Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 788

Kugwagwagwang!!

Explosions echoed incessantly through the frozen underground prison.

Pisoners burst out of their cells, running, and others threw themselves without hesitation over the massive crack where the cold wind blew.

“The Prophet really made a path!!”

“I’m, I’m going out first!”

The prisoners, shouting at the top of their lungs, were drawing up their magic power.

As the excited prisoners flailed their arms and legs, the prison bars and walls swayed and cracked from the aftereffects.

Kugugugung!!

The prisoners spread out in all directions of the 5th underground level in an instant, stirring up even the other prisons where news hadn’t reached.

Not only the nearby prisons but also prisoners from other distant districts were released, and their numbers rapidly increased.

“Are you that Prophet?”

“You’ve got a punchable face, pal. I won’t forget this favor!!”

The prisoners around him chuckled and ran past Lenok, heading over the crack.

They seemed interested in Lenok’s existence, but they were too eager to escape this place.

“This time, I’m not going to get caught and I’m going to kill people…!!”

“It’s too cold here, so I’m going to set fire to the surface to make it warm!!”

“Kheeheehee!!”

Lenok also watched those prisoners, then followed them, stepping down into the crack where the wind was blowing.

Passing through the wind that brushed his ears, the moment he fell through the winding crack passage.

Paat!!

A garden shining with a blue light, so bright it was almost blinding, unfolded before his eyes.

The magic power around him was so faint that it felt like an absolute void, a zone devoid of magic.

However, the wind blowing over the garden was even stronger, making it difficult to open his eyes and see properly.

“We, we really escaped!!”

“There’s no way we’ll ever be locked up again!!”

The prisoners, hurrying faster than Lenok, ran through the garden and disappeared.

Once they were out of the prison, there was no one left to follow orders.

“P-Prophet….”

Lenok, who was watching the prisoners from the edge of the garden, turned to look at the giant who had belatedly come out through the crack.

“Have you finally come to your senses?”

“You crazy bastard… is this what you call a plan?!”

The giant shouted at Lenok with a horrified expression.

“No one can escape this place like this. You’re thinking wrong!!”

With a look that seemed to show fear, the giant pointed to the White Specters flying in from afar.

“You don’t know how scary Yorta’s military orders are. They’ll immediately sense this commotion and come running!!”

“……”

“Damn it, everything’s ruined…!! I had made arrangements to pass through the crack secretly, but because of you…!!”

“Why do you think that?”

Lenok asked back.

“Because the author of the Ghostly Records said to be careful?”

“…!!”

The giant flinched greatly as if he had been hit right on the mark.

“Y-you… how did you know that….”

“Planning a specific escape route and forming a team is impossible without a very strong conviction.”

Lenok explained nonchalantly.

“The Records were written in a location that could be easily found if you investigated the inside of the prison. It wouldn’t be strange if someone among the prisoners knew that fact.”

“…You figured all that out in just one day since you came to this prison?”

From the moment he discovered the words of the Ghostly Records, Lenok didn’t think that he was the only one who had seen this phrase.

Perhaps among the prisoners who dreamed of escaping this place, if there was someone with the ability to see outside the cell, they might have discovered this phrase.

In particular, the giant standing in front of Lenok was a body-altering mage who could transform his body to pass through narrow gaps.

If he had such an ability, it wouldn’t be strange if he had secretly wandered the corridors, avoiding the White Specters’ surveillance, and discovered the words of the Records.

“Even after seeing the advice in the Records, you’re acting like this, I can’t understand it even more. This underground level is a den of monsters abandoned by Yorta.”

The giant’s face hardened.

“Even if we gathered only the necessary people and moved as a small elite group, we couldn’t guarantee success, yet you’re making things worse…!!”

“Among the White Specters chasing the prisoners now, do you see anyone directly attacking them?”

“What?”

Before answering the giant, Lenok quickly turned his gaze.

The sight of prisoners running in all directions of the garden and the White Specters floating in the air, chasing them.

