Witch Troupe and the Undead

It's the kind of problem that future generations, at least two or three hundred years from now, will only marvel at and regard as the most dazzling jewel in the crown, a problem that will require hundreds or thousands of years to solve.

Similarly, the Death Realm's technique of refining and creating soul essence and then crafting "Soul Jade Threads" to replace "Soul Silk" can essentially be considered the ultimate pursuit of death mages—how to prevent death at the moment it occurs.

In particular, preventing the uncontrollable transformation of the soul due to separation from the body: simply use Yuxu to connect the broken soul and body. As for how to preserve the vitality of the body, that is a basic technique for death mages.

However, in the remaining elemental domain, there is only one dynamic element and half of Roach's academic patents; in the spiritual domain, do you expect someone who has lived alone in a living forest for more than ten years and almost can't even speak to study group spirit and psychology?

As for the realm of life, there are only those activated candies, but those are essentially made using soul fragments from the Death Domain, rather than pure realm of life—and Livia is very skilled in spellcasting within the realm of life, but her academic level is very poor.

Rather, it's precisely because her spellcasting skills are so high, and she even possesses an instinctive, magical power to give life, that... she's unlikely to achieve anything academically.

“Yes, at least one legendary magical artifact.” The emperor looked at the little girl who had picked up the staff and then ran up to Roach’s back, and at the golden hair peeking out from under her hat, and smiled helplessly.

“Your Highness Livia…” The palace steward noticed the little witch’s embarrassment and gestured to the surrounding servants, and the orchestra’s performance immediately stopped. “Perhaps you don’t like such a noisy environment. We can move to a relatively quiet place for the audience.”

The nobles and knights left one after another, and the court steward summoned two maids and gave them a few instructions. A rather simple-looking venue was set up in the small garden near the fortress.

Livia curiously poked at the unfamiliar pastries on the table, seemingly trying to determine what they were made of. After a while, she picked one up and put it in her mouth. Immediately, her emerald eyes narrowed slightly. The court pastry chef's skills were indeed excellent.

“Alright, Princess Livia, about the curse…” Rhine asked impatiently. Unlike the others, he had some… friendship with Livia and the others, so he could ask more directly.

"Hmm..." The little girl raised her head, her emerald eyes carefully examining the old emperor's face, then lowered her head slightly and took out a bottle of magic potion from her apron pocket.

"A vitality potion?" The court apothecary beside him asked in confusion. This potion had no effect on lifting the curse or restoring life force; it was only for enhancing vitality. However, the emperor still trusted it and drank the potion.

For a genuine witch wielding a legendary magical artifact, killing him at this distance wouldn't require such a complicated method; a simple, hidden curse would suffice.

After drinking the Vitality Potion, the emperor's complexion did improve, but the weakness in his body was not substantially relieved.

"It seems the effect isn't as good as I expected?" The Emperor frowned slightly. Was the Vitality Potion effective, just not very potent, requiring long-term use? As a mid-to-low-grade potion, the royal family could easily afford the cost of long-term use, which was much better than the rare potions they had used before.

"Has the curse been lifted?"

"Hmm..." Livia looked at Rhine, her eyes filled with confusion, "There's no curse~"

"What do you mean? No curse!?" Rhine was shocked. What did he mean by no curse?

"There is no curse," the little witch repeated, then, seemingly annoyed that someone was questioning her, she emphasized her words and repeated again, "There is no curse!"

"Then... Your Majesty, what is this...?"

“He’s been poisoned.” Roach had been observing the emperor’s condition. He was pale, had dark circles under his eyes, obvious scratch marks on his skin, his fingers were twitching unconsciously, and the whites of his eyes were yellow and bloodshot. These characteristics could be explained by a curse, but Livia was certain that the emperor was not actually cursed.

"Hmm, do you often experience nausea, occasional vomiting, and general weakness? Do you also frequently experience tinnitus, sudden sluggishness, physical weakness coupled with mental agitation, occasional muscle pain and spasms, and sometimes shortness of breath and palpitations?"

"How did you..." Rhine looked at Roach in surprise. He seemed to be just an alchemist and not skilled in potions and curses. How could he so accurately diagnose the emperor's symptoms?

"What medicine do you usually take?" Luo Qi sighed. The symptoms were too obvious. One of the common causes of death for ancient emperors and generals was taking elixirs.

"Bring Master Roach the list of potions." The emperor's eyelids twitched slightly. Poisoned? However, his symptoms appeared before he took the potion, not after. So, the poison was more likely in his food? No, his family ate the same food as him and didn't have any reaction.

