Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1007

The first-floor lobby was a charnel house, littered with the corpses of chimeras.

Amidst this gruesome scene of scattered flesh, two sorcerers clashed.

But it wasn’t Lenok who was sent flying, blood splattering, but rather the Conjunction Master, Abesta Chapman.

“……!!”

A fatal wound gaped where the upper half of his body connected to his left arm, completely blown apart.

The backlash wasn’t limited to his muscles and nerves; it ravaged his lungs and cardiovascular system, tearing his body apart from the inside.

The Conjunction Master gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain his balance against the excruciating pain that blurred his vision.

‘My body isn’t responding as I want it to. The backlash is far greater than I anticipated……!!’

The technique the Conjunction Master had used was a lethal move that ‘conjoined’ all the internal organs and viscera within Evan Martinez’s body.

Among the Conjunction Technique’s applications for targeting individuals, it was the most certain way to cut off their breath and inflict agonizing pain.

Once a target was captured, the technique would invariably activate, and if the opponent was human, there was no way to halt its activation.

However, surprisingly, Lenok had avoided being ‘designated’ as the target of the Conjunction Technique, thus reducing the technique’s power.

Conversely, he had inflicted a backlash several times greater on the Conjunction Master’s body, causing it to explode.

‘Since when? I was definitely captured just a moment ago?’

The reason the Conjunction Master had used the individual-targeting technique against Lenok was because he had repeatedly confirmed that Lenok was being captured as the technique’s target.

Not only when he was captured in the black market but also during the fight just now, he had shown his right arm being injured.

It was a counterattack he hadn’t even considered, relying on his past experiences. That’s why it returned as an even more devastating backlash.

“Cough, cough……!!”

Blood and fragments of internal organs fell with a sickening thud, staining the torn surgical gown a vivid red.

The Conjunction Master’s body was so horribly mangled that simply standing on two feet seemed like a miracle.

However, Lenok couldn’t move immediately, even with the Conjunction Master staggering in front of him.

Although he had avoided being the direct target of the Conjunction Technique, he couldn’t completely evade the impact of the blow that the Conjunction Master had struck at supersonic speed.

He had mitigated it with a barrier, but the blow that had landed squarely on his solar plexus had still reached Lenok’s internal organs.

“Ugh……!!”

He vomited blood and stomach acid, and with trembling hands, he ignited the flames of healing.

He rubbed the green flames over his abdomen, infusing his damaged internal organs with restorative power.

Lenok, who had barely opened his eyes, frowned as he saw the Conjunction Master staggering in front of him.

‘I couldn’t kill him in one go…….’

The method of counterattacking the Conjunction Master was simple.

One of Lenok’s greatest blessings and talents: target designation resistance.

He activated the ability that he had been suppressing under the guise of Evan Martinez the moment he collided with the Conjunction Master.

He forced the backlash of the Conjunction Technique onto the Conjunction Master’s body.

‘Did I miscalculate? The backlash itself was definitely at a life-threatening level.’

Techniques with complex principles like the Conjunction Technique have a backlash several times greater than other techniques when they fail.

Moreover, since the technique that was designated and detonated against Lenok had failed, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had died from the backlash alone.

“Cough, uweeek!!”

The Conjunction Master, who had been staggering and coughing, soon bent over and vomited.

The Conjunction Master, having expelled blood and pieces of internal organs, raised his trembling hand and grabbed a chimera, using a technique.

*Crackling!*!

He conjoined the chimera’s flesh to his upper body, readjusting it as a makeshift replacement.

Even after barely regaining his body’s form, he was panting heavily, as if he couldn’t overcome the aftereffects.

The Conjunction Master, who had been hanging his head while bleeding, turned his body around with a glint in his eyes.

“Evan, Martinez……!!”

*Thud!*!

The Conjunction Master took a rough step, and the impact caused the chimera corpses to rise like a wave, engulfing Lenok.

Lenok, who was focused on healing his body, also reacted immediately. He ignited flames over the wave, detonating it with a change in properties.

[Crimson Blaze]

*Boom!*!

