novelblue
Chapter 54: Black Death (1)
Chapter 54: Black Death (1)
Chapter 54: Black Death (1)
“Okay, everyone, I have some sad news. Miss Hasfeldt had to leave on a long-term business trip so she won’t be back for a while.”
Miss Heerlein stood at the lectern and delivered this news with a forlorn expression. I couldn’t believe what I heard.
“How long will she take?”
“She won’t be back before the semester ends, at least.”
Was I hearing things?
It must be a dream that Miss Heerlein was standing in for Professor Hasfeldt. As I jumped for joy inside that the Hasfeldt occupation period was temporarily over, the morning meeting began.
“There isn’t much to announce. Mm, originally I was going to take you to the back mountains after the exams to teach you how to catch beasts. But as you guys already know, they’ve currently prohibited entry.”
“Then what will we do?”
“For now, the school is planning a field trip to the research labs.”
A lab field trip, hm?
“Simply put, you’ll be watching what the other teachers are researching and learning from them. You could even further your studies after graduating from here. Is there anyone here who’d be interested in grad school?”
Most students, including myself, shook our heads. In this day and age, you were already considered highly educated with a bachelor’s degree, but pursuing masters or Ph.D?
That was why. I advised the friend next to me so she wouldn’t go down the wrong path.
“Lotte, put your hand down.”
“Why?”
“It’s for your own good....”
Lotte shook her head like she couldn’t understand. Her eyes were sincere, like they were saying ‘I feel bad that you don’t know the joys of academics!’
Please.
“You seem quite interested, Miss Saliere. Alright, I’ll get in touch with someone I know and get a lab for you. Do you want to contact them?”
“Really? Thank you very much!”
Ah.
Not my problem.
[Water Magic : 415/992]
[Earth Magic : 569/1005]
[Air Magic : 151/824]
[Unclassified : 16/149]
[TIP: You cannot return to your world before mastering all magic.]
[You’ve learned quite a bit at this point.]
Now that Flare was done and over with, it would be easy as pie to learn the remaining Fire Magic. In fact, I was ahead of schedule so there should be no problem if I took a little break.
Even for me, I didn’t want to proceed recklessly without pacing myself and stumble over a rock or something. Wouldn’t it be sad if I died of overwork before I even got back to my world? And I wasn’t expecting to learn a whole category of magic within a single semester, either.
The way things were currently going both within and outside of the country, there was a greater chance of the Empire coming to ruins before I could even graduate. For the sake of a secure school life, I also needed to be diligent with making a weapon to use against Cataclysms.
I especially needed to think about how to use the tokamak for testing the stability of nuclear fusion.......
? Zzzzz.
Smack!
But the damn mosquito was ruining my focus.
“Are there any pesticides?”
“Keke, you think pesticides will work on beasts?”
“If there isn’t, we can start making one.”
It was probably the same for everyone, but since before, my personality didn’t let me work until I was assured that I killed any summer mosquito I saw. It already sucked being bitten and having to deal with the itchiness, so when I saw those fuckers coming straight for the ears or nose because of CO2, the bubbling anger killed my concentration.
Unfortunately, the pesticides in this world were almost non-existent. A chemical pesticide wouldn’t work on a mechanical beast and with its tough shell, you had to break it when catching with your hands or else it didn’t die. In a way, it was even worse than Earth’s mosquitoes.
But it wasn’t that nothing could be done about it.
“Where are you going?”
“Clubroom.”
I opened the sliding door and headed towards the Transmutation Club’s supply room. After grabbing a few sheets of paper and some solenoids, I perched myself at the workshop table.
Lotte was dragged off by Miss Heerlein so it was just me and Freyr. There was another member but they were our senior so we each did our own thing.
“Do you know the makeup of the mosquito?”
“You’re asking the obvious question! It’s a machine!”
Right, a machine.
Entities made of metal and electronic circuits.
Come to think of it, I was the only person who could properly counter such beasts. The Innate Magic that I used enabled me to have complete control over the opponent’s mana circuit.
A circuit flowing with electrons and mana, waves of mana, an object made of mana.
The Ultimate Innate Magic I possessed, ‘Element Operation’, was effective on low-level beasts but also high-levels as well. So if I copied this and made it into a scroll, then it would become easy to catch a mosquito.
It wasn’t going to take long anyway. I satFreyr next to me as she watched with fascinated eyes and designed a simple product.
[? Item Fabrication : Electromagnetic Pulse Generator (Small)][Element Category : Unknown]“You were saying while drinking yesterday that we’re going to confine Flare in that tokamak thing. You’re not working on that?”
“This first. It won’t take long.”
This was a critical issue.
First I needed to get mosquito repellent incense into the dorm.
