Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 862

Swoosh!!!

A dark back alley under a cloudy, rainy sky.

Construction materials wrapped in old vinyl were scattered haphazardly in a construction tunnel.

The downpour from outside was so loud it was deafening.

The dirty rainwater flowing like a stream underfoot only hinted that the tunnel was open at both ends.

“Are you sure this is going to be alright?”

In the center of the tunnel, a middle-aged man in a suit was pacing anxiously.

Holding a briefcase in one hand, he kept checking his watch and looking around.

Unable to stand still, he moved his feet to avoid the puddles of water.

A young man with an intellectual air, who was watching him, sighed and shook his head.

“The success of this meeting isn’t up to us. It would be best if you calmed down a bit.”

“Baritz Corporation can say that. You’re not even a party to this matter.”

“……”

The young man closed his mouth and shrugged at the man’s sharp retort.

As if feeling more anxious at the young man’s reaction, the man began to walk faster.

“I shouldn’t have left this to a necromancer. All I got from meeting Gyeonryoe was information about the meeting…!”

“Inspector Mares is hopelessly lacking in communication skills in that area. He’s had trouble with the head office several times because of his personality.”

“He moves dead bodies around, so he doesn’t know how scary people can be. Those hiding behind the scenes are all the same.”

The man muttered with a fierce look, stomping his feet hard.

“Gyeonryoe is not in his right mind. Even if you give him the same information, how he receives it is completely different depending on the method. We should have indirectly asked about his willingness to attend and prepared a place, but instead, we left it to that hopeless guy….”

“You speak as if you know that mage well.”

“The Central Council has been observing Gyeonryoe’s existence for several years. Do you think they wouldn’t have prepared a response manual for dealing with an 8th-level archmage?”

The man turned his head irritably at the young man’s strange question.

“He’s a madman who can communicate normally but thinks completely differently inside. It’s best to meet him directly and observe his reaction, not just deliver a message and be done with it. The higher-ups must know that….”

“Well, I understand. Wasn’t it right after the incident at the Bailon Research Institute that Inspector Mares delivered the message?”

The young man said with a wry smile.

“It would be stranger if a mage with Gyeonryoe’s temperament were to overlook the research institute’s affairs. Who could dare to speak carelessly to such an enraged monster?”

“And that’s why we’re cleaning up the mess.”

The man said in a sharp voice.

They were talking to calm themselves down, but it felt like the more they talked, the more on edge they became.

That was probably because the person they were about to meet was a master of magic who could decide their fate with a flick of his wrist.

Balkan, a vast city with a developed civilization, a living area where tens of millions of people lived, and a superhuman who had transcended the limits of his species by his own power.

However, there were not many who truly felt his status and worth, even though they had not reached that level themselves.

How dangerous and powerful a monster a transcendent ability user beyond the hierarchy was. A walking weapon that brought disasters that resembled a state of war with just its movements.

“When Gyeonryoe talks to other humans, he sees things that others don’t.”

The man said quietly.

“He doesn’t move arbitrarily because he has no standards or is fickle. There is definitely a consistent standard within him, and it’s just a concept that lower-level mana users like us can’t understand.”

“Hmm, that’s similar to….”

The young man muttered, pondering for a moment.

“It’s like what people who have returned from meeting the Ascended say.”

“It’s the opposite.”

The man chuckled.

“Only those monsters who have gone completely mad become Ascended.”

“……”

“That mage is the most likely superhuman to cross over to the next level in the entire continent.”

The man muttered with a fierce look, biting his nails with endless anxiety.

“If Gyeonryoe misunderstands this summons and something goes wrong, I won’t let it go….”

“That’s why I came from the head office planning department, to prepare for such a situation, so please rest assured.”

The young man replied, refreshing the company messenger on his phone.

“Baritz Corporation has the best system in place to prepare for any unfortunate situation that may arise.”

“……System, you say.”

The man, who had stopped and turned around, narrowed his eyes strangely.

“Come to think of it, it’s said that the Baritz Corporation’s successor bloodline inherits precognitive abilities.”

“……”

“Is your helping me here also part of that precognitive ability?”

“I’m just an employee of the head office planning department, and I have nothing to do with the board of directors.”

The young man said with a mechanical smile.