He mentally scanned every possible source of poison—food, water, utensils—that could have been laced with poison. Moreover, the fact that this toxin was ineffective against magic potions and antidotes indicated its exceptionally potent nature. Without imperial-level medical support, symptoms would likely have appeared much faster, but no one else in the palace had encountered such a situation.

"Bring Master Roach my usual menu and incense as well," the Emperor added.

"Well, it would be best to bring over the tableware you usually use as well." Luo Qi felt that the probability of the emperor taking medicine voluntarily was not high. This world really had extraordinary powers, so it was unlikely that he would take medicine for the purpose of cultivating immortality. Therefore, the tableware was more likely to be the problem.

"I think that's... unlikely."

"It would be best to even check the walls and pillars of the palace later and bring me a sample of the scraped-off powder," Roach sighed.

"Master Roach, what kind of poison is it...?"

“Heavy metal poisoning~” Luo Qi said expressionlessly. He wasn’t a doctor, but he could tell the specifics of what kind of heavy metal poisoning it was. He was able to make the diagnosis because too many ancient emperors had been found to have died from heavy metal poisoning, so he wanted to know a little about it.

Conversely, Roach might be more effective than doctors in figuring out what caused the poisoning because he genuinely knew that many medieval building materials, paints, and utensils could contain heavy metals. Therefore, he could identify the source of the problem simply by bringing in these samples.

“Metallic toxins? I seem to have heard of such toxins, but they should only exist in steel products and require creating wounds on the body…” the court apothecary said, as metallic toxins do indeed have applications in this world.

“No, perhaps His Majesty didn’t even notice the wound, for example, a very small needle…” Rhine, being from the Military Intelligence Bureau, immediately thought of how to use metal poison.

"Even so, that shouldn't be the case. Many of the potions His Majesty takes daily can counteract metallic toxins..."

"Ahem~" Luo Qi coughed twice. "Is the metal toxin you mentioned most often found in rusted metal objects?"

The existence of magic and gods certainly made this world exceptionally slow to develop in the microscopic world. Perhaps they discovered the existence of bacteria, but antibiotics and similar related medicines did not develop—because they could actually pour flames into the lungs to burn the fungi in the lungs one by one without killing the lung cells.

“That’s tetanus…” Roach muttered. However, being able to recognize this thing shows that there is still some progress in medicine. Nothing is a curse.

"No, no, no, even those toxic metals can be neutralized."

“The premise isn’t repeated poisoning,” Roach interrupted the apothecary. “Does he feel better for a while after each potion, then the symptoms recur, and over time the potion’s effectiveness decreases while the symptoms become more severe?”

"Uh, that's true."

"That's right. Because this poison isn't a one-time application; it's a continuous process. Before the potion can repair the damage, the toxins continue to accumulate, increasing over time. Each time the potion needs to repair the body, the severity of the damage increases. Besides, the potion isn't omnipotent; it won't instantly eliminate the toxins. The body needs to excrete them slowly, and if the excretion rate is slower than the rate of poisoning..."

"So, where exactly was I poisoned?"

“Anywhere,” Roach shrugged. “Actually, the pigments, paints, and so on used in the palace may contain this heavy metal, but generally, as long as you don’t lick it with your tongue, it’s not a big problem. Of course, it will also have an impact on your offspring and yourself.”

For example, the imperial palace of the Northern Song Dynasty is a case in point. It used a lot of these toxic materials, which resulted in difficulty in having offspring and the emperors dying young one after another. The guy who should have died early lived a very long life because he moved out after building the Genyue Garden. To be honest, it would have been better if he had died early.

"You mean, this entire Giant Rock Palace is filled with poison, and without my knowledge... and it even affects future generations?" The emperor's expression turned extremely astonished. What on earth was going on...?

"To be precise, your father and ancestors probably didn't know. They would have thought it was some kind of curse or family heredity, which would cause a few crazy people to appear from time to time, or people with short lifespans and weak constitutions, or children and mothers to die young, etc."

"How……"

"And it's possible that it wasn't someone who deliberately poisoned you, but rather that you used poisonous materials from the very beginning when you were building this palace, you just didn't know it."

"Hiss~" The emperor began to recall his father, brothers, and children. Among his three children, Freya was the most mentally sound.

The phrase "normal brain" means that apart from being a little bloodthirsty, she's neither crazy nor stupid; she's just simple-minded, the kind of simple-minded village girl that's common in ordinary families. It's just that this characteristic is more prominent in her as an imperial princess and heir.

