Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 186

Plant (1)

The 3rd Floating Island.

Known as the largest floating island besides the 1st Floating Island, where the Autonomous Region government building is located, this place is the most commercially developed area among the floating islands of the Philemon Autonomous Region. Various artifacts and spell tools are bought, sold, and crafted here, making it the most frequented place for many sorcerers visiting from outside.

It was also the area with the most farms cultivating medicinal herbs.

With open farms and a well-developed commercial district, it wasn’t an environment where residents could easily hide. Therefore, the residents of the 3rd Floating Island had long since evacuated to other islands.

Renok was the only one who stepped back into the deserted market streets.

Shuuuuuuuu-

Puh-buh-buh-bung!!

The sounds of explosions from fierce battles on other floating islands could be heard even here. It wasn’t just about catching and killing the Heteromorphs [creatures transformed by a drug]. Unless the source of the drug mixed into the water supply was identified and the water source purified, the Heteromorphs would continue to appear.

Renok walked through the empty streets. It seemed the merchants had hastily evacuated, as the goods on the display shelves were scattered haphazardly. Considering the Heteromorphs that appeared while Renok was searching the Drug Lord’s warehouse, the lighthouse’s decision to evacuate the people was entirely correct. Even so, the human and material damage would be considerable. However, now was not the time to calculate such losses.

Davi peeked out from his chest.

[Are you sure about this?]

“What do you mean?”

[According to that plan, you’re bound to be noticed by the Demon Realm.]

It seemed she had been listening to the entire plan he had explained to Grisha, clinging to the archangel’s compassion. He thought she had no interest in what was happening around her, but Davi’s actions were unexpected.

Renok chuckled and was about to tell her what he was thinking, but stopped himself. Davi was not a simple spirit, but a cyber spirit born through necromantic spells and algorithm data. Perhaps this very exchange was a necessary step for her to grow into something more than just a spirit.

“So, you were waiting for the right time to use this face.”

Instead, Renok chuckled and tapped his cheek. “The reason I made everyone leave was also for that reason. After all, to completely shift the risk in case of failure, I shouldn’t be suspicious.”

Davi stared up at Renok’s face, then exclaimed in admiration as if she had finally realized something. […Ah, I see. I’m sorry. Master’s face changes so often that I just don’t remember it.]

“…That’s by far the most shocking confession I’ve ever heard.”

[If I remember Master’s soul, it doesn’t matter, does it?]

“Soul, you say?”

Renok laughed. Only Davi, who was directly connected to him, could say such a thing. Usually, the existence of a soul was something that even in this world with highly developed magic, people did not easily confirm. The mind is influenced by the body, and memories are merely a part of the body. Then, does a soul truly exist for humans? Necromancy, a spell that deals with spirits, exists, but when used on humans, it only brings forth the flame of life.

However, even before this world began. In the first world Renok remembered, someone had already answered that question. The body and mind function as separate entities, and through the materialization of that mind and consciousness— A vow to pursue immortality. From the moment he became aware of the keyword ‘alchemy,’ old memories began to surface little by little. The moments he spent in front of the monitor without any worries. Was it because he hadn’t forgotten the longing for those times that he was able to recall those related memories so late?

Renok decided not to dwell on it for long. The important thing was that the memories of that time, which filled his head, would determine the outcome of this matter. Passing through the silent streets with his heart full of thoughts, Renok’s steps came to a halt.

“I’m here.”

It had been three days since his last visit. The evening twilight, as the sun began to set. The twilight that dyed the entire sky crimson was swimming on the surface of the water as if it would disappear at any moment. The boundary between day and night. In this moment, where only the shadows of the approaching enemy flickered in the distance. Wasn’t it the perfect time to hide each other’s identities?

