Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 290

“Is the damage outside… really bad?”

Renok asked, his arm weakly draped over Suryeon’s shoulder as they walked.

Suryeon replied with a stiff expression.

“It’s beyond words. The main street in the center of the fortress has been completely reduced to ashes.”

“……”

“Thanks to your warning, we were able to rescue everyone who hadn’t evacuated yet, but the fortress residents and the remaining family members are working hard to put out the fire.”

“……I see.”

Renok, who had a rough idea of what Walter would do in the end, had asked others to take care of the aftermath in advance.

A level 7 Archmage’s battle, especially a series of battles against a bishop of the Guiding Order and the heads of the eight families, would inevitably cause widespread damage.

Therefore, he had decided that it would be better to prepare the surroundings before the domain was even deployed.

“Chen and that maniac Manson are helping out too. Once you and Asui escape, we plan to isolate this entire district.”

As soon as they realized that the black flames wouldn’t go out easily, they decided to isolate the area and wait for the fire to die down.

Considering the assets left in the downtown area, it was a bold decision, but Renok knew that Suryeon’s judgment was correct and nodded.

It was impossible for Renok to easily predict how long the flames of his heart, fueled by his inner thoughts, would continue to burn.

It was better to take the time to observe its nature slowly and minimize the damage.

“But still, this is an unbelievable level of disaster… How can a mere human do something like this? Is this what battles between monsters who have completed their hierarchies are like?”

Suryeon, who was supporting Renok, looked around and muttered with a rigid expression.

The curtain of black flames, as high and intense as a skyscraper, even though the damage hadn’t reached this far, the heat alone was enough to make her whole body feel hot.

At her words, Asui shook her head with a frightened expression.

“Not all Archmages can cause such disasters. It’s just that Mr. Ban has unbelievable power.”

“……”

“To think that you single-handedly crushed the Yibon family’s forces and even defeated the bishop of the Order… If this gets out, it will be impossible to even verify the truth.”

“……It was just an unexpected event that happened because it was mixed with the bishop’s power.”

Renok, feeling the two people’s evaluations of him skyrocketing, subtly changed the subject.

“Don’t you see that I can’t fully control it with my own magic power in the first place?”

“Do you have to reach this level and look down on the world to deal with the bishops of the Order? I still have a long way to go.”

“If it’s to protect the fortress, everyone will have to work hard in the future. I will strive forward.”

“……”

Renok quietly closed his mouth at the reaction that didn’t even register.

Immediately after, a large shadow rose from the other side of the street and quickly enveloped the three of them, clearing a path.

Renok raised his head at the familiar lingering magic power.

“This magic power is…”

“It seems the Samyeong family head has awakened. To come help us as soon as he regained his senses…”

Suryeon said, smiling as she lifted Renok’s shoulder.

“It seems we didn’t choose the wrong master.”

* * *

The black flames that had been burning the Yibon family’s main house disappeared after illuminating the night for another day.

This was because Oren, who had taken over the master’s authority, modified the outer barrier of the fortress to focus on isolating the flames in the center.

The fact that the barrier, which was strong and durable enough to contain the flames caused by the Black Sea Goddess’s Lock, could be modified so freely was proof that the barrier that the Ascended had directly touched was on a different level.

Compared to that level, it was comparable to the barrier placed on the lighthouse that the Blue Eye used as its base.

The fact that the City Council did not rashly invade the territory of the Palhong Fortress was also because of the power of the barrier manipulated by the master’s authority.

“……”

Renok, who was wrapped in bandages all over his body, quietly looked out the window and turned his head.

Even though the proxy war was over and the Samyeong family head had newly ascended as the master, the atmosphere inside the fortress was not very bright.

As a result, among the three families that boasted the strongest power in the Palhong Fortress, the lineages of the Ilwon and Yibon families had been completely severed.

Moreover, the shock of the truth that Ilwon’s family head had destroyed himself by giving his family members as food to the Order, and that Yibon had tried to offer the entire fortress as a human sacrifice in collusion with the Order, was enormous.

If it hadn’t been for the actions of the Samyeong family head at the end of the proxy war, it wouldn’t have been strange for an irreparable rift to have formed between the eight families and the fortress residents.

It was clear who was responsible for preventing the disaster of the Apostle’s Descent and preventing the Palhong Fortress from collapsing entirely.

“So, there will be no rebuilding of Ilwon and Yibon, is that it?”

“The Palhong Fortress will be renamed the Yukbang Fortress and will continue to exist. There will be a lot of external intervention in that process.”

