Chapter 1174: Awakening (5)
[Basic examination complete. Body metrics measured]
[Blood collection complete. Blood analysis initiated]
[Self-awareness and cognitive ability tests complete]
[Body composition, electrocardiogram, and bone density tests complete]
[Chest mana projection rate test complete]
Hiss—!!!!
The colossal capsule hissed open, spewing out thick plumes of steam.
The steam, carrying a faint chill, instantly filled the sickroom, spreading everywhere.
“This quarter’s comprehensive health check-up is complete. You’ve worked hard.”
Murphy, reviewing the rapidly updating examination data, spoke without turning around.
“We’ve been testing the new equipment imported at great cost from the medical city of Alphion. How did it feel?”
“…I nearly froze to death.”
Lennok, emerging in a pristine white patient gown, had a strangely pale complexion.
Pressing his purple-tinged lips, Lennok turned and exhaled a frigid breath.
“If it had taken much longer, I wouldn’t have hesitated to smash the temperature control system.”
“Lower body temperature helps when using the mana field imaging device, you see. It can’t be helped.”
At Lennok’s chilling remark, Murphy, still in his wheelchair, scratched his cheek.
“However, the temperature inside the scanner shouldn’t have been so low that a human couldn’t endure it. You’re the first among my patients to feel that cold.”
“……”
“Every time I examine you, I feel the same thing: your pain threshold is significantly damaged. You’re only managing to maintain a semblance of normal life by forcefully suppressing it with transcendent magical power.”
Murphy spun his wheelchair around to face Lennok, speaking with his head buried in the examination chart.
“Metabolic rate, cellular activity, blood composition, bone density, and nerve tissue damage… all have set new record lows. Congratulations. There was indeed a bottom beneath the bottom.”
“Is that so…”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
Murphy stared intently at Lennok through his glasses, as Lennok calmly assented.
“As expected, is it due to the situation in Kundara?”
“You knew?”
“Well, the vampire claiming to be your summon has been blabbing to everyone where she came from.”
“…It seems the Fearsome Blood King has already expanded her sphere of activity that far.”
Racy, the Fearsome Blood King, a True Blood vampire who formed a summoning contract with Lennok in Kundara.
She is a stakeholder in the Black Consumer Project, a powerful Blood Magic user herself, and a top-tier Long-lived Being.
Lennok had summoned her to borrow her abilities during his research, but had she already been wandering all over Vulcan by herself?
She seemed reluctant to return to Vulcan, yet despite that, it appeared she had already met several people.
“I understand you’re both of the same vampire species, but don’t you find it particularly burdensome?”
“While a True Blood vampire is an incredibly high-ranking species, she is not someone I, of a different origin, must serve.”
Murphy replied indifferently.
“For an ancient vampire, she wasn’t authoritarian. Ah, though she did needlessly ask about your body’s condition, which doubled my troubles.”
“……”
“I heard what happened in Kundara. I also heard you were deeply involved in the Outer Tribulation City’s collapse.”
Murphy glanced back at Lennok and said.
“No matter how out of touch I am with external news, I’m not so ignorant as to not know about the turmoil on the Western Front.”
“Many things happened. Conversely, I couldn’t focus on my condition as much.”
Lennok stared down at his hands.
“No… rather, I’ve grown accustomed to it now. I no longer feel any strangeness regarding the pain or the dulling of my senses.”
“……”
“I’ve endured for a long time by drawing on the future. I merely thought it might have turned out as you said.”
The recoil Lennok experienced after drinking the Elixir of Ascension in Kundara was, in essence, a lethal side effect.
A Branching Point of Corruption and Demise that utterly dismantled Lennok’s future and fate, leading to ruin.
With the help of the Life Vessel and the Fearsome Blood King, he had somehow survived once, but the injuries and after-effects from then had not completely vanished.
After that, he rested for a week, then left for Torquepaz and returned, so it wasn’t surprising that his various metrics had worsened in this check-up.
Nothing comes easily. As much as he gained, he was losing just as much.
Up until now, he had barely maintained that balance on a precarious line, but he had always thought it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment.
“Hoo…”
Murphy sighed deeply at Lennok’s words, put down the examination chart, and took off his glasses.
The vampire, rubbing his temples with a tired expression, looked at Lennok with a sharp gaze and spoke.
“To be frank, you have now become the most unusual case among all my patients. You continue to deteriorate to an incomprehensible degree, yet you maintain your sanity perfectly.”
