Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 766

Vroom!!

Lenok, having left the chaotic studio, immediately got into the car and headed to the coordinates provided by Baritz.

He had come this far on a motorcycle, but if he had to visit the Baritz headquarters, it would be less conspicuous to use a company vehicle.

Since they weren’t meeting for purely good reasons, there was no need to attract unnecessary attention.

“The magic flow reproduction module that Baritz was trying to obtain was heavily focused on the circulation of magic power,” Lenok said, gripping the steering wheel.

“If the leader tried to get it a long time ago, no matter how I think about it, there’s a possibility that it overlaps with the results of the paper I’m about to publish…”

Regardless of the leader’s own implication of failure, it would be even more dangerous if it were a result already made public.

Publishing the paper without confirming this, and then being suspected of taking the Order’s achievements, is a tiresome thought.

[Maybe he really was trying to make a life support device?] Davie, who was sitting quietly in the passenger seat with his seatbelt on, asked.

[Maybe he ended up like that because he failed, literally.]

“Maybe. But…”

As Davie speculated, there is also the possibility that the leader ordered the module to create a life support device.

Considering the leader’s poor condition when he visited Vulcan, he might have needed preparations to preserve his body in this world, even just a little.

But if that were the case, why would he have to order the module from Baritz?

Considering the leader’s transcendental abilities and insight, was there a reason to commission the module production to a corporation in a large city?

Perhaps the answer lies within that very question.

Lenok put his worries aside for a moment and quickly checked the coordinates Davie had provided.

“It’s not in the 10th district. Is it the outskirts of the 20th district?”

[It’s a public parking lot located on the outskirts of the 22nd district, to be exact,] Davie immediately showed a map with the detailed location and answered.

[It’s a bit far from the 10th district where the Baritz headquarters is located. It seems like they plan to call you to a place where there are no people?]

“…”

They said they would explain the matter related to the Papal See, but they are calling Lenok to a quiet area far from the headquarters.

Lenok’s hand, which was on the steering wheel, paused, and Davie seemed to notice the thought and asked.

[Shall we try hacking into the Baritz network one more time?]

“…No. There’s no need for that,” Lenok, after some thought, answered and drove the car forward again.

“If they were planning to kill me and shut my mouth, they wouldn’t have sent another message and left a record.”

Even if Baritz used coercive measures, it wouldn’t cause any problems for Lenok, but getting involved in more commotion under Evan’s identity was not a welcome prospect.

Especially with the schedule he has in mind for publishing the paper.

If possible, it would be better to settle things with the Baritz leadership and clean up the mess today.

With that thought, Lenok drove the car into the public parking lot building located on the outskirts of the 22nd district.

A building that looked very old on the outside, using all of its multiple floors solely as parking space.

[The coordinates are marked in space 6BT on the 4th floor.]

Using the automatic driving algorithm, he parked the car in the designated space and turned off the engine.

In the middle of the quiet parking lot, Lenok cast his gaze out the car window.

Several dusty cars were parked, but no sign of people could be felt.

Is it possible that Lenok is the only customer using this huge public parking lot? In the 22nd district, where there is a lot of traffic?

Thud!

“…Hmm?”

At that moment, the entire space where Lenok’s car was parked suddenly sank downwards, and began to descend rapidly.

Kugugugung!!

The scene of the lobby moving the car, as if the entire floor was an elevator.

Davie immediately grasped the structure and said to Lenok.

[It’s the vibration of a mobile conveyor belt. This is usually used in prefabricated structures…]

“Are you saying that the entire parking lot is a detachable prefabricated structure?”

A systematic and precise structure that allows the entire parking lot space to be moved as a whole.

Perhaps all the facilities managed by the company are designed to be manipulated.

The principle of prefabricated mobile buildings itself is not that unusual, but the surprising fact is that this design was implemented in the 22nd district, which boasts considerable land value.

Just creating an underground passage below this would have cost an astronomical amount of money.

I’ve heard that the dinosaur corporations of Vulcan possess tremendous technology and capital and use that technology without hesitation,

but seeing it in person, the scale of their ideas and the range of money they can afford is beyond imagination.

While waiting for the vibration to stop, this time the lobby space that was moving underground began to rise upwards.

Woo-oong!!

At the end of the ascent, as if riding an elevator, the space opened up and the surrounding scenery was revealed.

“…”

In the middle of a dark hallway where not a single ray of light could be found.

As Lenok blinked in the darkness that had settled all around, the door of the car’s back seat burst open.

A young man with a smiling face, wearing a suit and holding a cell phone in one hand.

The young man, making eye contact with Lenok, bowed his head and immediately brought the cell phone to his ear.

“Yes, I found him. I will bring him right away.”

[…….]

“Understood. I will notify the other secretarial offices myself.”

The young man, having finished the call, smiled at Lenok.

“Professor Bylon. Are you feeling alright?”

“…”

The young man bowed his head to Lenok, who was looking at him silently.

“I’m Dante Clarkston from the Strategic Planning Office. The Vice Chairman is waiting for you. Let’s go right away.”

