Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1003

The Conjunction Master (5)

“The unique characteristic of the trait system is that it interferes with concepts beyond the target.”

Crack…!!

The Conjunction Master’s gloved hand squeezed and crushed Lenok’s hand.

A monstrous grip, hard to believe it belonged to a doctor in surgical scrubs.

“But to ‘restore’ a chimera whose spell effect has already ended to its original state is an unprecedented power that even I have not witnessed.”

“…”

“Your talent in the trait system exceeds the level that I can discuss or compare with. If you were an 8th-level archmage, you wouldn’t be unaware of that fact…”

The Conjunction Master’s cold gaze looked down at the operating table where Lenok had risen.

“You couldn’t possibly be bound and restricted by my conjunction technique. You’ve been deceiving me from the start.”

The unprecedented event of a trait-system chimera, injected with Lenok’s blood, returning to a living human.

Whether it’s the power to nullify the spell effect itself or the ability to rewind time, it’s unknown.

Either way, from the moment Lenok’s talent far exceeded the standards the Conjunction Master had assumed, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be bound by the technique.

The Conjunction Master, upon realizing this, had immediately launched a preemptive strike against Lenok without a moment’s hesitation.

A swift and sharp judgment, hard to believe he was just diagnosing Lenok moments ago.

“From this moment on, I will confine your whereabouts to this operating room, and I will dedicate all my time in the gateway to investigating you.”

Thud!!

The Conjunction Master, with a flick of his hand, slammed Lenok’s arm onto the operating table and said,

“I’ll come back after the second surgery is over, so wait here.”

Even though Lenok had risen from the operating table and counterattacked, there wasn’t a single flicker of emotion on the Conjunction Master’s face.

An expression of confidence that he could perfectly control this situation, despite the completely unexpected anomaly.

However, even knowing that, Lenok smiled at the Conjunction Master.

“That’s not it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you can’t touch me right now isn’t because of the surgery in the first place, is it?”

Whoosh!!

At that moment, Lenok’s figure vanished from the air as if disappearing.

He used two blinks [a type of teleportation magic] to change direction, instantly taking the rear and landing.

Thump!!

The Conjunction Master, shaken by the impact, immediately raised his magic power and turned around.

Lenok and the Conjunction Master’s hands collided in the air once again, as if they were grasping each other.

Fwoosh!!

The moment Lenok’s calm gaze turned to the still-gloved hand of the Conjunction Master.

“The clue was there from the beginning. It was as if I had already heard the answer from your own mouth.”

“Nonsense…!!”

Magic power exploded along with the Conjunction Master’s chilling retort. Lenok’s figure was thrown back into the operating room.

Thud!!

The medicine shelves and surgical equipment crashed down on him, creating a loud noise and adding to the impact.

However, the expression on the Conjunction Master’s face was much more rigid than Lenok’s.

“…This is.”

Thwack!!

A syringe filled with Lenok’s blood was now stuck in the Conjunction Master’s shoulder.

“I asked you about the Physician’s Oath earlier. Do you remember?”

Lenok asked as he stood up, having inserted the blood-filled ampule into the Conjunction Master’s body.

“What does it mean that a doctor who has sworn the Physician’s Oath can refuse treatment even after diagnosing my body to this extent?”

“…”

“You didn’t answer that question. To be precise, you couldn’t have, could you?”

Lenok began to walk towards the Conjunction Master, who was clutching his shoulder and bowing his head.

“Come to think of it, you never used the conjunction technique once while diagnosing me. While mentioning grand methods like chromosome modification and hormone adjustment, you remained completely silent about treatment using the technique.”

Lenok, having pulled back his surgical gown and checked the area where the needle was stuck, gave a cold smile.

“It was as if treating me was not something you could decide on your own… So I was thinking.”

“…”

“That the being standing in front of me right now might not be the Conjunction Master himself.”

Crackling…!!

At the same time, the Conjunction Master’s body began to slowly crumble and flow down as if collapsing on the spot.

A strange ‘restoration’ as Lenok’s blood flowed into the Conjunction Master’s body, causing his form to collapse.

“A clone made from a chimera. And a clone with almost equal cognitive abilities to the main body. I wasn’t sure until the end because there was no sense of incongruity…”

Lenok said, pulling the ampule from the collapsing Conjunction Master’s shoulder.

