Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 468

A quiet forest in Sector 41. Through the thick foliage, a mansion converted from a gothic-style castle can be glimpsed. Despite its unique, isolated atmosphere, it’s close enough to the bustling city that the cityscape is visible to the naked eye. It’s a real forest nestled beside a forest of orderly skyscrapers. It’s an open secret that Madam uses this mansion as a base for her brokerage business. Inside the mansion’s spacious lobby, dozens of people are scattered about, each with their own drinks or drugs. Exquisitely crafted sculptures, lavish furniture, and dozens of people sprawled between the stairs and railings. Most likely, these are the freelancers who work with Madam. So many freelancers drunk from the early afternoon; even Jenny’s bar isn’t this lax. Is she beyond caring about authority, or is she simply not interested in it at all? Lenok pondered this as he scanned the lobby. Unlike the castle’s old exterior, the interior is filled with modern amenities like state-of-the-art elevators, refrigerators, display cases, and cartridges. Billiard tables, a bowling alley, a standing bar in one corner with soft lighting. People giggling amidst a boxing ring, arcade machines, and dartboards. It’s clear that Madam is mindful of creating a comfortable environment for her freelancers. As Lenok stood near the lobby entrance, leaning on his staff, a young man noticed him and approached. “Are you looking for someone?” “I have business with Madam,” Lenok replied, glancing aside. In response, Ryan, who had been carrying the unconscious vampire, dropped him to the floor. Thud! “It’s a vampire issue. Can you handle it as soon as possible?” “I’m sorry.” The young man smiled wryly. “Unless you want to place a designated request, it’s impossible to meet Madam directly.” “……” “I’ll contact the higher-ups first. Please wait a moment.” “A designated request…” Lenok, having done similar work himself, had no prejudice against freelancers, but who would want to hire Madam’s freelancers after seeing this mess? Just as he was about to lean slightly on his staff, a sticky voice came from below. “That’s how Madam manages her associates.” A man with a flushed face from drinking grinned. “Her brokered requests pay well, but she’s picky about who she works with. To put it bluntly, it’s not cost-effective, so she’s improving the work environment with her own money.” “……” “No matter how much they eat, drink, do drugs, or get high, Madam doesn’t care. She just provides everything they need to do their jobs.” The man shook the glass in his hand. He was leaning against a nearby staircase, and the liquor in his glass spilled out, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Since we’re handling jobs that Madam brings in, not outside requests, few of us care about outside guests. Please understand.” “I didn’t ask.” “Really? Everyone who comes to this mansion with a face like yours seems to wonder the same thing.” The man rummaged through a pile of boxes and pulled out a thick cigar, waving it in front of Lenok’s eyes. “Chevier Mountain No. 18444. It’s incomparable to the no-brand product you’re using.” “……” “How about it? If you work under Madam, you can enjoy these things to your heart’s content.” “Hey.” Ryan’s expression hardened slightly, finally realizing that this drunk knew Lenok’s identity. Perhaps it was because he was approaching so casually, even knowing that they were from Jenny’s company. However, Lenok knew from the moment he entered the mansion that quite a few people had recognized him. From the moment he walked into the lobby, tapping his silver staff, he had sensed dozens of gazes turning towards him. They acted as if they were drunk, laughing, and not paying attention to outsiders, but their senses were not dulled. They were skilled enough to be scouted by Madam herself. They didn’t forget their jobs while indulging in pleasure and entertainment. Just as Ryan was about to protest, he noticed the sudden change in atmosphere and stopped speaking. The huge lobby fell silent in an instant, and dozens of people holding drinks and drugs all turned to look at them. Their gazes were intense and persistent, as if they wouldn’t miss a single move from Lenok. Lenok noticed that their gazes were tinged with faint greed and longing. And he also knew where those emotions stemmed from. ‘It seems the news from the street has already spread.’ It was impossible unless the information that the Iron Wall [a powerful mage] had appeared in the shadows after a long time, and that he was relying on a life support device, had been leaked. There was no reason to receive such attention unless someone had leaked that information on the deep web and it had spread everywhere. The information that a clear weakness had appeared in a powerful figure who was once untouchable. They must be eager to confirm if the rumor was true. It wasn’t surprising. At least, the associates Lenok knew on the street were not the honest and faithful type. Until now, it was only because Lenok had intentionally not given them an opening, but they were always ready to pounce. Unless they were working through the same broker, it was more accurate to think of them as competitors rather than associates. Meanwhile, the young man at the reception desk, who had been on the phone, approached Lenok again. “I’m sorry, Ban, but I can’t reach Madam.” “……” “It happens sometimes. Madam is in a position to unilaterally use us, so there’s nothing we can do when this happens.” The young man had already started calling Lenok by his first name like a friend. The young man shrugged and said, “But if it’s really urgent, there’s one way. Would you like to hear it?” “Tell me.” “Take the elevator that goes directly to the top floor of the mansion.” The young man pointed to a huge crystal pillar in the center of the lobby. Inside the transparent cylindrical crystal pillar, there was a complex tangle of cables. At the bottom of the pillar, which looked like an elevator shaft, there was a door large enough for two people to pass through. “It’s something Madam has prepared separately in the mansion for her honored guests. But there’s one problem.” “A problem?” “Without a code key, you can’t call the elevator. It’s always on standby on the top floor of the mansion for Madam when it’s not in operation.” “……” It was a familiar situation. Lenok’s gaze naturally scanned the freelancers who might have the code key, then returned to the young man’s chest. At that moment, the young man recoiled in horror. “No, no!! I don’t mean to take it away…! There’s a way to call the elevator without a code key!!” He quickly waved his hand, diverting Lenok’s gaze, and said, “Y-you just need to supply the power to operate the elevator!!” “……” “It’s something Madam has prepared for people like you, Ban.” A strange smile appeared on the young man’s face. “It would be best if you didn’t take someone else’s code key and followed the method Madam has set.” Only then did Lenok realize what the young man wanted and chuckled. The freelancers gathered in this lobby were surprisingly trying to test Lenok. It was highly likely that even the claim that they couldn’t reach Madam was a lie. The young man’s strange smile and the other freelancers’ gazes didn’t even try to hide it. “Alright.” Lenok nodded without hesitation. At that moment, one of the young man’s shoulders seemed to be crushed, and his waist was bent sideways, slamming into the lobby floor. Crash! “Kahaaak?!” The young man writhed, letting out a bizarre scream. The face that had been wearing a subtle smile just moments ago was gone, replaced by a gruesome sight as if all the bones in his body had been broken. Several freelancers who had been watching the situation stood up abruptly at Lenok’s sudden attack. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing here?!!” “Even if it’s you, if you act recklessly in Madam’s mansion…!!” “Don’t make a fuss.” Lenok replied indifferently, without even looking at the freelancers. “I’ll do as you wish.” “What…?” Without even properly answering, Lenok immediately walked towards the elevator. A small crack next to the passage of the crystal pillar that formed the elevator door. A rectangular panel that seemed to be made for inserting a person’s hand. Behind the panel, dozens of thick wires, about the size of Lenok’s wrist, were tightly bundled and passed into the crystal pillar. Lenok followed the direction of the wires with his gaze, and at some point, his brow furrowed. He realized that the dozens of thick wires were not only connected to the elevator but also extended to various parts of the huge mansion. * * * Watching Lenok stand in front of the elevator’s power device, the freelancers began to whisper quietly. “…Are we really okay?” “Shut up. Don’t you know this is our only chance?” From the moment they saw Ban limping into the lobby with his staff, all the freelancers in the mansion had been focused on confirming one rumor. The information that the Iron Wall had suffered a critical injury in the battle with Madrich Onion [a powerful mage] and was unable to move around without relying on a life support device. It was the perfect opportunity to see if that was really true. “But is that really a life support device?” “Can’t you see the blood vessel connection device at the end of his staff? It’s definitely an artifact used by high-ranking mages.” “Come to think of it, his complexion looks a bit dark. No, maybe it was always like that…” “Stop with the useless talk and focus.” They weren’t just picking a fight and causing trouble because they thought Lenok had become weak. It was a series of actions designed to closely observe and monitor Lenok’s reaction by feigning a rudeness they hadn’t experienced in a while. It was simply a gamble to find out if the Iron Wall was really seriously injured, and if so, how critical his condition was. “If he’s really seriously injured, he’ll have a hard time injecting magic power into the power device.” The