Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1126

Residue (15)

Tokerphos.

The most prominent entertainment city on the continent, a hub for all sorts of gambling and crime.

A place where everything in the world is used as currency and collateral, then discarded like trash.

It’s a hotbed of luxury facilities and entertainment culture, and also the city where the most physical assets of the Western Continent gather.

The capital gathered here surpasses that of a single city-state, with the entire region functioning as a single living area.

It welcomes guests from all over the world, making it a cradle for entrepreneurs and swindlers alike.

As such, there were various means of transportation to Tokerphos.

Boo-oo-

With a slow horn, a luxurious cruise ship approached along the river.

The cruises that tour the river near Tokerphos are, in themselves, nothing less than a giant casino.

On the deck, there were lavishly decorated Texas Hold’em and Blackjack tables. Guests were drinking or engrossed in gambling there.

Because there were so many people and so much money changing hands, there were also small boats that followed the ships, doing business or supplying goods.

Splash!!

Lenox raised his gaze from a small yacht moving behind the cruise ship.

“Money.”

A rough-looking man walked out of the yacht’s driver’s seat and held out his hand to Lenox.

“3 million for the fare. 300,000 for the commission. 1.2 million for the tip. Let’s make it a clean 4.5 million cel.”

“……”

[Why are you asking for so much tip?]

As Davi grumbled, the tip ratio was quite high compared to the price.

“Why, what.”

As if noticing Lenox’s gaze, the man spat towards the river.

“Surely, someone who came all the way to Tokerphos to gamble wouldn’t begrudge the small change given to a merchant. Let’s settle up quickly.”

“Small change, you say.”

“Or, should I report you to the Tokerphos police right now?”

The bearded man grinned at Lenox.

“It’s called the police, but here, it’s no different from the military. If they find out you entered the river without permission, you’ll be behind bars right away.”

“……”

“You chose me because you didn’t want to get into unnecessary trouble. Then you should show a little more sincerity.”

He wasn’t wrong.

After the Kundara collapse, many cities in the Western Continent were restricting the entry of outsiders to some extent.

In this situation, to enter Tokerphos under Victor’s identity, some kind of workaround was necessary.

In retrospect, the ‘sincerity’ that this man was claiming wasn’t entirely unfounded, but-

Step.

“W-what.”

The man’s expression changed slightly as Lenox took a step closer.

The obsidian mask visible under the robe, and the red glow flickering from inside the mask.

The man felt a moment of intimidation from the dark appearance that didn’t expose any skin.

But Lenox raised a gloved hand towards the man.

“Here.”

Clink!!

Several dazzling gold coins fell into the man’s hand.

“Ooh?!”

The man’s eyes widened as he checked the number of gold coins in his hand.

At a glance, it was worth well over 5 million cel. Seeing that it was stamped with the Alcantara Bank’s certification, it was undoubtedly genuine.

Only then did the man smile and hurriedly stuff the gold coins into his pocket.

“Ha, ha-ha! You’re surprisingly reasonable. Well, with this much-”

“I’m looking for someone with a white painted face.”

Lenox interrupted the man with a strangely modulated voice.

“If you know anything, I’ll pay more.”

“……Someone with a white painted face?”

For a moment, the man who was stuffing the gold coins paused.

Was he greedy because Lenox was offering millions of cel for a single question?

But the man, who seemed to be lost in thought as if recalling a memory, soon opened the yacht’s door and replied nonchalantly.

“I don’t know. I’m just doing business along the river, following the cruise ships. How would I know if such a guy is in the city or not?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what it is, but go to the casino first. If you’re looking for a crazy male prostitute, there are plenty there. This is worth at least one gold coin-”

“That’s an interesting answer.”

The glow from behind the mask stretched out long.

“I didn’t say he was a man yet.”

“What? No, that’s not it……”

A moment of silence.

Whether it was because he was greedy for the gold coins, or because he wanted to hide what he knew.

