Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1074

Thud!

They settled onto a platform in the inner courtyard, away from the bustling path. Leaving behind the boy who was recording the wins and losses according to the bracket, the two men sat facing each other across the Go board.

Lenok was staring intently at the dragon-headed giant sitting opposite him.

“……”

His entire body was covered in shimmering silver scales. His mouth was sharply split diagonally, and horns protruded from his head.

His eyes were as intense and clear as an eagle’s, and his features were as sculpted as a painting.

Even with his reptilian face, it was immediately apparent that he was remarkably handsome.

It wasn’t just because he wasn’t fully humanized; the dragon exuded a powerful presence simply from his striking appearance.

“I’m sorry, but staring at me like that won’t reveal anything.”

The dragon, Maleon, who was sitting at the Go board and fiddling with a stone, grinned.

“Well, it’s true that my face is quite handsome. It’s not strange that you’re envious.”

“…You have a very strong sense of self-love.”

Lenok chuckled and picked up a stone that Maleon offered.

A black stone. As is common with most long-lived species, Maleon gave Lenok the first move.

“Before we begin the game, I would like to ask about the meaning of this match.”

Lenok casually picked a stone and placed it on the Go board.

“What does it mean that you organized this Five Paths Tournament?”

“Is that so? I didn’t think my explanation was that difficult to understand.”

Thud!

Maleon placed a white stone decisively and answered, resting his chin on his hand.

Lenok had barely placed his stone, and Maleon was already responding. His style was so fast and refreshing.

The dragon’s eyes seemed to reflect Lenok clearly, like a mirror.

“If you are the great mage said to possess the greatest talent in the great city, I thought you would have already understood what I was trying to say.”

“……”

Silence fell.

Maleon tilted his head, as if wanting to see a reaction, but Lenok did not respond, their gazes diverging.

However, Lenok remained calm and quietly placed a black stone, unfazed by the subtle silence.

Indeed, this dragon hadn’t simply chosen Lenok as his opponent based on his Five Paths skills.

Lenok knew that this man called Maleon had already known everything and had come looking for him.

Even so, Lenok knew that he was still willing to play a round of Five Paths with him.

“The Adamantine of Balkan. The blood-crazed great mage. A madman who uses endless struggle as the driving force for his growth, or so they say.”

Maleon said, holding a white stone up to his eye and examining it closely.

“The mage who is perhaps closest to ascension in the entire continent right now. The rumors were so ominous that even long-lived species like me often heard about them.”

“……”

“The elders of the Council hidden in Palgeop [a city of the long-lived] may not like it, but I am very interested in the short-lived species outside.”

Maleon said, watching the stones quickly changing places on the Go board.

“I feel there is something to learn from those who walk into the center instead of running away from the Cycle.”

“Is that so?”

“So, after hearing about you, I have been looking forward to today’s meeting for quite some time.”

Maleon’s pupils flashed as he looked at Lenok.

“It would have been nice if we could have met a thousand times, but I was also very curious to know what kind of mage the Adamantine was who had defeated those thousand.”

“……”

“Intriguing.”

Thud.

Maleon, resting his chin on his hand, placed a stone with his large, pot-lid-sized hand.

“The way you toyed with Alogon, the fact that you are here without passing the Trials of Terror, and that you are offering your talents to the long-lived species.”

“……”

“That seems very different from the Adamantine’s infamy or blood-soaked nature that I heard from the outside.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“If our goals can align in this city, I think we could cooperate, don’t you think?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, that’s it.”

Tap!

The moment Maleon said that and placed a white stone, the scene on the Go board began to distort.

The white stones placed in a circle on the Go board formed an intense magic circle and floated above their heads.

Bwoooom…!!!

Maleon’s skill in activating a spell by using the stones on the Five Paths Go board as materials for a magic circle.

The moment Lenok realized this and raised his gaze with a hardened expression.

Crack!!!

The space itself began to distort and change drastically, centered on the platform where Lenok and Maleon were sitting.

A sense of dissonance, as if the space where the two were standing was forcibly torn away and attached to another place.

“I’ve turned the spatial dislocation phenomenon observed in the Black Forest of the Western Continent into a spell and deployed it as a magic circle.”

Maleon said with a grin, resting his chin on his hand.

“It’s not my specialty, but it seems to be well enough completed to show off in front of you.”

“…You.”

“We need to have a somewhat dangerous conversation from now on, so let’s move places for a moment.”

Kugugugu!!!

The moment he realized it, Lenok was sitting in the middle of a vast hall.

A huge hall where sculptures of long-lived species in the forms of dragons, kirins, mythical beasts, and phantasmal beasts were displayed.

It was a bizarre sight, as if one side of the platform where Lenok and Maleon had been sitting was cut out and pasted onto it.

However, Lenok realized what Maleon had done in that short time and faintly hardened his expression.

‘He created a temporary magic circle using only the stones on the Go board, and as a result, manipulated space.’

The Five Paths created by Jintun is a board game that helps with learning magic circles, but it is not actually designed to draw magic circles on the Go board.

