Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1183

“……”

I opened my eyes.

Darkness, where nothing could be seen. My whole body felt heavy, as if pressed down.

It wasn’t a specific purpose or malice, but a sense of being overwhelmed, like being buried under a pile of luggage.

“……Ha.”

Lenok sighed, circulating his magic power and pushing himself up.

The Jeongryun Barrier [a type of defensive magic] and the Yeonghap Barrier [another type of defensive magic] wrapped around his body, minimizing the backlash of physical enhancement.

Lenok, having pushed away the objects pressing down on him, roughly shook his shoulders.

Whirr!

The door in front of him burst open, and the objects that had been pressing on his back tumbled forward.

Only then could Lenok accurately perceive the scenery around him.

A lush forest covered in green. A narrow metal chamber buried askew under an old tree.

Sighing, Lenok stepped out, over the luggage, and shook his head as he looked around the chamber.

“Gyro’s No. 5 Storage Vault. So, this is how it’s used. Isn’t the space a bit too small?”

[Ah, was this one of the gifts Master received a while ago?]

Dabi, who had been rolling around in his arms, asked with a puzzled look.

[I was worried when Master suddenly went into a cramped box, wondering if you had suddenly turned into a cat.]

“It’s a personal hideout I received as compensation from the Cartel after the first gate’s work was done.”

Lenok replied, looking down at the narrow steel room buried under the tree.

“I recovered the fragments of the barrier a thousand times at the gate. I received this as compensation in the process of handing over the fragments to the Cartel.”

The No. 5 Storage Vault, created by the artisan Gyro, who possessed the talent of duality, was not a valuable item but a safe for hiding people.

The existence of a personal hideout randomly generated within a radius of about 1 km of the user wearing the ring.

It had been a while since he had moved under the identity of a thousand, so Lenok was checking the rewards he had received after the gate’s work was done, one by one.

However, as soon as he entered the hideout, he was buried under all sorts of luggage crammed inside.

[Supplies. Combat rations. There are many mid-to-high-grade artifacts and weapons.]

Dabi, who quickly scanned and checked the items piled up inside the hideout, tilted his head.

[I don’t think Master would have bought these supplies. Did someone secretly stash them away?]

“……No. Now that you mention it, I remember a little.”

Lenok answered, looking at the luggage scattered outside the hideout with a sullen expression.

“These are supplies I received as gifts from the gate search party a long time ago. I didn’t have a place to store them, so I put them in the hideout and forgot about them.”

After defeating the Grafted Lord at the first gate, Lenok had temporarily taken over ownership of the gate.

At that time, he had received all sorts of gifts and bribes from the forces and merchants residing in the gate.

The supplies he had put away because he had no place to store them on his way back to Balkan were now coming back to his memory.

“It’s been a while since I’ve moved under this identity, so I need to get organized. At the very least, I need to regain my sense of handling flame magic before I go.”

Chik, chik!!

Lenok, who had flicked his fingers to create a flame, muttered with a troubled expression.

“The control of drawing the fire is not as smooth as I thought. I need some practice.”

[With Master’s senses, wouldn’t you get the hang of it after using it a few times in actual combat?]

“It’s partly because I haven’t used it for a long time, but I think it’s also due to the backlash from the domain I used to kill the Grafted Lord.”

Lenok said, pushing the supplies that had spilled out of the hideout back inside, one by one.

“I fully deployed the Thousand Fragrant Miles [a powerful, self-generating domain] to kill the Lord, who had gained immortality. This is closer to an aftereffect.”

The Thousand Fragrant Miles is a self-generating domain that blooms with time as a constraint, reaching the limit of potential, burning eternally with the target.

However, since it gains semi-permanent immortality by burning time, the required power in the process is also enormous.

At the first gate, he was only able to meet the conditions by stealing the grafting technique with Uroboros [a mythical serpent] and fusing two sun spheres.

Having drawn and burned all the inner flames, it was no wonder that he was having difficulty rekindling the fire.

Chik, chik, chiiik-

Lenok repeatedly flicked his fingers, trying to create a fire.

[Oh, then isn’t that a big problem?]

Dabi, who finally understood Lenok’s words, spoke with a worried expression.

[Master is going to attend the parade under this identity, but if there’s a problem with flame magic-]

“No. Wait a moment.”