The man’s reaction, which had given an uncharacteristically ambiguous answer, slowed down for a moment.

“……Shit.”

Click!!

The man, who had cursed, immediately reached for the gun at his waist.

The moment he raised the gun with a bullet loaded and pulled the trigger towards the mask.

The man realized that his index finger was already gone.

“Huh?”

Swoosh!!

The fingers holding the gun were cut off one by one.

As if cut by an invisible blade, blood flowed from the clean cut surfaces.

Swoosh!!

Finally, the man’s wrist holding the gun was cleanly severed and fell off.

“Uwaaaah!!”

The man belatedly screamed, grabbed his fallen hand, and sat down.

“You pulled the trigger.”

Lenox looked down at the man and said coldly.

“Then you must die.”

“W-wait a minute! Wait!!”

The man, who had thrown away his severed wrist, hurriedly knelt at Lenox’s feet.

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you!! I just heard about it!!”

“Spit it out.”

“That’s, well……!”

The man’s story, rambling in fear, was as follows.

He was smuggling people in and out of the river, but in fact, the man was receiving payment from the Tokerphos police for passing on information about the smuggled people.

In the process, he had also heard information from the police, and he had heard about a man with a white painted face.

“R-recently, I heard that a very dangerous special-type mage came to Tokerphos.”

“……”

“The police special forces were dispatched, but one company didn’t even leave a corpse……”

The man, his face pale, confessed.

“There were no witnesses, so there was a considerable reward just for bringing information. I, I was just greedy for a moment.”

“I see.”

“T-then, can I, can I go now……?”

The man’s face had turned pale from the blood flowing from his severed wrist.

If this continued, he would lose consciousness due to the blood loss.

But even knowing that, the man didn’t rashly act recklessly.

He hadn’t even seen what tool had cut off his fingers. The mask in front of him was undoubtedly a killer that the man couldn’t even fathom.

He had to avoid offending him to save his life.

Lenox, who had been silently looking down at him, nodded.

“I’ll let you go. After we finish the last deal.”

“Th-thank you……!!”

The man, his face brightening, hurriedly bowed and picked up his remains.

He trembled as if he were cold, but with stiff hands, he picked up his fallen hand and fingers.

The moment the man, who had gathered his severed fingers, staggered to his feet.

Click!!

The gun that the man had dropped floated in the air and aimed at his temple.

The man, frozen in place, turned only his eyes to look at Lenox.

“Why……”

“You pulled the trigger, so I have to pull it once too.”

Lenox said.

“Isn’t that a fair deal for each other?”

Click……!

An invisible thread slowly pulled the trigger.

A sound of something turning inside the gun could be heard,

“I don’t know what they call it here. Tokerphos Roulette?”

“You bas……!!”

Bang-

With a small popping sound, the man fell down, scattering blood.

The man’s body, which had staggered and fallen from the end of the yacht, slowly floated down the river.

Thump!

Lenox watched the scene, opened the yacht’s door, and stepped towards the pier.

“……Hmm.”

Standing on solid ground, the nausea that had been constantly churning seemed to subside a little.

The unpleasant feeling that had been shaking his stomach, even after taking motion sickness medicine, disappeared, and Lenox moved his feet.

[They call it Endorose Rotation.]

Davi, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, spoke softly from inside his robe.

[The city of Endorose in the Western Continent is very famous for firearms, and it seems to be a zero-sum game that originated there.]

“You don’t have to explain.”

Of course, Lenox had no intention of letting the man who had tried to sell his information to the police go alive.

Showing unnecessary mercy would only expose Victor’s identity to the Tokerphos police once more.

Either way, Lenox had no intention of leaving any room for doubt from the start.

“The obsession with money and crime isn’t much different from Balkan.”

Lenox said, adjusting his mask.

“It’s one of the things I do best.”

Beyond the mask, the dazzling lights illuminating the night sky spread out.

