Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 210

Sweeping back his bright blonde hair, his blue eyes were immediately visible. Even at a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath, there was no awkwardness in Aris’s expression. Only then did Renok realize how comfortable he felt with her, and he smiled wryly. It was an encounter that started purely by chance and misunderstanding, but the psychological distance between them had closed so quickly. It wasn’t just about sharing his inner thoughts; Renok had even momentarily lost his sense of mana detection. Seeing Aris’s worried face, he slowly nodded.

“It’s okay. The topic of the magnetic field is quite interesting, so I have a lot to think about.”

He made a rough excuse, but even so, Aris didn’t take her eyes off Renok’s face.

“Renok. But just now……”

“Yes?”

“……”

Aris Richelieu couldn’t bring herself to answer and turned her head away. She couldn’t tell him directly that his always calm and composed face had turned incredibly eerie for a moment, right in front of her.

“……It’s nothing.”

She actually knew. That a magician with such overflowing talent, a researcher with such outstanding theoretical insight, had no identity until he met Aris. And that it was no mere coincidence that he was ignorant about magic. But even so, Aris and Renok had been pretending not to know, instead of sharing and digging into that fact. At first, they weren’t interested. In the middle, it was convenient. Later, they were afraid of knowing.

He is kind, calm, and considerate. Despite his talent, he doesn’t show off; despite his position, he doesn’t covet; and despite his fame, he is indifferent. His different perspective and aptitude, and his unquenchable passion and effort for magic despite his lacking environment. That was the very attitude of a magician that Aris Richelieu had always considered ideal. She couldn’t help but be interested.

“……”

Aris also knew. In the end, magicians cannot truly understand each other. To know how these superhumans who interfere with the laws of the world came to possess their talents and methods, one would have to delve into their deepest secrets. That was fundamentally impossible for humans. Realizing this, Aris Richelieu understood what she wanted and feared. She had a gut feeling that if she kept digging into the reason for the expression Renok had shown just now, this time would eventually disappear. A researcher sharing opinions on theory. A simple relationship between a professor and an assistant professor. Could Renok and Aris stay together in this library the moment they go beyond that? How valuable is the scenery of this library, bathed in the late sunlight, to the two of them? At that moment, a resonance that had never existed before began to emerge within Aris.

* * *

[The chairman won’t move personally.]

The man’s voice came through the earpiece. He had only met him face-to-face once, but Renok had never forgotten that tone. Antares, in a leisurely tone, continued without waiting for Renok’s reply.

[The same goes for the other heads of the Three Factions. They are people with deep karma accumulated over their years. They are all suspected of being involved in serious war crimes, and all of them are bound by a pursuit order with no statute of limitations.]

Renok immediately understood what that meant. The monsters who ruled the underworld were bound by so many restrictions and limitations that they could not move carelessly. If the leaders of the underworld started to act, the city government would have no choice but to intervene directly. That was not a profitable deal, at least in the current situation.

[It was a wise choice to escalate things. If they show up directly in a conflict that is getting this much attention, the monsters on the city government’s side who have a grudge against the chairman might also come to the fore.]

Monsters of the city government… There was only one major force on the city government’s side that Renok knew.

“Are you talking about people like Hyungung?”

[Of course, she is the most powerful archer I know… but there are seniors who worked far above her. These are the superhumans who directly established order and created a starting point in those days when this old city was like a cauldron of chaos.]

Antares laughed.

[It seems you contacted me to have me clean up the mess if things go wrong, but I want to tell you that you don’t need to worry about dangers beyond your reach.]

“……”

He seemed to have guessed that Renok had found out his contact information with the help of Velita.

[What’s important are the presidents who lead the huge organization called the Cartel under her command… They are the founding members who were with the chairman since the establishment of the Cartel. Back then, they were all superhumans who had reached self-modification, so it wouldn’t be strange if they were aiming for something more now.]

Renok also understood what Antares was saying. The aura of Virgil he had encountered in the old school building that day. And the mana that flowed out. Even Renok couldn’t easily gauge how far the end of that power extended. But Renok shook his head at Antares’s words.

“I don’t want to be convinced by just a few words.”

[……]

“Now that I’ve started external activities, it wouldn’t be strange if a danger beyond what I expected eventually arises. If it’s at a level that Jenny can’t handle… I’d like to ask for your help then.”

[A request… It’s been a long time since I’ve heard such words.]

Antares chuckled softly.

[It’s not my style to be nosy, but it wouldn’t be bad to have a debt with a man like you.]

That one sentence was enough. Considering what he had to do from now on, he couldn’t be at ease without setting up this much of a safety net. That was why he had gone out of his way to make direct contact with Antares, wasn’t it? It had been busy days, but he couldn’t say that there had been no gains. Renok cut off the communication and immediately pulled the throttle he was holding.

Thud thud thud thud!!!

The black coat fluttered in the rushing wind. With a heavy roar that was hard to believe was the sound of an engine, the thick tires spun wildly, leaving rough scratches on the ground. The black car body slid along the road, leaving a black flash and disappearing. Even on the bike that swayed back and forth every time he pushed the throttle, Renok’s expression looked more comfortable than ever.

“Davi. How much distance is left?”

[4km straight ahead, then turn right. After that, if you enter the left fork, there is a street where many buildings without names are located. You will arrive within 3 minutes.]