“……”
“In a normal case, you would have gone mad from the pain or entered a brain-dead state long ago. At that stage, even drugs can’t suppress the pain, leading to death by shock, or the cessation of life support based on a doctor’s opinion. The fact that you haven’t reached that state is a manifestation of your transcendent talent.”
Murphy raised his gaze.
“I’ve had countless superhumans as patients, but I’ve hardly ever treated a Transcendent who has reached your level. I don’t even understand what it means to challenge Ascension… to strive for it.”
“……”
“Now, all I can do is diagnose your problems through blood analysis and comprehensive examinations like this, and perhaps prescribe extreme medications used for life-extending treatment of terminally ill patients. However, there’s one thing that is more important than all of that.”
Murphy, looking at Lennok with burning eyes, slowly said.
“That is, nothing can be achieved without the patient’s own will to live.”
“Do I look like I want to die?”
“No.”
Murphy replied.
“You’re simply accepting death. You think you want to live, yet at the same time, you’re acknowledging reality.”
“……”
“From my perspective, what you desire seems to have already detached from your life and death. Perhaps you’ve begun to think you can achieve something at the cost of your own demise.”
Murphy spun his wheelchair around and said in a sharp voice.
“But that’s the kind of thought a warrior going to battle would have, not some sickly wizard who came to my hospital.”
Creak—
Murphy boldly pushed open the door behind the sickroom, tilting his head crookedly.
“I’ll leave the examination chart here. I’ll input your examination data into Ars Nova’s diagnostic database and run it to find a good prescription.”
“……”
“In the meantime, go deal with the elders who have settled in my hospital. They’ve been here for a while, claiming they’re waiting for you.”
Slam!!
As the door slammed shut and Murphy disappeared, Lennok raised his gaze.
“…Elders?”
Murphy’s private hospital, hidden underground in Vulcan’s outer district. The meeting room located in the inner corridor.
On the wide whiteboard, complex, indecipherable numbers and figures were densely written.
A human body model diagram was displayed on the projector screen. Dozens of memos, filled with all sorts of explanations, were taped to the meeting room walls.
In the utterly cluttered meeting room, several people stood, exchanging opinions with serious expressions.
“Let’s summarize what we’ve discussed so far. We learned a few things while treating Adamant Thunder’s body in Kundara.”
The red-eyed girl, standing before the whiteboard, raised her hand above her head and spoke while writing something with a pen.
“The reason for Adamant Thunder’s poor health isn’t a symptom that can be explained by modern magic or medicine. To put it simply, it’s closer to suffering from multiple complications without a cause.”
“……”
“The only rejection symptom we can confirm is Mana Addiction. Of course, a wizard having an addiction is strange, but that’s the extent of what the examination can reveal.”
The vampire finally lowered her arm and turned her head.
“The other issues, including physical deterioration, decreased metabolic efficiency, reduced bone density and cell regeneration, and poor injury recovery, stem from Adamant Thunder himself. It’s closer to an innate problem.”
“Hmm.”
“Such cases are dangerous because they don’t just stop at physical limitations; they can also affect one’s mind and consciousness. Considering the fragile human body, in the worst-case scenario—”
“Vampire. Hasn’t Bonnoh told you countless times already?”
The Thorben Magic Tower Lord, a well-built young man seated at the table, stroked his chin and shook his head.
“Mind and body as one, Spirit and body intertwined. A spellcaster’s mind and body cannot be considered separately. This is especially true for chosen venerables like my Disciple and Bonnoh himself.”
“So what?”
“As you fear, there’s no way my Disciple’s mind or consciousness will be affected by physical problems.”
Thorben puffed out his chest with an air of pride.
“With the glorious karma of lightning held within this chest, how could there be room for other trivial thoughts? Truly a pointless worry!!”
“……”
“It would be better to find a way to improve my Disciple’s health somehow. And if there’s any good tonic, share some with Bonnoh too, while you’re at it.”
“Ah, right. It definitely looks like the one with mental issues isn’t Adamant Thunder, but you.”
The Fearsome Blood King glared at the pompous Thorben with an incredulous expression.
“I wasn’t saying Adamant Thunder’s mind is immediately problematic. What have you been listening to this whole time?”
“Akendrias looking senile isn’t a one or two-day affair, so put your worries aside.”
Jutiya, seated next to her, slowly pushed up her thick glasses and spoke calmly.
“However, I agree that we should limit the topic to Adamant Thunder’s physical body. Even when I worked as the Central Scribe for the Council of Fate, cases like this were rare. In fact, it’s practically the first time such a being has transcended ranks and become a Seeker.”
