Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 175

Lighthouse (5)

“This is a scene from my hometown,” Grisha said, gazing around with a wistful expression.

“A remote jungle, now completely burned away, a place I can never return to… I buried all my people there.”

“……”

“Projecting one’s inner landscape—that’s what this is. Of course, it requires training and mastery, but ultimately, granting abilities to the domain is up to the individual.”

She smiled as she spoke.

“What do you think?”

“It’s amazing. Honestly, I’m a little surprised,” Lenok admitted, having been silently observing the lush jungle scenery.

It was his first time encountering a sorcerer like her, and it wasn’t often that a sorcerer of this level would reveal their domain without hostility.

Moreover, this jungle scene was clearly a direct projection of the inner landscape etched into the deepest part of Grisha’s heart.

In other words, Grisha was showing Lenok her deepest self.

Judging by her confident expression, she seemed rather proud of this jungle scene… Lenok roughly understood her intentions.

The secret of projecting a domain’s scenery from one’s inner landscape was something sorcerers fiercely guarded.

By revealing one of her most powerful techniques, Grisha was trying to show Lenok her trust in a unique way.

This bold action likely reflected the Azure Eye’s desperation to some extent.

“Okay. Remember it well and study hard. Someone like you might be able to replicate it soon,” Grisha said with a slightly smug expression.

But Lenok looked around the jungle and quietly shook his head.

“Well, it was helpful… but ultimately, it’s up to me.”

“What?”

Lenok didn’t answer, lost in thought.

He had been somewhat aware of this since hearing about self-generating domains that project inner landscapes from Aris.

The technique of projecting inner landscapes—understanding how to forge a strong will into a concrete tool—could be aided by observing Grisha’s domain.

But what exactly did Lenok’s most important inner landscape mean?

It hadn’t even been two years since he started living as a resident of this world.

Did the landscape in Lenok’s heart represent the time he had lived as Lenok, or did it include the time he lived on Earth?

‘This is difficult…’

It was a question that couldn’t be easily answered either way.

Ultimately, this concern had nothing to do with Lenok’s inherent talent.

Grisha seemed to have mixed her longing for her hometown into her magic.

But Lenok couldn’t figure out which inner landscape to choose, or which one he would end up choosing.

‘If I’m going to add abilities to the domain, it should be in a direction that’s helpful in combat… It should be a method that best utilizes my strengths. The key is whether it’s possible to directly select and project such an inner landscape.’

“Well, okay. If you’ve seen enough, let’s wrap it up. This thing is also consuming a lot of mana…” Grisha said, spitting and rubbing her temple with her left hand.

The moment she took her hand away, the wound healed completely, and simultaneously, the jungle scenery surrounding the area collapsed.

Lenok, who was watching this, asked with an intrigued expression, “You handle spells in a very different way. Is magic usually like that?”

“Huh? What, is this your first time seeing a sorcerer?”

“I told you earlier. It’s my first time seeing a high-level sorcerer like you. Before that, I’ve never seen a sorcerer who even comes close to half your level.”

It wasn’t a lie.

The sorcerers Lenok had encountered during his requests were at most between level 3 and level 4.

There wasn’t a single sorcerer who had reached the level of a level 4 fixed-position mage [a mage specialized in maintaining a constant level of power] who could stably maintain their firepower.

The spells they used were quite unique or had distinctive characteristics, so they remained in Lenok’s memory, but it was his first time meeting a sorcerer like Grisha.

However, Grisha’s expression changed strangely when she heard Lenok’s words.

“So, it’s your first time seeing a sorcerer like me…”

“Is there a problem?”

“…No. It’s nothing,” Grisha said, scratching her head with an annoyed look.

The powerful mana that had been eroding the void gradually disappeared, and the jungle that had been projecting her clear inner landscape also slowly faded away.

The boundaries of space crumbled, and the original appearance of the void began to slowly reveal itself.

“Since you don’t seem to know much about sorcery, I’ll give you a rough explanation,” Grisha said, crossing her arms with a nonchalant expression in the center of the collapsing jungle.

“Mana is a very fickle and mysterious power, so even when confined within the framework of sorcery, it’s not easy to judge its limits. That’s why we use a series of actions, sacrifices, or mediums called triggers to stabilize spells and find ways to maximize their efficiency.”

“……”

Lenok also knew that much, but it didn’t seem necessary to mention it here.