Whirr!!

At the same time as he opened his hand, he created a deep crimson flame.

The flames that rose above Lenok’s head increased from two to four, and from four to eight.

Each time he tapped the air, the living flames multiplied, constantly illuminating the forest.

Oooooooo!!!!

Hundreds of flames floated around Lenok, changing speed and direction.

Each rotating flame was manipulated individually, changing color and shape without overlapping trajectories.

A miracle of freely manipulating and controlling hundreds of different magic power masses without a single error.

Whoosh!!

Lenok, who lightly clenched his fist and extinguished all the wandering flames, nodded.

“Practice is over. Let’s move right away.”

[……Please return my worries right now.]

“I never said that practice would take a long time from the beginning.”

Lenok shrugged.

“It’s not like it’s going berserk like the electric system, and the flame system is a method of warming up, so it’s easy to get a sense of it. It’s not that difficult of a task.”

[Flame mages who fought Master would be furious if they heard that.]

“It’s not as perfect as when I fought the Lord, but it should be fine until the parade.”

Lenok said, clenching his fist and concentrating.

“Right. Maybe I can even try out a newly learned technique……”

Lenok, holding his fist in front of his eyes as if holding a flame, slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Each time, intense heat spread out from Lenok, then slowly sucked back in.

Woo woo woo woo……!!!!!

Along with a heavy resonance like the sound of an airplane engine, the entire space resonated around Lenok.

A strange sign, as if something very powerful was trying to awaken, ‘breathing’ through Lenok as a passage.

However, Lenok repeated the experiment a few more times, then stopped concentrating and opened his eyes.

“……It’s still difficult to draw out. I need more preparation to use it in actual combat.”

Like the Red Star System, which explosively increases output by using a fire seed as a magic core, Lenok has been researching in various ways to grow flame magic.

The new technique Lenok is trying now is one of the possibilities he has newly gained through the battles he has experienced.

If done well, it might become a new turning point for Lenok in a different way than the Thousand Fragrant Miles.

It was just that he was having trouble forming a clear shape because it was very different from the concept of flame magic that Lenok had been using.

Although it was still immature, he believed that time would solve the problem.

“Before leaving, let’s organize what I need to do at the parade one last time and depart.”

Walking between the giant old trees, Lenok took out a tablet from his arms.

“First. Meet Ethan Bajur and confirm the project and the legion’s goals.”

Lenok, who had simply made a note on the notepad on the screen, tilted his head.

“Kaise’s remains I saw in Gugeop. He might know the whereabouts of the missing head. First, I need to confirm that fact.”

[You’re going to make him answer.]

“Second. I need to decide whether to accept the position of commander of the Dead Rise Legion. The reason why a thousand can attend the parade is because I was offered the position of legion commander.”

[It was openly written in the power rankings, so the news must have already spread all over the continent.]

“It’s not an unprofitable offer. If I become a legion commander, I can directly influence the central front, and I can also directly observe the internal affairs of the legion.”

It would be more difficult to maintain multiple identities and walk a tightrope, but he had no intention of denying that it was worth it.

[Is there a third one?]

“I need to check the forces and faces attending the parade and prepare for the subjugation war.”

Lenok raised his gaze.

“It’s a schedule where envoys from all over the continent gather in one place. There won’t be many opportunities to grasp the atmosphere and situation of the center as much as now.”

Lenok, who manipulated the tablet to bring up a part of the map of the East Continent, said.

“The place where the parade is held is the 2nd Command of the Dead Rise Legion. It’s the command headquarters in charge of the Far East region.”

Lenok, who checked the nearby terrain and routes, nodded and put the tablet away.

“If I move quickly, I can arrive in four days. The timing is just right.”

[That’s assuming there’s a means of transportation that can travel the shortest distance on the map.]

“I’ve already prepared the means, haven’t I?”

Brrrrum!

At the same time as Lenok flicked his fingers, a bike with a metal shell appeared in front of him.

The shape of a huge monster bike that was emitting a rough engine sound with the engine running.

Lenok, who got on the bike and grabbed the throttle, nodded, tapping the armor covering the surface.

“I tried attaching the shell of the mechanical warhorse I received from the gate search party a while ago, and it’s not bad.”

A mechanical bike made of shape-memory alloy from the central city and equipped with armor magic.