Davi’s voice coming through the earpiece was so stable that he wondered why he hadn’t thought of this before. After completely taking over the bike’s AI system, Davi uses a wireless earpiece to transmit her voice and computing power. In fact, it consumes significantly less mana than summoning her directly, and there is no problem in borrowing her abilities. The result of completing the algorithm for the riding assistance magic was beyond Renok’s expectations. All Renok has to do is sit on the bike, hold the throttle, and adjust the direction and speed of the steering wheel. In the process, all the motor skills and sense of balance needed to handle the bike are assisted by Davi directly manipulating the bike’s body. In addition, since the air resistance calculated in the process of completing the automatic flight algorithm is also adjusted in the calculation of the riding assistance magic, the driving is so natural that it doesn’t feel like he is receiving help from a spirit.

Two years after jumping into this street as a freelancer, Renok had acquired his own means of transportation. For a moment, people’s attention was drawn to Renok, but soon they lost interest and scattered. In Vulcan, where magic and engineering are mixed, Renok’s bike was flashy, but it was not a very unusual means of transportation. Moreover, the designs of cars and bikes used in this city, where all kinds of mana users roam, were by no means inferior to Renok’s bike.

“That’s a tremendous sound. My ears would explode if I listened to it next to me.”

“Look at the outside of the bike. It’s like it’s covered in armor. It’s a good thing it doesn’t crash into anything.”

“Doesn’t it matter? The guys who ride those bikes are the kind who are fine even if the car body is smashed.”

“……”

The sounds the citizens muttered as they turned their heads were accurately captured by Renok’s mana detection. It seemed that people’s perception of bikes was not very good. Davi said in a faint, laughing voice.

[They’re treating you like a monster. Considering the atmosphere of a megacity, it’s not surprising.]

“Riding a bike of this size wouldn’t look good in a good way……”

The monster bike is not only powerful, but it is also optimized for melee combat during chases or escapes due to its heavy bulk and durability. Since it was basically a tool prepared for combat situations, it was understandable that civilians would find it frightening.

[30 seconds before arrival. Turn directly to the left, and it’s the building in front of you.]

“Okay.”

At the same time as he turned the steering wheel sharply, the bike’s heavy body tilted close to the ground. At the same time as the car body vibrated violently, it passed through the cars that had stopped exquisitely. The bike, which had been speeding at that speed, crashed straight into the wall of the building.

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!

“Kyaaaaaaak!!”

“Sh, sh*t!! He just crashed into it!!”

“What the hell is he doing?!!”

Unlike the commotion around him, there was only a deathly silence inside the building that Renok had crashed into. The wide lobby was instantly turned into a mess as he crashed through the entrance and windows, but there was not a single scratch or blemish on Renok and the bike’s appearance. Renok, who had stopped the bike with one foot, took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. The third prototype since Renok started making his own cigarettes. The first one had too short a duration, and the second one had stronger side effects than he had thought. As he snapped his fingers to light it and took a puff of smoke, he felt the gazes sticking to him. Even now, they were clearly felt beyond his mana detection. Numerous people hiding inside the building. It was as if they had been warned of the attack in advance, and they had precisely cleared out only the lobby. Renok indifferently raised his hand and pointed behind him.

“Anyone who doesn’t think they are related to the Cartel, get out now.”

At the same time, Renok pulled out a shotgun from his left wrist and raised the muzzle, and the sound of gasps could be heard from all over.

Click!!

“Because I’m going to beat this business to the point of no return today.”

“H, hiik……!!”

“It, it’s really him… that magician has come……”

“They say he’s one of the top freelancers in District 49, is he really going to fight the Cartel……?”

The whispers around him flowed into Renok’s ears without any exaggeration.

“Didn’t you hear? This is already the fourth time. They say he comes in like that, gives a warning, and then smashes the whole building.”

“Then that means he’s survived intact for three times doing this!”

“I, I’m leaving. Everyone will die if we stay here……!!”

As the people who had been hiding began to flee out of the building one by one, more than a dozen people began to flee in an instant. Renok stood in the middle of the lobby and quietly watched the people retreating. It didn’t even take 5 minutes for the life signs inside the building to drop to less than forty. After confirming that there were no more people moving, Renok immediately got off the bike. When he cast shrinking magic and weight reduction magic, the bike shrank to the size of a fingertip. Renok, who had created the convenience of putting his own means of transportation in his pocket, which was only possible for a magician, immediately got into the elevator that went up to the upper floors of the building without hesitation.

[Isn’t it more reasonable to use the stairs for safety?]

“When I have you?”

[……That’s not wrong.]

The numbers on the instrument panel flipped quickly, and in an instant, the elevator Renok was in soared into the sky. Kagagagak!! An abnormal noise of the surrounding parts being ground like crazy. At the same time, the gravity that strongly pressed down on Renok’s shoulders proved that he was going at a speed beyond the limit. Squeak!! At the same time as the elevator that had arrived at the top floor stopped abruptly. The large men who had been waiting in front of the elevator simultaneously pulled the trigger towards the iron door.

Thududududududu!!!

In an instant, more than a hundred holes were pierced, and thick smoke rose from inside the elevator.

“……”

A moment of silence. Immediately after that, a flash of light flickered from inside the riddled elevator.

Kwaaaang!!