Chapter 153 – Life Mage
“You told me breaking through the walls isn’t something that can be taught. No matter how great your teachers were, it won’t be of any help, right?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t know how I’ll fare since I’m not there yet. We’ll see when the time comes. You should focus on reaching rank 1 first. It’s good to be curious but it shouldn’t distract you from your goal.”
“I know, you don’t need to tell me every time.”
Judging that the mood was a bit tense, I proposed a more relaxing activity.
“Anyway, sex?”
She smiled widely and nodded happily.
“Yes.”
She was definitely a bit addicted, and, coupled with a complete lack of hesitation in accepting the act so easily, she was perfect. For the next hour or so, we enjoyed ourselves, following which we started our magic training. I included some physical training in the mix too, so we could stay in shape.
The next morning, I made my way to Geola’s temporary headquarters and was surprised to find two new faces on top of the mother-and-daughter combo. Both were men. I even managed to recognize their species now that I was more familiar with the outside world. One was a raccoon, small in size with grey and white fur coupled with long and thin whiskers, a rank 7 life mage. The other one was a boar around my size, with brown fur and short tusks, a rank 6 water mage.
Crali pointed to the two of them, starting with the raccoon.
“This is Idun Anak. He’s the best life mage in Geola and has been a great help during this crisis. This person is Ocateir Brin, the most skilled herbalist in our territory. His help is also valuable to overcome the pandemic.”
The two men shook their heads.
“I wish that was the case but I can only relieve patients’ pain with my life spells.”
“And I have no idea how to cure the disease. Young man, I was told to come here because you found some sort of prevention method?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tila Urtek, a trader. Nothing’s certain yet but there’s a chance of it, yes.”
“Oh… A chance is still better than the current situation.”
“Anything that can help is welcome. I can’t bear being so powerless in front of dying people any longer.”
The two of them approached me with hope but Crali stopped them.
“Mr. Anak, Mr. Brin, I called you here to discuss this. Let’s sit down and talk.”
The two men calmed down and swiftly did so. I glanced toward the sofa, noticing Angin Vejas reading a book as if completely uninterested in what was happening. I knew she was listening carefully, though, and decided not to pay too much attention to her.
Once everyone was seated, Crali spoke again.
“What Tila got his hands on is called a vaccine. Apparently, it might be able to reduce the chances of getting infected by C1.”
The herbalist was immediately interested.
“A medicine that can prevent disease infection? How does that work? What’s the drug composition? How do you consume it? How long does it last?”
I wasn’t an expert on the topic but I would have to try my best.
“Not so many questions at the same time, please. Please keep in mind I don’t know everything either. Now, let’s start from the beginning. A vaccine is…”
For the next twenty minutes or so, I explained the concept to them and answered the questions they asked. I went into more detail than my initial report to the two city rulers and even spoke about ideas like viruses, immune system response, and so on. The two medics, while in different fields, were fascinated by the knowledge they heard about for the first time.
Eventually, the obvious question came my way.
“This is fascinating but how do you know about all of this, young man? And how did you get your hands on this “vaccine”?”
Crali intervened once more.
“Please remember what you promised. Nothing that we’re talking about during this meeting goes out of it. You’re not to talk to anyone about this, not even your family members.”
“Yes, I can see why now. If this is true, this knowledge is revolutionary. Still…”
The life mage eyed me with greed without finishing his sentence. This wasn’t too surprising since life mages were considered some sort of “nobles”, be it here or in my world, which made a lot of sense. Their existence was the difference between life and death for many people. Antagonizing a life mage was the same as shooting oneself in the foot, plus getting a cohort of folks indebted to them after you.
I also wanted to create a connection with him. Having a rank 7 life mage as an acquaintance was extremely valuable. And, of course, life mages knew well of their value and usually charged exorbitant amounts of money for their service. They often became greedy as a side effect, and this raccoon seemed to fit the stereotype perfectly.
“There’s no “still”. We’re here to fight against this outbreak, nothing more and nothing less. You’re free to imagine anything you want but my mother vowed to personally chase after you if there’s any information leak happening.”
“I-Is that true, my Lady?”
The life mage turned his head toward Angin but she ignored him, which only made him more fearful.
“It’s true, so you should behave. We didn’t welcome you from Taifau just to lose you for such a silly reason, right?”
“I-I understand. I’ll never reveal anything to anyone.”
“Yes, me too. Not that I had any intention of doing so anyway.”
The herbalist seemed to be a lot more compassionate, possessing more empathy compared to the raccoon. We continued to talk some more until we got to the point where they should test the vaccine and try to reproduce it. The life mage wasn’t so useful in the second aspect while the herbalist seemed to be far from confident about such a monumental task, which made sense. However, it was maybe the only solution to save the city, and he had no choice but to try it together with his colleagues.
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