A Hospital in Another World? - Chapter 298

The two great magicians looked over.

Archmage Carlisle frowned deeply. Wanting to intervene but hindered by the fact that it was Garrett’s own project, he found it difficult to speak out. Mage Morton, on the other hand, beyond shock and emotion, was filled with deep shame:

“There’s no need for this—how can we possibly—”

His voice trembled, his red hair that was once standing straight now drooped almost completely, hanging down. Garrett earnestly cut him off:

“Your Excellency Archmage. The relationship between the Curse Magic Department’s medical branch and our Thunder Horn has always been good. Last time one of my followers was poisoned, it was Master Galen Novak who personally came to administer the cure.

—Just because an apprentice made a mistake, it shouldn’t affect our relationship. Besides, sharing knowledge and collaborating on research is exactly what the Magic Council has always advocated, isn’t it?”

Archmage Carlisle remained silent. Hmm, they indeed owed the medical branch for the incident where Aurora played with electrolyzed saltwater and got poisoned. If not for that, he wouldn’t have directly approached Morton’s door; he would’ve gone through Old Sam to bring the matter up with the review board and expose it!

Old Morton’s face turned beet red, still shaking his head. Garrett thought for a moment, then smiled:

“How about this—could you do me a favor? I’ll write a paper on the interim research findings on penicillin mold in the next few days. Could you help me find a journal to publish it? And then, if you continue with the research, remember to cite my paper?”

That could work. Publishing papers and then conducting research based on them is a common and encouraged practice within the Magic Council. Old Morton’s face finally lost some of its redness, patting his chest:

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the publication covered!—And about that penicillin mold, I won’t take it for free, I’ll pay!”

He was about to transfer contribution points with his mage badge. Garrett quickly jumped back:

“No need, no need, we’ve already agreed on the compensation. But, if you want more, you’ll have to buy it from the trade center, and I won’t be shy about the price!”

“I won’t ask for a discount on bulk purchases either!”

Old Morton laughed.

They bid each other farewell. Old Morton stayed behind to watch his disciple pack up and leave at dawn, while Archmage Carlisle escorted Garrett back to the Mage Tower. The clop of hooves disappeared into the night, leaving the lights of Chaos Magic Academy far behind, before Archmage Carlisle finally sighed:

“Why are you so generous?”

“Not bad, huh?” Garrett shrugged. Archmage Carlisle glared at him, almost raising his hand to knock on his head if he wasn’t on horseback:

“With this precedent, to collaborate with you in the future, one just needs to steal something first. If they can’t steal, sending an apprentice to beat you up can also turn enemies into friends? Inviting people to collaborate on something this important so casually, do you dare to just give it away next?

—Aren’t you afraid that after all your hard work, they’ll get ahead of you and succeed first?”

“Hehe~~~”

Garrett laughed, lowering his head on horseback. It wasn’t until Archmage Carlisle canceled the Phantom Steed, making him fall directly to the ground (though he cast Featherfall at the last moment), that he stopped laughing and looked up to explain:

“Whether they’ll get ahead of me and succeed first, I don’t know. But—I’m very sure, what I’m preparing to do, they definitely won’t be able to!”

“You?”

“Just watch!”

Garrett’s paper, “Discovery of a New Pathogenic Bacterium and the Inhibitory Effect of Penicillin on Bacteria,” was soon published. In a rush for time, he didn’t secure a spot in “Arcane” or “Magic” journals but published it in “Death’s Veil”—

After all, the first half talked about diseases, so placing it in a Necromancy school journal was no issue. And with Old Morton’s endorsement, he didn’t miss out on any paper awards…

A level 3 magician publishing a paper, a level 5 magician as the second author (this time Andrew Lynn replaced Aurora as the paper’s workhorse), and comments from a level 15 magician from the medical branch, and a level 15 Necromancer. This caliber quickly drew the attention of magicians.

Besides Old Morton, two other great magicians from the medical branch took great interest in Garrett’s paper:

“We found that this blue mold has a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus.

