Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 771

Just as Lenok was about to step forward with the tablet and continue his explanation, someone sitting in the audience, watching the presentation, forcefully struck the armrest.

Toc toc.

Even with such a light gesture, as if knocking, the sound reverberated throughout the main hall in an instant.

A powerful vibration that even made Lenok pause his words and turn to look.

The anomaly began with a plump middle-aged man sitting relatively in the front row.

The man, with his hand still on the armrest, lifted a tablet with his other hand and spoke.

“Heavy.”

“……”

“The screen’s texture is terrible, and the signal transmission rate is ridiculously low.”

The man stared intently at Lenok and said,

“The effort put into making the prototype is commendable, but I don’t think there’s any need to listen further. This tablet is not something that can be commercialized.”

“Hey, how can you say that without even listening to the end of the presentation…”

“It’s not too late to judge after hearing all the theoretical explanations.”

Those who were relatively favorable to Lenok pointed out the rudeness, but the man paid no heed.

He simply stood up with the tablet and slowly walked towards the podium.

David, hidden inside his research gown, immediately whispered.

[Jonah Mackenzie, the chief researcher of Aldriff Magic Tower. He’s an authority on the production of driving/flight navigators.]

“……”

A specialist in the production of magical engineering equipment using touch panels.

Considering that he makes navigators used for driving and flying, he’s probably among those who have been directly or indirectly influenced by the anti-gravity engine Lenok developed.

However, the Magic Tower did not remain silent at Jonah’s sudden action.

“I’m not sure if that’s a valid reason to be rude in our Magic Tower.”

Thwack!!

Tatyana, who had grabbed Jonah’s shoulder forcefully, flicked her distinctive red hair.

“Can you take full responsibility for what you just said, Magician?”

“The, the Witch of the Inferno…”

“Is the rumor that the Rosary is in the Adamantine Magic Tower true?”

The Magic Tower officials who recognized Tatyana’s face gasped and quickly averted their gaze, but the magician from the Blaver Magic Tower pretended not to notice and bowed his head.

Perhaps because the Blaver Magic Tower Lord’s condition wasn’t good enough to express hostility.

They might have even heard about the conflict between the Adamantine and the Tower Lord.

In the midst of the unexpected situation that left others bewildered, Jonah quickly opened his mouth.

“I know that I am being rude. I will take full responsibility for that after this is over.”

Jonah ignored Lenok and slowly began to speak.

“But if you create a place under the guise of a paper presentation and then present such a poor prototype, shouldn’t you know about it in advance?”

“Magician Mackenzie.”

If it were up to Tatyana’s temper, it wouldn’t be strange if she had burned this impudent magician to a crisp.

Yet, she was holding back her anger because the presentation was being broadcast live throughout the Balkans.

Jonah must have been relying on that fact, boldly interrupting Lenok’s presentation and focusing on what he had to say.

No matter how much his own image or public perception was damaged.

No matter what responsibility he would bear after this was over.

Even if it meant breaking the established procedure, he was trying to hammer in his doubts about Lenok’s paper at this very moment.

In front of hundreds of thousands of viewers, he was pointing out the fundamental flaws between the paper and the prototype.

“An ambiguous area that is too large to carry around and too small to leave in one place. A dull weight that doesn’t match the size. An exoskeleton made of cheap plywood.”

Jonah turned his gaze sharply towards Lenok.

“It’s a crude composition that is only suitable for a presentation at the undergraduate level. Someone like me could make hundreds of them in three days if I rented a nearby factory.”

“……”

As if they couldn’t stand it any longer, Tatyana and Jenny simultaneously made moves to act.

They knew that there would be problems if they just listened quietly.

However, instead of letting the two of them act, Lenok raised his hand to stop them.

[……!!]

He shook his head at Jenny, who was shouting something from afar, and calmed Tatyana down.

Unlike the two who wore expressions of incomprehension, Jonah’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

‘It’s actually a prototype that was made in about three days using the workshop used by undergraduates.’

As expected of an expert in navigator production, his eye for estimating costs was extraordinary.

The problem was that he was using that insight to attack Lenok’s paper.

“You’re going to teach magic to undergraduates with something like this? Would you be able to accept it if you were told to learn magic using this as a textbook?”

Jonah’s confident remarks and Lenok’s reaction of watching him without trying to stop him.

