Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In Neverwinter, Graycastle.
Two days later, Wendy sent the test results of the two new witches to Roland’s office.
“I have to say that their abilities are very… complicated,” Wendy said as she handed in the reports. “It was my first time seeing that there are so many variables in one ability. This is just a part of the test result. If you want to have the full report, you probably need to wait for another few days.”
“Hmm,” Roland said as he put down his work and reviewed the report with great interest. “I believe that the Taquila witches are also interested in them, right?”
Wendy replied with a nod, “They asked Phyllis to conduct the test for the Chosen One immediately. Unfortunately, the light beams of the two new witches are quite weak. They definitely aren’t the keys to the Instrument of Divine Retribution.”
Roland was profoundly relieved after hearing this news. He had just approved the nationwide electricity plan, and all the magic cores were currently being converted into Mystery Moon’s power. Had the Chosen One suddenly appeared at this moment, Celine would have been pretty resentful. It would take a few decades to restore the Instrument of Divine Retribution, and it would definitely not be a pleasant experience monitoring the device every day.
Roland had heard from Honey that the Senior Witches from Taquila had recently developed a new hobby of “sunbath”. Instead of lying sprawled across the field under the sunlight, they actually crept out of the cave at night and lay there until the sunrise. Since direct sunlight could cause harm to the carriers, they generally did not like coming out of their hidings. Roland did not understand why the Taquila witches suddenly started this new activity, but at least, he could tell that they felt quite relaxed.
This was undoubtedly a good sign.
Roland quickly turned to the last page of the report.
Thylane’s ability mainly affected a person’s mood, and it would only take effect after that person took the pill. Like most attaching magic type, her ability would lose its effectiveness after a certain period of time, and its lasting power normally depended on the size of the object and how much magic Thylane invested in the first the place.
The test result showed that the “magic pill” could alter literally every emotion that a man could feel, including but not limited to happiness, pain, fatigue, tiredness, anxiety and fear. Once the power of the pill faded away, those suppressed emotions would come out altogether.
Roland somehow figured out why the magic pill could do so many things but the light beam was weak. The magic power, in a sense, was a nerve block that delayed the nerve conduction and the transmission of hormones temporarily. Its mechanism was very similar to that of some drugs in the modern society, except that the latter had very serious side effects and could be addictive as well.
Nevertheless, the light beam was not the only factor that determined the value of one’s ability. Thylane’s “magic pill” would definitely create a lucrative market and bring Roland immense wealth that could shock the entire pharmaceutical industry if he sold the drug in his previous world.
Mental illness was usually far more complicated than physical injuries, and it was normally harder to cure. Thylane’s magic pill could not eliminate symptoms but could delay them. As long as he took control on individual dose, the pill could minimize the impact of many diseases. Patients, for example, would feel less tired and anxious, and thereby live a normal life. All the negative emotions could get out when the patient was fast asleep. In that way, he would be able to “absorb” negative emotions without even realizing it. Once people felt well rested and calm, their bodies would repair themselves a lot faster.
The magic power could also help with some fatal injuries. People tended to lose their consciousness when experiencing excruciating pain. A lot of times, the injured was not able to properly handle their injuries in a timely fashion and thereby missed the best time to receive treatment. If they could treat themselves immediately before the paramedics arrived, they would have a higher chance to survive. The paramedics would then just need to deal with the shock and pain coming after and help the patient overcome the very first few days after the injuries, which were usually the hardest and most crucial.
Also, there were other witches who could help with injuries. Roland remembered that Tilly had once told him about a witch named Della on the Sleeping Island who could alleviate pain. Hero from the Witch Union could transfer diseases to other living beings. Although he was not sure whether Hero could also transfer negative emotions, he could ask her to give it a shot.
The key was that without Thylane’s magic pill, neither Della nor Hero could be of much help. Soldiers could get injured anytime during a battle, and witches could not always come to their rescue. In fact, many First Army soldiers killed in action had died on their way to the hospital because they had lost their consciousness and failed to give their wounds an emergency treatment.
Now, this situation might be changed.
Wendy’s report stated that Thylane’s ability could either positively or negatively influence a person’s emotions in general, but she could not choose what specific emotion she would like to apply her ability to.
This was also what a new witch needed to learn. She had to understand and learn how to accurately control her ability. Roland trusted that Wendy and Agatha would teach her. Once Thylane learned how to apply her ability to a certain emotion, all the current problems would be solved.
Roland could already see a prospective pharmaceutical industry from the report. This giant industry would definitely be more economically profitable than Chaos Drinks.
As for the other witch…
Roland ran his fingers through the form in the appendix on the last page and lapsed into thought.
“Your Majesty, this is…” Nightingale apparently also saw the sections of the form in various colors. She looked up at Wendy and said, “Are you sure the report is accurate?”
“Most of it is accurate. I can’t really collect a large sample in such a short time,” Wendy replied. “The only thing I’m certain now is that the number could decrease and increase.”
In short, the strange number Momo saw was the remaining years a person had at the current stage. The color of the number represented its future trend. Wendy recorded the numbers for the residents in Neverwinter that she and Momo had observed in great detail in her report and found that the color of the numbers for Neverwinter residents was significantly lighter than the refugees in the temporary residential area.
She thus concluded that the color of the number was subject to change under the influence of different factors, including hunger, health and disabilities. The deeper the color was, the lower the number would be. She also provided an example in the report that the number for a refugee from the Kingdom of Wolfheart had increased from five to seven after he had drunk the Cleansing Water.
If Momo’s prediction was accurate, then this refugee must have carried some infectious disease, for at first, he would have only lived for another five years. However, after he drank the Cleansing Water, the situation had changed, and Momo reassessed his condition.
Although Wendy did not know what the color represented for at present, she viewed it as an unhealthy condition.
“Your Majesty…” Nightingale said apprehensively.
“It’s better than what we thought, isn’t it?” Roland comforted. “At least, the number could go up, as long as we use the right method.”
Wendy wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
Roland thus returned to the report. It appeared that there was a huge difference in the numbers between various parts of Neverwinter. The average number in the North Slope Mine area was the lowest among all, and that for refugees was a little higher. The numbers in the Witch Building and the Sleeping Spell were 10 to 20 higher than the other areas, which reflected that the awakened witches did live longer than ordinary people on average.
