Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 374

He stood at a crossroads.

A precarious imbalance, like a bomb about to explode. A feeling that the power and enlightenment condensed to their limits within him were about to transform into something different from what they had been.

Something completely different from the seven levels Lenok had tirelessly built up since opening his eyes in this world.

A step beyond the seven stages of self-modification, towards true self-completion.

Hadn’t he abandoned everything else and reached this cradle, hoping that it lay at the end of this labyrinth, following an intuition that felt like certainty?

However, after his conversation with Jintun, Lenok, upon opening his eyes, was aware that he still hadn’t reached the pinnacle.

‘It’s because of the transfer of the barrier technique.’

By inheriting a portion of the Ascendant’s fundamental technique, the hierarchy within Lenok was undergoing a major shift, transforming into something else.

In the process, the transcendence he would have reached with certainty through his conversation with Jintun was being delayed.

Many things had changed from the original plan, but it didn’t matter much.

Rather, he had a gut feeling that this opportunity given to Lenok would become a stepping stone to elevate him to an even more unknowable realm.

What kind of scenery would Lenok see if he completely absorbed Jintun’s barrier technique and reached the pinnacle?

It might be something completely different from the other 8th-level archmages he had encountered so far.

Perhaps the golden halo-like ring that had risen behind him was grasping a fragment of the distant future.

However, instead of dwelling on it for long, Lenok’s eyes flashed towards the figure of the Commander who had landed below the stairs.

Fzzzzzz…!!!!

‘There isn’t much time.’

The memories that had flowed into his mind through his conversation with Jintun.

He had temporarily taken over the control of the Hanghasa Labyrinth and forcefully injected the residual magic into his body, but this wouldn’t last long.

Even if the Ascendant’s Ideological Domain [a manifestation of one’s mental image into reality] was a miracle realized through powerful and solid force, it was fundamentally a kind of afterimage that materialized the caster’s mental image in reality.

Since the subject of the technique, Jintun, had died, it was impossible to maintain its original form completely.

The magic Lenok was using would also disappear once the power supply was cut off when the pipes scattered around the cradle stopped working.

But it didn’t matter.

Before his temporarily peaked condition bottomed out, he intended to take everything he could from the Commander of Pandemonium.

Weeeeeeeng!!

Lenok’s eyes spun wildly, drawing a purple magic eye.

The cracks etched into his pupils deepened, making it difficult to see properly.

Despite the countless traces of cracks obscuring his left eye’s vision, Lenok didn’t stop drawing in magic.

Using five consecutive Spatial Jumps with the magic constantly overflowing from his body.

With five blinks, Lenok’s body, having crossed tens of meters in an instant, rushed towards the Commander without any acceleration or deceleration.

Fwip fwip fwip!!

“There, mage!!”

Kwaang!!

Maiya’s figure, who had been struck by Lenok and slammed into the wall, chased after him, scattering pale flashes of light.

She blocked the overflowing magic from reaching the Commander.

Chwaaak!!

She realized that the Commander’s non-interference in this battle was to preserve Jintun’s remains intact.

The angular blade held in Maiya’s hand rotated in three directions across a single space.

Three strands of magic, each distorted in a different direction, cut into themselves through repulsion and resonance, creating a pale flash at their center.

Kiiing…!

It was the essence of her microcosm that had made Maiya Renslet the best executor of the Machine City.

The extreme of the concept of ‘penetration,’ which cuts through and pierces any resistance or barrier in its path.

She had not only interfered with the concept of space but had also briefly reached beyond it, using this ultimate assassination technique to quell and suppress countless disturbances in the city.

After the failure of the Ascension Gate, she had been stripped of her authority as an executor and her magic had been sealed, so her skills had declined compared to the past, but her mental image, which had executed countless criminals for decades, still aimed sharply and keenly at Lenok.

Five Spatial Jumps towards the Commander. Having seen the first two jumps, she predicted the location of the third with an error of centimeters.

She pierced Lenok’s heart before he even appeared from the space.

Thwack!!

“…!!!!!!”

Maiya’s eyes widened as she realized that the flash of penetration she had swung without hesitation had instead pierced her own thigh.

“He folded space without crossing it…!!”

He had folded and bent the space near Maiya, completely misaligning the angle at which her arm was swung.

It wasn’t just an artifact or an 8th-level spatial interference.

Maiya, belatedly realizing that Lenok was manipulating a technique that controlled space itself, turned her head, but it was too late.

