Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 5

His head was spinning, and he started to feel short of breath, but Lenok forcefully suppressed the urge to light a cigarette.

‘I have to hold back.’

If he started relying on cigarettes whenever things got tough, there would be no way to prevent his body from falling apart in the long run.

Moreover, if he started smoking now, it would be like setting a timer before the side effects kicked in.

Unless it was urgent, he had to refrain from smoking as much as possible and move with a clear head.

Lenok watched the hundreds of people wandering the streets from the shade, then turned his head.

He didn’t know where to go, but as he sat there, he started to get a sense of direction.

‘That way, then.’

In the heart of the city, where countless lives intersected, Lenok’s innate talent caught a faint trace of magical power.

A damp, sticky scent of magic rose from one corner of the city.

It was a sensation he had never felt before, but Lenok instinctively knew that it was the magic of those who lived in the shadows.

The magic of criminals who parasitized the city, sucking the lifeblood of others from the underbelly.

For Lenok now, it was the perfect place.

The place he arrived at, following the traces of magic, was a chaotic street where a huge entertainment district, gambling dens, various street stalls, and abandoned construction sites were mixed together.

A sign that read ‘District 49’ was carelessly tossed in a corner of the street.

Eye-straining neon signs and flashy lights surrounded the area, and the pungent smell of strong perfume and acrid smoke rose from everywhere.

Even in the middle of the day, this street was filled with deep shadows and people who tried to avoid eye contact with each other.

Despite the completely different atmosphere from the bustling downtown area of the Balkan city, Lenok wasn’t too surprised.

There was no need to try to understand the side effects and harms that existed on the other side of the huge city that had developed by embracing all kinds of industries and capital.

Like flies gathering where money is, it was a common occurrence even in the world Lenok had come from.

Beyond not being interested in each other, an attitude of thoroughly distancing themselves and ignoring each other was evident from all directions.

Occasionally, a few people gathered in groups and chatted in secluded places, but most of them simply disappeared into buildings of unknown purpose.

However, it wasn’t impossible to eavesdrop on their conversations. Especially not for Lenok.

He found a spot in a corner of the street and focused his magic on his ears. The series of actions was incredibly natural, as if someone had taught him.

In an instant, his hearing became extremely sensitive, and he began to pick up sounds from all around.

Lenok leaned against the wall of a building and focused on all the sounds coming from inside.

“They’re looking for an agency to lobby for the selection of a construction company for the 17th development district. The condition is an 8 to 2 split.”

“An engineer who was inspecting the malfunction of Palmer’s new AI unarmed state has gone missing. They’ll probably hire a replacement soon.”

“I want to bribe a druid to participate in the green belt reduction plan. I’m planning to smuggle out a T9 endangered species.”

There were many stories that sounded dangerous and profitable, but he had no intention of getting involved in situations he couldn’t immediately understand.

He quickly brushed aside the unfamiliar words he heard around him and expanded his range further.

As his senses expanded as he focused, he quickly placed the entire street on alert and absorbed the sounds.

It hadn’t even been a week since he started using magic properly, but Lenok’s magic control ability had already far surpassed his perception.

He skipped over all the stories that seemed absurdly dangerous and the conversations that were too difficult to understand.

Occasionally, there were spaces that were completely shielded, where Lenok’s magic couldn’t penetrate, but he didn’t even look at them.

What he needed to find was an incident that was simple enough for Lenok to get involved in, wouldn’t leave any repercussions, and would also make him money.

It was about fishing for capital in the urban jungle, far removed from the shadows of law and regulation.

Just as his magic reached a damp alleyway where the street and the sewer intersected.

[I told you to bring the stolen money quickly. Can’t you hear me?]

“…Found it.”

Lenok’s eyes flashed, and he quickly moved his feet.

A damp, nameless back alley.

Moisture dripped down the walls, and the fumes spewing from the vents of the factories didn’t dissipate in the secluded gaps.

Two men were mercilessly kicking a person who had fallen to the ground.

Thud! Thud!

“…What did I say?”

The man who had been kicking the most aggressively lit a cigarette with trembling hands.

“I told you that if you did this job well, there wouldn’t be any problems. But why are you talking nonsense about losing the money after stealing it so well? Huh?”

“N-no, it’s not a lie… It really, really disappeared on the way…”

Thwack!!

The head of the old man, who was making excuses with a bloodied face, snapped to the side.

Another man standing next to the man who was flailing his arms and legs in anger shook his head.

“There’s no point. We need to combine the money this guy brought to pay this month’s installment…”

“Hoo, hoo… It’s the third time. This time, that dwarf bastard won’t let it slide.”

“Let’s do this.”

The man’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

“Let’s take one of them and sell their organs.”

The companion grinned.

“I like your thinking.”

The two men’s gazes simultaneously turned to the man who had fallen.

The moment the man’s face turned pale as he realized what it meant.

“Ughghghghgh!!!”

“Aghghghghgh!!”

Suddenly, the two men rolled their eyes and began to tremble all over.

Behind the men who were convulsing and foaming at the mouth, Lenok poked his head out.

By now, a cigarette was hanging from his mouth.

“Hmm.”

Blue currents of electricity flickered from his hands.

“It’s very effective.”

It was the most basic bolt magic, but it was more than enough to knock out two people.

Lenok ignored the man who was staring blankly at him and began to search the two men’s pockets.

He wouldn’t feel any remorse, especially since he was robbing the wallets of attempted organ traffickers.

He took all the cash from the two men’s wallets and ruthlessly collected the watches and jewelry they were wearing.

