Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1025

[Even when I first heard the story, I doubted whether you were truly insane…]The massive city of Balkan. The Cartel’s underground laboratory.In a space large enough to easily accommodate thousands, Oliviera stood with her arms crossed.Her face, turned away with her ornate robe fluttering, was hidden by a veil, but it was easy to tell where her gaze was directed.The shape of a small case, suspended by thin strands of mana like a spiderweb.It looked unremarkable on the outside, but the starlight emanating from within hinted at its special nature.A fragment of the barrier that Lenok had obtained firsthand, fighting against the Drunkard at the first gate.Oliviera, who had been silently staring at it, scoffed and turned her gaze away.[I cannot deny that your absurd plan has succeeded beyond expectations.]”I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or a sarcastic remark.”Lenok, who was standing behind Oliviera with his cane, shook his head.”Is that the only way you can say ‘well done’?”[…You should know that this is not the time for self-praise.]Oliviera’s eyes, gleaming behind the veil, narrowed faintly.[Although you’ve been holed up in the lab, surely you haven’t failed to hear the news from the central front.]”……”[You must explain what the mage who was defeated by you has done at the first gate.]With a light step, Oliviera’s tall figure instantly closed the distance to Lenok.Just by focusing her attention on Lenok in the middle of the lab, an indescribable, intense pressure was felt.[Surely, you don’t mean to say you don’t remember what you said at Nox Biblio.]”…Hmm.”Before borrowing the celestial formula from the Dark Archive, Lenok had been sharp with Oliviera, who had not explained the method at all.Handling the process of heading to Kundara without discussion was, in the first place, a means that did not guarantee mutual trust.Naturally, Oliviera had not forgotten what Lenok had said back then.Therefore, conversely, Lenok had nothing to say in response to Oliviera’s questioning.[Exactly what kind of deal did you make with Chun-beon that he went to such lengths to obtain the fragment of the barrier? Tell me in detail.]Oliviera said, her eyes gleaming with a persistent slowness.[How did you maintain a connection with that mage who was almost killed by your defeat? You need to explain that part first.]”I also have a lot of questions about that part.”Clarice, who had been nibbling on snacks next to Oliviera, lit up her eyes.”I thought it was strange that you were learning the substitute incantation in the studio, were you already in contact with Chun-beon back then?””Rather than contact, it was possible because I understood the core of the flame heat magic.””The core?””By preheating the magic system and burning even himself, he eventually needs a [spark] to replace him.”Lenok explained.”Borrowing an external heat source to replace himself. I knew he would need a [spark] even after the battle…”[Are you saying that you were able to use the hellfire borrowed from the Dark Archive as a condition for a deal with Chun-beon?]As expected, Oliviera perfectly understood the series of events just by listening to the explanation for a moment.That was probably possible because she had handled both magic and innate abilities.”Flame heat magic and innate abilities are different, but they are similar in that they easily go out of control. If you experience that, you can understand why Chun-beon moved.””Are you saying that the hellfire borrowed from the archive was that valuable of a ‘spark’ for Chun-beon?”Clarice pondered at Lenok’s words.”Considering the rarity of the other-dimensional flame, I can understand why Chun-beon went wild in the center…”[Regardless of that judgment, it’s absurd that things have turned out this way.]Oliviera, with her arms crossed, gave a cold smile.[As a result, thanks to the work you entrusted, Chun-beon’s reputation has become abnormally high. There is no one in Balkan who doesn’t know that he left the Azure Eye and killed the grafting sorcerer.]”……”[The voices of those who compare you and Chun-beon and try to determine who is superior have reached even me… and you don’t seem to have any feelings about it.]Oliviera’s eyes gleamed as she stared at Lenok.Although she didn’t say it directly, the Seven-Colored Treasure Eye [a magical eye that can perceive truth] must have been activated, focusing on Lenok.She was trying to probe Lenok while demanding an explanation, and Lenok knew what Oliviera’s intention was.In the battle between Gyonroe and Chun-beon, which had attracted the attention of the entire Balkan, Oliviera had noticed the strangeness with her unique intuition.That’s why, even at this moment, she was looking at Lenok with her magic eye, trying to read the facts that Lenok had not spoken.But Lenok calmly replied, knowing that fact.”What’s important isn’t the trend of the central front, but the fact that we successfully obtained the fragment of the barrier.”