Genius Wizard Takes Medicine Chapter 27

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His expression was far more complicated than the easygoing impression Lenoch had gotten from him when they first met.

Lenoch could roughly imagine how Weian felt after being so helplessly overwhelmed by the enemy, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could say to him.

From Weian’s perspective, Lenoch might look like someone exceptionally capable.

In reality, Lenoch himself was barely making it through each day by clinging to the one thing he had—his talent.

No matter how hard he tried to adapt, or how calmly he tried to carry himself, Lenoch was still nothing more than an outsider wandering the back alleys of this unfamiliar city.

“You want to become a mage?”

“I don’t know. I used to think working for this mercenary office was enough… but now I’m not so sure.”

As he spoke, Weian looked at Lenoch with a faintly expectant gaze, but Lenoch didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow.

He wasn’t so oblivious that he couldn’t tell what the young man, barely out of his teens, expected from him.

But Lenoch wasn’t in any position to take someone under his wing.

As long as he had to live with the constant fatigue and headaches, his weak constitution, and the insomnia that plagued him at every turn, Lenoch simply didn’t have that kind of luxury.

Giving Weian false hope would only be pointless meddling.

Lenoch pulled out a cigarette and sparked a flame between his fingers.

“Dray Grimgald seems like a decent man.”

“……”

“At the very least, he can probably give you better advice than someone like me. Running a business of your own isn’t easy.”

Lenoch took a long drag and let out the smoke, suppressing a dry laugh.

He had escaped the factory and arrived in this city less than three months ago.

The fact that someone like him was giving life advice was ridiculous in itself.

Still, if Weian was seriously thinking about what to do with his life, he should seek advice from the leader he trusted most, not some half-baked outsider like Lenoch.

“Once you’ve decided what you want to do with yourself, you could also try talking to Jenny. She’s not the type to force people into work they don’t want.”

Whether Weian could change—or even wanted to—was another matter.

No one could know whether the quiet resolve he had just voiced to Lenoch would ever go on to shape his future.

Feeling that he had already said more than he should have, Lenoch quickened his pace.

Weian seemed to want to say something more, but Lenoch kept walking and headed toward Dray.

By the time he returned after dealing with the dark mana, the situation on the rooftop was already being wrapped up.

There was the limp corpse of the man who had apparently been killed by the mercenaries, while the mercenaries themselves busily inspected the power facilities and electrical lines…

And those who had fallen in battle, their eyes closed with strangely peaceful expressions.

Dray moved quickly among his men, efficiently bringing the situation under control.

“Ah, Van.”

The moment he saw Lenoch, Dray stopped what he was doing and bowed his head.

“I was extremely rude earlier. My apologies.”

His attitude was completely different from when they had first met.

Considering what had happened, that was only natural.

In the end, Lenoch had practically overwhelmed the enemy on his own and even delivered the finishing blow.

Kidel, standing beside Dray, also lowered her head when she saw Lenoch.

She must have noticed the cigarette between his lips, but this time she said nothing about it.

“I’m sorry about your casualties.”

“…It couldn’t be helped. That sort of thing comes with this line of work.”

Dray spoke with a bitter smile, but it was obvious he didn’t truly feel that way.

Even Kidel’s eyes beside him were slightly red.

They were comrades from the same office who had survived life-and-death situations together.

They said the best way to survive in this business was not to get attached, but human emotions were never that easy to control.

Even if they didn’t collapse in grief, it was only natural for them to feel the loss.

Lenoch silently chewed on the end of his cigarette.

There was nothing more he could say about it.

“Is everything finished?”

Dray nodded.

“Yes. We confirmed the data server is intact, and the programmers we hired are currently backing everything up. It should be finished within twenty minutes. As long as the Scavengers don’t send anyone else our way before then, we should be done.”

As he spoke, Dray nudged the fallen man’s corpse with the tip of his boot.

“We checked his identity. He was an executive of the Scavengers’ District 51 branch. We heard three branches had joined forces for this operation, so it looks like he was here personally supervising things.”

“I see. I extracted the mana from the drug he used, but I didn’t get anything useful from it.”

“Well, it’s hardly the first time dark mages have gotten involved in something like this. We were planning to dispose of the body separately and leave it at that.”

He had a point.

Dray Grimgald had simply been hired as a mercenary to retake the building and protect the servers.

He had no obligation to investigate how the Scavengers were connected to dark mages.

Lenoch had no interest in the relationship between them either.

But the drug they had used was another matter.

“Perfect. Then before you dispose of the body, could you draw some blood and send it to Jenny?”

“Pardon?”

“I’d rather do it myself, but I don’t have any equipment with me right now.”

Lenoch raised both hands as he spoke, and Dray quickly nodded.

“Ah… of course. If that’s what you want, Van, we’ll take care of it. Come to think of it, I haven’t paid you yet.”

He pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen a few times.

A moment later, Lenoch’s phone vibrated as well.

Twenty million Cel had been deposited into his account.

“I sent Jenny her commission separately, so could you tell her to check it?”

Lenoch nodded.

Only then did Dray give another bitter smile before turning back to his men.

Lenoch sat down at one corner of the rooftop and kept watch for anything unusual outside the building.

The Scavengers inside had already been wiped out, but if they sent reinforcements, Lenoch might have to use magic one more time.