He had tried attaching a part of its shape to Lenok’s bike, and it wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought.

A heavy and weighty shape, as if the entire bike was surrounded by thick armor.

This way, even if he rode the bike under the identity of a thousand, he could claim that it was something he received from the gate search party.

[But to maintain this bulky appearance, the engine output had to be increased by almost 1.7 times.]

“I’ll put it back after this is over, so stop grumbling and let’s go.”

[Hmph.]

As Dabi settled into the bike’s engine system, the power turned on and the automatic driving algorithm activated.

The moment Lenok pulled the throttle, it accelerated explosively and cut through the forest at high speed.

Buaaaang!!

The surrounding scenery blurred into a green line, pressing heavily on his shoulders.

Lowering the center of gravity to prevent the vehicle from floating due to excessive acceleration, and minimizing air resistance.

Lenok, who had quickly left the forest area, turned towards a steep mountain path.

Already far from the giant city of Balkan, near the mountain range in the central part of the East Continent.

Kwarururung……!!!

A fierce wind swirling in the sky.

Along with a faint thunder sound, a black storm was raging from afar.

[Master. That’s…….]

“It’s a magnetic storm.”

A localized magnetic storm that periodically sweeps through the East Continent.

It was the reason why aircraft could not fly over Balkan until Lenok developed the anti-gravity engine, and

It is also a troublesome natural disaster that still regularly interferes with communication between Balkan and other cities.

A phenomenon that is also the main target of various conspiracy theories, such as being a byproduct of the project’s failure or a communication jamming device created and scattered by the city council.

Lenok had also seen the phenomenon with his own eyes several times while traveling in and out of Balkan, but now it felt a little different.

“……”

[Master?]

“Gilleon said that he got sick and weakened from flying through the magnetic storm with his ironclad wings.”

Lenok muttered, slightly slowing down the bike.

“Then, could the ability he gained also be related to the magnetic storm?”

[……I don’t know.]

Dabi answered slowly after a moment.

[I just looked it up after hearing what Master said, and it seems that there are cases where people acquire powerful abilities after a natural disaster or accident.]

“……”

[However, in most cases, it only ends with a slight awakening or awakening of senses, and since it is an awakening of a talent that did not exist in the first place, it is said that it is difficult to control for the rest of their lives.]

“I see……”

[This case is not even treated as an innate ability, so there are no known cases, and there seems to be no common rule among similar cases.]

While Lenok was staring at the magnetic storm, Dabi said as if he had remembered something.

[At least it seems to have a connection with the disaster that caused the awakening, but if Master wants, should we try crashing this bike into the magnetic storm?]

“Why does the conclusion suddenly turn out that way?”

[Well, there’s no measuring equipment to measure the power of the magnetic storm right now.]

“That’s enough. I have no intention of throwing away the means of transportation that should be intact until the parade from the beginning.”

[Hehehe, then Master will have no choice but to ride the night raven that I have been diligently modifying.]

“You’ve finally revealed your sinister true colors.”

[Abbbbbbbbb.]

While letting go of the bike’s throttle and pulling Dabi’s cheeks, the magnetic storm quickly moved away.

Is it a disaster caused by the collision of metallic substances, including iron ore, or a runaway caused by the collapse of the magnetic field in the area?

Either way, the words Gilleon Miles had left behind were impressive enough for Lenok to think about the cause.

A meeting that made him sure that he was by no means a ghost of the past, despite being weakened by illness.

Rather, would he know that it was because of that that Lenok was convinced that he had to attend the parade?

The talents of the century that Kaise Bajur had personally selected and placed under his command.

They had been active in the Balkan civil war, and decades later, they were making their names known throughout the central front.

Lenok was heading to the parade to meet the leaders of such a legion.

Kwaaaang!!!

Just as he was driving up the mountain road at high speed and increasing altitude, a roar erupted from the opposite mountain range.

A sound so intense that it momentarily pierced Lenok’s eardrums, which were constantly protected by public magic.

Lenok immediately turned his gaze, but nothing could be seen in the opposite mountain range where the sound came from.

Dabi, who was rubbing his sore cheeks with his front paws in his arms, glanced at him.

[You didn’t hear a hallucination, did you?]

“No.”