Chen, who was standing behind Renok, replied.

He was watching Renok’s actions with his arms crossed.

“Considering what’s going on outside the city, the Palhong Fortress will probably be removed from the position of the Three Heads.”

Chen, who had been wandering around the underbelly of Balkan trying to start a business, would know more about the recent situation in the megacities than Renok.

Chen continued without waiting for Renok’s answer.

“It’s not surprising. It was just difficult to know the reality because it was isolated from the outside, but the fortress’s power itself has been deteriorating for a long time… Oren probably knows that too.”

The fortress’s declining power and status. Could the Yibon family head’s desperate struggle be seen as a struggle not to be left behind in the process?

“It’s going to get noisy outside again.”

It was obvious that the back alleys of Balkan would become noisy over the Palhong Fortress being removed from the position of the Three Heads and the newly vacant position of the head of the underworld.

Chen laughed at Renok’s muttering.

“It’s always like that. Just because one problem is solved doesn’t mean everyone will find a happy ending.”

“……”

“Rather, Oren and the fortress residents will have a more difficult time than now. Compared to the power the fortress has, the privileges they hold are too many, and there will be more than a few people who are dissatisfied with that fact.”

The three heads who rule the underworld of Balkan. The title of the Three Heads is not just a grand-sounding nameplate.

In addition to managing and controlling the nearby commercial districts, they also maintain the size and manpower of the organization by receiving taxes from the underworld in exchange for being responsible for the safety of the residents.

This series of transactions alone maximizes the influence of the organization, and the status between other organizations gradually widens.

In this world, even such notoriety is a kind of power and qualification.

It was obvious how far the power struggles between those who would try to devour the fortress that was giving up its authority and those who would try to rise to the top of the underworld would spread.

If the skilled members of the organizations who had been holding their breath started to use their power in the process, the streets would quickly become a mess.

However, Renok nodded indifferently, even though he was well aware of that fact.

“I see. Oren will take care of it.”

Of course, he had no intention of helping the fortress beyond that.

The fact that he had become involved with the Palhong Fortress was only possible because he had discovered the ruins in the process of tracking down the traces of the Guiding Order.

For Renok, killing the missionary Walter and preventing the Apostle’s Descent was more than enough work.

Rather, from now on, it was a matter of the fortress itself, with no room for Renok to interfere.

Chen laughed as if he had expected Renok’s reaction.

“Hahaha!! I knew it. If you’re a guy who’s so clear about cutting ties like you, you wouldn’t want to get more involved here.”

“……”

“But I’ve decided not to pass by anymore.”

“What?”

Only then did Renok turn his head and look at Chen’s face.

“The business I was planning to do with my friends. I’m thinking of setting up that company here.”

Chen replied.

“Thanks to you, my status within the fortress has risen a lot. If I start a business here, Oren promised me various privileges, as well as tax exemptions. And there are still quite a few well-trained warriors left in the fortress… For me, it’s a pretty good business foundation.”

“……”

“You don’t have to worry about it since you have a talented broker named Jenny as your manager, but for me, who is just about to enter this world, there are some troublesome problems.”

He said that and then crossed his arms with a smile.

“I’m thinking of solving the fortress’s problems little by little from the side, and taking care of various things. If things go well, it will be a scale that is not inferior to a medium-sized company.”

“I see.”

As Renok nodded, Chen subtly took out a business card from his pocket.

“So, I was wondering if you would like to invest in us?”

“……”

“We’ll start out similar to a manpower agency, but eventually, we plan to move towards construction and facility management, where we can use the labor of magic users most efficiently. In particular, the method of receiving fees in exchange for restoring and managing the ruins that have collapsed in the underworld is extremely efficient…”

Renok, who had been staring at Chen, who had turned from a reliable colleague into a businessman in an instant, chuckled.

Even if he said it so grandly, Chen, who had always been able to take care of himself, would not throw himself into a failing business.

If he wanted to maintain not only his relationship with Chen but also his ties to the fortress, it wouldn’t be bad to have some shares in his company.

“I roughly know what you want.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll give you a proper answer soon, so wait for it.”

The extent of Renok’s contribution to the survival of the Palhong Fortress this time was unmatched by anyone in the fortress.

While others were groaning from injuries and struggling to grasp the situation, he had single-handedly stormed the Yibon family’s main house and finished the job.

In the process, he had even prevented the Apostle’s Descent, which was Walter’s original goal, so it was obvious what that fact would mean to those who knew the inside story.

