Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1279

It had been over three hours since the maritime train departed from Onslow Port Terminal.

The sky, which had been nearing evening, darkened, and the train floated over the sea, now tinged with sunset hues, picking up speed.

Inside the gently swaying train, passengers were either dozing off or finishing their meals in a relaxed atmosphere.

However, in the first-class section at the very front of the maritime train, a heated debate was in full swing.

“So, I’m saying that Chun-beon is definitely a stronger transcendent than Victor, right? All the actions he’s shown so far prove that.”

“But the numbers on the power ranking show that Black Art is above Chun-beon. If we deny this major premise, we can’t continue our discussion.”

A woman and an old gentleman sat across from each other, leaning on the armrests, talking non-stop.

They had completely forgotten about Lenok’s presence, engrossed in expressing their opinions to each other.

“Chun-beon was just busy preparing for his own tasks and couldn’t be active in the East Continent for long. It’s written that the power ranking calculation takes such things into account, but how can you interpret that as a measure of strength?”

“Looking at the detailed evaluations within the ranking, it’s the same. The achievements Black Art showed in the subjugation battle are clearly superior to what Chun-beon showed in the lighthouse keeper rescue operation.”

“Wait, I can’t agree with that in the first place. Why should Black Art, who fought alongside tens of thousands of soldiers, receive a similar evaluation to Chun-beon, who faced the Magic Tower alone throughout the rescue operation…?”

“If we go by that logic, shouldn’t Chun-beon, who was defeated by Gyeon-roe, receive the same evaluation as Black Art, who couldn’t even secure a victory?”

“……”

The woman glared sharply at the old gentleman with her blue eyes behind sunglasses.

The old gentleman, unfazed by her gaze, calmly looked back at her.

A tense standoff with neither side willing to yield.

Amidst the sharp tension, the woman, who had been glaring at the old gentleman, suddenly chuckled.

“You seem to have done a lot of power ranking analysis, old man. I was going to lightly dismiss you, but you know quite a bit, don’t you?”

“Heh heh, it’s embarrassing, but… I’m the chairman of a small group called the Power Ranking Research Society.”

“Okay. Then, shall we take a short break and start again?”

“I’d be happy to.”

The two looked at each other and smiled, as if they had met a worthy opponent.

As if by agreement, they shook hands and returned to their seats, simultaneously turning on their tablets.

It was obvious what the two, with fire in their eyes, were searching for.

[I was arguing with those organisms on the deep web.]

“……”

Lenok, unable to refute Davi’s words as he muttered in a pathetic tone from his arms, turned his gaze away.

The maritime train, having rapidly slowed down, was now descending into the waves, preparing to stop at the underwater terminal.

The beautiful form of a massive tower-like terminal, made of transparent glass walls, stood beneath the surface of the Sea of Understanding.

“They say that we’ll be making a brief stop at a nearby terminal for refueling before reaching our destination,”

The old gentleman, as if reading his mind, spoke to Lenok, who had returned to his seat.

The old man, who had been engaged in a fierce debate with the woman, now wore a kind smile, as if nothing had happened.

“They say we’ll be staying for about three hours before departing again, so passengers will have some time to get off and rest. They’re usually quite flexible with these things.”

“Was that why you took a break from the debate just now?”

“Heh heh, did you notice?”

The old gentleman, clearing his throat awkwardly, said,

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I only became interested in the path after I got older. In the process of exploring self-modification, I happened to come across the power rankings… The evaluations written there were blatant information that didn’t exist in any academic circles or databases.”

“……”

“What is the essence of self-modification, what is the concept of hierarchy? In the process of investigating that, I became engrossed in reading and researching the power rankings… Before I knew it, I was enjoying ranking and debating them.”

High-ranking transcendents who had built up their hierarchy enjoyed longer lifespans than ordinary humans.

While not comparable to the long-lived species, they could live for hundreds of years, and their aging would stop at the point they built their hierarchy.

It wasn’t particularly strange or embarrassing that the old gentleman had become interested in such things at the end of his life.

Rather, Lenok highly valued his honesty in admitting his feelings and his ambition to pursue them, even if it was late.

Therefore-

“Self-modification isn’t about completely changing yourself or becoming a new person.”

“……Yes?”

“It’s about accepting yourself as you are and using the ambition to change for the better as your driving force.”

Lenok, turning his gaze out the window, said calmly.

“Magic is always open to those who don’t hesitate to change. If you keep trying without stopping, you’ll see results.”

“……”

Perhaps something in Lenok’s advice resonated with him.

The old gentleman remained frozen in his seat, pondering Lenok’s words for a long time.

Thump!!!

As the train came to a stop, the hull vibrated, and passengers unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up.

Some gathered their luggage, while others grabbed only their passports and rushed out into the hallway.

Only then did the old gentleman, who had been lost in thought, snap out of it.

He looked at Lenok, a step late, and bowed his head, holding his fedora.

“Thank you. That was really… helpful advice for me.”

“……”

“I don’t know who you are, but just hearing you speak about hierarchy like that… Oh dear, this isn’t the time for this.”