[……]”But when heading to Kundara, we should avoid the direction where the gate is located. If we get caught up in unnecessary squabbles, it will be a waste of time.”No matter how powerful the Seven-Colored Treasure Eye was, it could not penetrate Lenok’s target designation resistance.One of the most powerful and transcendent talents that Lenok possessed, and a resistance ability that he never released in Gyonroe’s identity.Regardless of the strangeness that Oliviera had read, she would not be able to confirm the truth right away.”If you’re convinced, let’s start right away. There’s no need to hesitate at the point where we’ve obtained the fragment of the barrier.”Tap. Lenok, who had walked out with his cane, passed by Oliviera.Lenok, looking up at the container suspended by thin strands of mana in the center of the lab, muttered.”Use the celestial formula to manifest the miniature garden. Contain the fragment of the barrier and observe the reaction. Finally, confirm whether it synchronizes with the barrier.”Lenok, looking back at Oliviera and Clarice, immediately pulled up his mana.”Let’s start by manifesting the miniature garden with the celestial formula.””Gyonroe, wait a minute…!!”Clarice, who had suddenly come to her senses, tried to say something, but Lenok immediately expanded his consciousness explosively.The celestial formula created by the Ascendant of the Old World, Chichun, was a power close to the origin of the magnetic domain.It was less efficient than the domain because it did not imprint a mental image, but its autonomy in arbitrarily constructing space far surpassed the domain.A power that could distribute the rules of the garden according to the caster’s will, depending on what materials were filled into the miniature garden.Since the space expanded based on the caster’s consciousness, Lenok’s consciousness could cover the entire laboratory-“Ah.”Fwoooosh!!!At that moment, Clarice’s body emitted a white light and explosively slammed down on the spot.With a heavy roar, the entire laboratory shook greatly with an overwhelming sense of weight.Kwaaang!!!Lenok belatedly stopped his thoughts when he saw the form of a giant divine beast that had appeared in the middle of the lab.”…I’m sure I mentioned it when I taught you the celestial formula.”The giant divine beast, with clouds like armor, sighed as it looked down at Lenok with blue eyes.”The moment you expand the miniature garden more than necessary, you force a similar level of consciousness expansion on the opponent-“[Which leads to forcibly drawing out the main body of a long-lived species. As always, you’re as clumsy as ever.]”I’m not clumsy, okay?”Oliviera, interrupting Clarice who had forcibly returned to her main body, turned her gaze away.[So, is this the garden you constructed using the celestial formula?]”……”The landscape of the quiet and serene headquarters laboratory had changed slightly.Underfoot, the bushes swayed, and the scenery of the sky flickered faintly.The scenery of the sunlight shining through the giant trees and leaves located throughout the garden.Even knowing that all of it was a ‘model,’ they couldn’t help but feel a sense of vitality that shouldn’t exist.[I see. This is more like a… than a testbed.]Was it a coincidence that the garden had a sky and land, and that mountains, rivers, and trees were growing?Oliviera, who had been staring at the miniature garden that Lenok had unfolded for a long time, muttered.[It’s like you’ve pushed an entire ‘world’ into your consciousness. Is this the form of the garden you had in mind?]”If you want to simulate the [barrier] in the miniature garden, I thought it would be good to project the central front where the barrier is located.”But Lenok replied with an indifferent expression.”I can imagine the scenery of the outer areas of the central front. It would be good to practice making the internal environment of the miniature garden as similar to reality as possible.”[Practice, you say…]Oliviera gave a cold smile.[In my opinion, your celestial formula seems to have already reached a level where practice is unnecessary.]”