“And self-harm… is a very powerful type of spell enhancement method among those triggers. It’s a way to reduce the fluctuations of a spell by simplifying a self-sacrifice spell and inserting it into the spell system, then forcibly amplifying its power.”

“It’s about raising the low points to supplement stability. That’s interesting. Is there any room for it to be used in magic?” It was a sudden question, but Lenok asked what he was curious about without hesitation.

The moment Grisha explained about sorcery was a brief act of goodwill.

However, Lenok knew that this attitude stemmed from Grisha’s acknowledgment of him to some extent.

To be precise, it was an answer that stemmed from the desire for a skilled mage to help the Azure Eye.

That’s why he had to extract as much knowledge as possible now.

Especially Grisha’s spell trigger. Among them, could the self-harm method she used when deploying the domain help increase Lenok’s magic power?

‘I can’t try it recklessly, but it’s worth studying.’

Of course, Lenok’s body was so weak that trying it rashly would do more harm than good, but it wouldn’t hurt to know.

However, Grisha made a bizarre expression at Lenok’s question and shook her head.

“Are you crazy? The reason why we use this method in sorcery is because the spell system itself has many loopholes and leaves room for various tricks. It’s not that the sorcery system is incomplete, but rather it’s closer to intentionally leaving room for improvement, but it’s not something you should try with magic.”

“Hmm…”

Grisha snorted as she stared at Lenok’s pondering expression.

“Well, that’s not important. Anyway, what I wanted to show you was the problem of how to use the domain. If you’re already used to freely manipulating the form of spells, there’s no reason to stick to the form. Looking at you now, it seems you’ve already guessed that to some extent…” Unlike before, she waved her hand with a clearly tired look.

Even with her powerful mana, using the self-generating domain seemed to be quite burdensome.

“If you understand, that’s enough. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

* * *

Lenok was guided by Amon and immediately left the void.

When he went down to the basement of the tower, a lodging facility with a spacious corridor appeared.

Amon guided Lenok to one of the empty rooms and nodded.

“I was very surprised today. I didn’t know that the mage had such high skills… There was a reason why that person gave the message directly.”

Having watched Lenok and Grisha’s battle right next to him, his attitude was more polite than ever.

He also knew well how much value a mage who could fight on par with a high-level sorcerer had.

“If Evan-nim joins us, we will never make you regret that decision. With a skilled person like you, it will be of great help in regaining the public sentiment of the autonomous territory.”

Lenok tried to ignore Amon’s words and look around the room, but he opened his mouth after hearing a word he couldn’t ignore.

“So, you guys have been away from the lighthouse for a while.”

“…Yes?”

“Look here,” Lenok said, pointing his finger at a shelf in the corner of the room. “Even though it’s clearly a space prepared for guests, there’s this much dust. The bed is somewhat tidy, but that’s rather evidence that this area was recently cleaned in a hurry.”

“……”

“The carpet in the hallway is subtly crumpled, and the lamps that should be lighting the walls are irregularly turned off. And considering Lapis’s attitude of trying to confirm the truth in such a crude way while worrying about whether I had contacted the Demon Realm…”

Lenok said and turned his back.

“Lapis only recently returned here to inherit the role of the next lighthouse keeper with you guys. Am I wrong?”

“…You’re really sharp. Are all mages who live in megacities like that?” Amon smiled bitterly.

“I thought I had been rolling around on the battlefield for a long time, but I can’t match Evan-nim’s intuition.”

“War?”

“Evan-nim’s words are all correct.” He checked if Weizen was still unconscious and continued. “Until recently, we were helping the rebels in an unknown plain in the west, forming a resistance front. The Demon Realm intervened over the Daizilia mine found near the Republic, and we also responded.”

“Grisha-nim and the Azure Eye forces were deployed and killed both members involved in the incident, but both were new members with no special information, so it was more difficult. There was great damage.”

“Daizilia mine…” Wasn’t that a rare metal that was traded more expensively than gemstones of the same weight due to its unique properties of having no strong hardness and magic conductivity?

If a mine with such metal was discovered, it was understandable that someone from the Demon Realm had intervened.

But what was even more surprising was that they were making small achievements in the local war with the Demon Realm.

Judging by the fact that they were called new members, they hadn’t faced anyone as strong as Kroken or the black mage from before…

Even so, it was clear that the Azure Eye was not just an organization that made grand claims.

