Genius Wizard Takes Medicine Chapter 7

Cash Procurement

He stepped into the shower and scrubbed himself from head to toe. It was the first time he had washed since waking up in this world.

After thoroughly rinsing himself, he stood before the sink and finally took a proper look at his reflection.

“……”

Hollow eyes. Long, unkempt black hair. Dark circles beneath his eyes and pale, bloodless lips. His skin was so white that the veins beneath it were visible.

At least his sharp nose still stood out. That much was a small comfort.

Lenoch looked down at his gaunt, stick-thin body and let out a hollow laugh.

He was in such terrible condition that it was difficult to recognize him as the character he had originally created on the character selection screen.

He picked up the razor by the sink and shaved off his shaggy hair.

Once his head was completely shaved, his impression shifted from gloomy to sharp and irritable.

After staring at himself in the mirror for a while, Lenoch nodded in satisfaction.

At the very least, this should make it harder for the supervisors to recognize him.

He believed he had already shaken off any pursuit, but he still needed to remain cautious.

Dressed in the supervisor’s loose-fitting civilian clothes, Lenoch pulled out all his belongings and spread them across the bed before leaving.

130,000 Cel in cash. A pistol loaded with five bullets. A dozen packs of cigarettes stolen from the supervisor’s bedroom.

He had already discarded the factory work clothes and left the car keys behind in the abandoned vehicle. This was everything Lenoch owned.

Sitting on the bed, Lenoch sank into thought.

What did he need in order to survive in this world, where he had been thrown without knowing anything?

The first answer had already been decided.

But there were more than a few problems he needed to consider before he could earn money.

“No matter how I look at it… earning money legally is impossible.”

In this world, Lenoch was nothing more than an illegal immigrant without a proper identity.

He had no idea whether there was a way to become a legal citizen of this city. And even if such a method existed, it would undoubtedly require both time and money.

For Lenoch, who did not even have enough to pay for tomorrow’s lodging, that was an unaffordable luxury.

In the end, his choices were limited.

Even in a situation where he could barely afford food, Lenoch’s mind continued to work diligently, producing methods and weighing rational possibilities.

If legality was not a concern, there were countless ways to obtain money.

Even if he had to step outside the law, there were still plenty of things he could do without completely abandoning his morals or conscience.

With his magic, it would not be difficult to hunt down criminals lurking in the city’s underbelly and take what they had.

“In my current situation, that’s the best option.”

It would be difficult to turn it into a stable source of income, but it was more than suitable for securing immediate cash. Having made up his mind, Lenoch rose from the bed.

If he wanted to catch fish, he first needed to go where the water was.

Gathering up everything he had laid out on the bed, Lenoch left the room, paid for another day’s lodging at the lobby, and stepped outside.

He immediately moved into the shade to avoid the glaring sunlight.

His head spun, and his breathing grew shallow, but Lenoch suppressed the urge to light a cigarette.

‘I have to endure it.’

If he developed the habit of smoking every time his body felt unwell, there would be no stopping his body from collapsing in the long run.

More importantly, smoking now would be the same as starting a countdown until the side effects returned.

Unless the situation was urgent, he had to refrain from smoking and move with a clear head.

From the shade, Lenoch watched hundreds of people pass through the streets, then slowly turned his head.

He had no idea where he should go, but as he sat there, he began to sense a direction.

‘That way.’

In this bustling city, where countless life forces intertwined, Lenoch’s innate talent caught hold of a faint thread of magic.

A dark, sticky scent of magic rose from one corner of the city.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before, but Lenoch instinctively understood that it belonged to those who lived hidden in the shadows.

The magic of criminals who parasitized the city, feeding on others from the darkness.

For Lenoch’s current needs, it was the perfect place.

***

Following that trail of magic, he arrived at a chaotic street lined with large entertainment districts, gambling dens, various stalls, and abandoned construction sites.

In a corner of the street, a sign reading District 49 had been tossed aside.

Neon signs and dazzling lights surrounded him on all sides, while the pungent smell of perfume and acrid smoke drifted through the air.

Even in broad daylight, the street seemed wrapped in deep shadow. It was filled with people who avoided meeting one another’s eyes.

Although the atmosphere was completely different from the lively city center of Balkan, Lenoch was not particularly surprised.

He did not need to understand in detail the side effects and harm that existed behind such growth.

Like flies swarming wherever money gathered, such things were common even in the world Lenoch had come from.

The atmosphere around him made it clear that everyone was maintaining a careful distance from one another while pretending not to notice anything.

Now and then, small groups gathered in secluded corners to talk, but most people soon disappeared into buildings whose purposes were impossible to guess.

However, there was a way to eavesdrop on their conversations.

Especially for Lenoch.

He found a suitable spot in a corner of the street, raised his mana, and concentrated it around his ears. Even though no one had taught him how, the process felt astonishingly natural.

