Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1070

The old man’s reaction upon seeing the wish-fulfilling orb was to immediately mention the Eight Dragon Kings of the Water God Clan and become wary.

However, Lenok had anticipated that things might turn out this way the moment he took out the wish-fulfilling orb.

Lenok’s wish-fulfilling orb was personally crafted by the Water God Dragon King, Alogon, and most of its energy was filled with Alogon’s own life force.

It wouldn’t be strange if someone among the long-lived races recognized it, given that it was filled with such pure dragon king energy, unless it was mixed with various other energies.

Of course, even knowing that, the reason he deliberately took out the wish-fulfilling orb first in this place was-

‘S-the Water God Dragon King…!!’

Snook, the workshop employee who had been listening to the conversation from behind the old man, trembled with a pale face.

He was well aware of the name that had popped out of the old man’s mouth the moment he saw Lenok’s wish-fulfilling orb.

A long-lived being known to be the most impulsive among the eight dragon kings who guarded the borders of Kundara.

Was he just spouting nonsense to the being who controlled and dominated the entire Water God Clan until just now?

Snook, his face turning purple, stammered and struggled to speak.

‘Y-you don’t usually talk like that among the dragon race… I mistakenly thought…!!’

‘……’

‘I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry…!!’

The old man strongly pressed down on Snook’s shoulder, who couldn’t even apologize properly and was trembling.

Snook’s head drooped, and he was flattened to the floor by the force.

The old man, leaving the young man behind, placed the wish-fulfilling orb on the display stand and said,

‘Snook. Ask for the understanding of the customers in the workshop and close the shop.’

‘……Y-yes?’

‘Today’s business ends here.’

The old man said in a heavy voice.

‘I plan to serve this person last and then close, so go and ask for the customers’ understanding yourself.’

‘A-alright…!!’

Only then did Snook hurriedly get up and start running around the workshop.

Snook bowed to each of the customers who were showing signs of displeasure as he guided them to the exit.

The customers were surprised by Snook’s sudden change in attitude, who had been rude until just now, but they left the workshop one by one.

Lenok stared at the young man for a while, then smiled and turned his gaze to the old man.

‘I wasn’t planning to kill him, even if you didn’t try to get him away from my sight with excuses.’

‘……’

‘You seem to care a lot about your disciple.’

‘Who said I’m worried about such a foolish employee?’

The old man tried to maintain his composure and changed the subject.

‘I just gave him a troublesome task to clean up the shop. I don’t even care if he falls down and dies somewhere.’

‘Is that so?’

‘More importantly, we had something to say to each other about the existence of this wish-fulfilling orb.’

After all the customers had left, the old man spoke quietly in the center of the vast workshop, which had become silent in an instant.

He tried to hide his agitation, but his experienced eyes couldn’t leave the dazzling wish-fulfilling orb placed on the display stand.

The old man carefully wiped the wish-fulfilling orb, which was emitting a brilliant glow, with a towel in his hand, and then hesitated before opening his mouth.

‘The energy contained in this wish-fulfilling orb is undoubtedly that of the Eight Dragon Kings. It is certain that Lord Alogon, who guards the deep sea region, personally bestowed his life force.’

‘……’

‘However, this wish-fulfilling orb seems to have been made very recently to be a Dragon King’s orb. Therefore, it wouldn’t be Lord Alogon’s own wish-fulfilling orb.’

The old man said that, but asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

‘Then, are you saying that the Water God Dragon King personally made and bestowed a wish-fulfilling orb to someone who is not even a member of the Water God Clan?’

‘If you know that much, there’s no need to explain.’

Lenok crossed his arms and raised his head.

The Water God Dragon King Alogon, who guards the deep sea region, was in a situation where he couldn’t return to Kundara for the time being anyway.

Even if Lenok slightly distorted his relationship with Alogon, there would be no one to point out the gap.

In fact, it was true that Alogon had personally made the wish-fulfilling orb for Lenok and infused his life force into the orb.

‘I came to the workshop to purchase the Black Chain Dragon Scale Armor. Can I now hear the price of the item?’

‘Certainly. If you possess a wish-fulfilling orb of this level, there should be no problem handling dragon-type equipment. But…’

The old man made a groaning sound and shook his head.

‘I’m sorry. It seems I can’t sell the equipment to you.’

‘Why is that?’

‘Because you are not a long-lived being who has passed through the Calamity of Kundara normally.’

‘……’

At that moment, a tense atmosphere flowed between the two.

It was because Lenok checked the firmly closed door of the workshop right after hearing those words, and the old man noticed that.

