Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 16

District 49 (9)

It was her flowing hair, calm eyes, and voice that immediately made him realize who she was.

The vegetable vendor he’d encountered at the market. The woman in the bomber jacket, muttering strange things, was right in front of him.

It was only a fleeting encounter, but Lenok’s exceptional memory fully recalled her presence.

He had thought she was an unusual person, but he never imagined she was an elite working directly for the city government.

Her claim about making a lot of money must not have been a lie.

“Hmm?”

However, it seemed she felt the same way, as she looked Lenok up and down, her eyes glowing green.

“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”

“…I don’t think so.”

Lenok avoided her gaze, sweating nervously.

His face was altered with magic, and he was wearing a strange mask like Dylan. It would be stranger if Evelyn recognized him.

However, she stared intently at Lenok’s mask as if she could see through it, then nodded.

“Hmm… well, maybe it’s someone else. The magic pattern is too different.”

Was it helpful that he had been slightly changing his magic pattern each time he used it?

He never thought he would use the lesson he learned from their first meeting in their second encounter. You never know what life will bring.

As soon as Evelyn concluded that Lenok was a stranger, she seemed to lose interest and immediately turned her gaze away.

“I have to pretend to chase that old man, so go on your way.”

“You’re not going to catch him yourself?”

Evelyn shook her head at Lenok’s polite question.

“I don’t have the ability or the means. How much money do you think the Underworld is lobbying our investigative agencies with? Even if that crocodile robs a bank in the middle of the city, the police won’t show up.”

According to her explanation in a calm tone, it seemed that Balkan’s investigative agencies were also quite corrupt.

It wasn’t surprising, so Lenok nodded calmly.

“I see.”

“So, be careful when you get involved with those guys. Even if you’re cornered to the point of death, no one will help you.”

She left Lenok with advice in a calm tone until the end and then leaped away, disappearing in the direction Croken had gone.

Only then did Dylan, who had walked close to Lenok, pat him on the shoulder and say,

“You were lucky, wizard.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Lenok stared at Dylan with a cold gaze.

After all, wasn’t it because Dylan didn’t run away from the factory quickly that Croken arrived, causing this mess?

He had been beaten to the brink of death, but it was Lenok who bought time against Croken, so it was natural for him to be annoyed.

“You’ll have to concede a significant portion of this payment.”

If he refused, he would have considered freezing his lower body and leaving him there, but Dylan immediately nodded.

“Okay. You saved my life, so I’ll give you everything except ten million cell [currency]. You can have four thousand.”

“……..”

Even though he had squeezed money out of him, he felt a strange sense of loss. It was even more so because Dylan was humming happily as if he was in a good mood.

“This time was really close. I never thought Charlotte would hire that old geezer… He’s famous for being holed up in his room, just drinking, but I wonder what got into him.”

Lenok didn’t respond to that and took out another cigarette from his pocket.

“Are you smoking again? You really seem to like it.”

“Shut up.”

While dealing with Croken, he had been mentally and physically drained to the limit.

At this rate, he might suffer from side effects for at least two weeks. He had to stay conscious at least until he got home, so he couldn’t help but reach for a cigarette.

“…Watching you keep smoking makes me want one too. Just give me one.”

“…”

Lenok frowned at Dylan’s words, who now felt more like a burden than a partner, but eventually took out the last cigarette from his pocket and handed it over.

What he had done this time was worth more than 70,000 cell, so it was enough.

The two of them sat down on the battered asphalt and focused on smoking in silence.

“…It’s good, isn’t it?”

The setting sun slowly illuminated the ruined factory.

Second Identity

“Who was that woman from earlier?”

“Woman? Are you talking about Evelyn?” Dylan replied, exhaling smoke at Lenok’s question.

“Well, I don’t know much. All I know is that she’s one of the top agents directly under the city government.”

“An agent?”

“A combat operative directly managed by the city government with a huge budget. That suit she was wearing earlier, that’s all public property invested in by the city government. It’s easily worth 5 billion cell.”

“5 billion…”

It was a huge sum that Lenok could only dream of. Wearing a suit plastered with that kind of money, was that why she could withstand the power of a monster like Croken head-on?

“She’s also known for being very skilled and ruthless… It’s best to avoid clashing with her if possible. I think the old man felt that too.”

“You’re still calling him that even though he almost died at the hands of that monster? That’s funny.”

Dylan chuckled at Lenok’s scoff.

“That’s what mercenaries are like. Especially war mercenaries, they’re the kind of people who kill their own comrades for money. If you’re sane, you wouldn’t even enter an office like this.”

“……..”

Dylan said that as if mocking himself, but Lenok somehow felt like it wasn’t someone else’s problem, so he kept his mouth shut.

After all, wasn’t he the same, thinking of doing anything for money?

When Lenok fell silent, Dylan patted him on the shoulder and said,

“Well, anyway, the job is done, and we survived, so now all we have to do is get the money, right? Let’s go get the money we left with Jenny.”

“Go ahead first.”

“Huh?”

“I think I need to rest first. I’ll get the payment later, so tell Jenny.”

After smoking cigarettes one after another, his senses had dulled, and he didn’t feel much pain yet, but he could see the fingers holding the filter trembling faintly.

If he went to Jenny’s bar to get the money and then passed out on the way, that would be the worst-case scenario.

Even if he got the money later, he needed to rest now.

Leaving Dylan, who looked slightly bewildered, Lenok got up and started walking.

The hotel where he was staying was located in District 34. It wasn’t a short walk from District 42, where the factory was located.

