Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 181

Although it was still more speculation than solid evidence, Lenok and Grisha were half-convinced.

From a merchant’s perspective, it would be hard to find a better place to hide a vault.

The Drug Lord had exploited the perception that this land was useless, boldly concealing his vault on an island owned by the Autonomous Territory.

“Using the Autonomous Territory’s land like it’s his own backyard… that actually sounds like him,” Grisha said, his face turning serious.

Lenok also frowned, silently agreeing.

It was fortunate they’d thought to borrow the lighthouse keeper’s power; otherwise, they would have wasted time searching for islands designated as private property.

The Drug Lord’s idea for hiding the vault wasn’t particularly creative or ingenious, but it was so audacious that it was hard to believe he’d actually go through with it.

And that boldness must have stemmed from his confidence in his control over this archipelago.

“Let’s move immediately,” Rapis urged.

Normally, the organization wouldn’t need to respond, but this situation was different.

They needed to search anywhere the Drug Lord’s traces remained to find the source of his power.

“I’ll contact you as soon as I find the location of the third landscape. We’ll evacuate the civilians in the remaining two candidate locations in preparation for the worst-case scenario.”

* * *

The three who left the Celestial Sphere quickly split up.

Rapis headed to the ground to meet with other Watchers, while Lenok and Grisha immediately went outside the tower where the wingboat had landed.

The two mages, settling into the wingboat in the thicket, grabbed the steering wheel and immediately took to the sky.

The barrier created by celestial magic opened, and they broke through, changing direction.

Their target was the fourth floating island, one of the three largest in the archipelago.

It was the location of the old History Museum building, directly under the Autonomous Territory government.

“There’s only one reason why the Juice Master hasn’t shown up yet,” Lenok said, feeling the updraft from below.

Grisha replied,

“It’s hard to believe he’s just bluffing now. He must be stalling for time, waiting for something.”

“It would be good if there were clues related to the Drug Lord’s vault, but… it’s hard to be sure.”

All Rapis could confirm was the location of the collapsed island’s medicine.

The assumption that there would be a ledger inside the warehouse was reasonable at first glance, but there was always the possibility that things wouldn’t go as expected.

The reason Rapis brought the two mages along was to quickly handle the situation and keep their options open for other moves.

As they increased the wingboat’s speed, the clouds in the sky cleared, and the fourth floating island came into view in the distance.

It seemed the overall situation of the Autonomous Territory had already been conveyed to others, as countless wingboats were already flying into the sky beyond the floating island.

They headed towards the island, directly against the wave of wingboats fleeing with terrified faces.

Lenok could feel countless gazes fixed on him, but it was a face he had created anyway.

Lenok was about to ignore the stares and pass by when he spotted a familiar face and briefly stopped the steering wheel.

“Wait, you are…!!”

Kasia, looking tired, was surprised to see Lenok and approached him.

No, wasn’t her name originally Akasha?

Since they had arrived here together from Balkan, he thought she would still be in the Autonomous Territory, but he didn’t expect to run into her here.

A sudden reunion in mid-air. But there was no time for a long conversation.

Akasha seemed to have guessed the situation to some extent from Lenok’s calm expression.

“…The path out of the Autonomous Territory is completely blocked. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Well, I don’t really know what’s going on either.”

“What?”

No one would believe someone going against the evacuation in this situation.

But Lenok didn’t bat an eye and calmly said something else to her.

“It’s probably safer to head towards the first floating island. If you have the strength, please help others head that way.”

“What do you mean…”

“It won’t be long before the blocked path is opened. Let’s talk about the details later.”

Lenok vaguely glossed over the situation and turned the wingboat’s steering wheel, leaving Grisha with a bewildered expression.

Akasha didn’t know much about Lenok’s identity, but she roughly knew the level he had reached.

At the very least, she wouldn’t easily dismiss what Lenok had said. For Lenok, that was enough.