—Culturing it together with Staph aureus in a petri dish shows a clear zone

of inhibition; adding it to Staph aureus culture fluid results in a noticeable clarification of the fluid, with no extensive proliferation of Staph aureus in secondary cultures…”

“Our next goals are:

1. To study the principle behind penicillin mold’s inhibition of Staph aureus growth;

2. To investigate, besides Staph aureus, which other pathogens penicillin mold can inhibit;

3. To develop this substance that inhibits Staph aureus into a portable medication for personal carry. This way, even in places beyond the reach of extraordinary powers, the general public can improve their recovery chances…”

This is an interesting topic! Worth putting some effort into! If this medication is developed, even without a healer in the team, survival becomes easier!

The three great magicians, each leading their teams, unhesitatingly embarked on the path guided by Garrett. Then, they immediately crashed and burned.

“The penicillin mold died!”

“It died again!”

“This batch is no good either, need to buy new ones…”

“Spell casting over! We’re out of materials!”

“No problem, go buy! It’s cheap anyway! Hurry up, or it’ll all be sold out!”

Garrett’s penicillin mold listed in the trading window was very reasonably priced, even considered cheap. A 50ml culture medium, with the mold strain added 24 hours in advance, showing a faint blue color, guaranteed by independent magicians for strain viability—sold for just one gold coin.

Magicians swept up the stock, hardly blinking an eye. Later, they even gave up on culturing penicillin mold themselves, leaving it to apprentices to handle casually, relying entirely on purchases.

For level 14 and 15 great magicians, a material costing one gold coin a piece was incredibly cheap!

—Of course, Garrett wouldn’t say that making cornstarch culture medium in bulk, filling 100 bottles of 50ml each, cost less than one gold coin. That was his secret…

“Keep it up! Make more! This month’s research funding depends on you!”

But it must be said, great magicians are great magicians. Their brute-force approach indeed blazed a new trail:

A month later, Old Morton invited Garrett to his laboratory to observe a spell experiment.

“The extermination of pathogenic bacteria, first experiment, begins!”

Old Morton murmured the incantation, holding a test tube of penicillin mold in his left hand, his right hand continuously changing gestures. Garrett watched wide-eyed:

Alright, you’re still using penicillin mold as a spellcasting material, developing a new spell… just don’t know how you’ll control the dosage?

Penicillin intramuscular injection, 800,000 to 2,000,000 units per day, divided into 3-4 doses; intravenous drip, 2,000,000 to 20,000,000 units per day, divided into 2-4 doses. When administered by IV drip, the rate must not exceed 500,000 units per minute to avoid central nervous system toxicity—how fast is your rate?

Old Morton’s chanting abruptly stopped. His right hand extended, aiming at a weak, dirty, tangled-haired rabbit on the experimental table in front. A green light shot from his fingertip, hitting the rabbit squarely.

“Avada Kedavra!”

Garrett muttered in his heart. Almost immediately, the rabbit convulsed, stretched its neck and limbs, and died, died, died…

“Uh, still can’t control the intensity of the healing spell…” Old Morton lowered his arm, awkwardly looking at Garrett:

“So far, using five milliliters of penicillin mold achieves the highest cure rate, about 30%, but the death rate is 70%…

With such a high death rate, we dare not try it on patients, as untreated death rates are lower!”

Garrett: “…” Too severe allergic reactions from penicillin overdose? Once you go above a super-high dose of penicillin, the probability of allergies skyrockets!

“What about the death rate within three days?”

“An additional 10% higher…”

Hmm, considering penicillin encephalopathy, cerebral hemorrhage, allergic heart failure, and a series of adverse reactions… So, it’s about controlling the dosage. If it’s not made into a medication and penicillin is used as spellcasting material, directly casting spells, it’s really hard to control the dosage!

“What if it’s made into a medication?”

Old Morton gave him a sorrowful look.

Don’t ask, asking means nothing…

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