Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 35

If I could research summoning or spirit magic and use it even for a short time as a vanguard, the stability of combat would increase immeasurably compared to now.

Of course, it would be much faster to find a teammate to act as a vanguard than to research such magic, but Lenok intended to try on his own as far as his abilities allowed.

‘…No, in the end, I have no choice but to try alone.’

It’s not just about making a quick buck, escaping this world, and living well.

I need to understand the penalty deeply engraved in my body and find a way to eradicate it from the root.

Slowing down the dwindling lifespan and alleviating the symptoms are all just stepping stones for that.

“…”

Let’s not overthink it.

If I start clinging to a distant goal, my mind will become scattered and my focus will be lost.

For now, it was enough to simply concentrate on the immediate goals.

He immediately opened a book and quickly began to focus on the content.

Even if his stamina and strength were severely lacking, his page-turning speed was unmatched.

Lenok’s eyes scanned the text without rest, instantly absorbing everything written within.

First, starting with summoning magic.

‘It was the same in WORLD, but summoning magic has too many strict conditions. It’s not just about talent; the process of specifying and summoning the desired entity is too difficult. Even if you want the same summon, the conditions often change drastically depending on the era or location….’

The more he learned, the more he felt that summoning was heavily dependent on luck.

To put it bluntly, summoning magic and formulas felt more like a lottery than a display of talent.

And even that lottery wasn’t something anyone could participate in.

According to the books, the materials needed to draw and prepare the magic circle for contracting with a summon were quite extensive.

Lenok occasionally searched on his computer and roughly estimated the cost of the materials. The cost of preparing for one summoning ritual was about 200 million cell [currency unit].

It would be great if he could summon a powerful entity after performing the ritual, but if not, it would just be a waste of time and money.

It might be different for others with financial backing, but it was definitely not a method Lenok could use right now.

“Another way… Haa….”

Lenok put down the introduction to summoning magic and sighed deeply as he looked at a book titled ‘Basics of Spirit Formulas’.

If summoning magic was like a lottery heavily dependent on luck, spirit formulas were something that couldn’t even be called magic.

It used a power source called spirit energy, which was completely different from magic power, and its principles were closer to those of shamans or necromancers.

It was quite different from magic, the most popular and orthodox method.

Lenok had a very strong belief in his own magical talent, but he was not sure if that would apply to formulas that used spirit energy.

Spirit users were quite passive, so they were not very popular among players who enjoyed WORLD. Lenok himself had never really paid attention to them, except for a few related NPCs while playing the game solo.

He had hoped, but it was as he expected. Among the principles of using spirit formulas, there were a few methods that could be applied to the magic he used, but… it was not something that would help him right now.

‘Unless I naturally discover that route while researching common magic, forcing myself to study this is too risky.’

It was already overwhelming to research magic and increase his magic power. There was no time to delve into the unfamiliar power source of spirit energy.

After that, Lenok continued to pore over books on magic and formulas that seemed related to creating a vanguard that he could produce himself.

Homunculus creation, golem assembly… He even looked at necromancy books, but he gave up because he was reluctant to deal with corpses, though he still felt a lingering attachment.

Through several requests, he was gradually realizing how important it was to have stability in combat.

Of course, Lenok’s shield magic had never failed him, and he had never frozen up or made a misjudgment even when pushed to the limit.

In a way, the fact that Lenok’s magic stood out on the battlefield was more of a disadvantage than an advantage.

If Lenok could control something that could distract the enemies’ attention even for a moment… It was close to a vague fantasy, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.

It was a talent that had reached the end of its limits while embracing all sorts of penalties.

If all else fails, he would modify common magic to make it possible.

There was no reason to hastily judge its limits by discussing what was possible and impossible right now.

He picked up the introduction to summoning magic again and began to examine it carefully from the beginning.

He glared at the book with the intention of memorizing and interpreting the entire principle used in the summoning ritual and applying it to common magic.

Since he was planning to rest fully until today anyway, he had plenty of time.

Lenok intended to stay here until the library closed.

Until a sharp voice was heard from behind him.

“Oh, my.”

“……?”

“I came to the library after a long time, hoping for something, but this is truly absurd.”

Lenok slowly turned his head at the calm tone that felt somewhat chilly.

Certainly, he had heard it somewhere.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been holed up here for a whole month with a face like you’re about to die?”

Her abundant blonde hair fluttered in the breeze, and her blue eyes coldly looked down at Lenok.

The second meeting.

Yet, there was a familiar gaze there.

Aris: This is where the paid content begins.

Just like when they first met, she was wearing a pure white shirt and a blue skirt, looking more like a student than a professor.

Aris Richelieu. A tenured professor at Lavatenon University.

It was the first time they had met again since their encounter at the library.

“I told you to come find me, but you didn’t even show your face. Does burying yourself here and just digging into books change anything?”

She openly scanned Lenok up and down, and then began to examine the contents of the book he was holding.

“Summoning contracts, spirit formulas… Homunculus? Haa….”

After checking the titles of the books piled around him, she made a strange expression and then let out a deep sigh.

He was quite an interesting person, imagining and reacting to things on his own.

Lenok, wanting to see how far she would misunderstand, continued to watch without saying anything.

Aris carefully chose her words as if she were teaching a kindergartener and began to speak softly.

“It’s not a good choice to turn your attention to this area just because you don’t have talent in magic. Especially summoning and spirit formulas are even more difficult than simple talent. To be precise, they tend to follow trends, so they are very selective about who can use them.”

“I know that very well.”

Aris’s eyebrows instantly furrowed at Lenok’s calm reply.

