Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 225

‘This isn’t a problem that will be solved right away.’

It was just a matter of preparing for the worst-case scenario.

With that thought, Lenok began to quickly grade the remaining test papers.

After finishing the grading for the Theory of Mana Manipulation, all that was left were the test papers for the Introduction to Elemental Magic, which mainly discussed the water-based magic system.

Although he didn’t often use water-based magic, Lenok was well aware of the necessary mana flows.

The difficulty of manipulating water-based magic varied greatly depending on how the water flow was maintained.

Basically, water manipulation that didn’t go against the direction of the water flow wasn’t too difficult, but if it went against the flow or was unrelated to it, the manipulation wouldn’t work well.

To solve this problem, one could forcefully twist the flow with powerful mana manipulation or use artificial tools or terrain to change the flow.

However, the most important thing was to induce the correct flow and design the setup before using the magic.

This was about understanding the environment and setting the stage before using magic, which was the most important quality for mages and other practitioners.

It was because it was possible to cultivate these abilities that Aris had included discussions on water-based magic in the midterm exam questions.

“…….”

While the students who received the test papers were sweating to solve the problems in front of them, Lenok was able to step back and vividly picture all of those processes in his mind.

Even in these minor details, Aris’s consideration for her students was evident.

To ensure that even students who didn’t handle elemental magic but only learned it as knowledge could benefit sufficiently.

Hoping that the students who grew up under her teachings at this university would be able to prove themselves as mages.

If Lenok had attended university like other mages, he might have been able to learn magic from Aris in this way.

It wouldn’t have been too difficult to achieve outstanding results in all exams… Sometimes, he thought about his future as an undergraduate at Lavatenon, which he had never experienced.

Lenok’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by the bright blue eyes looking up at him from right next to him.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“I was just about to finish grading this… It was an interesting topic, so there was something to think about.”

Instead of answering, Aris stared at Lenok.

Only after a long time did her voice flow out.

“Considering that, I didn’t hear any noise from outside…”

“…….”

“It was strangely quiet…”

He had used noise-canceling magic to mask the sound of the call.

The use of magic itself wasn’t discovered, but the perfect noise-canceling magic had ironically aroused Aris’s suspicion.

Lenok, realizing that there was no point in arguing further, silently raised the test papers.

Every single test paper in his hand was accompanied by Lenok’s sincere comments.

Aris quietly accepted them, stared at them for a moment, and then turned her body away.

Lenok silently closed his mouth and walked into the library with her.

The 8th-floor study of the library, which had been entirely reserved using the name of a tenured professor at Lavatenon Magic University.

Under the bright sunlight pouring in through the glass windows, there were hundreds of test papers piled up on a wide desk.

Aris pulled a chair from the opposite side and tapped the desk.

Her swept-back blonde hair fell onto the desk, shining brightly in the sunlight.

“…….”

She still didn’t say anything, but Lenok also didn’t bother to open his mouth.

Aris’s face, staring blankly out the window, was lost in deep thought, unlike before.

Along with that, the mana that made up the mage that was her slowly rotated around Aris, vibrating slightly.

Lenok could tell.

‘She’s already made her decision.’

All that was left was to bring out his answer and confirm it directly.

All that was needed was time.

Lenok nodded with satisfaction.

He was extremely busy with the conflict with the Cartel, but for something like this, he had to make time even if he didn’t have it.

A new Level 7 Saint-level mage.

Witnessing such a moment of extreme achievement, which was rare even in this city of tens of millions, would be a truly valuable experience for Lenok as well.

* * *

It had already been more than three days since the rumor that the Cartel’s execution squad had been annihilated by a single person had spread throughout the underbelly of Balkan.

After handing Girard over to Iola, Lenok was waiting for the Cartel’s response.

He didn’t think there would be a meaningless war of attrition, but this world wasn’t a place where things always worked out rationally.

No matter how hard Lenok tried, he could never find out what was being said in the Cartel’s leadership.

In the worst case, it wouldn’t be strange if a full-scale war with the Cartel broke out right now.

It was a rational decision to sharpen the necessary blades in preparation for that day.