“In the end, because it’s a clone, you wouldn’t be able to use the technique perfectly. That’s why you were refraining from using the technique. If I were to notice that awkwardness, the fact that you were a clone would be exposed.”

The Conjunction Master was not directly present in this operating room to diagnose Lenok.

Instead, he used a chimera to create a clone equal to the Conjunction Master and had it diagnose Lenok instead.

For the Conjunction Master, who had sworn the Physician’s Oath, there was a restriction that a patient who had completed a diagnosis must be treated.

But the reason why the Conjunction Master could diagnose Lenok, uncover the secrets of his body, and still refuse treatment.

That was because the Conjunction Master who had diagnosed Lenok in the first place was a substitute made from a chimera.

“Remark, able…”

The Conjunction Master, whose skin was cracking like porcelain, turned his head with a creak.

“But, it’s too late… the examination information is already shared within the database-”

“No.”

Fzzzt…!!

The surgical equipment that had been emitting light behind Lenok began to flicker with noise and go dark.

The clone raised its gaze sharply, but Lenok, unconcerned, grabbed it by the collar.

“Did you think I would just lie still on the operating table and watch what you were doing?”

Thud!!

As he raised his magic power and kicked the clone’s shoulder, the clone, unable to withstand the force, collapsed against the operating table.

Lenok said, looking at the clone collapsing from the shoulder where the syringe filled with Lenok’s blood was stuck.

“The internal database of the operating room is now blocked. It was slow to hack because it was a biological network using nerve transmission, but I made it in time.”

“…”

“The connection of consciousness between the clone and the main body probably didn’t exist from the beginning. Right? If you were planning to violate the Physician’s Oath, you would have deliberately severed the connection to prevent it from affecting the main body.”

“Haha, hahahaha…”

The clone, finally realizing that Lenok had completely controlled the information in this space, burst into laughter.

The Conjunction Master’s clone, looking up at Lenok with a blurry gaze, said,

“I see, I understand why you’re still alive… you were walking a tightrope with your own life in my sphere of influence.”

“…”

“But it will be meaningless. Even if I disappear from this place, my will will continue.”

Fsss…!!

Even as it crumbled into sand, the clone’s eyes were filled only with interest in Lenok.

“Even if no information is given, even if there are no clues, ‘I’ will realize the same thing the moment I see you…”

“…”

What the chimera clone had confirmed with Lenok was not a special characteristic that could only be confirmed in this place.

For a sorcerer who had reached that level, it was an incongruity that they could not help but feel the moment they faced Lenok.

The Conjunction Master’s clone thought that if that was conveyed to the main body, it wouldn’t matter if he died in this place.

The clone, giving a faint smile as he looked at Lenok, slowly lowered his head.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the afterlife, Evan Martinez.”

Whoosh!!

With those words, the clone turned into a handful of sand and disappeared.

A different kind of reaction from the trait-system chimera that Lenok had forcibly ‘restored’ earlier.

“The afterlife…”

Quite an unexpected word for the last words of the Conjunction Master’s clone.

Even the clone, not the Conjunction Master himself, had already transcended humanity in terms of will and mental strength.

Lenok, breaking free from his thoughts, immediately turned his gaze towards the human trembling on one side of the operating room.

“Hah, hah…!!”

The man who had returned from a chimera to a human was touching his face with trembling hands.

He didn’t seem to properly recognize his own appearance, having only just regained consciousness.

Lenok knelt in front of the man and met his gaze.

“Get a hold of yourself. Can you speak?”

“I, I…”

“Your name and affiliation. Or say anything you remember. Hold on to your mind.”

“…Ward, room…”

The man answered with difficulty.

“In the ward… lying down… on the verge of death…”

“Where was the ward?”

“Behind the operating room… a connecting passage…”

“Lead the way.”

A chimera made using a human with talent in the trait system as a material. He must know something about the Conjunction Master.

The moment Lenok tried to stand up from his spot, supporting the man.

Crack!!

The man’s body, which was about to stand up, collapsed and crumbled like sand.

“…Ah.”

Only then did the man seem to realize something, looking up at Lenok with a blank expression.

“I, I… already die-”

Sssrr…!!

