Chapter 473: Medical Examination (3)
The excited faces of customers yelling wildly on the video screen.
It was clear that the situation had become too chaotic to continue the experiment.
Murphy’s expression, watching the entire process from the examination room, subtly creased.
“Oh dear…”
“It wasn’t strange.”
Lennok leaned against the glass, arms crossed, a nonchalant expression on his face.
“Even I don’t properly understand how my body has changed. Injecting that into another human’s body, there’s no way it would yield normal results.”
“…”
“It’s an unavoidable process, necessary for comparative analysis with Central City’s medical records, but it was obvious that variables would arise.”
“What on earth have you been doing to get results like this?”
Murphy said, turning his gaze to the opposite side of the isolation room.
“Even the two test subjects initially injected with the blood, they weren’t dead. Look at that. Does that look like the result of a normal reaction experiment now?”
[Kieeeek!!!]
The rabbit, which had seemed to stop breathing, suddenly sprang up and was howling. Its small, plump body was nowhere to be seen, replaced by muscles that seemed ready to burst, and glowing red eyes. It was running wildly around the isolation room, unable to control the immense energy overflowing within its body.
[…]
In the second isolation room, the slime, Krojannon, which had solidified and stopped, was already up. It stood on two feet, having formed limbs and a head like a human, pressing its hands and face against the glass window of the isolation room.
“I can’t watch this anymore. Let’s stop here.”
At the bizarre sight, as if it was observing them in return, Murphy sighed and snapped his fingers.
Whoosh!!!
At that moment, hot flames burst forth from inside the five isolation rooms, cleanly incinerating everything within.
Murphy, looking down at the utterly dreadful scene in the isolation rooms, clicked his tongue.
“This isn’t the first time for a high-level wizard’s blood reaction experiment, but never has the experiment itself gone this wrong. Bio-mutation, psychic awakening, Hierarchy ascension, and even a Commander Wizard exploding from being unable to withstand the power…”
“Well. I can think of a few general reasons, but…”
Although Lennok was somewhat surprised, he wasn’t completely clueless as to why this was happening.
All sorts of elixirs he’d purchased and consumed whenever he had the chance and money. And all the various drugs he had frequently injected and administered for combat and work. All those effects and side effects had deeply melded into Lennok’s bloodstream, exerting their full influence even after his blood was drawn.
In fact, it would be more accurate to interpret it as a liquid that had transformed into something closer to an elixir than human blood.
Even as he concluded that something akin to an elixir flowed through his body instead of blood, Lennok’s expression remained utterly unconcerned. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t predicted these results after consuming the Archangel’s Tear; in fact, if he hadn’t experienced this level of physical improvement, Lennok wouldn’t have been alive until now.
“…It probably won’t feel like it’s simply improving your health.”
“Whew… This is crazy.”
“Alright everyone, please listen to me for a moment.”
As Murphy, who had quietly sighed, gestured, his attendant quickly began to calm the customers.
“This demonstration was merely a performance, assuming the business had successfully launched. The blood you just saw is a precious substance that even I must process with great care.”
[…Are you saying you can supply such things if there’s enough investment?]
[You’ll have to take full responsibility for that statement.]
[Bring the contract immediately. I’ll pull all available investment limits to match the shares.]
[Hold on, mister. Who said you could talk about shares alone? Nobody knows until it’s about to be listed on the continental stock exchange!!]
The attendant’s speaking skills weren’t bad after all. It was only natural that such eloquence was needed to shift attention from the blood to business investment with just a few words.
The customers, who had been noisily chattering on the video screen, now began to argue over how to divide Murphy’s business investment shares. It was as if there was no longer any need to even discuss whether to invest or not.
Lennok shook his head at the noisy scene, even as the isolation rooms were still ablaze.
“It’s more than enough for business promotion. Is this sufficient now?”
“It’s enough.”
Murphy wiped the sweat from his brow, darkened the glass overlooking the isolation rooms, and turned his gaze.
“Not many people know I’m living in seclusion in a mega-city. Unless Madame speaks, it won’t be easy for anyone to know you and I made contact.”
“Is that all?”
“…What?”
“I was thinking of a more definitive method, you see.”
The moment Lennok said that and snapped his fingers, the floor of the examination room turned transparent, brightly revealing the scene below.
Beep-beep-beep…!!
