Genius Wizard Takes Medicine Chapter 16

“The pay varies wildly depending on skill, but if we’re talking about a company like Charlotte, they must have first-rate engineers maintaining their firewall. A hacker skilled enough to break through that kind of solid security and extract the data without damaging it would naturally earn hundreds of millions of Cel.”

“I see…”

Lenoch nodded with a serious expression.

Seeing that he seemed to understand, Jenny waited patiently for his decision.

Lenoch did not realize that the questions he was asking were extremely basic, almost common knowledge. Even so, Jenny explained everything without showing any irritation.

She had misunderstood him as a mage who had spent years training in isolation, far removed from ordinary society.

Mages who practiced traditional magic for long periods often secluded themselves in remote places instead of relying on modern civilization. Jenny and Jordan assumed Lenoch was one of them.

This was especially true for elemental mages, who often did not appear in formal schools until they reached a certain level. Because of that, Jenny and Jordan’s misunderstanding was not entirely unreasonable.

After thinking for a while, Lenoch slowly nodded.

“Alright. I think I can handle destroying the plant.”

While chasing fugitives, he had briefly forgotten it, but his work was not about becoming a righteous hero who punished criminals for the good of humanity.

He was simply carving out his own share in a world where profit and resentment moved between corporations and criminals.

Whether he could preserve his morals and values along the way would depend entirely on his own choices.

Jenny smiled at Lenoch’s answer.

“Then let me introduce you to the partner you’ll be working with on this job.”

“What?”

“Come in!”

At her call, a side door at the back of the common area opened, and someone stepped inside.

Even beneath his thick leather jacket, it was clear that the man had a well-trained body.

He wore a mask that looked like something a professional wrestler would use, and various metal pieces hung from his back.

Jenny introduced the man to Lenoch with a casual expression.

“Dylan O’Casey. A mercenary from Antares Office. A very cheap man who gets called around for all kinds of jobs.”

“Jenny, if you introduce me like that to someone I’m meeting for the first time, what do you expect him to think of me?”

“Well, probably that you’re a lunatic wearing a pro wrestler mask.”

“Hahaha!”

Despite Jenny’s cold remark, Dylan burst into laughter and walked over to Lenoch, offering his hand.

“Dylan O’Casey. Mercenary. I’ll be your partner for this job. So, you’re a mage?”

Lenoch reluctantly shook his hand and answered.

“…Van. I specialize in electrical magic. But what do you mean by partner?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. This job seemed a bit too much to handle alone, so I was looking for someone else.”

“This annoying woman told me it couldn’t be done solo, so I’ve been waiting around, hoping someone suitable would show up today.”

“……”

Dylan’s blunt words chilled the air for a moment, but Lenoch let it pass without reacting.

“Next time, I’d appreciate it if you told me in advance when a partner is waiting.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Although an unexpected partner had appeared, Lenoch was not especially displeased.

What he was doing now was, in essence, finding work through an employment agency.

It was not strange that he would not know in advance what kind of job he would take each day, or who he might end up working with on-site.

If his partner seemed likely to get in his way, he could simply cut ties cleanly.

Dylan was probably thinking the same thing.

“So we split the fifty million Cel reward evenly between us?”

At Lenoch’s question, Dylan scratched his mask.

“You’ll have to subtract Jenny’s commission first.”

Jenny answered immediately.

“I won’t take a commission this time, since I failed to tell Mr. Van that he would be working with a partner. Direct requests from Baritz are rare, so I was a little too hasty. I apologize.”

Dylan let out a silent whistle.

Lenoch narrowed his eyes.

Jenny was giving up her ten percent commission, and that was not a small amount.

She had made a mistake and immediately corrected it.

It was the ideal response, but Lenoch did not believe the mistake had happened by accident.

Most likely, Jenny had been testing his reaction.

She was slowly feeling out his boundaries, trying to see how far she could push.

If Lenoch had gotten angry and started gathering mana, she might never have brought up the word “partner” in this kind of matter again.

In a sense, Lenoch had allowed Jenny to continue acting this way.

But that was not necessarily a bad thing.

Showing a little goodwill and maintaining a suitable relationship would not hurt him in the long run.

Especially since Lenoch planned to secure money through this route for the time being.

If she crossed the line, he could deal with it then.

The initiative in their relationship was gradually shifting toward Lenoch.

Whether Jenny understood his true thoughts or not, she clapped her hands once and changed the subject.

“Then let’s take a look at the blueprint of the factory in District 42.”

***
***

Unlike the underdeveloped 50s, where shabby slums remained despite countless development plans, the 40s were not entirely lacking in proper facilities.

This was especially true for the lower-numbered districts.

District 42, where Charlotte’s manufacturing plant was located, felt somewhat empty, but its streets were still clean and orderly.

“Looks like Jenny thinks pretty highly of you.”

“What?”

“She’s not the type to give up money easily. She must have decided that keeping a good relationship with you was worth more than taking her commission.”

Dylan’s tone was casual, but he had accurately understood the meaning behind the exchange that had taken place in the bar.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“Whoa, nothing serious. What I’m saying is…”

The moment Dylan suddenly reached into his pocket, Lenoch stepped back and placed a cigarette between his lips.