Upon confirming that, the other audience members also began to add their own comments.

“Hmm… is it going to turn into a defense, after all?”

“In that sense, it’s true that this prototype doesn’t meet expectations.”

“I’ll have to look at the theory in more detail, but there are more than one or two suspicious parts.”

For a researcher’s paper, especially a doctoral dissertation, it’s not unusual to go through a defense immediately after the presentation.

If Evan Bailon’s paper was for an integrated master’s and doctoral program, it was a natural process to follow the established procedure.

Jonah’s remarks were rude and out of order, but especially for magicians, this kind of heated debate was relatively common.

The officials gathered here, thinking about that, recognized that if Evan had acquiesced, there was no need to point out the rudeness.

“Certainly, the hardware side is hard to praise even as a formality. It doesn’t meet any of the purposes of the learning device you mentioned.”

“As Jonah said, the texture isn’t uniform. The part you hold is slippery, and the screen is stiff.”

“The battery is very crude. So is the seam treatment. It’s obvious that you rushed to prepare it. Is there a reason why you prepared it so hastily?”

Following Jonah, experts in each field pointed out the design and structure of the tablet itself.

“If the magic that can be learned is limited as explained, wouldn’t the versatility be too low?”

“If it’s an equipment that only supports specific systems or formulas, there’s no need to present it in the form of a paper…”

“Moreover, if you collected statistics from the Lavatenon undergraduates, the numbers wouldn’t be significant. Aren’t they children with outstanding talent?”

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem to have the same impact as the second paper. I’m starting to suspect it was just luck.”

Even amidst all that, the advisory committee and scholars were carefully listening to Lenok’s theoretical explanations and pointing out their questions.

All those doubts, echoing and amplifying, were being recorded in real-time next to the screen.

It was something prepared to make Evan’s presentation easier, but it seemed to be highlighting the flaws in the paper even more.

Lenok, having confirmed Jenny busily moving around behind the podium, stared at the camera that was filming him.

Lenok had not said a single word yet about all the criticisms and questions that were accumulating in real-time.

The noisy atmosphere around the podium gradually subsided, and silence returned once more.

However, the gazes now directed at Lenok were not of expectation, but rather of doubt and bewilderment.

Depending on how he started and finished his speech from here, everything Evan Bailon had built up would be reevaluated.

“That’s right. You’ve seen it accurately.”

However, Lenok, knowing that, nodded without hesitation.

“I tried to make it as light and portable as possible, but there were limitations. It was only possible to make it to a level that could be mass-produced with the budget allocated to the Elemental Department.”

“Look here, if you admit that here and now-”

“The criticisms about the theory are also correct. The atmosphere was a bit chaotic, but many of you have asked good questions.”

Lenok, holding the microphone, left the podium and slowly began to walk.

“As you said, the number of magic that can be learned from the learning device is not large. There are only a few magic spells built into that tablet right now.”

[……]

“The magic that can be learned is also not particularly outstanding in terms of performance or efficiency.”

This time, the main hall of the Magic Tower was plunged into a quiet silence.

His attitude of not only admitting the flaws of the learning device but also confessing its shortcomings first.

It was a confession that was not at all suitable for a researcher presenting a paper, so honest that it even felt foolish.

In a seminar being broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people through hundreds of cameras, Lenok openly accepted all the criticisms without hesitation.

“The system, the type, the purpose, none of them are fixed. I gave up on performance and focused on implementation just to prove that learning is possible.”

“So, do you think that can be an excuse now?”

Jonah clicked his tongue and asked, as if looking at someone pitiful.

The impatience he had felt when he first faced Lenok was gone, and he seemed to be dealing with someone lacking.

Just as Lenok opened his mouth to say something to Jonah,

“Assistant Professor Bailon.”

One of the senators, who had not said anything until now, opened his mouth.

All eyes were focused on the elderly woman with a cane, sitting in the very front.

The appearance of a powerful figure who held the most powerful and immense authority in this megacity.

She ignored all other reactions and looked at Lenok intently and said,

“I heard that you have a personal relationship with Adamantine [a powerful archmage].”

“……”

“The fact that the seminar venue was chosen here through an agreement with the Magic Tower. The consideration that Adamantine himself vacated his seat. There are suspicions of collusion in various circumstances.”