“Many people who had been with us have died and been injured. Currently, except for Grisha-nim and a few observers who are on external trips, it is no exaggeration to say that there are no forces capable of directly responding to the Demon Realm,” Amon said, looking at Lenok with an unusually intense gaze.

Lenok knew the meaning behind that gaze, but he had no intention of responding to it.

It was already a story that had been agreed upon with Lapis.

Amon had no authority or qualification to interfere further.

Amon also seemed to know that, and eventually bowed his head without saying anything.

“…Then I’ll be going. I haven’t decided how to deal with the fire mage yet, so I think I need to discuss it with others.”

“Wait a minute,” Lenok said, stopping Amon, who was about to turn around. “If you’re thinking of interrogating Weizen, I want to do it myself.”

“……”

“Originally, wasn’t it something that should have ended by killing Weizen on the spot? There’s something I need to confirm with him. Half a day should be enough.”

“That’s a problem I can’t decide on my own,” Amon hesitated.

“If you want, you can ask for permission from the higher-ups. Surely you don’t think I’m going to do something in cooperation with the guy who tried to kill me, do you?”

“…That’s not it. Lapis-nim was the one who contacted Evan-nim first. And I don’t think a sorcerer as powerful as you would try to target the lighthouse with such a shallow trick… I understand.” In the end, Amon nodded after hesitating.

It was possible because Weizen’s existence was not even in the observers’ minds, and because Amon was trying to make a good impression on Lenok.

“But after the work is done, I’ll report it to the higher-ups. Is that okay?”

“Do as you please.”

Lenok immediately put down his simple luggage in the guest room and followed Amon down another floor.

Unlike the spacious corridor on the first basement floor, what existed in the deeper part was a cramped secret room made like a prison.

It was a space made as if to lock someone up and watch them.

It was clear evidence that the ‘lighthouse’ was not used only as a simple observation post.

But instead of saying anything, Lenok grabbed Weizen by the collar and threw him into the secret room.

Thud!

“I know you’re awake, so get up already.”

“Cough, ugh…!!” Weizen opened his eyes in horror at Lenok’s cold words.

After coughing a few times, he looked up at Lenok with bloodshot eyes and sweated profusely.

The fatigue of being tied up for a long time and the injury from being stabbed by a cursed dagger were still tormenting him.

And he must have felt Lenok and Grisha fighting fiercely right next to him with Amon, so there was no way he was still unconscious.

The two people, sitting across from each other with a cold table between them, made eye contact.

Amon closed the door to the secret room and left, but he was probably watching from somewhere.

Since he had no intention of doing anything strange anyway, it didn’t matter.

Lenok said, looking at Weizen’s face, which was avoiding his gaze, “Why are you alive?”

“Y-yes?”

“You clearly tried to hit me in the back of the head with a wing boat and then steal Nix’s emblem, so why are you still alive and breathing? Isn’t that strange?”

“……”

“Why is that mage who used to be your subordinate suddenly bowing down to me? Don’t you want to know?”

“N-no, I don’t,” Weizen rolled his eyes and stuttered.

Still, he was quite quick-witted.

Lenok didn’t want to drag it out for too long, so he went straight to the point.

“I can spare you.”

“……”

“If you fulfill just one condition I want, I’ll let you stay here without a scratch. I’ll even undo the curse that’s eating away at your body right now.”

Of course, Lenok didn’t say that he would let him go from here, even as a lie.

Weizen was going to be a very valuable alibi for the moment Lenok approached the drug lord’s vault.

But Weizen, as if his ears were perked up at the obvious coaxing, looked up at Lenok with a shrunken expression.

Unlike the intense vanity he had shown so far, he was very honest about his desire to live.

“The unique magic of the Blaver Magic Tower…”

“Oh, no.”

“Just show it to me once in front of me.”

“…Yes?” Weizen blinked his eyes as soon as the story about unique magic came out.

Lenok smiled meaningfully as he looked at his bewildered expression.

Even though Weizen looked like this, he was a mage who was not inferior to Eden, whom he had faced before.

An opportunity to mess with a sorcerer with such talent and skill in such a secure space doesn’t come easily.

And since his innate nature was greedy and weak, if he was coaxed well, he would get drunk on his own power and unknowingly hand over information to Lenok.

The unique magic of the Blaver Magic Tower that he had only checked and followed by eye.

It was time to suck the essence of that magic, which belonged to the mainstream school of fire and heat, to the bone.