While it is possible to hone one’s aptitude for spells through the arrangement and changes of the stones, it is not possible to use spells simply by playing the game.

However, Maleon completed a magic circle using only the arrangement of the white stones he had placed while naturally continuing the game with Lenok.

He forcibly activated it on the Go board and teleported the platform where the two were sitting into this unknown hall.

A skill closer to the pinnacle of spell manipulation, far more acquired than the skill with which Pohyeol Gong moved Lenok to the Blood Shadow Palace.

It was proof that the dragon-headed giant in front of him was a mage who had reached a much higher level than Lenok had thought.

“The long-lived species of Kundara seem to enjoy changing places quite a bit.”

Lenok, abandoning honorifics, asked, running a hand through his hair in annoyance.

“Where is this?”

“Inside Palgeop (Eight Calamities).”

Maleon answered leisurely, with his arms crossed.

“It’s a memorial hall that honors the founders who designed the refuge called Kundara.”

“…A memorial hall?”

After passing the Trials of Palgeop, this strange space would welcome the long-lived species?

No, more than that, there was one thing to take care of upon arriving at Palgeop.

The wish-fulfilling orb that he had received from Alogon and filled with life force. There was definitely a sanctuary to convert the life force within into lifespan-

“The process of completing the seven stages of self-transformation is like a trial that defines the existence of a single life.”

Maleon said.

“We long-lived species interpret overcoming a stage as a trial and call it a Calamity (劫) [a major challenge or trial].”

“……”

“A seeker faces the end of the world after overcoming nine Calamities, but without the fourth, everyone fails.”

The dragon’s pupils met Lenok’s, filled with profound emotion.

“Instead of facing the end by passing through the Calamities, we promised to avoid the end outside the Calamities. We called it the Outer Calamity (外劫) [a way to avoid the trials].”

“You placed the entire city on the path of nine stages and tried to avoid destruction by escaping it.”

Lenok replied with a cold expression.

“The term ‘Outer Calamity City’ was the most direct way to describe the answer you chose.”

One could only go to the higher areas of Kundara after passing the Trials of Calamity.

However, to pass the Calamities, the challenger had to have a suitable stage.

Even the long-lived species who lived for hundreds of years had to repeat their training and hone themselves.

The fact that the long-lived species were so engrossed and obsessed with Five Paths was also deeply intertwined with the way this city existed.

The Outer Calamity City was the term for the very method they had chosen to avoid destruction.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I know what you want.”

“You know what I want?”

“You want to enter Gugeop (Ninth Calamity) [the final and highest trial] in a human body. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“To that end, you were trying to win the Five Paths Tournament and obtain the Elixir of Ascension.”

Maleon said without waiting for Lenok’s answer.

“It must have been Nives’s suggestion? There’s no way anyone else would know about the existence of the elixir other than that senile poison master. But…”

Having said that, Maleon slowly reached into his chest.

A small vial, as if carved from amethyst, was pulled out from his hand covered in silver scales.

Maleon placed it in the middle of the Go board without even looking at it.

“Drinking this and passing through Gugeop will not be a good thing for you.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lenok said, pointing at the vial on the Go board with a bewildered expression.

“So, is this the Elixir of Ascension that the white snake was talking about?”

“I took out an item that was stored in the Elder Council’s vault.”

Maleon nodded with a grin.

“If I don’t show you the item directly and persuade you, a mage like you won’t believe me.”

“……”

He had brought the Elixir of Ascension himself to convey his words while talking directly with Lenok.

A ridiculous result that the reward he should have chosen from the Elder Council’s vault after winning the Five Paths Tournament was right in front of him.

However, Maleon did not even look at the elixir and spread his palm towards Lenok.

“If you want, you can check it yourself. That’s why I took it out.”

Maleon’s gaze towards Lenok was endlessly calm.

“This elixir is something that no living being should drink. I want to let you know that Nives’s suggestion is nothing but a bunch of nonsense.”

“……”

Lenok, who had been silently looking at Maleon, reached out and grabbed the vial on the Go board.

He looked at the surface of the vial, which glowed beautifully like amethyst, and carefully opened the lid.

The moment he did, a withered whisper quietly echoed from inside the vial.

[I will build it…]

“…!”

[I want to tear living flesh…]

[Let’s slaughter the bugs…]

[Why, why do I have to die…]

The terribly twisted thoughts of someone coming from inside the vial.

Thoughts that were distorted and covered with all sorts of negative and terrible curses and words.

It was as if his head was throbbing just from listening to it for a moment.

If Lenok was like this, it wouldn’t be strange if an ordinary person went mad the moment they opened the vial and listened.

Click.

Lenok, with a frown, closed the lid, and Maleon nodded as if he had expected it.

“As you saw, what’s inside is not an ordinary elixir or poison.”

“……”

“It’s a contaminant made by rotting the thoughts of a transcendent who failed to ascend and the inner core left in his corpse for a long time.”

Maleon continued.

“If you take it, you might be able to reach a state similar to that of an ascendant for a while. But then there will be a corruption that will fundamentally destroy your existence.”

