Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 244

Leaving behind the surprised gazes, Lenox took the first step.

‘This method of ice magic isn’t bad either. Though the efficiency is somewhat lower…’

The ice magic of the common magic system that Lenox had been using was basically designed for environments with a water source.

Naturally, it consumed less mana and could cover a wide area, so Lenox had also used it by first splashing water and then forcibly creating a platform.

However, that also meant it was difficult to use in places without moisture.

That’s why Lenox had visited the executive vault to find methods used by mages specializing in ice-type magic, especially unique magic systems focused on that attribute.

Obtaining McQueen’s liberation magic and the main lineage book there was an added bonus.

Lenox’s real purpose was to train in both fire and ice magic simultaneously.

“Wait a moment.”

After saying that while looking back at the group, he raised his mana again.

Ice-type creation magic.

[Garden of Frozen Glory]

As he lightly stepped forward, mana fiercely rotated within Lenox’s body.

The completion of the hierarchy. The newly acquired knowledge within Lenox’s magic system, which had begun to integrate into a single order, turned into power.

Crack, crack, crack…!!!

In an environment devoid of moisture, ice fragments popped out as if by magic, covering the ground with a forest of cold, and neutralizing the heat that increased as they ascended the mountain.

Only then did the agents, realizing how Lenox was able to use ice magic of this scale, slightly open their mouths.

“He’s freezing and solidifying mana itself instead of water…!!”

“That’s impossible… Unless you’re manipulating mana at the particle level…!!”

Even though materializing mana was natural for a mage, replacing moisture with mana was an art that couldn’t even be attempted without perfectly imitating the properties of water and ice.

It was impossible without being born with a special constitution or having a deep understanding of ice magic.

The agents quickly turned their heads towards Evelyn.

“I wondered why you called the external advisor for this…”

“Team leader, you knew that Mr. Ban was this knowledgeable about ice magic!”

“Huh? Well… well, you could say that.”

Ignoring Evelyn’s awkward response, Lenox subtly took out the book from his coat again.

‘What do I do next…?’

If there is no water, all you have to do is select the particles to use instead of moisture.

The necessary mana manipulation ability was already more than sufficient.

All that remained was to quickly learn the tricks of how other ice-type unique magic users manipulate and apply the created ice fragments.

That much was enough with just the knowledge from one book.

“…Hmm.”

As Lenox flipped through the pages with one hand and twitched his fingers, the cold air that had spread in all directions split open to the sides, creating a wide path.

Sharp and powerful ice fragments that lava monsters, who noticed the anomaly and rushed out, could not easily approach.

However, the ice path that had been extending according to Lenox’s gestures suddenly stopped, and then began to melt rapidly at a certain point.

Only then did Evelyn, who had been leisurely following Lenox from behind, perk up.

“This is…”

She picked up a small pebble nearby and threw it at the point where the ice path was cut off.

Sizzle!!

As soon as the pebble passed through a specific point in the air, it caught fire on the spot and disappeared as if melting.

It was clearly different from the natural phenomena they had encountered so far.

A barrier that burned all external objects that crossed a certain area. It was the power of the Magic Tower.

Lenox, who was looking at the stones burning and disappearing in the air, said,

“It’s unrealistic that all visitors to the Magic Tower would experience this inconvenience.”

“…”

“This situation itself is proof that they are uncomfortable with our visit.”

Lenox turned his head towards Evelyn.

“What should we do?”

She pondered for a moment, then hardened her expression and said,

“I sent a message that we had arrived just before climbing the volcanic zone. But the fact that this level of security is still being maintained… means that they want us to break through this on our own.”

“…”

“Ban, can you do it?”

Instead of answering, Lenox made a thoughtful expression, then stretched out his hand.

The other agents’ faces turned slightly pale at the defenseless gesture, but Lenox’s hand reached beyond the point where the ice path was cut off without any problem.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

It instantly caught fire and began to burn.

“…Mr. Ban!!”

“Just a moment.”

Protecting his hand with a shield, he slowly checked the mana flow inside the barrier.

It aims to occupy a specific area and detect objects entering from the outside, automatically casting an ignition spell from a distance to burn them.

Rather than being filled with an indescribable heat inside the barrier, it was a technique closer to a method of detecting and intercepting enemies in a way similar to radar.

‘The principle is quite simple, surprisingly. Then…’

“How is it?”

“I was thinking of smashing the barrier entirely if necessary… but there’s no need for that.”

Lenox pulled out his hand and lightly shook his left sleeve, and dozens of magazines poured out from inside the sleeve.

Numerous ammunitions that he had been storing by applying lightweight magic and shrinking magic.

