Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 200

Antares

A torrential rain of massive steel, flashing with bright blue electricity, plummeted from the sky.

There was no way for Antares to escape amidst the dense impact points, a space where no one could pass.

Moreover, the wrecked cars, electrified by the Current Flow Domain, resonated from all directions, amplifying the power of the electric shocks and scattering pale blue flashes across the entire sky.

Kwaaaaaaaah!!!

In the middle of the junkyard, a powerful attack accurately struck the entire domain.

Even though he had found the turning point of the battle by using four overlapping spells, Renok’s eyes remained coldly calm.

He slowly rotated his left hand, narrowing the vast electric field spread across the sky, and meticulously observed Antares’s reaction.

‘There’s no way it’ll end with just this.’

Considering Antares’s level and his relaxed attitude, there was a high possibility that the tide of the battle would turn with the next move.

What Renok wanted was not a war of attrition where they revealed their cards one by one, but a single variable that could exploit the gap.

‘All the cards are already prepared.’

The spell artifact, Pure Land Mantra, was bound to Renok’s left wrist.

It was an artifact that boasted both powerful performance and excellent binding ability, but after Renok used it himself, he found that it had quite tricky activation conditions.

Exactly 30 seconds from the activation of the artifact. If he failed to bind the opponent with a single activation within a 10-meter radius, it would take time to recharge it.

If he could exploit the prejudice that mages are weak in close combat just once and bind Antares with the artifact, Renok would win.

From the beginning, he had no intention of dragging this battle out.

The storm of electricity and steel falling into the junkyard narrowed the distance, quickly closing in on the battlefield.

If he got close, he would respond with the artifact. The moment he allowed an electric shock, he would rotate the entire electric field and slam it directly into Antares.

In this dilemma that Renok had created in an instant, Antares moved.

“Sages call the realm of manipulating the nature of magic the 6th level. The realm of military might.”

He raised his hand amidst the falling rain of steel.

“The magnetic domain is the act of changing the nature of space itself and projecting one’s own spell into that space. But do you know how non-mages who don’t handle spells have trained to reach that level?”

He bent his fingers as if grasping the air with his five fingers.

“They draw a microcosm within themselves and reorganize the laws. The one standard created in this way is…”

At the same time as the gesture of twisting the sky, the scenery of the area was strangely distorted.

[Demon’s Path]

[Ki Accumulation Bias]

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!!

“It becomes an anchor that descends upon this world.”

The entire sky of the junkyard tilted.

“……”

With a single blow that seemed to shatter the axis of space itself, the domain that Renok had slammed was completely misaligned.

The dozens of wrecked cars that had been falling from the sky simultaneously changed direction and crashed into the side of the junkyard, and the storm of electricity that had been resonating from the scrap metal lost its direction, burning and exploding the ground.

It was a battle that was hard to believe even with his own eyes, but Renok understood.

What Antares had just shown was nothing less than a glimpse of how warriors above level 7 reached their realm.

‘Instead of interfering with the surrounding laws, he’s focusing on delving into his inner world.’

Renok already knew how to continue his research to reach level 7 as a mage.

The power to redefine the laws of the world and reverse the environment to his advantage by projecting his inner image onto the external domain.

However, Antares, on the contrary, formed a localized domain limited to his body, bending space by manipulating the laws applied to his own body.

Compared to the magnetic domain, the range of application and usefulness were somewhat lower, but in return, he freed his body from the shackles of physical laws.

It was the path to truly becoming a superhuman.

“Do you call that realm a microcosm? It’s very interesting.”

Pajijijijik…!!!

Renok said, gathering all the electric fields that had not reached Antares and grasping them in his hand.

It was the first time he had met a warrior of this level since Kroken.

Even to prepare for the day he would meet that monstrous crocodile again, it was advisable to collect data now.

If he couldn’t avoid the battle with Antares, it was only natural to gain the maximum benefit here.

Magnetic domain and inner world microcosm.

If they had reached the point where they could interfere with each other’s laws, which side would be superior when the two wills collided?

A high-dimensional conceptual battle that had never been allowed before.

For Renok, the emotion towards that unknown realm aroused interest and curiosity rather than fear.

“Show me more, Antares. You still have a lot left, don’t you?”

Even though he knew he had to be more composed than anyone else, it was difficult to hide the excitement rising from deep within his heart.

The most perfect talent as a mage.

Renok’s reason, which had aligned all his mind with that talent and qualification, glimpsed the realm beyond and rejoiced.

Is this what it feels like to face the strong who truly tilt the world line?

A realm where an individual abandons their identity as an individual and truly reigns as more than a single group.

The man standing before him was clearly drawing that boundary line.

In an instant, more than a dozen spells and strategies unfolded in his mind, meticulously designing a path to victory.

Depending on what card the opponent would play, he prepared all kinds of countermeasures and life-saving tricks, adding a counterattack that would catch them off guard.

Antares said he wanted to confirm Renok’s qualifications, but that was wrong.

It was none other than Renok himself who wanted to be sure of his endless potential and talent.

Uuuuuuung!!!

It wasn’t far off. He had that conviction.

If he could sharpen his reason to the limit in this intense battle where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, Renok would surely be able to move further up.

At the same time as the image inherent in his heart and the reason in his head went wild, losing their shape and becoming distorted, the domain pulsed violently.

