Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1055

“He, the Overmind of the Headrow Warlords… it’s like a commander who controls the hive mind, a being…”

In a subterranean space artificially formed by weaving together massive tree roots, Lenok leaned against the wall, fiddling with a terminal.

He silently manipulated the terminal, which seemed to be struggling to establish a connection.

Beside him, a stammering voice echoed faintly.

“Th, those are monsters created from commanders who directly p, participated in the forbidden ritual and became corrupted…”

“……”

“Th, they usually never leave the ‘bath’… I, I don’t know why they’re s, stuck in the barrier…”

At the continued silence, Lenok turned his gaze.

“Keep going. What is it?”

“Ah, haha…”

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer awkwardly pointed at the mana threads piercing his neck.

“S, so, could you please u, untie this first…”

After dropping a general-level entity of the Headrow Warlords, a demonized aircraft carrier, on the outskirts of the druid forest, Lenok was spending time in a nearby forest isolation facility under the escort of the druids.

Thanks to Lenok, who had ended the battle in such a drastic way, the druid side was dealing with the aftermath.

It was quite a lackluster treatment for someone who had helped the druids, but he had heard that most of the members of Larabelle were different from humans.

Lenok also had things to think about regarding the situation surrounding the Western Front, so he accepted the isolation without much complaint.

That was also why he had the Corpse Demon Sorcerer explain what he knew about the Overmind.

The Headrow Warlords occupying the [Barrier], the existence of the Overmind controlling the hive mind of the monsters, and the fact that the druids were moving to kill that Overmind.

“Why are the druids fighting the Headrow Warlords all the way out here on the Western Front?”

Lenok said, putting the terminal in his pocket.

“The plant city is located at the edge of the continent, far from the Western Front. There are more than five medium-sized cities in between.”

“……”

“There’s little reason for Larabelle to feel threatened by the existence of the Overmind. Yet, if they’ve gone to the trouble of mobilizing their forces…”

Lenok looked at the Corpse Demon Sorcerer and asked.

“Don’t you think there’s some hidden reason?”

If the Corpse Demon Sorcerer, who had extracted the demon manipulation ability of the Headrow Warlords’ general-level entity through a ritual, knew anything about this situation.

“I, I could find out for you…”

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer chuckled with a pale face.

“I, if I turn about half of the druids who locked me up here into ghouls, wouldn’t they spill the beans…?”

“……”

“A, after all, you were on the War Magic Tower with them. Th, there’s no reason for you to stay here…”

“I’ve finished talking with Lyell. He said he just left the airspace of the battlefield.”

Lenok replied.

“We’ve decided where and how to meet up. All that’s left is to coordinate our schedules…”

With Lyell and Oliviera, he didn’t have to worry about that part.

Both were excellent mages and managers who led huge organizations, the Magic Tower and the Cartel, respectively.

Once they decided what needed to be done, they would somehow bend the process to achieve the result.

The problem wasn’t the War Magic Tower, but rather-

“……!!”

In an instant, Lenok raised his head, drawing up his mana.

He kicked away the chair and turned around, simultaneously grabbing the limp neck of the Corpse Demon Sorcerer.

The moment a flash of light stretched diagonally from the darkness.

Kaaang!!!

The flash of light shattered like glass the moment it was caught in Lenok’s hand.

“U, uaaah!!”

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer, startled by the sudden attack, struggled, and Lenok glanced at his raised hand.

‘A mixture of physical force and ritual… if I had to categorize it, it’s closer to cutting?’

A cutting-type ritual that cuts a specific target with mana.

It wasn’t aimed at Lenok. If anything, it was an attack aimed at the Corpse Demon Sorcerer held by Lenok.

Looking into the darkness, Lenok asked.

“You don’t seem like a druid. Who are you?”

“You’re much younger than I heard.”

At that moment, a low voice echoed from the darkness.

“When I heard about you from the leader, I imagined a very seasoned mage.”

“……”

“I thought it would be fun to play the role of a secret benefactor, but I have a task to do.”

A young man with a smiling face, whose age was impossible to guess, sat cross-legged in the darkness.

“I hope you understand that I’m greeting you in this way.”

“You are…”

“Nice to meet you, Ban.”

The young man smiled.

“I am the subordinate mage who will assist you on your journey to Kundara.”

***

Subordinate mage.

The name of the mage that the leader himself said he would send to help Lenok.

However, Lenok still remembered hearing the name subordinate mage a long time ago, at a meeting in Pandemonium.

‘Wasn’t he one of the envoys from the Order Alliance who visited Machina?’

After Lenok returned after destroying Yorta’s memorial tower, he attended the mid-meeting of the Demon Council as Victor.

There, he had heard about the envoys from the Order Alliance who had visited Machina through Maiya Lenslit.

Maiya didn’t seem to think well of the subordinate mage, but she had mentioned his name with a hint of caution.

