ALL NOVEL Chapter 64
Chapter 5: Failed Evolution
Bishop Isaac was a man of decisive action. After reaching an agreement, he immediately led Miss Vilyric and the others to the outer edge, where a patient was already lying on the bed.
“This one was just brought in this morning. Although the spots of fire have not spread too severely, being an elderly person, their health is frail. Without effective treatment, they may not last through today.”
The elderly are the most challenging patients for healers because they typically have weaker physical conditions and carry various hidden ailments or complications.
Starting off with such a high-difficulty case was clearly Isaac’s way of testing her—or should I say, throwing a curveball at Vilyric.
But the Priestess paid no mind; her gaze was fixed intently on the patient, and her pupils slightly constricted.
“How can it be her…”
The patient in front of her, with dark red spots on the skin, breathing heavily, and weakly coughing up blood, was none other than the old woman she had chatted with earlier, who also sold her that little dragon pendant at a discount!
She had seemed perfectly fine just an hour ago—how could things have changed so drastically?
When she had interacted with her, Vilyric hadn’t sensed anything unusual about her health. Overall, she had seemed relatively healthy. Although she hadn’t paid much attention at the time and hadn’t examined her closely, as a level 110 Priestess, she shouldn’t have missed any signs of a problem.
So, there were two possibilities.
Either the Dragon Blood Disease is an extremely insidious, highly latent condition that even a powerful being like Vilyric can’t detect before it manifests…
Or, the old woman contracted the illness after parting ways with Vilyric and the others.
If it’s the first scenario… then it’s reasonable that the doctors in this city are helpless against a disease that even a level 110, healing-specialist player cannot recognize.
But could it really be that?
While Vilyric never saw herself as an omnipotent deity, she didn’t want to accept that there could be illnesses not detectable by her, especially in the realm of healing.
But if the first assumption is dismissed…
Then who had spread the Dragon Blood Disease to this old woman just a short while ago?
And precisely in the brief interval between her separation from Vilyric and the others?
Filled with various doubts, Vilyric placed her fingertip on the old woman’s arm, pressing down on a dry, dark red spot.
“Information Detection.”
Gentle gold ripples spread out, flowing back and forth around the old woman’s withered body and ultimately returning to Vilyric’s hand.
“…”
Bishop Isaac and Nastaia exchanged glances, nervously watching from the side, barely daring to breathe, lest they interrupt the black-haired girl’s examination.
After retrieving the examined information, Vilyric frowned thoughtfully but did not say much. Instead, she continued to lift her hand.
“Dispel.”
“Silence Spell.”
“Rapid Healing.”
Three skills with different effects burst forth in an instant, white, cyan, and golden light mingled together like a rainbow, slowly spilling from the palm of Vilyric and illuminating Grandma Amanda, gradually merging with her.
Without a doubt, the Priestess’s healing was highly effective.
The ghastly dark red spots that looked ominous quickly faded, as if being erased by an eraser, and the old woman’s expressions of pain gradually eased. Her breathing stabilized, color began returning to her face, and she looked peaceful as if gently asleep.
“To think…”
Bishop Isaac was so excited that he almost lost control of his emotions. He never imagined that this young girl suddenly brought in by the City Lord Nastaia would casually resolve the Dragon Blood Disease that had plagued them for over half a month.
Honestly, witnessing people die from this strange illness while being powerless to help was extremely difficult for someone in Isaac’s position as a priest.
If the number of affected patients hadn’t been relatively low, and the spread effectively controlled, he would have sought help from higher authorities long ago, instead of allowing Nastaia to leisurely post notices recruiting doctors to resolve the issue.
He had even written a letter to the Holy City this morning, intending to send it out upon his return, but he never anticipated such a dramatic twist in events.
Who exactly is this Miss Vilyric?
After all, even as the Temple Bishop, Isaac could only temporarily suppress the illness using faith-based magic, unable to cure it completely… Could she be a high-ranking priest from the Holy Empire, hiding her identity?
In the end, Isaac still couldn’t believe that any mage or doctor could outperform a priestess of the divine.