Renok thought so as he looked at the vast, empty plant. In the plant’s farm, where dozens of sorcerers had been busily moving around just three days ago, only the traces of the withered Night Bloom trees remained. Walking among the withered saplings, Renok suddenly found a trace of his own handiwork and slowly bent down. Compared to the other saplings, it still had some vitality, but it was swaying as if it wouldn’t live much longer. Was it a characteristic of the Night Bloom tree that it had its vitality sucked out so much in just three days, or was it…?

“That’s a face I remember.”

A gruff voice came from behind him. A hunched old man stood there, looking at Renok’s face with a displeased expression. “I thought I told you I didn’t have anything to give you, so you couldn’t wait and came back?”

“…”

“Well, fine. It won’t matter now anyway.”

Renok slowly straightened up and stood up. The old man scoffed at him and then turned away and started walking. It was a completely different attitude from when he had been full of goodwill when he had seen Renok before. But it wasn’t strange. Because Renok’s face was now completely covered by Weizen’s smooth face. The reason he had bothered to observe Weizen all night, watching the magic he used, wasn’t just to steal his unique magic. After confirming the movement of the magic pattern Weizen had, Renok had succeeded in perfectly disguising himself as Weizen. It was the first time he had impersonated someone who already existed, but judging by the old man’s reaction, it seemed to have worked perfectly. And this identity would be a great help to Renok in dealing with what was about to happen.

Following behind the old man, he spoke. “Everyone else has left the floating island, what are you doing here?”

“Hmph… I don’t care about what’s happening in the Autonomous Region right now.”

The old man scoffed and retorted. “Those guys running around in the sky will figure it out somehow. I’m going to protect my farm.”

Just from his words, he seemed like a bad-tempered old man who was only focused on his own work. But Renok chuckled and shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

“…What?”

“The reason you can’t leave this place is because this is where it all started, isn’t it?”

“…”

“I heard all the facts from the eyes of the Azure [a character or group] and realized the truth. It’s time to come to your senses.”

Renok said, adding his final guess. “Senior.”

The old man was silent. The staggering steps and the hunched back had disappeared somewhere. The old man, who had instantly returned to a height similar to Renok’s, turned around and muttered. “Don’t call me that way.”

Thud!

The old man’s face melted away, revealing a familiar face from within. The young man with red hair he had met at the government building wall at night. The one who had asked about Weizen’s whereabouts was standing in front of Renok.

“I have no intention of being called ‘Senior’ by you.”

“Isn’t that not important right now?”

Renok shrugged and retorted. “What’s important is to find out what’s happening underground in this plant.”

The moment he confirmed that the name of the plant manager in the warehouse ledger was different from the old man’s officially known name, he had already thought about it to some extent. He had searched for Weizen and even infiltrated the government building, but he had retreated so easily after hearing just one word that he had seen Weizen at the plant. However, the reason the young man had accepted Renok’s words and returned was probably because he wasn’t really interested in who the culprit was. The young man was merely creating people here and there who would prove that he was looking for the priest.

“…”

“If you don’t want to answer, I’ll take a guess.”

He continued, meeting the young man’s expressionless gaze. “You were making drugs, weren’t you? And a drug so powerful and deadly that it could completely alter the bodies of living humans. Otherwise, you can’t explain the existence of the Heteromorphs that are causing chaos in the Autonomous Region right now.”

Renok hadn’t spent much time in the Autonomous Region, but the various things that had happened during that time were by no means coincidental. The first moment he began to suspect was when Lapis had checked this plant through her connection. At that time, he had simply thought it was because she had brought the Basilisk mushrooms, but when he thought about it, there were one or two things that bothered him.

“You made too many mistakes. It’s time to pay the price.”

He still remembered the words the old man had said when he had recognized Renok’s talent at the plant. He had said that he liked talented people and wanted to give him some work. In addition, he had said that a great patron was supporting the plant. It was a statement that could have been easily overlooked, but when he thought about it in connection with the Drug Lord’s situation, everything fell into place. The reason they needed talented sorcerers was because they needed ‘materials’ for alchemy. The reason he was supporting this plant was to secure a place to carry out the alchemic ritual.