“The effect of the elixir is merely a side effect of the poison.”

“You can have the elixir if you want. I’ll do it as much as you want to prove that I’m not obsessed with it.”

Maleon’s eyes gleamed.

“But never take it. I’m telling you this to recommend another way.”

“…Interesting.”

Lenok, who had been staring at the vial, smiled coldly and put it in his chest.

It was definitely a dangerous item, but he had no intention of throwing it away.

If it was a poison made by rotting a transcendent who had failed to ascend, there would be a place to use it even if Lenok didn’t use it.

“Okay. I’ll postpone taking this elixir.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But that will be something to decide after I hear what you want.”

Lenok, who had pushed the vial into his personal subspace with almost no room left, stared at Maleon with sharp eyes.

“The fact that you went so far as to give me the elixir to persuade me means that you want something from me too.”

“……”

“Tell me. What is the way to enter Gugeop without using the elixir and without becoming an ascendant?”

“The Trials of Gugeop are very different from passing through the other eight Calamities.”

Maleon said.

“Even if you don’t pass the trials yourself, if there is someone who has overcome the trials next to you, you can enter Gugeop with them.”

“Wait for another being who has passed the Trials of Gugeop?”

“Of course, you’ll have to manage to survive inside Gugeop on your own.”

Maleon shrugged as Lenok frowned.

“But if you’re a great mage of your caliber, surviving while maintaining your ego inside Gugeop shouldn’t be impossible-”

“You keep changing the subject. That’s not what I want to ask.”

Lenok interrupted Maleon, speaking with annoyance.

“The idea of following someone who is passing the Trials of Gugeop is only possible if there is a subject who will challenge the trials in the first place.”

“……”

“For your proposal to work, there must be someone in the Outer Calamity City who is trying to reach level 9.”

“……”

“In the first place, who in the Outer Calamity City, which is about to hold a major event-”

Lenok’s words, which had reached that point, suddenly stopped.

The method of passing through the trials by following a transcendent who is challenging the Trials of Gugeop.

The major event that was being prepared throughout Kundara.

The existence of Maleon, who was considered the most talented great mage in the Outer Calamity City.

Lenok also finally realized that all these stories were linked by a single cause.

No, perhaps he had known it the moment he heard Maleon’s story.

However, the reason Lenok had vaguely sensed it but denied it was that the method Maleon was proposing itself-

Looking at the silent Lenok, Maleon leisurely crossed his arms.

“It seems you’re finally ready to listen to the story in earnest.”

“Don’t tell me, you.”

Lenok asked, barely managing to break the silence.

“Are you… planning to become the new ascendant of Kundara?”

“In such an important matter, there’s no way I would talk about it based on someone who isn’t here.”

Maleon grinned and straightened his shoulders.

“I won’t beat around the bush. I plan to become a new ascendant through the ascension ceremony in this city.”

“……”

“And you have very useful qualities in helping high-ranking long-lived species pass the Trials of Calamity.”

Maleon, reaching out his hand towards the silent Lenok, asked.

“Help me become an ascendant. Then I will help you pass through Gugeop by my side.”

“…That’s an unrealistic plan.”

Lenok replied, barely managing to control his expression.

Maleon’s plan to become the new ascendant of Kundara and pass through Gugeop.

The story that he was going to reach level 9 himself in this city was shocking, but Lenok did not take his words at face value.

“You can’t do anything with just words. Nothing is accomplished by declaring that you will become an ascendant.”

“……”

“What is the reason you are so confident that you can reach level 9? Do you have something to rely on?”

“When we designed the nine Trials of Calamity that exist in Kundara, we received help from an ascendant.”

Maleon answered calmly.

“Thanks to his help with the design, as he was skilled in barrier magic and magic circles, we were able to create a foundation in the universe of mist.”

“……”

The ascendant who was skilled in barrier magic and magic circles helped design the Calamities of Kundara.

The moment Lenok’s lips twitched unconsciously at those words, Maleon said.

“Ascendant Jintun. There is an ascension magic circle that Zygis Ithernoer left at the end of the sanctuary of Palgeop.”

“……”

“It’s a magic circle that Jintun himself used when he designed the Trials of Calamity, but it’s something that no one in Kundara has been able to handle for a long time.”

Maleon met Lenok’s gaze with a serious expression.

“But after a long period of interpretation, I realized that I can forcibly reproduce the ascension ceremony to reach level 9 through that magic circle.”

“……”

“I believe you understand why I’m telling this to a skilled Five Paths player like you.”

Maleon continued.

“For some reason, the magic circle that had been dormant recently began to activate rapidly. If it’s not now, it will be difficult to time it-”

Maleon, who was looking at Lenok, tilted his head with a puzzled look.

“Why are you making that face?”

“…No.”

Lenok smiled wryly and raised his gaze to hide his expression.

The moment he heard Maleon’s words, he had already realized the reason why.

[Hehehe.]

The laughter of the neural spirit wriggling in his chest seemed to represent Lenok’s feelings.