Chapter 40

Evan and Bernard, who had identified the cause of the epidemic, immediately gathered all the pharmacists working at the Brotherhood Pharmacy. It was almost time to close the Pharmacy, that is why half of the faces wore expressions of confusion, and the other half wore those of annoyance.

"There are signs of an epidemic. It must be controlled early. I need your help."

Evan's words instantly froze everyone's actions because they knew how terrifying a plague was. It was a disaster that could not be prevented even by God's power, if not taken care of in the early stages.

"Well, then can we find a cure…?"

"Fortunately, this is a disease I have knowledge of. It is quite a simple antidote to make. Although it has changed a little, the analysis has already been completed. You guys can certainly make any amount of the remedy, so don't worry."

"Is that all we have to do, to make medicine? Shouldn't the cause be eliminated first?"

"We have already reported to the Marquis and are implementing quarantine measures. The Pollution Circle Knights will soon be able to find and remove the cause. So we only have to focus on making the cure."

Time was more important than anything else in fighting an epidemic. Everything mattered, how quickly did you find the epidemic, how swiftly did you take action? These two would determine the initial damage.

In that sense, this approach was almost perfect.

Not only did Evan began to act quickly due to his past knowledge of the game, but thanks to what had happened before, the priests were regularly serving in the slums, so the disease had been discovered early!

Moreover, the fact that Bernard Garcia, an expert on the disease, was present at the scene also helped.

The initial suppression of the infectious disease became possible thanks to the understanding of the cause of the disease as well as the manufacturing method of the treatment. Of course, Evan, who was able to influence the people in power, played a big role.

"Grandpa, should I use this potion of herbal medicine?"

"If it is poured more than this, the drug will not be effective. Let's try to get the rest of the emergency potions ready. Or, maybe you're right."

Drugs could also be used to cure infectious diseases.

Luckily, the herbs could be harvested from the dungeon. Evan asked the Marquis to obtain medicinal herbs by sending the disease cure, which had already been prepared, to the Marquis, through Dain.

On the one hand, the Marquis took the cure to all the family members as soon as he received it while giving Evan the medicinal herbs that the Marquis had in store. On the other hand, the Marquis sent out knights with artifacts that had a voice-amplifying function to the city, informing all citizens to go to the Pharmacy building and consume the cure. The knights announced that the Marquis was seeking the herbs required urgently.

"Here! I have this one bottle!"

"Me too!"

"Don't keep them with you, give the herbs! You are saving the people of the city!"

On that day, the lights at the Brotherhood Pharmacy did not go out. Every pharmacist, including Evan and Bernard, kept making the medicine as soon as the herbs arrived.

No one complained. It was because they knew that delaying the drug production even a little could kill ten people from illness.

"We have to burn this building, it's too late!"

"Damn, I was relieved that the dungeon backflow was over, but this time it's an epidemic… It is spreading right now, stop it!"

"You there! You can't come this way! This is an entry control area!"

Meanwhile, knights and soldiers ran around sweating in their thick shoes to crack down on people, isolate the sick, and incinerate buildings and facilities that were judged to have no chance to be cured. All of those people who belonged to the Marquis were moving desperately.

"Take care of the weak first! This bottle is relatively enough for those with high existence levels or physical health! People with chronic diseases or infirmities and children should be treated first and foremost!"

Of course, the temple that had the ability to save patients directly from the threshold of death with healing magic was also busy.

"Priest, there is a patient here too!"

"Wow, I really don't have time to rest!"

"Serpina, please record this. What the patients say…!"

"I am doing it now!"

The epidemic was a serious problem that could not be ignored even for the Earth Church even before the change of Bishop. So, what about the current situation in which the Earth Church was trying to build a smooth relationship with the Marquis?

They had immediately put a request for support and worked closely with the Marquis and Brotherhood Pharmacy.

They healed the people in the order they needed to be thoroughly saved, with the most desperate cases being given top priority. As a Bishop, of course, he couldn't just sit around.

'Even though I responded so quickly, many people got sick because of the disease. Master Evan complimented me that I am doing really well for which I'm thankful but… But what have I even done…!'

Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, Serpina took care of not only healing, but also field command, and stiffened her heart. Using the limited resources of priests, Serpina had to save as many people as she could. As many as possible…!

'I must save the people, must save them…! Oh, I can't cry. I can't cry…!'

'You can cry anytime later. But now is the time to act.' Serpina bit her lips and massaged her feet.

It was too heavy a burden on her shoulder as she was still young, but it was even harder to deal with it.

In this way, her abilities were already blooming at a somewhat earlier point than in the original history.

The night passed when everyone couldn't sleep properly, and the bright morning arrived.

The pharmacists who had forgotten the passage of time and continued to make medicine stopped as if they had lost their connection. It wasn't for any reason other than there were no more ingredients left.

"Thank you, pharmacists."

The soldier who was in charge of distributing herbs and medicines politely bowed his head. Hannah asked the soldier in an irritated voice.

"Do we have to make some more? Or are these enough?"

"I don't know yet. However, incineration and containment measures have already been completed. The cause has been terminated, and no additional patients are believed to have contracted the disease. You have really worked hard."

"Ah…"

Shortly after the soldier's report was over, Hannah exhaled a sigh of relief and fell asleep where she was standing. The tension was relieved, and sleep that could not be resisted for an instant longer attacked them all.

"Oh, we all had a hard time…"

"I'll take a little rest too…"

The same was true for all of them. It must have been the first time in their lives that they had made drugs as rapidly as last night. Each person fell asleep on the spot, and it seemed funny and sad at the same time.

"That was laborious, Evan."

"Grandpa…Thank you very much."

Of course, Bernard, one of the heroes who had saved mankind at one point, and Evan, who had grown so much that even Bernard was surprised by him, did not sleep that night.

Both were very tired, physically, and mentally, but they were still conscious. Evan was proud of all of them. He was overwhelmed by pleasant fatigue, and he also seemed to have a little fever, but Bernard suddenly spoke.

"Evan, you did a really good job. Whether it was an unfounded anxiety or a vague speculation, you believed in your senses and acted fast, and that allowed us to tackle the situation in the best conditions. You did the best you could."

It was highly inspirational praise coming from a man who had never even complimented him. It was rather odd, so Evan looked up at him.

"Grandpa?"

"So… Even if someone dies from this incident, you should not blame yourself."

Evan's heart, which had been expanding up until now, sank suddenly.

Evan couldn't bring himself to be relieved since he thought he still hadn't done everything he could.

"I mean, it's an infectious disease, so no matter how fast we can find it and take action, we can't help but suffer the damage already done. This time, the damage was minimized thanks to the miracle of the Marquis's power, the pharmacists, and the Church… … Nevertheless there will be some casualties."

"You are wise enough Evan and I believe you know what I want to say. Look forward… And you think about all the people we saved."

"The people we saved."

"Yes. Think about the thousands of people you saved."

'Don't ever worry about the people you couldn't save, but think about those who you were able to help'. Bernard's words were in line with what Evan had learned in the nobility class.

What Evan didn't know was that while traveling around the world, this was the commitment that Bernard had made to himself.

"Young Master! Master Evan, are you here!"

At that time, the door burst open, and a messenger came in. When Evan glanced at him, he said briefly, with a pale complexion, "The Marquis is calling."

"Sure, I'm coming."

"Let us go together."

Bernard said, putting a hand on Evan's shoulder. Evan simply nodded in vain. He wasn't the only one who was feeling anxious.

"Evan…"

"Evan, our Liz!"

Why did ominous predictions always come true? When Evan arrived at the mansion, the first sound he heard was that of someone wailing, and then a scream. Evan hurriedly went to find the newborn child.

"Liz!"

"Not yet… But…!"

"Show me Liz! Did you give her the medicine!?"

"She was fed, but the child is still too weak…!"

Evan followed Maybell into the room hastily and clenched his teeth. 'Yes, I knew something was strange.'

No matter how much the dungeon disease was infectious, didn't it make sense that the Marquis's power could still save a child?

