Chapter 226
In the muttering of the little demon, Garrett carefully took out his purse, coins laid out one by one.
In terms of contribution points, he now had over 1500, which could be considered quite wealthy; however, he only had a little over two hundred coins. More going out than coming in, so far, there hasn’t been a stable source of income that could regularly provide coins.
This was still the result of working in the clinic for a while and accumulating some cash. After coming to Nevis City, the Magic Council provided food, shelter, and research conditions, which could be considered quite favorable. The problem was, the Magic Council issued rewards using contribution points, and Garrett was reluctant to convert his contribution points into coins...
"Only 258 coins left..." Garrett furrowed his brow. Two hundred in one bag, fifty in the other. These two bags were separately packed in cowhide bags and were not easily taken out for spending; in the sheepskin bag containing loose change, there were only eight shiny gold coins left.
Who knows how much he’ll need to spend tonight.
Garrett swept most of the coins into his purse and picked up the lone one left outside, handing it to the little demon. As the coin disappeared into blue smoke, the ethereal form of the little demon solidified, holding the bell, then leaped down. Garrett immediately handed over a glass rod:
"Here, make it twice as long, and make sure it’s even! Even!"
The little demon clasped its hands together, sparks flying as flames shot straight upward. The glass rod gradually softened in the flame, the little demon’s hands pulling it apart, stretching it...
"Oops, it’s bending! That won’t do! It needs to be straight!"
Fortunately, the glass rod could be reheated and reshaped. The little demon waved its hands, heating and shaping the glass rod horizontally and vertically, back and forth for a while, until finally, a 2-millimeter diameter, 15-centimeter long glass rod was pulled. Garrett took it and waved it around, relieved that it didn’t break:"Not bad, not bad. Let me try it!"
Holding the glass rod like a pen, Garrett touched the tip to the culture medium, taking a deep breath. Closing his eyes, adjusting his breath, clearing his mind, activating his magic...
Clear, transparent green light flowed from his fingertips onto the glass rod, then along the rod to the culture medium, emitting a faint glow. It was like casting a spell—or rather, divine magic was indeed part of extraordinary power. On the gel-like culture medium, a small colony of bacteria bloomed where the light touched.
"Yes!"
Garrett cheered softly. Up to now, he still didn’t quite understand how divine magic energy spread, but he could only roughly interpret the part visible to the naked eye as light; and indeed, this beam of green light extended along the direction of the glass rod, not dispersing much into the external environment.
Using this method to control the cultivation of divine magic was feasible!
"Coin, make me another one, as thin as a hair... Coin..."
The little demon disappeared. As the duration ended, the little demon turned into blue smoke and retracted into the bell, needing to recharge before coming out again...
The second time tinkering with the glass wasn’t as smooth as the first. No matter how the little demon pulled and stretched, it couldn’t produce a glass filament thin enough to meet Garrett’s requirements. Either it was too thick, crooked, or it snapped halfway...
One coin wasted, then two. Seeing the dwindling coins in his purse, Garrett racked his brains and finally came up with another possible way to succeed:
"Coin, create a plate with fine holes—extremely fine, only allowing hair-thin filaments to pass through—then melt the glass, pour it onto the plate. Let the molten glass flow through the holes, then gently squeeze it from above, letting it drop down naturally.
Oh, and put up a barrier around it to prevent the glass thread from being blown crooked by the wind..."
It must be admitted that the coin’s ability in fine craftsmanship was indeed commendable. After three failures under Garrett’s guidance, it actually managed to pull out several glass threads as thin as hair. Well, maybe a bit thicker than hair, but Garrett couldn’t tell with the naked eye...
The coin’s work didn’t stop there. It not only pulled out the glass threads but also, as per Garrett’s request, neatly embedded them into the back of scalpels, the center of thin silver rods, the edges of forceps, and so on. While performing surgery, he used healing magic (instead of cauterization with an electric knife) to stop bleeding, no longer just a dream.
Feeling happy.
Garrett’s lips curled into a smile. Holding a silver rod, he pointed it at the culture dish again. This time, the bacterial colony in the dish was slightly smaller than the last time.
And the divine magic wasn’t completely exhausted! The consumption of a single spell was at most half of a level 0 spell!
Garrett floated around the room for a while, not touching the ground with his feet, spinning in circles now and then. If his mobility weren’t limited and the shoes weren’t unsuitable, he could have spun 32 circles on his toes right then and there...
He now had a powerful tool! He could cultivate bacteria barehanded! Fantastic!
No more worries about purifying penicillin! As long as it was separated, he could just keep on fostering! Fostering!
After floating for a while, Garrett gradually calmed down. He threw the last three coins in his purse, letting the little demon pull out hundreds of glass threads, each one embedded into metal rods—silver, copper, steel, whatever. With just a silver and copper coin left in his purse, he didn’t feel a pang of regret. He went to the steamer to add firewood.
After disinfecting hundreds of metal rods with high-temperature steam to ensure sterility, it took Garrett about an hour. He picked them up one by one, starting to foster bacteria in the culture dishes. Releasing magic, then switching rods, releasing magic, then switching...
