Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 93

“……I had no choice because I needed the money.”

“That excuse is enough.”

A newly purchased revolver from Gun and Barrel.

Unlike the cheap products he had bought at very low prices, this time it was a flagship product from a famous gun company, costing over 400,000 cels [currency].

The gleaming silver sheen, the handle wrapped in black leather. The precisely crafted cylinder and solid hammer. The straight barrel.

Everything was more satisfying than the products he had used before, but in the end, it would be useless if it couldn’t withstand the shooting assistance magic Lennox used.

However, Lennox had come to a professional weapon modifier to improve that part further.

It was the same man he had encountered on the street before.

It took some time to find the man’s workshop because he didn’t know his name, but it wasn’t that difficult.

His skills were so well-known that even the street thugs had heard of him. It was easy to find him by focusing on workshops that had some reputation.

Of course, if he was just looking for a workshop specializing in gun modification, there would have been no need to find this man specifically… There was another reason why Lennox had gone out of his way to find him.

Thud!

“Then, you can modify this item as well.”

Lennox, with a much relieved face, said as he put down the luggage he had been carrying on his back.

The old man, realizing it was a heavy double-barreled shotgun made of metal, looked up at Lennox with a twitching mouth.

“…You. You’ve been acting like you’ve entrusted me with something since earlier. What’s the reason?”

“Isn’t it obvious that I’m saying this because I owe you a debt, sir?”

“I’m seeing you for the second time today?”

Instead of answering, Lennox tapped the cutter he was holding with his long index finger.

“Dike.”

Twitch!

“I don’t think you’d be unaware of this name.”

The day Killian first visited Jenny’s bar.

Didn’t he say something about the company being after the old man when he saw this cutter?

Considering that the man had said it was his work when he saw Lennox’s cutter, it was obvious who Killian was talking about.

Lennox hadn’t paid much attention to this meeting that stemmed from a trivial coincidence, but he hadn’t forgotten about it either.

He had to use everything he could.

“Panoa, Killian, Manya, Dustin…”

As he rattled off the names he knew, the man’s shoulders twitched in succession.

Now, even a faint fear was etched on the man’s face.

“…Did the company send you? To find me?”

“If that were the case, would I be having a comfortable conversation with you like this? I just wanted to let you know.”

Lennox said with a smirk.

“That I’ve worked with your friends for a while and gotten to know them.”

“……”

“Knowing about your existence, I didn’t bother telling my friends. I think you should realize by now how trustworthy of a customer I am.”

“Damn it, fine!”

The man yelled, his face showing he had given up on everything.

“I lost, you bastard. Will you be satisfied if I modify these two as you want?”

“Of course, but not for free.”

Lennox said, taking out a wad of bills from his pocket and placing it on the workbench.

Lennox, seeing the man’s eyes widen slightly, smiled and said,

“No matter how much it costs, please make it the best quality possible.”

After entrusting the items to the man, he checks the sign again as he leaves the workshop.

Palmer Workshop… That must be the name of the man he hadn’t even properly introduced himself to.

He was a skilled resource who had been part of the Dike development team.

Considering that Dike Corporation had started to grow in size with its industrial tool business, Palmer’s skills might be more than Lennox had imagined.

‘First, the guns are done… Next are the consumables.’

Through numerous battles, Lennox’s magic level continued to grow stronger, but he had no intention of giving up on auxiliary equipment.

No matter how powerful and flexible Lennox’s magic was, the usefulness of guns that could unleash high-density firepower at a low cost was not an advantage to easily discard.

It wasn’t for nothing that freelancers like Dylan and Mila carried guns as auxiliary equipment despite their physical abilities.

Moreover, considering the usefulness of shooting assistance magic, the loss Lennox would incur by giving up guns was far less than the benefit of becoming lighter.

‘The work on improving shooting assistance magic is also progressing smoothly… If I do it well, it won’t be difficult to save a lot of mana [magical energy].’

Various application methods that he couldn’t attempt due to a lack of know-how in handling mana or mana capacity.

Now that he had obtained the enchantment magic, it was possible to actively use various types of auxiliary magic, not just limited to shooting.

The higher he climbed, the faster the scenery changed.

Compared to when he escaped the factory with just an old pistol, there were now countless things he could do.

With his mind racing, Lennox quickly left the crowded street.

“I’m Evan Bailon, and I’ll be working in my lab with you starting today.”

Late afternoon. The deep sunlight streaming in through the window.

A clear female voice echoed through the lecture hall filled with people.

Lennox scratched his face silently, receiving countless gazes.

Frankly speaking, the gazes of the students sitting in the lecture hall… didn’t feel very welcoming.

Aris, whether she knew the atmosphere of the lecture hall or not, continued to speak with a calm expression.

“Evan has achieved considerable success in the field of magic theory and has excellent theoretical qualities. He will primarily assist with research in my lab, but I may occasionally call him to help with lectures, so I’d like to introduce him to you in advance.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.”

As he greeted them with a faint smile, a few people in the front row responded with small greetings.

Most of the other students openly frowned at him or seemed completely uninterested in him.

Lennox’s expression was calm, as he had expected this situation from the moment he decided to join her lab.

When Aris gestured to Lennox, Lennox bowed slightly and immediately left the lecture hall.