The senator’s calm voice was like a whisper that pierced everyone’s ears.

“Some say that the achievements the assistant professor has presented so far were not his own, but rather with the help of the Archmage.”

“……!!”

At that shocking remark, others turned to look at the senator with surprised expressions.

It was a bold act that was impossible unless they were openly criticizing Evan Bailon, not just raising questions.

Even if such a rumor existed, what did it mean for a senator of the Central Council to mention it directly?

Hundreds of thousands of people watching this event would have heard the senator’s words without any embellishment.

However, the senator, as if she had no feelings about what she had said, repeated it emotionlessly.

“Can you clearly explain that question in this place?”

“…Senator Amanda, I presume.”

Lenok said that as he slowly stood in front of the senator.

“I’ve heard that you are an authority who has achieved numerous accomplishments in the field of magic theory despite being from a shamanic lineage. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“……”

Amanda’s eyebrows twitched at the mention of her background as someone who had achieved many accomplishments in the field of magic theory despite not being a magician,

but Lenok ignored it and reached out towards Amanda’s seat.

He picked up the tablet that was placed in front of her, turned it on, and handed it back to her.

“I don’t know how to present evidence that I didn’t receive help from Adamantine in the research process. However-”

“No. You don’t have to present it. That statement alone seems sufficient.”

Amanda interrupted Lenok’s words, picking up the tablet with the power on, with a cold expression.

“I’ll just check if this is really valuable as a learning device one last time, and then I’ll be on my way.”

“……”

A chilly atmosphere, like cold water being poured over them.

Amanda, who had broken the heat of the seminar with just a few words, placed her hand on the tablet’s screen.

“Let’s see. Is this how you operate it?”

Whoosh…!!

A light turned on beyond the tablet screen, and a list of magic that could be learned unfolded.

There were only three magic names on the wide screen.

Amanda slightly frowned upon confirming the names.

“Luminescence. Variable. Adhesion? You’re calling it a learning device, but is this all the magic that can be used?”

“We plan to increase the types of magic that can be learned through future updates.”

“Even so, it’s probably magic that can be replaced with ordinary tools. Isn’t that right?”

When Amanda scoffed and pressed the magic labeled ‘Luminescence,’ the shape of a magic circle appeared on the screen.

If you touched and traced the magic circle drawn on the screen, it would help you complete the magic circle by correcting the angles in real-time.

The appearance of a support system that kindly informs you of the direction and order and indicates the progress, like helping a child.

“Assistant Professor Bailon…”

Amanda, who was staring at it blankly as if she was dumbfounded, sighed and said,

“We don’t call this a learning device. It’s a prototype without any magic power. You can practice drawing magic circles on a sketchbook just as well.”

Amanda raised one hand and sneered, casually tracing the magic circle drawn on the screen.

“The shape of the magic circle, the structure, it’s all clumsy and doesn’t match the principles of basic magic formulas at all. You were going to submit this kind of magic as a prototype?”

The magic circle was so simple that it could be completed quickly just by touching the screen a few times with your hand.

A simple task that took no more than a few minutes.

Not only the audience gathered here, but also hundreds of cameras were simultaneously broadcasting Amanda’s actions.

Amanda, knowing that, was openly showing the magic circle that appeared on the screen.

Amanda, who had easily completed the luminescence magic circle, held it up to the camera as if showing off.

“Now, look. What kind of learning can you do with just this?”

“……”

“Judging from the fact that you made hundreds of prototypes and handed them out, it was your intention for us to try using the learning device directly, but…”

Amanda shook her head.

“As Assistant Professor Bailon said, what use is this kind of empty practice for someone like me who is not a magician?”

Others looked at Lenok as if seeking an answer, but he was just looking at them silently with an unreadable expression.

Even that calm reaction was enough to make it seem like he couldn’t properly refute Amanda’s criticism.

Amanda, as if she had gained more confidence from Lenok’s reaction, took a step forward and opened her mouth.

“You called it luminescence magic? I don’t know what kind of magic system you borrowed, but if you can learn this magic, right now-”

At that moment, an enormous light burst out from the tablet screen that Amanda was holding.

Flash!!

It didn’t end with just emitting light, but an actual, intangible force surged out, pushing away the cameras that were filming the screen.

“Ugh!!”