The towering casino and hotel buildings that seemed to pierce the sky.

The endless fireworks and the flashing billboards everywhere.

And even the familiar face of a woman shining brilliantly on billboards all around.

[Freya Kalins: 17th World Tour]

[Exclusive Concert at Tokerphos Stadium]

[Concert Start D-1]

Tokerphos, the entertainment city where the lights flashed brightly even in the middle of the night, as if it were midday.

Lenox stepped into the dazzling streets without hesitation.

* * *

The flamboyant music, so loud it felt like it would burst your ears.

The streets, completely focused on entertainment and gambling businesses, were filled with dazzling lights.

[I smell something familiar.]

“There was an area that benchmarked Tokerphos in a megacity.”

Lenox, who was walking buried in the crowd, glanced around.

“Was it the 47th district port? The streets and scenery are similar.”

The memory of his first meeting with Peisha, the director of Dead Rise, and competing with her in a gambling game.

It was quite a long time ago, but the gambling game he had played against Peisha was quite impressive, so he remembered it.

It was a slot machine that pretended to be a fighting game but was actually closer to a game of chance.

As he looked around, recalling the scenery of the casino Lenox had visited back then, he felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.

“Shit, this is it!!”

“No, why isn’t an Ace coming out……!!!”

“Shuffle the cards again! One more round!!”

Clatter!!

Hundreds of slot machines that occupied one side of the street were spinning endlessly.

People were cheering or crying, grabbing cards and gambling chips everywhere.

“I heard the resale price of concert tickets has exceeded 4 million cel. It’s 20 times the original price.”

“It’s at a level where you can’t even get a black market ticket. What can you do? It’s Freya’s concert.”

“The songs with musical formulas are like ‘blessings’ for magic users. They’ll be worth whatever you ask for anywhere on the continent.”

“I want to go somehow, but is there any way to sneak into the stadium?”

People were talking about Freya’s concert everywhere on the street.

Even the concert promotion posters were densely plastered on walls and pillars.

Lenox was lost in thought in the middle of the chaotic streets of Tokerphos.

‘I have to find the Clown.’

Freya’s concert in Tokerphos was a means to get to Kabahim Royal City in one go.

Hairea said that the Clown was gathering members in Tokerphos for that plan.

The problem was that even Hairea didn’t know where the Clown was in Tokerphos.

All she could tell him was a series of operational plans and the means to get to Kabahim.

‘He’s an 8th-level illusionist. If he’s determined to hide himself, he can leave no trace.’

He was a monster who could play with his level at will and raise himself up to level 8 at most.

His way of thinking was far beyond the standards of ordinary people, so there was no way to know how he would be hiding.

‘I have to contact the Clown before the concert starts. That way, at least we can match our timing.’

Considering the Clown’s personality, it was unlikely that he would be quietly staying by Freya’s side until the start of the operation.

If he had to find and contact him, it wouldn’t be at the stadium where the concert was being held, but somewhere completely different-

Thud!!

At that moment, a heavy roar echoed from the other side of the street.

The bustling crowd parted, and steel giants nearly 3 meters tall appeared one after another.

They were mechanical giants with their entire bodies covered in solid metal plating, and large heavy weapons mounted on their arms and shoulders.

The green glow flickering inside their helmets looked down at the people buzzing around.

Lenox, who was watching the scene from behind his mask, muttered.

“……Power suits?”

[They’re unmanned armored barrels equipped with autonomous combat AI.]

Davi immediately answered from inside his robe.

[20 types of heavy weapons and 4 missile launchers. Infrared and magic field detection capabilities. Armor capable of withstanding shock spells of level 5 or higher.]

[Boosters adjustable in 16 directions and a propulsion control algorithm. Combat performance comparable to war mercenaries operating on the central front.]

[They’re advanced combat weapons equipped with a cannibalism system that supplies power in real-time and operates semi-permanently.]