However, an infant's body, which was so fragile because it was even less than a month old, could not cope with it until recovery!

'The damn developer crew! Damn them!'

Knowing that it wasn't the game crew's control in this world anymore, Evan still enunciated all sorts of curses that he knew.

As the child was too young in his previous life, the disease proved to have come at a very fatal timing. Because of that, the Second Wife wasn't able to save her child even with all of the assistance from the Marquis.

"Eh, Evan."

When Evan entered the room, he saw the two wives present there. The Second Wife was holding the child in her arms.

Elizabeth was taking long and hard breaths, and it seemed possible that she would stop breathing at any moment now.

There were no priests in the room. All of them had left as it was already hopeless. Only Evan with his family, and Shine and Belois were there. Everyone was very quiet… As if it would all be over soon.

When Evan reached out, the Second Wife wondered what he was thinking and embraced him. Her hands were shaking softly. A few drops of tears fell on Evan's hand.

"Ah, thank you for your hard work, Evan. But you know, my child… Oh, what can I do to save her, I don't think I can endure it…!"

"No, it's not over yet. It's not late… Isn't that right, Grandpa?"

"The child… was even given the cure properly. She is weak enough and may not to be able to survive. Damn, I'm still not enough as a pharmacist. Damn it…!"

Even Bernard could not help hide his nasty impressions in these terrible circumstances. But that wasn't what Evan wanted right now.

"But you know something, Grandpa. What is it though? Tell me!"

"… There are some medicines, that permanently raise a person's abilities to the next level. That would give this child the strength to endure the disease, but…"

"But that's the Elixir…!"

"No, it's not exactly the Elixir. It's a potion but not of such a high level that it is hard to make, it is a medicine that can be made easily. But how the hell are we supposed to make such a medicine now? We are out of stock, everything is lacking…"

A drug that forcibly raises a person's abilities to the next level. It was a medicine that even Evan, who had cleared the Yo-Ma Great War series, had not heard about.

Of course, there was no time to be admiring Bernard's knowledge. It was just medicine that raised the level of existence, but unless it miraculously fell in his hands…

'Level of existence?'

Evan raised his head. He looked at the child in his arms.

The child was crying while sadly watching Evan… Evan thought that she must have existence level 1.

"Alright then, wait a minute."

Evan left the child with her mother for a while and urgently took off his gloves. It was a really cute child.

Fortunately, when he put the gloves on the infant's hands, they shrunk to a size that fit the child's hands. That was possible because it was an artifact.

"Eh, Evan?"

"Shh!"

One of the people who noticed Evan's bizarre behavior started to talk, but the First Wife immediately hushed them.

Of course, she didn't know what Evan was trying to do either, but she was convinced that he was trying to save the child.

'This way at least 50% of the experience will be gained by her. It will work. It has to…'

Evan wouldn't have done this in front of strangers, but at that moment, there were only his friends and family present in that room. Evan summoned slimes in both of his hands right away.

"Wow!"

Everyone was astonished, but none of them moved because they saw how desperate Evan was!

[Moo woo woo!] [ Woo woo!]

"Please, please this has to work…"

He had already killed thousands or millions of slimes by now. He knew very well how they would die and how they could be killed easily.

"Wow!"

Evan squeezed the slimes in his hand. Somehow, he brought them to their pre-death state and then held them in front of the child's eyes.

"Liz, you can do it. All you have to do is grab these. Now grab it. Hurry!"

"Ooh… Alas…!"

Was it through Evan's desperate prayers? Fortunately, Liz reflexively stretched out her gloved hands.

She caught the slimes in the near-death state.

At that moment, two slimes burst out of existence, one after another.

"Not yet…"

"Evan, what the hell…"

"What are you doing?"

Evan summoned two slimes again, almost killed them, and handed them to Liz, who popped them. As if Elizabeth knew what Evan wanted from her, the child miraculously reached out and grabbed the slimes.

Originally, a newborn baby would not have been able to kill slimes with his or her own power. However, Elizabeth was able to kill the weakened slimes after Evan had crushed them almost to death. The slimes were in a state where they could be burst even by a finger, and surely enough with the power of a child's grip, which had been strengthened a little by artifacts' power.