The old gentleman, looking around in a fluster, grabbed his coat and jumped up from his seat.

“I don’t have anything on me right now… I’d like to go down to the terminal for a moment and treat you to something.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t do it expecting anything in return…”

“They say they sell very rare specialties at this Point L Underwater Terminal. Just wait, just a moment!”

“……”

The old gentleman, not even listening to Lenok, mixed in with the passengers getting on and off the train.

Was he planning to buy something during the break given while passing through the terminal?

It seemed strange that so many passengers were getting off, but it turned out that this terminal itself was famous for its side businesses.

As Lenok watched him from the empty train, a sharp voice came from beside him.

“You seem to be getting along well with that old man.”

The woman with sunglasses on stood in front of Lenok, her hands on her hips.

“You’ve been sitting next to him since we got on the train. Are you also a numbers-first theorist who insists on Victor’s superiority in the power ranking?”

“……I don’t remember joining any faction with such a bizarre name.”

Lenok slowly turned his head and looked up at the woman as he replied.

“I just happened to meet him in the next seat. I’m not interested in rankings, though I might be interested in the evaluation or analysis of the rankings.”

Curly, blue-tinted hair. An active outfit with sunglasses and a leather jacket.

He had vaguely sensed it from the first time he saw her, but seeing her up close, she had an unusually intense and flamboyant aura.

Even without wearing any special accessories or artifacts, her appearance seemed to exude a radiant elegance and power.

Lenok had encountered this kind of incongruity several times before and remembered it.

Surely, among the nobles of Ars Nova-

“Hmm, even though I’m scattering my magic like this, you’re not reacting at all…”

The woman narrowed her eyes.

“You’re not an ordinary civilian, are you? What’s your purpose for being on this train?”

“Shouldn’t you reveal your identity first if you’re going to ask such a question?”

Lenok turned his gaze away.

“Why is a central noble so obsessed and concerned about Chun-beon’s ranking?”

“……”

Perhaps she hadn’t expected Lenok to bring up her origins first.

The woman’s gaze momentarily turned sharp behind her sunglasses, but she didn’t lose her composure.

Instead, she plopped down in the seat next to Lenok where the old gentleman had been sitting, crossed her legs, and leaned her chin on the armrest.

Lenok frowned at her gaze, which was leaning towards him and staring openly, but she didn’t care.

Instead, she began to quickly throw out a few keywords to Lenok.

“Royal Capital Twelve Palaces. The Designers. The Eye of Azure. Alpha Balancer. The 6th Wandering Fleet.”

“……What are you talking about?”

“Organizations or groups that might pass through the Eastern Front at this time. Among them, the names of groups with relatively moderate tendencies.”

The woman said, narrowing her eyes.

“Since you’re disguised as a civilian on the train, you can’t be crazy. And judging by how you responded to the old man earlier, you don’t seem to be evil either.”

“……”

“And since you’re staying quiet even though you know my origins, you don’t seem to be a mercenary who’s obsessed with money. So, I can narrow down the candidates to some extent.”

What was she talking about all of a sudden? Was she trying to figure out which organization Lenok belonged to?

It was an absurd attempt, but it was rather impressive because she had almost guessed half of it correctly.

Rather than feeling like she was barging in recklessly, it felt more like the know-how of a veteran who had been in the field for a long time-

“That’s a meaningless question… I don’t belong to any organization. Nor do I follow or worship anyone.”

“Don’t lie. A transcendent with such insight and intuition to know my origins doesn’t belong to any organization?”

The woman scoffed, leaning back on the armrest and tilting her head back.

“Well, fine. Forget it, just listen. I have some information I want to share with you.”

“Information you want to share?”

It wasn’t strange that she was talking to Lenok, guessing that he was a skilled person, but she wanted to share information.

Lenok tilted his head at the implication that something was happening, and the woman spoke again.

“You know where this maritime train is passing through, right? The final destination is the city of Matif, but in reality, it’s a route that circles near the border area entering the Central Front.”

“……”

“Originally, it wasn’t such a dangerous area in the Central Front, but the situation changed recently when Dead Rise was defeated in the subjugation battle. As the legion that supported a part of the Central Front collapsed, all sorts of crazy people are rushing in to fill the void.”

The woman said in a flat tone.

“Although it hasn’t been rumored outside yet, a huge number of transcendents are gathering in this area. They’re all after the scraps left after the legion’s collapse, so it wouldn’t be strange if a major conflict broke out soon.”

It was a coherent explanation, but Lenok didn’t respond to the woman’s words.

Instead, he stared blankly at the sunglasses the woman was wearing, without even blinking.

The woman, as if feeling uncomfortable with Lenok’s gaze, slightly turned her gaze away and said,

“I’m warning you because you know I’m a noble. Judging by how lenient you were with the old man, you don’t seem to be the type who likes to fight, so if something happens, run away as fast as you can-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“I knew from the beginning that this area was Dead Rise’s territory. That’s why I used this maritime train in the first place.”

Lenok turned his gaze away.

