In April, gardenias are in full bloom.
A Cult stronghold in the northern wilderness was cleared, and several survivors inside were rescued and placed in the main city hospital of Delin District for treatment.
With his body still wrapped in bandages and smelling the smell of disinfectant in the air, Rogers slowly woke up. He felt aches and pains throughout his body, and it was somewhat difficult to even move his fingers.
However, he still survived.
Looking at the pale ceiling above his head, lying on the hospital bed unable to move, Rogers began to recall his short life.
When he was a child, he played with his companions in the countryside, stepping on mud puddles and cow dung, waving branches in his hands, and spreading his excess energy everywhere.
Later, he fell in love with Alisa, the daughter of a barber, but unfortunately her father looked down on him, which inspired his fighting spirit, and eventually led him to leave the village and go to a big city to study, hoping to become a powerful Mage.
He had no foundation, no money, and no one who could guide him. This made his early academic journey full of setbacks. Later, he mixed with a group of similarly marginalized people and wandered the alleys of the abandoned city.
Until that day, he found that the money he had saved was forcibly taken away by his companions and exchanged for Stone Core. His companions also mocked him that he could only use this to learn the unknown Rock Core School advanced method.
But how could he give up, so he ran away that night, and then met the group of people who changed his destiny.
Until now, he still didn't know the identities of those young people, but he thought they must be rich or noble, so he casually gave himself a set of third-level Mage advanced secret techniques.
From then on, he officially entered the path of Mage, and later successfully condensed "Obsidian Furnace" to become a third-level Mage.
The next few years were probably his happiest days. With this strength, he participated in various tasks, made a lot of money, and also figured out his direction and path to the fourth level, if everything went well.
However, fate was not so kind. After Plague broke out, his life was also affected, and many of his previous plans were put on hold.
In order to obtain rare advanced resources, he had to participate in some dangerous missions, and then his luck ran out here. He was caught by a Dark Mage and taken to their secret experimental site.
During more than a year there, he was forced to participate in various experiments and saw many people who were captured like him die in the experiments. However, his futile struggle could not change the situation. He could only endure it and hope that it would end one day.
Finally, after a torturous year, Mage Alliance's suppression organization continued to hunt down the remnants of Twin Snake Cult, and the testing ground where he was imprisoned was discovered and cleared.
In this way, he was rescued and came back to life again.
The gardenia on the bedside exudes a faint fragrance. He has not smelled the fragrance of this plant for a long time. He was not here before.
Flat things now feel so beautiful and joyful to him.
"Huh----"
Pain and soreness still filled his body, but now his heart was at peace. After coming out of such a dark place, everything ordinary was so beautiful and precious.
One month passed, and it was time for Rogers to be discharged from the hospital.
"Mr. Rogers, are you feeling okay?" A doctor in a white uniform stood in front of him.
"Much better than before." He was still a little weak, but the tormenting pain in the past had indeed subsided a lot.
"That's good----" The doctor looked at his report, and the room became a little quiet for a while.
"Actually, I have something to say to Mr. Rogers." The doctor put down the report in his hand.
"You have been injected into your body by Cult's Dark Wizard with the mutation potion they developed. This thing comes from ancient times and is the potion used by Wizard to transplant the blood of extraordinary creatures."
"Those blood potions come from "Phoenix", "Dragon", "Hill Bear" and other ancient and powerful creatures, so that people can obtain the same powerful power. From now on, Technology has given birth to many new things, such as the later Griffin, "Chimera", "Cockatrice", and the Orc group we see today."
"Although you have been rescued, the bloodline in your body has been permanently changed. In the future, this mutated bloodline will bring more changes and influences to you. I am afraid you will not be able to return to your previous state."
Hearing these words, Rogers stayed where he was, his heart falling continuously, as if he had been sentenced to death.
"Then there's absolutely nothing we can do?" He was very unwilling.
"Well, theoretically it's not the case." The doctor slowly shook his head.
"But, you should know that some methods only exist in theory."
"If you can get Radiant Moon"Hour's blessing and let it Purification the dirty blood in your body to make it pure again, you can naturally recover."
Hour is such a being, almost equal to a god. How could he listen to the prayers of such a small person? Rogers's newly raised hope was instantly shattered.
"What about other methods? Is this kind of thing only Hour can do?"
"Let me think about it, if there is a Named One on the Radiant Moon·Secret Speech" path, maybe he can try to trace back your bloodline and restore it to its original state." After the doctor said this, Rogers became a little more hopeful.
"If it was a year ago, the Alliance's crown prince was still alive, he might be able to help you, although there is not much hope for you to see that crown prince." Sodras, one of the three Named Ones, is exactly the Named One of "Secret Speech·Gold Steam·Radiant Moon".
"Unfortunately, that person has passed away, and now there is no more Named One in the Alliance." The doctor sighed.
Hearing this, Rogers fell into silence, and a kind of confusion spread in his heart. Then what did the doctor say?
Well, he can no longer listen.
"----Although it is cruel, if you accept it, I would like to invite you to participate in a plan." The doctor looked at Rogers and spoke slowly.
"What plan."
"This is----a plan that requires people to think deeply." The other party's expression was slightly complicated.
"In short, in order to defeat Plague, understand the principles of Twin Snake Cult's secret technique, and find their weaknesses, we need some volunteers to reproduce the other party's secret technique and dig deeper into its power."
After finishing speaking, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had completed some kind of difficult task.
"In other words, you want me to stay and continue to be a test subject?" Rogers is not the kind of young man who has just left the country and understands what the other party means instantly.
Taking a deep breath, the doctor nodded slowly, then picked up the water glass and drank some water.
"Well, we know this is a little hard to accept for you, but in fact, if you agree, we will provide you with many treatments and resources for free to ensure that you will not suffer too much pain."
If he is discharged from the hospital now, the blood mutation in his body will continue to occur and affect him in the future. As an ordinary Mage, he cannot find a suitable doctor to treat him during the current epidemic. Medical resources are in short supply everywhere, and he cannot afford the expensive treatment. What's more, the people who can understand the blood mutation and its impact are high-level doctors who have no contact with him. Such a person is a guest wherever he goes now.
After listening, Rogers was silent.
"Then will there be a day when I can become a normal person again?" He said slowly.
If it were used as a test subject, almost no one would think of returning him to normal. They just hope to use him to realize more conjectures, and then participate in more uncertain experiments to discover possibilities.
His level is not high, but he has already entered the third level. He understands that the pursuit of truth in a profession like Mage will never stop.
"I don't know, but if we succeed, there should be one day." The doctor replied.
"Not just for you and me, but also for those who have been tortured by Plague, and for the future of this continent."
"I can't say that you will definitely return to normal one day, but at least all your efforts and sacrifices have irreplaceable significance. Many people are fighting for the future."
"Everyone is looking for their own value, looking for the "body" that can carry their dreams, desires, dignity and all other desires."
"Fairy in the ancient times once said that all advancements are Transmutation. The essence of all life is like a weak insect, which needs a beautiful and powerful body for protection. When one day, you and this body "integrate into one, and become one and the same, then you will be great and immortal, beautiful and eternal."
"This "body" is the "path" and "vision" pursued by countless people.
After listening, Rogers was silent for a long time, as if he was doing some mental construction in his mind, and finally he asked a question.
"If it is true as you say, then which path am I walking on?"
"The "Gold Steam" who recasts everything in the world, or the "Nightmare" who has collapsed rationality and despair?"
"I don't know." The doctor opposite closed his eyes.