“……”
“Among all the Transcendent individuals who existed in this world, why is only Adamant Thunder entangled like this? No, who exactly is Van in the first place?”
Jutiya, sipping a fruit smoothie, turned her gaze, her eyes sparkling.
“What is Van’s problem? Who is Van? What is Van? Don’t you think a serious discussion on this topic is necessary?”
“Heiberk. Your habit of fixating on overly academic topics remains unchanged.”
Thorben clicked his tongue in disdain and shook his head.
“If you intend to satisfy a paltry curiosity before such a grave matter, why don’t you just get out?”
“…Paltry curiosity, you say. That’s rather infuriating, Akendrias.”
Jutiya’s eyes, as she pushed up her glasses, were hidden by the opaque lenses.
“At least on this matter, wouldn’t I be more helpful than you? Especially after you failed to transform Adamant Thunder’s body into an Immortal Lightning Body.”
“Hmph! That was merely a variable caused by my Disciple’s unique constitution, which even Bonnoh couldn’t have predicted—”
“Oh dear, you’re getting long-winded. Shouldn’t a great Grand Mage who embraces the karma of lightning always be concise and impactful?”
“Thorben Magic Tower Lord. Who gave you permission to kick out the Central Scribe of the Council of Fate? I’m the one who gathered these members.”
“Fools who mock those who act first dare…! This is why Bonnoh usually wouldn’t even associate with non-lightning wizards! Hmph!!”
The scene in the chaotic meeting room, filled with constant bickering.
“Everyone.”
Lennok, sitting at the end of the meeting room, watching the entire situation, asked with an incredulous expression.
“Are you messing with me right now?”
“……”
“Talking about this in front of the person concerned, for one. And I don’t know why people who have no reason to gather are all here.”
Lennok sent a chilly gaze to the side, looking at Jutiya shrugging.
“And there’s also someone here who doesn’t seem like they should be at such a gathering.”
“…Ah, hahahaha.”
Evelyn, sitting awkwardly next to Lennok, tried to act nonchalant, nibbling on a vegetable stick.
“No, I was just coming back from work with the Agents, got a call, and came out of curiosity for a bit… Can’t you let it slide?”
“After attempting to treat your body in Kundara, I just couldn’t sit by and watch.”
The vampire, arms crossed, spoke with a proud expression from in front of the whiteboard.
“We have a summoning contract, so the summoner shouldn’t die first, right? I went around your domain and sifted through the humans who knew about your problem.”
“……”
He wondered what she was doing; it seemed she intended to gather all the stakeholders who knew about Lennok’s condition for a discussion.
The fact that Lennok’s health was poor was rumored throughout Vulcan, so there was no need to hide it, but…
“Kaiser’s granddaughter and the Sinclair Magic Tower wizard also seem to know, but they refused today, saying their schedules didn’t align. They seemed to have their own thoughts on the matter.”
“I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t a problem you all can solve. It’s not something that can be resolved by gathering opinions through a discussion.”
Lennok, sweeping his cool gaze over the four Transcendent individuals, spoke.
“I am attempting everything that can be attempted regarding my health. It’s just that, as with the work I did with Thorben, immediate results aren’t appearing.”
“Hmm…”
“Vulcan will soon become quite tumultuous in many ways. At least for the time being, I have no intention of sparing time for this issue.”
“But isn’t it clear that your existence and health are equally grave concerns?”
Jutiya pushed up her glasses.
“Compared to your monstrous spellcraft and curse resistance, your physical strength is almost like paper. Even if you’re compensating with transcendent magic, that fact doesn’t disappear.”
“……”
“An abnormal disharmony between mind and body, you say. I don’t know how you could kill so many Transcendent beings with such a body. No, how did you even survive until now?”
“Well… there’s something I noticed while fighting alongside Van, or sparring against him.”
Evelyn, watching Lennok’s reaction, cautiously spoke.
“His innate physical senses and motor skills are significantly misaligned. He was consciously aware of this and corrected it, bringing them up to a level where he could perform combat.”
“Bonnoh also understands what you mean. He performs combat by manipulating his body as if it were an object, without relying on senses or motor skills.”
Thorben stroked his chin and chuckled heartily.
“When I first met him, he wielded his body like that, in conjunction with spellcasting. He may be my Disciple, but in the field of intuition, he’s truly an absurd genius.”
“Thorben Magic Tower Lord. I’ve been finding that ‘Disciple’ term annoying for a while now. Tone it down.”
The Fearsome Blood King’s eyebrow twitched.