Even though the consumption each time wasn’t enough for a level 0 spell, repeating it hundreds of times made Garrett feel dizzy and his temples throbbed. He covered the last culture dish, hugged his oak staff, and stumbled out of the lab.
Closing the airlock, rinsing, walking to the buffer zone, changing clothes and washing again. After completing all the procedures, Garrett collapsed in the lounge, slowly closing his eyes, entering a state of meditation.
In the core of meditation, the final step of shaping the muscles throughout his body remained. Skeletal muscles completed, smooth muscles completed, left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium, right ventricle all completed, Garrett closed his eyes, step by step, beginning to construct the pericardium with his mental strength.
The pericardium is a membranous sac covering the surface of the heart, used to protect the heart and prevent excessive expansion of the heart cavity. It looks like a conical sac at first glance, but when subdivided, it has several layers, none of which can be taken lightly.
Garrett first molded the inner layer of the heart, also known as the serous layer. The serous layer is relatively thin, smooth and moist, divided into visceral and parietal layers, with the pericardial cavity filled with pericardial fluid; after molding the parietal layer, he then molded the outer layer of the pericardium, which is dense connective tissue, tough and tight, with little elasticity. Just the three layers with different structures and forms exhausted Garrett.
After the last segment of the pericardium was completed, he circled around the root of the aorta and finally finished. Next, it was extending the blood vessels from the heart...
The aorta, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, superior and inferior vena cava, and many other blood vessels, each carefully modified, making them closer to the state of the body.
Ah... so tired...
Garrett leaned back, spread-eagled on the bed. As soon as he lay down, his spine suddenly twitched, and he sprang up as if electrified.
That power, that familiar yet strange power, that gentle yet vast power, quietly descended.
Garrett scrambled back on the bed, his back against the wall. Just as he settled into position, that power rushed into his meditative environment, like a gentle rain, moisturizing every inch of the muscle constructed in the void.
In the void, white light silently circulated. The standing figure began to move again, this time, it was tendons tightening, muscles contracting and relaxing, driving the changes in posture.
Intermuscular movements, smooth muscle tightening and relaxing, relaxing and tightening again, simulating the state of visceral peristalsis. Even the newly constructed heart, thudded, thudded, beating evenly and powerfully.
In the core of meditation, the bones, muscles, connected as one, nourished the body with spirit.
A light ’pop’ sounded. It was like a soap bubble being popped, yet also like a balloon being blown to its limit, finally exploding. When Garrett opened his eyes again, his connection with this world had become another layer tighter.
No one needed to tell him, he understood: his spiritual power level, along with his priest level, had firmly stepped into the third level.
And, he was lucky this time, he didn’t have to wait after finishing the muscle construction, he immediately leveled up?
Was it because he threw out enough this time? Let’s count, the entire set of middle school chemistry, electrolytic refining, liquid air separation and purification, he even popularized the microscope?
Garrett silently noted down the conjecture that "popularizing technology = leveling up," and let himself fall asleep. The next morning, when he wanted to energetically immerse himself in the bacterial cultivation business, the door was being knocked vigorously.
"Who?"
"Boss, someone is looking for you at the door--"
The barbaric voice rang out loudly. Since Aurora Worton joined, the barbarian also learned his way of addressing, calling Garrett boss for everything. Garrett opened the door and saw a neat row of cavalry outside the fence, with a somewhat familiar knight at the forefront, surrounding a black carriage with only the symbol of the Magic Council and no other decoration.
"You are..."
"Mr. Garrett Nordmark, hello." The knight stepped forward and saluted properly: "I am Knight Barrin, a follower of Archmage Carlisle, and I am here on the Archmage’s orders to pick you up. There has been recent espionage activity by the Radiant Church in the city, and the Archmage has instructed you to return to the Mage Tower immediately."
"Oh... Knight Barrin. I remember you!" Garrett suddenly realized. After the battle with the Radiant Church, some of their team members were pursued and killed at the foot of the mountain. Archmage Carlisle ordered this Knight Barrin to "take care of it." Come to think of it, he owed him a favor and hadn’t repaid it yet.
"Do we have to leave now?" Garrett looked back reluctantly at the laboratory. Knight Barrin saluted again: "Yes, it’s urgent. The Archmage’s meaning is, please return immediately."
There’s no fun in resisting orders. Garrett obediently boarded the carriage, and Knight Barrin closed the window, not letting his face show. Along the way to the foot of the mountain, he switched to a small train and climbed to the mountaintop. Before entering the office, he heard Archmage Carlisle angrily speaking to someone:
"At this juncture, the project is not concluded, the paper is not written, and you are still running around outside! Without concentrating on meditation, how can you possibly level up?"
"Uh..."
Garrett’s hand, raised to knock on the door, hesitated and then withdrew. He didn’t know if he should go in immediately or find a guest room first, stay away for a couple of days, and then figure it out. However, the beautiful walnut door was pushed open with a swish, and Aurora Worton ran out low as if fleeing, almost bumping into Garrett.
Under the gaze of everyone, Garrett walked into the room with a forced smile and slowly raised his hand:
"It seems like, I just leveled up yesterday..."
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