“How do you think?”
After treating the Thunder Tribe’s injured, I consulted Hugo while reviewing the data from the blood tests of the Snowmen.
“I think it’s a virus causing nervous system infections. Not respiratory.”
“It’s a blood-transmitted type. It’s the Demon’s Blood. It can also be transmitted through insects. Fortunately, there are no bugs in this area.”
“That’s dangerous.”
“Looking at the Snowmen’s condition, the symptoms are cellular damage, confusion, and increased aggression. But the cells expand just before dying, strengthening the muscle fibers.”
In simple terms, it’s a rage-induced transformation. They gain power at the cost of their life force.
“It sounds like black magic.”
“Black magic is the magic of the Demon Race. Those developing black magic among the Demon Race are usually demons, so that’s not entirely wrong.”
“What is the countermeasure?”
“There was an infected person among the patients we first saw. However, the symptoms appeared before that.”
“Yes.”
“If the symptoms appear before infection, vaccination can treat it even in an infected state. Let’s prescribe a tetanus shot and antibiotics as well. If the outbreak happens before vaccine development, we’ll have no choice but to isolate them and hope for natural healing.”
“You’re talking about vaccines and prophylactics. We’ll need them quickly.”
“Yeah, I’ll start development right away.”
The environment is what it is, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
We have plenty of blood samples. I’ll collect the virus, weaken the pathogen with alchemy, and create the vaccine.
“Inform the Thunder Tribe not to eat any recently hunted meat for a while. Once the vaccine is made, I’ll inoculate the injured first. Also, prepare to move to the first village.”
“Understood.”
Hugo stepped out of the hut first. I rubbed my palms together and cast Extraction.
*
“Ha.”
When I finished the work, it was dark night. I leaned back in the creaky chair, completely exhausted.
“Great job. Should I call Hugo?”
“Uh, please do.”
I tasked Tanya with having Hugo take the vaccine to the first village.
Bruno and the squad leader are here, but since they don’t know how to administer shots, I’ll have to wait for Hugo.
It would have been faster if Chloe were here. But she must be busy taking care of Acella right now.
[No. 101: Magic Explosion 29%]
Seeing the figure is stable, she must be sleeping soundly.
Images of Acella float in my mind. It’s possible that she’s secretly enjoying some coffee since I’m not around.
Chloe wouldn’t have been able to stop Acella if she was being stubborn.
“How strange.”
I might not be homesick just because I’m away from home, but I realized I somewhat missed Acella’s nagging.
“Is the work done, Lars?”
“Mm? Ah, Gishta.”
Before I knew it, Gishta had entered the room.
“Want some fruit?”
She brought a handful of fruit and offered me one while shoving another into her mouth first.
It’s tasty. More like grapefruit, not too bitter and juicy.
After accepting a piece of fruit and munching on it, she asked me, “You look tired. Tanya told me you were working to heal the injured.”
“The initial response is over. I’m a little anxious since it hasn’t been clinically tested, but it should work.”
I verified it several times with alchemy, so it’s sure to be effective.
“Um, I don’t really understand the difficult stuff, but since you did it, it should definitely work!”
Gishta expressed her confidence without any doubt. Since she knows nothing about medicine or healing, she completely trusts me. She’s seen me heal the injured right before her eyes, after all.
I actually like that.
“What about the plan to see your mother? I’m fine, but if you’re tired, you can postpone it until tomorrow.”
“Let’s go now. It will be hard to heal her right away anyway; I just want to check her condition.”
“Alright. Let’s prepare a mount.”
With Gishta easily accepting it, we step out into the dark plains.
The moonlight reflected from all directions, so it wasn’t dark.
Once I sat in the back seat, Gishta pulled my arm towards her waist.
“Hold on tighter. If you fall, I’m not going to catch you!”
“Don’t tease me. I’m really scared.”
“Hahaha! Arah!”
We raced across the plains together.
Gishta’s body heat was transmitted to me as we bounced on the jarring saddle.
*
“Is this it?”
We arrived at the center of the Ice Plains.
Getting closer, I realized the stone tomb was bigger than I expected.
“The ice around here is melting.”
A gentle warmth spread, making the thick clothes feel stifling.
It seemed to be the effect of the Heavenly Dragon’s mana whirlpool.
“Be careful from here on, Lars. If you don’t follow me exactly, it’ll be like a beehive.”
“Are there traps set?”
“Countless.”
With that, Gishta pulled my wrist and cautiously stepped forward, one step at a time.
We spun around and reached the tomb. Instead of the grand entrance, we descended underground through a secret door in the corner.
Flare, Gishta lit a torch. The air was a bit stuffy, so I put on my mask.
“This place is also a maze. You’ll get lost if you come here for the first time.”
“Quite a strong security.”
“The more stupid they are, the more they are drawn to mana. Demons are the worst, and the Rocky and Glacier Tribes are no different. We’ve fought with those idiots for a long time.”
Finally, we reached the lowest level.
A gigantic door greeted us. Right now, it was tightly closed, showing no signs of budging.
It was clear that no one would be allowed inside. The door itself was like a legendary artifact.
The central groove carved into the door was very familiar.
“That’s where the Storm Stone goes.”
Gishta brushed away the dust from the groove and said, “The name of the stone that goes here is Lapugheta. It means ‘the stone that calls forth storms.’ Do you know why, Lars?”
“Because it causes storms?”
“No. That stone doesn’t have such great power. It’s simply the key that can open everything.”