If a gun came out, he would have to strengthen his barrier immediately and respond.

However, what appeared between Dylan’s thick leather-gloved fingers was not cold metal, but a business card.

“You don’t have to look for work from only one place.”

**[Antares Office]**

Lenoch stared silently down at the card before letting out a hollow laugh.

“Are you trying to recruit me already?”

Lenoch had not even shown his magic yet, so Dylan’s eagerness the moment they left the bar was unexpected.

But Dylan answered as if it were nothing unusual.

“They say you can never know too many mages. It’s the same in this line of work. Even if you know dozens or hundreds of them, their specialties are different, their combat ability varies, and their personalities are all over the place. The wider your network, the more opportunities you get.”

He shrugged.

“It’s not a bad deal for you either. Our office is a little… rough, but we have plenty of people who are good at physical work, like me.”

“…”

“Having more options is never a bad thing, right? Unless you have some special reason to stay loyal to that woman.”

Lenoch chuckled.

“You’re good with words. Let’s see if your skills match.”

“Look forward to it.”

Dylan said that, adjusted his mask, and began walking briskly.

Following behind him, Lenoch once again realized just how rare mages were as a profession.

The fact that someone would hand his contact information to a mage he had only met today—someone whose background and skills were still unknown—showed just how rare and dangerous the ability to use magic was.

The two arrived near the manufacturing plant and slowly circled the factory grounds, checking the situation.

There were not many guards inside the factory, but each of them had the number **888** engraved on the left side of their chest.

“Triple Eight. They hired one of the worst security companies around. They’re famous for recruiting people with criminal records and jumping into any job that pays…”

Dylan spoke casually while picking his teeth.

“I wouldn’t feel guilty even if one or two of them accidentally died.”

“The security doesn’t look very strict.”

The guards were equipped with submachine guns, bulletproof vests, and various auxiliary weapons, but their formation was loose.

It was clear that they were just killing time while maintaining a reasonable distance from one another.

“Who would be crazy enough to mess with a company like Charlotte? This project involves the city government too, so most people would hesitate. I wouldn’t have touched it either if this job hadn’t come through Baritz.”

“Does Baritz being involved make a difference?”

“In fights between corporations, people like us are just messengers. If Charlotte realizes Baritz is behind it, they won’t care much about who actually carried it out.”

Lenoch made sure to remember every word Dylan muttered.

“Shall we begin, then? You don’t need to cover your face? There’s no reason to expose your identity openly.”

“Hmm…”

Now that Lenoch looked at him properly, Dylan’s outfit did not expose even a single patch of skin.

Was he simply hiding his identity, or was there some other secret beneath it?

Dylan’s concern was reasonable, but Lenoch was not worried about his identity being exposed.

From the beginning, both the face and the name **Van** were artificial identities he had created for work in this area.

Moreover, ever since an unknown woman at the market had detected his mana pattern, Lenoch had started subtly altering that pattern whenever he used magic, eliminating the chance of being traced through it.

Even if something went wrong and the identity of Van was tracked, Lenoch could simply change his face with disguise magic and begin working under a new identity.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s start.”

“No, that won’t do. If your face becomes known and someone tracks you down, I might get dragged into it too.”

“What do you want me to do, then?”
“Wear this.”
Dylan pulled a mask similar to his own from the small bag hanging at his side.

Its color was not especially flashy, but it was covered in all kinds of patterns. Wearing it would make him look like a professional wrestler.

“……”

“Hurry up.”

With a displeased expression, Lenoch reluctantly took the mask and put it on.

Fortunately, the areas around the nose and mouth were loosely open, so he did not have to endure the uncomfortable feeling of his face being squeezed.

“Alright! I’ll go first. Follow me.”

After saying that, Dylan suddenly kicked off the ground and charged toward the factory’s back gate.

Thud, thud, thud!

Even at a glance, his footwork was far from ordinary.

Rather than running at a constant speed, he seemed to accelerate more and more with each step, making his charge feel threatening.

He had clearly surpassed the physical limits of an ordinary human.

A warrior who strengthened his body with mana and used martial arts.

It was a type Lenoch was familiar with even from the world of **WORLD**.

Lenoch stood at a distance, placed a cigarette between his lips, and lit it with a spark from his fingers.

“Ssshh—”

He inhaled until his head felt light, then slowly caught his breath.

A faint surge of vitality spread through him, and his mind settled.

The fatigue built up inside his body dulled, and both his body and mind awakened with a familiar sensation.

Feeling the effect of the disposable drug he had bought for 70,000 Cel, Lenoch began running after Dylan with great caution.

By then, Dylan had already rushed like lightning toward the two guards stationed at the back gate.

Whoosh!

Using the momentum of his charge, Dylan hooked one guard’s neck with the inside of his elbow and brought him down.

Before the guard could even resist, his head struck the ground, and his eyes rolled back.

Dylan immediately twisted his body and drove his heel into the other guard’s chin.

Crack! Crunch!

“That’s two down for now.”

Standing between the two guards, who had collapsed like limp dolls, Dylan sprinted toward the factory’s back gate.

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