Dante Clarkston, Team Leader of the 2nd Team of the Baritz Strategic Planning Office.

Is this the person who sent a message to Lenok through the internal network and showed him the leader’s video?

Considering that he acted on his own judgment and dealt with Lenok’s intrusion, he must have considerable authority within the company.

However, instead of immediately getting up and following him, Lenok pointed to the back seat.

The figure of Prescott, slumped in the back of the car, unconscious.

“Is it alright not to take this one with us?”

“Ah, that’s…” As Dante said that and clapped his hands lightly, burly men in suits appeared and dragged Prescott out of the back seat.

“The Vice Chairman wants to see both of you together, so we plan to guide you together.”

“…”

“I know you are quite displeased with this matter, but please understand.”

They know that Lenok is the one who led this incident, but they don’t say anything about it.

The module consultation. The commissioned production and the conflict that occurred inside the studio. Are they planning to cleanly cover up all those incidents as if they never happened?

Lenok looked at Dante and then began to walk.

A huge hollow structure with a hard and solid shape, completely devoid of curves.

In the deep darkness where you couldn’t see an inch ahead, only the fluorescent light that made your eyes sting was shining from all directions.

Woo-oong…!!

Large tanks placed all around the hollow space, and all sorts of things preserved floating inside.

Artifacts and relics, as well as remains that appeared to be human corpses, and bizarre collectibles were abundant.

Was this the scene I saw when I tried to get the magic eye as a gift from Oliviera Ron Maze’s lab?

At the moment when Lenok reached the end of the hollow space, following Dante, while recalling that memory.

Thud!!

A deep and wide cliff, unbelievable to exist inside the hollow space, revealed itself.

[Shhh!!]

From below the cliff, a huge two-headed lizard looked up at this side, flicking its tongue.

At the edge of the cliff that the lizard was looking up at, dozens of people were sitting in a row, kneeling.

Their eyes and ears covered, their mouths gagged, their wrists tied, trembling, yet unable to say anything.

And at the very end of that line of people, a man stood with his back to Lenok.

“Vice Chairman Ikabon.”

Dante bowed his head respectfully to the man standing at the edge of the cliff.

“Professor Bylon has arrived.”

“…”

The man called Ikabon did not answer.

He only slowly loosened his shoulders and lifted the object he was holding in his right hand.

The moment Lenok realized that it was an artifact that artificially generated shockwaves.

Ikabon activated the artifact as it was, and detonated a shockwave behind the back of the kneeling person.

“…!!!!”

The person, unable to even scream, fell straight down the cliff and was swallowed by one of the lizard’s two heads.

Glup!

[Shhh!!]

The lizard, letting out a ferocious cry as if it was not satisfied even after eating its prey.

“The Durospian, a magical beast that inhabits the outskirts of Kundara,” Ikabon, who killed the person without hesitation, said.

“It lives long but is not as good as a long-lived species, and it has intelligence but is inferior to humans, but it has one interesting characteristic.”

“…”

“One of the two heads cannot digest the food it swallows and excretes it, and that head changes randomly every time it eats.”

Kiiing!!

The man called Ikabon activated the artifact again and detonated another shockwave.

The waiting lizard swallowed the human, but soon after, it fell out from under its tail, covered in mucus, and in perfect condition.

Surprisingly, the lizard did not seem to feel any more appetite for the living human it had excreted.

Ikabon turned his head sharply, watching the person who had hurriedly gotten up from his spot and was running away from the cliff.

Looking at Lenok’s face, he asked.

“If it’s giving a chance to survive with a 50% probability, wouldn’t you say it’s quite merciful?”

“…”

He looks quite young on the outside, and his aura, as if he has trained his magic power, is also unusual.

But the most prominent feature on his face is the sharp and fierce impression, as if he is about to explode at any moment.

He doesn’t seem angry, but just looking at this side makes you feel threatened, with his piercing eyes.

Ikabon, leaving Lenok who did not answer, dropped the people tied to the edge of the cliff one by one.

Of the dozens of people, a little less than half survived. In terms of probability, it could be said that they were a bit unlucky.

Only then did Ikabon speak.

“It seems that the Durospian was full. Normally, it would have kept changing its head to try to eat more prey.”

“…”

“Sometimes, the process is only visible after the result has come out.”

A cold voice. So chilling that even Lenok, who was listening, immediately had it etched into his mind.

Ikabon, throwing the shockwave generator away, walked towards Lenok and said.

“People are the same. Only after knowing that the secretarial office acted on its own, do I see why they did such a thing.”

As if trying to find even the slightest sense of incongruity or awkwardness on his face, he is sharp and piercing.

Is this the man who is the successor to inherit the Baritz Corporation and is the Vice Chairman?

While Lenok was lost in thought, meeting his gaze, Ikabon stared intently at Lenok and said.

“You came alone, you’re fearless. Or are you just reckless? Either way, it’s quite different from the rumors.”

“Do I look like that?”

“Or is it because you are still under the protection of Antares?”