The old man also seemed to have noticed what Lenok was thinking as soon as he heard those words, and asked with a bitter smile.

‘It seems you have some idea of what’s going on.’

‘That is…’

‘I’ll explain, so can you promise not to kill me in the meantime?’

Lenok tried to raise his magic power for a moment, but stopped the moment he made up his mind.

The old man’s attitude was quite calm, considering that he had noticed Lenok’s secret as soon as he saw the wish-fulfilling orb.

The fact that he told Lenok this in the first place was proof that it wasn’t to pressure him.

Lenok, who had quietly calmed his thoughts, replied.

‘I’m not the type to enjoy killing.’

‘[……?]’

Lenok ignored Davi’s question from inside his pocket and nodded.

‘I’ll listen.’

‘Passing through the Calamity trials in Kundara is a process of accumulating just cause to live and exist in this city.’

The old man said.

‘Therefore, long-lived beings residing in the outer Calamity city accumulate that cause in their orbs every time they pass through the Calamity trials.’

‘……’

‘But even though you are in this manor of the Five Calamities, there is no trace of passing through the Calamity trials in the wish-fulfilling orb. It’s as clear as a transparent mirror.’

The old man, looking at Lenok with a profound gaze, said,

‘If we interact with someone who hasn’t acquired such a cause, the elders of the Eight Calamities will immediately recognize the distortion of that cause and take action to ‘adjust’ it.’

‘Passing through the Calamity is the cause for existing in Kundara…’

Lenok, who was pondering, asked.

‘You didn’t just guess and throw out those words based on the situation. From what point did you suspect that I wasn’t a long-lived being?’

‘Long-lived beings who possess wish-fulfilling orbs usually store them deep within one of their body organs.’

The old man replied.

‘Of course, because of that, the wish-fulfilling orb usually emits a strong energy or scent.’

‘……’

‘But this wish-fulfilling orb has the energy of the Water God Dragon King, yet it hardly smells. At most, it has a faint scent of the sea?’

The old man said, handing the wish-fulfilling orb to Lenok.

‘It’s proof that you are not the kind of ‘creature’ that creates or possesses wish-fulfilling orbs in the first place.’

‘……’

It wasn’t because he couldn’t hide his presence, but rather because he didn’t show any presence that he was suspected of not being a long-lived being.

Looking at Lenok, who was lost in thought, the old man said as if summarizing what he had said.

‘Of course, it is something to respect that you have risen to such a high rank with the body of a short-lived being. I intend to treat you as a guest just for that.’

‘Considering what you’re saying, you also seem to have accumulated a considerable level of rank.’

The old man was able to recognize that the energy contained in Lenok’s wish-fulfilling orb was that of the Water God Dragon King just by glancing at it once.

At the same time, he saw through that the wish-fulfilling orb was a recently made orb and realized that Lenok was not Alogon himself.

It was impossible unless the old man himself was an excellent magic user and a holder of a considerable level of rank.

In Kundara, even merchants selling goods in the bustling city streets were such outstanding superhumans?

‘You seem to not know much about long-lived beings.’

However, the old man shook his head even after hearing Lenok’s words.

‘We are beings who complete our rank just by living and breathing. The rank we have accumulated is not greatly related to enlightenment.’

‘……You’re saying that you increase and complete your rank just by being alive?’

‘A long-lived being with a high rank is not necessarily a being with transcendence. Rather, the opposite is often the case.’

‘……’

‘If you want to interact with long-lived beings in Kundara in a legitimate way, it’s not enough to just have the blessing of the Water God Dragon King.’

The old man, who had organized the display stand, nodded to Lenok and said,

‘You need proof that you have passed through the Calamity trials. Or a guarantee of identity or qualification equivalent to that.’

‘Are you talking about identity?’

‘The outer Calamity city is a city where long-lived beings gather and live, but it’s not that short-lived beings don’t exist at all.’

The old man replied.

‘Some humans have been granted the right to operate in Kundara by being guaranteed by long-lived beings, or by becoming their possessions or slaves.’

The old man shook his head.

‘That’s all I can say. If you want to buy something, bring a way to guarantee your identity in another way.’

***

Lenok quietly pondered, looking at the door of the workshop that had quietly closed in front of him.

‘There are more problems than I thought to move around the city freely. Is it a good thing that I found out now…’

The outer Calamity city, Kundara, was an otherworldly city that used the lifespan of long-lived beings as currency.

If he hid the wish-fulfilling orb, he wouldn’t be easily exposed as a short-lived being, but conversely, he wouldn’t be able to use his lifespan as currency.

At this point, it was as if Lenok’s path to using the lodging facilities or convenience facilities of the outer Calamity city was blocked.