If an executor like her remembered his name and kept an eye on him, the subordinate mage was likely a strong person with considerable skill.

Ancient characters densely tattooed on his face like a tattoo.

He sat leisurely in the darkness, arms crossed and legs crossed.

It was a demeanor that didn’t match his polite tone, but there was no noticeable mana emanating from the subordinate mage himself.

“You’re not real.”

Lenok, who immediately realized that the subordinate mage had sent a phantom here, asked.

“Are you saying you’re going to greet me when you’ve come in the form of a phantom?”

“Indeed, it’s not proper etiquette to meet a mage comparable to a grand mage.”

The young man sitting cross-legged bowed languidly.

“But the druids of the forest are so sensitive that if I had gone directly, it would have caused a lot of trouble.”

“……”

“It seems you plan to cooperate with the druids, so my presence shouldn’t be a hindrance.”

Instead of replying, Lenok shook the Corpse Demon Sorcerer’s neck.

If this man was really a mage of the Alliance, then the Corpse Demon Sorcerer would surely know him.

“Oh, uh…”

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer, who belatedly raised his head, slightly opened his mouth while his neck was held in Lenok’s hand.

The man also waved his hand with a smiling face as he looked at the Corpse Demon Sorcerer.

“Long time no see, Corpse Demon Sorcerer.”

“Wh, why are you here…”

“Well, isn’t it because you didn’t handle the task you were given properly?”

The man said with a smiling expression.

“You were told to bring back one ritual from the Western Front, but you shouldn’t have dragged in a big shot like the Fortress. Do you know how much damage this has caused the Alliance?”

“Th, that’s…”

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer protested with a wronged expression.

“Wh, who knew the Fortress would be on the War Magic Tower… I, I didn’t want to get involved in this kind of thing either-”

“I’m just kidding. Don’t worry.”

“……”

“I see. If we had to determine whose fault it was…”

The subordinate mage smiled, stroking his chin as the Corpse Demon Sorcerer closed his mouth with a pale face.

“Wouldn’t it be the fault of the Alliance controllers who failed to grasp the movements of the War Magic Tower when it resumed its activities?”

“N, not a mistake…”

“So, I was a little late because I had to kill all the controllers.”

“……”

“Has it been over 20 years since the inner continental airway control tower was built? It seems like it’s time for a change.”

At the chilling message that didn’t match his soft tone, the Corpse Demon Sorcerer tilted his head for a moment.

It wasn’t a reaction of being shocked by the subordinate mage’s words, but rather a reaction of not understanding why he had to do that.

However, with that one sentence, Lenok easily understood that the subordinate mage was quite a twisted individual.

‘He’s a mage of the Alliance, alright. Is he one of those who are obsessed with the act of cutting itself?’

In the case of mages of the cutting lineage, once they reach a certain level, they become obsessed with the act of cutting itself.

It’s not strange to delve into the rituals they’ve learned, but the problem is that the image of cutting itself is too simple for humans to accept.

The cutting-type rituals have extremely simple images and concepts, so mages of the related lineage either go mad or become deeply obsessed with it.

Like a famous swordsman becoming a bloodthirsty demon, possessed by the magic of the sword.

It’s well-known information about the difficulties that mages of the cutting lineage suffer from.

“The message I received from the leader was to cooperate with your journey to Kundara, so there doesn’t seem to be anything I need to do right now.”

The subordinate mage said nonchalantly.

“I took some time to give you one piece of advice.”

“Advice?”

“Larabelle’s Elder Druid, Azelan, is an excellent mage, but he’s a commander with a blind spot.”

“……”

“If you plan to cooperate with him, you should be careful about mentioning the Overmind he’s targeting.”

As the subordinate mage tilted his head back in the darkness, his presence rapidly faded.

It was a strange sensation, as if he was slicing his own presence into countless tiny pieces to make it blurry.

“It’s not there to occupy the Western Front to pollute the barrier.”

The subordinate mage’s smiling face turned away and disappeared in an instant with his last words.

Bang!!

At that moment, the door made of woven tree roots opened, and the druids rushed in.

A middle-aged man with deer antlers on his head stared blankly at the inner space of the facility.

The Corpse Demon Sorcerer was awkwardly lying on the ground, and Lenok was standing silently beside him.

“The Elder Druid is looking for you.”

The silent man finally opened his mouth.

“Follow me.”

***

Lenok was quietly walking through the heart of the lush forest.

Below the inner continental airway of the Western Continent. The vast forest where the druids and the Headrow Warlords were fighting.

Lenok’s gaze, which had been following the druid walking ahead, changed subtly.

‘Nature ritual… it’s definitely a power that’s on a different track from other types of rituals.’

The druids’ nature ritual was a power that was slow to activate and change, but left no trace or sign.