Bang!!

Lenox smashed the cases of the magazines, grabbed hundreds of bullets inside with mana threads, and threw the bullets into the air, then over the barrier.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!!!

The bullets all caught fire as soon as they entered the barrier.

Lenox immediately raised his mana and waved his hand.

Manipulation-type creation magic.

[Mana Thread Injection]

[Multiple Resonance: Emission]

Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

Hundreds of bullets under Lenox’s control emitted intense mana and exploded on the spot.

Blue flashes burst one after another beyond the barrier, exploding at different times.

An unexpected fireworks display unfolded in the sky filled with ash and dust.

Only then did Lenox withdraw his hand and casually step over the path where the ice had stopped.

“Let’s go.”

“…Is it over?”

“It’s just temporarily disrupting the barrier’s search method. If it’s a security barrier that detects and intercepts enemies, then interfering with the search itself can prevent follow-up attacks.”

Only then did the other agents, who understood Lenox’s words, exclaim in admiration.

“You’re saying you’re interfering with the barrier’s detection itself by scattering flares. I didn’t know you could do something like this on the spot without any equipment…”

“No, this is impossible unless you fully analyze the barrier’s search pattern and thoroughly control the throwing cycle… how…?”

“It won’t last long. Let’s move quickly.”

At Lenox’s words, the group stopped chatting and moved quickly.

As they climbed higher up the volcano, the surrounding environment changed drastically.

Beyond just being filled with heat and making it difficult to breathe, the acrid smoke rising from below was enough to obstruct their vision.

However, Lenox was slightly impressed by the scenery he saw from the center of the volcano’s crater.

“Even if it’s a fire-type Magic Tower, I didn’t expect them to be located in such an extreme place… I have to give them credit for their guts.”

A huge lake of lava boiled in the center of the mountain.

Five huge structures stood tall, surrounding the super-hot lake that glowed crimson.

Lava drawn from the bottom flowed leisurely between the twisted curves of the five spirally twisted towers.

Bridges made of bedrock were placed between each structure, supporting and connecting them.

Around the Magic Tower made of dull rock, lava flowed along the spiral pattern, glowing faintly.

A unique appearance as if light was emitting from between the threads of a screw.

The Blaver Magic Tower was not just located in a volcanic zone, but was using the volcano’s lava as the power source for the Magic Tower.

As they headed towards the center of the crater, the group was finally able to see a person who had come out to greet them from the ground of the huge tower.

An old man with a kind face, wearing a slightly dark red robe.

He was looking at the group with a pleasant smile and a cheerful laugh.

The old man waved his hand and shouted like a child,

“Evelyn!!”

Evelyn also straightened her collar and walked towards the old man.

“Mr. Aintz, it’s been a while.”

The man called Aintz immediately took Evelyn’s hand, lightly hugged her, and then grabbed her shoulders.

“It’s been a long time! How is life in the city?”

“Thanks to your concern, I’m doing well.”

“The Marcia family is maintaining its lineage thanks to you. I have no face to show my older brother for not taking care of my goddaughter.”

Evelyn smiled faintly instead of saying anything.

Aintz looked at the other members of the group and returned with a serious face, slightly bowing his head.

“I am Aintz from the 3rd team of empirical theory research at the Blaver Magic Tower.”

A polite attitude that didn’t feel like an arrogant mage of the Magic Tower.

While the other members of the group were bowing their heads in confusion, Aintz took something out of his coat and immediately began to distribute it.

“Please take one each.”

Bracelets made of bright red paper material. But Lenox did not miss the fact that some kind of mana was engraved inside.

Aintz smiled, pointing to the same object that was secretly hidden on his wrist.

“It’s something we give to guests invited by the Magic Tower. It’s basically an item to prove the identity of an outsider, a consumable made for VIPs.”

“Consumable means…”

“If you tear the bracelet lengthwise, you will be reverse-summoned out of the Magic Tower’s barrier. If you feel that something is going wrong inside the Magic Tower, please do not hesitate to use it.”

A moment of silence fell among the group who did not understand what that meant.

Instead, Lenox spoke first.

“You are also wearing such a bracelet, Mr. Aintz.”

Aintz, who looked back at Lenox with a slightly surprised expression, smiled gently.

“You are also a mage. And a considerable… no, a tremendous level.”

“…”

“That’s right. At this point, I am also no different from an outsider in this Magic Tower. Shall we go inside for now?”

Saying that, Aintz naturally guided the group into the Magic Tower.

The rooftop of the Magic Tower, which corresponds to the head of the screw. As they went down the narrow staircase in the gap, a clean corridor with a cool breeze appeared in an instant.