Moreover, judging from what she's done recently, this girl may indeed have some cleverness, though not much. She's a complete mediocre person, but not stupid or crazy; she simply lacks the relevant education and motivation to learn.

But that's because Freya, as a princess, didn't live in the Giant Rock Palace. She lived in her own residence some distance away from the palace. On the contrary, her two sons... The emperor's heart began to clench. If that's the case, his father, grandfather, and brother were all the victims of poisoning, and he himself lived outside because he wasn't favored. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the "filial piety" to ascend to the throne.

Thinking of his grandfather, that mad king, and his father's unusually paranoid mental state in his later years, and then thinking of himself, the emperor felt a surge of heartfelt relief—he was actually the one who was relatively strong and resilient! The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off, and the more it made sense, which made the emperor gasp.

Soon the servants brought over a large pile of utensils, medicines, and small bottles of wall plaster and other such items.

“This isn’t it, and this isn’t it either…” As a sorcerer, Roach was very familiar with materials, and as an archaeologist, he was also familiar with the paints and manufacturing materials commonly used in times of underdeveloped technology. Therefore, Roach could quickly eliminate various options.

"First of all, it's not the tableware. The tableware is all normal, um, provided that you didn't change the tableware in the middle of the meal."

"No, not at all." The emperor thought for a moment. He hadn't changed these royal utensils much. The tableware was all made of silver and gold, which meant it was unlikely to be mercury or arsenic poisoning, because it was impossible for these two ingredients to be smelted in this world without leaving sulfides, which would cause the silver to oxidize and turn black.

Furthermore, since the tableware was made of silver, it couldn't be lead poisoning. Roach also checked the palace's water sources and pipes, and they weren't made of lead.

Then it wasn't the paint or wall materials either. Although the paint was indeed toxic, Roach thought the emperor probably didn't have a habit of licking walls, and the paint wasn't very volatile. It hadn't been repainted in the last twenty years, and if it were respiratory poisoning, there should be more than one person in the palace showing symptoms by now.

The wall material might have some radioactivity, but it wasn't a major problem; the radiation level was practically safe for someone from another world with such a physique. Next, the palace servants practically scraped the floor clean, thoroughly cleaning the area where the emperor usually stayed, even the bed. Just as the emperor was wondering if this guy was exaggerating, Roach found his target.

"This is..." An incredibly intricate metal pendant, like a wind chime, with a blood-red gem set in the center. Simply shaking the cord below produces a rhythmic, soft sound, which is then transmitted through other identical pendants.

If the emperor needed anything, he only needed to shake it to send a message to the chief steward and the servants on duty outside. It was a common butler's bell used in large noble families.

“The Philosopher’s Stone…a failed experiment~” Livia recognized the red gem as well, and she also confirmed the source of the poison.

"So, you're saying you're putting a..." Roach's posture looked as if he were holding a shield in front of him, "a highly radioactive heavy metal crystal block by your bedside!? Or hanging it above your bed?"

He was as if afraid that the powder on top wouldn't fall into his mouth and nose when he shook it. He was amazed by the advanced magical medical methods in this other world. On Earth, this guy's age would probably be cremated in a couple of years. Cremation would require specialized equipment, and ordinary equipment would even be used in case he contaminated the crematorium.

Roach didn't know if anyone on Earth had ever licked enriched uranium, but this guy could probably give it a try—no wonder he was a supernatural being with a superhuman physique of at least level II when he was young!

"This thing..." The emperor frowned. When did it come in? To be honest, he really couldn't remember when this kind of daily necessities appeared, or rather, similar things had been there since he could remember, and he couldn't remember if they had been replaced in between.

"I'm afraid only Chief Steward Babalov knows this, but you..." This person was purged last year, and now even if you bring in a necromancer, you can't get any information out of him.

"Then how should we treat it?" Now that the continuous poisoning has been identified and stopped, how should we treat the existing damage? "Hmm~" Livia fell into deep thought, then took out a new bottle of vitality potion.

"Drink more vitality potions, and eat more organ meats and milk regularly."

"that's it?"

"Yes, it's that simple." Roach shrugged. "At least it can speed up the elimination of the remaining toxins. As for the damage that has already been caused, we'll have to see if Miss Livia has any solutions."

“Uh…” Livia glanced at Roach, her emerald eyes showing surprise and reproach. This guy is really bad! “Well… there’s no way.” Actually, there is a way, but it can’t be used, so there’s no way. Livia shook her head.

