Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1272

The Fourth Paper (6)

Jenny’s bar, located in the commercial district of Sector 49.

In the spacious hall, mercenaries from the Tower were holding their drinks, watching the TV screen.

At this moment, scenes from the celebration were being broadcast across all channels in the Balkan region.

“Wow, look at all those people.”

Dillon, who was sitting on the floor, chugging his beer, said in amazement.

“I’ve never seen so many people near the Central Council. Was it always like this?”

“Decades ago, only the area where the Central Council was located was part of the demilitarized zone.”

Felix, who was standing with his arms crossed, said.

“Most important treaties and agreements used to be made there. Dillon, you’re new to the mercenary business, so you wouldn’t know.”

“Felix, you’ve been hanging out with Ban too much, you’ve become quite the instigator. If I’m new, then everyone else here is a rookie.”

“Stop talking nonsense and both of you move aside.”

Mila, who was sitting at the bar with Priscilla, sipping her drink, said in a listless tone.

“Your big bodies are blocking the screen. I didn’t bring my sister here just to look at your backs.”

“Um… sorry, Priscilla.”

“I, I’m okay. My sister is being rude in many ways…”

Felix cleared his throat and crouched down, causing Priscilla to look very uncomfortable.

The young mage hadn’t even finished half of the cocktail Jorden had made, fidgeting awkwardly.

Mila chuckled and poured the beer she was drinking into Priscilla’s glass.

“Silla, don’t be shy. All the professors you know are probably there, and you should watch the presentation at the celebration, if no one else.”

“Is it normal to give such important advice while pouring the beer you were drinking into someone else’s glass…?”

“Wayan, can’t you shut your mouth?”

“Visionary mages, have you all been well!!!”

While Mila was scolding Wayan for being dirty, the door burst open and Tower Lord Thorben entered.

“Kuhahaha!!! Bonno has opened his eyes while you lot were crawling on the ground!!!”

Flash!!

He shouted and then ran around the bar lobby, emitting blue lightning.

Of course, none of the Tower mercenaries even bothered to respond to Thorben.

“Why is that madman acting up again?”

“I don’t know. He’s been like that ever since he went to some research lab with Ban.”

“Lightningggggg!!!”

Ignoring the cold stares of the people, the Tower Lord was thrilled, making thunderous noises.

“He seriously needs a check-up. Did he hurt his head or something?”

“What are you talking about? He was like that when he was first dragged to the Tower.”

“No, but he was a bit more coherent than this.”

“There are so many events happening at the same time during the celebration, I don’t know which broadcast to watch.”

Jutiya, who hadn’t even paid attention to Thorben, tilted her head.

Holding a mango smoothie and an apple smoothie in each hand, her thick glasses glinted.

“I want to watch the broadcast where Kyunroe appears, but it doesn’t seem to be broadcasted since he entered the main building… Should I watch the policy announcement by the Council spokesperson?”

“Ms. Jenisia has already received and organized the policy-related content of the City Council in an official document.”

Priscilla replied.

“We don’t need to watch all the broadcasts, we just need to check the content that is being revealed for the first time at the celebration. That’s why I’m staying here…”

“Did you hear that, Felix? Can’t you move that uselessly huge body of yours?”

“No, sister!! That’s not it…!!!”

Bang!!

At that moment, the bar door opened and Jenny walked in.

She looked tired as she brushed her hair back and placed her laptop on the bar.

Jenny turned her head and frowned at the chaotic bar.

“What are these idiots doing again?”

“Oh, Jenny. You’re late.”

Mila, who was throwing snacks at Felix’s head, who was crouching down, turned her head.

“The last hearing was such an interesting event, right? So we all gathered to watch this celebration together.”

“Mila, don’t throw ginger snacks this way. Are you really a kid?”

“There’s a vampire over here. If he gets defeated by ginger, will you take responsibility?”

“The weakness of vampires is known to be garlic, not ginger. Even that is just a baseless myth of the human race.”

“…It’s true. This person is drinking ginger tea, not even ginger snacks.”

“I wondered why there was such a strong smell of ginger, it wasn’t the snacks Mila was eating?”

“…”

Jenny, who was watching the blood mage calmly sipping his ginger tea, then sat on a bar stool.

