Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 350

Whoosh!! A faintly glowing whip of fire lashed out in the dark labyrinth corridor. Lenok, gripping the fiery tendril in his hand, twisted his shoulder. The body of a transcendent, hidden in the shadows and rushing towards Lenok, was instantly entangled by the whip, writhing like a living snake. Charrrrk!! “Ugh!!” “Damn it, run!” “No, if we create distance, we’ll be sniped instead…!!” Fwoosh! With a surge of mana, the four bodies were engulfed in flames and turned to ashes. Lenok massaged his stiff shoulder, sighing. “Hoo…” Fools who couldn’t make proper judgments even when caught by the whip, floundering around. He didn’t have the luxury to spare those who rushed in, blinded by greed. “Is it all over?” Ivelin emerged from the complex labyrinth corridor, dusting her hands. Lenok nodded and asked, “How is it on the other side?” “Same.” Ivelin shook her head, looking disgusted. “The outer area of the labyrinth is too vast. It’s pointless to worry about the latecomers now. It won’t be easy to tell if we’re ahead or behind until we reach the branching point.” Two days had passed since they entered the Hanghasa Labyrinth first, amidst the attention of thousands, aiming for the opening. Compared to Jintun’s reputation, the maze they had passed was a relatively ordinary series of traps that deceived and killed people, but the problem lay elsewhere. “I expected it to some extent, but I never thought it would have such a vast area…” Lenok said, looking up at the ceiling of the labyrinth, where not a single ray of sunlight penetrated. A labyrinth corridor wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Such corridors stretched in all directions, creating an area that easily exceeded thousands of meters. An internal area that was logically impossible compared to what they saw from outside the labyrinth. It was reasonable to assume that the space was endlessly distorted and creating new areas according to the Ascendant’s inner world created within. “I expected it from the beginning, but if the distortion of space is this severe, it wouldn’t be strange if the time flow inside the labyrinth is significantly different from the outside.” “…I guess so.” “Even if we finish everything and escape, we need to consider the possibility that the situation outside might be different from what we expect.” Lenok said, tapping the white wall of the labyrinth corridor. “It’s not difficult to gauge the direction yet… but whether we can retrace our steps is another matter.” “We still remember all the paths we’ve taken. We can just draw a map and keep records as we go.” Ivelin said, but Lenok immediately shook his head. “Remembering the path itself isn’t difficult. The problem lies elsewhere.” Lenok said, handing an old notebook to Ivelin. “Look at this. It’s a record I found on the corpse of an explorer we encountered on the way.” Thousands of explorers had entered this labyrinth, trying to meet the Ascendant or steal his belongings. Only a few of them returned alive, and most of them only left behind corpses without achieving their goals. Lenok and Ivelin were also using these corpses as signposts to approach the inner part of the labyrinth. “The outermost part of the labyrinth is a simple maze, but the environment changes drastically as you go deeper. Especially around the transit points called gates, the changes are severe.” “The environment in the deepest part is constantly changing in real-time, making it difficult to discern any patterns or rules…” Ivelin frowned slightly, quickly scanning through the notebook. “If the labyrinth environment changes when we go out compared to when we came in, that’ll be a headache.” Lenok nodded. “The fundamental reason why the Hanghasa Labyrinth was created is very different from other ruins. This unique environment is probably because of that.” Lenok muttered, staring silently into the darkness of the labyrinth. The fact that they had implemented such a vast ideological battlefield in a remote snowy field of the Northern Continent, and were challenging the Ascension without any concern for external interference, was abnormal. The thoughts of transcendents who had built up their own answers firmly enough to challenge the Ascension would be different. Looking back at the path Jintun had walked for hundreds of years, it was clear that the existence of this labyrinth was not created to welcome or reject outsiders. If the Hanghasa Labyrinth was the result of implementing the Ascendant’s inner world as a single world, what would it mean to challenge the Ascension? Lenok didn’t dwell on the questions and doubts that were so close yet so far. After all, if he confirmed Jintun’s life or death inside the labyrinth, all the answers would naturally follow. “It’s a fork in the road.” Ivelin said. “What do you want to do?” “Any other traces?” “There’s no sign of anything within a radius of several hundred meters.” A fork in the road with the same width and height. Until now, they had chosen their path using the traces of abandoned corpses or belongings as signposts, but now they had to be careful in choosing their direction. Approaching the inner part of the labyrinth itself wasn’t difficult, but finding the path to Jintun within it was another matter. Lenok took out the monocular he had received from Lapis and held it up to his eye. An artifact that only Lenok could use effectively, as he could crudely imitate the Ascendant’s mana. Ivelin asked from the side, “How is it?” “Wrong. I can’t see anything.” “I guess we shouldn’t have high expectations…” She slumped her shoulders with a slightly dejected expression, put down her bag, and stretched her back. “Shall