Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: EP.43 Mad Alchemist of Madness - 1
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When the plague first spread through the Elf Forest, I had two main concerns.
The first was that they might reject my treatment outright.
But with the saintess infected, things had fallen into place easily, so I couldn't help but feel good about it.
"Hmm..."
As we arrived near the Healing Tree Village, I could see the aura of death spreading through the village.
I'd suspected as much after hearing Shuihui's story.
"This is strange... Why... Until now, those with holy power were immune to the plague..."
I smiled at Shuihui, who was mumbling in a dazed expression.
The answer was simple.
It had entered phase two, spawning variants.
"Hmm..."
"It'll... be okay, right?"
"Who knows."
I gazed at the village enveloped in the deathly aura. Some elves, panicking from the plague starting to spread in the village, tried to flee for safety but ran into Shuihui and cried out desperately.
"Chief! Chief!"
"My daughter! Our child!"
"Mother suddenly has a high fever and is coughing!"
"The priests too...! What are we going to do?!"
"Ah... Ahh..."
The Healing Tree Tribe had been so confident until now because of their holy power.
They were certain they could cure the plague with it and boasted about unleashing the Great Holy Spell to eradicate it.
But now that phase two had begun, their confidence was bound to crumble.
"The Great Holy Spell... Wh-when will it be ready?!"
"Ahh..."
Shuihui, pale as a ghost beside me, was panicking.
She couldn't bear the consequences of her own judgment and stubbornness.
"Please... Please save her... Please... Please save my daughter..."
An elf woman, nearly out of her mind, knelt before Shuihui while clutching her young daughter, who had lost consciousness from the high fever.
Her breathing was ragged, her coughs intense.
Her face was flushed red, her ears drooping limply.
I examined the girl, who was too young to have developed holy power yet, then looked at Shuihui.
"Shall we try treating her with holy power?"
"Urk... Ugh..."
Shuihui couldn't answer. Of course not. Even the priests' holy power had only alleviated symptoms so far, never cured them.
I shook a vial from my bag.
"Want to use it?"
"Ah... Uh... Yes."
This was essentially Shuihui's declaration of surrender. After she nodded, I took the girl's hand.
"Y-You're... the Sage...?"
"Yes."
It seemed my name was known even in the Healing Tree Tribe. I smiled at her recognition, checked the girl's condition, and injected the medicine into her vein.
"Haaah..."
Just that was enough to bring down the fever and stop the coughing. Soon, the girl regained consciousness and hugged her mother tightly.
"Mommy..."
"Aaahhh!! Rui! Rui!"
The surrounding Healing Tree Tribe elves looked on in shock.
Their prized priests couldn't cure the plague, but I had.
Of course, it wasn't a full cure—she'd need more doses.
But treating her from near death to this extent already proved my medicine was far superior to the priests'.
"M-Me too... *cough*! *cough*! Treat me too... the medicine..."
Then an elf in priestly robes approached, complaining of pain. I examined him and shook my head.
"...Huh...?"
This one's symptoms were different from before. A variant, meaning this medicine alone wouldn't cure him.
At best, it would ease the pain.
But was there any need to waste medicine on him? I was already busy treating elves without holy power.
"N-No way..."
"You're beyond what medicine can treat right now. Head back to the village for now."
"Wh-why?! Sage! Y-You said you knew everything! You've already made the cure! So you must have anticipated this and prepared for it...!"
"Oh please~ Even I can't make a cure without testing and research. And who was it that blocked me from doing that...?"
The priest's face drained of color as I glared. He knew exactly who had obstructed me.
He collapsed to the ground, legs giving out amid violent coughing.
He seemed lost in despair, but that wouldn't last long. Curing variants was part of plague treatment, after all.
"Alright then..."
Just then, a portal opened. Out came Claire, Veronica, and alchemists from the kingdom and elves.
They looked grave at the sight, but there was nothing to worry about.
"Variants have appeared in the Healing Tree Tribe. We need to quarantine this place too, so prepare accordingly."
That's why I spoke in a calm tone, enough to reassure everyone, without any excitement or concern.
A lab began to take shape even in the Healing Tree Tribe's village. Temporary, of course.
In that lab, I met a certain girl.
"You're the saintess? Nice to meet you. I'm the Sage."
I looked down at the girl lying on a bed after being carried in on a stretcher. Breathing heavily with difficulty, she barely nodded and extended a trembling hand.
"N-Nice... to meet you... And... I'm sorry... Thank you..."
I'm the one who's grateful. If you hadn't gotten infected, things would have been a hassle.
I clasped her hand and checked her condition.
The symptoms were basically the same as the plague, but with added whole-body weakness, and holy power leaking from various parts of her body.
It wasn't like the saintess's condition, but some priests were hallucinating or developing mental illnesses, and others were losing skill potency.
"This isn't natural leakage..."
"Seems like it. Probably a variant effect. For now, it's only spreading among elves, but if it strengthens, it might infect other races too."
Of course, I planned to end the plague event before then.
"Rotello! Come here a sec!"
He was preparing with the other alchemists and headed over, with a familiar-faced girl beside him.
"Huh?"
"...Hello."
"Not exactly a 'hello' situation. Rudhi. You okay? Shouldn't you rest more?"
Evangeline's sister and a skilled alchemist, Rudhi.
She'd been bedridden until recently but had apparently joined the cure research.
She looked sheepish and shook her head slightly.
"It's an honor to work under the Sage. Plus, I've developed antibodies."
True. Once you recover from the plague, you're immune. Of course, variants could reinfect, but the game's odds were low, so it should be fine.
"I'm a renowned alchemist in my own right. I'll definitely help. Even with the kingdom alchemists here."
