A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 144 Hospitalization

He dreamed of the three-colored starry sky again, but this time it was very hazy, and the boy's consciousness was just drifting aimlessly.

After his unconscious reverie ended, Luo Xia opened his eyes and unlocked a new ceiling. Sunlight streamed onto the pale yellow wallpaper, while the furnishings were painted a light blue. There were two beds in the room, and the white sheets and pillowcases made Luo Xia guess that he must be lying in a hospital.

On the other bed, Pascal was fast asleep. He probably hadn't intended to sleep at first, as evidenced by his mage robes, lack of a blanket, a spellbook in his hand, and his head tilted to one side—actually, he was slumped against the headboard in a sitting position. If he continued like that, he would likely wake up with a stiff neck, backache, and a cold.

Based on this assessment, Rorschach decided to wake him anyway: "Senior brother? Pascal? Thor?"

"You're awake?" Pascal wiped the drool from his mouth, then quickly noticed a mark on his neck. "The doctor said you were overworked and just need some rest."

He suddenly remembered something, jumped out of bed, grabbed a brown bottle and a glass from the bedside table, and poured out an amber liquid:

"Following the doctor's orders, you need a glass of aged brandy with sugar. Here's one of Chef Cano's secret stashes." After pouring a full glass, he added a yellow sugar cube and began to shake the glass using the same technique as shaking a beaker, the sugar cube making a sound as it hit the sides of the glass.

What kind of quack doctor is this, treating a minor with strong liquor? Luo Xia quickly reached out to check if there were any marks on his forearm from the quack doctor's bleeding. Fortunately, there were no cuts.

"You should feel lucky. Our magic guild has designated clinics. If you were sent to the Valuwana Grand Hospital, you might wake up to find a corpse in the bed next to yours." Pascal wasn't exaggerating. The city hospital, sponsored by the church, not only had all the inpatients lying together, exchanging infectious diseases, but it was also understaffed, and some patients had already died without the medical staff noticing in time.

Even so, the large hospital, which was also a "relief home," was still a place where the poor and patients could catch their breath when they had nowhere else to turn. Perhaps it was there that people from other provinces drank sugar water for the first and last time.

"I'll do it." Annoyed by the clanging of the sugar cubes, Rorschach took the glass, activated [Decomposition], and the sugar cubes in the glass were broken down into tiny particles, most of which quickly dissolved into the wine.

"How did you manage to decompose it through the glass?!" Pascal looked at his junior brother's spellcasting in surprise, then naturally took the glass that Rorschach handed him and took a sip. "Well, your spellcasting skills are indeed much better than mine. No wonder you were able to advance to intermediate mage so early."

Luo Xia stared at his senior's dark circles, then closed the ward door with [Spell Hand] before asking, "Have you joined the club again recently?"

"How...how did you know?"

"You weren't yawning for a while, but now you seem unwell again. I can't help but wonder if someone didn't get enough rest last night."

"It's not entirely because of that," Pascal took another sip of sweet wine to calm himself. "I'm planning to withdraw. Since you know I'm no longer participating, I'll be honest with you."

Originally, this "White Rose Club" (imitating the real "White Rose Club" of Istani) would discuss some things that Pascal agreed with and was interested in, but as the stock market became hot, the voices of speculators became more and more numerous and louder.

After a spring "winter wind" blew many small businesses out of business, the club members gradually returned to their previous topics.

"They're not doing this for ideals, they're just complaining in the club because they haven't made any money!" Pasque, having seen through their true colors, took a big gulp of alcohol, trying to quell his resentment.

"The real driving force, an upright lawyer, hasn't been to the meeting lately. He's supposedly very busy, taking on pro bono cases for those who have suffered injustice." Pascal spoke of the name with great admiration: "'Rock' Maxim! Only he can shut those idiots up in shame."

"Will Floran go again, Mr. Fisheries Manager?"

"You know him? Oh right, we met at the market." Pascal was unaware of the connection between Rorschach and the seafood manager, and thought his junior had a photographic memory: "He didn't participate either, maybe he also dislikes the current atmosphere of the club."

Then, to Rorschach's surprise, Pascal invited him to join the newly formed club, the "Friends of Fraternity and Equality" club, still spearheaded by Maxim: "This is a pure organization we're preparing to establish. Since you know Floran, and with my introduction, you'll definitely be able to join!"

In Pascal's eyes, his junior brother was both strong and had great potential on the path of magic, and also possessed certain qualities that surpassed those of other mages—as evidenced by his rescue of Valon and his dedication to teaching the students of the High Master who did not know magic.

"Why are you recruiting people like this? I'm an Imperial!" Rorschach was both amused and exasperated, shaking his head at Pascal's impromptu invitation: "Sorry, I still want to return to the Empire to develop my career in the future."

"That's a pity." Pascal decided to leave the ward, downing his entire drink in one gulp. Then he pulled out two items: "Professor Kano asked me to give you these documents, but he won't tell me what they are. See for yourself, Intermediate Mage. And..."

The senior colleague took out a file folder, then pulled out two tickets and waved them around: "Remember the opera librettist from last time? He gave me two more tickets to the premiere of his new opera at the club. Are you trying to change your mood while you're doing your research?"

"I've accepted the documents, but I'm not interested in the tickets. Shouldn't you be inviting someone else, senior?"

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving. If you feel better, just leave on your own. Master Cano has already prepaid the hospital fees."

Rorschach was still feeling touched when Pascal walked to the door, hiccuped, and said, "They said they'll deduct it from your monthly allowance, and if that's not enough, they'll deduct it from your budget, so don't lie around for too long and overspend!"

Give me back my gratitude!

After his senior left, Rorschach opened the file bag and found it contained the files of the Mother Earth Cult. "One hundred and thirty-two believers were captured, and six were killed on the spot." The file also contained evil inscriptions and ritual records of sacrifices. The group mainly spread among the lower classes through addictive drugs.

"The activity venues are concentrated in areas with high traffic." According to the report, due to the involvement of evil god worship, it has received high attention from the Church of Order, and they are now considering sending paladins stationed abroad to sweep the outskirts of Valuana.

"Hopefully, this can curb the infiltration of the Order." Rorschach was also unsure what kind of being the "Holy Mother" or "Mother Earth" was, since the "Primordial Layer" seemed empty and he had never felt her presence in the "High Heaven."

But He truly exists and is gradually becoming active.

At this point, Luo Xia opened the panel to check the results of the [Divine Exile] transformation array. "It would be terrible if, like with a computer, I didn't save the progress because I passed out."

Fortunately, the conversion was already complete. Rorschach opened his eyes wide—at the center of the magic circuit was a complex rune, and just by looking at it, he could sense that the rune should be pointing at him!

In the research building, Pascal, his face flushed, ran through the corridor waving his opera tickets.

"Bao? Paulina?" He pushed open the lab door and smiled at his bewildered junior brothers and sisters: "Can I borrow your senior sister for a while, just a little while?"

"What are you doing?" Paulina was dragged out by Pascal and her mouth was covered by this guy in the corridor. It took a long time for her to let go.

That damned newly minted novice mage, Pascal, announced smugly, "If we have time the day after tomorrow, how about we go see the premiere of the new play at the Grand Theatre?"

Paulina's face was now just as red as Pascal's. She wiped her mouth and gritted her teeth, "Pascal, what are you doing? Why are you drinking in broad daylight!"

(End of this chapter)