Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 246

Zionis (2)

As soon as Zionis and Lenox agreed to the duel, the stage was set in an instant.

A place where a 7th-level Saint-level mage would directly showcase their magic.

Moreover, the opponent was an ice mage with a completely opposite attribute.

Among the mages in the tower with free time, there wouldn’t be anyone who wasn’t curious about this match.

The two mages, who had stepped onto the open space in the middle of the practice area, immediately began to gather their magical power.

Whoooom!!

Even amidst the gazes of hundreds of mages, Zionis, calmly conjuring flames from both his fingertips, smiled faintly.

A voice so small that only Lenox could hear it.

The two mages stood in the open space in the middle of the practice area, calmly gathering their magical power.

Whoooom!!

Even amidst the gazes of hundreds of mages, Zionis, calmly conjuring flames from both his fingertips, smiled faintly.

‘This is merely to check the level of your ice magic, so please don’t be too nervous.’

‘…….’

‘Judging by your unfamiliar face, you don’t seem to be affiliated with the Magic Tower… It’s quite impressive that you’ve reached that level without formal training. Have some confidence.’

Lenox chuckled at Zionis’s words, which seemed to be muttered sincerely.

The subtle sense of superiority towards mages not affiliated with the Magic Tower. Rather than being angry, it felt almost amusing.

There hadn’t been many people who had openly shown such disdain towards Lenox before.

‘The mages of the Magic Tower have a unique way of giving compliments. Or perhaps they’re just exceptionally good at speaking indirectly?’

Unlike Lenox, who grinned, Zionis’s expression slightly hardened.

Seeing that, Lenox, conjuring pure white crystals from his fingertips, retorted.

Crack, crack, crack!!

‘You can give it your best shot. It’s not like things will go as you please.’

It seemed that he had been recognized as an ice mage among these mages, but he didn’t mind playing along.

It seemed that the reason Zionis was interested in Lenox was because he was an ice-type mage.

Lenox also felt that there was room to delve deeper into ice magic in actual combat.

The biggest characteristic of unique ice-type magic is that the results of the magic are directly manifested in reality as physical forms.

In other words, depending on the user’s capabilities, they could freely move between the realms of magic and reality, taking only the advantages.

If the opponent was a 7th-level mage, the growth of [Ice Magic for Beginners!] would also accelerate.

‘……Hmm.’

However, Zionis seemed slightly displeased by Lenox’s words.

He narrowed his brows, and without warning, he gathered his fingertips and took a long breath.

The exhalation that passed through his fingers embraced the surrounding heat and instantly transformed into a huge fireball, engulfing Lenox.

Even the mages watching from the surroundings flinched at the considerable firepower.

Crack!!

But at the same time as Lenox flicked his finger down, a right-angled ice plate slammed down from the air, peeling off the fireball.

Koo-oong!!

The fireball, changing direction, rushed straight into the ceiling of the training area, leaving a large boom and disappearing.

Just one exchange. But the mages who were watching the duel between the two were interpreting the meaning of that exchange completely differently.

‘To block Zionis’s preemptive strike with ice shaping…’

‘And even deflect the impact in the process. Is this even possible?’

It was an environment where everything was disadvantageous for Lenox.

The time and place were optimized for fire-type magic. The spectators were biased towards Zionis.

It should have been a one-sided situation where a 7th-level Saint-level mage was giving guidance to an ice mage in a teaching format.

Zionis, his lips slightly hardened, twisted his hand once more.

In response, heat surged like a whirlwind from his feet, transforming into five streams of fire and shooting out.

Whoosh!!

At first glance, it was a very ordinary follow-up attack.

But the moment it reached Lenox’s close range, Zionis twisted the magic he was manipulating, changing the flames.

Fwoooosh!!

At the tips of the five streams of fire, huge fire flowers bloomed instantly.

The crimson petals fiercely rotated in all directions, surrounding Lenox and burning him.

Thud, thud, thud!!

At the same time, petals that had broken off from the large stems of fire flew in all directions, causing chaotic shockwaves.

Zionis, who had gathered the fire waves that had spread out in this way, spread his right hand wide open.

[Fire Butterfly Fan]

The flames that sprang from his fingertips transformed into hundreds of butterflies, instantly covering the surroundings of the training area and fluttering about.

The other mages couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the beautiful sight.

‘The recovery and amplification control of heat is near perfect…!!’

‘Such precise flame control ability!!’

Listening to the praises echoing from the surroundings, Zionis muttered quietly.

‘Burst.’

Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

At that moment, the fire butterflies that had been scattering in all directions exploded, causing a chain reaction of huge firestorms.

And a huge tiger that emerged from the flames swallowed the spot where Lenox had been standing.

It wasn’t just a single attack, but a fire magic of the Blaver Magic Tower that continuously amplified the magic power and damage range by adding to the gathered heat.

It was a technique specialized in taking the lead on the battlefield and sweeping through like a tidal wave, keeping the small spark that was initially ignited alive.

It was a magic that seemed to have been created to shine brilliantly on the battlefield, but because of that, it was easy to collapse in the middle if one didn’t thoroughly grasp their own abilities and carefully consider the balance of offense and defense.

Zionis was clearly aware of the basic principle that Lenox had learned from Weizen in the autonomous territory.

‘But there are gaps to exploit.’

He could tell not because he was skilled in ice magic, but because he understood fire magic well.

The tiger’s momentum, which looked magnificent on the surface, was only part of the process of increasing its power and heat.

In reality, its power itself was no different from the previous fire butterflies, and the focal point for shaping it was still bound to exist somewhere.

‘I see it.’

Lenox’s left eye rotated rapidly, transforming into a stasis eye, visualizing the flow of magic power rushing before him.

He fearlessly reached out his hand into the raging flames that filled his vision.

The moment the gloves and shield made in the Blacksmith’s workshop protected his body from the burning flames.

Lenox, who had grasped the flow of the burning flames, slammed his magic power into it.

Whoooom!!

At that moment, a pure white wave occurred in the middle of the epicenter where Zionis had poured out his fierce attack.

At the moment the wave passed, the color of the training area was completely reversed.

The vision that had been filled with vivid red was decolorized, instantly losing its color and suppressing the heat that had filled the surroundings.

Crack, crack, crack!!

The huge fire tiger that had been rushing towards Lenox transformed into a huge ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.

A move that completely overlaid the opponent’s magic with his own color.

It was only natural that everyone who watched the scene couldn’t manage their expressions.

Lenox, who walked out while dripping pure white cold air from his mouth, smiled contentedly.

‘Shall we continue?’

‘…….’

Zionis didn’t answer any more.

The faint smile that had been on his lips had also disappeared somewhere.

Kugugugu…!!

Without a word, he took a step forward, and the magic power he had pushed up greatly behind his back instantly transformed into a huge wave of fire, sweeping over Lenox.

At the same time, Lenox, who had created two long ice pillars in both hands and slammed them down, also began to counter.

Fwoooosh!!

The cold air that instantly extended from both sides of the ice pillars surrounded the area, creating a huge gate.

Immediately after, the wave of fire collided, and cold and heat mixed in all directions, scattering thick fog as moisture evaporated.

The two mages’ hands, which simultaneously grasped the moisture and heat scattering in the air, moved gracefully.

In the blink of an eye, red and white flowers began to bloom and wither dozens of times in all directions.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!!!

If the flames were gaining strength over time and increasing in size, then likewise, he could just keep chipping away at the opponent’s heat and cut off its flow.

The important thing was not to force his way into a power struggle, but to accurately slow down the rhythm by catching the subtle breathing that existed in the opponent’s offense and defense.

The rain of fire falling from the ceiling of the training area and the pure white ice pillars that were constantly rising from under his feet collided and exploded.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!!!

The other mages, who had initially been watching with their mouths agape, gradually began to realize as time passed.

The truth that the balance of the extremely tense offense and defense was not at all the scene that the direct disciple of the Tower Lord had intended.

That Zionis’s gaze, which had become stiff and cold, was not leaving Lenox’s two hands for even a moment.

What did it mean that a mage who had completed the hierarchy of fire magic was being pushed to the point where he couldn’t afford to relax?

The mages who had followed to assist Zionis coughed uncomfortably.

‘Ahem…!!’

‘His skills are beyond that of a simple ice mage…’

‘They said he was affiliated with an agent of a large city, could he be someone who received separate training?’

Under the environment of a duel, they couldn’t suppress that unknown ice mage with their skills.

Wasn’t that simple fact alone enough to tarnish Zionis’s high status?

But the mage that Zionis was focusing all his attention on had forgotten all those relationships.

He was just rolling his eyes as if he was mesmerized by the flow of magic power that was constantly blooming and disappearing before him.

Fwoooosh, fwoooosh, fwoooosh, fwoooosh!!

Following the beautiful magic light that flickered white and red, Lenox’s gaze also rotated endlessly.

The mock training with Ivelin. And the duel with Zionis that followed in succession.

