Chapter 97

  Dylan came in his room late that night. The shard meeting had lasted for over eight hours. During this time, Dylan learned how much he had underestimated the enterprising and wealthy reincarnators. In addition to the many businesses they had created in less than two years, spanning a variety of industries. Cullen, Edgar, Ajax, and Dennis had jointly started manufacturing firearms, but with alchemically enhanced gunpowder, rune inscriptions, and custom ammo. It was impressive.

  Dylan had previously wondered why firearms were so unpopular in this world, other than the obvious reason that there was magic. It turns out that wasn't quite true, there were similar weapons, but instead of gunpowder, explosion runes were used, and the cartridges were created as a container for mana to detonate them. There were several problems with this approach: inscribing runes on regular metal led to a rapid loss of durability, and the cartridges were too expensive to create in large quantities.

  These problems were of course easily solved, the inscription of runes on mana steel did not reduce the durability of the weapon during use. But these were additional expenses, which did not justify the creation of such a weak weapon en masse.

  If they created something stronger, for example, used Silverite, a metal that was much better suited for enchantment, was lighter and stronger. They drew runes much higher level and created cartridges from better resources, woven into them magic and a large amount of mana, the result was a weapon capable of piercing armor made of mana steel like paper. But again, this was too expensive, it was much easier, cheaper and more familiar to buy several suitable spell stones, staves with a spell, or a crossbow with enchantment, or enchanted arrows. Other artifacts were also in circulation, swords, spears releasing mana blades at a distance of 10-30 meters also cost much less, if you do not count the cost of mana and maintenance, which was still cheaper.

  The problem with magic pistols was their small size, which made enchanting them very difficult and required better materials. Also, the assumption that magic pistols would not consume the user's mana affected the rest of the price.

  Upon further investigation, Dylan learned that magic cannons, Turrets did not suffer from the same problem and were used in city defense or as tactical artillery. They were still expensive to make, but high-level runesmiths were not required and the mana was sufficient to use the optimum power for the money spent. But then again, without the huge mana storage facilities in cities, they would hardly be used often.

  The only place where this magical gun was used en masse was in the army for the [Gunner] class, or its variations. But such weapons were more like Machine Guns, Rifles or Snipers. They were made of mana steel and had a built-in mana core, which reduced most of the downsides to zero.

  While I'm still sure Cullen spends a ton of money on this, a mere ranged weapon that a non magе can use is worth the money.

  Dylan sighed and began his evening ritual, thinking about other topics of the day as he did so. He unsheathed his two swords, hanging them on the chair next to his bed. He walked over to the table and began removing throwing knives from various parts of his uniform and placing them on it. When he was done, he sat down in the chair and began to think.

  Dylan wanted to immediately start learning new spells of the schools of wood, blood and shadow magic. But he couldn't do it, or rather he could, but no. Today was a very busy day for him, and the collection of fragments continued until late at night. Of course, he did almost nothing, but new experiences and thinking about so many things tired him. Or rather he felt that he was too excited, but at the same time very tired.

  He considered giving up on the matter for a few seconds and opening the books anyway, but tomorrow morning would be a very unpleasant one. Despite all his characteristics of physique and vitality, he had to sleep about the same amount of hours as before, at least 6, otherwise he would feel out of sorts. Of course, there was a solution to this in the form of alchemy, all sorts of tonics, something like a very charged, magical energy drink, or something less powerful that would allow him to stay awake for days. He had many such things in storage, but Dylan did not use them, they were for emergencies. Not because he was afraid of addiction, or considered it beneath him, no. Every time he took something like that, he began to have withdrawal symptoms and it was terrible. Several times he was so inhibited that he looked more like a vegetable, other times his thinking was slightly distorted making him completely unlike himself, in a bad way. He didn't even remember the mood swings; sometimes they were very violent, or apathetic.

  As much as I'd like to learn new magic, it's not worth the scolding from Vivienne. Her nagging about being a grown-up and responsible person will soon finish me off.

  Dylan thought as he stood up from his chair and began to take off his uniform. A few seconds later he was lying in bed, thinking about the new magic.

  ***

  The next day, early in the morning, Dylan was sitting in one of the houses on Vivienne's property as usual. He was lounging in a comfortable chair, waiting for the rest of the students to arrive for Healing class. Lying in the chair, Dylan was rereading one of the books, trying to create spells from memory. It wasn't going as well as he would have liked. He wanted to think it was because the other students were watching him curiously, but he didn't really care what they were doing.

  Closing the book and giving up all attempts, Dylan looked up, looking at who was not in the class yet. Cassandra, Emilia and Caeti were already in the class, also reading books. Dylan awkwardly looked away after lingering his gaze on Caeti.

  After boot camp ended, he never really talked to her normally. There was a certain awkwardness between them, she avoided him and he avoided her.

  Yeah, thinking about it now, I can say that Linella and I screwed up big time. Well, not that she didn't like it then, but how long will it be before we start communicating normally?

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Dylan thought and continued to think about Kaeti, pretending to read a book. 10 minutes later, Vivienne walked into the classroom in a dazzling purple dress, loudly greeting the students.

  "Good morning! I hope you weren't lazing around in bed all day yesterday?" She said with a cheerful smile.

  Dylan smiled at her words. He knew from the awkward looks of several people in the group how close to the truth that was. And he didn't blame them at all; the workload was hell.

  "Well, today we're going to start studying the effects of toxins, bacteria, and viruses on humanoids. I know some of you are already very good at this, especially in your third year, but don't worry, I'll come up with something better than a base for you."