“He’s not affiliated with Thorben Magic Tower, nor is he your taught disciple, so why are you subtly trying to take credit for Adamant Thunder’s talent?”
“Hah! This fresh young vampire. Don’t you know that by the hierarchy of entering my Disciple’s Tower, you are far behind Bonnoh?”
“Oh, are we going to compare ages now? I’ve lived longer than you, to begin with. How old are you?”
“…Bonnoh, as the Lord of Thorben, does not use honorifics for anyone other than comrades who embrace the light of thunder and lightning in their hearts.”
“Dodging the question? No honorifics?”
The red-eyed girl and the blue-haired young man glared at each other with sulky expressions.
Evelyn, sitting next to Lennok, awkwardly averted her gaze.
“Well, things like this sometimes happen among elders…”
[I still can’t understand the way these organic beings think.]
Davi, nestled in a speechless Lennok’s arms, mumbled with a bewildered air.
[Do they really need to argue about who’s older, even after hundreds of years, just to feel satisfied?]
“……”
Was it just his imagination, or the more he spent time with Davi, the more pathetic aspects of intelligent beings he encountered?
Lennok, deliberately ignoring Davi’s question, turned his gaze towards the Fearsome Blood King.
“So, what do you intend to do?”
“I’m going to create a small health management group for you right here.”
“A small group…?”
As Lennok silently blinked at the unfamiliar term, the Fearsome Blood King proudly declared.
“It’s a group established to devise means of improving your health, using the abilities and connections of everyone gathered here.”
“……”
“For now, there are only four of us, but we plan to recruit more experts who might be helpful. We need to keep it an elite, small group to maintain secrecy.”
“Disciple. Even after borrowing the essence of the Immortal Lightning Body, I failed to cure your body.”
The Thorben Magic Tower Lord, with a rare serious expression, looked at Lennok.
“While I don’t like playing along with the vampire’s intentions, Bonnoh also believes a method is necessary.”
“……”
“As much as you dream grand dreams, wouldn’t you need more time?”
“…You don’t cling to life and death yourself, yet you concern yourself more with my time.”
Lennok shook his head and turned to leave.
“Do as you please. I have no desire to interfere.”
Those gathered here were individuals whom Lennok had voluntarily informed about his condition and sought cooperation from.
Now, he had no desire to silence them or obstruct what they wished to do.
There was no reason to waste time trying to stop this.
“Wait, where are you going?”
At that moment, the Fearsome Blood King rushed over and grabbed Lennok’s sleeve.
The vampire, looking up at Lennok with flashing red eyes, said.
“We decided on a few methods during the meeting. We’ve prepared methods that won’t strain your body, so let’s start right away.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
Lennok shook his head, looking around the meeting room filled with the examination chart containing diagnoses, and papers covered in scribbles and memos.
“What are you planning to start here?”
“We were gathered here precisely to test things right after your check-up. Come here.”
“No, that’s pointless—”
Lennok, who had been speaking, fell silent upon seeing the scene revealed as the meeting room wall opened.
Top-grade medicinal herbs and drugs, managed with humidity and temperature control.
Rare and expensive Elixirs, crafted solely for recovery and invigoration.
Even dozens of blood vials containing blood, stored in transparent glass display cases.
“With Heiberk’s ability, I recovered medicines used for vitality recovery and life force enhancement from the tributes offered to the Central City.”
“……”
“These are Elixirs that Thorben Magic Tower acquired with their own money, traveling all over the continent, and sent to Vulcan. And those are the medicinal herbs Evelyn brought.”
Click.
The Fearsome Blood King picked up one of the blood vials from the display case and offered it to Lennok, saying.
“This is a tonic mixed with True Blood, processed with the consent of Kundara’s Elder Council. Let’s try this first.”
“No, the Elixir Bonnoh proudly acquired at great cost from his Magic Tower comes first. Observe the proper order!”
“Van, this is a rare medicinal herb I dug up near the Central Front; even the Watchers can’t get their hands on this…”
“Adamant Thunder. Open your mouth quickly. You need to try all of these and judge which one is right, okay? It’s an important matter.”
Lennok, surrounded by people, silently stared at the various tonics being thrust at him from all sides.
The Fearsome Blood King and Jutiya tugged at his sleeves and arms, while Thorben casually draped an arm around his shoulder.
Even Evelyn, who was enthusiastically advocating for the efficacy and rarity of the medicinal herbs she had brought, was there.
[Master.]
Davi, nestled in a speechless Lennok’s arms, asked.
[It looks fun, can I join this small group too?]
“……”