A red pillar of fire bisected the wave of chimeras, incinerating them all.

In the chaos of flames and flesh piling up and covering everything, the two sorcerers stood up, glaring at each other.

“That’s absurd.”

The Conjunction Master, staring at Lenok, muttered quietly.

“The fact that I was caught in the chimera’s overwhelming numbers, was that to lead my judgment in that direction?”

“If I didn’t look like I was doing my best, you would have definitely suspected it.”

He rubbed the green flames, then poured them into his throat and swallowed them whole.

As the embers flowing through his esophagus heated his body, Lenok replied.

“I had to show you that I was falling for your tricks so that you would be sure and use the technique on me. From the start, I thought it was impossible to avoid all of your techniques…….”

“…….”

“So, I just tried to decide when and how I would get hit by the Conjunction Technique.”

“So, you’re saying you can arbitrarily avoid being the target of my technique…….”

The Conjunction Master took a breath and raised his trembling hand.

He hadn’t completely recovered from the backlash, but his appearance was already perfectly restored.

If he hadn’t been killed in one blow, it meant that restoring his body wasn’t impossible for the Conjunction Master.

Lenok, wiping the blood from his mouth, was lost in thought as he watched the Conjunction Master walk sideways.

‘It would have been better if I had finished him off the moment he didn’t notice the existence of target designation resistance…….’

The backlash of the Conjunction Technique was possible because he had used the technique by designating Lenok as the target.

However, if the Conjunction Master used the technique without designating Lenok, Lenok wouldn’t be able to avoid the impact either.

For example, instead of directly targeting Lenok, if he conjoined and distorted the surrounding space, Lenok’s body would be easily torn apart.

It was hard to believe that the Conjunction Master, an 8th-level special trait sorcerer, wouldn’t be able to perform such spatial conjunction.

Regardless of the fact that he had turned off target designation resistance under the guise of a thousand identities, this method itself could only be used once.

That’s why it would have been better if he could have killed the Conjunction Master in that single opportunity, but-

“I admit it. You’re a ruthless sorcerer to have hidden such an ability until the very end.”

The Conjunction Master said, staring at Lenok with a murderous gaze.

“I don’t know if it’s an item or a blessing, but it’s not a power you can use anytime. If that were possible, there would be no reason to induce target designation in the first place.”

“…….”

“If you directly induced the timing of the attack and tried to kill me with a single backlash…… I just need to use the technique without directly designating you as the target.”

The Conjunction Master, raising his now-healed right hand, slowly began to form a hand seal with one hand.

The Conjunction Master, with his index and middle fingers raised, whispered.

“From now on, I’ll show you the ‘works’ I’ve created.”

“The works you speak of only look like crude chimeras to me.”

Lenok replied expressionlessly.

“If the blossoming of the talent you speak of is just in that form, there’s no reason to see more.”

“The chimeras placed in the first-floor lobby are consumables made for transporting supplies. The talent that exists in them is nothing more than a base survival instinct.”

The Conjunction Master said.

“The Conjunction Technique I use on living beings is a power that goes beyond that…… a power that brings even the talent that living beings possess under the influence of the technique.”

*Kiiiing!*!

At that moment, the snake-shaped chimera that the Conjunction Master was standing on emitted an intense magical power.

The moment he realized that the direction wasn’t towards himself, the chimera twisted its body and activated magic.

“Come forth.”

Technique Conjunction

Water-type Unique Magic

[Summoning Flowing Azure]

[White Crashing Rain]

*Swoooosh!*!

Rain began to fall in the vast living area of the first-floor lobby.

The falling streams of water poured over the flames that were burning the outer walls of the operating room, gradually suppressing the heat.

It didn’t immediately extinguish the flames that Lenok had ignited, but it was a downpour that quickly brought them to a state of calm.

“……No way.”

Beyond the raindrops flowing down his cheeks, Lenok’s face hardened.

A water-type unique magic that a special trait sorcerer like the Conjunction Master shouldn’t be able to use.

“To bring the chimera’s talent under the influence of the Conjunction Technique means……!!”

“The forced activation of the techniques and abilities that the humans who became the materials possessed.”

