Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 4

The sprawling plains came into view as soon as he exited the factory. Through the car window, amidst the barren landscape, Lenok focused his mind and quickly surveyed his surroundings. Since waking up in that old, cramped room, this was the first time he had seen the world outside the factory. He needed to figure out what this area was like and escape as quickly as possible. As he sped along the road that followed the low hill, Lenok frantically moved his head from side to side. Judging by the numerous buildings and people moving about, it didn’t seem like an uncivilized, dangerous area. Rather, in the direction Lenok was driving, there was a large city where skyscrapers seemed to form a massive forest. Lenok, sensing that the longer he hesitated, the worse things would get, continued to increase his driving speed. The faster he drove, the closer the city became, and the surrounding scenery changed in an exotic way. It was only after driving for over an hour that Lenok was finally able to approach the city. Neon signs and flashy billboards flashed from all directions, and advertisements with cheerful music played from the billboards that filled his vision. [Leading the way in advanced industry. Welcome to Balkan, the mega-city leading the future of magical engineering.] “…The city’s name is Balkan, huh?” For Lenok, who knew roughly what the Balkan Peninsula was like on Earth, it was definitely an unsettling name. Lenok, seeing airships slowly floating in the sky, streamlined bikes passing by, and unfamiliar characters on the signs, clicked his tongue and muttered. “I knew it wasn’t Earth, but…” He never imagined it would be a world so different from Earth. Could this be the world of version 3.0 that was planned to be updated? Looking at the scenery that seemed a bit more advanced than the civilization of Earth he knew, yet much more chaotic, he couldn’t help but feel complicated. He couldn’t tell if having magical talent in a world that had built such a near-future civilization would be a good thing or a bad thing. After driving for a long time and reaching the edge of the city, Lenok finally loosened the accelerator he had been pressing down on and slowly changed direction. ‘If I’ve escaped this far, it should be enough.’ He had been checking to see if he was being tracked the whole time, but so far, he hadn’t found anything unusual. Had the union members not had time yet because they were busy dealing with other things? Choosing the day the union members would be away to make his escape was a wise choice, even thinking about it now. As he entered the city, the roads gradually widened, and at the same time, traffic began to get heavy. It was then that Lenok looked around at the vehicles parked nearby and realized that the two-seater car he thought had a bizarre design was actually quite ordinary compared to other vehicles. The various devices attached to this car were not the supervisor’s bizarre taste, but rather part of the common design of this world. Unintentionally, if he had come here in that old gray van, he might have stood out even more. The further he went into the city, the more cars there were, and the slower the traffic became. Lenok, who had calmed down to some extent, took out a cigarette and began to observe the people passing by as the car almost came to a stop. There were a lot of people walking on the sidewalks on both sides of the road, and their attire was varied. While their clothing itself wasn’t particularly special, there were quite a few people who openly exposed parts of their bodies or had unusual hairstyles. Some had replaced one arm with a prosthetic, others carried ghost-like spirits, and there were also ordinary humans walking around without anything. Judging by the people’s carefree expressions, it seemed that security was somewhat maintained in the downtown area. For Lenok, who had vaguely imagined a chaotic, anarchic city due to his experience at the factory, it was unexpected. ‘And when I look closely…’ As things he had easily overlooked when he was rushing started to come into view, Lenok was able to observe his surroundings with a more analytical eye than before. The signs and letters on the walls of the buildings. The faint lights shining between the passing machines. He was able to find a commonality in the colors of the cell phones people were holding. ‘There’s a bit of magic mixed in.’ It had been less than two days since he realized it, but Lenok could feel a power that was all too familiar to him in every corner of the street. He could quickly realize that magic was also contributing to the civilization built on this land. ‘It’s going to take some time to learn the basic common sense.’ Even if it looks no different from Earth on the surface, if magic and other magical powers are used in the process of civilization’s development, the process and history would be completely different. It seemed that he would need a considerable amount of time to live without problems in this world and secure his future. Lenok suppressed his complicated feelings, took out another cigarette, and deeply inhaled the smoke. Regardless of his future plans, Lenok didn’t have much time left right now. It wasn’t just because he was worried about being tracked. He had squeezed out all his stamina and magic to escape the factory. He was still holding on with the effects of the cigarette, but it wouldn’t be long before his body reached its limit. Lenok had been keenly aware of how weak and lacking in stamina his body was for the past few days. If he dawdled, it wouldn’t be strange if he fainted right here. He needed to find a place to rest his body quickly before that happened. As soon as the long traffic jam in the city ended and traffic started to flow, Lenok immediately turned and headed into a secluded alley. The further he got away from the main road, the dirtier the streets became, and the surrounding buildings also became shabby. Even in this huge city, there were slums. He stopped the car near an apartment complex that looked like it was about to collapse and focused his mind while sitting in the seat. Fortunately, his magic had recovered a bit during the traffic jam while entering the city, so he had enough energy to use magic at least once. He brought both hands to his face and used all of his remaining magic. The sensation of heat and the feeling of his facial skin twisting made Lenok’s body shudder. “Hoo…” The face of Lenok, who opened the car door and got out, had changed into that of a stern-looking middle-aged man, completely different from before. After putting on the sunglasses he had taken from the break room and getting out of the car, he threw the car keys inside and closed the door. He couldn’t keep using a car with a serial number on it as he pleased. Not overlooking the risk of being tracked, he had no intention of going near this area after today. As soon as he got out of the gloomy slums, he was greeted by the sunlight pouring down from the clear blue sky. Lenok blinked, unable to come to his senses from the sunlight he was experiencing for the first time since coming to this world. His eyes stung, and his head ached. His hands trembled, and the back of his neck began to pull strongly. His steps, which hadn’t had proper sleep, lost their direction and constantly staggered. His whole body was drenched in sweat. There wasn’t much time. He quickly walked while inhaling the scent of the cigarette on his hand and was able to find a small hotel located on the outskirts of the downtown area. A clean yet inconspicuous location. A quiet lobby and a seemingly relaxed employee. Both hygiene and safety seemed to be decent. Lenok didn’t hesitate and entered the hotel. As soon as he released the magic in the restroom inside the lobby, a wave of dizziness washed over him. Wiping the sweat that was streaming down his forehead, he headed to the counter. “…I’d like to book a room.” The receptionist didn’t say anything about his attire, but instead, she quoted a price of 100,000 cell. Even to Lenok, who didn’t know anything, it didn’t seem like a small amount of money, but right now, Lenok wasn’t in a position to argue whether the price was reasonable or not. He roughly placed the cash he had taken from the supervisor’s wallet, took the key, and collapsed weakly as soon as he got into the elevator. Lenok, who had barely managed to cross the hallway and open the door to his designated room, was instantly plunged into darkness. The fatigue and tension that had been building up until the moment he was about to die, and the side effects of the drug that had been forcibly suppressing them, all hit Lenok at once. Lenok couldn’t even take off his shoes properly and collapsed in front of the entrance, falling into a death-like sleep. It was the first comfortable sleep he had experienced since suffering from insomnia in this world. # “Ugh…” It was in the middle of the night when Lenok woke up, groaning from a thirst that felt like his throat was burning. The room was already covered in darkness, and he couldn’t see anything. Lenok, clutching his throbbing head, barely managed to get up and fumbled along the wall with his hand until he found the switch. Only then did the room light up brightly, and the scenery of the hotel room came into view. He found the sink in the small kitchen, turned on the water, and drank it mindlessly. As his thirst was quenched, he took a breath and tried to get up, but a wave of nausea made him grab the sink again. “Ugh!!” Since all he had eaten and drunk all day was cigarette smoke, only bitter stomach acid came out. Lenok, clutching his head that felt like it was about to break, lay back down on the bed in the middle of the room. His head was throbbing like crazy, and the muscle pain he felt all over his body felt like it was tearing apart every joint. His whole body was trembling, and his arms and legs were twitching in strange directions. The abdominal pain and nausea that were tearing through his organs continued to wring his body like a rag. “…Is this a side effect?” It was definitely different from when he was working at the factory, where he was exhausted but not suffering like this. He had never done drugs in his life, but he guessed that the aftereffects would probably be like this. Even as the ceiling spun around, Lenok instinctively