“…”

When an unexpected name popped out, Lenok closed his mouth.

Does he know that Evan’s security was entrusted to the Antares mercenary group after the anti-gravity engine announcement?

Strictly speaking, it was closer to borrowing the name of Antares to appease the surrounding concerns, but the fact that Ikabon knew this had many implications.

After a moment of thought, Lenok nodded obediently.

“I had them provide security before. You know Antares.”

“The worst kind of seers. That’s not how you’re supposed to see the future,” Ikabon replied without hesitation.

“It’s a power that exists to focus on the unseen future, not the seen one. It’s best to stay away from madmen who are only focused on seeing the ending they want.”

“…”

Not only does he know that Antares is a seer, but he is also explaining the power in relatively detail.

No, beyond that level, he is speaking in a natural tone, as if pointing out the essence of foresight.

As if he had directly handled that power and had already grasped its limits and tricks-

Only then did Lenok realize the identity of his opponent and the essence of the Baritz Corporation and asked back.

“The Baritz owners are a lineage born with the ability of foresight. Is that how you have grown and managed the company?”

“Growth? That’s not the purpose, it’s closer to a secondary product. The value that can be obtained through foresight is not limited to that,” Ikabon looked at Lenok with an expressionless gaze.

“Things that have lost their meaning a long time ago. Or things that cannot maintain their value even in the distant future. That’s all a seer can confirm without going mad.”

“Without going mad…”

“That’s why a true seer must focus on confirming and refining the unseen.”

A power that exists to grope for the unseen, not the seen.

Is that because the future that can be seen through foresight is only possible within the limits of the seer’s perception?

If so, it seemed that he could understand why Ikabon said that the unseen part was more important.

And why he had the secretarial staff sit in this hollow space and killed them without hesitation.

Ikabon pointed to the people who had survived from the cliff and said.

“The secretarial staff who led this incident started to see the future from the moment they got involved with you, and from that moment, they all lost their value.”

“…”

“Even if I hadn’t dealt with them, they would have inevitably met an unwanted death someday.”

From the moment the secretarial staff began to be foreseen by Ikabon, they had already lost all their value.

The fact that he threw them into the jaws of the magical beast without hesitation was probably due to a value judgment based on a standard, rather than incompetence or betrayal.

Ikabon didn’t seem to like Antares very much, but his interest in things that cannot be foreseen seemed quite similar.

“I have nothing to say about the internal security and disciplinary procedures of the Baritz Corporation,” Lenok answered calmly.

“If Prescott Byner and the secretarial office have taken responsibility for this incident, that will be enough.”

“…”

“The reason I came here is because I heard that the module I requested from Baritz had already been ordered by someone, and that there was a prototype.”

“If you saw the video, you should know? The Papal See is not an opponent you can negotiate with,” Ikabon asked back.

“They only came to this city for their own purposes. Normal transactions are impossible with barbarians who follow the logic of the outer seas.”

“That’s an interesting expression.”

“I don’t want to befriend them, nor do I want to see the future at the end of their fanaticism. I’m sure I’ll go mad first.”

Ikabon, looking at Lenok, said again.

“However, I have tried to interact with them to recognize the essence and similarities of each other’s abilities and to explore them.”

“…Similarities?”

“The similarity between the revelations of the Order and our foresight,” Ikabon answered.

“It was part of an attempt to explore the connection between foresight and revelation and to uncover its origin.”

“…”

“So, the suspicion that we joined hands with the Order, as you said, is completely wrong. What was left in our hands after that exchange was-”

Click!!

At the same time as Ikabon operated the remote control in his hand, a huge tank covered with a black cloth was pulled out in front of the two.

Ikabon, without hesitation, whipped off the cloth and said.

“It was just an object that had nothing to do with the origin of foresight or revelation.”

“…”

Instead of answering that, Lenok silently stared at the object floating in the tank.

A naked corpse floating on the other side of the unveiled tank, and a pure white helmet covering the corpse’s head.

A sharp exterior that emits a noble and transparent light, as if it was made for a holy knight.

It was because he realized that it was the equipment that the leader was trying to make using the module.

“But if the fact that we interacted with the Order leaks to the outside, the Central Council will surely bother us,” Ikabon, standing behind Lenok with his arms crossed, said.

“So, in exchange for handing over this object, let’s make a deal to keep quiet about this matter.”

“…”

The reason for calling Lenok, explaining the secrets of Baritz and the relationship with the Order, and handing over a sample.

Was it to keep this matter quiet in order not to be caught by the Central Council unnecessarily?

That’s not just because Baritz is afraid of the city government or worried about things like tax audits.

Isn’t it because they are hiding a much more sensitive and dangerous secret from the Central Council than what they told Lenok now?

“…Alright. Let’s do that.”

But even knowing that, Lenok decided to accept Ikabon’s offer.

The moment he saw the shape of this helmet, he knew what the leader was trying to make using the module.

And how it could help Lenok’s third paper.

“Thanks to you, I think I’ll be able to successfully publish my paper as well.”