The rare experience of mixing hands with two superhumans who had completed their hierarchies, yet had completely different natures, was being frantically replayed within Lenox, transforming into concrete meaning and bursting out.

He began to see.

Using Zionis’s flames as red light. Using the moves he was making as blue light, he schematized the battle of wits in the battlefield and captured it in his vision.

Lenox’s greatest weapon and advantage, his incredibly powerful intuition and precise battle of wits.

Based on this, Lenox’s inner self, which was looking at countless branching points from the perspective of the future, twisted once more and took root as the most important cognitive organ.

It rotated fiercely within Lenox’s left eye.

The red area, classified as a risk factor, and the blue light, judged as a safety factor, mixed chaotically around the pupil, distorting Lenox’s vision.

At that moment, Lenox naturally moved his hand imbued with magic into the air and took a step forward.

Crack, crack, crack!!

As if it were a promise, with that simple gesture, the heat that had been rushing towards Lenox split apart and cleared a path.

It wasn’t just looking at the branching points from the realm of the magnetic field, but the act of assuming his choices in a local battlefield and glimpsing the results in advance.

The red and blue lights in Lenox’s left eye rotated endlessly, constantly illuminating the dark path.

He found a fork in the road that pierced through the gaps in the raging flames that filled the surroundings.

‘Hoo-oo-oo-oo…!!’

Clack, clack, clack!!

The dozens of fire spears that Zionis had unleashed over time resonated in all directions, connecting into a huge chain, and exploded while surrounding Lenox.

But just before that, a cluster of pure white ice pillars was slammed down diagonally, twisting through the flames and forcibly creating a path.

Beyond the space that had been faintly twisted open between the pillars, Zionis, who sensed the glint of a purple light, took a step back without realizing it.

But Lenox’s hand emerging from the pure white mist was faster.

A cold flash flickered between his five fingers, piercing the gap with infinite sharpness.

The fact that the timing was impossible to grasp even though the speed wasn’t fast was proof that Lenox’s senses had reached a high level.

The duel would be over the moment it touched.

No, if this were a real battle, Zionis’s life would have already been gone.

The moment Zionis, who had sensed that, was about to rotate his magic power with all his might.

Lenox, who had perfectly captured the flow of magic power rotating within him, raised both hands.

‘I yield.’

A cold silence flowed.

There was no one in this place who understood those words at once.

Even Zionis paused, asking again.

‘What… did you say?’

‘As expected, the magic of the Blaver Magic Tower is truly renowned. Even though I knew you were holding back, it was difficult to even approach you.’

‘…….’

‘I tried my best, but it seems this is my limit.’

Even if Lenox, who had achieved his goal, was like that, Zionis would also be feeling that he was slowly reaching a dangerous level.

The difficulty of manipulating the techniques that the two mages had exchanged so far was roughly around level 5.

They had only been dueling by wielding level 5 magic at the Saint level. It could not be said that either of them had given their all.

But if the atmosphere started to overheat beyond this, it might not end within the bounds of a duel.

Although he had made a rough excuse, it was enough justification to stop the duel.

Lenox waited for his answer, but Zionis didn’t say anything.

He just stared intently at Lenox’s eyes.

‘…….’

Only then could Lenox see his own reflection in Zionis’s monocle.

Lenox’s left eye, where red and blue lights had been constantly rotating, had turned into a clear purple color.

‘Ah…’

Was it that the magic eye that had opened once after seeing Iola’s magic eye had changed again because of this incident?

He had been so focused on the battle that he hadn’t even realized that his vision had changed slightly.

As Lenox smiled wryly and covered his left eye, creating some distance, the mages, who had belatedly realized that the duel was over, began to applaud.

‘Woooaaah!!’

‘That was a wonderful duel.’

‘As expected of Zionis. There was nothing to criticize.’

‘The mage who came as a guest is also amazing. To be able to keep pace with Zionis for even a moment…’

‘Although he lost in vain, it must have been a good experience.’

Even if they didn’t properly understand the diverse applications and manipulations of the attributes that the two mages had exchanged, it wasn’t difficult to be impressed by their splendor and precision.

Above all, what was satisfying was the result that Zionis had ultimately won and the ice mage had lost.

But did the person who had proposed the duel in the first place know the meaning of this exchange?

Lenox gazed at the opponent in front of him, who had slightly lowered his head, with a calm gaze.

Zionis didn’t say anything more, but after glancing at Lenox, he turned his back abruptly.

Even in the face of this intense cheering and praise, he did not hesitate to pass by the mages and disappear.

The fist visible under his robe was clenched so tightly that it looked white.