“Now that the legion has been defeated and control has collapsed, I won’t be caught by a large force unnecessarily. I also wanted to take this opportunity to see the territory in advance…”

The Forbidden Zone, located in the center of the East Continent, was a key passage into the Central Front.

And the maritime train Lenok was on was on a course that circled around the Forbidden Zone along the river near the Sea of Understanding.

He had planned to check the passage in advance on his way to the Demon Realm, combining the Central Advance of Balkan mentioned by Mayor Ormeon and the establishment of a new branch of the Magic Tower.

But that wasn’t why the woman was explaining that fact to Lenok.

“You keep asking about my origins and affiliations, but you haven’t said a word about yourself.”

“……”

“You’re warning me about the chaos in the Central Front and the collapse of the legion, but is there any proof that you didn’t come here for that purpose?”

A noble with an unusual background. A suspicious nuance of knowing the trends of the Central Front very well.

Behavior that seemed very familiar with probing and extracting information from strangers.

Above all, the sharp and refined aura that flowed from her body, like a sword.

Lenok had known from the beginning that the woman was a skilled person, unlike the old gentleman.

What he needed to confirm was not the truth or skill of the woman’s words, but her purpose.

“If you came here because you’re interested in the legion’s affairs, I think I should be the one asking about your affiliation and purpose.”

“No, in the first place, I’m…”

The woman said that, glanced at Lenok, and shook her head as if she couldn’t help it.

“Okay. I’ll tell you. In a way, you could say I’m not completely unrelated to the legion.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. In the first place, if you’re involved with the legion, you can’t maintain such an ambiguous attitude-”

“I’m a ranger from the [Organization], and I’m looking for Chun-beon Evan Martinez. I’m heading near the 2nd Command where he was last observed.”

“……What?”

At that moment, Lenok paused slightly at the completely unexpected answer.

So, was it possible that the woman had been suspiciously siding with Chun-beon in the first-class section from the beginning-

“Currently, the entire Organization is looking for Chun-beon because of the [Great Cataclysm] of the Four Heavenly Demon Realms. If you know anything, I’ll reward you handsomely.”

The woman, slightly tilting her sunglasses, said with a serious look.

“If you know the whereabouts of Evan Martinez, or if you have any information about him, I’d like to make a deal-”

Thud.

At that moment, the old gentleman wearing a fedora walked in from the far end of the first-class section hallway.

The old man, leaning on a cane, slowly walked to his seat where the woman was sitting.

The woman, with a look of dismay, sighed and stood up from her seat.

“……Sorry, old man. I didn’t mean to take your seat, I just had something to talk about for a moment.”

The woman gestured towards the tablet on her seat with a cold smile.

“Now that you’ve rested, shall we start again? I’ve prepared data that will finally refute your terrible claims-”

“Wait.”

Lenok, interrupting the woman, looked at the old man with a blank expression.

“Something’s wrong. Step back.”

“……Yes?”

The reason the old man got off the train was to buy something at the terminal.

But the old man, who had returned to the cabin, had nothing in his hands.

There was no way that an old man wealthy enough to ride in first class would be out of money, or that he would have just returned because he didn’t want to give Lenok a gift.

Then, what he was showing now was-

“……Old man?”

“Cough, cough.”

The old gentleman, coughing softly, slowly raised his head.

His eyes, hidden behind his fedora, were covered with swollen flesh.

Glug, glug…!!

“Boooo-”

At the same time as the old gentleman’s face swelled up like a balloon, he let out a bizarre scream.

And then, he turned into a mass of flesh that was impossible to recognize and swallowed the woman who was standing in front of him.

The flowing flesh instantly scattered in all directions, covering the train seats and melting them like a strong acid.

Sizzle!!!

The passengers who inhaled the acrid poisonous fumes vomited or screamed at the sight of the melting seats.

The woman, completely covered by the flesh, should have melted away without a trace.

Glug, glug…!!

But the woman did not die within the writhing flesh.

“Old man.”

Instead, with a body without a single wound, she coldly looked down at the mass of flesh that had rushed at her.

“My sunglasses melted. What are you going to do about this?”

“Kkii, kkiiik…!!”

“Haa…”

The woman, raising her hand, drew up her magic, and sighed, unable to bring herself to kill the old man.

She grabbed the mass of flesh with her magic and threw the monster that had been the old man to the side.

Crash!!

With a loud noise, the woman, leaving the mass of flesh that had crashed into the wall of the cabin behind her, roughly wiped the mucus off her skin.

“……He was attacked at the stopover terminal. He was either contaminated or transferred by something.”

Lenok, watching the scene, said with a hardened expression.

“If he was transformed like that after getting off the train for a moment, then the terminal side must have been completely taken over. And this is definitely…”

Using human bodies as sacrifices to perform offerings, and then controlling the transformed beings to plunge the human world into chaos again.

Lenok had already encountered such vile forbidden arts several times.

Lenok, narrowing his eyes as he looked back at the transparent underwater terminal in the distance, said,

“Is the Cult… moving to devour the legion?”