The man, unable to even finish his sentence, turned into a handful of dust.

Only a miracle had occurred for a moment due to Lenok’s blood, but the moment he was modified into a chimera, his life was already cut short.

“…”

Lenok, who had been silent, headed towards the hallway where the ward the man had pointed to was located.

A temporary ward where patients who had undergone surgery waited and rested.

Whoosh!!

When he opened the door and pulled back the curtain, a gaunt, white-haired old man lying on the bed turned his gaze.

“…You.”

His body was emaciated, and his pale complexion seemed completely devoid of color.

He must have had a fierce impression in his youth, but now he didn’t show even half of that energy.

But even so, a sharp sense of intimidation could be seen in his eyes as he looked back at Lenok.

Lenok knew who this man was.

“Jebyeok, Yanicus Barbaria.”

Lenok, who had returned to the ward, said as he took out the water tank containing Jellych’s brain from his subspace.

“You were the high-ranking observer who had booked the Conjunction Master’s surgery.”

The ruler of the small city of Kaiushu. An 8th-level physical ability user. An old monster weakened by a long-term illness.

And a new observer who had caught the eye of the Azure after accepting the proposal of Gapsun Dreyfus.

[It’s also a funny thing that the tyrant of Kaiushu has become so weak that he needs to undergo the Conjunction Master’s surgery.]

The water tank that had appeared behind Lenok also reacted upon hearing the name.

[When you live long enough, you see all sorts of strange things… But what happened with the Conjunction Master?]

“Cough, cough…!! I’ve seen your face at the Lighthouse meeting…”

Jebyeok, who had been listening to Lenok’s words, coughed lightly and bent over. Perhaps his condition had worsened due to the cold air coming in from outside the ward.

However, Jebyeok’s gaze towards Lenok did not weaken in the slightest.

“Evan, Martinez… the mage that the Lighthouse Keeper cherished, was it?”

Jebyeok, who had struggled to prop himself up on the bed, grinned weakly.

“I wondered where you were wandering off to after leaving the Azure’s Eye, and you’ve settled in a place like this?”

“Say what you want.”

Jebyeok, seeing Lenok approach with a blank expression, looked surprised and then self-deprecating.

“Heh heh…!! I shouldn’t have gotten surgery after all. I did something pointless.”

“……”

“If I knew I was going to die here, I would have preferred to go out drunk— Ugh!”

*Thwack!*

Lenok flicked Jebyeok’s shoulder with his finger, and Jebyeok’s body was pushed back with a light shockwave.

Lenok pressed on Jebyeok’s forehead, who was coughing weakly, and lifted his hair.

Jebyeok’s expression hardened as Lenok examined his scalp through his disheveled white hair.

“You!! If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly. What is this?!”

“It doesn’t seem like you had a brain transplant.”

Lenok, having confirmed that there were no suture marks on Jebyeok’s head, let go of him.

“You seem to be speaking fine too. Where did you get surgery?”

“Brain, what nonsense…!! There’s no way I would get such a gruesome procedure.”

[Gruesome, huh? Hearing that makes me feel a bit awkward.]

Jebyeok, having struggled to shake off Lenok’s hand, retorted with a touchy expression.

“If you’re not going to kill me, get out of my sight. Now that the surgery is over, I’m thinking of going to the Hwacheong Pavilion for some Honghwa wine.”

[He’s practically a corpse, but he sure can talk.]

As Jellyh said, Jebyeok, who seemed to have just finished surgery, was not in a normal state.

Having been lying anesthetized in the operating room for a long time, it would have been difficult for Jebyeok’s body to endure.

Even now, he was glaring at Lenok, but it was clear that his body was not moving as he wished.

“……”

However, Lenok ignored Jebyeok’s words and remained silent, pondering something.

Jellyh, sensing that Lenok’s reaction was unusual, turned his left brain in the water tank.

[Evan Martinez. What’s going on?]

“I see. The Blayver Magic Tower Lord took the seat at the Hwacheong Pavilion that Jebyeok had reserved…”

“What are you babbling about?”

Lenok, who had been quietly muttering to himself, reached out towards the CCTV in the operating room.

The moment Davi responded to his will and hacked into the camera in the second main operating room.

*Whoosh…!*

A calm, white operating room. A vast space filled with complex surgical machines and equipment.

