Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 324

Dududududuk!! The massive wave of steel, rising like a tidal wave, is absorbed directly into Trepen’s humanoid body. A bizarre scene where the wave of machinery, centered around a single person, converges as it rotates. Even after absorbing metal several hundred times his own size, Trepen’s body does not change. However, the metal and weight, compressed to the extreme, will accumulate within his body and be converted into terrifying power. [Give up.] Trepen declared. [If you relinquish control of the calculation core and step aside now, I will spare your life.] “…….” [Let me show you how I will crush that filthy city.] “I didn’t know the Fortress Commander had such a merciful nature.” Lenok scoffed. “You can’t give up on bombing the megacity, but you’re willing to spare the enemy in front of you?” [Of course. All of this started from the arrogance and failure of the City Council.] Koo Woong!! The moment Trepen took a step forward, the deck crumpled and sank down. The weight of Trepen, who had absorbed over tens of thousands of metal parts, had already far exceeded that of an ordinary human. [You still cling to the Gold Restriction Edict [a law limiting the use of resources] because you don’t want to give up the ownership of the defense forces’ military supplies and weapons. Once I defeat you, who will be left to stand up for the City Council?] “…….” [It won’t be long. I will advance to the Central Council, tear apart the limbs of those who deceived me, and display their corpses at the top of the council.] Behind Trepen, who had gathered his body into one, the wall of the mechanical sphere writhed. Several dozen thick wires that had risen from the wall were simultaneously connected to Trepen’s back, beginning to charge the power source. Lenok watched this and couldn’t help but laugh. “Commander, don’t you still realize that what you’re saying doesn’t make sense?” [What do you mean?] “You talked about a wish for ascension, but now you’re talking about revenge on the City Council… For a transcendent who has abandoned hierarchy, your words lack consistency.” […….] “Or is it that you still haven’t decided who you are?” Trepen’s inorganic metallic skin faintly twitched. A stuttering response, as if he hadn’t properly understood Lenok’s words. A voice mixed with dissonance echoed slowly. [No… I am, after all, going to ascend… no, take revenge on the City Council… revenge? Why did I have to take revenge…?] “…….” A truly chilling monologue. Only then did Lenok realize why Gearsides hadn’t actively used this method and nodded. “Is the ego this shaken in the process of breaking free from the hierarchy…? The failure of the Ascension Gate must have been like this.” The mind of a 7th-level Saint-rank ability user, who had lived for nearly a hundred years, should be as solid as a rock. If even Trepen’s ego, with such strong mental fortitude, was shaking so precariously, it was not difficult to imagine what would happen if others were forced through the ascension process. Was the failure of the Ascension Gate, which was secretly implemented in the mechanical city of Machina, also being kept secret due to such fatal side effects? “So that’s why the researchers were sticking close to the Commander inside the sphere. They were adjusting his consciousness in real-time…” Now that Lenok, who had seized the calculation core, had infiltrated Gearsides’ backup network and wiped out their consciousness data, there was no one left to adjust his ego balance. At this point, which will Trepen’s will prioritize? The desire for ascension that had been instilled in him, and the personal emotion of seeking revenge on the City Council. The fact that his ego was shaking meant that the two priorities were colliding at the precarious boundary of his consciousness. A simple machine would neatly determine its principles of action based on the given data, but Trepen, even though he had transformed his body into a mobile fortress, was essentially a human being. Could the instilled data overcome the value of consciousness that had not changed for decades? The answer came soon enough. […It’s a useless worry.] Trepen, who had stopped stuttering and raised his head, had a face twisted like a demon. [I can think about it after I kill you and burn down Vulcan!!] “So, he’s putting off making a decision at this point… He’s more old-fashioned than I thought.” Lenok thought so, but he quietly turned his head towards the back. The mechanical forces that had been newly restored at the same time Trepen finished his adjustments. However, their figures, which had completely suppressed the forces Lenok had seized, had vanished without a trace. Trepen had disassembled all the parts that had been used to form the mechanical soldiers and converged them into one place in his body. Charrrrruk!! “Maximizing combat ability against an individual… I knew it would end up like this from the start, didn’t I?” Maintaining only the shape of the mechanical sphere to form his body, he must be gathering all his power to face Lenok. The fact that he was still maintaining the shape of the mechanical sphere was probably because it was difficult to give up the merit of manipulating space-time within the microcosm [a small, self-contained world]. However, Lenok listened to Trepen’s words, knowing all of this. In a sense, Commander Trepen was the most perfect form of a Saint-rank physical ability user who had shed his humanity. To what extent could his consciousness and personality, who had replaced his entire physical body except for his heart, be maintained and altered? Lenok knew that he would not be able to confirm its true value unless it was now. […Heh.] Trepen, who had been silent, let out a low laugh. A laugh so ugly that it was hard to believe it came from an old general in his seventies, who had maintained a solemn tone and attitude until now. [If you knew, why didn’t you run away sooner?] Trepen, who whispered like a child, took another step forward. Koo Woong!! A heavy footstep that shook the vicinity. Its weight had already swelled enough to shake the entire mechanical sphere. “I can’t do that.” Lenok, who accepted the shaking as it was, also stepped forward without hesitation. Lenok said, looking at Trepen’s profile, who had abandoned his human body but not his face. “I also thought from the beginning… that it would end up like this.” The steel angel, with dozens of wires spread like wings behind him, and the magician with a cigarette in his mouth, crossed paths as they stepped forward. At the same time