  "This will be a long topic that we will dedicate another month to. Since the first year successfully passed the basic healing course. I want to please you, at the end of the semester, you will be sent to various army units as healers for a month, the same applies to the senior courses." Turning her gaze to Dylan and Cassandra, she added. "Well, this does not apply to the special class. They are free to choose what they want to do in the army, unlike other groups."

  Dylan reacted calmly on the outside, but inside he was full of anticipation. He lacked adventure. For more than 1.5 months, he could not leave the academy to level up. But in the military unit, he can easily do it.

  The other students were also excited about the prospect, many were tired of studying without rest, they wanted something new, than the usual routine. Looking at several first-year healers, Dylan saw how they also liked the idea, which amused him even more. The soft healers did not know that in the military unit it would be much worse.

  "Hee hee." Dylan chuckled softly and covered his face with his hand.

  Clapping her hands a few times, Vivienne spoke, trying to make a stern face. "Okay, okay, take your seats." Having failed, Vivienne's face took on a slight smile. "Edmund, please pass out Elyon Rast's "Shenming Spells" to everyone."

  Sitting down in her place, Vivienne waited for everyone to receive their books. After asking to open them to the first page, she opened the same book lying on her desk and continued talking.

  "Some of you may have come across the word Shenming, or heard it in passing. Shenming is a general word for spells that have the incredible ability to eliminate one type of bacteria, spores, viruses or toxins, while having no effect on anything that doesn't fit that pattern."

  "Over the millennia of our civilization, we have discovered over a hundred Shenming spells, some of which we obtained before our ancestors set foot on Ramiast. It can be said that without them, our civilization would never have grown to its current level."

  "As I said before, there are over a hundred Shenming spells, from tier 2 to tier 7. In this month, I hope you can learn the three main ones. Please turn to page 15." Vivienne said as she waited for everyone to do so, after making sure everyone had finished, she continued speaking. "The first spell is Aegiswaen, tier 4, it specializes in eliminating a large number of bacteria, or causes of decay. But you should understand that it is not a panacea for all diseases. For example, Encephalitis and Flesh-eating bacteria are able to resist this spell, as are many others. Aegiswaen is able to eliminate decay, slow down the spread of other bacteria, but it is not all-powerful."

  "Open page 49. The second spell of Orzari 3rd level, it specializes in destroying pandemic bacteria and viruses. It is capable of fighting the plague, flu, smallpox and other common diseases. But its effectiveness drops sharply in environments with high mana concentration. Diseases that can live in such an environment inevitably mutate and can acquire a kind of resistance. Therefore, always be careful in such regions, you must carry other antibiotics and medicines."

  "And the last spell on page 114. The Eliminis spell, level 4. I want to clarify that this is a simplified version, the first spell is level 6. Eliminis is a spell that easily removes and neutralizes a large number of toxins and even helps get rid of excess mana in the body. It is extremely important to consider when exactly it should be used, this is an extremely specific and dangerous spell. For some types of beastmen, it is extremely dangerous."

  "There are actually a lot of nuances with this spell, but believe me, it can save your life more than once. For example, it can neutralize the effects of carbon monoxide and many others." Vivienne finished, giving the students a few minutes to think.

  The students immediately began to quietly discuss the use of spells among themselves. While Dylan was thinking about the Shenming spells. To say that it was impressive was to say nothing. Spells that could fight a specific type, or kind of disease. It was very powerful.

  Which answered a lot of his questions. Bacteria and viruses in the mana environment were bound to mutate into different forms with resistance to different antibiotics. After all, there was such a problem on Earth. There were bacteria with partial immunity to all antibiotics.

  He also wondered why some psycho didn't start spreading them or breeding them into more dangerous diseases. Of course, it was primarily about self-preservation, but that didn't stop real psychos. Of course, there were diseases like anthrax that were used as biological weapons, but that was strictly controlled. No one could just get them, but breeding a new type was easy. But Dylan never lived to see that.

  In this world, it was even easier to do. Or so he had thought before. Now that he knew about the incredible number of antibiotics, medicines, and spells, it didn't seem so simple. Taking into account the effects of 10 Shenming spells was incredibly difficult, and that didn't include other antibiotics and treatments. After all, as far as he remembered, in order to acquire an advantage over something, bacteria and viruses become vulnerable to something else. In fact, the further they move away from the initial version, the more weaknesses they acquire to which they were previously immune. But this doesn't work in some exceptions, For example, under the guidance of [Disease Mage].

  I don't envy [Disease Mages], you take this class to destroy the world, but you'll choke on the first province. And really, in the best case scenario, a province infected with super diseases will simply be wiped off the face of the earth by thousands of mages. The most you can do in that case is use them as poison on one person. I should ask someone for a few books on this topic.

  "Well, let's continue." Vivienne said, attracting all attention.

  "I'm sure as You know, antibiotics and medicines should not be used indiscriminately. The same applies to Shenming spells. In order to understand when to use it, you need to clearly know what kind of illness is the cause. For this, you have a portable microscope lens." Vivienne said and stood up from her seat.

  She went to one of the cabinets and took out a box with rattling glass. Tearing off another shelf, she picked up a wooden stand with many glass lenses, a bluish shine. Having asked the students to distribute the objects, she returned to her place.

  "Today we will look at the types of different diseases in test tubes and when Shenming spells will be effective and when they will be useless. I hope that the basic healing course was enough for You to learn how to do this."