There was a possibility that things would become easier by using the fact that he had the Water God Dragon King as his backer, but conversely, he couldn’t use that benefit because he hadn’t passed through the Calamity trials.

From the point he skipped the Calamity trials and entered the city while encountering the Blood Pouch, things hadn’t been easy.

‘Even if it’s not the Black Chain Dragon Scale Armor, there were a few more items I wanted to buy from that workshop.’

While talking with the old man, Lenok had been keeping an eye on the useful equipment displayed in the workshop.

Among them, what Lenok had been paying attention to was a saddle for magical beasts that could be used to ride tamed, unintelligent magical beasts.

And a summoning contract that could be used after agreeing with a long-lived being.

Even if the saddle for magical beasts was just that, the summoning contract was said to work normally even outside of Kundara, so he was interested in it.

If he made a summoning contract after agreeing with one of the powerful long-lived beings in Kundara, it would surely be a great help in the future.

Identity verification was essential not only to purchase items from the workshop but also for information gathering.

Lenok, having made up his mind, sat in a gazebo located outside the street and took out an old notebook.

The Blood Thought Record, which had returned to Lenok’s hands due to an accident during the transaction with the Blood Pouch.

Lenok looked down at the faintly vibrating notebook with a heavy gaze, as if it had come into the hands of the right owner.

‘Maybe two more times at best?’

The Blood Thought Record was a vast recording device for blood and living things, but it had the disadvantage of stopping working for a long time after being used once.

Once in front of the Calamity trial. He had used it more than five times in the process of transferring ownership to the Blood Pouch.

Perhaps the number of times he could use it in the future would not even be a few.

He had to choose his questions carefully.

Without deviating too much from the theme of the Blood Thought Record, and also matching Lenok’s purpose the most…

Lenok, who had been lost in thought, soon drew blood from his fingertip and began to write on the page.

‘=I want to know the place where the highest-ranking long-lived beings of Kundara are most gathered in this street right now.’

‘=……’

The Blood Thought Record did not answer.

Instead, drops of blood rose and began to draw a picture on the notebook.

Lenok, realizing that it was a map of the nearby streets, immediately got up and began to walk in the direction the notebook was pointing.

‘This is it.’

Lenok had already received an answer from the Blood Thought Record that the method of passing through the Calamity of Kundara was held by the Blood Pouch.

Then, Lenok had to find the method to get his identity verified in this city himself.

Now that he couldn’t get answers from the Blood Thought Record multiple times, what Lenok had to find out with a single question was the location of a high-ranking long-lived being.

He heads to a large garden located on the outskirts of the street, away from the bustling city streets.

A beautiful utopia with peach trees scattered here and there, and a grassy field.

Under the trees, various people of all ages and genders were gathered, sitting facing each other and holding stones.

‘……Hmm?’

Lenok, realizing that everyone gathered in this utopia was playing Othello, had a dumbfounded expression.

‘Sunjeon. Homa.’

‘Chukcha. Seonryeom.’

Terms describing the game of Othello, which were heard from here and there at the same time as his ears opened late.

The people who were passing by didn’t pay any attention, and each of them was engrossed in their own game.

All of those gathered here were not humans, but long-lived beings who had lived for a long time.

They had forgotten the flow of time and were engrossed in Othello, each holding a stone.

There was no exaggeration in the statement that the board game created by Jin-dun had spread widely in both Ars Nova and Kundara.

‘……’

Lenok, who had been looking around at the various games being played all around, naturally headed to a secluded corner of the garden.

Two boys wearing black and red robes were playing the highest-level game among the Othello players gathered here, with endlessly solemn faces.

The coordinates of the garden located at the end of the map pointed to by the Blood Thought Record.

These two must be the most powerful sorcerers and long-lived beings in this place.

‘……Hoo.’

Lenok smiled bitterly as he watched the two boys who were engrossed in their game, not even noticing that Lenok had approached.

Considering what Lenok was about to do, he felt a little sorry for them.

However, in order to collect information smoothly in Kundara, he needed a way to prove himself in this city as quickly as possible.

And if the opponents were high-ranking long-lived beings who looked down on short-lived beings like insects, there was only one way for Lenok to approach them and attract their attention.

It wasn’t difficult.

Just as much as Lenok needed them, they would now need Lenok.

Lenok, having made up his mind, opened his mouth to the two boys in a slightly lowered voice.

‘That’s not how you do it.’

‘……’

‘……Huh?’

A provocation starter that was universally applicable beyond the confines of time and race.

The two boys, with veins popping out on their foreheads, simultaneously turned their gaze towards Lenok.