“Ge, get out of the way?!”

While the staff of the press and broadcasting stations, who had been adjusting the cameras, screamed and hurriedly retreated,

Crash, crash, crash!!

Due to the impact, dozens of cameras that had been pushed over fell like dominoes, tangling the screens and blurring the focus.

At the sudden commotion, others turned their gazes in shock, and the cameras that hadn’t fallen hurriedly captured the scene on the screen.

The wreckage of the cameras that had fallen and tangled, and Amanda standing blankly in front of them with the tablet.

There was no need to ask where the dazzling light that had just occurred had come from.

“Ho, how…”

Only Amanda’s stiff expression, trembling all over, vividly showed that it was not something she had intended.

However, everyone who was watching the situation unfold was thinking about something else, not Amanda’s reaction.

The mass-produced prototype tablet that had no magic power built into it.

And Senator Amanda, who was originally a shaman and had not learned magic.

Even though she didn’t meet any of the conditions, Amanda had definitely used her own magic power to knock over the cameras.

Not borrowing the power of items or tools, but the form of magic that humans, who are born with a little magic power, can chant.

“…Could it be.”

“No way. But…”

“Don’t lie. There’s no way that’s possible…!!”

People who realized what that fact meant hurriedly turned on the learning devices and began to trace the magic circles as if possessed.

Although no one said anything properly, a strange atmosphere of shared excitement and fervor.

In front of the people who were constantly tapping the tablet screens, Lenok finally raised the microphone again.

“I still don’t know how to prove that Adamantine didn’t help me with my research.”

“……”

“But among all the criticisms you made about the learning device I created, there was one thing that was wrong.”

Lenok said that as he turned around.

“This learning device is not for the undergraduates of Lavatenon. Nor is it to teach new magic to undergraduates.”

Fwoosh!!

At that moment, the officials who were touching the tablets began to shoot dazzling lights into the sky from their hands, one by one.

Pop! Pop! Pop pop pop!!

It didn’t end with just one person, but from all over, the luminous bodies that had sprung from the tablet screens illuminated the black ceiling of the Magic Tower hall.

“Oh, oh…!!”

Only the groan that someone let out could reveal even a little bit of their feelings about what they had just accomplished.

Among those gathered here, there were those who were not magicians, and even those who were not magic users in the first place.

Those who did not have the talent for formulas, those who were born into families or lineages that could not become magicians.

Those who did not learn magic themselves or those who did not choose the path of a magician.

System. Attribute. Origin. Age. Without distinguishing all those categories, everyone was using their own magic power to use the same magic.

People who realized that fact stared blankly at the light they had created, and naturally turned their gazes towards Lenok.

Hundreds of gazes. Hundreds of cameras.

Only Lenok’s voice echoed clearly in the main hall of the Magic Tower, which was being broadcast on hundreds of thousands of screens.

“A new magic that is allowed even to those who are not good at handling magic power, or those who have not learned magic.”

Lenok slowly raised the tablet and paused for a moment.

Because he knew what kind of impact what he was about to say would have on this city.

The reason why he had said that it was not his own achievement while explaining the contents of the paper to the dean.

The reason why the leader of the Guido Order had also tried to create the module that Lenok was looking for.

That was because the leader had also once tried to do what Lenok was trying to do in this world.

It had taken a long time, but Lenok had finally earned the right to ask this question.

“This tablet is a learning device created to learn a completely new magic system that is different from the existing one.”

The fundamental question that Lenok had had since the moment he first opened his eyes in this world. The discrepancy and absence between the knowledge he knew.

The non-existent knowledge that could never be explained without fully understanding the secrets of the world.

How long had it taken to explain it again in this third world?

Building up new magic from a different base than others, finally transcending the hierarchy and reaching the level of an Archmage.

Until finally returning to the magic he had first known.

“Magic that is not bound by systems and lineages. Magic that is not limited to attributes and classifications. A new magic system that is allowed even to those who are not magicians.”

Numerous luminous bodies illuminated the dark Magic Tower hall like a beautiful starry night sky.

On the quiet podium, Lenok, who had looked back at the people silently, slowly opened his mouth.

“I call this [Common Magic].”

The common magic system Dexter used in WORLD 1.0 and 2.0.

The third paper that Lenok created was the achievement itself to directly showcase that common magic to the world.