Lenok had also borrowed the knack of nature ritual to stabilize his mana in order to handle his Incarnation Body, but the nature ritual used by the druids of Larabelle was far beyond the level of imitating such a knack.

‘The entire forest feels like the environment that was originally here. Is it possible to erase the artificial feeling to this extent when you reach the pinnacle?’

Even though he knew that the forest was created by nature ritual, he couldn’t feel any sense of incongruity in the surrounding vegetation or bushes.

Artificially created naturalness. Naturally created artificiality.

The moment he realized that the druids’ ritual was freely crossing the boundary between the two.

A huge tree that had risen in the center of the forest began to come into view in the distance.

Parararak…!!

The sound of leaves scattering and colliding in the wind. The sound of branches swaying and rubbing against each other.

Below the massive tree roots that occupied the central area of the forest, there was a structure made of woven leaves and branches.

The sight of a huge structure where more than a dozen druids were busily moving in and out even at this moment.

Was that the headquarters that oversaw all the druids gathered here?

The sight of a huge deer sleeping with its front legs folded, as if guarding the roots of the giant tree.

Lenok, who had been looking at the deer emitting a faint light and a radiant aura, asked.

“A spirit. Is there a mage among the druids who has a contract with it?”

“It’s a natural spirit that lives in Larabelle, not the spirit realm.”

The druid, who glanced at Lenok’s words, said.

“It doesn’t have a contract, but it plays a role in protecting the forest in the form of coexistence.”

“……”

“This way.”

As if he had no intention of answering any more questions, the druid moved towards the giant tree.

Lenok, who was leaning on his staff, glanced around.

Because Lenok could clearly sense the gazes looking at him from all over the forest.

Due to the nature of the nature ritual, it was difficult to detect at first, but once he adapted, detection itself was not difficult.

‘Bears and deer. Sheep and plants… most of the druids weren’t human. Is that to be expected?’

A middle-aged man with deer antlers on his head. A giant who was panting, transformed into the shape of a bear.

An archer with the head of a sheep. A tall woman with plant stems braided instead of hair.

Besides them, there were beings who had become one with nature or were not even human, climbing trees and watching Lenok.

It wasn’t that they were hostile to Lenok, but it wasn’t a welcoming reaction either, but a cautious one.

It was, in a way, to be expected against a mage who had crashed a demonized warship into the ground.

Whoosh…!!

At that moment, an illusion arose as if the trees of the forest were splitting to the sides.

It wasn’t that the forest had actually split, but a huge presence appeared from the other side, enough to make it feel that way.

Clop.

“……”

At the heavy hoof sounds coming from the other side of the forest, Lenok’s expression changed slightly.

Thick muscles that appeared through the bushes. A sturdy helmet that looked like it was made of woven leaves.

The shape of a green spear held under a long, tied-back green hair and thick arms.

“……”

A huge beastman, half deer and half human, was looking down at Lenok with indifferent eyes.

An overwhelming physique that was nearly twice the size of an average human. A height that easily exceeded 3 meters.

It wasn’t just that he was big, but his presence and mana were as heavy and dull as a mountain.

A strong sense of pressure that pressed down heavily on the surroundings just by standing still.

“Heh…”

Even the Corpse Demon Sorcerer momentarily let out a voice at the overwhelming presence of the beastman.

The druid who had been guiding Lenok slightly bowed his head to him and stepped aside.

The beastman, who had ignored the greeting, naturally took a step forward and stood in front of Lenok.

If the subordinate mage’s words were true, this beastman was the commander of the druids, Elder Druid Azelan.

Lenok looked up at Azelan and opened his mouth.

“You were the one who spoke to me earlier. You’re called the Elder Druid?”

Lenok asked, leaving Azelan silent.

“I heard that the members of the plant city don’t interfere in the affairs of the continent.”

Azelan didn’t answer.

He just silently looked down at Lenok through the helmet made of woven leaves.

Lenok leaned on his staff, leaving the silent beastman.

“If it’s the path to the barrier, you said you could help me.”

“……”

“Explain. What do you want?”

If it was about the current situation of the Western Continent, the druids who were fighting on the front lines would have the most accurate information.

Although the reaction of the druids, who were detached from humans, was awkward, there was still room for negotiation with them.

“I saw what you did in the sky.”

Azelan, who had met Lenok’s gaze, said.

A low, deep voice. A tone that was deeply resonant yet clear like a bell.

“You seem to be very skilled at hunting and killing monsters.”

“……”

“I want to borrow your hunting skills.”

“Hunting skills, huh.”

Lenok chuckled and shook his head at the word choice, which was, in a way, very druid-like.

“Thanks to you killing a general-level entity and spreading the aftermath to the ground battlefield, there’s a gap in the warlords’ forces.”

Azelan said in an indifferent voice.

“A being who calls himself a subordinate mage is currently sitting in a corner of the Western Front, blocking the path.”