“Your arm is going up too high.”

Whack!

“Your leg balance is awkward.”

Thwack!

“You’re shaking your head again. Are you not going to do it properly?”

Wham!!

“Uwaaaah!!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Weyan let out an unknown scream.

His face was already swollen and bruised beyond recognition.

“Why do you only hit my face, you bastard!!”

“Why else… Because hitting there will kill you in one shot.”

Mad Manson, who was in charge of sparring with Weyan, replied indifferently.

“On the other hand, I have a head that can withstand being hit.”

Manson’s action of tapping his head made of iron was truly annoying, but Weyan couldn’t recklessly rush at him, even though he knew it.

Several sparring sessions had taken place in the backyard of Jenny’s bar.

He had already learned firsthand how powerful Manson was.

He would take on Weyan, who was rushing at him with two blades held in reverse grip, with just a pipe in his hand, and accurately beat him only in the areas that wouldn’t cause him to pass out.

He was a guy who hated working terribly and only got scolded by Jenny all day at the bar.

But his swordsmanship was definitely the real deal.

So much so that even the Antares Office mercenaries, who usually ignored Manson, came to watch the sparring.

“Hmm.”

“Interesting.”

“Right?”

Belber, Belita, and Drey, as well as other office mercenaries who had free time from their patrols, formed a circle and watched the sparring.

Lenok, who was helping Jenny improve her understanding of basic business, also opened the window to look out, as the heat was intense.

“Okay, come back in.”

Manson flicked the iron bar in his hand, and Weyan immediately took his stance again.

Although he had yelled out of frustration, he also knew that an opportunity like this wouldn’t come easily.

An opportunity to rush at someone far stronger than himself without worrying about his life.

This match-up wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Manson’s whim, who didn’t want to go on patrol duty.

“Hwaaaah!!”

He refrained from using the mana sensitivity he had awakened during the previous operation as much as possible.

It had greatly boosted Weyan’s skills on the spot, but the downside was that his body would immediately respond to the sensitivity, making it difficult for him to grasp how to continue the fight.

What Weyan needed now was an opponent who could fully receive the combat style created by his greatly enhanced mana and strength.

Manson was definitely a very suitable teacher in that regard.

Although his methods were very cruel and brutal for a teacher.

“Do you know why people don’t use dual weapons well?”

Manson continued to speak casually while mercilessly swinging his hand.

Thwack!!

Red bloodstains appeared on the end of the pipe in his hand.

It wasn’t just a nosebleed; blood mixed with pus was flowing from the skin that had been beaten and swollen.

Even after losing sensation in his face, Weyan didn’t stop and closed the distance to Manson.

Although it was a sparring match, it clearly showed how determined he was in this fight.

Seeing that, Manson continued.

“It’s difficult and annoying.”

Whack!!

As Weyan’s jaw turned sharply to the left, Manson took a step and kicked Weyan’s staggering knee.

Crack!!

“If you hold weapons in both hands, it becomes more difficult to maintain your body balance. If you can’t use two weapons effectively, it’s worse than having none, but conversely, if you want to push dual wielding to the limit, you have no choice but to lose your body balance.”

Thwack!!

“So, wielding weapons in both hands is only possible for so-called geniuses. And only for those with brains that are… split like this.”

Manson said, pointing to the top of his head with the hand that wasn’t holding a sword.

Weyan looked up at him with blurry eyes.

“But in my opinion, you’re not that kind of genius. You just got lucky to get under a guy like Drey, and you’ve just been keeping your measly life going.”

“…….”

“If that’s not possible, you can just solve the problems that arise during combat with a talent that transcends common sense, but I’ve only seen two guys who can do that. One of them is…”

Manson said, glancing upwards.

Lenok, who was slightly leaning out of the window, was looking down at him with indifferent eyes.

“…Well, I don’t want to talk about it for long. Let’s get to the point.”

Manson said, poking Weyan’s fallen body with the pipe.

“It’s a waste of time. It’s better to change your weapon.”

“Not, not yet…!!”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s a waste of my time? If we keep going, we’ll just make a cripple…”

Manson’s words stopped as he was about to turn around.