Smoking in silence, he began going over everything he had gained from this job.

Twenty million Cel as a completion bonus… I won’t have to worry about living expenses for a while.

Considering Baritz had offered fifty million Cel just to destroy the factory, the Grimgald Mercenary Office must have paid a hefty sum to hire a mage for the job.

Jenny had mentioned that they had probably raised the rate because they urgently needed one.

That meant Lenoch had likely been paid above the usual market rate.

But that wasn’t the real reward he had gained from this job.

The shooting-support magic is better than I expected.

Lenoch slowly exhaled the smoke brushing past his throat and grinned.

The revolver he had bought at the gun shop.

The combination of layering auxiliary magic onto the firearm before shooting had proven far more effective than he had imagined.

When he had played WORLD 2.0, minor auxiliary spells like these had barely been noticeable.

Here, however, they were making a considerable difference in Lenoch’s combat ability.

Spells like [Reload Acceleration] and [Targeting Correction] had felt almost insignificant in the game.

In reality, it was completely different.

As long as Lenoch recognized an incoming threat and prepared for it, those spells allowed him to reload and fire even when an enemy was already right in front of him.

Of course, he couldn’t expect the same tactic to work head-on against a monster like Crocken, who could move faster than Lenoch could even perceive.

Still, simply reducing his dependence on high-mana spells was valuable enough.

If he could conserve mana while dealing damage more efficiently, his ability to keep fighting would improve considerably.

For something he had gained after investing only a few days, it was an excellent result.

Of course, none of it would have been possible without his experience as a Magic Gunner.

‘At this point, it might be worth investing in a better firearm.’

The effectiveness of shooting-support magic varied enormously depending on the quality of the weapon.

When Lenoch first bought a gun, he had chosen the safest, most ordinary option because he wasn’t sure how effective the magic would be.

Now that he knew how effective it could be, buying something better seemed worthwhile.

Of course, Lenoch’s talent was far better suited to magic than marksmanship, so he had no intention of going down the Magic Gunner path again.

Still, until his magical abilities reached a level he was satisfied with, shooting magic could serve as a powerful supplement.

‘If I could find and learn an auxiliary-type unique magic system, I could make it even more effective… but that’s probably asking too much for now.’

Finding one by chance would be ideal, but Lenoch already had far too many things demanding his attention.

For now, simply investing enough time into improving his health was keeping him busy.

As Lenoch passed the time thinking about one thing after another, someone approached carefully from behind.

“Van, we’re all finished here.”

Weian stood there looking down at him, apparently having recovered some of his energy.

It seemed he had been helping the other mercenaries after their earlier conversation.

His expression still wasn’t particularly good, but he didn’t say anything else to Lenoch.

Lenoch headed toward where Dray was standing.

Dray was staring down at the dead man with a complicated expression.

A set of dull silver dog tags had been pulled from around the corpse’s neck.

They must have found them while searching his body.

“He was from the Viper Regiment.”

Dray muttered in a heavy voice.

“I ran into that unit a few times while moving between fronts. Hard to imagine how an elite soldier from there ended up like this…”

He clicked his tongue, pulled a handkerchief from his coat, and covered the man’s distorted face.

It was a small gesture of respect from one former soldier to another.

“Are there many retired soldiers around?”

“Not exactly a small number. It’s been a while since the war with Dellinger ended, hasn’t it? Those who can stay in the military stay. Those who can’t have to return to civilian life.”

Dray shrugged.

“Looks like this one didn’t manage very well.”

Despite being a retired soldier himself, Dray didn’t seem particularly sentimental about leaving the military.

“……”

The war with Dellinger.

Another keyword for Lenoch to look up once he got back.

As Lenoch committed the term to memory, Dray nodded and turned toward him.

“The server backup is complete, and the power facilities have been fully restored. All that’s left is to update the client and have them confirm everything. Once that’s done, the job will officially be over.”

Dray pulled a business card from his coat and handed it to Lenoch.

“I was deeply impressed by your work on this job. I hope we have another opportunity to work together.”

Handing him a business card at this point was basically Dray’s way of saying Lenoch had nothing else to do and was free to leave.

Lenoch readily accepted the card and smiled.

“If another opportunity comes up.”

Dray Grimgald was undoubtedly both an excellent mercenary and a capable businessman.

He possessed calm leadership, the courage to put himself in danger when necessary, sharp judgment, and an equal measure of caution.

Even after losing several of his mercenaries, he had managed to bring the entire operation to a close without losing control.

Dray understood that casualties like these were an unavoidable possibility in their line of work.

Someone like Dray was unlikely to remain satisfied with a small mercenary office forever.

Keeping in touch and maintaining the connection wouldn’t hurt.

Perhaps they really would end up working together again someday.

With that thought, Lenoch turned away without hesitation and headed toward the stairs.

Watching his back as he disappeared into the distance, Kidel quietly asked Dray,

“Shouldn’t we have at least asked him?”

“Asked him what?”

“Whether he’d consider joining our office…”

Dray burst out laughing before he could hold it back.

Apparently, she still hadn’t given up hope.

“Kidel, after seeing that lightning earlier, you’re still thinking about that?”

To be fair, Dray himself had entertained the same idea until they reached the rooftop.

But the moment Lenoch called down a bolt of lightning to kill the Scavenger executive, every last bit of that hope had vanished.

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