Chapter 25

The Necromancer's expectant smile froze on his face.

He glanced at the struggling Knight Roman, then turned his gaze back to stare quietly at Great. The bright light from the ceiling flooded down, casting deep shadows under his eye sockets and below his cheekbones, making his gaunt face even more skull-like.

Great's heart skipped a beat. The other party was a Necromancer, far stronger than him, and a single pet of his could easily overpower him. If he refused his request, would he be tied up and dissected?

Great's heart trembled, and cold sweat trickled down his back, but he did not back down, meeting the Necromancer's gaze. His fists were tightly clenched, and he strained to keep his legs from trembling...

The principles of a doctor must still be upheld! To cut into a patient for personal gain, such a practice, must absolutely not be allowed!

Great's expression was too resolute, his gaze too clear. The Necromancer Lynn stared at him for a moment, then shrugged and waved his hand. The black cat, still holding the knight, turned and returned, dropping the man back into the bone prison.

The stone door closed. All the shouting, screaming, and rejoicing were shut out. The Necromancer Lynn glanced at the stone door, then looked at Great again:

"But what if he harms you?!"

"I will fight back."

Great answered resolutely. After a pause, he added:

"But—I absolutely will not use my medical skills to harm anyone."

That was a vow he had made on the day he became a medical student in his previous life.

Lynn was silent. He stared at Great's vibrant young face, lost in thought for a moment, then sighed:

"Once, I had a friend... who thought just like you."

"What happened to him?"

"Later... after I became a Necromancer, I avenged him."

"I'm sorry."

Great quickly apologized. After some thought, he tried to make amends:

"Or, how about I perform a tendon repair surgery for you?—Just give me an animal, a big one will do!"

"Aha!"

Lynn laughed.

Half an hour later, Great was also beaming. A live sheep, which Mr. Trok had somehow caught, was tied to the platform in front of him, bleating. On a small side table, a row of surgical instruments was laid out: various sizes of scalpels, surgical scissors, retractors, a bow drill...

Although the sharpness of the blades was questionable, and the sterilization even more so, they were still surgical instruments!

He had a scalpel in his hand again!

Happiness level +1, +1, +1...

"Can these be used?"

Lynn watched him eagerly. Great examined each instrument, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed:

"Something is missing."

"What's missing? Tell me!"

"Curved needles, electrocautery... forget it, I'll burn a needle, and a needle holder, sigh, so inconvenient. Give me two pairs of forceps, or tweezers if you don't have forceps!"

Preparation and cleaning. Great, using his left hand to hold the skin of the sheep's leg with tweezers, and his right hand to hold the scalpel, began to explain:

"This way of holding the scalpel is called the bow grip. Why is it called the bow grip?"—Oh no, does this world have violins?

Great's mind raced. Never mind, if there are no violins, there are horsehead fiddles, and if no horsehead fiddles, there are erhu. In any case, every culture has some kind of stringed instrument. Great quickly made a gesture:

"It's the way you hold a bow. This grip allows for more force when cutting, usually used for cutting skin and muscle..."

"Really? Let me see..."

Lynn's furry head leaned in. A large shadow immediately fell on the sheep's leg, blocking Great's view.

"Hey, move back a bit... Tsk, still can't see, your lighting is no good! Can you get a surgical lamp?"

"What? A lamp without a shadow?!"

Great had to put down the scalpel and satisfy Lynn's curiosity first. After an hour of drawing and tinkering, the most peculiar surgical lamp Great had ever seen was set up above the operating table:

Four bone arms, centered on a spine, crossed to form a cross. Each hand held two ribs, forming a large circle that two people could barely encircle. Inside the circle, dozens of bone hands hung, each holding an enchanted glow stick.

Great: "..."

Well, at least the light source met the requirements, right? And the bone hands holding the glow sticks could be adjusted in any direction...

Under the surgical lamp, Great performed surgery all night long. He cut the tendons, used tweezers to pull out the retracted tendons from deep within the muscle, stretched and shaped them, and used a healing spell to close the wound. He continued to dissect and suture, and finally, they slaughtered the poor sheep and enjoyed a hearty pot of mutton soup.

The next morning, Great, carrying two suitcases, was reluctantly seen off by the Necromancer.

One suitcase contained the surgical instruments he had used, and the other was much more valuable. Each item was placed in a red velvet-lined compartment, crystal clear, all made of glass.

Beakers, flasks, crucibles, stirrers, balances...

It was a set of basic alchemical equipment.

The suitcase contained no herbs or powders, but the set of alchemical equipment alone was already quite valuable. Great felt uneasy:

"This is too valuable."

"No, it's nothing. My friend—" the Necromancer shook his head vigorously:

"There's a saying among mages: no knowledge is priceless. Last night, you generously shared so much knowledge with me, please allow me to share something with you. These little gadgets—"

He waved his arm, drawing a large circle above the suitcase:

"Every mage should have a set! Every one! Dear friend, believe me, if you join our school, the equipment you will receive will be much more refined!"

Much more refined?

Does it have a microscope?

Does it have a centrifuge?

Does it have a UV spectrometer?

If nothing else, at least give me a pipette!

Great silently complained. Since there was nothing, he might as well try to gather them himself. Relatively speaking, joining a school that interested him was clearly more important.

My sterilizer, my petri dishes, my equipment for separating, purifying, and analyzing various drugs, my X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI...

Elemental School, Alchemical School, I'm counting on you!

Great was immersed in a beautiful hope. The Necromancer Lynn walked beside him, incessantly trying to persuade him. He kept glancing at Great and the suitcase in his hand, wishing he could take both back to the Black Crow Swamp:

"Dear friend, are you really not considering joining our school? Really, just nod, and I'll send you to see my mentor immediately, guaranteeing you the treatment of a full mage! You should know that even with my recommendation letter, you would still have to start as an apprentice in the city's mage tower..."

"But I'm really interested in Elemental Mages..."