[View Details : The ‘Black Death’ of Ahrens continent is a plague that causes death by turning the body into black stone and pig iron.]
The Black Death in this world was different from the pest back on Earth. There was nothing in common between the two except that one’s body turned black and died. So he needed to make sure not to choose the wrong response just based on the name.
Of course, Vermel had lots of experience playing the game which was the setting of this world so it wasn’t hard for him to overcome this trial.
But the timing was the problem.
I knew Flare would be the issue.’
Aether had developed Flare too quickly. And she didn’t keep it for herself but released it for free.
Now many beams were going to streak across the northern front and the battlefield would become advantageous for the Empire. And it wouldn’t be long until mages advanced to the first line of defense where the ‘Iron Magic Tower’ was.
That was the trigger for <The Black Death> Trial. Sensing crisis, the beasts decided on a way to damage the overall power of the Empire through a meeting. They would use a biochemical weapon called Black Death.
The beast by the name of Black Death also struck the Academy. The game was set in the Academy in the first place so it wouldn’t really be a Trial if it didn’t happen.
But the game’s system wasn’t complete trash so there was a keyword within the Academy for inventing the cure for Black Death.
As soon as classes were over, Vermel ran towards the infirmary.
“Hhmm, how can I help you?”
Two-toned hair of yellow mixed with green. The sight was reminiscent of the leaves and grass growing in the Grand Forest, and as an elf Vermel felt a strange sense of belonging. The infirmary smelled refreshingly of citrus.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
Sephia Glyston.
It was a stroke of luck that the continent’s greatest healer was living here at Tilette.
But she was actually placed here by the developer so you could get through the Trial.
“Miss Glyston, I have something to ask of you.”
“Hmm, a request from another elf? How curious.”
Sephia’s eyes sparkled as she hummed through her nose. A pure kind of energy radiated from pupils that seemed like they contained chloroplasts.
Vermel held out a book towards Sephia.
“What’s this?”
“I’d like you to read this book.”
“... Mm, and then?”
“Please make the medicine that’s written in here.”
The book that he was holding out was something that he weaved himself using the game knowledge he had. In other words, it was a strategy guide for the First Trial.
Although Vermel didn’t have professional medical knowledge, he knew plenty about this game. So of course he knew how Sephia made the cure immediately after the incident.
More importantly, it was the setting of this world that when a disease spread, it was cured with magic so Vermel wouldn’t have been better than the healers here even if he had graduated from med school.
“How to treat a disease that turns skin black?”
“Yes.”
“Mm, blend a drug called Canirin with citronella bark extract.... Using a specific component of white mold and the Lugetti Mushroom has an anti-ironization effect.... Interesting.”
Sephia looked carefully at the book that Vermel gave her. After reading for a while and nodding, she closed the book and spoke.
“Is there a reason why you gave this to me?”
“I recently learned that this disease was spreading quickly.”
He made this up, of course. Even though the Black Death Trial had started, the beasts hadn’t moved yet. This was just information already gotten from the System Window.
“Something similar could happen to the state. You’re the only doctor I know so I wanted to at least pass it along this way.”
“Hmm. You could’ve asked someone who specializes in infectious diseases or clinical pathology as well.”
Because you’re the top expert in this field.
He swallowed those words. Vermel already knew since way back that Sephia was testing him.
“More importantly, there are many of our compatriots in the capital.”
Compatriot. If there wasn’t anything in particular, elves would refer to each other this way. They were a race with such strong kinship.
“Ah, of course! Can’t let our compatriots die of a disease like this. So that’s why you’ve come to me.”
That had Sephia putting away her suspicion as if she was convinced. Vermel said goodbye then left the infirmary.
? If the Black Death event occurs, you need to go find Sephia Glyston and consult her.
That was the only official route provided by the game producers. Only then could the First Trial come to an end and all the barricades surrounding the state lifted. If you didn’t and wasted too much time, it was game over.
However.
SYSTEM : To unlock the Happy Ending, do not let anyone in the Academy die.In the original story, it didn’t matter how fast you went to find Sephia; someone would always die in that time. That was the blind spot. Vermel needed another weapon.
‘Prevention’ meant finding a way to prevent the disease even before inventing the cure.
<The Black Death>
[View Details : Cause of disease ? The mosquito is the main vector transmitting Black Death. Besides mosquitoes, any low-level beast capable of bloodsucking can become the primary cause.]
This was the early stages of the Academy arc. Even if he told people that mosquitoes were the cause of Black Death, it’d warn them but wouldn’t stop every pathogen. In the end, someone at the Academy was bound to die.
Don’t let a single person die....
It was a tough criteria for the Happy Ending.
But it wasn’t impossible to achieve. Vermel decided to try out a new build that he just made.
Vermel opened the door to the club and stepped inside.