Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 209

Clue (1)

[You want time?]

“Yes, I do.”

[Hahaha!!]

Virgil lowered his head silently at the laughter coming from beyond the wide screen.

[It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say that. It reminds me of the old days.]

“The blade Zenith has prepared seems sharper than I thought. If we move rashly, we might suffer a great loss.”

[That’s a valid point.]

Clink.

The sound of alcohol sloshing in a glass could be heard.

[If the opponent wasn’t a kid who was making a living as a broker until recently.]

“……”

[I know that the child Kaise left behind is a little under thirty. That’s not even half the time we’ve spent in this business, right?]

At those words, Virgil slowly raised his head and looked at the screen.

On the other side of the screen, a splendid swimming pool was visible under the wide night sky.

Below the pool, dozens of young men and women were playing around with loud music.

And a woman was looking down at them, holding a glass of wine at the top of the pool.

[As I get older, I really like watching these young kids play around like this.]

The head of the cartel slowly lowered the hand holding the glass.

[Seeing those who can’t even live for a hundred years burning with passion as if this is the whole world, makes me think that what I want is meaningless.]

“You’ve changed a lot.”

[Virgil. Do you remember how many years we’ve worked together?]

“……I stopped counting after 30 years.”

Both the head of the cartel and Virgil maintained a youthful appearance, but their age far exceeded their looks.

That’s how it is to reach transcendence by raising one’s own level; it is accompanied by a long time and hardship.

Unless one has an overwhelming talent that transcends time, there comes a moment when one has to rely on the gradual increase in magical power for their own development.

[It’s been over 50 years since the old men of the City Council had their unreasonable greed. Nothing has happened since we agreed to share the shadows of this city.]

A faint smile was mixed in the woman’s voice.

[I thought even the remaining regrets were fading away… but now everything is starting to change. It’s ironic.]

“……”

[Now that we finally have a reason to move… Virgil. What do you want to do?]

“Wouldn’t it be fine to do as you wish?”

Virgil replied with an indifferent expression.

“As always, I’m just following behind. The other bosses of the cartel will think so too.”

[Following behind… Yes, that’s right.]

The woman, who was silently shaking her glass, nodded.

[You’re right. It’s too late, but even now, we need to find out what kind of legacy Kaise was planning to leave to his granddaughter.]

The woman’s voice, which had been wandering aimlessly, turned cold.

[The beginning and end of the Black Consumer Project. What was the secret that stopped the old men who were seeking the secret of immortality? Did Kaise know the answer?]

It was too big a secret to leave to a granddaughter who wasn’t even born yet.

Wasn’t it because that possibility was ruled out that Zenith had survived until now?

But instead of refuting the words, Virgil quietly lowered his head.

“Everything will flow according to your will.”

[Don’t make me wait too long. If it’s not you, I’ll send another boss. I’m very curious about how Kaise’s granddaughter grew up…]

* * *

“What is a domain?”

“……”

At the question Aris threw while staring blankly out the window, Renok put down the book he was holding.

8th floor of the Balkan City Central Library.

This place, where warm sunlight streams in through the huge glass windows, is full of magical books and papers, but it’s a strange place where magicians don’t often set foot.

Those who are ignorant of magic avoid this place, and if they know a certain amount about magic, they tend to go to a place with more professional theories and books.

Not to mention after the Lavatenon University Library was opened to the public.

There is no reason to visit this library unless you are a clueless newbie who knows nothing about this world, or a weirdo who is going through all the existing papers just in case.

It had been quite a while since the two had met here again.

After Renok was officially appointed as an assistant professor, there was virtually no reason to continue meeting at the library.

Discussing each other’s theories was enough to do in the lab, and Renok’s work as a half-timer became busy, so he had no reason to visit the library.

Until Renok’s paper caused an unexpected stir.

“It won’t be of much help if you ask me about that.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask… In fact, the self-domain is not a field that is allowed only to geniuses who have reached around level 6 and 7.”

Deploying a self-domain is purely a matter of talent and disposition, but the story is different if you delve deeper into that ability, beyond simply whether or not it can be deployed.

It is not only directly related to the inner image that is fundamentally inherent in the caster.

Most of the time, the most secret and hidden memories are often realized.

That’s why there aren’t many papers that deal deeply with self-domains among the papers currently released in the academic society.

After all, in order to conduct a full-fledged study of self-domains, it was tantamount to revealing the caster’s most secret inner image.

Neither the caster who writes the paper nor the caster who is the subject of the study would want their domain to be revealed.

It is understandable that Aris, who does not neglect research and training, is having a hard time finding her direction.

From her point of view, who has run faster than anyone else on the existing path, she was experiencing growing pains at this point where she had to build her own inner image.

Of course, Renok was not in a very different situation, so he pretended to be nonchalant with a calm expression.

“It’s a completely unknown field for a magician like me who deals with spirit formulas. I don’t think it would be of much help to hear my opinion…”

“No.”