Looking at the White Specters wearing gray-white hoods, Lenok said.

“They’re not attacking the escaping prisoners, but subtly herding them into the crack.”

“Huh…?”

“There are set procedures for how to act in this kind of situation.”

“……”

“Even though they imprisoned Yorta’s criminals, their confinement and surveillance were incredibly lax.”

While the giant blinked, not understanding the meaning, Lenok smiled.

“It’s a deliberate trap. They’re intentionally driving the prisoners trapped in this prison into an escape route they created.”

“Th-then… are you saying that the escape route itself didn’t exist in this prison in the first place?!”

“No, the escape route itself is probably real. There probably really is a way to get out of this prison.”

The oracle of the Goddess and the words of the Ghostly Records. Since neither of them could be false, it was true that an escape route existed.

But what did it mean that Yorta was aware of that fact and was deliberately luring the prisoners to the escape route?

“Either escaping this place is extremely difficult, or a very dangerous monster is guarding the escape route.”

“…Is that also a fact you confirmed with divine power?”

“No, if you deduce the situation, there’s no need to go that far-”

Lenok, who was about to reply without thinking, stopped talking and nodded.

“That’s right. It’s because I know something you don’t.”

“I knew it!!”

[…….]

Ignoring the Goddess’s cold gaze at him, Lenok said shamelessly.

“As a result, whether it’s a deliberate trap or not, it’s a fact that that place is the only escape route from this prison.”

“……”

“Then wouldn’t it be right to release as many prisoners as possible and increase the chances of even one surviving?”

Only then did the giant, who had finally understood Lenok’s true intentions, shut his mouth with a slightly disgusted look.

The Prophet standing here was not literally trying to release all the prisoners from this prison.

He was just thinking that the path to the escape route would be difficult, and he was planning to throw the prisoners in as a means to an end.

The giant, realizing that, muttered blankly.

“If what you’re saying is true, why did you tell me this?”

“The author of the Records is skilled enough to freely roam the military city, and he’s someone who likes to record things as much as he mentions it himself.”

Lenok answered, thinking about the words of the Records written all over the prison ceiling and walls.

“If he mentioned the crack hidden in the prison wall and urged escape, there’s a possibility that there are more pieces of advice he left in this garden.”

“……”

“Gather the prisoners who know about the Records and bring the records. Then I’ll read and interpret them and tell you the way again.”

Lenok said that and then subtly glanced behind the giant.

“It seems like you’ve already got the necessary people ready?”

Even in the chaotic prison corridor, there were a few prisoners quietly watching the conversation between the giant and Lenok.

Their calm eyes and gloomy expressions stood out even among the excited escapees.

“The last member I was trying to recruit. It was indeed about that friend who came in most recently.”

About ten people, excluding the giant. They were probably the team members that the giant had recruited for the escape.

The oldest-looking man among them gave a strange smile.

“It seems like the story is going very well. Enough to overturn the plan we made without consulting us.”

“…After talking with the Prophet, I found out a few things I hadn’t grasped.”

The giant sighed and turned to his group.

“It seems like attempting to escape right now is impossible. It looks like we need to find more of the Records’ phrases.”

“Tsk tsk… have you already fallen for the author’s trick? You’re hopeless.”

The old man scoffed at the giant and turned his head away.

“If the other prisoners escape, there might not be a turn for us. Are you going to waste time looking for the Records’ phrases-”

“Kkyaaaaak!!”

At that moment, a terrible scream echoed from beyond the garden.

It was undoubtedly the last cry of a prisoner who had escaped first, the final death throes before letting go of the thread of life.

While the expressions of the prisoners, who had been looking at the garden with a nonchalant expression, slightly hardened, the giant opened his mouth.

“According to the Prophet, there’s a high possibility that something is blocking the way out of this level.”

“……”

“There’s a high possibility that there’s advice about it in the Records, so let’s prioritize finding the records while leaving the garden. Is that okay?”

“I don’t care.”

