A Hospital in Another World? C.155

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Garrett Nordmark finally returned to the academy, clad in his bird-beaked coat.

Well, ancient wisdom had its merits. At least Garrett lacked the skill to craft medical-grade protective masks. It wasn’t something he could patch up with needle and thread. Just take a look at the melt-blown fabric; even China Petrochemical Corporation had to roll up its sleeves and urgently deploy production lines.

The sixteen-layer gauze mask, also known as the Wu Liande mask, wasn’t something Garrett dared to rely on. Sure, it worked against bacteria, like that time with Mr. Wu Liande. But against viruses? Well, everyone had seen the bloody lesson.

Later on? Later on was, "Back in the day, we were poor and had only gauze masks. Now that we’re rich, we’ve also gained more knowledge – enter the N95 mask!"

Garrett also considered magical means. He cast a Bubble Spell, encapsulating his forehead. Theoretically, this could isolate the exchange of air between inside and outside, allowing the recipient to breathe only the air inside the bubble. In other words, if lucky, it could be used to block droplets.

Then came the experimental phase. Bernard lifted a cup of water laced with ink and took a big sip. Then, he took a deep breath, unleashing his full lung capacity at Garrett.

"Pfft!"

Garrett Nordmark blinked his eyes, revealing two clear whites. His face, however, was now covered in ink spots, a complete mess.

Alright, he couldn’t withstand the water spray, and naturally, he couldn’t resist sneezing. The Bubble Spell was the most reliable defense magic Garrett had come up with.

So, the conclusion was that Garrett had to choose between the bird-beaked suit and the gas mask. However, after assessing his crafting abilities and consulting Bernard, he voluntarily gave up the latter.

The gas mask, also known as the pig’s nose, was a simple enough craft. It had a mask body, a filtering canister, and needed to fit the face tightly. Involving skills in leatherworking, blacksmithing, and various other miscellaneous crafts, Garrett couldn’t handle it.

So, in the end, Garrett mournfully brought back the ancestors of the complete set of medical protective equipment. Then, he changed his clothes, grabbed his wallet, and hit the streets to find a place for experiments, also a place for the barbarian to stay.

No choice there; the Magic Council provided accommodation for trainees, but followers didn’t get such treatment. In fact, even if someone dared to ask, the council could retort:

"Why should a Level 1 Mage take on a follower?"

"Oh, relying on family?"

"Then continue relying on your family, don’t expect the council to help!"

Garrett, the alternative, broke away, legs wide open, and hit the streets to find a house.

Standing at the academy gate, he looked up at the mountaintop and surveyed the surroundings. Looking southeast from the academy, snow-covered mountains meandered like a dragon, with storm clouds gathering on the highest peak. The grand Magic Tower complex of the Magic Council stood tall on the summit, piercing straight into the clouds.

Garrett stood at the foot of the mountain, able to see flashes of lightning and golden serpents dancing within the dark clouds. Occasionally, a thick lightning bolt would illuminate the tower.

"…Which daoist friend is transcending the tribulation here?"

Garrett mumbled softly, shifting his gaze downward. This constant thunderstorm environment obviously wasn’t suitable for anyone other than top-notch mages to live in. Therefore, most mages, followers, and ordinary people who served mages gathered in the city at the foot of the mountain.

It was called a city, but its shape wasn’t the typical square. The azure bay deeply penetrated the land from the southwest, curving until it reached the foot of the mountain and turned northwest. The headquarters of the Magic Council was against the mountain and facing the sea, forming a town complex shaped like an inverted "C."

With this kind of town, the standard of living was self-evident. Garrett walked along the streets for half an hour, passing through gardens, villas, restaurants adorned with granite pillars, three to four-story luxury hotels lined up one after another. He even saw a theater, where a mage was painting today’s play advertisement on the white marble wall at the entrance:

A handsome young man wearing a golden crown, embracing a common girl in a colorful vertical-striped dress, dancing elegantly. Pure white lambs nestled at their feet, and the young man and girl gazed into each other’s eyes, both wearing happy smiles.

The mage had his back to Garrett, waving his hands. The artwork was complete, and as his fingers touched down, the play’s introduction appeared in the blank space:

"The Prince and the Shepherdess," starring: Edinson Linden, Matilda Rees.

Uh… putting aside the mage’s painting skills, the magical coloring effect only lasted an hour. Disappearing every hour and having to be redrawn each time, this advertising method… was quite extravagant.

Garrett marveled. He walked from one end of the street to the other, casually skipping the villas since he surely couldn’t afford them. Continuing forward, as he reached the outskirts of the town by the lakeside, rows of small houses started appearing. Garrett went door to door, inquiring with seven or eight households until he finally secured an independent small courtyard.

The courtyard was situated behind a two-story wooden house, originally likely a warehouse that the landlord had renovated. The lighting wasn’t great, but the space was quite sizable, around forty to fifty square meters. A fence delineated a courtyard of over twenty square meters just outside the door.

Exiting the house led directly to a vast wilderness. Further out, there were shrubs and forests, gradually extending towards the foot of the mountain. If Bernard wanted to stretch his legs, there was plenty of room.

"...Little priest?" The landlady, with a vigilant gaze, sized up the barbarian, then turned to Garrett upon seeing the green leaves on his clothes and the oak staff in his hand. Her expression softened gradually.

"One gold coin per month, excluding meals. You can keep small animals in the house, but you must clean up properly. If I catch a whiff of any unpleasant odors, both you and the animals will be out immediately!"

Garrett nodded vigorously. The courtyard was sufficient for residents and small animals; large experimental animals could be accommodated elsewhere. He tentatively asked, "Can I build a few sheds outside the back door?"

"Whatever you want!"

"Deal!"

Three days later, Wood Elder’s disciple, Level Four priest Matthew, arrived at the small house with a group of pigs and sheep.

Garrett slowly opened his mouth.

"How much... do these cost?" he asked tremblingly. Matthew shrugged nonchalantly.

"What money? These are borrowed. Just return them when the time comes. We’re responsible for providing feed, feeding on behalf of the owner, and in case of death, we compensate— the church will handle it, they’re not afraid of not getting paid." 𝘧𝘳𝓮𝓮𝓌𝘦𝓫𝓷𝘰𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝓬ℴ𝘮

He muttered a few words while holding the oak staff, and a ring of shrubs sprouted up behind the house, enclosing all the pigs and sheep. Then, he began unloading things from the carriage: a cage of rabbits, another cage of rabbits, yet another cage of rabbits... a cage of bats, a second cage of bats...

"Are you going to tell me that these rabbits are borrowed too?"

"Of course not!" Matthew looked at him strangely. "Servants of the God of Nature, borrowing a few rabbits? Just catch them in the woods. Oh, there’s also a cage of white ferrets here; you mentioned last time that white ferrets are the best, so we brought a few. Couldn’t get any monkeys, sorry about that."

Garrett carefully observed; the cages for the animals were all made of vines, intricately woven, showing no signs of any chopping or tying. No need to ask, these were conjured by divine magic, and it probably didn’t cost a single penny.

"Then... the bats...?"

"The teacher personally caught them!"

Garrett: "..." I thought I was good at getting something for nothing, turns out there’s someone even more skilled than me. Brother Matthew, with so many experimental animals, you didn’t spend a penny, did you?

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