Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1045

Crack, crack…!!

The key of lightning rotated, emitting a brilliant golden glow.

Each time the intricately designed and ornate key flashed, the surrounding air heated up intensely.

The very presence of the key seemed to act as a catalyst, drawing out and reacting to the properties of lightning.

‘Just bringing it out into reality for a moment is this powerful?’

It was an amplification tool with the power to drastically increase the potency and nature of lightning magic.

If it has this much power without even using the Lightning Sea Spell [a powerful, ancient lightning magic] in earnest, there’s potential to use it in more diverse ways.

“This is unbelievable….”

In the Magic Tower’s underground chamber, where only Lenok and the Tower Lord remained after the mercenaries had left.

The Tower Lord stared, mouth agape, at the Heavenly Thunder Key flashing and spinning before him.

“It’s a lightning bolt with a will, embedded in the heart of the Thunder God Sanctuary,”

Lenok explained, holding up the key.

“Its owner was a sorcerer called the Thunder Emperor, the transcender of the first world who mastered the power of the Lightning Sea Spell.”

“…No, what needs explaining isn’t some obscure history like that.”

The Tower Lord looked at Lenok with a dumbfounded expression.

A rare reaction from the Tower Lord, who usually didn’t care much about others’ words or actions.

“Any sorcerer who has entered the Thunder God Sanctuary would know about this key. Even Bonno knows what it is.”

Arkendrias El Torben was a great mage of the 8th level, transcending the hierarchy. He was the grand master in charge of Torben’s Tower.

If he was the one who directly told Lenok about the existence of the Thunder God Sanctuary and encouraged him to enter, there was no way he wouldn’t know its true nature.

He must have also known that the Thunder Emperor’s existence was not a fully realized enlightenment engraved in the sanctuary.

“This isn’t even a complete form of enlightenment to begin with. What on earth did you do to bring this being into reality?”

“I persuaded the Thunder Emperor himself and reached an agreement.”

However, Lenok answered calmly, even after hearing the Tower Lord’s words.

“To borrow your words, I would say that we exchanged the cause and effect of lightning as a price.”

“……”

“I confirmed that the sanctuary of the Thunder God Sanctuary did not collapse when I touched the key. However, I thought I should tell you this fact, as the Tower Lord of Torben.”

Lenok said, holding up the Thunder Emperor’s key.

“Since you were the one who told me about the existence of the Thunder God Sanctuary, I should let you know the results after the matter is concluded.”

“…I understand your concerns, but there’s no need to worry.”

The Tower Lord, who had been silent, crossed his arms.

“It is true that it held a significant position in the sanctuary, but if we were to be precise, it is not a power fully engraved in the sanctuary.”

“……”

“It is a sanctuary of lightning that has been passed down across worlds. Since it was an existence left in an incomplete form, the sanctuary will not be shaken even if it disappears.”

“If there are no problems, there is something I want to try now that I have this key.”

Lenok said, grasping the Thunder Emperor’s key.

“This key is the result of the first world’s answer being left in reality through the Thunder God Sanctuary. Now, it is nothing less than a medium connected to both reality and the Thunder God Sanctuary.”

“Hmm….”

“That is why I intend to use the Thunder Emperor’s power to experiment with the enlightenment of the Immortal Lightning you spoke of.”

Although he had obtained the Thunder Emperor in the sanctuary, Lenok had no intention of giving up on the alteration of the Immortal Lightning Body that the Tower Lord had mentioned.

However, he only wished that it would not be passed down in a completed form, but rather that Lenok would acquire it himself.

Lenok was planning to test a method of altering his constitution into an Immortal Lightning Body with the help of the Thunder Emperor’s key and the Tower Lord.

“Not the whole body, but only the left arm, to be precise, only the forearm below the elbow.”

Lenok said, rolling up the sleeve of his left arm.

“I once placed an artifact called the Phoenix War [a powerful artifact] in this arm, and it is now being used as the power source for my tower.”

“……”

“Even if the worst happens, I can use the tower’s power source as a backup to restore my biological information.”

There was no risk-free attempt to alter Lenok’s constitution itself through the concept of the Immortal Lightning Body.

Lenok’s resistance to target designation and all kinds of spell resistances.

The penalties of the body that were closely connected to Lenok’s talent.

It was inevitable that he would take on risks at the point of attempting to alter these things directly.

Lenok had clearly defined the body part to train with the Immortal Lightning in order to minimize such risks.

It didn’t matter much which arm to prioritize between the right and left, but the authority of the priestess that Seina and Naidri had given him was engraved on his right wrist.

There was no reason to experiment with his right arm, risking the loss of the sacred mark that would become the key when dealing with the church later.

However, even after hearing Lenok’s words, the Tower Lord shook his head with a complicated expression.

“I don’t know, Bonno. I thought the problem would be solved if you gained the enlightenment of the Immortal Lightning in the sanctuary, but I didn’t expect you to come out with something even greater than that….”

“……”

“But, I see… If you have that, it is true that there is a way to try it.”

The Tower Lord, who had been lost in thought, smiled and raised his magic power.