Suryeon, who was standing with a spear, smiled and spoke.

“You’re always working hard. Did Ban get in okay?”

“I dropped him off in front of the Council’s main building. I wanted to watch until the end, but there were too many people, so I couldn’t stay.”

Jenny pressed her temples, looking tired.

“I couldn’t watch the broadcast properly on the way back because I was on the phone with a partner about the artifact business. How was it?”

“It was amazing.”

The mercenaries took turns adding a word to Jenny’s question.

“I’ve never seen so many people on one screen before.”

“Every time Ban moved, everyone moved together, it was like an earthquake.”

“The building actually shook, so it seemed like an earthquake alarm went off? It wasn’t a delusion.”

[People were swarming like crazy, making humans look like trash.]

“Manson. That’s just how you want to see it.”

“…Never mind, change the channel.”

Ignoring the mercenaries who started bickering without a moment’s pause, Jenny said, recalling her memory.

“I talked to Director Raphael briefly on the way here, and Professor Bailen’s paper presentation was scheduled for around now.”

“Huh, really?”

The mercenaries, who were chugging their beer, widened their eyes in an instant.

“No, it’s starting much earlier than I thought.”

“Wasn’t that schedule not completely confirmed in the first place?”

“Jenny, you should tell us about fun events like that quickly!!”

“Do you all want to leave?”

The mercenaries, ignoring Jenny’s cold reply, hurriedly changed the channel.

It wasn’t difficult to find the broadcast since most stations were showing the same screen.

The Central Council Annex Auditorium was filled with thousands of spectators.

In the center, a young man in a lab coat had his hands on the workbench.

“…Huh?”

“What is it? It’s strangely quiet. Was there usually this little response?”

“He’s the most famous researcher in the Balkans right now. There’s no way.”

The mercenaries’ expressions slightly changed as they quickly noticed the strangeness on the broadcast screen.

“The microphone under the platform is broken. Has the presentation already ended?”

“It’s not that since he just started the demonstration. There seems to have been a commotion during the Q&A.”

“That’s strange in itself. There was such a big commotion that the microphone broke, but now it’s so quiet?”

The mercenaries quickly read the traces and atmosphere on the screen and speculated on the situation.

“The presentation process doesn’t seem to have any problems, considering how messy the surroundings are. I think the professor himself led the situation.”

“What do you mean by led? Did he intentionally induce a big topic or conversation during the Q&A?”

“That’s even stranger. Aren’t all the people gathered there experts? There’s no need to do that-”

“If he’s that confident in the content of his paper, it’s not strange.”

Tatyana said with her arms crossed.

“He’s heating things up before the paper presentation, intending to create competition… if that’s the meaning.”

“Is he that confident?”

“Professor Bailen’s fourth paper must be the result of Ban’s direct collaboration.”

Jenny calmly replied.

“He did establish a cooperative relationship with Lavatenon, but Ban barely touched the third paper. We know it well because we provided the presentation venue.”

“…”

“If the existing cooperative relationship was established only for the fourth paper, it’s not strange that Professor Bailen is confident in the content of his paper-”

Clang!!

Jenny’s words stopped at the sound of a glass breaking, and the other mercenaries turned their heads at the same time.

The blood mage, who was sitting on one side of the sofa, was silently looking down at the teacup he had dropped.

He hadn’t said a word even after spilling the tea he had been sipping with both hands just a moment ago.

“…I told you not to drink ginger tea.”

“Lord. Are you okay? Are you not feeling well?”

Lacy didn’t answer the mercenaries’ worried words.

He slowly lifted his gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, and stared blankly at the broadcast on the screen.

At that meaningful reaction, the others stood up with slightly stiff expressions.

“Among the highest-ranking true bloods, there are quite a few who have an excessively developed sense of perception.”

Jutiya said without taking her eyes off the screen.

“He read the thoughts overflowing in this city and understood the presentation content a little earlier, so don’t worry.”

“Read it earlier…?”

“Ms. Highberg. What do you mean…?”

Instead of answering, Jutiya put down the smoothies she was holding on the table.

She dusted her hands, adjusted her glasses to zoom in, and asked.

“Jenisia. Did Kyunroe directly collaborate on the fourth paper?”

“We haven’t talked about it separately, but given the timing…”

“It must be. It’s clear now that I see it.”