In a breath, a moment close to an instant.

Lenok, who had landed silently in front of the Commander, raised his left arm without hesitation.

The lightning, distorted and elongated between his fingers, burst out relentlessly, distorting the timeline.

[Thunder Seal]

Fzzzzzzzz!!!

The immense flash of electricity that flowed out as if bursting from the back of his bent forearm. He focused all of its firepower and swung it in one go.

The essence of the lightning that had descended to the ground was not aimed at the Commander’s heart, but above it.

Towards the face that was still obscured by noise.

In the fleeting moment when they confirmed each other’s existence.

Lenok whispered, using the lightning that flowed faster than his consciousness.

“That face. I’ll have to see it here before I go.”

* * *

Kwaaaang!!!

The walls of the cradle’s palace burst open, and Lenok was thrown out beyond them.

Lenok’s body, thrown into the air at high speed, stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Forced flight using only pure magic.

Even while using a flight technique with very poor efficiency compared to the magic consumed, there was not a single tremor in Lenok’s magic.

Lenok, floating tens of meters above the sky, silently looked down at the cradle located on the white lake.

It didn’t seem like the opponent had come out of the cradle yet, but Lenok had a gut feeling that the Thunder Seal hadn’t worked.

‘I didn’t expect it to work from the start, but…’

Of course, just because Lenok had obtained the magic of the labyrinth, it didn’t mean he could guarantee victory against the Commander of Pandemonium.

The opponent was a monster of a different dimension who had discussed the ending with the Ascendant on equal terms and had even obtained his death.

It was impossible to know exactly what level his realm and power had reached, but it was obvious that Lenok couldn’t guarantee his chances of winning.

However, he had thought that he would be able to at least confirm that face covered in noise, given the various conditions and circumstances now…

It was a mistake.

“I see what you were thinking. But it’s meaningless.”

The Commander, carrying Jintun’s remains, said as he walked out of the cradle.

“This form isn’t something I wanted. It’s just a side effect of my inability to accept the causality I possess in this timeline.”

“It seems so.”

Lenok said.

“It’s as if you’re not a resident of this world.”

“…”

The Commander paused for a moment before answering.

“As I said, I have no intention of killing you. You are the one who shares Jaigis’s answer. I should respect the last will left by the great Ascendant as much as possible.”

“…”

“But apart from that, there’s no doubt that your talent is at a phenomenal level… Jintun didn’t make a futile choice.”

The Commander, looking up at Lenok’s face, asked.

“It seems you’ve figured out a way to break free from the hierarchy? It wouldn’t be strange if a new pinnacle were to be born soon.”

A question that was closer to a confirmation than an inquiry. It had no meaning beyond reiterating what he already knew.

Lenok, realizing this, remained silent instead of responding to the Commander’s words.

It was because he realized that his words were different from the truth, yet they were more accurately pinpointing Lenok’s power.

The Commander looked up at Lenok for a moment before slowly lowering his head.

“It’s not pleasant to see a new power added to the Blue, but… I’ll accept it. If it’s the will that the Heavenly Eye completed with his death, I have the intention to respect it.”

“…The will completed with his death?”

Lenok opened his mouth to ask again about those words he couldn’t ignore, but the Commander ignored him.

His body, taking a step onto the lake, slowly disappeared as if fading away.

As if the reason for his existence in this place had run out.

Lenok tried to immediately draw in magic to hold onto the Commander’s body, but he froze as if petrified by the one word the Commander muttered.

“I don’t know which is your real name, but you should reconsider my offer, Ban.”

“…!!”

“You already have the qualifications to stand in the same place as us. Until then, I’ll bury your secret in this cradle.”

The Commander’s back, holding Jintun’s remains, disappeared beyond the mist.

Lenok stood there blankly, silently watching his back.

The Commander of Pandemonium already knew that Evan and Ban were the same person.

* * *

The slowly shaking cradle collapsed, and the entire white space began to tremble.

As the existence of Jintun met its death, and even his remains left this space, the deepest part of the labyrinth began to collapse and crumble.

This white space, which existed beyond the final gate, was the extreme of the Ideological Domain that embodied Jintun’s most fundamental mental image.

It was not strange that the center of the labyrinth was collapsing as the mental image itself was extinguished and disappeared.

Lenok was watching the collapsing cradle while standing on a pillar of Lumina Stone.

“…”

Kugugugung!!!