Grisha asked with a puzzled expression.

“The first floating island is where the Autonomous Territory government building is located. It seems highly likely that it has already fallen into the hands of the Drug Lord.”

“No. It’s the opposite. If the first floating island had already fallen into his hands, there would have been no need to go through the troublesome process of activating the barrier… At this point, the government building is more likely to be relatively safe.”

“…”

Grisha blinked at Lenok’s words, who didn’t even flinch.

“…You’re good at making things sound plausible. I don’t know what will happen to me.”

Grisha grumbled, but immediately wrote something with her magic on a piece of paper in her pocket and sent it flying into the sky.

She was probably trying to inform the lighthouse about where the people on the fourth floating island were evacuating.

Meanwhile, the wingboat flew straight across the fourth floating island towards a dilapidated area overgrown with forests.

The old Autonomous Territory History Museum, which should have been forgotten and rotting away with dust.

The building, which was supposed to be managed by the Autonomous Territory government’s relics department, was hidden by overgrown trees and bushes, making it difficult to see its appearance.

It was as if someone had intentionally concealed it.

Lenok chuckled as he saw the museum’s exterior, which had become dirty and messy like an abandoned school that had been closed for a long time, and landed the wingboat.

“He went to great lengths to avoid being noticed. If you didn’t know about the museum, you wouldn’t even think of it. He’s very meticulous.”

“It’s a perfect place to hide from the eyes of the wingboats flying in the sky. It’s a very suitable place for the Drug Lord to hide his medicine vault,” Grisha said, dropping the pipe she had been holding in her mouth and crushing it with her foot.

Crack!

At the same time, the magic power flowing from her body formed like water droplets in the air, and a large eyeball emerged from the center.

Lenok’s brow furrowed at the bizarre sight.

“You have terrible taste.”

“Damn it, I can’t help it. I’ve never paid attention to detection magic… but isn’t it better than nothing?” Grisha shrugged awkwardly.

Lenok reluctantly agreed.

“…There might be something that’s hard to find with just magic detection.”

Regardless of his confidence in his own detection abilities, it was good to be prepared.

He had no intention of forgetting practicality while being intoxicated by his pride.

The two mages naturally distanced themselves as if they had made a promise, and slowly began to approach the old museum building while boosting their power.

Due to the nature of mages, who tend to engage in firepower battles, staying together would only be a hindrance.

In the government building, they had to move together to quickly finish their business and leave, but it was different now.

They had come here to find the Drug Lord’s hidden medicine warehouse and break through it head-on.

And to find the clues to the secret he was hiding.

Grisha took the front gate of the old building, and Lenok took the back gate, entering at the same time.

As soon as they entered the spacious hall, a strong smell of blood rose up their noses.

It was the smell of death.

Lenok sighed softly.

“The possibility of anyone being alive… seems quite low.”

[Considering how he handles corpses, it’s probably true. It seems he prefers the muscles and flesh of the dead rather than using the living,] Grisha’s voice echoed from the paper charm she had given him.

A communication tool she had completed in the short time it took to get off the wingboat.

She said she wasn’t good at detection magic, but she could create such temporary tools in an instant.

No matter how hard Lenok tried, it would be difficult to create such a communication tool on the spot.

In the field of magic, it was difficult to achieve results unless one delved deeply into the enchantment or crafting fields.

Indeed, sorcery had different strengths and weaknesses than magic, so it was not a technique to be easily dismissed.

Lenok’s footsteps echoed on the old marble floor.

Even though it was still daytime, the scenery of the old building, hidden by the bushes, was dark.

Once filled with various displays and glass cases, it was now just covered in dust and broken.

It was now at the mercy of a mere criminal, being used as his warehouse.

And it was clear that the employees who had been dispatched to manage this museum had not fared well.

-Squeak…!!

A noise like a rat squeaking.

But at the same time, the rush of a fishy smell revealed that it was not just a simple animal.