Jutiya’s eyes, looking up at the TV screen, shone opaquely behind her glasses.

“He researched and presented a theme that humans can’t even attempt. It’s right on the verge of becoming forbidden magic, it’s exactly how he would set the standard.”

“…Do you already know the content of the paper?”

“No. It’s not that I know it… it’s more like I can’t help but know it.”

Jutiya glanced sideways.

By now, the shouts of Thorben, who had been imitating strange thunder sounds, had stopped.

“…”

Even the bizarre behavior he had been repeating alone in the bar had stopped, and Thorben was staring at the screen with a blank face.

At the unprecedented reaction of the madman who didn’t even pay attention to anything other than lightning, even the others momentarily closed their mouths.

Jutiya asked.

“Jenisia. How different is it to create something from destroying something?”

“Huh…?”

“How different is it to save the world from abandoning it?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Walking the line at that boundary is just like Kyunroe’s way. I might have suspected it if he hadn’t collaborated.”

Jutiya Highberg was the highest-ranking noble who had existed as a scribe in the Ars Nova Council of Destiny [A powerful organization focused on fate and prophecy].

She was a transcendent with a talent for reading the flow of cause and effect and recording it in language that was second to none.

There was no doubt that what she was saying at this moment was the most accurate summary of Bailen’s paper.

Everyone was standing in their places, listening silently to Jutiya’s quiet muttering.

“However, even if he gave them the means to realize it, the idea would still be that human’s.”

Jutiya said, gesturing with her eyes.

“See for yourself. The delay will be lifted soon.”

“Delay? But the broadcast right now is…”

Jenny, who was saying that, stopped talking when she saw Professor Bailen moving on the screen.

All the mercenaries who turned their gaze with her forgot to even breathe as they watched the broadcast.

Fwoooooosh!!!!

Blue lightning overflowed from the empty darkness.

Light and darkness mingled and mixed, drawn into reality and shaped into a specific form.

On the workbench where Bailen had his hands together, microscopic particles gathered and materialized.

The moment they realized that it was the same shape as the microphone that had been broken and discarded under the platform.

Everyone watching the broadcast in the bar opened their mouths blankly.

“…”

Words didn’t come out.

Even so, everyone could understand what the researcher had done on the screen.

At this moment, everyone else who was watching the presentation across the Balkans must have had the same impression.

Creating something from nothing without using any spells or abilities, something that had never existed in the history of the continent-

Click.

At the same time as turning on the microphone, a faint noise mixed with the broadcast screen.

The researcher, after tapping the microphone he had created on the platform to test it, slowly brought it to his mouth.

At that moment, when everyone was waiting for the next words to come out of his mouth.

[I call this particle sculpting.]

Wahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Almost simultaneously, a roar like thunder erupted inside and outside the screen.

Thousands of spectators in the auditorium’s audience stood up, approaching to see the ‘phenomenon’ even a little closer.

People stood up and fell forward from the first and second floor seats, as well as from the seats on the third floor.

Kugugugugu!!!!

Spectators were tapping on their phones or taking pictures everywhere. Some were trying to make calls or urgently contacting someone.

Confused city councilors stood up from their seats, and the transcendents of the light raised their magic power.

The huge building of the annex auditorium shook violently as if it was about to collapse,

And the faces of the officials, who were screaming with pale faces, were shown on the camera one after another.

Click-

At the same time as the broadcast screen cut off, the screen went dark with noise.

Wahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Even so, the roar did not disappear, and the bar and even the TV shook roughly in a faint vibration.

It was only then that the group realized that the roar that had erupted with the presentation was a reaction that had erupted simultaneously in Sector 49, not in the Central Council.

From the street outside the bar, the sound of countless crowds approaching this way echoed.

Dududududu!!!

The superhumans, who had been blankly shocked, quickly regained their senses at the sudden approach of the presence.

“What, what is it?!”

“It’s not an enemy. Most of them are freelancers or mercenaries…!!”

“Why are they coming this way as soon as the presentation is over? Are they trying to fight?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Uuuuuuuuuung!!!!

At that moment, Jenny’s cell phone and laptop vibrated almost simultaneously and started ringing like crazy.