Evan was in a situation where he was crossing the borderline of possibilities but somehow succeeded.

[POP!] [POP!]

"Oh, so that was all the noise we have been hearing all this time…"

"Come to think of it, I could hear them ever since Evan started wearing the necklace…"

The Marquis and Eric finally figured out the source of Evan's ever-increasing power, which was the necklace he had obtained.

Everyone knew that the necklace could summon slimes, but none of them knew what Evan was trying to achieve through crushing the slimes non-stop, or even a little bit of what was going through his head.

There were only four people there, who somewhat understood Evan's actions.

"…Master Evan."

"Young Master…"

Shine held both his hands tightly and prayed in his heart for Evan. Belois was muttering sadly, looking only at Evan's face, as if no one else was present in the room.

"My son, you were doing this, all this time."

The Marquis was looking at Evan with a mixed expression of surprise and admiration, and Bernard looked relieved after he understood everything.

The child's condition soon appeared to be changing. Evan had gained the necklace for quite a while now, so the level of slime had increased through several evolutions over the past two years. Therefore, a few were enough to raise the level of existence of an infant.

"I have done it!"

Evan thought of raising Liz's level further. Maybe it was possible.

"The child's complexion has improved."

"Oh my God, how in the world…!?"

"Just little bit more. Liz, let's do a little more."

"Ooh…Kaah!"

At Evan's urging, the child seemed to laugh wide and nodded her head. Everyone took a breath of relief at that miraculous sight. None of them could resist any longer, but they still looked at Evan and Liz quietly.

Evan didn't stop, and he summoned and squeezed slimes constantly…Then he put the weakened slimes in front of the child's eyes. Like a mother bird feeding its young, steadily and continuously.

[Pop!] [Pop!]

The bizarre scene continued until the child fell asleep, tired from crushing the slimes. Evan didn't know how many levels had she raised of her existence level, from the point she was about to die.

Her skin color had already recovered to a perfectly healthy light tone. The treatment had been effective.

Evan carefully removed the gloves from the sleeping child and held them tightly. A sigh of relief emanated from the whole room.

"Thank God…"

"The child is alive…"

"Liz lives!"

"A priest, a priest! Bring the priest right now! The cure too!"

"Oh my God, Evan saved Liz! Our Evan!"

Evan stood still amidst the noise around him.

While everyone's attention was focused on Liz, Bernard came to Evan's side and said.

"You had a hard time."

"… Grandpa."

Evan buried his head in Bernard's arms. Bernard laughed and gently stroked his hair.

"Grandpa… Did I impress you?"

"I am wonderstruck. You did very well. Whenever I'll talk about this to my friends, I'll boast about how your method was unique. By the way, it was very cool. It was a remedy that only you could have done among all of the people of the world."

"Huh… Grandpa…!"

Evan started crying. He had the memories of 29 years of his previous life, but for now, he was an 11-year-old child again.

The crisis of his sister's death had finally been averted.

"Hahaha…"

She was barely alive. Evan started crying with joy.

"You did really well, Evan. Well done, my son…"

"Huh, uh-uh-ok…"

"Young Master!"

"… It wasn't just me, everybody helped."

Soon, two textures came running and hugged Evan's from behind. They were Shine and Belois, of course.

But suddenly, another figure came and hugged him with such momentum that Evan could already guess who it was. He didn't even need to look behind him.

"Master! Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh."

"… You're suffocating me."

While feeling a mix of relief, fear, and all sorts of emotions, Evan felt that Maybell had pushed away Shine and Belois and was hugging him even harder. Evan burst into laughter even while he was crying.

"Hahahahaha."

"Huh, uh-uh".

He was crying and laughing simultaneously. Bernard began to laugh in a low voice too. Soon, Shine and Belois also joined in the laughter, and only Maybell, who was angry, seemed even sadder.

That day, at the Marquis's mansion, half of the people were crying with exhilaration, and the other half were laughing, so Maybell's behavior didn't seem that strange.