Genius Wizard Takes Medicine

"Hahahahaha!!"

With grotesque laughter, Paul Ackerman patted the shoulder of the bandit-like man, his expression filled with amusement.

"You fools. Did you really believe I couldn't hire others to counter you?"

Confidently striding towards the container where the masked woman stood, he continued to taunt her incessantly.

"Your methods are so clumsy, it's laughable. You should have realized that with the right amount of money, there's nothing you can't achieve in this line of work."

Clang.

"But don't worry. I won't give you a quick death. I'll crack open that mechanical head of yours, overflowing with information, and personally serve revenge on the client who had the audacity to threaten me…"

In the midst of Paul's heated ramblings, Lennok, who had been hiding beside him thanks to the amulet's effect, exerted all his strength and pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

A deafening gunshot resounded right beside them.

The weakened shield shattered instantly, and the shotgun's close-range blast tore through the defenseless flesh behind it.

Paul had nothing more to say. No, there was no longer anyone known as Paul.

His lower body, with the upper body completely obliterated, twitched in mid-air before plummeting to the ground.

Lennok silently observed, slowly lowering the object in his hand.

It was a long and sturdy shotgun, completely different from the revolver he had possessed before. Specifically ordered from Gun and Barrel for this very occasion, Lennok had carried it in a leather bag.

Though not ideal for mobility and combat, when combined with the Druid's amulet, it presented a definite opportunity to be utilized—

And that opportunity had struck true.

Paul Ackerman met his end before even finishing his insignificant boasts, crossing the point of no return.

"!!!!!"

Instantly, the expressions on the faces of the bandit-like man and Jude Russel underwent a drastic change.

"Arrrggggh!!"

The bandit-like man, who had tossed aside the corpse of the masked man he was holding, raised both arms and hurled his entire body toward Lennok.

Simultaneously, Jude Russel abandoned all leisure and charged at the masked woman before him.

Clearly, his intention was to eliminate her swiftly and then join forces to attack Lennok.

There was no escaping now that Lennok had revealed himself.

Anticipating the bandit-like man's imminent assault, Lennok raised his shield to its maximum capacity.

The strength it possessed far surpassed the makeshift shield that Paul had employed, borrowing the power of the artifact.

Whoooosh!!

Yet, at that very moment, a pale blue glow emanated from the bandit-like man's forearms.

His forearms swelled up to twice their size, rapidly accelerating like streaks of lightning, and crashed into the shield.

They descended forcefully.

BAMMMM!!

The ground caved in, centered on the impact of his hands, causing the towering containers around them to tremble.

Lennok's body sank deep into the settling ground.

Amidst the chaos, Lennok couldn't help but break into a cold sweat as he sensed the disintegration of his shield.

Crash!!

One layer, two layers, three layers, and then four…!!

The power behind the impact defied explanation, far exceeding a mere body slam.

The shock to the shield was beyond imagination, surpassing the mere sinking of the ground.

The concentration of impact at the point where the bandit-like man struck was evidence enough that it rivaled the firepower of a machine gun.

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This was perilous.

Observing the shield plunging downwards, Lennok's mind turned cold in an instant, prompting him to swiftly gather his mana.

Recognizing that magic might not be the most suitable solution in this situation, Lennok swiftly reloaded his shotgun while simultaneously stacking up auxiliary magic.

[Reload Acceleration]

[Aiming Correction]

[Impact Enhancement]

He layered three auxiliary spells and placed his finger on the trigger.

Bang!! Bang!!

Two shotgun rounds were rapidly reloaded into the man's abdomen, momentarily halting his movements.

The bullets, which had obliterated Paul Ackerman's upper body with absurd swiftness, now only managed to tear through the flesh of the man's abdomen, pushing his body back.

Disregarding his injuries, the man immediately charged forward, preparing to attack once more.

Intuitively, he understood that destroying the shield here and now would provide a greater advantage than inflicting immediate damage.

However, that brief respite was sufficient for Lennok's purpose.

Pressing the empty shotgun against his belly, Lennok unleashed shock magic once again.

