Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 173

Although it was compressed into just three sentences, Lenok knew that Lapis had intentionally shortened her words.

Lapis had noticed through their brief conversation that Lenok valued substance and efficiency over courtesy and formality.

It was an attitude that revealed she had no intention of deceiving him or clouding his vision of their purpose.

Even at her young age, her cautious yet bold actions were appealing to Lenok.

“……”

Lenok crossed his arms with a calm expression, lost in thought.

In truth, he had merely heard what he had already suspected from her own lips, so there was nothing particularly surprising.

When he thought about it, the events he had experienced all seemed to converge into a single incident.

‘The opening of the heavens…’

The Heavenly Gaze had spoken of the world’s order before his death.

The black magician of Pandemonium [a place of chaos and disorder] had said that a talented person was needed to open the closed world.

And Craig had actually summoned fragments of that end into reality.

The time it took to not forget all those events and keep reflecting on them was far too long, but eventually, Lenok had arrived at one truth.

Those who sought to open the closed world and establish a new order, and those who sought to stop them and prevent a powerful disaster from descending upon the world.

These two causes had been moving unseen beneath the surface, gradually shaking the political landscape of the continent.

And now, with both options in his hands and standing at a crossroads, it was proof that he was finally at the proper starting line.

After going around in circles, he had finally reached the mainstream of this world.

That was the only thing Lenok could be certain of.

“I understand what you want to say.”

“Then…”

“I have no intention of joining any organization right now. I don’t like being affiliated with too many places.”

What if Lenok had gone to Pandemonium instead of Lapis and heard the explanation from the black magician?

Wouldn’t his reason for opening the heavens be just as clear and persuasive as Lapis’s reason for stopping them?

Lenok decided not to jump to any hasty conclusions.

Although they claimed to be descendants of the lighthouse keeper and had a plausible cause, he couldn’t be sure if the Blue Eye was truly the righteous organization.

He had no intention of making a decision here from the start.

If anything, he was thinking of thoroughly exploiting them for his own gain.

“However, if we were to help each other out… we could perhaps reconsider our relationship in a more positive light.”

Lenok smiled faintly as he looked at Lapis, who was raising her head.

“It’s about raiding the drug lord’s vault. How about lending a hand?”

This was where it became important.

He needed to observe Lapis’s reaction, guide the conversation to match her tendencies, and gauge the full potential of the Blue Eye.

In the process, he would also use Lapis’s ‘Heavenly Gaze’ power to raid the drug lord’s vault.

It wasn’t impossible. If their goal was as the girl had stated, they would surely be in conflict with Pandemonium.

If he could appropriately touch on that sentiment and induce cooperation, then surely…

At that moment.

“Don’t you dare play games, you bastard.”

A voice rang out from right beside him, accompanied by a surge of immense power.

An overwhelming sense of weight that made his ears ring for a moment.

A vast power that seemed to crush the space was baring its fangs at Lenok.

It wasn’t magic. It was a completely different kind of energy.

Even compared to the countless sorcerers he had faced, this was a force that could not be taken lightly.

A pure power, devoid of any technique, burst forth and struck Lenok directly.

KWA-AAANG!!

A massive blast fired from behind Lapis swept through the chamber.

At the same time, it collided with the shield Lenok had raised, sending shockwaves in all directions.

Despite this, nothing in the chamber’s scenery was damaged, but it was a different story for the people standing there.

Amon, who had been watching from behind, grabbed the bound Weizen with a horrified expression and began to flee.

“Sister!! Are you out of your mind?!”

“Who’s your sister?”

Responding thus, a tall woman with dark skin walked out from behind Lapis.

Clad in loose, exotic clothing, her entire being exuded a heavy yet alien power as she stood with a tilted posture.

The tattoo of unknown origin on her cheek and the pipe exhaling mist suggested that she was not from this region.

Her eyes and the corners of her mouth, which would normally be languid, were sparkling as if she had found an interesting toy.

Even though the chamber was filled with dust from the shockwave of her power, her gaze remained fixed on her target.

Lapis looked back at her with a troubled expression and sighed.