we eat before deciding on a direction? I feel like we haven’t eaten anything all day.” They had spent two days gathering information about the labyrinth and moving forward, so Ivelin’s suggestion was reasonable. From now on, if they entered deeper and encountered other entrants, they wouldn’t have time to replenish their energy. Just as Lenok was about to nod, “…Wait.” A trivial thought flashed through his mind. But it wouldn’t hurt to try it out here for a moment. He moved the monocular from his right eye to his left eye. At the same time, he activated his purple mana eye, checking the red and blue options simultaneously through the monocular. Lenok, looking at the scenery beyond, slightly opened his mouth without a word. “…” “What’s wrong?” Ivelin immediately turned her head at his unusual reaction, but Lenok didn’t answer, instead lowering his gaze. “…It’s the right.” “What?” “If we go to the right of the fork, there will be a place to rest.” Lenok, picking up the bag Ivelin had put down, muttered, “Let’s go there and talk.” * * * A small clearing appeared in the direction Lenok had pointed. The two, having passed the fork, sat in a space between five or more branching paths, taking out their rations from their bags. When mana was put into the small packaged cases and kneaded, they would swell up and turn into enough food for one meal. The taste wasn’t great, but they provided enough nutrients and satiety to last a whole day. In a world where magic engineering was developed, even food for adventurers was compressed and made efficient through mana. “No fresh vegetables…” Ivelin, nibbling on a thin celery stick, looked dejected, making Lenok laugh. “Even if we use magic to create preserved food, it’s hard to preserve freshness.” “And you ate all the vegetable bundles you brought…” “That was a wise choice. They don’t have a long shelf life, so it’s best to finish them as soon as possible.” After roughly finishing their meal and replenishing their fluids, Lenok told Ivelin about the information he had found. “You can see it?” “Yes. I was just hoping, but it seems I can at least confirm the direction of where Jintun is.” “I don’t know how that’s possible.” Ivelin frowned, sipping a potion from a small bottle. “Ugh, but isn’t this too tasteless? It’s so different from what you’ve made before.” “Bear with it. It’s good for you.” “I can’t eat things that taste bad.” “Are you saying that while eating vegetables all day?” “Why? Vegetables are much tastier than meat.” “…” It wasn’t strange to prefer either meat or vegetables, but wasn’t the comparison of taste between the two itself strange? He had things he wanted to say, but starting a discussion about their taste buds here would be pointless. Lenok put aside his miscellaneous thoughts and neatly organized the information he knew, explaining it to Ivelin. The Eight Brilliance Fortress, the barrier surrounding the cracks inside it, and that the owner of that barrier was the Ascendant Jintun. And that the time when he became an Ascendant and the time when the fortress’s barrier was created didn’t match. After hearing the story, Ivelin’s expression also hardened slightly. “…That’s an interesting story.” “The only reason I can think of why I can gauge Jintun’s location when I use this monocular is this.” Lenok’s inner world was a way of observing the realm of countless possibilities and bringing them into reality. And Lenok’s mana eye was a way of directly projecting Lenok’s inner world, visualizing the fragments of that ability in reality. Basically, the mana eye, which visualized the possibilities moving in all directions around Lenok as red and blue areas, combined with the lens of the monocular that tracked the desired mana. It could only be said that it was reflecting the possibilities of the time period that the Ascendant Jintun originally possessed. “Honestly, it’s hard to take my eyes off it.” “If you’re saying that, what exactly do you see through that monocular?” “A boy.” Lenok said. “I can see a boy walking into the labyrinth.” “…” Ivelin’s face stiffened as she finally realized why Lenok was reacting so sensitively. Lenok, receiving Ivelin’s gaze, slowly raised the monocular. The moment he brought the lens to his left eye and activated his mana eye, visualizing the realm of possibilities directly with his two eyes. A phantom that should never have existed began to appear in his eyes. [….] A young boy with white-blonde hair. The boy, wrapped in an unknown white robe, glanced at Lenok and walked into the labyrinth. He seemed too young to enter this labyrinth. Was he the grudge of a dead person, or a memory projecting someone’s childhood? Considering the direction and owner of the mana reflected in the monocular, that boy was probably… Dozens of thoughts and assumptions swirled in his head, but Lenok didn’t rush. He shouldn’t be hasty. After all, whether he could meet Jintun might not be a problem for Lenok or Ivelin. More than that, he needed to think more about the reason why this was happening. The cause of all these experiences was the cracks and barriers studied in the Eight Brilliance Fortress. Ivelin, who managed the shadows of the megacity, might know something. Ivelin, who had been lost in thought for a while, said, “I know what the barrier of the Eight Brilliance Fortress means. It’s a grand spell to seal the cracks that were created when the fortress was built. I’ve seen it myself.” “…” “But the flow of mana in the barrier that remains in my memory doesn’t feel the same as what’s flowing in this labyrinth.” “I see…” Even with Ivelin’s mana sensitivity, she couldn’t feel the similarity. Well, if she had already known, she would have noticed the