Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 23

The black magic had completely drained from his face, leaving him looking as if he had aged twenty years, his features sunken and withered.

Lenok, having extracted all the black magic from the man’s body, rose from his spot.

“Kill him.”

“….Excuse me?”

“He’ll be fine now.”

The mercenaries looked bewildered, but Lenok paid them no mind.

Just now, Lenok had succeeded in directly manipulating another mage’s magic using only his pure magic control ability.

‘What should I do with this?’

He had extracted the black magic, but it was impossible to hold onto it for long in this state. To store magic, a special container designed for that purpose was needed.

Lenok pondered for a moment but ultimately released all the black magic into the air. He figured that holding onto it would only continue to drain his magic with no significant benefit.

He went to the back of the rooftop and released the dark mass of magic into the air. The magic, now a hazy mist, quickly dissolved and disappeared into the air.

It was a shame. If he could have stored it, it could have been an opportunity to delve into black magic.

Quickly shaking off his lingering regrets, he turned around, only to hear a voice from beside him.

“You’re really amazing.”

“…..?”

It was Weyan, who had been subdued by the Scavenger’s man and was lying on the ground.

He thought Weyan was still unconscious, but it seemed he had recovered somewhat after being moved away from the battle zone.

He was holding his injured abdomen, leaning against the rooftop wall, and looking up at Lenok.

“Are you some kind of genius?”

“Genius?”

“Yeah. I could see you manipulating magic from afar. I’ve never seen magic control like that in my life. It really made me realize how pathetic my own magic is.”

Weyan said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“……”

Lenok listened to him and stood there, lost in thought.

There were quite a few others in the Creamgal Mercenary Office who could handle magic, but Weyan was the only one who said he saw Lenok scraping away the black magic.

If what he said was true, it meant that he had accurately captured the process of Lenok manipulating magic even from a distance.

That was proof that Weyan’s magic sensitivity was naturally very acute.

Perhaps his talent lay not in being a front-line fighter but in a profession that dealt with magic.

“I’ve seen a lot of people who act like they’re great mages, but I’ve never seen a mage who handles magic as precisely as you. If I could just follow your movements a little, could I get stronger here?”

He muttered, looking down at the two completely shattered tonfas [a type of baton] lying beside his thigh.

A complex expression that was completely different from the cool impression he had given when they first met.

Lenok could roughly guess what he was feeling, having been helplessly subdued by the enemy, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could say to him.

From Weyan’s perspective, Lenok might seem like a great person, but Lenok himself was just clinging to his talent, desperately trying to survive each day.

No matter how hard he tried to adapt and appear calm.

Lenok was still just a stranger walking the back alleys of this unfamiliar city.

“Do you want to become a mage?”

“I don’t know. I used to think that working in this mercenary group was enough… but now I’m not so sure.”

Weyan said, looking at Lenok with a hopeful gaze, but Lenok didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

Lenok wasn’t so oblivious that he didn’t know what the boy, who had just shed his boyish looks, wanted.

He wasn’t in a position to teach and take care of someone else.

With all the fatigue, headaches, weak constitution, and insomnia that constantly plagued him, Lenok had no room for leisure.

Giving him false hope was just unnecessary meddling.

Lenok took out a cigarette, flicked a flame between his fingers, and replied.

“Dray Creamgal seems like a pretty decent guy.”

“……”

“At least he can give you much better advice than someone like me. It’s not easy to run a business on your own.”

Lenok exhaled a long stream of smoke, inwardly chuckling.

It was absurd that he, who had escaped the factory and arrived in this city only three months ago, was saying such things.

But if Weyan was truly contemplating his path, he should seek advice not from a mediocre outsider like Lenok but from the leader he trusted and followed without question.

“If you decide how to take care of yourself, it might be a good idea to go see Jenny. That woman isn’t the type to force people to do things they don’t want to do.”

Could Weyan change? Or did he even want to change?