“Grisha-nim. We were still in the middle of a conversation with Evan-nim…”

“But you’ve said everything you wanted to say, haven’t you? He was just about to bring up his reason for being here.”

Grisha replied, indifferently tossing the pipe she had been holding behind her.

“He didn’t come here to help you, he came to make a deal.”

WOO-WOO-WOONG!!

At the same time, the immense power emanating from her entire body began to surge like a wave.

The overwhelming output was enough to turn the faces of not only Lapis, who was right next to her, but also Amon, who was fleeing to avoid the fragments of light that were flying up, pale.

“And, I need to see if a guy who came to make a deal has the qualifications to do so.”

Grisha grinned and raised her hand, gathering that massive ball of power and swinging it just like before.

“He just seems a bit arrogant.”

[Jurasal]

A bright red curtain unfurled and slammed down in the center of the chamber.

KWA-AAANG!!

However, unlike before, the power that slammed down from Grisha’s hand did not bounce off.

Instead, it seemed to converge endlessly into a single point, narrowly missing the spot where Lenok had been standing and disappearing.

At the same time as Grisha’s eyebrows twitched, Lenok pushed through the dust and slowly walked forward.

The long black coat swayed with his steps.

Lenok looked up at Grisha with clear eyes, then turned his gaze back to Lapis and said,

“Since that woman lit up first, I guess it’s okay for me to light one too?”

“……Pardon?”

Without waiting for an answer, he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Grisha’s face broke into a deep smile as she watched him casually snap his fingers to light it.

“……He’s much more interesting than I thought. Shall we continue?”

“I don’t mind, but…”

Lenok replied.

“It would be better to come down from there and talk.”

KA-GA-GAK!!

The moment he snapped his fingers, the gravity chains hidden beneath Lenok’s feet revealed themselves.

Grisha’s expression vanished for a moment as she realized that the end of the chain was connected to her ankle.

KWAANG!!

Her body was slammed down to the lower level of the platform.

“……”

A completely anticlimactic result.

However, Lenok frowned slightly as he realized that Lapis’s expression, who was standing right next to him, had not changed at all.

The sensation of grabbing her with [Gravity Chain] was certain.

Yet, if Lenok’s binding magic didn’t work, that meant-

“That was pretty good just now. You aimed for the moment to add an extra hit very accurately. Were you perhaps a physical type rather than a mage?”

It meant that she was using a high-level evasion technique that could deceive Lenok’s magic detection.

Grisha, who had walked out from behind Lenok with a cheerful smile, casually placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh! You’re even wearing such a sturdy shield on your body? I don’t know if it’s an artifact or a shield, but you’re quite cautious.”

Grisha smiled.

“I like you even less now.”

“You’re a shaman.”

Lenok muttered.

“I was wondering why the power you use isn’t magic, but after getting hit a few times, I understand. There were some guys I worked with who had a similar feeling.”

He slowly turned his head, removed Grisha’s hand, and said,

“It’s my first time meeting a shaman of this level.”

It was certain.

The identity of the extraordinary power emanating from Grisha’s body was shamanic power.

It was the energy that was essential for using shamanic arts.

Unlike ordinary techniques, shamanic arts had the characteristic of pursuing inefficient and meaningless values or processes.

Actions, incantations, or satisfying conditions or sacrifices that were generally unnecessary for using techniques.

Those series of processes, which at first glance seemed to have nothing to do with efficiency, conversely expanded and refined the power and range of the technique.

However, these ‘triggers’ that increased the power of shamanic arts were notoriously difficult to control without innate talent.

It was known as the technique that required the least relevant talent among all techniques.

Lenok had encountered shamans, both allies and enemies, during his freelance work, but they all had strange habits, such as carrying dead cat tails or pulling out their fingernails before using a technique.

However, the woman in front of him, Grisha, was clearly using shamanic arts, yet such eccentricities were not visible.

That was not simply because she was fast enough to hide her triggers from Lenok, but rather-

It was because she was a powerful shaman who could freely control the triggers of her techniques.

DUDUDUDU!!

Six shamanic bullets pierced the air the moment she extended her foot.

