Chapter 92: Plague Magic
“Miss Rebecca!” A young Druid, sweating profusely, ran to Rebecca’s side and reported loudly, “The plague has mutated again! The villagers who just recovered are falling ill again!”
“Damn it!” Rebecca frowned tightly and slammed her fist on the table. The usually rational alchemist rarely showed such emotion.
“We just finished brewing a batch of our panacea. Take it with you first!” Maggie, standing nearby and stirring a bubbling potion in a large cauldron, instructed the young Druid.
Rebecca quickly composed herself and said, “Follow the previous procedure. Tell the villagers not to panic. How is Miss Flora doing?”
“Miss Flora is overwhelmed right now. The weak and critically ill villagers are receiving special treatment from her. Although it’s effective, each plague mutation causes them to relapse,” the young Druid, transformed into a large, strong bear, hoisted the potions brought over by the brewing Druids onto his back. “So, these villagers are basically lying near Miss Flora now. Master Belator said it’s alright.”
“Good, but remember, do not disturb Master Belator under any circumstances! No one except Flora should speak to him! What he’s doing is extremely important and cannot be interrupted,” Rebecca nodded quickly. “Follow the previous procedure, bring me a sample of the plague. I’ll start researching immediately!”
“Miss Rebecca… how long will these plague mutations continue?” The bear-Druid’s face showed utter exhaustion. “Everyone is dead tired. Even with the fatigue-relieving potion you prepared, many are still dazed.”
“We must hold on. This is definitely not a natural plague; someone is attacking us with magic! I will do everything in my power to find a way to turn the tide!” Rebecca said gravely.
“Okay, I’ll tell everyone!” The young Druid quickly left with the potions.
Rebecca let out a long sigh. She, too, felt utterly exhausted.
Since yesterday, the villagers of Keshel had been suffering from a strange illness: headaches, nausea, persistent high fever, and darkening skin. Initially thought to be a new plague treatable by the Druids, people soon realized it wasn’t that simple.
The Druids did have healing methods, using magic to boost resistance, but this time, their magic wasn’t effective. Patients showed slight improvement but none recovered fully. The disease spread rapidly throughout Keshel. Soon, except for the Druids who regularly used nature magic and remained mostly healthy, all villagers were infected. Keshel came to a complete standstill within an hour.
To prevent a large-scale outbreak, the Sages immediately decided to enforce a strict lockdown of Keshel, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. Rebecca, alerted and emerging from her alchemy lab, took on the heavy burden of treating the sick.
Using a patient’s blood sample, Rebecca worked tirelessly in her lab for an hour (external time) and finally developed a specific cure for the plague. After the Druids distributed it, the villagers finally improved, weak but out of danger.
Just as everyone thought the crisis was over, another mutation occurred.
A different plague suddenly infected the recovering villagers. Those who were just about to rest collapsed again.
Forced to act, Rebecca developed another new cure at top speed. With the Druids’ help, they produced and distributed the medicine, healing the villagers once more. But then, yet another new plague emerged, striking down all the villagers again.
Observation revealed a horrifying truth: the plague seemed unkillable. Every three hours, it mutated into a completely different strain. No matter how effective Rebecca’s medicine was, it only cured the current stage. Every three hours, the villagers would be reinfected. After three such cycles, some were showing signs of breaking down.
Rebecca quickly developed a life-sustaining panacea. This potion couldn’t cure the disease but could keep the villagers alive, helping them hold on until a new specific cure was ready. However, the panacea’s effect was temporary. The Druids, using the production line techniques they had learned, worked frantically but could barely keep up with demand. Some healthier young people had to give up their share for the elderly, weak, and sick.
Despite these efforts, some still succumbed. Flora, guarding Abyss, also began treating some near-death patients with Divine Arts, with Abyss’s permission, naturally telling everyone it was healing magic.
A day had passed. The plague continued to mutate, and the villagers developed resistance to the panacea, making the situation even more critical.
Rebecca suspected this was an enemy attack. Plague… the word always seemed connected to Necromancers.
But Rebecca had no time to worry. After giving instructions, she immediately returned to her lab. Now, she had to keep the villagers alive, find a way to eradicate the plague completely, and fulfill the task Abyss had given her. All three were urgent, leaving her no time for anything else.
Back in the lab, she began researching improvements to the panacea, needing a new formula to counteract the villagers’ drug resistance.
As she worked, something occurred to her.
Leona had been unusually quiet lately while out fighting. Did she know something?
“Leona, are you there? Since yesterday, a strange plague has been spreading in Keshel. Do you know anything about it?” she quickly asked through the mind link.
After a period of silence, Leona’s reply came: “Ah, it’s Rebecca. A plague in Keshel? I have no idea. Maybe it’s the Lord of Bullying’s scheme?”
“The Lord of Bullying? Do you have any leads?”
“Plagues eliminate the weak, right? Maybe the Lord of Bullying did it. I don’t really know.”
“This… have you noticed anything unusual about the animals while you’ve been hunting and eating these past few days?”
“Rebecca, you’re joking again. How would I know? We undead don’t need to eat, right?”
“I see… In that case, definitely don’t come back, and don’t let any Druids return to the gathering. Keshel is extremely dangerous right now, understand?”
“Got it, Rebecca. Don’t worry, Leona’s got this!”
Rebecca ended the conversation with Leona. She frowned, pondering for a moment, then immediately contacted Abyss.
“Abyss, can you sense Leona’s approximate location? She’s been abducted. This plague might be the work of your former schoolmates; it’s a type of magic!”
Leave a Reply