"Phew~" The emperor let out a breath. Anyway, he was already mentally prepared for this kind of thing. At least now he understood where the problem lay, and the rest was just a matter of investigating slowly.

Although the informant has died at his hands, everything he did leaves a trace, and now he has at least gained some extra knowledge: he knows that some toxins can be administered in this way, in addition to wounds, contact, and inhalation through the mouth and nose—it's truly impossible to guard against!

Chopping wood, feeding horses, no world travel: No updates.

My grandmother suddenly fainted and was hospitalized. The cause is unknown. Hypoxia and high blood pressure have been ruled out. The CT scan did not show any bleeding points. We are waiting for an MRI for further examination.

Chapter 229 Cramming: Rigid but Effective

A month after the Midwinter Festival, it's time for the start of the school year. The Imperial Royal Academy has three semesters a year: spring (March to June), summer (July to October), and around December to February. There are three long holidays throughout the year, each lasting one month.

The reason is that June and July are the summer harvest season, and those from farming and noble families need to return to their family territories. The professors of the general education college also need to help the noble lords they serve with various matters during the harvest season.

Similarly, as October approaches and winter is just around the corner, many students from noble families return to their castles to reunite with their families and prepare for the upcoming Midwinter Festival in order to avoid the roads being blocked by heavy snow.

As for the February holiday, it was for a host of social activities such as spring hunting. For students from noble and respectable classes, it was essential to allocate sufficient time for these activities. In addition, the professors of the academy also had such needs. Thus, the entire academy semester was divided into these three phases.

When Roach and his friends arrived, it was right around the time the first semester started in December. That's right, the first semester started in December of the previous year, the second semester was from March to June, and the third semester was from July to October.

In addition to the reasons mentioned above, another reason is that the Midwinter Festival banquet after October and the Imperial Founding Day after the Midwinter Festival are key moments for these graduates to enter the upper echelons of Imperial society. At the same time, it is also about the time when the Imperial Central Committee reviews the previous year's political affairs and begins to formulate a talent recruitment plan for the new year.

In this way, graduates can enter the recruitment season right after graduation, without having to wait for half a year. Of course, the level of education in this world also determines that they don't really have to worry about not finding a job. More importantly, the Midwinter Festival banquet is very important for students who are preparing to take the path to the upper echelons, because it may be the only opportunity in their lives to get to know the important officials of the empire.

The Imperial Academy's full curriculum is six years, with a minimum enrollment age of 14 and a maximum enrollment age of 16. However, the actual curriculum of each branch school ranges from 3 to 6 years. The longest curriculum is in the Alchemy School, followed by the Arcane School, while the Stargazing and General Education schools have three and four years of curriculum, respectively.

Because the curriculum at the Stargazing Academy is designed for most people, it covers the material in the first three years. Only those with exceptional talent can complete the remaining three years and become true astrologers and diviners. Most people, whether they are there for academic advancement or come from wealthy families, only need to complete the three-year program.

The same applies to the General Education College, except that in its final year, students will intern in various institutions or territories of the Empire. After all, these graduates are meant to fill positions in the Empire's bureaucratic and aristocratic systems, and a year is enough for them to become familiar with their future work.

As for the Arcane Academy and the Alchemy Academy, both are six years long, and the Alchemy Academy may even require repeating a year, which means you may actually have to study for seven or eight years to graduate. Both of these require you to pass both the knowledge and practical skills test. Moreover... if the time is too short, let alone whether you have the ability to pass the test, it will be a problem just to see if you can avoid blowing yourself up.

After all, people in this world don't have the same treatment as Roach, who has the Little Witch to piece him back together. They can't possibly survive being blown up. Therefore, the quick method of immortality that Roach used is not suitable for anyone in this world.

As the start of the school year drew closer, the number of carriages at the gate increased, and the large number of students and carriages transporting luggage almost completely blocked the road. Senior students arrived earlier, because if they arrived late, they would miss the freshman banquet and the opportunity to choose their future companions, subordinates, or even partners. For many young masters and ladies from noble families who came to gain prestige, this was indeed regarded as a rehearsal for some kind of marriage or the last free time before being married off.

"Hey!" Natalia dragged her suitcase off the carriage. After Rhine and the others returned to the capital, they got her and the Black Ravens out through the Imperial Military. The commander at the front had some complaints, but he had no choice but to comply with the direct orders from the military.

“Miss, I’ve inquired. The academy’s accommodation costs are covered by the royal family, but servants are not allowed to come in.”

Kanger chatted for a while with the arrogant mage at the registration desk. The time for new students to register was the only time the Imperial Academy allowed outsiders to enter on a large scale, since a lot of luggage needed to be moved in, and parents needed to come and pay tuition.