Whether he could turn the faint resolution he had just muttered to Lenok into his own future was something no one knew.

Feeling like he had said too much, he quickened his pace.

It seemed like Weyan wanted to say something more from behind, but Lenok didn’t listen and headed towards where Dray was.

While he was gone to scatter the black magic, everything on the rooftop had ended.

The man’s corpse, slumped as if he had died at the hands of the mercenaries, and the mercenaries busily inspecting the power facilities and other lines.

And those who had died in battle, their eyes closed peacefully.

Dray was moving busily among the mercenaries, quickly organizing the situation.

“Ah, Mage,”

As soon as he saw Lenok’s face, Dray stopped what he was doing and bowed his head.

“I was very rude earlier.”

A completely different attitude from when they first met. It was only natural.

In fact, in the end, Lenok alone had overwhelmed the enemy and even finished them off.

Kidel, who was standing next to him, also quietly bowed her head to Lenok. She must have seen the cigarette in Lenok’s mouth, but she didn’t say anything.

“It’s a shame there were casualties.”

“……It can’t be helped. It’s always like this when you work in this field.”

Dray said with a bitter smile, but it was clear that he didn’t mean it.

Kidel’s eyes next to him were also slightly red.

They were colleagues who had shared life and death in the same office. It was a place where you had to avoid getting attached to survive, but it wasn’t something you could control.

Even if they didn’t break down in grief, it was natural to feel down.

Lenok silently chewed on the end of his cigarette. There was nothing more he could say about it.

“Is everything done?”

At Lenok’s words, he nodded.

“Yes. I’ve confirmed that the computer server is safe, and we’ve called in the programmers we hired to back it up. It should be done in about 20 minutes, so if the Scavengers don’t come out again, it should be over.”

Dray said, kicking the fallen man’s corpse with one foot.

“After checking this guy’s identity, it turns out he was a Scavenger executive from District 51. They said three branches had planned this together, so it seems he was directly managing and supervising on-site.”

“I see. I also extracted the magic from the drug this guy used, but there were no particular findings.”

“Well, it’s not like black mages haven’t been involved in this kind of thing before. We’re just going to dispose of this body separately and wrap things up.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Dray Creamgal was just a mercenary who had been paid to reclaim the building and protect the server. He had no obligation to investigate how the Scavengers were involved with the black mages.

Lenok also had no interest in the black mages’ collusion, but the drugs they used were a different story.

“Good. Then, before you dispose of the body, can you collect some blood and send it to Jenny?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d rather do it myself, but I don’t have any tools right now.”

As Lenok said this and raised both hands, Dray quickly nodded.

“Ah… of course. If the Mage wants it, we’ll do it. Now that I think about it, I haven’t paid you yet.”

He took out his phone from his pocket and tapped a few times, and Lenok’s phone rang.

It was a notification that 20 million cells [currency] had been deposited into Lenok’s account.

“I’ve also sent a separate commission to Jenny, so please tell her to check it.”

When he nodded, Dray finally smiled bitterly and started moving with the mercenaries again.

Lenok sat on the edge of the rooftop, looking down to see if there were any abnormalities outside the building.

The Scavengers inside the building had already been annihilated, but if they sent additional troops, Lenok would have to use magic again.

While silently smoking, Lenok reviewed the gains he had made from this job.

‘Success bonus of 20 million cells… I don’t have to worry about living expenses for a while.’

Considering that the reward for blowing up the factory that Valitz had offered was 50 million cells, the Creamgal Mercenary Office had paid a very high price to hire a mage for this job.

Jenny said that they seemed to have raised the price to quickly find a mage, so he probably received a higher reward than average.

But the real reward Lenok had gained from this job was not that.

‘The power of the shooting support magic is better than I thought.’

Lenok smiled as he slowly exhaled the smoke that brushed his throat.

The revolver he had bought from the gun store this time. The effect of the shooting combo using support magic on firearms was beyond his imagination.