as the two people’s magic flared up, the mechanical sphere tilted greatly and staggered. Kwaaaaaaang!! In the blink of an eye, dozens of magical lights flashed and burst out in a chain reaction. The rain of lightning that flashed and struck down in the air met the frozen ice on the ground and exploded, pushing a huge flame between them. A barrage of firepower that would have torn the whole body to pieces just by standing there. The magic that was swung once was twisted and altered to the extreme, creating a blade that reached the opponent’s vital points. Trepen moved, piercing straight through the flow of flashing flames and electricity. [Die.] Tuwoong!! Just by lightly swinging his fist, the surrounding air bent and created a massive air pressure. The unbelievable weight of his body, compressed to the extreme. The impact, maximized by manipulating the space inside the sphere, was amplified beyond theoretical limits and poured out. A delusion as if the vision was distorted. The moment he sensed the pressure pressing down on his shoulder, Lenok also lowered his magic and swung it. [Lightning Well] Pajijijijik!! Several dozen streaks of electricity that burst out from under his feet piled up in a well shape, instantly forming a huge lightning barrier around Lenok. Immediately after, he withstood the pressure that was pressing down from above. Kwang!! The remnants of the electricity, unable to withstand the impact, exploded and scattered across the deck, but Lenok’s body was unharmed. Even before he could confirm that, Trepen, who had reappeared in front of Lenok, waved his hand again. Swaeeeeeeek!!! The magic, compressed to the limit, rotated counterclockwise around Trepen’s right hand, drawing a narrow spiral. Beyond Trepen’s attack, which pierced like a flash, the faintly distorted scenery of the sphere made its power palpable. Thud! It pierced through Lenok’s head, scattering hot blood. “There must be a condition.” The moment his movement stopped. Lenok’s voice was heard from behind Trepen. At the same time, Lenok’s figure, whose head had been pierced, disappeared like a heat haze, and the magic threads that burst out from within wrapped around Trepen’s body like a spider web. Lenok, who was bent over with one hand on the floor behind him, said. “Even if you can touch space, it’s only interference as a result… Is it a power limited to a combat body that has limited consciousness?” [……] “The reason you increased the weight of the body to the limit is probably because you thought you could move the body by borrowing the power of space jump.” Lenok smiled, looking at Trepen’s back without turning around. “Even though you’ve made such a sophisticated mobile fortress your own body, you’re still thinking of overwhelming me with a power struggle… It’s a truly soldier-like, straightforward idea.” [You talk too much.] Hududududuk!! The hundreds of magic threads that had been holding Trepen’s body were cut off as he turned around. [Are you the type to chatter like that even while fighting?] “If necessary.” Every time he lightly swung his arm, the surrounding air swayed, and a sense of pressure spread in all directions. It goes without saying how powerful the weight, which had absorbed everything into his body except for the minimum parts needed to maintain the mechanical sphere, was being converted into. Being able to hold onto a body of that weight was only for a moment. However, for a magician, that moment was no different from an eternity of opportunity. At the same time as he made a hand seal with his outstretched hand, [Lightning Well] burst out, and the scattered fragments of electricity began to gather in one place. A well where lightning was bursting out. It was only a short time, but the electrical waves that had seeped out in the meantime were several times greater than the magic Lenok had used. Pajijijijijik!!! The moment hundreds of streaks of electricity that had swirled in the sky above the mechanical sphere plunged to the ground in a spiral. Trepen, who belatedly realized the abnormality, tried to use space jump, but it was too late. [Magic Concentration] [Convergence Rotation] [Transposition Resonance: Harmonics] [Lightning Deviation] Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!! The pillar of light rotating in a spiral struck the center of the deck where Trepen was standing. A quadruple casting that concentrated the magic that had finished its transformation to the extreme, resonated, exploded, and gathered the firepower that had burst out to strike. The concentrated firepower was so powerful that the underside of the deck was completely vaporized, revealing the bottom of the mechanical sphere. A powerful amount of heat that could melt and even vaporize steel. [That is truly a beautiful lightning magic. An old man like me, whose brain has hardened, can’t even guess the principle.] However, even in the midst of that, Trepen’s consciousness did not waver in the slightest. From the underground of the vaporized deck, Trepen’s tone, looking up at Lenok with a half-melted face, did not show even a hint of agitation. [But if that’s your full power, I’m disappointed. Considering how confidently you were talking…] “…….” [Isn’t it truly a pathetic level?] Provocative behavior. The clear wave of magic that he emitted at the moment he was sure of his victory could be felt even here. The fact that he had taken that attack head-on without dodging it was proof of how confident Trepen was in his current power. A weight that exceeded the limit. And the ability to move without being bound by that weight. Even Lenok could not guess how far Trepen’s power, which had simultaneously realized the contradictory aspects of being heavy and fast, would reach. So, he would just cut it off. Lenok smiled, looking down at Trepen. “It seems like you’re misunderstanding something. I didn’t use that magic just now to kill you.” [Are you putting on a show of bravado before you die?] Lenok said, looking at Trepen shaking his head. “I just provided enough power for my partner.” […What?] Tak! At that moment, something appeared next to Trepen, who had dug into the underground of the deck. A height that was a head taller than Trepen. Four legs with thick fur. Long, perked-up ears and a tightly closed mouth. Even three tails that were slowly swaying. Pajik, pajik, pajik…!!!! A fox, sparkling with dazzling light all over its body, was quietly looking down at Trepen. From below the feet of the cerebral spirit [a being of pure thought], who had never shown its face directly before. A colorless wave was slowly spreading out.