“How the system works is something we cannot disclose to outsiders. I ask for your understanding.”

“Is that so?”

The man’s expression changed to a crooked one at the attitude of the person involved, who did not bother to deny the existence of precognition.

The young man spoke in a somewhat softer tone, as if to appease the man.

“You’re being too wary of us. Didn’t the head office prepare various measures to support this meeting?”

“……”

“The jamming and security forces around this tunnel, the emergency escape equipment, and the artifacts combined cost enough in security to cover an entire area.”

The young man smiled, raising his phone, which was faintly vibrating in his hand.

“Even if all plans go wrong, there will be no shortage of resources to get us out of here….”

The young man’s words stopped abruptly as he looked at his phone with a smile.

“What, what is it? Why did you stop talking?”

“……All security forces, prepare for battle.”

Clank!!

At that moment, dozens of charging sounds echoed simultaneously from all sides of the tunnel where the two were standing.

Dozens of thick wires descended and were installed all at once through the tunnel, and a strong magical glow resonated from under their feet.

Whoosh!!

Hundreds of magic circles, drawn in layers all over the rain-soaked tunnel, activated simultaneously.

They began to fill the tunnel with bright light.

“Whoaah!!”

The man struggled as the light suddenly shone in his eyes, and the young man grabbed the man’s collar with a stiff expression.

“We’re getting out of here right now. Take out the artifact!!”

“Is, is the precognition coming?!!”

“It’s the worst-case scenario…!!!”

Despite the young man’s aggressive response, the man did not waste time getting angry or asking why.

Instead, he took out an old pencil hidden in his sleeve and inserted it into the center of the magic circle that the young man was pointing at.

The magic circle that wrapped around the man’s body rotated and floated the moment the pencil with complex characters was inserted into the magic circle.

[Enakpil’s Five Fingers 1 body confirmed. Preparing to activate forced space transfer amplification magic circle.]

Whoosh!!

Next to the man, the young man was also preparing for space transfer, with the same magic circle wrapped around his body.

No matter how dangerous and powerful a mage was, once they succeeded in escaping through space, it would not be easy to track them.

A luxurious escape plan possible for executives of an organization directly under the Central Council, and also sponsored by Baritz Corporation.

The moment the man and the young man canceled all plans on the spot and tried to escape through space by activating the magic circle.

Click!

With a strange gear sound, the magic circle that wrapped around their bodies creaked and stopped.

A low transmission echoed in the ears of the two people, who had widened their eyes.

[Is that a supplementary magic circle to enhance the performance of the artifact?]

“…….!!!”

[It’s a method of rewriting the result values derived immediately after the activation of the spell. It must be a rather cumbersome and inefficient task, but you’ve managed to miniaturize it with a magic circle of this size.]

It took less than 2 seconds from inserting the artifact into the magic circle to waiting for it to activate.

In that short time, he had already deciphered all their intentions and was talking to them.

The two people, who had stiffened as if struck by lightning, barely moved their necks.

[Simplifying the process for miniaturization is basic. But that makes it easier to analyze.]

At that moment, the supplementary magic circle with the old pencil inserted began to rotate slowly in the opposite direction.

Creak…!!

As if the magic circle was dismantling itself, it disassembled all sorts of hieroglyphs and designs, and spat out the old pencil that was inserted in the center.

[Reverse calculation complete. Wait there.]

“Wh, what….”

[I’ll go myself.]

Lightning struck.

The flash of lightning that turned everything white.

The acrid and pungent smell that could not be hidden even in this downpour.

A shadow standing still at the end of the tunnel, dozens of meters away, getting hit by the pouring rain.

Flash!!

The moment the lightning struck again, the shadow had already disappeared from the end of the tunnel.

“No!! Stop him!!”

The young man, who had belatedly regained his senses, shouted.

“Don’t stop him. It’s no use…!!”

Physical resistance was virtually impossible. At the point of failing to escape, resistance was meaningless.

The young man tried to shout to the security forces to let them know and stop, but it was already too late.

Swish!!

Dozens of security forces, fully armed and hidden on all sides of the tunnel, descended with built-in weapons.

The pre-installed wires were pulled taut, blocking the way and densely occupying the narrow space between the tunnels.