Finally, as he was rummaging through his pockets to find something useful, he grabbed something hard from the pocket of the man who had been kicking aggressively earlier.

“What’s this?”

As he pulled it out, the old man was terrified and fell to the ground again.

“H-hey! Please don’t point that at me!”

It was a metal object with a design similar to a fountain pen, and when he pressed the button in the middle, he heard a rotating sound like an engine running inside.

Moreover, the faint light of magic that was leaking out from the circuit-like patterns engraved on the surface indicated that it was not an ordinary object.

“It’s a laser cutter illegally modified by Dyke. It’s a monster that can cut through steel plates. If a person gets hit by it, they’ll just get sliced apart…”

“Hmm…..”

Do the thugs in this world carry weapons like this?

‘If the purpose is cutting, it would be more convenient to use magic…’

Lenok hesitated but eventually put the pen-like cutter in his pocket.

He only had five bullets left for the pistol he had. The more self-defense measures, the better.

After taking everything he needed, Lenok got up and looked at the man who was still there, not having run away.

Among the things that were happening in this street, he had chosen to get involved in the simplest incident that seemed to have no loose ends, but perhaps it was the right thing to completely eliminate the witness.

“Will they lose their memories if I knock them out?”

As Lenok muttered that and raised a current of electricity in his hand, the man trembled.

“I-I will never tell anyone!!”

“That’s easy to say.”

At the cold reply, the man asked with a terrified face.

“If there’s anything you want…”

“I haven’t been in this city for long.”

Lenok grinned.

“I’m looking for a job.”

Watching the man’s back as he hurriedly disappeared into the alley, Lenok composed his tired expression.

He had considered killing him to silence him, but even though Lenok had become more cold-hearted than before, he wasn’t cruel enough to kill an innocent person.

When he killed the supervisors who had abused him mercilessly at the factory, he hadn’t hesitated at all, but this time was a little different.

He had taken a business card, so if this incident caused any trouble, it wouldn’t be too late to go find him then.

The anger of the awakened thugs would be sky-high, but that wasn’t Lenok’s problem.

As he came out of the damp alley, he took out the money he had stolen and counted it.

“…Not bad?”

He had been trying to make up for the money he was short on to pay the installment, but it seemed like they had quite a large sum of money.

Combined, the amount the two men had was roughly 700,000 cells in Lenok’s hands.

With this amount, he could stay at the hotel for about four more days, even after deducting various incidental expenses.

It was quite a good haul for ripping off some back alley thugs.

Lenok took the money and immediately left the entertainment district and bought new clothes at a nearby clothing store.

The clothes he was wearing now were too ill-fitting for Lenok’s physique and only made him stand out unnecessarily.

With a decent shirt and jeans, it seemed like he wouldn’t stand out because of his clothes anywhere.

Lenok returned to District 49 and wandered around the streets before finding a shabby pharmacy that barely had a sign.

When the door opened, a grimy pharmacist weakly raised his head to check the customer.

“Sleeping pills. How much do I need for a week?”

The pharmacist replied slowly.

“150,000 cells.”

Lenok’s brow twitched at the unexpectedly high price, but he obediently handed over the money and received seven packets of pills.

It was a necessary item to solve the insomnia that tormented him all night.

Lenok, who had realized how painful it was to spend sleepless nights at the factory, had no intention of experiencing that pain again.

He had confirmed that he could fall into a deep sleep after smoking a series of cigarettes, but it was foolish to chain-smoke to fall asleep, enduring the side effects.

He was repeating doping out of necessity, but he had to avoid actions that would put a strain on his already weak body as much as possible.

Once he had secured the necessary funds and a means to sleep properly, he had some mental space.

Lenok left District 49 and headed straight to the bustling downtown area where most people gathered.

After asking for directions from the people he met, he arrived at a large library located at the end of the downtown area. It was a 10-story building used entirely as a place to store books and data.

Lenok shook off the lingering smell of cigarettes from his body and took a seat inside the library.

The first thing he needed to look for was not various information about this world, but knowledge about magic.

‘The important thing is to maximize the growth of my magical abilities. Everything else can be put off until later.’

Many things had happened since he had opened his eyes here, but Lenok clearly remembered the existence of the penalty he had hammered into this body.

Various bad traits he had used to pour additional stats into his magical talent using the Karma system.

Among them, the most fatal was ‘Early Death by Talent’.

An extreme trait that cut down his lifespan in exchange for talent, creating a life with a limited time.

‘Thinking about it now, the fact that such a trait existed was strange.’

It was a lifespan-related trait applied to a game character with no lifespan, so if he had noticed the strangeness from there, would something have changed?

There was no point in regretting it now.

After all, because of that, Lenok’s goal had been set to only one thing.

To survive.

He had to find a way to extend his time, which was melting away like a short candle.

And the talent closest to that answer was in his hands.

‘Magic related to time… There might be a way in the highest-grade unique magic system.’

Unique magic [Sinister] that he had wanted to learn but couldn’t due to his job characteristics when playing Magic Gunner.

Lenok knew very well how powerful and great his magical talent was, and he also had an idea of what process was needed to properly utilize it.

Fortunately, the magic-related category used the entire 8th floor, and various books and data were organized there.

Lenok took out all the books that seemed to be introductions and began to read them.

‘How to feel magic, the principle of storing it in the body, the dangers of magic control ability, the fifteen preparations needed to use magic…’

These were meaningless to Lenok, who had awakened his magic and started using it in three days.