenok had obtained a necklace with his name engraved as a seal among Kaise’s belongings in the past,

And he had previously confirmed that it was the only item Ethan Bajur had tried to obtain.

[You seem interested in the affairs of Kundara.]

Clarice asked.

[Do you want to know how the long-lived species are trying to avoid the destruction, and their methods?]

“No. What I want to find is information about the project Kaise Bajur left behind.”

Lenok replied.

“I recently learned that Kundara intervened and tampered with things after the Black Consumer Project ended.”

[…….]

“I want to visit Kundara to confirm that. Do you know anything about the means to enter that place?”

Clarice didn’t answer immediately and remained silent.

As if she was taking a long time to think about what to say.

[It wasn’t like this before, but now quite a few preparations are needed. It also takes a lot of time.]

The divine beast’s blue eyes shone calmly.

[Normally, I shouldn’t share such authority and information with outsiders, but…]

Somehow, Lenok could vaguely guess the words that would follow and the reason why Clarice hadn’t said them.

[There will be a change in the orbital period soon, based on the barrier of the central front.]

“……Orbital period?”

Clarice didn’t answer Lenok’s question.

Instead, she withdrew her consciousness without any regrets, and slowly disappeared, with the cloud draped around her like clothing.

[If your thoughts haven’t changed by then, please contact me again later. I’ll prepare for it.]

* * *

“Ban. Can you take a look at this for a moment?”

In the office on the upper floor of the magic tower.

Tatianna, in an office that had been occupied in order from the floor where construction was completed, held up some documents.

“Among the businesses that have contacted us recently, one wants to invest in a business, and the other wants to open a branch in the magic tower’s exhibition hall?”

Tatianna said.

“The latter is easy to grant, but the first one is a bit difficult. They’re asking if it’s possible to invest in a fairly large business. What should we reply?”

“Can you pass it on to Jenny first? I’ll handle it myself later.”

“Ah, Jenny was going to-”

“Ban!!”

Before she could finish her sentence, a woman who had spotted Lenok from the other side of the hallway came running quickly.

Behind her was Felix, sweating profusely while carrying all sorts of boxes and small containers on his shoulders.

The veteran of the Antares Mercenary Corps was now working as a porter for the magic tower, yet his demeanor didn’t seem awkward.

Lenok, watching Felix skillfully carrying the items on his head and shoulders, asked,

“What’s going on?”

“Do you have any cash available for investment?”

“……Cash?”

“We called in artisans from related companies to expand the tower’s relic exhibition hall, but they’re demanding payment purely in cash.”

Jenny said, looking troubled.

“There isn’t much cash that the company can move right now, so we’ll need some spare money to pay for this.”

If Jenny, who was in charge of the financial flow of both the distribution company and the magic tower, said so, it must be true.

Since the profits gained from Jenny’s advice and business were considerable, there was no problem in lending her some cash here.

However, Lenok had also spent a considerable amount of the money he had earned as a freelancer on research equipment, elixirs, and various artifacts.

Recently, he had been moving around in Pandemonium, so he hadn’t even checked how much cash he had on hand.

Davi, noticing Lenok’s thoughts, whispered from inside his pocket.

[Master. Most of the current cash capital is invested in stocks, so it will take three days to withdraw it.]

“…….”

After being badly burned by stock investments in the past, Lenok had entrusted his investments to a smart AI spirit.

The moment Lenok opened his mouth to tell Jenny that it would take about three days.

Screech!

A dazzling sports car stopped in front of the magic tower’s main gate, visible from the hallway below.

The appearance of a sleek vehicle with a front that gleamed as if it had just been bought.

But what made Lenok turn his gaze was the familiar figure who burst out of the car.

A man wearing a flamboyant, brightly colored suit and sunglasses confidently waved his hand towards them.

“……Who is that?”

Jenny, not recognizing the person, tilted her head, and Felix sighed deeply.

Lenok, looking down at the magic tower’s main hall with an amused expression, replied,

“It’s Belber from the mercenary corps. He’s come looking quite interesting.”

“Belber……? That gambling addict who always throws his money into stocks?”

Only then did Jenny, recognizing Belber waving his hand with a triumphant expression, gape.

“No way. Did the sun finally shine on that pathetic investor?”

“Shall we go down and check it out?”

Lenok chuckled and gestured downwards.

“It seems like he has something to say to us.”

Along with Tatianna, who had been called out without knowing what was going on, the group immediately went down to the main hall.

The moment Lenok showed his face, the gazes of the people coming and going from all directions to enter the exhibition hall focused on one spot.

“Th, that’s the Iron Wall…….”

“Don’t make eye contact. You never know what he’ll do…….”

“No, we came in with official permission.”

“Do you think he cares?”

“…….”

There was no one here who hadn’t heard the ominous rumors about Lenok.

But since they had to work, they all desperately avoided Lenok’s gaze and kept their distance.

Some people, braving their fear, began to secretly peek to steal a glance at the situation.

Lenok, instead of paying attention to them, turned his gaze to Belber, who was confidently walking towards them.

Belber’s shoulders were so high that they were almost at the same level as his neck.

Lenok chuckled and asked,

“You look refreshed. Did something good happen?”

“Yes. Finally.”

Belber replied with a twitching expression.

“I’ve finally proven that my judgment was right. I succeeded in investing……!!”

“A successful investment isn’t something you celebrate and end with just once.”

“No, Ban, you don’t know! How I’ve been treated in the mercenary corps all this time!!”

Belber shouted, recalling the past and wiping his reddened eyes.

“They called me a fool who throws money on the ground every day…… They always scolded me for only picking up scraps in the stock market…….”

“…….”

“They said I was begging for food from other mercenaries and how much they bullied me…….”

“No, begging for food is a bit…….”

“That’s trashy.”

Belber struggled to refute Jenny and Lenok’s cold assessment.

“I, I didn’t do it every day!! It wasn’t every day!! It was only when I had a particularly bad loss!!”

“…….”

“My judgment has never been wrong, it’s just that some unknown force keeps interfering with me, why doesn’t anyone understand that!!”

Leaving Belber’s desperate cry behind, Lenok turned his gaze.

“Where is this guy’s twin brother? I think we should take him to the hospital soon.”

“……Belita is out on assignment. She’s good with heavy weapons, so she gets a lot of requests for fire support.”

Felix replied with an awkward expression and stepped forward.

“I’ll take this guy instead, so don’t worry. It’ll be the perfect time to return to the office with Belber.”

“Please do it as quickly as possible.”

While Jenny was responding to Felix’s words, Tatianna suddenly asked, as if something had just occurred to her,

“But what kind of stock did you invest in to make a profit? The Balkan domestic market has been unstable recently, so it wouldn’t have been easy to make a profit.”

“Ah, there’s a way to do it.”

Belber started explaining as if he had been waiting for this question.

As if he had been eagerly waiting for someone to ask him this question.

“Recently, a new magic tower was built in District 49. There are a lot of businesses that want to open a branch in the tower’s exhibition hall.”

“……So?”

“I saw it a few days ago, and there were quite a few names I didn’t recognize among the businesses that requested security from our mercenary corps.”

“Wait a minute, that’s…….”

“When I thought about it, if they need security now, wouldn’t it be a business that has opened a branch in the magic tower? So I invested money, and most of their stock prices went up!”

“…….”

A quiet silence fell, and everyone began to look at Lenok.