As he deflected them with his shield and summoned a purple chain that glowed in the air, Grisha grinned.

“A binding type, not bad. Shall we see your skills then?”

“I’m getting tired of the test.”

As their voices overlapped, two streams of magic and shamanic power began to clash fiercely.

KA-GA-GAK!!

Grisha, who was using dozens of attack techniques in a single breath, and Lenok, who was manipulating the chains floating in the air to deflect all of her attacks.

The shockwaves that were flying in all directions were, in a way, inevitable.

The massive shamanic power that Lenok had deflected poured down like a bombardment inside the chamber, causing a deafening roar.

Unlike Weizen, who was fleeing out of the chamber with a horrified expression, Lapis had her eyes closed with a serene expression.

The power wielded by the two sorcerers also avoided the girl who was sitting blankly, as if they had made a promise.

DUDUDUDUDU!

Various flashes of light that bloomed like flowers in the air surged along every trajectory that could target Lenok.

It was impressive that she could fire off the overflowing shamanic power in short bursts, but the fact that she was converting all of that power into different shamanic arts was an extraordinary feat.

Even though it looked like she was pushing forward mindlessly, it meant that she had perfect control over the power she possessed.

Even though she was just standing still and waving her hand with a bored expression, her shamanic power did not falter in the slightest, turning into a deadly blade.

It seemed like she was striking indiscriminately, but the gaps in her attacks were subtly placed, gradually breaking down Lenok’s shield and aiming beyond it.

TA-TA-TANG!!

However, the Gravity Chain that Lenok wielded was also under his control.

When he swung three chains that he had created in the air low to the ground, the chains that bounced off the floor scattered exquisitely.

The net of chains that intersected in all directions in an instant blocked Lenok’s path.

CHA-REU-REUK!!

The gravity field that bloomed between the chain links nullified all attacks that pierced the vital points.

“AHAHAHAH!!”

Grisha, who laughed loudly at the elegant response, fired flashes of light up and down, simultaneously obscuring her feet and vision, and drew out a new shamanic art.

[Self-Growing Spirit Tree]

The moment Grisha slammed her foot on the floor again, a small twig that had sprouted from the tip of her shoe grew explosively, blocking Lenok’s vision.

This was the first shamanic art she had drawn out, having not used a proper one until now.

‘It doesn’t seem to have any particular offensive power… is it just for obscuring vision?’

Just as Lenok was thinking that and trying to be wary of Grisha, who would be rushing in from behind the tree.

The explosively grown sapling turned into a 3-meter-tall tree giant and crushed Lenok with its massive body.

At the same time, the giant’s form took root deeply in the floor of the chamber, transforming itself into a prison that confined Lenok.

However, Lenok instantly shattered the thick wall made of wood, sending a cloud of smoke in all directions.

In the midst of that, five chains that had multiplied like a giant hand surged towards Grisha.

SA-A-A-A!!

The cold freezing magic that surged along the gravity chains instantly began to freeze the surrounding space.

[Frost Horn]

JJE-EO-EONG!!

Without making direct contact, it forcibly bound the space, restricting Grisha’s movements and fixing her target.

Grisha’s smile faltered for a moment as she realized that the high strength contained in the chains that were wrapping around her was extraordinary.

In the midst of the explosion, Lenok, who had formed hand seals with both hands, fired his magic as if pulling a trigger.

PA-JI-JI-JIK…!!

[Fluttering Lightning]

A single bolt of lightning that rotated counterclockwise leaped out in a twisted manner.

The blue lightning, which was fired in a spiral shape, pierced through Grisha’s senses as it ran through the air.

It pierced her sensory range before the protective barrier of shamanic power that she had instinctively extended.

Grisha, who had sensed that it was too late, did not try any other tricks.

She simply released her shamanic power from her body with all her might, pushing her body to the side with a powerful recoil.

By the time she had rotated a few times in the air, landed on the ground, and regained her posture, the gravity chains were already wrapped around both of her arms.

CHEOK!!

“Are you thinking of continuing?”

Lenok asked as he rubbed out the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth.