Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 860

The girl with an unreadable expression stared blankly at her consciousness floating in the sky.

“……”

A giant snake formed a ring with its body, creating a grotesque scene as it became a well, drawing up the darkness of the Outer Seas [a metaphorical term for a chaotic, unknown realm].

The girl, who had been staring blankly at it, frowned with displeasure at that moment.

Crack!!

The giant well that had risen above the sky of the consciousness space shattered into pieces.

KWA-A-A-ANG!!

The giant body of the snake, which had been melting and dissolving into the deep darkness, split apart, scattered, and gradually vanished.

The wind, blowing from all directions, pushed the darkness that was flowing out back beyond the well.

Ignoring the writhing mass of darkness that seemed to be desperately trying to remain in this world, it shattered the consciousness that had become a well.

KU-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!!!!

The Handbook [referring to Padme Kiesa], standing still beyond the horizon, handled all of this with a single glance.

Is this the level of control that a real Ascendant [a being who has reached the highest level of power], not a fragment or a part of a memory, possesses when they intervene?

“Even if it’s a consciousness space left unattended, I knew you would intervene if it became this problematic.”

DU-DU-DU-DU!!!

The Heavenly Eye [referring to Madreah Falsier] laughed, brushing off the fragments of the well that were falling like rain with one hand.

The Lighthouse Keeper, who had walked out while clasping and turning her hands, looked down at the girl and said,

“If an old consciousness becomes corrupted and connects to the Outer Seas, it might affect you in reality, right?”

“I don’t really want to talk to the ghosts of the past.”

Even with the Heavenly Eye’s clear voice, the girl’s face remained utterly calm.

“Our past feelings are meaningless now. It’s too late to connect with each other.”

“……”

Instead of being angry or annoyed, her expression was indifferent, as if she felt no stimulation at all.

Her unusually emotionless face for her age suggested that the girl in front of them was a transcendent being who had merely borrowed a form.

“Thousands of nights have passed since you left this world, and I didn’t expect that your lingering attachment would still remain here.”

The Handbook, Padme Kiesa, who had descended into the consciousness space by borrowing the girl’s body, quietly replied,

“I will handle the problem with the consciousness myself. You should prepare to leave now.”

The Handbook said, looking back at her own consciousness that was shattering into pieces above her head.

“Since your physical body has entered eternal rest in reality, it wouldn’t be strange if you became similar to that at any time, would it?”

“That can’t happen. I’m not here for you.”

The Heavenly Eye shook her head with a wry smile.

“I have things to do. It’s a bit too early to disappear.”

“The mission to observe the Outer Seas using your consciousness as a lighthouse, and to postpone the destruction, you mean.”

A faint trace of pity flashed across the girl’s face for a moment.

“I remember now. We were definitely in similar situations. We suffered from duties we endured but didn’t want.”

“……”

“That tone, that voice… yes, you are very close to the Heavenly Eye I remember.”

“You’ve changed a lot. Your personality, your way of speaking. You were much gentler than this.”

The Heavenly Eye murmured quietly towards the silent Handbook.

“I know. Ascendants also change. Even after obtaining the qualification, their thoughts continue to change. Sometimes they change their minds right before death. Maybe I was like that too.”

“……”

Even after reaching the end of the hierarchy, level 9, and becoming an Ascendant, they continue to change.

They get better, they get worse. They add something, and they wear away, drifting through the flow of finite time.

Just like Jintun, who passed on his barrier techniques to Lenok, and like Gyebaek, who jumped towards the Outer Gods.

The Heavenly Eye of the past and the Handbook of the present were sharing unwanted regrets while looking at each other.

“……The well I have to protect is not a new door that appears within my consciousness.”

The Handbook, who had been staring at the Heavenly Eye with an expressionless face, opened her mouth.

“My homeland. The world where I was born. The place where those who raised me left. I protect the gate of the Great Forest and prevent this world from connecting to the Outer Seas.”

“Even if you forget why you have to protect it?”

“Yes.”

The Handbook murmured as she slowly raised her hand.

At the same time as she spread her thin, brown hand, dozens of shamanic characters floating in the air began to elegantly wrap around her wrist.

“I will annihilate everything that exists in this consciousness space and reconstruct it anew.”

[Muted Law]

[Swollen Mark]

[Sand Vein]

[Great Haze]

A huge magic circle that surpassed the girl’s height was completed, and a dazzling green light vibrated intensely.

[Seeking Calamity: Outer Severance]

WHIIIIIIIIING!!!

The magic of Seeking Calamity, which a transcendent being who had reached the level of an Ascendant as a shaman chanted and used herself.

Lenok could only barely understand that the magic contained an immense vibration that was beyond comprehension.

The green light that the Handbook had unleashed vibrated violently and spread throughout the consciousness space, trying to swallow the entire space, at that moment.

A bolt of lightning that flashed and struck down from the void pierced precisely through the tangled green magic.

FZZT!!!

The sharp concept of lightning, materialized in the consciousness space, pierced the moment the magic was completed, stopping it.

The Heavenly Eye, who had been watching, whistled, and the girl, whose chanting had been interrupted, turned her gaze with an expressionless face.

“Human. What are you doing?”

“Even if it’s a decision of an Ascendant, I have no intention of sitting still and disappearing.”

Lenok, sweating profusely, slightly raised his gaze.

KA-GA-GAK!!!

Blue lightning was piercing through the complex web of magic characters, preventing their formation.

A divine artifact that overlaid a concept onto the will of an Ascendant, temporarily halting the operation of the magic.

It was only enough to force the gap between the key and the lock to misalign, but delaying the chanting of an Ascendant was nothing short of a miracle.

“Madreah. There’s no time.”

Just by forcibly stopping the Handbook’s magic, his head felt like it was splitting apart.

It wasn’t reverse calculation or destruction, but purely using the power of his concept to interfere with the magic of an Ascendant was quite a burden for Lenok.

However, the Handbook didn’t seem particularly agitated even after seeing her magic stopped by Lenok.

“Are you going to stop me?”

The girl, who had been muttering blankly, tilted her head, then simply raised her other hand and lightly waved it.

“Then I’ll just have to make another one.”

“……!!!”

[Muted Law]

[Swollen Mark]

[Sand Vein]

[Great Haze]

[Seeking Calamity: Outer Severance]

The level 9 magic, not bound by Lenok’s interference, completed its repeated chanting in the exact same spot.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG!!!

A huge green pillar that erupted from the center of the girl split into hundreds of branches and scattered, forming a giant net in the sky.

It gathered all the fragments of the well that were falling from the sky, the spirits that were once her own consciousness, and grasped them all at once.

The net, which had shrunk like a fist with dozens of fingers, compressed and contracted.

Using the fragments of consciousness that had entered her hand as power, she was about to shatter this entire consciousness space, at that moment.

“Trying to eliminate the problem by erasing a part of your own consciousness, that way of thinking hasn’t changed at all.”

The Heavenly Eye, who had suddenly appeared in front of the girl and grabbed her wrist, said coldly.

“But not now. I told you I have things to do, right?”

KIIIIING!!!

At that moment, the expressionless girl’s face slightly faltered, and she lost her balance and staggered.

“……Madreah.”

“Just because it’s a space where your consciousness resided, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

The Heavenly Eye, who had forcibly twisted the direction of the magic and disrupted the balance of the chanting, grabbed the Handbook’s wrist and lifted her up.

The girl, who had been floating helplessly in the air following that touch, stared blankly at the Heavenly Eye.

“You might be different if you had a physical body in the real world, but if you’ve only descended here with your consciousness, aren’t we in the same condition?”

The Heavenly Eye grinned and pointed alternately at herself and the girl.

“Honestly, I’m not really scared of a senile snake. Rather, comparing you now, who has lost your memories, to the past, you seem weaker now.”

“……”

The Heavenly Eye wasn’t just stubbornly standing in the Handbook’s consciousness world without any backup.

The reason she remained even though she knew that the Handbook would intervene directly if her fragment became corrupted and turned into a well.

It was because she was confident that even if the real Ascendant, the Handbook, intervened, she could delay that decision to some extent.

However, the Handbook, whose chanting had been interrupted, didn’t get angry at the Heavenly Eye’s intervention.

“Amnesia or cognitive impairment that exists in human bodies are diseases unrelated to me. The reason I fell into oblivion is not because of that.”

“……”

“I understand what you’re saying, but the consciousness must still be dealt with.”

She just stared blankly at the Heavenly Eye with an unreadable expression, then brought up another matter.

“A being born from past memories, but differentiated into another possibility. Someday, I will be affected too. You wouldn’t want another door to open above the well, would you?”