power device wasn’t just for charging the elevator’s power. It was a device for supplying power to all kinds of equipment, cartridges, and various facilities, including lighting, that were operating throughout the lobby. The moment magic power was injected into the power device, power would first be supplied to all the equipment the freelancers were using, not the elevator. Only after supplying energy to all those things could they supply the power to operate the elevator. It was a demanding task that required not only the instantaneous output of magic power but also comprehensive abilities such as maintenance, sustainability, circulation, and responsiveness. In other words, it was also one of the first signs that a high-ranking mage was injured. “The problem isn’t just the decrease in instantaneous output, but also the major flaws in maintenance and sustainability.” “It’s originally a method to immediately receive a VIP of Saint-level or higher. In his injured state, he’ll never be able to meet the standard.” Although they were muttering as if they couldn’t be sure, the freelancers were secretly convinced of the Iron Wall’s injury. Many of the freelancers gathered in Madam’s mansion were veterans with considerable skills. Among them, there were quite a few who knew of Madrich Onion’s reputation and viciousness. Even that monstrous mage, who boasted an undefeated record, couldn’t have escaped unscathed against an 8th-level military mage. Otherwise, there was no way he would have refrained from activity for a while and then appeared with such a device, everyone here thought. “The Iron Wall’s reputation is over.” “That unlucky bar will now have to be more careful.” “It’s for the best. It’s not right that a mage’s status is so high…” Whoooooooom!!!! At that moment, the magic power that erupted from Lenok’s body filled the entire lobby and began to shake it. A terrifyingly eerie force that felt like it was tightening their throats. The freelancers’ faces turned pale at the pressure that was swelling and bursting out in all directions, unable to withstand the power being forced into the panel of the power device. “I-it’s okay… I knew the output wouldn’t drop much…!!” The real issue was how long he could maintain that output. It was highly likely that he wouldn’t be able to maintain that output even for a moment with an injured body. As the freelancers muttered and clenched their teeth to keep their eyes on him, grabbing onto nearby objects, all the equipment installed throughout the lobby began to malfunction simultaneously. Cugugugu…!!! Clang, clang!! Beep, beep!!! The lights that had been illuminating the surroundings became intensely bright, then shattered as they couldn’t handle the power. The arcade machines, refrigerators, and display cases overheated, emitting smoke and catching fire, and the heating wires buried in the lobby floor exploded, kicking up dust. The lobby’s scenery darkened in an instant, with bluish flames occasionally illuminating the surroundings. The windows on the outside of the mansion shattered one after another, unable to withstand the pressure, scattering shards of glass everywhere. Bang, bang, bang!!!! The power of the huge mansion was swaying and breaking down in real-time with a single person’s touch. Unable to withstand the injected energy itself, it was going berserk, exploding, and even the wires were breaking. As a result, the output that had escaped the power device was pressing down on the lobby space itself, squeezing the freelancers’ consciousness. The oppressive feeling of having their souls squeezed just by scattering their force around them. “Huu…!” “How can a human have such magic power…” “No, we have to stop him…!!” Only then did the freelancers, trembling, stand up from their seats, realizing Lenok’s intentions. Lenok had never intended to supply energy to all the power sources in the lobby through the power device. He had only intended to break all the other equipment by injecting an output that exceeded the limit at once and operate only the elevator. “The power device can’t handle it. At this rate, the mansion will collapse…!!” “You crazy bastard, stop!!!” Ignoring the desperate cries coming from behind, Lenok grabbed the panel of the power device. Crackling…!!! At the very moment when the edge of the steel plate was being crushed and mangled by the output of magic power alone, and was about to be smashed into the lobby floor and break down. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Ban.” Ding!! The elevator door, which had been tightly closed, opened, and someone walked out. “I am Clevia, in charge of managing this mansion.” A pale-faced woman in a neat suit, with her hands behind her back, looked down at them and bowed her head. “Madam is waiting for you. Please follow me.” Only then did Lenok slowly remove his hand from the power device panel and turn his gaze. Pshhh…!! Lenok smiled, his back to the panel that had completely melted and was emitting smoke. “You’re finally coming down.”