Minimal firepower. Maximum recoil.

The trajectory was precise, aimed at himself.

Boom!!

"Ugh….!!"

Despite using his shotgun as a shield, the recoil from his own magic inflicted unbearable pain.

Unable to withstand the force, the shotgun's butt snapped in half, and Lennok's abdomen contorted unnaturally.

It was an irrational decision to employ offensive magic against oneself.

Nevertheless, the recoil propelled Lennok's body backward, allowing him to swiftly evade the man's attack range.

Moments later, the man's two fists crashed into the ground, shattering the cement floor.

BOOOM!!

Fragments flew in all directions, containers swayed and disintegrated, and a haze of dust filled the port in the dead of night.

Discarding the broken shotgun in his hand, Lennok clutched his stomach and staggered around.

"Ugh…!!"

Despite his preparedness, the pain surpassed his imagination, causing cold sweat to trickle down his forehead.

With trembling hands, he retrieved a cigarette and lit it. Inhaling the smoke as if possessed, the pain gradually subsided.

"……Phew, Phew…!!"

There was no time for a prolonged rest.

Despite the audacity of inflicting magic upon himself, Lennok's mind remained cold and calculating.

High-speed movement or evasion-type magic consumed significant amounts of mana and involved complex calculations, making them difficult for Lennok to employ during combat.

Particularly, [Blink] magic, considered the pinnacle of battle movement magic, couldn't be utilized easily even in WORLD 2.0 unless one had reached their growth limit.

As Lennok, who couldn't secure mobility at the current moment, he had no choice but to resort to extreme measures to escape the immediate crisis.

Crash!!

The man, rising swiftly from the debris, advanced toward Lennok with a sinister laugh.

"Heh, I thought you were just a fool, but you're surprisingly brave. Good. My ancestors admired that kind of courage."

Simultaneously, a shadowy figure loomed behind the man's broad back.

Lennok could now surmise that it exponentially enhanced the man's physical abilities.

While not reaching a transcendent level like Croken Asilus, his sheer strength alone posed a significant threat to Lennok.

Rather than responding to his words, Lennok extended his mana wide, scanning his surroundings methodically.

He needed to ascertain the outcome of the confrontation between Jude Russel and the Masked Woman in order to devise his battle strategy.

Unfazed by Lennok's show of power, the man emitted a deeper chuckle.

"To be honest, I'd like to spare you here. Thanks to you blowing off Paul Ackerman's head, things have become much easier for me."

“……..”

"Hehe… The advance payments from both sides are enough to kill me with fullness, but if I also neatly take care of the aftermath like this, I don't even need to fight with Dyke's side."

As Lennok wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, he retorted.

"So, this is only if there are no witnesses?"

"Ha ha ha! ….. Yes, only if there are no witnesses."

The man's laughter grew more distinct.

He would have planned to join Paul Ackerman's cartel after betraying.

However, with Paul Ackerman's sudden demise, a new opportunity presented itself to the man.

By eliminating all the witnesses here, he could once again align himself with Dyke as if he had successfully completed the mission.

Furthermore, he could accomplish this while holding on to the substantial advance payment Paul had provided.

In that moment, Lennok sensed the confrontation between two individuals– The clash between the Masked Woman and Jude Russel.

Swiftly comprehending the situation, Lennok chuckled inwardly.

‘Did she escape… That's impressive in its own right.'

Against all odds, the Masked Woman had successfully evaded Jude Russel.

Simultaneously, Jude Russel, having missed his target, turned around and headed in Lennok's direction precisely.

If Lennok had to face both of them, he would need to revise his entire plan.

"Hoo….."

There was no time to waste.

Lennok took a final drag of his cigarette and began sprinting.

Thump thump thump…!!

“….!!”

He could still run like an ordinary person while puffing on his cigarette.

Considering this fact, if he could manipulate the opponent's movements even slightly, he could compensate for his lack of agility.

But the man wasn't merely standing idly by, watching Lennok.

BAM!!

"Where do you think you're running, you bastard!!"