“Of course not. I’m curious what would happen if the passages to the Outer Seas overlapped in the same spatial coordinates.”

The Heavenly Eye shook her head with a wry smile.

“What I want to suggest to you is something else. The consciousness you just recovered. How about transferring it to someone instead of destroying it?”

“Transfer?”

“Yes. To that magician over there.”

As the Heavenly Eye said that and pointed at Lenok, the Handbook’s gaze naturally turned towards Lenok as well.

Lenok, who had been quietly watching the two Ascendants, made a disgruntled expression at the sudden suggestion.

“……Isn’t that more like you want to dispose of a bomb rather than transfer it?”

* * *

“Think about it. If you destroy the consciousness like this, it will inevitably affect your mind.”

The Heavenly Eye explained.

“Since you are already forgetting your memories and confusing the past and present, if the consciousness born based on past memories is destroyed, it will definitely have a negative impact.”

“That’s a valid point.”

Lenok asked in a bewildered tone at the girl’s nod to the Heavenly Eye’s words.

“No, she’s openly saying that your mind is going haywire right now.”

“Magician, is that important right now?”

“It’s not wrong, human.”

The Heavenly Eye chided, and the Handbook replied calmly.

“I have no problem communicating now because I’m out of my physical body, but it’s been quite a while since I lost my sense of time.”

“……”

“I don’t even know how much time has passed since I woke up. After a problem occurred while trying to protect the well, it seems like I received help to resolve the situation.”

The girl, who had been muttering like that, suddenly frowned and stared intently at Lenok.

“Yes, now that I think about it, back then, I clearly……”

“……”

Lenok, who was making eye contact with an expressionless face, and the Handbook, who was frowning and lost in thought.

The Heavenly Eye, who had been watching from the side, asked with a puzzled expression.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Huh?”

At that moment, the Handbook came out of her thoughts and tilted her head.

“What was I trying to think of?”

“……”

He had been watching, wondering if she might remember Victor, but it seemed that her memories didn’t even reach that far in the first place.

The Handbook’s condition still didn’t seem good, even by a long shot.

The Heavenly Eye looked at the girl with a strange expression before quickly changing the subject.

“Anyway, instead of destroying the consciousness, let’s transfer it to the magician. To be precise, let’s transfer it to the magician’s guardian spirit.”

“Guardian spirit?”

“Wait a minute.”

Only then did Lenok turn to the Heavenly Eye with a cold gaze.

“Madreah Falsier. What are you doing?”

“It’s not a bad deal for you either. If anything, it’s closer to a benefit.”

The Heavenly Eye replied.

“Padme was born as a spirit and reached the pinnacle of predators, the very essence of spirituality. If your guardian spirit absorbs that consciousness, it could solve the problem you’re worrying about right now in one go.”

“……”

“The consciousness has been contaminated by the Outer Seas, but you yourself have resistance to the magic of the Outer Seas, right? There’s no possibility of a problem occurring with your guardian spirit.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Lenok asked in a calm voice.

“Since when did you know that I entered here through the consciousness of my guardian spirit?”

“From the beginning. Isn’t it obvious?”

The Heavenly Eye shrugged.

“There aren’t many ways for a mortal to enter the consciousness space of an Ascendant. It’s impossible without a domain of the same system, or an equivalent connection, or a curse.”

“……”

“Among them, the curse of metamorphosis is widely known even among Ascendants.”

The Heavenly Eye, who slightly turned her head to hide her expression, said,

“Because that curse is something that we, as well as beasts who worship the logic of the survival of the fittest, can’t simply avoid.”

“……”

“The point is this. Padme can safely dispose of the broken consciousness without any harm, and you can gain an opportunity to awaken your guardian spirit in return.”

Lenok frowned in annoyance and muttered.

“The reason you explained the death of an Ascendant was because of this.”

“Padme. What do you think? The consciousness you recovered. Do you have any intention of transferring it to this magician?”

“……There is one thing I am curious about.”

The girl seemed to be pondering the Heavenly Eye’s question, then walked towards Lenok and said,

“Having a guardian spirit means that you are a magician with a large enough position to form a domain and have influence in the real world.”

“……”

“If you want to survive until this world is destroyed, it wouldn’t be that difficult, but why are you trying to challenge ascension?”

At that moment, the focus seemed to return to the Handbook’s blurry eyes.