Inside the magnetic domain where the will returned to law even without using magic,

A wave of electricity and flames surged, slowly rotating around Renok.

“……”

However, Antares, seeing Renok’s appearance, rather calmed down his wildly raging magic.

Looking up at the wave of electricity converging and glowing at a single point above the two of them, he slowly shook his head.

As if the fierce battle just now had been a lie, his momentum changed to a blur in an instant.

“Let’s stop here.”

Seeing that they were both unharmed, Antares sighed.

“I was hoping, but we’re already at a level where we can’t gauge each other’s strength. If we go all out, it wouldn’t be strange if one of us died.”

“……”

Renok didn’t answer, but he inwardly agreed with that statement.

They had exchanged blows for only a moment, but not a single effective hit had landed during that fierce onslaught.

As Antares said, the only way to further confirm their skills here would be to increase their output.

If Renok and Antares clashed with all their might, it wouldn’t be strange if this entire area was destroyed.

If that caused an agent, especially a big shot like Ivelin, to appear…

That was something neither of them wanted.

“Hoo…”

Renok also let out a heavy sigh and slowly calmed his magic.

He understood it intellectually, but it wasn’t easy to accept emotionally.

He had been overly excited at the thought of being able to confirm the realm leading further up, but he had to calm down.

The Antares Office was an entity with whom he had to build a long-term cooperative relationship.

Considering that the series of duels was his condition for cooperation from the beginning, it was right to stop when he lost his will to fight.

It was the right thing to do, but…

“This is really not easy…”

Antares said, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

The overwhelming momentum that had filled the junkyard was long gone.

“Looking at your magic manipulation and strategies, you’re definitely a veteran of battles, and your sense of distance is so good that it’s strange you’re not a warrior… Judging by your handiwork, you must have killed at least hundreds of people. In many ways, you’re perfect-”

However, his eyes looking at Renok were empty.

“It’s a talent that’s hard to believe was completed overnight. Who the hell are you?”

“I should be the one asking that question.”

Renok, unfazed by his cold gaze, plopped down on a nearby hood.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of fighting anymore, so there was no need to stand for long.

His stamina was starting to run out, especially after changing the tobacco he was smoking.

‘I need a little more adjustment…’

He had started making tobacco to boost his energy while minimizing side effects, but the efficiency was not as good as he had thought.

It was still just the stage of making prototypes, so it couldn’t be helped, but this was not enough.

Soon, the herbalist’s treatment would be over, and the nerve-adjusting medicine using Malabes would be completed, so he had to find a combination formula that suited Renok before that.

Renok, who had crushed the finished tobacco and taken out a new one from his pocket, looked up at Antares.

“An extremely quiet move compared to your reputation. Even if we put aside your tendency not to show yourself, it’s extremely suspicious.”

“……”

“A big shot like you can’t not know what’s happening on this continent right now. How about you start revealing where you stand?”

Whether they liked it or not, all the superhumans on this continent were in a position where they had to answer to one of the bases that the Devil’s Den was putting forward.

With the death of the Sky Eye, the monsters from the outer sea were slowly getting closer to the world, and the aftermath was appearing in the world in various ways.

As Lapis said, the sky was about to open.

Whether they opposed the Devil’s Den like Grisha or Ivelin, or sided with them like Kroken or the Drug King, they had to make a decision.

And the man named Antares that Renok had seen and heard about was not someone who would run away or ignore these problems.

If anything, he might have already made a conclusion and was acting on it.

The reason Renok accepted Antares’s invitation was also to hear that answer.

A faint smile appeared on Antares’s face.

“It’s an interesting world. So many people want to hear my answer… The Sky Eye wasn’t wrong.”

“…What?”

“I’ve been busy with various things.”

He said, lightly ignoring Renok’s words.

“It was a bit difficult to check my footing while solving the problem with the autonomous territory. As you said, I admit that there are parts I haven’t been paying attention to. I feel sorry for the members in many ways.”

He said something incomprehensible and slowly walked over and sat across from Renok.

“If it’s a problem with the autonomous territory… are you talking about the armistice agreement? What’s the point of an agreement that will become a piece of paper if a war breaks out?”

Everyone in this district thought it was only a matter of time before a war broke out.

With the Sky Eye gone, the balance of power would begin to tilt uncontrollably, and the City Council would not leave such an autonomous territory alone.

The reason Renok had rushed to the autonomous territory was also because he thought that the agreement could be broken and a war could break out at any time.

However, Antares quietly shook his head.

“There will be no war.”

“What?”

“The current situation may seem like an irresistible, huge flow at first glance, but in fact, it’s all just a strategy designed to induce chaos… Balkan’s power shouldn’t be wasted in a place like this.”

“……”

While Renok was silent, Antares continued.

“The moment the Drug King took over the Republic and monopolized the lands at both ends of the continent, it would have been inevitable, but the situation changed when he fell into a coma. This war can be stopped.”

“I don’t understand… So, are you saying that you’re moving to stop the war with the autonomous territory?”

“It’s not just my story.”

Antares smiled.

“After all, what the old men of the City Council want is not war, but the tension of a wartime situation itself… If they can stabilize the internal chaos, they don’t care who the external enemy is. They’re just scratching that part well and slowly turning the blade.”

“Turning the blade… Where to?”

“Towards the rebels who are trying to open the sky.”

Slowly, the smile disappeared from his face.

“I know the truth of the world, and I made a conclusion a long time ago.”