Oren, after hearing all of that, had also decided to give Renok a suitable reward in order to keep his ties with the fortress.

Thanks to that, Renok succeeded in taking over the management rights of the Yibon family’s site, which he had burned down with his own hands, the mansion owned by the Ilwon family, and the ruins that existed within it.

It was as if he had become the owner of a new family, which was not officially recognized, even in the fortress that had now been reduced to the Yukbang Fortress.

In addition, he had taken over the remaining assets of the Ilwon family and even some of the carapace left over from burning the Apostle’s body, so the compensation was more than enough.

Perhaps the ‘investment’ that Chen wanted was to lease the site where the ruined Yibon mansion was located in exchange for shares.

It wasn’t like Renok needed his assets or cash right away, and if it was just a matter of leasing land that he had gotten for free, there was no reason not to agree.

“……”

After sending off Chen, who was waving his hand with a bright expression, Renok immediately walked to the inner quarters of the Ilwon family’s mansion.

Since this incident ended, more than ten people, including the heads of the eight families, had visited Renok, and Chen was the last of them.

Manson had already escaped outside with the permission of the master, saying that the fortress was stuffy.

However, Renok still had things to do inside this fortress.

The secret of the ruins that Walter had so desperately wanted. A faint crack engraved in a closed world.

There was one more opportunity left for Renok in that secret place that the Ilwon family had owned.

* * *

The deepest part of the three-story Ilwon family mansion.

If you walk along the dark corridor hidden behind the bathroom mirror, you will see a meadow unfolding in a room where faint sunlight enters.

A ruin protected by a golden barrier. Among the slightly covered bushes, an old coffin was lying askew.

The inside of the coffin was empty, but the name written in an unknown language was densely engraved on it.

Renok casually passed through the golden barrier and walked into the ruins.

He had already opened the barrier through Oren.

From the moment he entered the ruins, he could feel the time within his body flowing slowly.

“Hmm……”

He slowly lowered his body onto the grass, moving as slowly as if he were moving in water.

Renok was already familiar with the phenomenon that occurred in this ruin through several experiences.

The speed of his thoughts was still the same as in this world, but his body was being affected by another space.

To be precise, it was the influence of a timeline that had already disappeared.

“……”

Renok looked around sharply and slowly raised his magic power.

Unlike his body, which was moving endlessly slowly, the magic power itself spread in all directions at a speed that was neither slow nor normal.

That was probably because magic power, the source of a mage’s power, was a force that affected both the body and the mind at the same time.

With his magic power spread throughout the ruins, Renok closed his eyes and focused his concentration.

Woo-oong!

His magic power detection, which had been developed to the extreme, became so sensitive that it could read even a single dust particle moving inside the ruins.

Renok maintained that state of concentration for tens of minutes, focusing on understanding and interpreting the space of the ruins.

Charrararak!!

He didn’t place much meaning on the letters written on the coffin that he couldn’t interpret right away, or on the existence of the coffin itself.

The important thing was that this space was the spacetime of the old world that had now disappeared.

If this landscape was undoubtedly a trace of WORLD 1.0 and 2.0 that Renok knew,

There would be a gap that Renok could read between the discrepancies of that timeline.

‘Now I can understand the meaning of that message.’

The message that the head of the Demon Labyrinth had left for Renok. He had said that if he found the secret place of the Guiding Order, he would find the answer to the magic of time.

The true meaning of those words was not that a unique magic of the time series was hidden in this secret place.

‘Walter said that the existence of this ruin itself was a crack in a closed world.’

Therefore, it was acting as a communication channel that could send signals to the outer sea and directly receive the power of the end that was floating in the dark sea.

The Guiding Order was using these ruins as consumables to awaken missionaries as apostles of the end.

However, the method of using the cracks that had occurred in this world was not limited to that.

A crack in the world. In other words, it was an opportunity to glimpse the structure of the world through that crack.

It was like looking at the structure of a machine through a damaged part.

It was only possible to make local and sectional observations, and it was impossible to truly understand the structure.

However, even so, it was possible to see some of the parts that made up the machine of the world.

‘The operating principle by which time and space are established in this world, and by comparing it with the spacetime of the old world, it is possible to grasp the gap and make relative measurements. In other words……’

It was the same as having concrete measurement data of the time and space system in Renok’s hands.

Renok’s eyes shone sharply.

‘It means that I have obtained the most basic data for creating the magic of spacetime.’