The Conjunction Master, with his hand outstretched, said as he was completely soaked by the falling rain.

“It’s a consumable ability limited to one use, and there’s a restriction that the chimera used must be sacrificed…… but wouldn’t you say that this much is meaningful to my research?”

A power that sacrifices a chimera to forcibly activate the abilities of the superhuman who became the material.

That was possible because the Conjunction Master forcibly ‘conjoined’ the techniques and abilities of others to himself and forced their activation.

It wasn’t about controlling the technique itself, but about forcibly inducing the activation of the technique to manifest it.

A bizarre and grotesque idea of turning living beings into the power button for techniques.

And could the ‘works’ that the Conjunction Master spoke of end with just this one chimera?

“You roughly understand, right?”

*Thwack!*!

At that moment, a toad-shaped chimera popped out from the ceiling of the first-floor lobby and opened its mouth wide.

The Conjunction Master, raising his hand, smiled wickedly as blood dripped from his mouth.

“The second round begins.”

“……!!!”

Technique Conjunction

Gravity-type Innate Ability

[Reverse Gravity]

*Whoooosh!*!

Lenok, the Conjunction Master, and the corpses of chimeras scattered in the first-floor lobby soared into the air.

In the first-floor lobby where gravity was reversed, they moved as if falling towards the upper part of the living area.

*Boom!*!

The moment they broke through the ceiling of the first-floor lobby and landed as if falling onto the long, fleshy corridor.

[Black Magic: Thorns Sphere of Seion]

[Cross Society Orthodox Technique: Manifestation of the Coming]

A huge sphere of thorns rotated while emitting black magic, and the light of the cross vibrated, blocking the opposite side of the corridor.

The moment Lenok realized the identity of the déjà vu that felt somewhat familiar and hardened his expression.

“Where are you looking?”

The Conjunction Master, gripping a fleshy hammer, fell above Lenok’s head and pulled up his magic power.

*Clang!*!

The fleshy hammer, unable to withstand the Chakra Barrier, was crushed as it was.

The blood that flowed out as the hammer exploded became an acidic solution and poured down from above his head.

[Blood Flow Manipulation: Acidic Infusion]

*Sizzle!*!

Lenok, shaking off the acidic solution that had been poured from his head, rotated his body.

[Wheel of Fire]

[Crimson Net]

He summoned a wheel of fire and collided it with the sphere of thorns, accelerating through the fleshy corridor.

*Boom!*!

Lenok and the Conjunction Master’s figures began to run almost simultaneously above the cloud of fire.

Between the crossroads, dozens of earthworms wrapped around Lenok’s legs, and a monster with a gaping maw drooled as it bit at his head.

[Kueeeeh……!!]

He died as his breath was cut off. Immediately after, Technique Conjunction activated, and it unleashed the techniques embedded in the chimera.

[Slaughter]

[Grasp and Strike]

[Destruction]

*Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!*!

He dodged the impact magic and slashes that were tearing and stirring up the operating room corridor in all directions, throwing his body.

[Life and death are one. Sweet lyrics. Die. Just die. Kill. Just kill.]

As a statue of a goddess appeared in the corridor, weeping tears of blood and singing, a musical scale technique activated.

It increased the physical abilities of the chimeras and focused their aggro on Lenok from all directions.

[Flame Spear]

*Sizzle!*!

He tore apart the jaw of a charging chimera with one hand and shoved a flame spear summoned with an alternate chant into its throat.

Lenok, who had leaped by stepping on the tilted spear shaft, gritted his teeth as he knocked away the Conjunction Master’s hand that had sprung out from the operating room wall.

‘It’s endless……!!’

The forced activation of techniques using chimeras as consumables.

The power of each individual technique activated by suicide as a trigger was considerable, and the types were also diverse.

Even if they were consumable abilities used once and discarded, if he had accumulated this much, it was no restriction at all.

“Cough!!”

Amidst the chimeras rushing in a chaotic manner, the Conjunction Master was seen coughing up blood and hanging his head low.

Apart from cornering Lenok, he was still suffering from the backlash of the technique.