Once confirming that the elderly woman’s vital signs had stabilized completely, Vilyric stood up and let out a soft breath.
“She’s fine now. Let her sleep well, and she should awaken in a normal state.”
“Oh my God… this is incredible. Please forgive my previous rudeness; you truly are an exceptional healer.”
Isaac offered a priestly gesture of respect, and despite how he might suspect her identity internally, this girl undeniably commanded his respect.
“Miss Vilyric, she truly has…”
Nastaia didn’t have Isaac’s sharp perception, and even now found it hard to believe. While she could guess that Vilyric’s healing skills were extraordinary, she never expected her to so easily cure such a terrifying disease.
“Yeah, fortunately, the disease isn’t difficult to treat.”
Vilyric paused, then suddenly dropped a bombshell.
“Actually, the symptoms this old woman has aren’t caused by a virus or anything malevolent, but a mutation—a failed mutation.”
“What does that mean?”
Isaac immediately exhibited a humble demeanor, eager to learn, as he still couldn’t fully understand the cause of the Dragon Blood Disease.
From the first case that arose until now, it had been over half a month. The doctors and priests in Flame Dragon City had given their all, merely managing to outline the common symptoms of the disease and some temporary suppression methods.
This was only after many had already succumbed to deteriorating symptoms, barely discovering some countermeasures.
The vast majority of patients exhibited “dragon scale-patterned spots appearing on the body’s surface” and “coughing blood” as common symptoms, which is why it was named the Dragon Blood Disease.
However, Vilyric didn’t immediately answer his question.
“I’m not certain right now; it’s just a feeling, and there aren’t enough reference cases… let’s observe more patients and discuss further.”
With this, both Nastaia and Isaac naturally fully supported her, promptly cooperating to investigate and treat over a dozen of the most critically endangered patients.
Among these patients were elderly, young adults, and children, with no clear gender bias—this Dragon Blood Disease seemed to infect indiscriminately.
Vilyric couldn’t shake the feeling that… things were not so simple. Still, she wasn’t sure what was amiss.
After completing a series of treatments that miraculously restored over a dozen critically ill patients’ health in a short time, the sun was already setting.
There were hundreds of patients suffering from this Dragon Blood Disease at the clinic, and with just one day, it was impossible to treat them all. Though Vilyric could easily cover the entire clinic with a high-level magic for collective treatment, that would be too ostentatious and could lead to trouble.
Moreover, she was in no rush to cure all the patients; there were some aspects she wanted to investigate further for each individual.
Temporarily concluding today’s session, a visibly relieved Bishop Isaac repeatedly thanked and praised Vilyric before returning with the other priests to the Temple in Flame Dragon City, leaving only necessary emergency personnel behind.
They agreed to continue the treatment the following day.
As for City Lord Nastaia, she took the Priestess and her pet directly to a well-known local hotel, booked the best room, and expressed her desire to host a banquet for the two in gratitude for Vilyric’s contributions.
Regarding the payment for this consultation, she would settle it all once finished.
Vilyric agreed.
However, she only accepted the invitation to dine alone with the City Lord, requesting to prepare a quiet room.
Nastaia promptly nodded; she seemed to have sensed the Priestess’s intentions.
The food in this other world differed greatly from Blue Star, and although Vilyric wasn’t particularly hungry, she found the various unique spicy dishes of Flame Dragon City, the precious meats rich in fire attribute magic, and refreshing clear soups quite pleasant. So she ate a bit more.
After several rounds of drinks, Vilyric sensed the timing was right and decided to start probing Nastaia about what she really knew.
“Miss Nastaia, do you remember what I mentioned earlier about the essence of the Dragon Blood Disease being a form of mutation?”
The beautiful lady put down her wine glass, smiling gently.
“Of course, I’ve been pondering over it, but since you hadn’t spoken further, I didn’t want to pry. Have you made any discoveries?”
Vilyric smiled too; she neither confirmed nor denied, choosing to respond with a question.
“Are you familiar with the existence of dragon-blooded descendants?”