Garrett decided to take a break from surgeries for a day and, along with Master Denfrees, visited the Mithril Valley. Climbing along the stream between Igor Peak and Clark Peak, they were t with a deafening noise halfway up the trail.
Hamrs striking anvils, mugs banging against tables. A large group of dwarves were slapping tables and benches, singing in unison:
“Endless ad, blessings to the people,
The prince, the brave warrior,
Swinging the iron axe, charging at the enemy,
Cutting down the false god’s ssenger to dust…”
“Oh…” Master Denfrees painfully covered his eyes.
“They’re at it again... The little beer stored in the Mithril area must be all gone by now…”
Garrett also felt the urge to cover his forehead. Judging by the noise, the dwarves must have gone on strike and gotten drunk. How many decibels was this noise? 80? 100? 120?
Help, he didn’t want to go among the dwarves! His ears! Which magic could create a soundproof barrier to reduce surrounding noise?
Appa, the Silver Moon Deer, pawed the ground unhappily and snorted. Clearly, the excessive human noise was unsettling for a magical beast used to roaming the wilderness.
If it weren’t for carrying Garrett and Bernard, the Silver Moon Deer would have bolted by now.
“Bernard…”
“Boss, don’t worry!” The barbarian responded loyally.
“I’ll handle all the drinking for you! Any drinking contests, pork hock eating, arm wrestling, bring it on!”
“…”
Garrett wanted to knock his head against the deer’s antlers.
The gigantic Silver Moon Deer soon caught the attention of the dwarves. Several dwarves rushed out of the tavern, climbed onto a high platform for a better view, and then hurried back inside, shouting sothing. Garrett couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the result was evident as the dwarves ca rushing out, bypassing Master Denfrees, and surrounded Appa: ꭆάΝÓ฿ЕȘ
“Master Nordmark!”
“Honorable Master Nordmark!”
“Friend of the Dwarves!”
“Hurry, clean up the tavern! Move it, you!—Clean up the VIP seats, wipe off the beer stains and at bones, Master Nordmark likes cleanliness!”
Master Denfrees, sitting less than two ters away on his Phantasmal Steed:
“……”
I’m still here! I’m still here! Don’t pretend you don’t see , just walking around like I’m a stone on the ground!
Good thing I’m riding a Phantasmal Steed, a magically summoned creature that doesn’t get startled. If I were on a regular horse, you’d have scared it away by now!
Garrett sat on the Silver Moon Deer, stunned. Thankfully, Appa’s shoulder height was two ters, far taller than the dwarves. The dwarves had to stretch their arms and jump to reach his dangling feet. Otherwise, he might have been pulled off the deer!
However, Garrett couldn’t stay perched on the deer, looking down on the dwarves. He held onto Bernard’s arm for stability, leaned out, and waved to the dwarves below:
“Step aside! Step aside! Let jump down!”
“Jump down!” The dwarves laughed. A dwarf with red-brown hair and a long braided beard opened his arms and then pounded his chest:
“Master Nordmark, just jump down! We’ll catch you!”
“……” This wasn’t about whether they could catch him or not! With their short arms and legs, he feared he might land awkwardly on their necks!
In the stalemate, Bernard ca to his boss’s rescue. The barbarian jumped lightly from the deer’s back, slipping into the gaps between the dwarves. Then, he patted Appa’s neck to calm it and extended his hand to Garrett:
“Boss, I’ll help you down!”
Garrett leaned to the side, and Bernard grabbed his armpits, easily lifting him down. The dwarves made space, letting him land on his feet before crowding around him again:
“Master Nordmark, you’ve arrived!”
“It’s been a long ti since you visited us!”
“Bring out the beer! Bring out the beer! We must drink to welco our esteed guest!—Hey, that mage over there, bring the beer!”
Master Denfrees despaired: Only at this mont do they see , but still can’t rember my na, just calling ‘that mage’?
The crowd, or rather, the human pancake with chopsticks sticking out, slowly moved forward. It took a while to reach the tavern, where Garrett was carried to the deepest part, the VIP seat for elders and high-ranking mbers:
With a thud, a massive mug of beer, foaming white, landed in front of him. Familiar, thick pork hocks followed suit…
Garrett could only be grateful that Bernard was also part of the election team and held the honorary titles from the dwarves. With Bernard there, at least soone could help him consu this food and drink.