Rudhi clenched her small fist, showing her resolve. Claire, watching from behind, gave a wry smile.
Was it because of Evangeline, or Rudhi's honest enthusiasm?
"Fine. We're short-handed even for a cat's paw right now, so you'll help."
"I'll do my best! I've already learned the basics of cure production."
"Good. Help Rotello for now, then follow my instructions... Alright. We're starting blood draws and tests now."
"Is there... anything I can do?"
Shuihui, waiting anxiously beside us, spoke in a trembling voice. Probably because it was for treating her daughter and tribesfolk, she seemed eager to cooperate fully.
I had a task for her anyway.
"We need elves for testing first."
"That is...?"
"Clinical trial subjects."
Of course, not just for the plague cure, but for medicines I only knew the recipes for and hadn't actually made yet.
This was a chance to rack up an achievement too.
Who'd complain about grabbing that reward after all this trouble?
Of course, if they did, I wouldn't forgive them.
"Understood. I'll volunteer first..."
"Nah, not you."
"Pardon?"
"I'll specify the subjects, so keep that in mind. For now, go outside and work with Lorellia to fully lock down the Elf Forest. Veronica. You go too."
"Me? Why?"
"Yeah. No one gets out of the Elf Forest, and no one gets in."
Before phase two, maybe, but now variants could keep spawning.
No point playing endless whack-a-mole.
At my order, Veronica looked a bit dissatisfied but left with Shuihui without complaint. I drew the saintess's blood and began tests.
"Same method as before. Start with reactivity tests."
"Got it."
"Yes!"
When the plague first spread through the Elf Forest, I had two main concerns.
The first was that they might reject my treatment outright.
The second was political maneuvering from those wary of me curing it too quickly.
A second penalty would hinder cure development, so I had to wrap it up before then.
Elves especially, with their arrogance and pride, were prime candidates for such schemes.
It happened in the game too. Of course, high affinity with the affected race prevented it, but mine with the elves wasn't that high.
Still, with the influential Light Wing Tribe and Healing Tree Tribe cooperating, I could relax for now.
Reassured, I focused on cure research in my private lab in a corner of the village when support from other races arrived.
"Isn't this dangerous?"
They'd checked the situation before meeting me, and their expressions were grim.
"Well, can't say it's not risky."
Marax, the dwarven representative who'd given me mithril, looked quite uneasy. He'd heard, but not expected this bad.
"Hmm... Locking down the Elf Forest was the right call. As expected of the Sage."
The beastkin king, white lion beastkin Leo, scratched his mane. Even this mighty warrior had no answer for the plague, his face full of unease.
"So? What support do you need from us?"
The lizardmen sent not their chief but a representative. Galash, the great warrior famous for wielding the first spear, flicked his long tongue as I injected medicine into the saintess's arm.
"Ugh... Ack... Haaak... Ugh..."
Shortly after administration, she broke into cold sweats and groaned in pain. Shuihui watched in agony, as if her world was collapsing, but this was unavoidable.
Tests were always like this.
That's why no one should block cure development.
"It was... me... I..."
As treatment continued, Shuihui's pain, exhaustion, and self-blame only grew. She seemed to think her precious daughter suffered because of her.
Which was true.
The visitors from other races clicked their tongues at her in disdain.
"That's why arrogant elves are hopeless."
"If they'd trusted the Sage from the start, how much better?"
"Exactly."
Shuihui endured their criticism and mockery silently. Anyway, not the time for that.
"I need some support. Running low on materials."
"What about alchemist or priest support?"
"That can come from humans."
"Alright? What materials then?"
"I'll list them—send them over. Oh, and help with the Elf Forest lockdown. Heard some are sneaking out."
Rangers had caught fleeing elves recently. As the plague spread, fear set in.
Tch. While others work hard on the cure, they run scared.
We'd caught them all anyway, but fleeing elves were often high-stat ones.
If their numbers grew, current controls might not suffice.
"Understood."
"We'll seal it tight."
Everyone knew letting infected elves out would spread it outside, a headache.
After they promised support and left, how much time passed?
The door opened, and Lorellia entered.
"They're ready. Um... But... is this okay?"
They.
In simple terms, those who'd 'volunteered' to cooperate with cure development.
Of course, they'd also serve as clinical trials for my achievements.
"Not okay? Then don't make the cure? Want to burn the whole Elf Forest?"
There were two ways to clear the plague event.
Make the cure.
Or kill all the infected and burn the area clean.
Lorellia, who didn't want the second option, shook her head at my words. I smiled at her and headed to the basement of my private lab.
The basement held many elves in haggard states.
Some were caught fleeing, others spread rumors of cure development as other-race attacks on elves, or claimed I'd spread the plague myself for political schemes.
"...You!! Human! How dare you! A mere human!!"
A male elf spat curses at me in rage.
I smiled at Rankin Freyed, the ranger elf who'd picked a fight when I first arrived in the Elf Forest.
"Your sacrifice will save the elves. Wow. Noble. I'll make sure to remember your name."
Of course, I had no intention of killing them all or driving them insane.
That would bring more harm than good. So, the premise was to use them well and return them intact later.
And that was no big issue for me. Preparations and plans were perfect.
Smiling, I pulled out a syringe, transferred ampule medicine into it, and approached him.
The first experiment...
Upper-grade hallucinogen.
I only had the recipe—never made or used it—so no data on stability or pain level, but so what.
I had plenty of 'voluntary volunteers.'
I fondly reviewed the elves listed in my logbook.
Truly, good deeds are rewarded.
Author's Note
Hello! It's Malmulmalmul!
Ugh... Tired... Mondays are tough. Everyone rest well and let's power through the week!