The Conjunction Master, wearing surgical scrubs, stood looking down at the central operating table.

[As I said before, time is running out. Let’s start right away.]

[This is absurd, Conjunction Master. What are you saying now?]

A pale-faced man with red hair lay on the operating table.

The Blayver Magic Tower Lord, wearing a patient gown, spoke.

[You were the one who postponed my surgery, which was originally scheduled first, to second, weren’t you?]

* * *

The sight of the Blayver Magic Tower Lord lying on the Conjunction Master’s operating table in a patient gown.

Lenok understood everything the moment he saw the Conjunction Master and the Tower Lord.

‘So that’s it.’

The Blayver Magic Tower Lord was one of the two clients who had booked the Conjunction Master’s surgery.

The moment he realized that, he could immediately understand the source of the discomfort he had felt towards the Tower Lord.

The reason why the Tower Lord, whom he had met in the black market, was wary of the Conjunction Master but not of being discovered by him.

The reason why he had been so submissive to the Conjunction Master’s forceful notification.

All of that was possible because the Tower Lord was the Conjunction Master’s patient.

‘The reason why he was at the Hwacheong Pavilion instead of the Azure’s Eye observer was also because the order of the Tower Lord and Jebyeok’s surgeries had been switched.’

Why was the Tower Lord handling the schedule instead of the Azure’s Eye observer?

That was because the Tower Lord’s schedule, who had originally booked the surgery first, had been pushed back behind the observer’s.

[The surgery will take about three hours. That’s how long it will take to cleanse your blood vessels and fill them with coolant.]

[And that includes repairing my magic circuits and coating them with the prepared catalyst, right?]

Lenok was lost in thought as he listened to the conversation between the two on the screen.

‘Since when was it? Was it a deal that was made before the Conjunction Master took his place at the Gate?’

Even though the Blayver Magic Tower Lord had shown an extreme obsession with the position of the Gate’s administrator, he had not been angry that the Conjunction Master had taken that position instead.

At the time, he had simply thought that it was because the Tower Lord was that afraid of the Conjunction Master,

But if the very act of giving the administrator position to the Conjunction Master was a deal in exchange for this surgery.

[If you’re ready, let’s start quickly, Conjunction Master. I’m having a hard time holding back.]

The Tower Lord’s eyes, lying on the operating table, were bloodshot and could not be hidden.

The boiling anger within him, it was obvious who it was directed at.

[Just thinking about that cheating mage makes me want to regain my power right now…!!!]

[I have my own thoughts about Evan Martinez’s existence.]

Even as the Tower Lord gritted his teeth, the Conjunction Master spoke in a flat tone.

[There is a necessity that is determined from the moment he entered my domain of his own will. Some of it has already come to fruition… There’s no need to rush.]

[No, I know. You’re mistaken.]

The Tower Lord spat out.

[Do you even know how bizarre it is that he survived unscathed after fighting that stubborn bastard?!]

[……]

[He’s an unbelievably vicious guy. If you don’t cut off his limbs, letting him off the leash will surely bring disaster…!!]

[I understand your anger. That’s why you’re lying on the operating table right now.]

The Conjunction Master, having responded indifferently, shined a light on the operating table.

[If you hadn’t suffered internal injuries from confronting the stubborn one in Balkan, I wouldn’t have had to take over the Gate.]

[Knowing that…!!]

[But what you need to do now is calm down and take a deep breath. Anesthetics won’t work well if you’re that agitated.]

The Conjunction Master’s gaze towards the Tower Lord turned inorganic.

[If I administer the same anesthetic three times to a high-level mage like you, it wouldn’t be strange if you developed a tolerance in between.]

[……]

[You wouldn’t want to wake up from the anesthesia while your blood vessels are being cleansed and taken out, would you?]

At the Conjunction Master’s words, which contained not a shred of sympathy, the Tower Lord finally shut his mouth.

[I’ll take care of Evan Martinez… Everything will be over when you wake up.]

The Conjunction Master put a respirator over the Tower Lord’s mouth, activated the anesthesia equipment, and thick smoke filled the operating table.

The moment the Tower Lord’s eyes closed, the Conjunction Master brought down the scalpel he was holding.