……”That wasn’t wrong.If he were to use the celestial formula for attack, it would be different, but unfolding a miniature garden was something he had mastered the moment he learned the knack from Clarice.How much arduous practice had he repeated to handle the magnetic domain as he wished after awakening the source mental image of the kaleidoscope?Even with transcendent intuition and talent, he had chosen methods and means that were much more difficult than others in handling mental images and consciousness.The strength of mind and reason. In terms of self-suggestion and will alteration, there might be those who could be compared to Lenok, but no one surpassed him.Adjusting his consciousness to draw a specific landscape felt easier than breathing.”The scenery of the garden is blurry, but the space itself is terrifyingly stable.”Clarice, also feeling its extraordinary nature, tilted her long neck and looked around the conscious space where the meadow was spread out.The stability that accepted her heavy body without even a slight tremor, even though it was pressing down on the garden.The fact that the garden was less shaky than the reality where the laboratory was located seemed to be quite impressive for a long-lived species.”Even if you’re a great mage, your consciousness should weaken a little… you’re as tough as I thought.”[Didn’t you know that your disciple had worked with him? Stop with the nonsense and look at this.]Oliviera replied, bending her knees and tearing off the swaying bushes under her feet.[Even with the grass torn off, the shape remains. It’s implementing even external interventions and variables.]”Hmm, I see. Let’s check whether it’s post-calculation or if the process was completed in advance-“”Can we stop with the reviews of my miniature garden and start?”The two of them seemed to have no intention of starting the experiment, only looking at the miniature garden that Lenok had created.”Ahem, my apologies.”Clarice, who had finally come to her senses, coughed and turned around.”I was just too curious about what kind of source mental image the mage with the best talent in Balkan would have.””It was you who explained that the miniature garden and the magnetic domain are different.”Lenok pointed to Clarice’s side with a cold gaze.”First, let’s get the human who keeps being rude next to you to stand up.”[……]Oliviera, not even pretending to hear Lenok’s words, swept the ground with one hand.She was fiddling with the veil that covered her face, not caring about the divine beast’s bewildered gill movements.Was the space itself that Lenok had directly unfolded with his consciousness that interesting?”……”No, Lenok, having confirmed her face peeking through the slightly tilted veil, realized that it was not.A strange expression that contained a much deeper longing than simple interest.It was as if she was gauging whether the miniature garden that Lenok had created could also align with Oliviera’s own purpose-Having confirmed that much, Lenok immediately released the development of the miniature garden.Fwoooosh!!Like a bubble bursting, the inorganic landscape of the laboratory reappeared.[……What was that?]A moment of silence. Lenok shrugged his shoulders towards Oliviera, who had turned her head with an unreadable expression.”Someone is coming to the lab. Judging by the presence, it seems to be one of the board members.””…Ah!”Clarice, who had hurriedly returned to her human form, said as if she had remembered something.”Maze. From the Council of Elders…!!”[…Is it already time?]Oliviera, who had regained her composure in an instant, lowered her veil and stood up from her seat.She headed towards the entrance without hesitation and glanced at Lenok.[It’s your turn, Gyonroe. There are beings you need to meet, so prepare yourself.]”Beings I need to meet?”[It’s an old rule that we couldn’t pay attention to while you and I were focused on the central front.]Oliviera, taking a step forward, looked down at Lenok and said.[If we’re lucky, a day will be enough. This matter is your and my responsibility, so it’s something that’s difficult to resolve without taking direct action.]”My responsibility, you say.”The fundamental reason why Oliviera was late for this meeting.Considering her nature, he had guessed that it was a serious matter, but was it true that Lenok was involved, as Virgil had said?However, at this point, what was the problem that Oliviera and Lenok had to deal with together?If it was so important that the Council of Elders had to intervene and temporarily halt the schedule-[In the event of the death of a noble of Ars Nova, other noble families are required to move to conduct the funeral.]”…That’s.”At Oliviera’s unexpected words, Lenok’s answer stopped for a moment.Oliviera’s eyes narrowed as she immediately noticed what Lenok’s reaction meant.[Judging by your reaction, you seem to already know. Have you heard about that old law?]”……”As Oliviera said, Lenok had once heard about that [funeral procedure].On the way back from meeting the 2nd Apostle at Duris Workshop.Among the news about Anathema that he had confirmed through the press at that time, there was definitely a story about other nobles handling the funeral-[The nobles from the center who heard about Anathema’s death have already arrived in Balkan.]Oliviera nodded towards Lenok.[They want to hear directly from you about the end of Anathema, who fell as an Apostle.]