The minor support magic that he hadn’t felt much in WORLD 2.0 was greatly helping Lenok’s combat ability here.

In particular, support magic like [Reload Acceleration] and [Aim Correction] were abilities that weren’t very noticeable in the game, but they were completely different in reality.

If Lenok was properly aware and prepared, it had an amazing effect that allowed him to reload and fire even if an enemy was rushing at him.

Of course, it was unlikely to work head-on against monsters like Kraken that moved faster than Lenok’s perception speed, but it was significant just to be able to reduce his reliance on magic that consumed a lot of magic power.

If he could use his power more effectively while saving magic power, Lenok’s combat endurance would also greatly improve.

It was a great achievement for something he had invested a few days in. Of course, it would have been impossible without Lenok’s experience as a magic gunner.

‘At this rate, I can invest in better firearms.’

The effect of shooting support magic varied greatly depending on the quality of the firearm.

When he first bought a firearm at the gun store, he wasn’t sure of the effect, so he chose the most basic product, but at this rate, he thought it would be okay to buy a better gun.

Of course, Lenok’s talent was more inclined towards magic than shooting, so he had no intention of delving into the magic gunner path again, but until he had satisfactory magical abilities, this shooting magic would be a great help.

‘If I could find and learn unique support magic, I could increase my power much more… but it would be difficult now.’

It would be great if he could find it by chance, but there were too many things Lenok had to worry about right now.

Right now, he was busy just investing time in taking care of his health.

While Lenok was passing the time with various thoughts, someone came up from behind and cautiously spoke to him.

“Mage, everything is cleaned up here.”

Weyan, who seemed to have recovered somewhat, was looking down at him.

It seemed that he had been helping the other mercenaries after talking to Lenok.

Weyan’s expression wasn’t very good, but he didn’t add anything else when he saw Lenok.

When Lenok headed towards where Dray was standing, he was looking down at the man’s corpse with a complicated expression.

A dog tag that shone with a dull silver light was pulled out from the corpse’s neck. It seemed that they had found it while searching the body.

“He was from the Viper Regiment,”

Dray muttered in a somber tone.

“It was a unit I had encountered a few times while going through the front lines, but how did an elite from that unit end up like this…”

He clicked his tongue a few times and took out a handkerchief from his pocket, covering the man’s distorted face. It was an act of respect as a fellow soldier.

“Are there many retired soldiers?”

“There are quite a few. It hasn’t been that long since the war with Dellinger ended, has it? Some people stay, and those who can’t have to return to society.”

Dray shrugged and replied.

“It seems this guy couldn’t.”

Even though he was a retired soldier himself, Dray didn’t seem to have much emotion about being discharged.

“……”

The war with Dellinger. Another keyword to look up when he got back.

While Lenok was remembering the word, Dray nodded and said to him.

“The server backup is complete, and the power facilities have been normalized. Now, we just need to notify the client of the current situation, and once they confirm, the request will be officially over.”

Dray took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Lenok.

“I was deeply impressed by the Mage’s work performance while working together this time. I hope we have another opportunity to work together in the future.”

Handing over a business card here was a signal that Lenok had nothing more to do and could go home early.

Lenok readily accepted the business card he was given and replied with a smile.

“If there’s another opportunity.”

Dray Creamgal was clearly an excellent mercenary and businessman.

He had a calm command ability, a daringness that didn’t spare his body, a high level of insight and prudence, and even the skill to handle the situation without much agitation even though some of his fellow mercenaries had died.

He was aware that it was something that could happen at any time in this line of work.

Someone like him wouldn’t be satisfied with a small office and would continue to grow his business. It wouldn’t be bad to keep in touch and maintain contact.

If there was an opportunity, they could work together again. Lenok turned his back without any regrets and moved towards the stairs.

Kidel, who was watching his receding figure, quietly asked Dray.

“Shouldn’t we have asked him?”

“Asked what?”

“If he had any intention of joining our office…”