“When I raided his warehouse, there was one strange thing. The warehouse, which should have been full of things needed to make drugs, was full of… very normal and ordinary medicinal herbs. Why would he choose to store only such ordinary herbs separately? When I thought about it, the answer came to me.”

It was simple. The Drug Lord had a combination formula that could create drugs by combining such ordinary and common herbs. And that combination formula was a way to combine new medicinal herbs using the alchemy of the 1st world, with completely different laws from this world. The fact that the drugs he used were different from ordinary drugs was also understandable under this assumption. The power of alchemy, twisted and turned across two worlds, had already gone far beyond the bounds of humanity. And a place that was the most natural and easy to store and handle such medicinal herbs, while also not looking awkward to other sorcerers. The Drug Lord had boldly made one of the largest plants in the Autonomous Region his drug factory and was operating it.

Renok borrowed Weizen’s face and sneered. A haughty sneer that suited that face came out without any restraint. “The fact that a military mage of the Blaver Magic Tower was hiding under the Autonomous Region’s plant and operating a drug factory… It’s something a passing dog would laugh at. I was somewhat respecting you, Senior, but it seems you’ve become the Drug Lord’s dog.”

“You respected me?”

The young man reacted to those words for the first time. “There’s a limit to lying. You, who have been suffering from inferiority under me your whole life, what do you think will change if you mock me now?”

“…”

“But this is definitely my mistake. I never thought that a half-baked mage like you would discover my plan. I should have found you and shut your mouth back then.”

At the same time as he turned around and took a step forward towards Renok, flames erupted. A heavy magic power that even Renok couldn’t ignore instantly shook and echoed around them. Whirr! The flames that wrapped around his legs spread out in all directions in an instant, creating a huge wave of fire. The withered Night Bloom saplings instantly burned and turned to ashes. The young man, who had turned the ground into a sea of fire in an instant, glared at Renok and said.

“You, who live intoxicated by your own shallow talent, could never understand. The despair of the moment when the crucial inspiration to climb higher runs out. Do you know the moment of awakening that never comes no matter how hard you try?”

“…”

“I have been searching for a resonance that would answer me for a very long time. Eventually, I realized that it didn’t exist within the Magic Tower and came out. And I realized.”

The young man said, taking out a packet of powdered drugs from his chest. “Great inspiration doesn’t always come in a noble or clean way…”

He skillfully tore open the packet and shoved his nose into it without hesitation. The young man’s expression, which had been dry, slowly contorted, and he threw his head back.

“Haa…”

What appeared on his face was a bizarre ecstasy that was disgusting. Only then did Renok realize why the young man had done such a thing and clicked his tongue.

“That’s an idea that’s hard to try with a sound mind. Are you saying you started using drugs for your own achievements?”

“…It’s not that… surprising… is it?”

The young man replied in a noticeably slower tone. “You too… were looking for fire herbs to enhance your meager magic…”

“…”

“Come to think of it… things went wrong from there. After you insisted on coming to my business trip… things started to go strangely. He suddenly stopped the production of drugs and told me to do something new. Hehehe… thanks to that, I’m in this state… it’s all your fault. It’s my fault.”

As his tongue twisted, the magic power flowing from his body also began to twist rapidly. The drug’s energy was stirring his mind, twisting and changing his consciousness and mental state as a whole. The mage’s will was changing, and his flames, which were being manifested externally, also changed color rapidly. The young man’s flames, which had been a deep crimson, turned into a bizarre fluorescent light that violated the senses and began to emit a terrible stench.

Renok shook his head as he confirmed that even the neatly refined magic pattern was changing, showing how much he was twisting and squeezing his brain. Perhaps he had been changing his magic pattern and deceiving his own identity by completely turning his brain inside out like that. The young man, who had been staggering, regained his balance as if by a lie. In the young man’s eyes, which had regained their focus, there was a blatant murderous intent that was completely different from before.

“So, I will personally put an end to your miserable life.”