Imperial College charges tuition for three years upfront, and you can pay the remaining three years' tuition when you finish the second half of your studies. This is a rather daunting burden for wealthy families.

Food and other miscellaneous expenses are paid annually, and may fluctuate depending on the price of grain and other factors that year. However, this is irrelevant to someone like Natalia who is practically a "hostage." The royal family can afford the expense, just to keep her under their watchful eye.

As mentioned earlier, the structure of the Royal Academy is second only to that of a prison in terms of management and defense. Therefore, if you were to find a more suitable and heavily guarded place for these "hostages" than the Royal Academy, the only option would probably be to put them in a prison.

This year, the number of new students in the Alchemy Academy is relatively large, while the number of students in the Arcane Academy is relatively small. This is mainly because the battle between the Empire and the Grand Duke has made many people fear that their children may need to go to war and have retreated. Alchemists are actually safer.

The General Education College and the Stargazing College are no different from previous years. However, all of the above are only relative to previous years. For Roach, the number of these new students is still very small even on Earth.

The Alchemy Academy has about 75 new students, the Arcane Academy has less than 50, the General Education Academy has 105, and the Stargazing Academy has 29, totaling about 200 students. All new students are required to take the basic courses, and Professor Luo is not responsible for the first semester of the first year.

Because the empire doesn't have primary and secondary schools, all students who enroll, regardless of which academy they attend, must begin by learning the most basic things, such as literacy, rhetoric, basic mathematics, general education courses, and so on.

Starting in the second semester, students in the general education college will also need to learn the basics of supernatural subjects such as mysticism and alchemy. At the very least, you must have a basic understanding of magic, alchemy, and mysticism. Starting in the third semester, physical training courses, namely physical education classes, will be added.

However, as a "noble school" in the truest sense of its name, the Imperial Royal Academy's physical education curriculum also includes courses such as horseback riding and swordsmanship, and in the second year, some students also need to learn basic military knowledge.

However, this is only the basics. After all, even mages and alchemists need to be able to recognize magic cannons and perform basic operations and maintenance. Some of the students at the Stargazing Academy who only studied for three years also serve in the military, such as navigation and mapping.

By evening, in the auditorium located in the basement of the central tower of the atrium, almost all of the school's approximately 1000 students and more than 100 faculty members had arrived. The senior students looked curiously at the two extra people on the stage, especially Livia, who looked even younger than the first-year female students.

However, upon seeing the golden badge on her body, they silently lowered their heads, trying their best not to meet the witch's gaze. But the freshmen, who had not learned any basic knowledge, seemed rather unrestrained and even whispered incessantly.

Aside from professionals, very few people can recognize the meaning of an arcane mage's insignia. Even among arcane mages and alchemists, those who are self-taught rather than formally trained often cannot recognize it, while those who are formally trained...

Roach glanced at the students sitting around the long table below. He didn't recognize most of the students in their second year and below, about half of the third year students, and almost all of the continuing education students in their fourth year and above.

"Hey, it's Miss Livia and Master Roach!" Natalia mingled in the crowd, her expression somewhat strange. After all, they were already quite familiar with each other, and had even fought side by side in a car.

With a whoosh, a huge owl flew down from the skylight and landed on the stage, transforming into a gray-haired lady in a feathered robe. "Ah, cough cough, sorry, I'm late." Lady Elena straightened her robe. "According to the academy's custom, the dean should be giving a speech, but there seems to be a bit of a time shortage, so I'll just say a few words..."

Luo Qi decisively began to drift off into his own thoughts. Usually, when the hospital leaders said they would "say a few words," it would last at least half an hour.

"Firstly, everyone is already aware of what happened in Catherfield County this year, but His Majesty has requested that the academy not participate for the time being. Therefore, you don't need to worry about going to the battlefield." Because the greatest use of these noble hostages is for them to stay in the capital, and since these nobles cannot be moved, there is no need to move the commoner children either.

"Secondly, the academy will add two visiting professors this year, Master Roach and Princess Livia. Master Roach will temporarily be responsible for teaching the Refinement, General Education and Basic courses. The teaching positions may be further adjusted in the future."

Princess Livia will be in charge of advanced courses in the Elemental Mystic Domain and elective courses in other mystic domains. Students in their fourth year and above who wish to take these advanced courses should submit their application forms to the school's academic affairs office before the start date.

“I’m done speaking,” Elena nodded. “Let’s begin the banquet now.”