Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 423

“Ugh……”

Clutching his head, which felt like it was about to shatter, he rose from where he lay.

The smell of the sea filling his nostrils only made his headache worse.

“Ugh…!!”

The moment he stood up, his stomach churned, and he immediately threw up.

Traces of his vomit were swept away by the seawater through the cracks in the naval base floor.

The absurd thought that he had unintentionally contributed to environmental pollution made him chuckle.

‘It’s always like this.’

Forcing his body to be ready for battle was effective, but the price was always harsh for Lenox.

His whole body was swollen and throbbing, and the broken bones and joints from the fight with Madrich had caused bruises all over his skin.

He moved his stiff, purple fingers to take out a painkiller ampule.

He stuck it into his shoulder, already marked with needle marks, and waited. Only then did the medicine take effect, and he was able to move.

He rummaged through his treatment kit, took out ointment for bruises and swelling, swallowed a couple of antibiotics, and then took a breath.

‘It’s been a while since I finished the medicine I received from Yakseon [a legendary healer]. I need to find stronger remedies or elixirs….’

It had effectively improved his mana poisoning, but it hadn’t solved the fundamental problem of having to rely on medicine to get back into fighting condition.

He had come this far without finding a way to solve the problem of his lifespan, which he didn’t know how much was left.

He had sought out Jintun’s Hanghasa Labyrinth [a mythical maze] to find even a fragment of a solution, but even after realizing the secrets of the world and obtaining barrier magic, the penalty remained the same.

‘I’m checking all the rewards, artifacts, and elixirs from the requests coming in real-time through Jenny. If I still can’t find a way… then it’s the Demon Realm after all.’

Lenox, leaning against the ruins of the collapsed naval base, struggled to his feet.

Just before losing consciousness, he had contacted Oliviera and left the Ice Jade, a technique of the magnetic domain that he had sealed himself.

He had severed Madrich’s inner world to the point where it could never be restored, so handing over the traces to her wouldn’t be difficult.

In return, he was to receive her cooperation in opening his right eye of magic, so it was unavoidable… but at least he had to check how it ended.

If Oliviera had plotted something with Madrich behind Lenox’s back, Lenox would have to take responsibility for the consequences.

Swaaaaaa!

The shoreline near the naval base, where the seawater was rushing in.

Lenox, leaning against a rock on the nearby sandy beach, scanned his surroundings and soon found the person he was looking for.

Oliviera stood on the calm surface of the water like a ghost, gazing at the distant horizon.

Lenox stared at her detached figure, walking on water without using any magic.

[You look terrible.]

Oliviera said calmly, without even turning her head.

He had shown her his battered state, but he could pass it off as injuries from the fight with Madrich.

Lenox ignored her comment and asked,

“Where’s Madrich?”

The condition of the deal for showing the Seven-Colored Eye of Magic was to subdue Madrich and hand over some of the military spirits he possessed to Oliviera.

It wasn’t easy to worry about the life or death of an opponent in the middle of a life-or-death battle.

Moreover, Madrich Onion was originally one of the ridiculously powerful figures that the current Lenox was no match for.

Although he had been injured after a long war and had been in seclusion for decades, the combat power that Lenox had directly experienced was at a level that could not be explained by such excuses.

Oliviera lightly shook her veil.

[He’s over there. He’s waiting for you.]

“……Waiting? What about the restriction?”

Now that Madrich Onion’s power had been completely taken away from the source, shouldn’t he be able to hear his story directly without the interference of the restriction that bound him?

[Madrich himself refused.]

She answered with her hands behind her back.

There was an unmistakable weariness in her voice.

“……”

[I was just holding on to him because there was something I wanted to confirm at the end. It wasn’t a relationship that would end beautifully.]

When she turned around, a thick veil was already firmly drawn over her face.

[Since you kept your promise, I will now take responsibility for the aftermath of all this.]

Madrich Onion was not just a powerful military spirit mage.

He was once the head of the judiciary, serving as the chief justice of a large city, and a big shot who wielded immense influence as an executive of Achilles Security Company.

If he had killed such a big shot, it was natural to worry about retaliation or repercussions from those who knew him.

Oliviera had offered to take on the responsibility and aftermath herself in exchange for recovering Madrich’s military spirits at the end.

[It’s not difficult. It’s always the responsibility of the one who takes responsibility to provide justification and reasons.]

Oliviera chuckled as she passed by Lenox, muttering.

[You took my request and captured Madrich, and it was my decision and choice to kill him. Do you understand?]

It was impossible to hide the fact that Lenox had fought and won against Madrich.

Therefore, she was going to take the responsibility herself and turn the resentment towards the cartel.

Lenox, who had been leaning against the rock with his head down, chuckled.

“I feel sorry for Virgil. Should I send him a blood pack later?”

Even if Oliviera herself took responsibility for the justification, it would be Virgil’s job to handle the troublesome practical matters.

It would be interesting to see how high the blood pressure of that resourceful vampire would rise, but the fact that the lifespan of a vampire, who was long-lived compared to humans, was shortening was not a good sign.