A gaunt man replied with a hollow expression.

“If it weren’t for the Records, we wouldn’t have found the escape route in the first place. What harm would come from finding a few more pieces of advice that friend left on the way out?”

“That’s a similar opinion.”

“It’s an unexpected situation, but there’s no need to get excited about it.”

If they had planned their escape in advance and had been waiting for the right time, they would be among the most patient and calm prisoners.

That’s why they didn’t seem to get easily flustered or excited even in this commotion.

When most of the prisoners the giant had recruited agreed, the old man, who had been frowning, clicked his tongue and muttered.

“I clearly opposed it. If problems arise later, know that it’s not my responsibility.”

“We’ll move forward following the direction of the wind and find the records. Let’s write down the phrases separately and gather them all at once to deliver.”

“Do as you please.”

The giant glanced at Lenok, then led the other prisoners and disappeared over the garden.

He was probably planning to spread out widely in all directions of the garden and search for places where the phrases might be written.

Considering the way the author of the Records left phrases in the prison, once a message was found, it was likely that the next piece of advice could be found without much difficulty.

The giant also knew that and accepted Lenok’s suggestion.

Lenok thought about that for a moment, then belatedly started walking, following the other prisoners.

He had escaped the prison, but he was still walking backward, following the wind.

The frozen garden was covered with strange plants and bushes of unknown use.

Throughout the garden, where the cold wind was blowing, there were tombstones of unknown origin, densely packed.

[This entire space seems to be a cemetery.]

The Goddess muttered, glancing at Lenok.

[It seems there was a reason why the 5th underground level of the Spirit Tower was called a tomb.]

“……”

Instead of replying to that, Lenok stopped near a tombstone within reach and silently checked the bottom of the stone.

The phrases from the Ghostly Records that he had checked inside the prison.

It was because he could find one of those phrases here.

[A tomb made to honor the Frost Lord.]

[Originally, the name of the 5th underground level refers to this place.]

“A place to honor the Frost Lord… that’s strange.”

Lenok muttered after checking the phrase written on the stone.

[What is it?]

“It’s a tomb to honor the Frost Lord, but why are there so many graves?”

Lenok said, looking around at the thousands of graves.

“There are so many graves, but there are also quite a few graves where no bodies are buried. It’s like they were made for people who were going to die in advance.”

Lenok, having said that, belatedly realized the purpose of these graves and chuckled.

“I see. The reason they left the escapees alone is….”

“Kkyaaaaak!!”

As if in response to those words, one of the prisoners running in the distance screamed and was dragged into the ground below a grave.

The sight of a prisoner being buried under a grave on the field, as if pulled by something invisible.

“P-Prophet!! Please save me!”

The prisoner, who was being buried in the ground with a desperate expression, discovered Lenok and desperately shouted.

“I’m sorry for running away first!! Please, please! I’ll beg you one more time like this!!”

Kkudeudeudeuk!!

The voice of the prisoner, who was begging for his life while being buried face-first in the dirt, changed to a thin and high pitch.

“Save, sa…!! Aaaah!!”

The moment the prisoner’s voice, which was screaming like he was having a seizure, stopped.

A White Specter appeared on top of the corpse of the prisoner who had been dragged under the tombstone.

As he swung his scythe while wearing a gray-white hood, a pale spirit soared up and was placed in the White Specter’s hand.

The separation of the body and the spirit. The way it so easily harvested only the soul from the already dead body.

The Goddess, who was silently watching that scene, muttered.

[The separation of the body and soul. This tomb was a place that existed to facilitate that process.]

“……”

The White Specter disappeared from that spot without even looking back at Lenok properly.

He was probably moving to collect the soul of another prisoner who had died elsewhere.

Lenok immediately got up from his spot and moved, following that White Specter.

The commotion that had been noisy with the voices of the prisoners had disappeared, and the wide field was now quiet.

Only the dirt mounds of the graves, writhing without dying, and the dozens of White Specters waiting beneath them were visible, looking eerie.