Lenok, who was looking down at the opposite mountain range with a hardened expression, answered.

“At least, it’s something much more unusual than that.”

Kugwagwagwagwa!!!!!

At that moment, the mountain range on the opposite side that Lenok was looking at collapsed on the spot.

As if it had lost its support, the earth and sand flowed down, and the mountain lost its shape, like a sandcastle collapsing.

A bizarre phenomenon, as if a huge mountain was collapsing and crumbling before his eyes.

“Kuhahahat!! Stop right there!!”

From under the collapsing mountain, something was laughing wildly and running like crazy.

A huge reptile-like figure covered in black skin.

A short neck like a toad and muscular arms and legs. Thick chains on both wrists and ankles.

A huge beast scattering red light was chasing after the magnetic storm, smashing the mountain.

Kwagwagwagwang!!!!

The beast, ignoring Lenok on the bike, was chasing the magnetic storm, smashing the mountain range with a terrifying momentum.

Unrealistic brute force that could collapse a mountain with bare hands. Intelligence so great that it could speak the common language with the beast’s oral structure.

Even the primitive magic that was felt from its body, which was so enormous that it felt inferior.

Lenok, who quickly drew a conclusion from a series of evidence, muttered.

“A long-lived species…… From Kundara?”

“What?”

The long-lived species, who had been running at an incredible speed, ignoring Lenok, turned his gaze at the sound of those words.

He twisted his body and stopped, and at the same time, he leaped. The huge beast’s figure disappeared from the spot.

Kwaaaaang!!!!

The long-lived species, who had puffed up his muscular thighs, landed in front of Lenok at an invisible speed.

The size of the long-lived species that landed on the mountain road was at least 4m. A size like a mountain compared to a human.

The long-lived species, who was looking at Lenok with red eyes while bowing his head and dripping saliva, asked.

“You, do you know where I came from?”

“……”

“There aren’t many human species in the East Continent who know my origin. Hmm, hmmm~?”

“You don’t seem to be in your right mind for a long-lived species from Kundara.”

Lenok looked up at the long-lived species, who was twisting his head in a bizarre direction, with a blank face.

“Why are you running wild alone in a place like this?”

“Running wild, you’re wrong.”

The long-lived species, who snorted, said, baring his teeth.

“I was just working hard, and then I thought that magnetic storm would be good for scratching my scales, so I was running.”

“A long-lived species like you was working?”

“Oh, you know quite a bit about the long-lived species of Kundara.”

The long-lived species, who put his hand between his thick belly, took out a crumpled booklet.

“It’s a good thing. If you know a long-lived species like me, I can ask you.”

The beast, holding a booklet the size of his finger, carefully turned the pages.

However, Lenok was speechless at the title of the booklet the long-lived species was holding.

[A Guide for the Successful Advancement of Long-Lived Species from Kundara to the Continent.txt]

“……”

“I’m looking for a human, you see. Humans all look similar, so it’s hard to tell them apart.”

The long-lived species, who smacked his lips and opened the booklet, muttered, turning the pages with his thick hand.

“There’s a human who should have arrived in the East Continent by now, but I can’t recognize him at all, so I’d like you to help me.”

“Who are you looking for?”

“Thousand Evan Martinez.”

“……What?”

“He looks like this, do you recognize him?”

The long-lived species opened the last page of the booklet and held it out in front of Lenok’s nose.

A portrait of someone that took up the entire last page of the booklet.

Surprisingly, the picture was very similar to the face of Evan that Lenok had disguised himself as.

“He’s a scoundrel who dared to rebel against our benefactor of Kundara, Gyeonroe, and he’s a very bad guy.”

The long-lived species snorted roughly.

“It seems that this guy is gaining fame on the continent and is unnecessarily tarnishing Gyeonroe’s reputation and fame.”

“……”

“Geez. Why are human faces so uncharacteristic and flat? It’s so hard to recognize them.”

The long-lived species, who grumbled at the silent Lenok, turned the portrait this way and that, muttering.

The long-lived species, who held out the portrait and placed it next to Lenok’s face, said as if to say, “See?”

“Look. Humans don’t have horns or scales, so even if you look at a portrait like this, they all look similar……”

“……”

“……”

The long-lived species, who narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between the portrait and Lenok, tilted his head.

“……Huh?”