Oliviera also let out a faint smile at Lenox’s nonchalant reply.

[You’re being uncharacteristically generous. But such worries are a luxury for O’Reiden.]

“Why is that?”

[Because he must already feel that his time is near.]

“……”

Oliviera turned her back on the silent Lenox and turned her head.

The sandy beach stretching far behind the collapsed naval base, behind the coast.

Even at the southernmost tip of the continent, the scenery of the giant city remained unchanged.

The unwavering scenery showed how many people had struggled, shedding blood and lives, to seize the hegemony and order of that city.

[Before long, everything that makes up that city will be reorganized once again.]

Her robe fluttered as she crossed her arms and swayed her shoulders.

At the same time, even her figure slowly began to fade from her spot.

[Before the end comes, everyone will want to leave a meaning. The effort to not end as an echo will bear fruit in some way.]

Swaaaaaa!!

As her voice disappeared, the sound of the waves grew louder.

[Until then, I will have to do what I can.]

“……”

Lenox, feeling something strange about her words, didn’t ask any more questions and moved his feet.

A small sandy beach at the end of the coast.

The back of a young man facing the sea came into view between the horizon where the dawn was just beginning to break.

A precarious form that seemed as if it would disappear beyond that horizon at any moment. Had he lived for over a hundred years, yet his heart was still that of a young man?

Lenox sat down heavily on the beach, looking at Madrich’s back.

“If you go to the shaman who does business in District 21, you will be able to receive proper treatment.”

The military spirit mage was the first to speak.

Madrich turned his head slightly and said with a smirk.

“No matter how well you take care of yourself, there will always be aftereffects from spiritual techniques… If you don’t want to go crazy later, keep that in mind.”

“Why did you refuse the deal?”

Lenox asked instead of answering his words.

“Isn’t it because you are so obsessed with life that you are still dreaming?”

“You don’t seem to know what that woman is researching yet.”

“……”

Madrich shook his head at the silent Lenox.

“It’s better not to know… Just know that the reason she abandoned the project that even risked the fate of the city is in that research. I have no intention of prolonging my life in that way.”

Was he saying that Oliviera was not someone who could be an ally?

He thought he knew well enough that she was a dangerous person, but Madrich’s muttering was somehow different.

“Such things happened frequently during the long war. It’s just my turn now.”

Madrich looked at Lenox and then turned his gaze back to the sea.

“The dream I had is not mine alone, and even if it fails here, someone will still believe that this is the right answer. That’s why I have no intention of unlocking the secret bound by the restriction at the cost of my life.”

It was ironic.

If it was the passion that led him to join Achilles and lead a new project after stepping down from the position of Chief Justice, he would have surely accepted the deal.

With the power and influence that Madrich possessed, if he was alive, wouldn’t there be a chance to face a better situation?

He thought that he would accept this deal with that in mind, but Madrich was too willing to accept his own end.

“I’m furious at your arrogance in trying to surpass the hopes we shared alone… but I still want to ask.”

Madrich asked.

“Why did you have such an inner world?”

“……”

“Why did you choose that answer? I can’t understand. I’ve watched countless geniuses and monsters come up with their own answers, but what you want is not a complete answer.”

Madrich said again with an unreadable expression.

“That’s more like a question that goes back to the beginning. In this world where the two sides of cause and effect are closed, do you really believe that it can be the answer?”

Both Lenox and Madrich knew.

The scenery of the magnetic domain that lay dormant within a mage’s inner world was a miracle that could not exist unless Lenox himself had drawn the shape of the answer to some extent.

Apart from the fact that Lenox himself had not yet decided on an answer and was wandering, the shape was vaguely taking form in his heart.

The military spirit mage, who had reached level 8, had seen the scenery directly and understood what it meant, but conversely, he did not understand it.

That was because he could not know if the meaning of the scenery that Lenox had chosen was really possible in this world.

Lenox also knew that better than anyone else.

Before he was even aware of it, his mouth opened naturally.

“……Well. I don’t necessarily calculate or think about such things when I decide.”

From the moment he awakened his magnetic domain and fully recognized its potential, Lenox had never imagined showing it to anyone else.

He would only bring out this domain at a moment of sure victory, or when he was cornered to the point where he could not guarantee tomorrow.

If others were to recognize the existence of the inner world, no one would be able to treat him as the same human being.

But the military spirit mage, who was shaking as if he would disappear at any moment, was an existence that was temporarily free from all those calculations and boundaries.

Perhaps that was why he was able to bring out the words he had kept deep in his heart.

“I just follow what my heart tells me.”

“……I see.”

Madrich smiled.

“It’s ironic. Even a mage as complete as you, in the end, becomes more honest with his own desires than calculations.”

“……”

It wasn’t wrong.

The various desires swirling in Lenox’s heart.

To throw off this tiresome cycle, to move on to the next world, to become a great mage and look at the end.

To solve the secrets of all these things and reveal the truth.

He believed that the only possibility to satisfy all those desires was here.

No more questions and answers were needed.