Whoosh!!

The sound of the blade cutting through the air was different.

At the same time as Manson tilted his head back, a reverse grip immediately followed.

Manson, who had turned around while bending his back greatly, flipped his body and slammed his foot down on Weyan’s crown.

Thud!!

A heavy blow that cracked the cement ground.

But that meant that Weyan had instantly evaded the attack and started closing the distance to Manson.

The rookie, who couldn’t even read Manson’s moves properly until just now, was rushing in like a different person.

“Hehehe…!!”

Manson grinned and spun his flipped body, bouncing Weyan away and regaining his stance.

He looked at Weyan’s swaying head and smiled with satisfaction.

“If you knew how to do that, you should have used it earlier… Now I’m starting to warm up.”

“…Ugh…”

Weyan didn’t answer.

He had challenged Manson to improve his skills without mana sensitivity, but conversely, he couldn’t even be an opponent without relying on sensitivity.

There was only one way.

His head swaying like a drunk, he thrust the twin swords in his hands forward and charged.

He stopped abruptly right in front of Manson, who was about to swing his pipe in time.

Screech─!!

Weyan, who had lowered his head and body on the spot, gritted his teeth and stomped on the ground with mana, spinning around.

At that moment, everyone watching the sparring held their breath.

Thud thud thud thud!!

The difficulty of dual wielding that Manson had mentioned.

As if mocking that statement, Weyan began to dance wildly in the air.

He spun his body with the powerful recoil he gained from kicking off the ground, fully utilizing the mysteries of dual wielding, and completed both offense and defense while perfectly maintaining his body balance.

The flashes of three iron weapons overlapped dozens of times in an instant, creating a chilling blaze in the air.

“Hahaha!!”

Even with the completely changed combat style, Manson didn’t back down, but instead, he chuckled, tilting his heavy robot head.

The mercenaries who were watching nodded quietly.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person, but if it’s that level…”

“They say he’s a madman, but I can understand why he hasn’t been stabbed even once.”

Belita nodded at Belber’s words.

“Weyan is also considerable, but Manson’s skills are on a different level.”

“Is Manson’s swordsmanship that great?”

Lenok, who was listening to the mercenaries’ conversation below, asked.

Even though the initiative of the attack had clearly shifted to Weyan, they seemed to be focusing on Manson rather than Weyan.

“Ah, were you listening?”

Belita, startled, looked at Lenok and smiled awkwardly.

Belber looked at Lenok and nodded.

“Weyan’s talent is also great, but he still lacks the basics. Especially the fact that he’s not only wielding dual swords but also holding one in reverse grip means that he’s extremely reliant on his natural senses. In other words, he’s not at a level where he can distinguish between actual combat and sparring.”

“Hmm.”

“But Manson is still continuing the fight while receiving Weyan’s attacks.”

“Look at the pipe Manson is holding.”

Belita pointed to Manson’s pipe, which still had no scratches on it.

“Unlike before, the fact that he’s continuing this sparring without the pipe being cut or broken, even though the blades are clashing so fiercely… is very difficult.”

Drey, who was watching from the side, was impressed by those words.

“He’s a great technician. It’s so different from the personality I heard about in the rumors.”

“He even says that it’s not a combat body… There must be a reason why he’s still working as a freelancer in this world.”

“…….”

Lenok also knew that Manson didn’t just stick to swordsmanship but enjoyed actively using various tools.

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange for him to take out various tools to blow Weyan’s head off in one shot during that fierce exchange.

Lenok, who was resting his chin on the window frame and looking down at the two, casually threw out a word.

“Is he twisting mana and hooking it on the end of the pipe, and then scraping it off just before Weyan’s attack reaches its peak… It’s not manipulation magic, it’s amazing that he’s calculating the timing directly with his body.”

It might be possible with the help of a mana user, but at least with this devastating athletic ability alone, it was impossible.

As Lenok was thinking that and was about to turn his gaze away, he noticed the surprised expressions of the mercenaries looking up at him from below the window.

“…Was there something wrong?”