A spherical object quietly illuminated the dark cavity below. With hundreds of small panels attached, radiating light, it looked like a mirror ball.
This was Central City’s medical records database, hidden by Murphy. Lennok had located its exact position and was downloading administrator privileges through Davi.
“Wait, what the…!!”
“I plan to rewrite the name of the blood data to be added to Central City’s medical records – the owner of the blood used here today.”
“You’re messing with the Ars Nova database!!”
“The owner of the blood you used for today’s reaction experiment is Madrich Onnion.”
At Lennok’s assertion, Murphy’s trembling movements suddenly ceased. It must have been because the name of the Commander Wizard, suddenly brought up, was so unexpected.
“With this name, even if circumstances reveal I made contact with you, the identity of the blood’s owner won’t be doubted.”
No one in this area was unaware of the circumstances that Adamant Thunder had fought and defeated Onnion. It wouldn’t be strange if people thought Lennok had come to meet a blood merchant to sell his spoils.
Of course, considering the rumors spreading everywhere that Adamant Thunder was ill, there was a chance this wouldn’t be enough. But wouldn’t it reduce suspicion much more than doing nothing at all?
“Thorough… To maintain secrecy, to this extent…”
“You’ve achieved your goal of attracting business investment, so it shouldn’t matter, right? Now, let’s get down to business.”
Lennok pulled a chair opposite Murphy, sat down, and asked.
“Don’t forget that all of this is for the comparative analysis of that database.”
“…”
“If you’re ready, let’s begin.”
Murphy gazed at Lennok for a moment, then quietly nodded and moved his wheelchair. He seemed as shocked by the fact that Lennok had tampered with Central City’s medical records database without even Murphy noticing, as he was by the recent reaction experiment.
The central floor of the examination room split apart, and the mirror-ball-like database rose up. After connecting dozens of nearby connectors and activating all the internal equipment of the examination room, countless scan files finally began to appear on a screen placed in one corner of the room.
“This is a method to assist the database output and reduce computational load. Without it, the facility’s equipment would completely break down and become unusable.”
Murphy put his hand on the keyboard in front of the screen and explained.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s unbelievable. Do you possess a small-scale supercomputer capable of handling Central City’s computational load…?”
[Ahem.]
Lennok stood behind Murphy, pretending not to notice Davi shrugging inside his coat.
“How long will it take to extract meaningful analysis by comparing it with Ars Nova’s medical records?”
“It won’t take long. This is the first time such an outlier has appeared in a reaction experiment, so it’s highly unlikely you’ll find many similar cases even by searching Central City’s medical records. Let’s start with the basic categories.”
Murphy said that, and instantly began to display countless graphs and charts on the screen. Every single one of them was a bizarre graph and statistical value, leaping beyond their designated spaces and bursting outwards.
Lennok chuckled.
“The graphs are completely messed up.”
“This is the data derived from the reaction experiment of your blood, visualized. It’s not something to laugh at.”
“…”
“It’s grotesque. Basic blood test items like red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit are low-grade, but mana-related items are practically unmeasurable.”
Murphy glanced at Lennok.
“Mana sensitivity, mana reaction and resonance, burden and resistance, rotational speed – all are beyond standard. You’re unparalleled among all the superhumans I’ve ever diagnosed.”
In fact, the more he looked at the graphs, the stronger Murphy’s own interest became, and he continued speaking on his own even though Lennok didn’t reply.
“Yet, metabolic rate, oxygen transport ability, immune response, and nutrition-related values are practically below average… The rumor that you sustained severe injuries from the battle with Madrich Onnion wasn’t a lie after all.”
Even Murphy, who had directly examined Lennok’s body, didn’t doubt the injuries sustained from the battle with Onnion. Lennok, knowing that this body was in a much improved condition after consuming the Archangel’s Tear, couldn’t suppress a bitter smile.
“Considering the reactions shown by the test subjects in the reaction experiment, it’s even more serious. Tremendous awakening effects, extreme euphoria, slight hallucinations, and powerful addictiveness… It’s like you’re circulating a mix of drugs and elixirs, half-and-half, through your veins instead of blood.”
“…”
He was slightly surprised.
Could he infer a shred of truth just by observing such bizarre, unintelligible graphs? It seemed Madame’s words about him being a renowned expert in medical examination even in Central City were not false.