If not now, it would be difficult to inflict cumulative damage on the Conjunction Master.

[Exploding Fireball]

*Crunch!*!

He ducked his head to avoid the monster’s teeth and chanted the Exploding Fireball.

When he threw the fireball into the monster’s belly, the chimera’s eyes turned red and it exploded alive.

*Boom!*!

He dodged the spiked club, formed hand seals with both hands, and chanted a spell.

He slid his body low, folded his hands together, and pointed them downwards.

[Triple Convergence – Repulsion]

“Blood Flower Line.”

*Kuwahhh!*!

The three Exploding Fireballs merged, embracing each other’s heat and repelling.

The flames that poured out in a fan shape swept away the swarming chimeras.

*Sizzle……!!*

*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!*

The flesh wall, unable to withstand the heat of the Blood Flower Line, melted away, creating a large hole. The wind rushing in through the hole sucked Lenok and Sulju in with a powerful force.

*Whoosh!*!

Clutching at the convulsing, cracked flesh wall, Lenok and Sulju’s fists collided in mid-air. In an instant, they were pounding and striking each other’s bones and muscles, their bodies shaking.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*!

Just as Sulju’s Conjunction Technique [a technique that combines different elements or powers] was about to activate, Lenok chanted a Flame Heat spell. Ignoring the technique’s effect, he struck the Conjunction Master and attacked again with an alternate chant.

[Fire Night Deep Impact]

[Scorching]

*Hwarrrr!*!

The flames spread all over Sulju’s body. Lenok whispered into Sulju’s ear as he tried to move, ignoring the chant.

“The place where your domain’s ‘pulse’ is strongest. It was near here.”

“……!!”

Following the downward strike, a brilliant flame swirled and burned. The fiery vortex spun violently, slamming Sulju into the other side of the hole in the wall.

[Fire Vortex Heavenly Slide]

*Kwaaaang!*!

‘It’s vast…!’

Lenok, who had jumped through the hole after Sulju, was taken aback by the sight of a much larger open space than he had sensed. Skeletons, presumably human, were piled up, and a huge mass of muscle pulsed on a hill. Thump, thump!! The strong pulse and the thick blood vessels connected to the muscle mass. This was the heart of the life domain, the core of the process of turning humans into chimeras.

Convinced of this, Lenok immediately clasped his hands together and drew up his magic power.

“Designation Declaration.”

Sun. Burn. Return. Pierce. Emit. Open.

Flame Heat Series Unique Magic

Six-Fold Chant Complex Resonance.

[Linked Fire: Six-Step Crimson]

He simultaneously chanted six types of magic, burning them and turning them into light without leaving even a trace of the flames. The hot red light concentrated at Lenok’s fingertips shot out in a straight line with tremendous heat. The moment he slashed his fingers down as if bouncing off the air, it struck the heart like a beam of light.

[Radiant Pierce]

*Jjeo-eong!*!

A Flame Heat ultimate technique that spreads heat immediately after impact, evaporating the target without a trace. But just before the light of Radiant Pierce hit the heart directly, Sulju threw himself in front of the heart. Gathering the chimeras from all directions, he joined his hands and chanted a technique. The chimeras’ flesh exploded outward, turning into a huge shield right in front of the heart.

Conjunction Technique Activation

Property Change Hardening

[Linked Flesh Path]

*Kwaaaaaang!*!

The Linked Flesh Path shield, unable to withstand the heat, evaporated without a trace. At the same time, Sulju’s body was thrown backward.

“Things don’t always go as planned.”

Sulju, who had barely managed to land on the heart, shook his head as he looked down at Lenok.

“That’s why I didn’t want to show you this.”

“That must be the crucial power that makes your operating room ‘alive,’ right?”

*Hwareuk!*!

Lenok, with flames on his fingertips, walked forward, engulfed in flames.

“It must also be the reason why you settled in the Gate City.”

“The need for preheating to activate a technique isn’t unique to your Flame Heat magic.”

Sulju smiled and dusted off his hands.

“I’m paying a huge cost to maintain this operating room. So, I originally had no intention of showing it to you… but I’ve changed my mind.”