“A key.”
“No matter how dangerous what’s inside, it opens everything and causes storms, which is why it has that name. When that stone was born, all locks in the world became jokes!”
So, according to Gishta, this door and the amulet weren’t created as a set with the Storm Stone.
The door and amulet existed in the world before. This door seals the contents, while the amulet hides a powerful ability.
When the Storm Stone appeared, both it and other legendary artifacts changed their locking mechanisms, I guess.
“I was wondering why such a mere stone is legendary.”
That important item must have been held by Gishta all along, I pondered.
— Kugugung!
Gishta moved a huge rock next to the staircase and pulled something out from the groove below.
It was the Storm Stone.
“You left that dangerous thing there?”
“If I carry it around, I’d lose it, wouldn’t I?”
Is it like leaving your house key under a flower pot at the front?
She could have just locked it up.
Without hesitation, Gishta inserted the Storm Stone into the groove.
With a click, light burst forth, and—Kugugung!—a massive stone door, five times the size of my key, opened on its own.
“Lars, this is my mother.”
“Oh.”
Inside was a structure resembling a circular Colosseum.
It felt like a shrine, and I could see the being curled up at the bottom of the staircase.
“This is a real dragon.”
The beings humanity had called dragons until now looked like dragons enough to distinguish them from wyverns, but this was on another level.
The pure white, enormous, beautiful body could only be described as majestic.
The mana whirlpool observed from the outside was merely her breath. A colorless mana, pure and clear, flowed out with her exhalation.
However, her skin could not be said to look good; it was charred and covered with inflammation.
“Were there wars once?”
“According to legend, she fought against the Storm Dragon and fell into a slumber.”
“I’m going to take a closer look.”
I slowly approached the Heavenly Dragon, carefully examining her body.
“Diagnosis.”
―――――――――――
Injury: Severe Chemical Burn
Injury: Contact Dermatitis
Injury: Laceration
―――――――――――
“Chemical burn. This black substance is continually irritating and causing injuries. Natural healing is impossible.”
To put it metaphorically, it’s like having a continuous damage of -1 and continuous healing of +1, so health never recovers.
They said there was a war with the Storm Dragon.
The Storm Dragon I encountered was from the second line. The Heavenly Dragon thought to seal herself until her injuries healed after defeating the first Storm Dragon, but she didn’t know she would never heal.
“This is a curse.”
First, I’ll need Haeju. I have to eliminate the continuously occurring burns before any treatment can begin.
Considering the area, it would require a large amount of ointment. Dragons have bodies like reptiles so perhaps corticosteroids would be effective as well.
Next, a healing spell.
To fill the giant blood pool of a dragon, I’ll have to pour an enormous amount.
“Lars, how does it look?”
Gishta asked with a worried expression.
I nodded my head.
“It seems treatable. However, because of her size, it’s impossible for me to do it alone.”
“What then?”
“I’ll need to mobilize the apothecaries from my pharmaceutical factory to make the medication, and there are about ten doctors available for use right now. Even if I mobilize them all, it will take quite some time.”
“You can’t let outsiders see my mother! That’s not okay!”
As expected, Gishta strongly resisted.
“I understand your position, Gishta. There’s no need to rush. I may take some time by myself, but I can eventually manage.”
“Is that so…?”
“However, this time I have one condition.”
I got to the point with Gishta.
“I want to borrow the Storm Stone for a while. It’s related to the amulet’s issue. About a week.”
“Um.”
Gishta crossed her arms and pulled her chin in thought.
“Lars, you know that stone is the only key to open my mother’s room. If it falls into the hands of a villain, my mother will be in danger.”
“I know well. I’ll manage it properly.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. However, it doesn’t make sense to leave this door open while you’re away.”
Gishta frowned in contemplation and fell into thought.
“It’s a tough choice.”
“Yeah, it really is. What exactly should I choose?”
“Well, think it over and let me know, and I’ll develop a better alternative.”
Gishta pouted and stomped her feet for a while.
“Even so, it’s an incredibly difficult choice. What the heck should I eat for late-night snacks, wild boar or salmon?!”
Her sudden comment made me frown.
“What?”
“I mean the late-night menu. Why is it always so hard to choose, Lars?!”
“No, we were talking about the Storm Stone.”
“Um? Ah, I already decided that earlier. As you said, I’ll bring in doctors into the quarters to heal my mother.”
The chieftain made important decisions quicker than thunder.
“You should have mentioned that earlier. Anyway, I said no meat for a while.”
“There’s nothing to eat here except meat! It’s been stored for a long time, so it’s fine. It’s properly dried.”
“Then share some with me.”
On the way back, I tore into jerky with Gishta.
With the direction set, I should have Tanya take a trip to the headquarters tomorrow.
*
After Lars and his party left, the waiting headquarters was anxious for days.
“Commander, are you sure we shouldn’t invade? What if something happened to Commander Teacher inside…?”
“If anything happens to the squad leader, the artifact will notify us. There hasn’t been any emergency contact.”
“They may just be alive but may also be in torment.”
“Umm…”
Just then, amidst the divided opinions, the awaited figure appeared with footsteps from inside.
“Commander, it’s Tanya.”
Tanya conveyed the waiting orders and made contact with the medical unit from the Moonlight Palace.
“It’s confidential.”
Tanya calmly began explaining.
“Is there a patient inside?”
The faces of the doctors turned pale upon hearing the news.
“What do you mean, we’re supposed to treat someone?”
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