“Then, let’s start today’s class. As I explained in the last lecture, the core of mana linkage that constitutes hydro-type magic is…”

Leaving Aris’s faint voice behind the door, Lennox raised his hand and touched his face.

The disguise magic was still working smoothly.

He had unintentionally shown Aris Lennox’s real face, but there was no reason to do so to the other students at the university.

What if a student he happened to meet on the street recognized Lennox’s real face? The thought alone was terrifying.

So, Lennox made an excuse that he had a disguise artifact and asked Aris for her understanding, then changed his face to that of Evan Bailon.

He didn’t expect much. It was enough to separate his identity here from Lennox’s position.

He slowly raised his head and took in the wide hallway.

Lavatenon University.

The magic university he had only heard about. It was the first day he had set foot in an educational institution created to train magicians.

They said the city government directly invested funds and continuously managed it, and indeed, the facilities were impeccable.

Clean marble and ornate chandeliers. Thick carpets that cushioned his shoes and a hallway where warm air spread even in this weather as winter approached.

Even the refreshing scent that tickled his nose was all impeccable luxury.

It was so luxurious that it could be compared to Panoa’s office, who was the planning team leader at Dike.

‘I should go back to the lab first.’

Aris’s lab was in a different building from the lecture hall, and it was using an entire two-story building by itself.

He had briefly checked it when he first came here, but it was full of equipment and books that Lennox had never seen before, so it seemed like it would be enough to spend time alone.

No, rather, he was hoping that Aris’s lecture would end late as he was about to move his feet.

Bang!

Someone who had walked out from the back of the hallway shot sharp mana towards Lennox’s back.

Archwood.

Whoosh!

“……”

It was too sharp to be a coincidence, a little too light to be an attack, and conversely, quite heavy to be a provocation.

It was a blatant mass of mana that seemed to be intended to suppress him outright rather than trying to gauge his capabilities.

It was so flimsy that Lennox could grab its hair and flip it around right now.

‘What should I do…’

In the short time the mana was flying, he could think of more than seven ways to deal with it.

It didn’t seem difficult to suppress the opponent who threw this trick to the point of death, but if he did, there would be no point in entering the university.

At least in Aris’s sight, he had to act like a researcher who was only good at theory.

Lennox’s mind raced, and he quickly found the optimal move to make the opponent look foolish.

‘This should do it.’

As if by chance, he pretended to turn his head slightly and twisted the mana, slightly changing the direction of the mass.

A very subtle manipulation of mana that no one could notice.

With just a slight touch, the mass easily escaped the caster’s control and was suddenly shot towards the ceiling.

Clang!!

It completely shattered the luxurious chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The loud noise echoing in the middle of the hallway quickly turned the lecture hall, from which Lennox had closed the door, into a commotion.

As the door burst open and Aris strode out, Lennox turned his head and made a surprised expression.

“Evan. What’s going on?”

While Aris was slightly frowning her blue eyes as she checked the shattered chandelier in the hallway, a languid voice was heard from behind her.

“He made a mistake in controlling his mana.”

The one who walked towards them with the sound of shoes was a handsome young man with his hair swept to one side.

Even though he had a sharp jawline and thick eyebrows, the smile on his lips was so gentle that it made his impression look good.

He smiled kindly at Aris and bowed slightly.

“Professor. It’s been a while.”

However, Aris did not respond to his greeting and immediately asked.

“Archwood. What do you mean by making a mistake in controlling mana? I’d like an explanation as to why the chandelier is shattered right next to my researcher.”

Now that he looked at it, it seemed that Aris’s sharp reaction was not just because the class was interrupted.

Even at Aris’s cold words, the man called Archwood skillfully managed his expression and said.

“It seems that this person made a mistake while assembling mana alone in the hallway, and a recoil occurred. The mana jumped from his hand and suddenly went towards the sky.”

“………”

Lennox looked at Archwood’s face with a dumbfounded expression as he lied so casually without even batting an eye, but he even gave Lennox a slight smile.

Although he was a stranger, he could guess his nature and cunning to some extent.

Even though what he wanted had gone wrong, Archwood had now come up with the most efficient way to humiliate Lennox in front of the numerous students and Aris who were watching from inside the lecture hall.

Lennox, who had broken the chandelier, would be branded as a reckless researcher who used magic in the hallway and a fool who couldn’t even handle his own mana.

It was obvious how the students, who were already not very welcoming, would look at Lennox.

‘It’s a little interesting.’

He had experienced this kind of hazing more than once or twice, but this was the first time someone had tried to make Lennox look foolish so openly and meticulously.

Was his name Archwood?

If Lennox were really an ordinary person with no mana or ability, he would have been helpless against his trick.

However, he had no idea that Lennox had already taken this situation into account.

As proof, Archwood was only now realizing that Aris’s gaze towards him contained a faint sense of contempt.

The expression he had been wearing with a gentle smile was slightly shaken.

“…Professor?”

“Let me ask again. Did this happen because Evan made a mistake in controlling his mana while using it?”

“That’s right, but…”

His face showed that he had no idea what was wrong even as he answered.

Rather, it was stranger that he didn’t realize why this situation had come this far.

How could he know that a researcher who was talented enough to be scouted directly by Aris couldn’t use mana at all without being told in advance?

And that’s why… Archwood’s calm expression and lies were even more disgusting in contrast.