The Power Of Radiation - Chapter 28 Satisfaction And The Farmers Leg

After listening to Percy ramble on a little longer, Mark wanted to do his own part for the crowds of poor and sickly people around him.
for visiting.

‘The whole point of me coming to VR and this instance is to better myself with knowledge and experience, right?’ Mark thought. With a brief flashback to the dying bandit he tried to save, Mark shook his head to clear it. ‘One step at a time.’ He told himself.

With this resolve in mind and his mind more geared to learning, Mark approached an older gentleman who seemed to be a regular rank doctor diagnosing many of the different patients. The man’s silver hair was a little unkept as he seemed to be a perpetual hurry much like some of the bankers and business people Mark had met in his reality. The older gentleman was explaining to a middle-aged man who seemed to be a farmer what kind of sickness he had.

“You have something called Gangrene in your left leg. If you would have brought it to our attention early on, we maybe could have done something for your leg to save it.”

The older doctor explained this patiently with a jaded edge to his voice as the farmer’s face gradually fell with shock and horror plastered on it.

“But how will I support my family?” The farmer said rhetorically.

The older doctor almost without hearing the question, continued to explain how unless the farmer considers amputation or the Healer’s Guild the sickness is considered incurable and the man could die as a whole instead of just losing his leg if the sickness spreads to the rest of his body and especially his torso.

The farmer seems have conflicting emotions as he suddenly seems to become angry and then resigned in the span of a few seconds. “Alright” he says, let’s get this over with.

The older gentleman gives a sigh and is about to move on to the next patient as Mark approaches him and gestures for his and the farmer’s attention.

“Don’t you have antibiotics or some other way to cure his leg?” Mark asks.

The older doctor seems to be bewildered a moment and explains that they do not have access to magic or any magical remedies. Mark’s eyes widen in shock at how simple antibiotics that are extremely common and well known in his reality are considered a type of magical cure here. Mark’s eyes then narrow as he asks the farmer and doctor if he can preform a test on his leg before they amputate it. The resigned farmer and jaded doctor both agree to this after Percy comes and persuades them both of how “little harm” Mark’s test can do.

The three people go into one of the church’s many operating rooms which consists of little more than a sink connected to a well, a sturdy wooden table and two chairs. The sobbing and screams of pain from some of the other operating rooms grate on both Mark’s and the farmer’s nerves while the older doctor ignores it as commonplace entirely.

Mark’s eyes begin to glow with even more of a pronounced color as he channels his radiation in one final hope to see if the farmer’s leg can be saved and if the Gangrene can be cured by his radiation. The farmer grits his teeth through the pain of concentrated UV radiation as Mark focuses and the older doctor watches in astonishment. A short fifteen minutes later, both Mark and the farmer relax as the leg regains its normal color before their very eyes.

While basking in both of their astonishment, a pure sense of satisfaction permeates Mark’s entire being as he finally cures the sickness. The farmer thanks Mark while on his hands and knees at his “magical” abilities. The farmer then looks toward the older doctor in askance and says in a low voice “How much will it cost me?” The doctor looks toward Mark, and Mark smiles and says “1 silver. You can afford that right?” The farmer beams a smile and goes to the counter to pay while he then rushes out the door to give his family waiting outside the good news.

The older doctor finally seems to regain his wits as he looks at Mark with a brand-new gaze. “Can you keep doing that? What are its limitations? Can you cure all diseases?” Mark then explains a little about how he can cure only certain kind of aliments, mainly ones that grow on the body like bacterial infections, fungi and other parasites. The older doctor then introduces himself as Todd and seems to smile in happiness that looks oddly out of place on his weathered face.

“When can you continue your help with the patients?” Todd asks Mark. Mark basks in the sense of satisfaction helping the farmer gave him and his vision becomes tunnel like similar to how he becomes single minded when he trains his powers, as he replies “Immediately” .