Then, with a thud, an elderly dwarf with a graying beard sat beside him, raising a mug and loudly proclaiming to the tavern:
“To Master Nordmark! To our friend!”
“Cheers!!!”
The dwarves roared, deafening. Garrett could only be thankful for his quick reaction, casting a soundproof barrier—this magic was for dealing with sonic attacks!
Oh no, the dwarves started singing again…
“The mage from afar, crossing oceans, traveling far and wide;”
“Bringing the blessings of nature, entering the realm of the rock people;”
“With a casual point, the black machine spews white smoke, turning ore into refined iron;”
“He drives the vines, cleaning the warriors’ lungs, giving them new life…”
Left, right, front, the entire tavern, dwarves linked arms, singing in unison. On his left, Master Denfrees looked at Garrett with envy, his eyes almost sparkling:
Participating in the Dwarven King’s election!
Being immortalized in dwarven songs!
Given the average lifespan of dwarves, Garrett’s deeds would be sung for hundreds or even thousands of years!
Garrett painfully furrowed his brow. If not for being surrounded, he would have run away:
Being sung to your face like this was too embarrassing!
Last ti he visited, they weren’t like this. Last ti, after returning from the wilderness and coming to help clean their lungs, they were still fine! They invited him for drinks, but at least didn’t sing around him!
Help~~~ Soone get out of here!
Enduring the song, he forced down a sip of beer (thankfully, just a sip was enough; Bernard could handle the rest). Finally, he completed his task. His head buzzing, feeling like he had undergone a ntal attack, he was near collapse…
Finally, as the banquet ended, Master Denfrees watched in surprise as Garrett revived, becoming lively again. He dragged several dwarves into a room, Master Denfrees following closely, signaling frantically:
Tell them!
Tell them!
Tell them, stop drinking, a great famine is imminent!
Garrett, however, had other plans. He pulled out a square box, opening it to reveal two stacks of petri dishes. In the other half of the box, a large jar nestled in a sponge, wobbling like jelly.
“After this period of research, I’ve finally found a way to treat a certain type of dwarven lung disease.” Garrett smiled at the dwarves.
“Clinical trials on humans with similar diseases have shown good results. I ca over as soon as I had the ti to deliver the dicine.”
“So this is the new dicine?”
Several heads leaned in. Leading the group was Master Talbert’s disciple, Vigeland, who had dealt with Garrett for a long ti, escorting Master Talbert back ho and then returning to the Kent Kingdom to oversee the Mithril area.
Having witnessed Garrett’s efforts in developing thods to clear phlegm, create oxygen machines, and devise lung-cleaning spells for his teacher, Vigeland had no doubts. He reached for the dishes:
“How do we use this? Eat it directly?”
“Ah, this isn’t dicine…” Garrett quickly stopped him.
“This is for detecting whether you have the bacteria in your body, specifically in your lungs. If you do, I can use this dicine to treat you; if not, then it’s not necessary—who’s first?”
“!”
“!”
Several hands shot up. Vigeland turned around, scanning the room:
“Do we need to clean lungs? Should I find a place to lie down?”
“No need for that…”
Garrett swiftly prepared the petri dishes, summoning the mage hand to scoop the culture dium from the jar, spreading it onto each dish. Then, he summoned several mage hands, shaping them into small bowls:
“Everyone go outside to an open area, each take one, and spit into it! Preferably from deep in your throat, the deeper the better for accuracy—hey, don’t spit at others!”
Thankfully, he quickly cast a bubble spell on himself, Bernard, and Master Denfrees. These could at least block the droplets.
What?
The dwarves infecting each other?
Co on, with so many working together in the mines, eating and living together, drinking and singing loudly, if there were infections, it would have spread long ago!
He poured sterile saline into each mage hand, which turned into spheres, bouncing up and down, left and right, mixing thoroughly. Without a centrifuge, this had to do!
After mixing, he spread the samples on the culture dium, added a bit of streptomycin, covered, labeled, and gathered the dishes
. Taking a deep breath, he invoked divine power:
“[Bacterial Growth Accelerate]!”
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