similarity and told Lapis before Lenok arrived. But the fact that Lenok had kept this fact to himself, without telling anyone, was because he thought that the fact that no one had noticed it until now might be a clue. Although it was difficult to hide it after confirming the phantom like now. “If what you’re saying is true, then the barrier mage who was invited to the fortress was Jintun himself… That’s difficult.” “We can think of two possibilities.” Lenok said, holding up two fingers. “First, Jintun, who was challenging the Ascension, secretly moved to seal the cracks in the fortress for some reason.” “What’s the second?” Lenok said, folding his second finger. “Jintun, who was a mortal, and Jintun, who was already challenging the Ascension, existed in the same time period.” “…” Ivelin quietly closed her mouth. The assumption Lenok was talking about was too absurd even for her. That one’s past and present self could exist simultaneously in the same time period and leave traces. Could such a thing really be possible for a living human? However, even while thinking that, Ivelin couldn’t easily deny Lenok’s words. “Don’t you think it’s not impossible for transcendents who are trying to change their predetermined fate?” As Lenok said, she didn’t know how far the miracles allowed to Ascendants extended. Instead, Ivelin wanted to hear more of Lenok’s thoughts. Opportunities to have such deep conversations and understand his fundamental way of thinking didn’t come often. “What made you think that?” “Because the barrier of the fortress and the mana of the labyrinth were too different. I felt the similarity, but the difference between the two mana felt like it had been completed after at least hundreds of years.” Lenok stared at Ivelin’s green eyes. “Whether Jintun intentionally hid his mana, or whether it was a trace left for some reason… Which do you think it is?” “Well…” Ivelin fiddled with her ear, avoiding Lenok’s gaze. “At least you seem to have already decided on an answer.” Just as Lenok was about to answer, a tingling noise echoed from the fork in the road they had passed. Thump…! A faint, diluted shockwave that echoed. But it was an artificial sound that could not be considered a coincidence in this labyrinth. Immediately after, the scent of mana flowed in like a ripple from the other side, and the two simultaneously met each other’s eyes. “It seems right?” “Yes.” Lenok, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it, answered. “The first group of Saint-level ability users we’re meeting in this labyrinth.” “The more people there are, the more our advantages fade. Let’s prioritize getting out of here if possible.” Lenok nodded at Ivelin’s words as she quickly cleaned up their traces and stood up. They had attracted a bit too much attention and gaze in the process of entering the labyrinth. They had destroyed an entire snow mountain and entered the labyrinth first, so considering the sacrifices that had occurred in the process, there would be quite a few people who were grinding their teeth at them. They might end up getting into a fight or a battle if they met for the purpose of exchanging information. He didn’t dislike fighting itself, but it was difficult to escape in this labyrinth where they didn’t know where to run. Of course, Lenok thought that he could handle any skilled opponent if he was with Ivelin, but since meeting the Ascendant was more important than killing the opponent, it was right to act in a way that avoided conflict as much as possible. Whoosh…!! A cold wind blew from the darkness of the corridor. The two’s faces naturally hardened slightly at the thick smell of blood mixed in between. Just as an unknown mana filled the corridor and slowly approached, Thump! With the sound of something heavy falling, something rolled out of the darkness and revealed itself. It was a human head that had rolled half a turn on the labyrinth floor. The face was filled with traces of terrible pain, as if the head had been torn off alive, and the cross-section of the neck was roughly torn. “…” While Lenok and Ivelin were briefly silent at the sight, Immediately after, someone wearing a robe strode forward from the darkness. A sticky, viscous mana emanating from his whole body. A complex mana pattern that made it impossible to guess the spell system. Even the life reaction that was spreading out in layers, making it hard to believe he was alone. A level 7 Saint-level ability user. And a mage who had reached a considerable level. Lenok and Ivelin naturally met each other’s eyes and slightly distanced themselves. They had enough chances of winning even if they didn’t try to attack first. It wasn’t too late to confirm how they would come out and then enter the battle. Just as the two were thinking that and warming up their mana, The figure wearing the robe stared at Lenok’s face and said, “I didn’t expect to meet you in a place like this.” “…” A man’s voice that sounded familiar. The man continued without waiting for an answer. “I heard that you were participating in this, but I never thought I’d run into you as soon as I entered the labyrinth…” He muttered, slowly taking off his robe. “Should I say I’m lucky, or unlucky?” Slit eyes like a snake. An expression that was so sharp it was almost piercing. A face that was hard to forget once it was remembered. Lenok then recognized the young man’s face and faintly frowned. “Damn it, from the start…” The leader of the terrorist organization Falchion, and now the Saint-level jewel mage leading the criminal organization Elderbane. Jaun Audiss, a special wanted criminal who was said to be the closest to the extreme in the Western Continent, was standing in front of Lenok.