“…….”

“The backlash you inflicted on me was more severe than I expected. It’ll be difficult to keep this heartbeat at a normal level at this rate.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

Lenok, with a cold gaze at the heart, drew up his magic power.

“Are you telling me to burn it right now?”

“My domain is alive, but it lacks some crucial elements to function as a living being.”

Sulju smiled and touched the heart he was standing on with one hand. The grotesque sight of the heart throbbing with a red glow on top of a mountain of countless skeletons.

“The skeleton to support the body, the magic power to prevent cell collapse, and the soul that must reside in a living being. These are all concepts that I cannot grant to the domain myself.”

“…….”

“A life form without these three things is not a living being, but a biological machine that reacts to stimuli. Do you understand what this means?”

The three elements necessary for life. Is there an environment in this city that can fill such a deficiency?

Lenok, who had thought that far, stopped speaking, realizing that the answer was already there. Why Sulju had settled in this Gate City. What he intended to add to this life domain, he could finally understand.

“…Could it be, the corpse of a Long-Lived Species…!!!”

“It seems you understand.”

The moment Sulju’s five fingers dug into the surface of the giant heart and scraped it.

“What I am resurrecting as a living being is the Gate of the Barrier itself.”

Conjunction Technique Activation

Life Domain Linkage

[Muscle Conjunction]

[Skeletal Conjunction]

[Nerve Conjunction]

[Magic Conjunction]

*Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeo-jeop!*!

The life domain that had been enveloping the corpse of the Long-Lived Species, the form of the operating room, collapsed on the spot. The flowing muscles and flesh flowed down between the spine and skull of the Long-Lived Species below and began to ‘join’. Flesh and muscle adhered to the old bones, forming a membrane and connecting the nerves. The moment the flesh adhered to the bones of the Long-Lived Species, the magic power contained in the bones circulated into the muscles, adding strength. The corpse of the Long-Lived Species, with muscles attached to its bones, rose up over the Gate City and roared fiercely.

*Kwaaaaaang!!!!!*

[Oooooooooh!!!!!]

* * *

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*!

With a tremor that shook the heavens and the earth, the ground beneath Lenok’s feet shook violently. The pile of bones stacked like a mountain beneath his feet collapsed, creating a wave of bones.

*Kugugugugu!*!

Lenok, who had regained his balance in the shaking giant room, opened his mouth.

“From the beginning, you weren’t uninterested in the Gate.”

“…….”

“Rather, you were planning to take complete control of the Gate.”

Lenok’s eyes flashed intensely through his sweat-soaked hair.

“Conjunction Master. Were you planning to resurrect the first Gate itself and make it your own life domain?”

The installation-type special trait life domain, the operating room, that Avesta Chapman had built in the Gate City. The purpose of the operating room, a living domain itself, was not to operate on patients. It was to combine the life domain made of flesh and muscle with the corpse of a Long-Lived Species and resurrect it. The Conjunction Master, as the name suggests, was planning to combine the first Gate of the Central Front with his life domain and bring it under his complete control.

“In the field of magical medicine, it’s not clear when the death of a living being is diagnosed and determined.”

Sulju answered, stepping down in front of Lenok with a pale face. His outward appearance was fine, but it was evidence that he had not yet recovered from the backlash of the technique.

“Superficial reasons, such as not breathing or the pulse stopping, cannot be the basis for judgment. What’s important is the harmony of the whole.”

“Harmony?”

“Bones and muscles, flesh and skeleton, nerves and magic power… Once the assembly is complete, the quality of the parts doesn’t have a big impact on the operation of the individual.”

“……”

“The materials I prepared to resurrect this may be crude compared to the power this had in its lifetime. But as a result, I succeeded in preparing the minimum requirements for this Long-Lived Species to ‘function’ again…”

*Paat!*!

Sulju said, with thick black magic power surging in both hands.

“Using my technique, I joined them, ignoring the rejection.”