Aris shook her head at Renok’s words with a single stroke.

“I was convinced after reading the paper Renok wrote. Renok’s theoretical insight is completely different from that of existing magicians.”

“……What?”

“That paper Renok wrote. I don’t know what you think of it, but it’s the same as explaining the change in the nature of magic that level 6 magicians reach from a completely different perspective. The compatibility between electric magic and electromagnetic waves. In other words, it means the change in the nature of magic from a physical point of view.”

“……”

“That’s why it’s constantly being talked about in the academic society, and Renok isn’t being suspected much. In fact, this is-”

“Because everyone thinks it’s a paper that can’t be written without directly reaching level 6… is that what you mean?”

Aris nodded quietly.

Her eyes, as deep and blue as the sea, were shining brightly.

“Renok. Your theoretical talent is looking beyond the realm of a simple magician. Perhaps the fact that you learned spirit magic is also due to your unique way of thinking, which is completely different from other magicians.”

“……”

“It’s presumptuous, but I need that kind of unique way of thinking. I know that Renok is the type to be careful when giving his opinion, but even a ridiculous guess would be of great help.”

“You want a statement that can break the framework of your way of thinking. It can certainly help to change your perspective.”

Renok smiled bitterly.

Now that he thought about it, he should have considered various things when choosing a topic when writing the paper.

At that time, he was just thinking of writing a paper with a theme suitable for a spirit magician and getting his achievements recognized, but he never thought that the understanding of the change in the nature of magic would be mixed in the paper, which would conversely help him avoid suspicion.

It could be said that he was lucky, but it was not something Renok had planned or intended.

‘But is it beneficial that I ended up talking to Aris about the self-domain?’

Just as Aris is having difficulty putting her inner image into her self-domain, Renok is also facing a similar problem.

However, what Renok is thinking about is not the difficulty of putting in an inner image itself, but…

“It’s good to put an inner image in the self-domain, but how about thinking about what happens after that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you say that the ability of the domain is determined by what kind of inner image is engraved in your domain?”

Renok said.

“Then it wouldn’t be bad to start backwards from what kind of ability you want. Even if you succeed in engraving an inner image and reach the level of 7, it would be a problem if the ability of the domain is not very helpful.”

“……”

Aris blinked her eyes silently.

It would be difficult for her to think about it.

It’s not about worrying about how to project an inner image into the domain, but about worrying about whether the ability of the domain will be helpful after reaching level 7.

In fact, to others, it would be nothing more than an arrogant statement worrying about a success that has not yet happened.

But that was exactly what Renok was worried about regarding the self-domain.

Renok had already seen Grisha’s self-domain ‘Nammando Haegyeong’ [a shaman’s domain] twice in the Autonomous Territory, and had also confirmed how it worked.

The scenery she put into the shaman’s domain was her hometown that had now disappeared. The scenery of the jungle that had been burned down.

It was the scenery of the memories and inner image that formed the basis of the shaman named Grisha.

After seeing that, Renok had a hunch that putting in an inner image itself was not that difficult for him.

The talent to perfectly control one’s own thoughts and mind.

From his point of view, who had pushed all the talents necessary for a magician to the limit, it was not difficult to forcibly prioritize the mind he had in his heart.

That’s why the part that Renok was fundamentally worried about was.

When he chose an inner image and projected it into the self-domain, what kind of ability would be put into the domain?

“It’s best to build an environment optimized for the formulas you handle. If not, it’s desirable to have abilities or side effects that are at least helpful in combat. Or it could be helpful for the level or research direction you are pursuing… If even that is not possible, it could be in a way that compensates for the shortcomings.”

“I-I see.”

“There are various things to think about, but there is also a possibility that it won’t work out as you want. After all, there is no guarantee that the formulas you handle and your inner image will be fundamentally the same. Aris handles various elemental formulas, but you can’t be sure that your disposition is focused on a specific disposition such as lightning or ice.”

Aris looked up at Renok with a blank expression as he recited the problems he had been thinking about.

Renok, not even noticing such a gaze, rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

“It is also impossible to confirm how a specific memory or scenery determines the ability of the domain with just one case. In the end, it would be best to increase the number of samples by checking a few more domains of other casters, but if you can’t get much help in that area, it would be better to…”

“……Renok?”

“……”

That’s right.

In the end, it was a problem that he couldn’t be sure of with just Grisha’s Nammando Haegyeong, so Renok was worried like this.

It was to the point that he thought it would be better to clash with other magicians and directly check their domains, their scenery, and their abilities.

That’s why Renok wasn’t so reluctant about this conflict with the cartel either.

An organization of that size would surely have powerful casters.

If he killed them one by one as Jenny’s business grew, he would surely someday-

“Renok!!”

Thud!

“……!!!”

Renok suddenly raised his head at the sensation of a strong tap on his shoulder.

Aris, who had been sitting on the other side of the desk, had somehow come up to him and was bowing her head.

“Are you okay?”