realized that he wouldn’t be able to let go of this cigarette for a while. He couldn’t give up the only means that temporarily made his weak body move like a normal person. Once he came to his senses, his stomach, which hadn’t had anything to eat for over twelve hours, was aching. Lenok crawled to the refrigerator in the corner of the room, opened it, and ate all the contents of the can with his bare hands. It had a vague taste like finely ground meat, but it was like a feast compared to the food they gave him at the factory. Once he had filled his stomach to some extent, he felt sleepy again. The several nights he had been unable to sleep due to insomnia had been severely eating away at his mind. In the end, Lenok was only able to wake up after the hotel phone rang loudly the next day. [Your scheduled check-out time is one hour away. Would you like to extend your reservation?] “…Yes.” [An additional night’s stay is 200,000. The consommé-flavored canned food you ate yesterday is 20,000 cell. The total is 220,000 cell. You paid 100,000 cell in advance, so please pay the remaining 120,000 cell at the counter today.] One can of food was worth 20% of the cost of a day’s stay. If you go too far with overcharging, it becomes absurd. Lenok chuckled and threw the phone away. Even though his body was still heavy after sleeping for a whole day, he was much better than when he first escaped. Lenok struggled to get out of bed and counted the money he had. “130,000 cell… After paying the hotel, I’ll only have 10,000 cell left.” It hadn’t even been 24 hours since he learned about the currency of this world, but he had a rough idea of how much it was worth. He also knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything with just 10,000 cell. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to stay here for even another day in this state, Lenok immediately got up. He had a first goal after escaping. He needed money. Securing Funds He went into the shower and scrubbed his whole body thoroughly. It was the first time he had washed his body since waking up here. Only after soaking his whole body in water did he stand in front of the sink. Only then was Lenok able to properly face his own face. “……” Hollow eyes and long, black hair. Dark circles and pale lips. Skin so pale that his veins were visible. It was fortunate that his nose was still sharp. Lenok, looking down at his thin, emaciated body that was as skinny as chopsticks because he hadn’t eaten properly, let out a hollow laugh. His condition was so bad that it was hard to recognize him as the guy he had created in the character selection screen. He picked up the razor blade that was on the sink and cut off all of his long hair. After completely cutting off his hair, his impression changed completely, and he started to look more edgy than gloomy. Lenok, who had been glaring at the mirror for a moment, nodded in satisfaction. Even with just this much, it wouldn’t be easy for those supervisors to recognize Lenok. He thought he had already shaken off the pursuit, but he still needed to be careful. Lenok, who had put on the supervisor’s loose casual clothes, took out all of his belongings and spread them out on the bed before moving. About 130,000 cell in cash. A pistol and five bullets. A dozen or so packs of cigarettes he had stolen from the supervisor’s bedroom. It had been a long time since he had changed out of the work clothes he had worn at the factory, and he had thrown the car keys inside the car when he abandoned it, so this was all Lenok had now. Lenok sat on the bed and pondered. What did he need to survive in this world where he had fallen without knowing anything? The first thing was already decided. But there were more than one or two problems to think about before making money. “No matter how I think about it… it’s impossible to make money legally.” In this world, Lenok was just an illegal immigrant without a proper identity. He didn’t know if there was a way to legally become a citizen in this city, and even if there was, it would all take time and money. It was a luxury for Lenok, who didn’t even have enough money for tomorrow’s accommodation. In the end, the things he could do were limited. Even in a situation where he was worried about his food expenses, Lenok’s brain was diligently deriving methods and presenting reasonable possibilities. If it didn’t have to be a legal job, there were countless ways to make money. Even if it meant breaking the rules, there were many things he could do within the bounds of morality and conscience. With his magic, it wouldn’t be difficult to beat up the criminals wandering in the depths of the city and steal their belongings. “In the current situation, that’s the best plan.” It wouldn’t be easy to have a fixed source of income, but it was suitable for securing funds right now. Once he made up his mind, Lenok immediately got up from the bed. If you want to catch fish, you have to go to a place where there is a lot of water. Lenok, who had swept all the items on the bed into his arms, left the room, went down to the lobby, paid for today’s accommodation, and went outside. He stepped into the shade to avoid the intense sunlight.