He grabbed a container with both hands and hurled it directly at Lennok.

While it didn't seem plausible for him to throw a container like a bullet even with enhanced muscles, the sight of the container soaring through the night sky, blocking the moonlight, was intimidating nonetheless.

Rumble!!

Fortunately, the container thrown haphazardly missed crushing Lennok, but witnessing the man rip through the thick steel plate with his bare hands and give chase sent shivers down his spine.

‘I can't keep running indefinitely. If I can just make it to the front…'

The recoil from jamming the shotgun into his abdomen began to tug at his stomach.

Without the aid of the drug, he would likely be writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

His ability to evade the relentless pursuit of the formidable warrior, given his frail stamina and injured body, was limited.

A mere brief respite of less than 30 seconds.

By utilizing Gravity Bind to bring down the containers being thrown by the man, and firing a few rounds from his revolver in retaliation, he managed to extend that precious little time.

“Huff, huff…!!”

After only a short burst of running, sweat streamed down his body, and he gasped for air, but there was no room for complaint.

He could at least be grateful that he could still move his legs like any ordinary person.

Kwang! Kwang!

In the midnight harbor, the deafening noise reverberated.

Lennok arrived at his destination, amidst a night sky filled with over ten containers swirling through the air, right next to an empty space at the edge of the harbor that overlooked the vast open sea.

His escape had lasted less than a minute. From Lennok's perspective, it was a result achieved through his own skill.

The man sneered, finding it ludicrous.

"You seem to be better at swimming than you look. Swimming in the night sea is not easy."

"Hoo, hoo… What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you come all the way here to escape to the sea? I don't understand why you ran at such a speed without doing that."

In response, Lennok, who had caught his breath, wore a pitiful expression.

"You have no idea. Do you think I can survive for two hours if I went into the sea in this weather?"

"Well, you wouldn't be able to do that with your body."

The man quickly agreed and chuckled.

"So you just came here to find a good place to die… You're more sentimental than I thought."

"………"

Shortly after, the sound of footsteps approached, signaling someone's furious approach.

Squeak!

An empty container was sliced diagonally and slid down, revealing a man with a throbbing vein on his forehead as he stepped forward.

The bandit-like man laughed at Jude.

"So, you chased her all the way there and couldn't even finish her off. No wonder you can't properly protect the escort target."

"Shut up."

Jude shot back sharply, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you want me to do when they're trying to save that woman from the Cybrid Echo side, even attempting biotransmission?"

"Oh… that's definitely unexpected."

Biotransmission… Seeing that the man also knew about that, it seemed that her organization had been willing to go to great lengths to save her.

Jude glanced at Lennok, as if he had pieced together the situation, and chuckled.

"Seems like you didn't manage to escape for long, but your expression looks pretty okay. Have you already accepted death?"

"There's something I'm curious about."

Instead of responding to the mockery, Lennok inquired.

"Don't you have any reason to kill me? Your task should have ended when Paul Ackerman died."

"…That's quite a useless question to be curious about right before facing death."

Jude tilted his head and responded without hesitation.

One might call it leisurely. He answered as if confident that Lennok wouldn't survive this situation.

"Firstly, since the escort target is dead, I need to exact revenge to save face. And…"

"And?"

Jude Russel, who had been silently observing Lennok, smirked cruelly.

"Because the one who entrusted me with this escort request was Juice Master himself. If I fail in the escort, I should at least bring back the perpetrator's head, don't you think? That way, I'll have an excuse."

"…….."

"Of course, the boss wouldn't slit my throat just because a henchman died, but it's not something to simply brush aside."

Was it true that Paul Ackerman was under Juice Master?

If he was a person sent by the drug lord himself to protect his subordinate, he undoubtedly possessed skills beyond the ordinary.

While Lennok had only heard that he was a former mercenary, the display of his abilities earlier showed a considerable level of expertise.

It was clear that he needed to eliminate him immediately in this situation.

Now that he had come this far, all preparations were in place.

With unwavering determination, Lennok nodded and calmly drew upon his mana.

(TO BE CONTINUED)