Thousands of notifications poured in real-time, with cell phone messages, mailboxes, voice recordings, encrypted communication apps, and all social media alerts going off.

Not only did they contact or send messages, but they also faxed newly written renewals of existing contracts with the Tower.

The managers of the Tower’s partner companies, who had been on the phone with Jenny just a moment ago, were trying to make contact as soon as the paper presentation ended.

All the proposals and contracts sent from all over the bar were written in a way that greatly reduced or conceded the ratio in cooperation with the Tower.

It was only then that the mercenaries realized this fact and turned to Jenny with stiff expressions.

“…Jenny.”

“…”

However, Jenny didn’t say anything even after seeing the cell phones, laptops, and tablets ringing all around her.

She just frowned faintly, staring at the papers falling from the fax machine.

“Hah, I guess there’s no choice.”

Dillon, who had been watching the scene, adjusted his mask and stood up from his seat.

He walked over to Jenny, picked up the falling documents, and shrugged his shoulders, acting nonchalant.

“The amount of work we have to do has suddenly increased tenfold. I guess we’ll have to work overtime tonight.”

“Well, as long as I get paid for overtime, I don’t care.”

Mila also got up from her seat and picked up the pile of papers next to Dillon.

“I didn’t bring my phone because I was going to drink today, you know?”

She smiled as she skillfully divided them among the tables in each bar.

“Someone call the people who haven’t come to work yet. We can’t handle this by ourselves today.”

“What does drinking have to do with your phone, you idiot?”

“Damn it, I knew this would happen… I shouldn’t have come here today.”

Wayan and Belver grumbled, but still started picking up the documents and papers that Mila had distributed.

Tatyana summarized and organized the contracts and proposals that had arrived at the Tower, and Belita was on the phone, contacting someone.

There were also those who were calling Tower employees or arranging vehicles to transport the people gathered at the bar to the office.

Everyone was moving together naturally to handle the increased workload at the Tower, without even having to say anything.

The mercenaries cleaned and organized the bar, naturally calling out to Jenny.

“Jenny. Makina and Kundara are both requesting contact at the same time. The Alliance and the Vanguard have also sent messages.”

“It’s a call from Endorose and Automile. This is the first time I’ve seen them send investment proposals?”

“If you buy me one more smoothie, I’ll help you, Jenisia. I can handle simple clerical work.”

“Jenny, stop being sentimental and come here. The work won’t run properly unless you approve it.”

“…That’s not it, you idiots.”

Jenny, who had been watching her busy colleagues, finally sighed softly and turned around.

“I just had something I needed to think about for a moment. I’ve roughly sorted it out, so come here.”

“Why? Wasn’t it because of the fourth paper presentation?”

“It’s about that, so listen.”

With that, Jenny picked up a piece of paper that had been printed from the fax machine and turned around.

The sound of cheers echoed in the distance. The footsteps of people approaching the bar from all directions.

In the suffocating silence, receiving the gazes of the mercenaries, at this moment when time seemed to have stopped.

“Since I got information about the war, I’ve been constantly paying attention to the movements of notable forces and transcendents.”

Jenny, who had been standing still with the paper, said.

“I told them to immediately notify me through the [Lighthouse] if there were any unusual movements observed near the Eastern Continent.”

“…Lighthouse?”

Suryeon turned her gaze sharply at those words.

“Jenny. Don’t tell me you’re still in contact with Lapis…”

“City-states across the continent and forces of the Central Front are moving. Some are sending diplomats or the heads of their forces are making calls.”

“…”

“The Order Alliance. The Ability Awakening Vanguard. Tokerphers, Makina, Endorose, and even transcendents moving alone seem to be showing interest. But…”

Jenny said that, but then couldn’t continue and closed her mouth again.

While the mercenaries couldn’t ask her anything at her unusual appearance, Jenny put down the paper and said quietly.

“It seems that the results of the fourth paper are really something extraordinary.”

“Why… is that?”

“I should contact Ban right now and tell him about this.”

Jenny turned her gaze.

A blurry photo printed on the paper she had been holding a moment ago.

An enlarged thermal image, as if looking down through a lighthouse from the distant atmosphere.

The shadow of an alligator giant walking beyond the epicenter of the explosion where a giant mountain had been split was captured.

“Croken Acilus… seems to be returning to the Balkans.”