“You’re a monster, nothing less. If a case like this were revealed in Ars Nova, you’d become the top research subject. Indeed, the continent is vast, and strange individuals are everywhere…”
Murphy tapped the keyboard a few times, brought up a complex data kit on the screen, and said.
“From now on, I’ll input your data into Central City’s medical records database and run a search. It will individually compare thousands of quantified items from your blood’s reaction experiment, then find and deduce the most suitable examination results for each item.”
“I see.”
“Since every item is searched differently, the possibility of no results is extremely low. From minor ailments to complex intertwining addictions or even curse dispelling, it’s all within the data.”
Whirrr…!!
At that moment, the enormous mirror ball behind them began to rotate and emit dazzling light.
“It’s begun.”
Murphy said, and naturally extended a hand towards Lennok.
“Give me that.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“The connector, I mean.”
“Connector…?”
Murphy subtly furrowed his brow.
“A superb supercomputer terminal connector capable of interfering with the database. The examination data being derived now, shouldn’t it be transferred to your computer?”
“…”
“The capacity is considerable, so it can’t be transmitted to just any terminal. I thought you’d brought a supercomputer terminal in preparation for this, was I wrong?”
“…No, you’re right. I’ll prepare it right away.”
Lennok said that, immediately bent his head into his coat, and met Davi’s gaze.
[…]
Davi, too, cocked its head with a slightly troubled expression, then suddenly flicked its tail up as if something had occurred to it. From inside Lennok’s coat, Davi rummaged around and pulled out a long USB cable, used for connecting phones and computers.
Chomp!
Davi bit onto one end of the cable, which had connectors on both sides, and gripped it firmly with its front paws.
“…?”
Davi’s ears twitched towards Murphy, as if urging him to hurry. Lennok, tilting his head, quietly handed the other end of the cable Davi was holding in its mouth to Murphy.
Without the slightest suspicion, Murphy plugged the connector into his computer and nodded.
“It’s working well. The transfer speed is incredibly fast.”
“…”
Sometimes, Lennok felt like Davi was becoming something other than a cyber spirit. Thinking that it was good whatever it was, Lennok waited for the examination records to finish transferring.
Beside Lennok, Murphy roughly read out the diagnostic data that was being transferred.
“There’s examination data related to ‘Curse of Frailty,’ ‘Severe Frost Poison,’ and ‘Spirit Paralysis’… And also records on improvement methods for mana addiction.”
“…Anything else?”
“The data volume for elixir categories that extend a superhuman’s lifespan is also considerable. And the examination records dealing with the side effects of Geas are quite large.”
“…”
“Madrich Onnion was said to be a master of curses, and it seems that was indeed true. If he cast a Geas on you during the battle and damaged your body, it wouldn’t be impossible for that monster…”
At those words, Lennok couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by the accuracy of the database’s comparative analysis. This was because Lennok had planned to formally begin research into addressing his penalties, based on a more accurate understanding of his body’s information gained from this examination.
In the process of directly disassembling and analyzing Kebaek’s Geas, Lennok had significantly increased his understanding of Geas, and he knew it was by no means useless knowledge. That’s why he had planned to experiment with the penalties on his body after a few trials.
Yet, Central City’s medical records had already reached that conclusion based on Lennok’s body information.
‘…Could I get help from Yakson?’
Yakson Janusika Greenway. She was a Saint-grade pharmacist who had reached 7th level, but she was bound by a fatal Geas that made her completely forget the memory of any patient she had diagnosed. If he could resolve the situation where she herself suffered from being bound by that Geas, he might be able to receive her help in the long term.
While Lennok was contemplating what else he could do with the newly acquired knowledge of Geas,
Murphy, who had been staring blankly at the screen, asked.
“This is the final data transfer, Adamant Thunder. However, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, Murphy slowly turned his head. On the screen behind him, something written in large green letters was displayed.
[Search Complete: Registered individual in the database.]
“This database only keeps symptoms and examination records, so it doesn’t reveal the identity of the person who underwent the examination in Central City.”
“…”
“However, through the spiritual power and existence projection rate calculated from the reaction experiment, it can be confirmed whether that person has been examined in Ars Nova before.”
Murphy’s eyes glinted sharply.
“Have you, by any chance, visited Ars Nova before?”