Lenok caught a cheap taxi after getting to a reasonably decent street and slumped his battered body into the seat.

“Haa…”

It was dark.

Lenok sighed softly as he watched the flashy lights of the billboards passing by outside the window.

This time was really dangerous.

If it hadn’t been for Evelyn, who appeared after seeing the factory explosion, he would have really died there.

There was a danger that he had not anticipated at all when he received the request, and it was a strong opponent that he could not handle in his current state.

Lenok thought he had done his best, but that desperation and effort were completely separate from the result at that moment.

“……..”

This won’t do.

The will to live that he had built up for so long.

The desperation with which he had struggled for life had to become his strength and asset, becoming the driving force for him to move forward.

He had to become stronger.

He had to struggle more, beg more, and work harder.

He wanted to survive.

He needed the strength and will to endure any hardship and danger.

Lenok knew that he had the talent and determination to do so.

While he was lost in such thoughts, the taxi arrived in front of the hotel.

As soon as he entered the room with his battered body, Lenok quickly took a shower and lay down on the bed, immediately chewing a sleeping pill.

He had been doing this ever since he realized that chewing the pill instead of swallowing it with water made the effects appear faster.

Lenok’s expression faintly frowned as he stared at the old ceiling and quietly counted numbers.

He couldn’t fall asleep right away even though he had taken the pill.

“…Have I already developed a tolerance?”

It had been over a month since he started taking sleeping pills to ignore his insomnia. He didn’t think he had taken that many yet to develop a tolerance… Was it because he used such cheap products?

Until now, the cheap sleeping pills sold near District 49 had been enough, but it seemed he needed to find a more effective drug.

40 million cell. There was still a lot to do even after receiving the money.

Lenok, soothing his exhausted body, was lost in various thoughts and fell asleep at some point.

#

“Ugh…!”

Lenok, who was now used to emptying his stomach, got up from the toilet he was holding onto with hollow eyes.

After washing out his insides and washing his face, he returned to the bed, almost crawling.

It was the result of using magic to boost his physical abilities without sufficient physical training.

Adding to that, the aftereffects of [Mana Addict] often made it difficult for him to even breathe.

“Haa…”

Lenok, who had been sitting with his head down for a long time, turned his gaze with blank eyes. Hot sunlight was coming in through the blinds.

Ten days had passed since he blew up the factory in Charlotte.

During that time, Lenok had been paying the price for repeatedly taking drugs and exhausting his body.

Even though he had obtained drugs with fewer side effects from the orchard, they were essentially products that squeezed his body to exert power.

The backlash was considerable as he had barely survived by depleting his magic and stamina.

After being bedridden for a week and spending three days awake, Lenok realized that his body was slowly getting better.

“I don’t know how I managed to hold on when I escaped from the factory…”

He had endured in a much worse environment with worse drugs than now.

Perhaps it was because he had overexerted his body back then that the backlash from the drugs was now more severe.

“I need to cook something.”

The food ingredients he had bought at the market had only been used once on the day he first cooked, and were now just piled up in the refrigerator.

All he had eaten for 10 days were the preserved foods piled up in the corner.

He had been planning to try various things to take care of his sickly body, but nothing was working out properly.

“……”

He should at least get the money.

Lenok changed his clothes and immediately left the hotel, heading towards District 49.

His legs were wobbly, but he was fine. Lenok was gradually getting used to his surprisingly weak body.

He used magic to change his face and went down to the bar, where Jenny, who was smoking, smiled at him.

“Our precious customer has arrived. What have you been doing for ten days?”

“I had some things to do.”

“Ah, I was thinking of taking the success fee if you died, but it’s a shame.”

As expected, she seemed to know who Lenok had met during this request.

“I’m not someone who’s going to die that easily.”

If he hadn’t changed his face, his pale complexion would have been immediately noticeable, but Lenok skillfully lied.

She still didn’t know that Lenok had such a weak body that he couldn’t work without smoking cigarettes.

There was no reason to tell her a fact that could be a weakness.

Lenok sat across from Jenny, received a glass of whiskey, and asked,

“Where’s Dylan?”

“He came right after the job was done that day. He said he was going to give you 40 million.”

When Lenok nodded silently, Jenny took out a wad of bills and placed it on the bar table.

“Baritz gave you an extra bonus, so check it out. I’ve put the commission on Dylan, so don’t worry.”

Upon hearing Jenny’s words, Lenok picked up the thick wad of bills and began counting.

60 bills worth 1 million cell each. It was a huge sum of 60 million cell.

Considering the money that would go to Dylan, it was a considerable amount of money as a bonus, but it was not enough for the price of his life. It was probably because it was a giant corporation like Baritz that such bonuses were given.

It was no surprise that the value of the lives of freelancers rolling around at the bottom of the streets was close to a bargain.

Lenok, who quickly regained his composure, looked up at Jenny at the fact that caught his eye first.

“1 million cell bills?”

It was a huge amount of currency that Lenok’s concept of prices could not understand.

Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]

Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]

The Genius Wizard who takes Medicine, 약먹는 천재마법사 약먹는 천재 마법사
Status: Ongoing Author: Native Language: Korean
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In "Genius Wizard Takes Medicine," the protagonist, an avid gamer, meticulously crafts the ultimate wizard character in the game "World" by maximizing magical abilities and accepting numerous disadvantageous traits. However, he suddenly finds himself transmigrated into this very character—a prodigious talent who cannot survive a single day without relying on drugs. Set against a cyberpunk fantasy backdrop, the story blends action, adventure, and intricate magic systems, inviting readers to explore a world where extraordinary power comes at a significant cost.

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