“Does someone who knows that hold onto those books? If you want to test your luck, I recommend buying a lottery ticket sold by the city government. Even I, who works at a university, have only met three spirit users in person. It’s better to give up on useless hope.”

“……”

In fact, what she said was not wrong.

If Lenok were truly an ordinary person without talent for magic, her advice would almost certainly be correct.

In fact, even Lenok himself had not yet grasped how to handle these types of magic.

However, Lenok knew that his own talent was not at a level that could be blocked by such a wall, and Aris knew nothing about that difference.

Of course, if he revealed this situation to her, he might not hear these words… but was there a need to do so?

Lenok’s talent was far beyond a level that he himself could understand.

The magical talent, which was compensated with his lifespan, was beyond outstanding and sometimes even felt dangerous.

Even Lenok himself sometimes felt that way, so how would other magicians react if they realized this?

Lenok was not yet familiar enough with this world to properly anticipate and deal with such reactions.

However, Aris seemed to have understood Lenok’s silence in a completely different way.

Lenok did not miss the faint emotion that flashed through her eyes for a brief moment.

It was something closer to pity than sympathy.

“Haa… Give me the books.”

When Lenok didn’t say anything, Aris picked up the books piled next to him and quickly began to examine the contents.

The speed at which she turned the pages was almost as fast as Lenok’s.

As she was presumed to be a skilled magician, it was clear that her intellect was also at a considerable level.

Aris, who had finished reading three books in the blink of an eye, nodded as if she had grasped the situation and sat down opposite Lenok.

“…What are you doing now?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? I’m going to summarize and explain it so you can understand it.”

She had just been vehemently arguing that he shouldn’t touch this kind of magic, and now she was taking the initiative to teach him.

When Lenok pointed out that absurdity, Aris replied with a nonchalant expression.

“If I explain how difficult and selective summoning magic is, you’ll understand. People who are eager to learn like you always have unnecessary stubbornness, so they don’t move unless they understand. I know that well.”

She said that and immediately began to recite the overview of summoning magic, along with its pros and cons.

“Unlike magic that basically starts with the specific concentration of one’s own thoughts and magic power, summoning magic is—”

He listened to her quietly.

She was a university professor, and her tone was very familiar and calm.

The content she was explaining was concise and to the point, so even Lenok, who had already read all the content, nodded in agreement.

“……”

At this point, he couldn’t just ignore her. Lenok had actually known it from the beginning.

She was a good person. Too good to spend time on someone like Lenok.

Even though she thought he was harboring useless hope and reaching out in a clearly wrong direction, she didn’t try to force him to change his mind. Instead, she tried to make him understand.

After confirming that Lenok’s passion was genuine, she respected his will and carefully approached him, trying not to break his passion.

She was a kind person and a good teacher.

While letting her melodious voice flow into one ear, he silently turned his gaze to the window outside, where the sunlight was shining.

The scenery of Balkan visible through the glass window was endlessly serene.

When he first received her business card, it wasn’t that Lenok hadn’t thought about going to see Aris.

In this lonely world without a single place to lean on, just having someone to talk to was a great comfort.

Moreover, if he could talk about magic and receive even a little bit of teaching.

It would be a lie to say that he had never thought about the existence of the business card she had given him.

However, even while having such thoughts, the reason why he never looked up the way to Lavatenon University was—

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

“…Of course. I’m listening very well.”

“…….”

Lenok gave a troubled smile as he saw Aris crossing her arms with a displeased expression.

Aris, who had been glaring at Lenok for a moment, spoke as if she had remembered something.

“Come to think of it, I gave you my business card, but I never heard your name.”

“…….”

“What’s your name? I’m taking the time to give you a lecture, so we should at least introduce ourselves.”

—It was because she was one of the very few people who knew Lenok’s real face.

He would accept gaining fame and making his abilities known while working as the Electro Magician Ban.

There were times when Lenok’s reality was that he couldn’t even earn the minimum amount of money if he was afraid of that.

However, having a deep exchange about magical achievements with another magician was a completely different story.

His talent was far beyond outstanding, and it wouldn’t be strange if someone felt it was dangerous.

Lenok was not confident that he could properly control his growth rate while receiving teachings from her.

And at the moment he made such a mistake, Lenok didn’t know Aris well enough to predict what kind of reaction she would show.

He had to be careful.

Even though he knew he was so exhausted that he was swayed by such small acts of kindness and friendliness.

Lenok skillfully deceived himself and smiled slightly.

“Is there really a need to give my name?”

“What did you say?”

“We don’t necessarily need a name to have a conversation.”

“……..”

While feeling Aris’s dumbfounded gaze, Lenok quickly made up an excuse.

“In this library, we are just scholars exploring magic together. Isn’t it enough to share our knowledge of magic and have a conversation?”

He wouldn’t have many chances to meet her other than today.

Lenok visited the library every holiday, but this was only the second time he had encountered her, so she must be quite busy with her main job.

If he just glossed over this moment, it would be fine.

However, Aris received Lenok’s muttered words as if she had been waiting for them.

“Okay. If you say that, it means you’re ready to learn about magic from me, right?”

“…Huh?”

“I haven’t been able to come to the library recently because I was finishing my thesis, but I usually come to the school library every two weeks to look for unupdated materials.”

She closed the book with a thud and stood up from her seat.

Lenok could only look up at her with a slightly dazed expression.

“I’ll give you a simple lesson here every two weeks. At that time, I’ll teach you properly from the basics of magic, not this summoning magic, so be prepared.”

“No, I don’t have time….”

Lenok let out a small sigh as he watched the abundant blonde hair disappear, as if she wouldn’t listen to his answer, after saying what she wanted to say.

It was only their second meeting, but she was quite a self-willed person.