Even if Jintun had died, not everything in the labyrinth would disappear.

The Ascendant’s Ideological Domain was too powerful and clear a force to be completely extinguished just by losing its master.

This labyrinth had already eroded the real world and existed as a part of it.

Even if the source of the power disappeared, the evidence of the labyrinth’s existence would remain as a part of reality without being extinguished.

As Lenok watched the collapsing cradle with a complex expression, a presence echoed beneath his feet.

“It’s so tiresome.”

Maiya, with a completely exhausted look. She was carrying the unconscious body of Ermong on her back.

The clear wound left on her right thigh was roughly bandaged with torn clothes as she looked up at Lenok and asked.

“What did the Commander say at the end?”

“He told me to go to hell.”

“Haha!”

Maiya, letting out a hollow laugh, said with a serious expression.

“Hey, Evan. I’ve lived almost 60 years longer than you. If you talk like that one more time…”

“Now?”

Lenok muttered as he stood up.

At the same time, an immense amount of magic flowed out of his body like a wave.

“There have been too many disgraceful acts from both of us to act like an elder now, don’t you think?”

“…”

Maiya’s words stopped abruptly as she finally realized that Lenok’s magic had not yet disappeared.

At this point when the labyrinth had begun to collapse. It wouldn’t be strange if the residual magic gathered in the cradle had already run out of effect.

Yet, what did it mean that the magic flowing out of Lenok’s body was still maintaining its power?

Lenok had not only temporarily manipulated the magic of this labyrinth but had also succeeded in greatly increasing the size of his maximum magic capacity.

Maiya, realizing this, couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha, now that I see it, the biggest gain wasn’t the Commander but you. Not only did you get a clue to reach the 8th level, but you also made a part of Jintun’s magic your own?”

“…”

The transfer of knowledge of barrier techniques through the game with Jintun.

It would have been impossible without the magic sensitivity using that, but Lenok didn’t bother explaining that fact to her.

“It seems that everyone who entered this labyrinth except you did something futile. If the Hanghasa Labyrinth collapses, it will be difficult to find Jintun’s relics in the debris…”

Maiya, letting out a light sigh, turned her back.

“It’s like we’ve done a good deed for the grave robbers who will be snooping around here decades later. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Where do you plan to go?”

“Do you even need to ask? I’m going outside.”

Maiya answered indifferently.

“The doctor is already dead, and the Commander told me to take you two out, but I have no intention of fighting you now. I have no choice but to take this damn gem mage and leave.”

Maiya, carrying Zhaoyun’s body on her shoulder, couldn’t hide her bitter smile as if her own appearance was ridiculous.

“I’m taking out two guys who desperately competed to enter the gate… I’ve lived a long time, really.”

“…”

“Let’s see each other alive. If there’s a next time, that is.”

Her greeting, which casually brushed off the fact that they had been fighting each other to the death, was proof that Maiya Renslet had gone through countless situations like this and had come this far.

Lenok silently watched Maiya’s back as she walked away into the distance before turning his head.

At this moment when he still had the strength, perhaps it would be the right decision to kill Maiya and eliminate any future threats.

Having entered the labyrinth alone and fought against an opponent of equal skill, Maiya was clearly a formidable force even in Lenok’s opinion.

However, Lenok stopped his hand even though he knew this, and Maiya naturally left as if it was obvious.

They both knew that the presence of the Commander who had just left this place was still binding them.

As long as the Commander had declared that he would spare Lenok in this place, Maiya could not kill Lenok, and Lenok could not harm Maiya.

If that being, who casually spoke of causality and transcended time and space, were to appear in this place again to try and resolve the situation.

And Lenok had no intention of gambling once more on such a possibility.

Rather, considering what he had to do from now on, it was natural to wait for Maiya to disappear first.

Swish…!!

Lenok, realizing that Maiya’s presence had completely disappeared outside the cradle, stood up from the Lumina Stone he had been sitting on.

The knowledge that Jintun had passed on through the game didn’t only include information about barrier techniques.

Knowledge about the labyrinth. He had also taught him where the relics he had collected over hundreds of years were located.

Lenok twisted and rotated the magic into the Lumina Stone he had been sitting on as if it was nothing.

At the same time as manipulating the magic in the direction that existed in his memory, a small altar-like object rose up from right behind the place where the cradle had collapsed.

Kugugugu!!!

Lenok didn’t even glance at the other Lumina Stones and headed straight for that altar.