“There are many who give up ascension and go into hiding. It’s not strange to humbly acknowledge that it’s impossible with their abilities and try their best in the remaining time.”

“……”

“If you’ve reached that level, you’ll be able to live much longer than most mortals, so why do you want more than that?”

The girl quietly shook her head.

“Cherish the time given to you. Reaching that far without a mission is, in a way, a blessing.”

Silence fell.

The Heavenly Eye also seemed surprised that such a profound answer had come from the girl, and was looking at her with a somewhat unexpected expression.

“That’s ironic.”

Lenok, at the Handbook’s question, moved his lips without a word, then ended up laughing.

“Originally, that was the question I was going to ask your consciousness.”

“……”

“Why try to challenge ascension… the answer is already decided.”

Transcendent talent and the various penalties he had obtained in return.

The time and limits that Lenok himself didn’t know how much he had left.

The destruction of the world that was constantly ringing the alarm that it was not far away.

Lenok didn’t mention such a long list of circumstances just for himself.

He had no intention of putting up a noble cause, such as saving the world or preventing its destruction.

At this point, having decided to become an Ascendant, the first answer that came to Lenok’s mind was-

“Because I think I can do it.”

“……What?”

“Because I believe that I can challenge ascension and find the answer.”

Lenok said quietly, standing in front of the two Ascendants who seemed to have lost their words.

“From the moment I awakened my primal image and obtained my self-domain, I have never once doubted that my desire was less than others.”

“……”

“The answer for the answer is within me. It’s the power of possibility that exists beyond my belief and conviction in myself.”

The branching point of possibility that exists beyond the past, present, and future.

From the moment he reached level 7, faced his answer for the first time, and realized its meaning.

Lenok had always thought that he would face this moment someday.

He might not have admitted it outwardly, and might have pretended not to know it.

He tried not to waver, telling himself not to become arrogant and not to let his guard down.

But apart from that, Lenok had never once doubted his own potential.

It wasn’t because it was a talent he had obtained by paying a price, or because it was a quality that had been verified numerically.

From the time he was living, not knowing what he was doubting and just bumping into things, the potential he had proven without realizing it was within him.

“Did you say to cherish the time given to me? This is how I will burn the remaining time more valuably than anything else.”

THUD!!

Lenok, who had stepped forward, looked down at the Handbook with an intense gaze and said,

“The training for the hierarchy, the exploration for magic, even the time to talk, worry, and stop to look back… all of it is just a process to be sure of myself.”

“……”

“I’m doing it because I can. I’m challenging it because I believe I can do it.”

Lenok, who had raised his gaze, murmured.

“That’s why I’m still here.”

Even if everything changed, the work Lenok had to do had not changed.

He adds conviction to all the moments of challenging seemingly impossible feats, dreaming of a hierarchy and capabilities beyond what is allowed, and colliding with them.

He adds conviction to all the moments of fighting enemies that cannot be killed, and stepping onto battlefields where he cannot survive.

“You are truly an arrogant one……”

The Handbook muttered in an astonished tone.

“There have been many humans who have been intoxicated by their talents throughout history, but this one is truly on a different level.”

“I know, it’s really amazing confidence.”

The Heavenly Eye also let out a subtle laugh, as if she was quite surprised.

“You don’t have even a shred of doubt about your belief in yourself. It’s almost impossible to maintain such unwavering concept in a consciousness space.”

“……”

“It seems that I have changed a lot in my later years. If I had met a magician like you in reality, I would have definitely thought you were dangerous.”

The Heavenly Eye’s gaze, which had been looking at Lenok, turned cold for a moment.

“Magician, that’s not conviction, it’s called madness. You haven’t even properly challenged ascension yet, but you’re already out of your mind.”

“I hope that was a satisfactory answer.”

“Is that even something to say……”

The Heavenly Eye, who had been speaking as if she was dumbfounded at Lenok’s brazen reply, shook her head with a resigned expression.

“Okay. If it’s a primal image that even my abilities can’t see into, then it’s not entirely wrong.”

“The proposal for the guardian spirit isn’t something I like, but it seems clear that it’s not a bad compromise at this point.”

Lenok, ignoring the Heavenly Eye, turned his gaze towards the girl.

“If you hand over the essence of the consciousness, I’m willing to consider the proposal. What do you think?”

“……”

The Handbook didn’t respond to Lenok’s question at all.

She just slowly raised her hands above her head, with her hands folded together, with an expressionless face.