Lenox tilted his head as he listened to Davi’s voice, which was rattling off information about the weapon system in an instant.

“Are they unmanned combat weapons that Tokerphos is operating on a trial basis?”

[I looked up related news, and it says that they’ve been deployed sequentially since the last quarter to reduce casualties within the police force.]

“……”

As he said, it wasn’t just the metal giants called armored barrels that had appeared on the street.

There were also emotionless police officers in uniform lined up on both sides of the metal giants.

At that moment, Lenox felt the gaze of some of the police officers and lowered his head.

[Master?]

“They saw me.”

It was a casual glance that seemed to pass by, but Lenox didn’t miss that subtle sign.

It wasn’t because he was wearing a robe or because his face-covering mask was suspicious.

In the first place, there were so many guests with appearances like Lenox’s on this street that they were a dime a dozen.

The strange thing was not Lenox, but the reaction of the police. It was the very reaction of consciously trying to look away while watching Lenox.

“They’re moving. It’s not just simple curiosity.”

Lenox tilted his head as he watched the police officers turning their steps towards him one by one.

“Could it be that they sensed my magic?”

As Victor, he was suppressing the target designation resistance, so it wasn’t impossible for his magic to be sensed.

But if the police’s attitude changed after sensing Lenox’s magic, wouldn’t that be because of the peculiarity of his magic?

And if they were trying to question Lenox after seeing the magic of a special-type mage.

‘It’s because of the Clown.’

Lenox, who had thought that far, immediately turned around.

If he was caught by the police here, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the trouble.

He hid himself in the dense crowd and walked quickly.

He entered the open casino and headed for the glittering slot machines.

Lenox, who had slyly taken one of the gambling chips lying around, put the chip into the machine and sat down.

Click!!

Clatter!!!

When he pulled the lever, the slot machine started spinning, and dazzling lights flashed one after another.

With the loud music, Lenox’s figure was naturally hidden behind the machine.

Lenox, who was watching the police force passing in front of the casino, nodded.

“That’s good. I’ve shaken them off for now.”

[Wouldn’t it have been better to just run away far away?]

“If I want to get information, I need to look around the nearby casinos first.”

Lenox said, glancing around.

In the meantime, he didn’t forget to pick up a few more chips, put them into the machine, and pull the lever.

Clatter- Bang!!

Clatter- Bang!!

“Let’s lose some money around here and see what the atmosphere is like. If I hide my magic and focus on gambling, the police won’t suspect me……”

[Huh.]

Davi tilted his head from inside his robe.

[Master, that……]

“……What?”

Clatter!!!

At that moment, Lenox stopped looking at the numbers spinning on the slot machine.

The screen, which had been showing fruits and numbers alternately, was finally unified into one number.

[7] [7] [7] [7] [7]

Bbam-ba-ba-ba-bam-!!!

With a celebratory blast that seemed to burst the casino, cheerful music rang out.

At the same time, large letters appeared quickly on the slot machine screen.

[Congratulations!!]

[You have won!!]

[Please receive the following rewards through the casino!]

[1: Winnings of 1,541,432,373 cel]

[2: 5-year Tokerphos Casino VIP membership]

[3: Freya Kalins World Tour VIP seat ticket]

“……What is this.”

Lenox frowned at the unexpected reward and turned his gaze away,

The bottom of the slot machine opened up, and it began to spew out gambling chips.

Whoosh!!!

The customers who had been sitting around Lenox with blank stares, stood up with wide eyes.

“It’s a jackpot!!”

“Shit, a jackpot just hit!!!”

“No way, is there really someone who hits the jackpot here?”

“Everyone, look here!! Money is falling!!”

People were shouting excitedly.

Gazes were focused on Lenox from all over the casino.

And even the police officers who had been about to turn the corner, turned back after discovering Lenox.

“……”

Lenox, who met the cold gazes of the police officers, got up from his seat with a wry smile.

“I don’t know if I’m lucky or unlucky.”