“……”

“Now is the chance, with one warship and the front line of the tank unit destroyed. The longer it takes, the more the Overmind will produce and replenish the lost forces.”

“Are you going to use the shortcut to the [Barrier] that you mentioned?”

“It’s not a shortcut.”

Azelan replied, raising the green spear he was holding.

“For us druids, wherever the forest is located is like our spiritual home.”

Crack!!

At the same time as he planted the green spear into the ground, the spearhead split and withered branches sprouted.

The branches that stretched out in all directions crossed the forest, with the ground where Azelan was standing as the boundary line.

“Taking the call of the Mother Tree as the bell of origin, we simply head down the path we are naturally drawn to.”

“This is…”

Whoosh…!!

A wind blew in the middle of the vast forest.

The temperature of the wind blowing from afar heated up, and the fresh scent of grass turned bitter.

As if the forest where Azelan was standing was the boundary line, the scenery in front of him slowly began to change.

Faaaat…!!!

The color of the forest that had spread behind Azelan slowly turned red.

Bushes and leaves stained with a dark red color, as if they had been contaminated by the energy of monsters. Withered vegetation.

It was an incongruous feeling, as if he was facing another forest located in a completely different place from the forest where Lenok was standing.

Realizing that, Lenok walked past Azelan towards the red-stained, contaminated forest.

Faaat!!

After walking a few steps forward, his vision cleared, and the [Barrier] that had spread over the sky of the Western Front began to appear.

The huge barrier that was shaking with opaque haze, and the countless swarms of monsters swarming below it.

The sight of the Overmind clinging to the cracks in the barrier and spewing out monsters.

Lenok, who realized that he had arrived at the place he had glimpsed using the Eye of Mind’s vision sharing, muttered.

“……Amazing. Is this the forest’s method of movement using nature ritual?”

He had crossed a battlefield spanning tens of kilometers and arrived at a place close enough to see the [Barrier] with the naked eye.

Even if it was because there was a forest near the [Barrier], it was amazing that even an outsider like Lenok, who was not a druid, could be moved along with them.

Was the potential of nature ritual that great, or were the druids hiding that much of a secret?

“Currently, the Overmind has taken root deep under the barrier and is not moving.”

While Lenok was lost in thought, Azelan, who had walked out from behind him, replied.

“It’s to absorb the very powerful energy hidden in the barrier and use it as nourishment.”

“Absorb energy and use it as nourishment?”

“There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Azelan said.

“What we are trying to retrieve is the very energy that the Overmind is using as nourishment.”

“……”

“That is Larabelle’s most precious treasure and an asset that should never be leaked to the outside.”

Azelan’s low voice, which had been heavy throughout, seemed to turn cold for a moment.

“If we can retrieve that, we will take you to the other side of the barrier, even if it means sacrificing this entire forest.”

“……I see.”

Azelan didn’t explain any further, but Lenok could realize it the moment he faced the Overmind in the distance.

Because the energy flowing out from the Overmind clinging to the barrier was also familiar to Lenok.

Through Lenok’s transcendent sensitivity, he recognized and realized a fact that the druids had not mentioned.

The identity of the ‘energy’ that even the Overmind itself was desperately trying to hide and conceal.

‘The call of the Mother Tree, the bell of origin…’

Lenok’s gaze, which was looking at the Overmind in the distance, turned cold.

‘The leaf of the World Tree that Jutiya mentioned. Was it hidden here?’

The stone tablet containing information about the two offerings that he had heard from Ars Nova’s scribe, Jutiya Heiberk.

The same energy as the one contained in the stone tablet was faintly emanating from the Overmind’s head.

The reason why Azelan could bring Lenok so easily to the front of the barrier.

The reason why the druids of Larabelle were moving with all their might to kill the Overmind.

What the Overmind was absorbing and sucking as nourishment was the leaf of the World Tree itself.

“What do you think, mage?”

Azelan asked, leaving Lenok lost in thought.

“Will you cooperate in purifying the contaminated barrier?”

“……”

Instead of replying to that, Lenok silently tilted his head.

In order to twist the barrier and head to Kundara, he had to clear the barrier occupied by the Overmind.

However, in the process, he had learned the reason why the Overmind was parasitizing the barrier.

Why the druids were hiding that fact, and why the Overmind was holding the leaf of the World Tree.

His confusion was growing, but the task he had to do remained unchanged.

Thinking that, Lenok took out a small vial from his pocket.

A mysterious and radiant golden liquid swirling inside the vial.

Azelan also seemed to sense an unusual sense of incongruity from that sight.

“That is…”

“It’s not the way I wanted to do it, but if it’s necessary, there’s no other choice.”

Lenok, who had taken out the diluted elixir, nodded his head, drawing up his mana.

“If it’s okay with my method, I’ll start right now.”