With the sound of something being cut, all sorts of machinery on the operating table began to whir busily.

*Snikt, snikt!!*

The sound of cutting and slicing flesh. The noise of organs being removed and the blood vessels underneath being extracted and cleansed.

Each time the Tower Lord’s limp hand trembled, the surrounding air rapidly increased in temperature.

*Tss!*

Steam rose the moment the scalpel touched the blood vessels.

An 8th-level pyromancer. It was no exaggeration to say that the Tower Lord’s body was already assimilated with the pyromancy attribute.

The falling blood turned into flames and oxidized, and the heat emanating from his organs boiled and turned into steam.

However, even with the steam obscuring his vision, the Conjunction Master cut through the blood vessels and scraped off the impurities that were stuck inside.

*Thud thud!!*

The inside of the blood vessels looked like they were burnt and stuck with ash. The molten ash that came out of the end of the forceps burst into flames the moment it came out of the blood vessel.

Was the internal injury he had suffered from Lenok in Balkan still this severe?

The Tower Lord’s power in the black market, with ash stuck to all of his blood vessels, felt new again.

The Blayver Magic Tower Lord was also a great master who was second to none in terms of talent, so it was possible.

However, what truly surprised Lenok was not the Tower Lord’s injury, but the Conjunction Master’s skill in operating on him.

‘It’s an amazing level.’

Lenok’s face was filled with undisguised admiration as he watched the Conjunction Master’s hand movements as he cut and scraped the blood vessels.

‘Is he disassembling the entire body while keeping a living human alive? This isn’t a skill that a human can wield.’

The Conjunction Art does not help in dissecting or dissecting the target.

The process of dissecting the Tower Lord’s body alive and extracting the blood vessels is something that Abesta Chapman is doing solely with his own abilities.

However, even without using the Art, the Conjunction Master was keeping the Tower Lord alive and continuing the surgery perfectly.

That was clear evidence that the Conjunction Master’s own medical knowledge, skills, and surgical abilities were outstanding.

“Good.”

Lenok, having confirmed the Conjunction Master’s face, which was completely focused, turned away without any regrets.

“Let’s move right away. This is the only chance.”

[Ugh. My stomach is churning even though I don’t have one.]

He had killed the Conjunction Master’s clone made of chimera, but the clone’s information had not yet been shared with the main body.

That was probably because he had examined Lenok with the clone and deliberately severed the connection between the main body and the clone in order to break the oath of the physician.

At this point, when the Conjunction Master himself was unaware of the clone’s death and had started the second surgery.

The only chance to obtain the fragment of the barrier without being disturbed was this moment.

“Take this. Barbaria.”

“Cough, cough…!!”

Lenok took out a small vial and placed it on Jebyeok’s bed. Jebyeok, who was coughing weakly, asked.

“You… what are you trying to do?”

“It’s a potion that boosts the condition of a physical ability user. It’s a liquid made by combining magic and elixirs.”

“I don’t need it.”

“No, keep it. It’s not like I’m giving this to you because I want you to live.”

Lenok, having spoken coldly, looked down at Jebyeok’s face.

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t care whether you lived or died here….”

“……”

The sight of Yanicus Barbaria lying exhausted on the bed.

However, Jebyeok was a tyrant who had killed and exploited innocent people in Kaiushu for his own desires.

There was no reason to try to save him here.

However, even as Lenok thought that, he sighed softly.

“If the number of observers decreases any further, it will be a burden on Lapis.”

“……You.”

Jebyeok, as if slightly surprised, raised his gaze.

“It’s absurd. Even after leaving the Azure’s Eye, you’re still worried about the Lighthouse Keeper.”

“……”

“If you’re so concerned, why did you quit being an observer….”

“That’s all I have to say. Take it when I give the signal and run away.”

Lenok, having turned away without any regrets, said.

“Live. You wouldn’t want to die here after going through all that surgery, would you?”

“……”

Jebyeok, who had been silent, reached out and grabbed the vial.

He looked at the vial with a sullen expression and asked.

“What kind of signal are you planning to give?”

“What, it won’t be hard to understand.”

Lenok chuckled and left the operating room.

Flames flickered between Lenok’s fingers as he slowly loosened his hands.

“Because I’m going to blow up this disgusting operating room as soon as I’m done.”