His hearing sharpened in an instant, drawing in the sounds around him.

Leaning against the street wall, Lenoch concentrated on the voices coming from inside the buildings.

“They’re looking for an agency to lobby for the selection of the construction company for the 17th Development District. The terms are an eighty-twenty split.”

“An engineer sent to inspect a malfunction in Palmers Corp.’s new AI has gone missing. They’ll probably be hiring a replacement soon.”

“They want to bribe a druid into joining the greenbelt reduction plan. Apparently, they’re planning to smuggle out a T9 endangered species.”

Dangerous and profitable-sounding conversations were taking place all around him, but Lenoch had no intention of getting involved in situations he did not yet understand.

He quickly dismissed the unfamiliar terms and expanded his range even farther.

As his senses stretched outward at a rapid pace, Lenoch’s magic spread across the entire street, gathering every sound it could reach.

It had not even been a week since he had begun using magic, yet his ability to control it had already far exceeded the limits of his own perception.

He ignored conversations that sounded far too dangerous or unnecessarily complicated.

There were even places protected by barriers his magic could not penetrate, but he did not try to investigate them.

He needed to find something simple enough for him to interfere in, profitable enough to be worth the risk, and clean enough not to leave any loose ends behind.

In the urban jungle, far removed from the reach of law and regulation, Lenoch began fishing for capital.

Then his magic reached a damp alley where the street met the sewers.

[I told you to hurry up and bring the stolen money. Are you deaf?]

“…Found one.”

Lenoch’s eyes gleamed as he quickly set off.

It was a nameless back alley soaked with moisture.

Water trickled across the ground, while factory exhaust poured from vents hidden in the secluded gaps between buildings.

Two men were ruthlessly kicking someone lying on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

“…What did I tell you?”

The man doing most of the kicking lit a cigarette with trembling hands.

“I told you that if you pulled this job off properly, there wouldn’t be any problems. So why are you suddenly spouting nonsense about losing the money you stole, huh?”

“It’s not a lie… It really disappeared on the way…”

Whack!

The elderly man’s bloodied face snapped to the side as he tried to explain.

The other man, standing beside the one kicking in anger, shook his head.

“This is hopeless. We need the money this guy brought if we’re going to make this month’s payment…”

“Huff, huff… This is already the third time. That dwarf bastard won’t let it slide again.”

“Then let’s do this.”

The man’s eyes glinted dangerously.

“Let’s take one of them down and sell his organs.”

His companion smirked.

“Looks like we were thinking the same thing.”

Both men’s gazes turned at once toward the man lying on the ground.

The moment the elderly man realized what they intended, his face went pale.

“Urghhh!”

“Aaagh!”

Suddenly, the two men’s eyes rolled back, and their entire bodies began to tremble.

Foaming at the mouth, they convulsed violently before collapsing to the ground.

Lenoch stepped out from behind them.

A cigarette was already hanging from his lips.

“Hmm.”

Blue currents flickered across his hands.

“It’s rather effective.”

Even the most basic bolt magic was more than enough to knock two grown men unconscious.

Ignoring the dazed stare of the elderly man looking up at him, Lenoch began searching through the fallen men’s pockets.

For an ordinary person, the act might have been questionable. But since he was robbing men who had just tried to sell someone’s organs, Lenoch felt no guilt at all.

He took the cash from their wallets, stripped them of their watches and jewelry without hesitation, and searched for anything else that might prove useful.

When he reached into the pocket of the man who had been doing most of the kicking, his fingers touched something hard.

“What’s this?”

The moment Lenoch pulled it out, the elderly man gasped and collapsed back onto the ground.

“Please don’t point that at me!”

It was a metallic object that resembled a fountain pen. When Lenoch pressed the button at its center, it gave off a low whir, like an engine starting up.

Faint magical light seeped from the circuit-like patterns engraved across its surface, making it clear that this was no ordinary item.

“It’s an illegally modified laser cutter from Dyke Corp. A monstrous tool that can cut straight through steel plates. If it hits a person, they’ll be sliced clean through…”

“Hmm…”

Did thugs in this world really carry things like this around as weapons?

‘If cutting is the goal, magic would be much more convenient…’

Lenoch thought it over for a moment before slipping the pen-like cutter into his pocket.

He only had five bullets left in his pistol. The more means of self-defense he had, the better.

After gathering everything he needed, Lenoch rose to his feet and looked at the elderly man, who still had not run away.

He had chosen the simplest and least troublesome incident happening on this street, but perhaps it would be better to deal with the witness properly as well.

“Would knocking him out erase his memory?”

As Lenoch murmured to himself and conjured electricity in his hand, the elderly man began to tremble.

“I-I won’t tell anyone!”

“That’s easy to say.”

At Lenoch’s cold response, the man looked up at him with a terrified expression.

“If there’s anything you want…”

“I only just arrived in this city.”

Lenoch grinned.

“And I’m looking for work.”