“Could you temporarily extend the range of my activities as a shikigami [a summoned spirit] of this dragon?”

“What are you trying to do?”

“As you said, this key is nothing less than a medium connected to both reality and the Thunder God Sanctuary. If so, then we can use this to directly access reality connected to the Thunder God Sanctuary.”

Crack!!

The moment Torben reached out his hand, a bright blue lightning bolt shot up and spread out like a huge door in front of Lenok.

“And didn’t Bonno’s magic tower, which uses the power of the Thunder God Sanctuary itself as its power source, still remain in this city?”

“……”

“The innermost power room of the war tower that uses the output of the Thunder God Sanctuary as its raw material.”

The Tower Lord gestured with his eyes towards the key Lenok was holding.

“Follow me. I’ll show you something interesting.”

Zzzzt…!!

Lenok, holding the Thunder Emperor’s key, inserted the key into the lightning that the Tower Lord had created.

The lightning was forcibly opened through the key, spreading out like a passage of lightning on the spot.

The moment they came into contact with the thick lightning, the two figures accelerated as if being sucked in.

Whoosh!!!

With a powerful wave of lightning, they crossed space and moved inside the war tower.

With a sharp cracking sound, Lenok, who had landed in a wide corridor, gazed around.

“I thought the entire tower had been half-destroyed, but such a large facility still remains in the depths of the war tower.”

A clear corridor where everything visible shimmered with blue light.

The space inside was much wider and more vast than he had guessed from the outside.

The lamps illuminating the corridor crackled like lightning, and the sound of thunder faintly echoed.

Beyond the level of being uninhabited, it was as quiet and still as if he were standing in the middle of a cathedral.

“The density and concentration of magic power… It’s incredibly high. It feels heavy, beyond oppressive.”

Lenok muttered, looking at the corridor without a word.

“It would be difficult for an ordinary mage to use magic in this place. Was this environment created on purpose?”

“This way.”

The Tower Lord, who had taken the lead, guided Lenok with familiarity.

They walked straight through the quiet corridor where no one even came close, and stood in front of a three-way intersection.

The figure of a goddess statue, with her hands clasped together in prayer, stood in front of the intersection.

Woo-oong…!!

While Lenok was looking at the goddess statue emitting a strange resonance, the Tower Lord turned to the right path.

As they walked straight down the right fork, a huge wooden door that took up one wall of the corridor appeared.

Crack, crack…!!

Hundreds of talismans, glowing bright blue, were densely attached to the door, sealing it tightly.

It seemed as if the power of the talismans was suppressing the energy flowing out from the gaps in the door.

“We will go through the Elixir Warehouse, the Heavenly Thunder Archive, and then into the Lightning Armory. It is designed so that the door will only open if you enter in the correct order.”

The Tower Lord, who had opened the door decorated with blue cloth, said with a grin.

“No one will bother us for a while.”

“Bother? It sounds like we snuck in—”

Lenok was about to retort, but he closed his mouth at the sight of the enormous amount of elixirs spread out before him.

An area that was easily over tens of meters in size.

On hundreds of shelves set up in the room, all kinds of medicinal herbs, elixirs, and pills were piled up, forming mountains.

“This is….”

Whoosh…!!

Elixirs and pills, which were equal in value to jewels, were piled up like ingredients in a market.

The energies emanating from the elixirs and pills collided and merged, creating a powerful flow of energy.

Even Lenok was seeing for the first time such a large number of elixirs and pills gathered together to cause an anomaly.

Although he had been steadily collecting medicinal herbs and catalysts, Lenok did not store such a large quantity in one place.

Was the pressure of magic power felt inside the tower to suppress the backflow caused by the collision of these powerful energies?

“This is where the spoils of war acquired during the war business are sorted and collected.”

The Tower Lord said, taking the lead.

“It is an armory that is opened for mages who have made progress in their business or have achieved great accomplishments. It has been a long time since Bonno himself has visited it.”

“……”

“Let’s see. Shall we start right away?”

The Tower Lord, holding a wrapper hanging near the shelf, grabbed a pill on the shelf with one hand.

“First, we need pills for magic power recovery and energy enhancement. Everything needs a solid foundation.”

At the same time as he swept his hand, pills poured out from under the wrapper that the Tower Lord was holding.

“Non-Spirit Pill, Individual Stone Oil, Eight-Armored Shell, Mita Divine Water… You would get an earful if you took them as you pleased, but this is not the time to be picky with such an opportunity.”

“……”

“A secret medicine that can fill the blood vessels with lightning and cold energy. Next.”

In an instant, he selected a dozen elixirs and put them in the wrapper, tied it roughly, and threw it to Lenok.

While Lenok was receiving the wrapper, he moved without delay to the depths of the warehouse.

As they went further inside, sturdy glass display cases appeared instead of shelves.

Inside the display cases, living herbs and plants were being managed under artificial lighting.

Crunch!!

He opened the glass case and picked up a herb by the roots. He tore off the leaves of the plant with his bare hands and grabbed them.