An act that only an 8th-level special trait mage and a Conjunction Master with a living domain could attempt. Even after seeing the corpses of the demonic beasts spread throughout the Gate City and the living life domain, Lenok could not easily imagine the connection. That’s why there was a question to ask.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“Because the first Gate is a ‘dead’ Gate made from the corpse of a Long-Lived Species.”

“That the Gate is dead, I’ve already heard-”

“Conversely, the second Gate is still ‘alive’.”

“……!!”

Shocking information that left him speechless. But Sulju didn’t wait for Lenok’s answer and asked as he walked past him.

“Then what about the third Gate? What about the next one? After breaking through all the obstacles and reaching Ars Nova [a legendary city or place]?”

“…….”

“The closer you get to Ars Nova, the more bizarre and incomprehensible the Gates become, and the environment changes accordingly. Even the most powerful superhumans can’t last long in the [Other Side] and go insane.”

Sulju turned to Lenok and said.

“The Federation has now accepted that it is realistically impossible to attack the Central Front any further. This is a matter that the Federation must consider as a top priority, separate from the war with the Order.”

“…….”

“That’s why I’m trying to change the rules of the front itself by giving life to the dead first Gate. To break the shackles that the Kundara dragons [a mythical dragon species] laid down at the cost of their lives.”

“All living beings under the barrier will be affected.”

Lenok’s expression twitched.

“Even the humans living in the Gate City won’t be able to escape the aftermath. Hundreds of thousands of humans will die.”

“Is that so?”

*Kwaaaang!*!

With a powerful roar, the balance of the room suddenly tilted diagonally. At the same time, the pile of bones beneath Lenok and Sulju’s feet rose rapidly from the floor.

*Jjeo-eop!*!

The outer wall of the operating room opened wide, revealing the clear sky above. Lenok was also able to immediately understand what had happened. The life domain that had become one with the corpse of the Long-Lived Species. The flesh on its side had fallen off, and the outside scenery began to appear.

*Kuuuung!*!

The giant demonic beast, with flesh joined all over its body, moved its feet over the Gate City. A powerful shockwave exploded, crushing and erasing the city’s landscape.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Save me, save me…!!”

The sight of citizens screaming and running away in the ruined Gate City. The flesh attached to the corpse of the Long-Lived Species exploded and spread throughout the city.

*Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeok…!!*!

“I just released the cell proliferation restriction that I had placed on my domain.”

Sulju said as he moved.

“This operating room will constantly expand and proliferate, swallowing the entire city. Once it has swallowed the entire Gate City, it will begin to move.”

“…….”

“It will become a living, moving Gate and city, wandering the Central Front.”

The distance between Sulju and Lenok had become close again. Sulju, who was looking at Lenok, asked calmly.

“Do you still want to talk to me about human lives or anything like that?”

“…I see.”

Lenok, who had been silent, answered and turned his body. He walked past Sulju, and at the moment he was looking at the constantly moving giant body of the Long-Lived Species and the ruined landscape of the Gate City. Lenok, who had been observing the chaos, took a strong step forward.

*Paaaaaaat!*!

At the same time, a colorless ripple exploded from under Lenok’s feet. The ripple, which spread out at an incredible speed, instantly swept over the operating room and the entire domain and began to rotate. The moment Sulju, who was watching it, raised his gaze in surprise. Lenok, who had joined his hands and formed a hand seal, said.

“The ability to reorganize the environment isn’t something only you possess.”

A tidal wave of flames that exploded from under Lenok’s feet spread out like an explosion in all directions of the Gate City. The flames that burst out as if to burn the city soared vertically, fluttering like flower petals. They rotated in a spiral, and soon engulfed the Long-Lived Species and burned fiercely.

“From now on, I will create the battlefield myself.”

Domain Expansion

Origin-Level Mental Image Manifestation

[Ten Thousand Mile Fragrant Heavenly Flower]

“No way. The scale of the domain…!!!”

The expansion of a self-generating domain that swallowed the entire life domain that Sulju had prepared for months. Sulju, unable to react to the unrealistic scale of the domain, froze his expression.

*Kugwagwagwagwagwa!*!

A giant flame flower engulfed the entire Gate City and began to burn every visible landscape.