The mana particle density interference spell, densely installed on the ceiling and walls of the tunnel, activated.

The moment they tried to delay the activation of spells, including magic, as much as possible by applying strong jamming to all sides of the dark and damp space.

Crack!!

A blue flame flickered through the shadows.

The blue flash crossed the ceiling and walls of the tunnel at a speed that exceeded the limits of perception.

Crackling!!!

Following the trajectory of the small flame, a blue light trajectory moved and glowed between the cement walls.

It pierced through all the pre-prepared magic circles and jamming, checks and formations, and soared up.

“…….!!!”

A small lightning bolt brushed past dozens of superhumans who were struggling slowly as if time had stopped, unable to even scream.

The illusion that the perceived time was slowing down as they faced the shining lightning that transcended the sense of distance.

Immediately after, a deafening roar erupted, smashing everything in the tunnel like toys.

Boom!!!

“Th, this…”

The man, whose face had turned pale, trembled and tried to lift himself up, barely touching the ground.

“The things you do under the guise of grand causes are worse than insects.”

A low voice was heard from behind.

“Gyeo, Gyeonryoe…!!”

A black-haired young man with a sharp impression was looking down at the two of them, leaning on a silver staff.

A subtle expression that looked somewhat tired, yet also endlessly sensitive.

Before the two could even recognize that it was the archmage’s way of expressing his discomfort.

The bodies of the young man and the man were crumpled and thrown onto the rain-soaked ground.

Thud!!

“Kuh… Hah!!”

A scream that burst out unintentionally at the pain of a dislocated shoulder and a bent elbow.

However, both the man and the young man gritted their teeth and suppressed the loud noise.

‘Mana particle interference and jamming were layered hundreds of times, yet there wasn’t a single mistake…!’

What Lenok had just used to subdue this tunnel was just a single streak of lightning smaller than a fist.

He did not lose control even once while using it in this narrow tunnel with all sorts of mana particle interference and jamming, on coordinates distorted by space transfer magic circles.

The pinnacle of extremely delicate mana manipulation, which felt more bizarre and eerie than simply overpowering with force.

Thump!!

“I’m in a very bad mood right now.”

Lenok said, walking slowly between the two people whose heads were buried in the rainwater.

“So, if you have anything to say, it would be best to say it before I accidentally blow your heads off.”

“……”

Lenok’s blue eyes flashed between his black hair.

“You’re not going to say you just wanted to see my face after bringing up the meeting, are you?”

“Of course, not….”

The man took out a soaked business card from his pocket with trembling hands.

Even while being crushed by the mana that Lenok was emitting without any thought, he lifted his broken arm and barely placed the business card by his head.

“Central Council First-Class Administrator, Struss Eshemel…!! It is an honor to meet the Archmage.”

“……”

He now understood why the Baritz Corporation’s planning department employee had tried to run away with him immediately.

It was not the time to worry about Gyeonryoe’s mood being upset. They had faced the worst-case scenario of calling him at a time when the mage was in a much worse mood than they had thought.

“Originally, we had no intention of summoning you for personal matters before the meeting, but regrettably-”

Crack!!

All five fingers on the man’s right hand were bent and broken in the opposite direction.

“Regrettably?”

Ignoring the man who was gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, Lenok looked around at the fallen security forces and asked.

“Is that all you have to say after preparing this pathetic welcome?”

“……!!!”

“I’ll ask you again. Get to the point.”

Lenok said, stepping on the man’s neck.

“Why did you call me?”

“The meeting is about to be canceled because of a VIP coming to Balkan…!!”

The man gasped for breath, his face pale.

“Due to the existence of the VIP, most of the agenda items that were to be discussed at the meeting are likely to be nullified. We have something to say about the handling of that…!!”

“You were planning to ask me to stop that VIP.”

Lenok interrupted and answered.

“You called me because you wanted me to subdue or neutralize him, if not kill him?”

“……”

Lenok chuckled as he looked at the silent man.

“Okay. I don’t need to hear any more.”

Crackling!!

A blue light flashed above their heads, and a sound like the atmosphere was twisting echoed.

The moment the man and the young man gave up everything and closed their eyes tightly.

Like a lie, Lenok’s footsteps stopped.

“……”

Lenok was silent as if he was deep in thought.