The Tower Lord, who had plundered the precious herbs of the warehouse and handed them over to Lenok, immediately left the warehouse.

He turned around at the intersection where they had come to the warehouse, and headed straight for the corridor on the left.

“Next is the Heavenly Thunder Archive.”

Boom!!

When they opened the door engraved with ancient characters, this time a vast archive greeted Lenok.

It was not just a large area, but the tiers where books were stored were stacked so densely that they could not be counted.

Lenok, who was holding the elixir wrapper and the secret medicine, shone his eyes at the intense magic power emanating from the shelves.

“Is this an archive that stores magic books and research records on lightning magic?”

Most of the books stored in the archive were magic books that emitted intense magic power.

And every single one of them was about lightning magic or research and records of lightning-based spells.

Unlike Lenok, who had been modifying lightning magic on his own, these were records of mages who had researched magic within the lineage of the tower.

“This place is a bit interesting. Would it be okay if I took a look around for a bit?”

“Hmm? Is there something you want from the magic books here?”

However, the Tower Lord did not seem to feel any emotion about the books in the archive.

Rather, as if surprised that Lenok was showing interest in the Heavenly Thunder Archive, he simply picked up magic books from various shelves.

“Let’s see. Records of Falling Lightning, The Gate of Thunder, Lightning Magic Diagram, Ilida Heaven’s True Gate….”

The Tower Lord took out four magic books and placed them on top of the luggage Lenok was holding, with a proud smile.

“These are records of the achievements of lightning mages who pursued heretical or unorthodox paths. We are short on time, so take just this much for now.”

“Why are you giving me these magic books?”

“Most of the research logs and records here, even if you combine them all, are not even comparable to your achievements or understanding.”

The Tower Lord answered nonchalantly.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be more helpful for you to have the cases of mages who deliberately took unorthodox paths?”

“……”

“Rather, I don’t understand why you are interested in the research of other mages.”

When Lenok gave a wry smile, at a loss for words, the Tower Lord chuckled and stroked his beard.

“If Bonno had achieved such a feat alone, I would not have listened to anyone else’s words from the day I was born until the day I died.”

“If that were the case, what I learned in the first place would not have been lightning magic.”

Lenok retorted, turning his back.

“I find the answer within myself, but I don’t think that the achievements of others are meaningless. Rather, I try to constantly recognize new possibilities through them.”

“Hmm….”

The Tower Lord rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“The more I hear your story, the more curious I become about what your self-domain is drawing. In my opinion, that is not a foresight that a human can possess in the first place.”

“……”

“Well, if you can’t say it, you don’t have to. The reason why you couldn’t use your self-domain when you fought Bonno is probably connected to that problem as well.”

Torben said, turning around without hesitation.

“Now that the preparations are roughly complete, let’s move right away.”

They left the Heavenly Thunder Archive and returned to the intersection.

At the three-way intersection, they passed the Elixir Warehouse on the right and the Heavenly Thunder Archive on the left.

The Lightning Armory located in the center.

When they opened the door leading to the Lightning Armory, the space expanded rapidly, and a huge hollow opened up wide.

When Lenok stood in the middle of the hollow and looked back at the door, the huge door looked as small as an ant from a distance.

Lenok, standing in the middle of the empty hollow, turned to the Tower Lord and asked.

“What is this space used for?”

“Regarding that part, I have no choice but to explain it now.”

When Torben raised his hand, the door of the Lightning Armory closed with a thud in the distance.

In the middle of the hollow that had become quiet in an instant, the Tower Lord’s expression changed to a serious one as he faced Lenok.

“In fact, this war tower does not belong to Torben. If we were to clearly distinguish its origins, it was made in Ars Nova [a technologically advanced city].”

“…Are you saying that this aerial fortress was originally the property of the central city?”

“That’s right. Its design purpose was not a magic tower, but a strategic mobile warship capable of flying across the continent.”

The Tower Lord gave a wry smile.

“It was an imperial legacy that Bonno received directly from the central imperial family when I was young.”

“……”

“Although it has undergone countless modifications to the point that the original form no longer remains, the functions themselves remain as it is a ship of Ars Nova.”

Torben pointed to the hollow where Lenok and the Tower Lord were standing.

“It is the function of imitating and mimicking the boundary line of the world itself.”

“The boundary line of the world….”

“It is not comparable to the Lord’s Glass Garden [a place where the boundary between the world and the outer sea is blurred], but wouldn’t this be enough to help?”

He had already heard about that name.

The place where he had sent Lapis up for the last time when he visited Balkan with Lapis under a thousand identities.

The boundary line itself where this star and the outer sea meet, and a place where the concepts of everything are blurred, mixed up, and distorted.

There, Lapis had met the memories of the Thousand Eyes for the last time and awakened as a lighthouse keeper.

What it meant that this Lightning Armory could imitate the environment of such a boundary line of the world.

Lenok, who had thought that far, immediately realized the Tower Lord’s intention and asked.

“Don’t tell me, you’re going to blur the boundary between the mind and the body… and have me reconstruct my own body directly?”