Even though the entry of outsiders was prohibited, the atmosphere inside the Magic Tower did not seem so relaxed.

Lights were brightly lit in each room, and people of various colors and attire could be seen moving through the windows in the corridor.

Not only the other agents, but also Lenox could not hide his interest and turned his gaze around.

He never thought that this would be the first Magic Tower he would visit, but he had always been curious about how mages like him gathered and conducted research.

Aintz was walking in front of the group with his hands behind his back, but he was just smiling and did not say a word.

“…”

It might look like composure to other people, but it was different in Lenox’s eyes.

A transparent expression as if he was forcibly pretending to be calm.

It was not difficult for Lenox, who had been living with a mask since the first day he came to the mega-city, to distinguish it.

He was not very good at deceiving others.

Evelyn also seemed to have noticed that the atmosphere of the Magic Tower was not as good as she had thought, and her face was slightly hardened.

The group quickly passed through the corridor of the Magic Tower and stood in front of a huge iron door.

The entrance to a vast corridor with an impressive huge chandelier.

Aintz turned around in front of the door of the high-end conference room located on the top floor of the Magic Tower.

“If you go inside, the Council of Elders will be waiting for you.”

His face was still calm, but his mouth was stiffer than ever.

“Evelyn, good luck.”

The iron door opened, and Aintz stepped back.

As the group entered, the thick door closed with a thud, and only then did the lights slowly begin to turn on in the dark conference room.

“…There’s no one here.”

As Mauzer muttered, there was no one on the long table with a classic design and the neatly placed chairs.

But instead of saying anything, Evelyn took a seat on the simple chair in front of her.

Whoosh!

At the same time, different flames began to rise above the seats on the table.

“…!!!”

[There should have been a barrier preventing you from climbing the volcanic zone.]

While the other agents were surprised, a heavy bass voice echoed from among the flames.

[That was a very high-level jamming. Did you do that?]

“…”

The group’s gaze all turned to Lenox.

The naturally swaying flames also illuminated Lenox’s face.

After a moment of silence, a calm voice was heard from beyond the flames.

[I forgot that guests were coming and didn’t release the barrier. I’m sorry.]

A calm apology that didn’t seem to have any intention of resolving the situation.

Evelyn opened her mouth with a calm expression, without any sign of surprise.

“It seems that the elders have no intention of welcoming us in person.”

[…]

“We have officially taken our seats with the approval of two cities, but do you have no intention of saying anything about this matter?”

Only then did the flame that had risen on the far right flicker and utter a slow voice.

[Hyungung… We know that name very well.]

“…”

[I heard that you are the archer who has inherited the Marcia’s secret techniques most completely. It is welcome that a warrior of your level has visited the Magic Tower, but unfortunately, the situation is not very appropriate.]

The flame flickered in the air, changing the side it was showing as if turning its head.

[And even Master Craftsman Mauzer… I apologize for not greeting you in person. I would be grateful if Makina would overlook this matter.]

A polite tone that was different from when they were talking to Evelyn.

It was enough to guess how much they valued this furry blacksmith.

But despite that, Mauzer shook his head.

“I didn’t come all this way just to hear such pleasantries.”

[…]

“Everyone is worried about why the Blaver Magic Tower has closed its doors since the conflict with the Demonic Faction. As you know, the Magic Tower you built in the volcanic zone of Klaoronice is like a huge furnace that is one of the best on the continent. If you are reluctant to disclose what has happened so far in this way, who would want to work with you?”

The somewhat clumsy appearance he had when they first met was gone, and only a clear gaze and a dignified voice remained.

He was scolding the Council of Elders, who were at the top of the arrogant mages of the Magic Tower, without any hesitation.

Only then did Lenox understand to some extent why Evelyn had endured various inconveniences and waited for the delegation from the Machine City.

It was probably because it was difficult to have a justification for inspecting the Magic Tower without the participation of a person from the steel industry, who should be the most sensitive to this matter.

“I will not tell you to solve the problem and open the Magic Tower right away.”

Mauzer said in a slightly softened voice.

“But at least you must allow us to confirm that the Magic Tower’s affairs are running smoothly without any problems.”

[What does that mean?]

“We need proof that the Magic Tower has won the battle against the Demonic Faction and is just recovering from the aftermath.”

Mauzer’s eyes sank deeply.

“At least I accepted this position today on the premise that you agreed to this.”

[…]

A low silence flowed.

Like people who were choosing their words more carefully than ever.

[Alright.]

The answer came a long time later, and it was from the flame located on the far left, which was the opposite of before.