A shadow staggering in the darkness, scattering sticky mucus.

Was Grisha seeing something similar at the front gate?

A low sigh echoed from the communication tool.

[It’s already too late.]

“Yeah.”

Lenok replied calmly.

“They’re all dead.”

-Screeeeeeeech!!

What rushed at Lenok through the darkness was a monster that had lost its human form.

The facial structure was swollen, blurring the features, and the blood vessels all over the body were bulging as if they were about to burst, turning bluish.

The hair on the skin was almost gone, with only sparse patches proving that it was once a scalp.

The mass of flesh, dripping with a mixture of blood and saliva, rushed towards Lenok.

There was no trace of intelligence left in its screaming eyes.

Ironically, Lenok was slightly impressed by the sight.

The fact that a person could be so ruined by drugs alone was truly unbelievable.

Juice Master. Dominic Cabaro.

He was undoubtedly the one who best deserved the name of Drug Lord.

Zzzzzap!!

[Bolt]

Kwaaang!!

At the same time as a blue current burst from between Lenok’s fingers, the mass of flesh that had rushed at him exploded.

It looked like it was alive, but it was no longer human.

The energy of the drug mixed with the corpse, which had lost its life, was creating a monster.

Starting with that, dozens of masses of flesh from the other side of the hallway began to rush towards Lenok all at once.

It was a meaningless struggle, but they didn’t even know that it was meaningless.

They were simply reaching out with blind desire towards the living being in front of them.

If this wall of flesh was the Drug Lord’s taste, it was truly bizarre.

There would surely be even more bizarre and powerful monsters lurking in the demon’s den.

Would Lenok be able to accept reality as calmly as he was now when that time came?

It was uncertain.

If he didn’t become stronger, he wouldn’t even be able to choose the place where he would die.

He had to try harder and struggle more.

No matter how meticulously he prepared and how carefully he moved, unexpected events like this could happen at any time.

He had to have the power to cope with the shadow of death falling on his neck at any moment.

This was just the beginning.

[Chain Lightning]

Zzzzzzzzzap!!!

The thick electric current that burst out in bundles from between his five fingers split into dozens of branches and surged like a wave.

-Cawwwwwww!

-Kweeeek!!

It didn’t stop until it had burned and evaporated all the masses of flesh.

The chain of lightning, which revolved endlessly around Lenok like a living creature, had already broken free from the shackles of ordinary magic.

It was the common magic that Lenok had first started working on.

Although its power was somewhat weaker compared to unique magic, it was the result of continuous improvements to make it practical in real combat.

Crash!

The attack didn’t end with just one wave.

Deformed creatures that had been hiding in the broken glass, display cases, and ceilings all jumped out and covered Lenok at once.

In an instant, a wave of flesh swept through the spacious hallway of the old building.

Whoosh!

The embers that fell from the end of Lenok’s cigarette exploded and turned into a huge wall of flames.

-Kweeeek!

-Kheheek! Heeeek!

How many people had he dragged into this abandoned ruin and used as test subjects?

It seemed that he had not acquired the museum simply to use it as a vault.

Lenok narrowed his eyes as he watched the monsters, like moths to a flame, rush into the wall of fire and burn themselves.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before…’

The scent of magic power emitted as the deformed creatures died.

It was clear evidence that the effects of the drug and some kind of sorcery were working in combination.

He knew it for sure, but he couldn’t remember what kind of sorcery it was.

The sense of déjà vu felt suspicious, so Lenok couldn’t stop thinking about it.

[I’ve cleared out the monsters near the front gate. I’m heading to the central corridor. How’s your side?]

“…This side is almost done too. Let’s finish up quickly.”

They hadn’t found the vault yet, but once they had identified the location of the museum, it was only a matter of time.

Lenok, who had used a shockwave of magic to blow away the remaining deformed creatures, immediately crossed the corridor covered in mucus.