The White Specters, who clearly recognized Lenok’s existence, were ignoring him as if they had made a promise.

Walking along the path next to the graves, he finally reached the end of the garden where the wind was blowing, and a different scene began to appear.

A towering ice barrier blocking the way out of the garden.

And a huge gray shape, quietly heaving while trapped inside.

The prisoners who had survived without dying in the garden and had reached the end were pounding on the ice barrier with dissatisfied expressions.

“Open the way!!”

“We’re going to get out of here!”

Bang, bang!!

Even when they hit it with all their might, imbued with magic power, the ice barrier didn’t break, nor did it even show any signs of shaking.

The prisoners, panting and out of breath, turned to look at Lenok with angry expressions.

“Prophet, this is different from what you said!”

“Isn’t this the escape route?!”

[…….]

The Goddess’s spirit frowned, seemingly displeased by the prisoners’ attitude of getting angry at Lenok.

However, instead of paying attention to those prisoners, Lenok silently looked at the ice barrier and the cold wind blowing from beyond it.

The wind that penetrated the entire 5th underground level, and the huge shape located at its origin.

He remembered that he had definitely faced a similar structure not long ago.

“Prophet.”

At that moment, the giant, who had approached with the other prisoners, handed Lenok a small piece of paper.

“I’ve only written down the phrases that were visible while going around the area near the garden where the graves are located.”

“What’s the content?”

“It’s… such a difficult story that I don’t really understand it either.”

The giant said, looking at the ice barrier with a strange expression that was difficult to describe.

“It seems to be an explanation about the monster guarding this prison….”

“Was there a story about the Guardian Spirit Beast written there?”

“……!!!”

This time, as if he had not expected it at all, the giant’s eyes widened and he froze.

However, Lenok ignored the giant’s reaction and picked up the piece of paper from his hand and unfolded it.

The wind that penetrated the entire prison and the origin from which that wind blew.

The fact that the identity of this wind itself was the breath of a huge creature, so large that it was difficult to guess its form.

Lenok had faced this exact structure once before, in the consciousness world of the Compendium.

As expected, the phrases left by the author of the Records were filled with information about the owner of this tomb.

[The Frost Lord. The corpse of a dead Guardian Spirit Beast.]

[The result of an experiment that was conducted after failing the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons [a ritual to summon powerful spirits] once.]

[A corpse cursed by Metamorphosis [a transformation or change], its essence devoured, leaving only instinct.]

The curse of Metamorphosis.

A concept that the Ascendant Compendium had mentioned before, warning against Lenok’s own Guardian Spirit Beast.

While Lenok was silent after confirming that word, the giant asked urgently.

“How is it? Do you think there’s a way?”

“……”

“If you already knew the content of the Records, you’d also know how to overcome this situation, right? Tell me the way quickly!”

“Well….”

Lenok muttered, turning his gaze to the ice barrier.

“We might have to worry about surviving, not escaping.”

“What?”

At that moment, the gray shape that had been trapped and heaving inside the ice barrier began to swell its body.

Kugugugu…!!

With just that, massive cracks spread in all directions of the ice barrier, and then it broke the barrier in an instant and stood up.

Kwaaaang!!

“Uwaaaah!”

“Get out of the way!!”

The sight of prisoners being crushed and killed in an instant by the fragments of the collapsing barrier.

Eujijik!!

Stepping on the corpses of those prisoners, the gray giant walked out and slowly straightened his bent body.

[Huuuuh….]

The breath flowing from the giant’s mouth contained a chilling coldness that could be felt even from a distance of tens of meters.

“That’s the corpse of a Spirit Beast born in Yorta’s territory. It’s not something that criminals can deal with.”

However, even as Lenok said that, he walked forward without hesitation, passing by the others.

Facing the Frost Lord’s gloomy gaze that was openly glaring at him, Lenok chuckled.

“Maybe I can solve one of the goals I came to Yorta for in advance.”