The Freak Show Foreman

The man who had been receiving treatment stumbled backward with a loud crash.

"Aaargh!"

With a terrified expression, he screamed at Wonderstein.

He had just come out after consuming several harsh drinks. He had only mustered the courage to inflict a wound upon himself under the influence of alcohol, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do it while sober.

However, the moment he saw the young man smiling at him, his intoxication vanished.

For some unknown reason, he felt a sensation of excitement as the cursed plague in his body, which had been dormant, seemed to leap with fervor towards the young man.

And the moment the young man's hand touched him, he could clearly feel it.

Something powerful was trying to tear through his shoulders.

So, unintentionally, he screamed and retreated backward.

He gasped for breath and groped the area where Wonderstein's hand had touched.

The torn and damaged part of his body should have been felt.

However, there was nothing.

Literally nothing.

Not a touch on the skin, nor the gooey flesh, the tentacles, or the foamy substance.

Nothing could be felt.

The man looked down at his shoulder with astonishment.

He wore an expression of disbelief as he continued to touch the area.

It was undoubtedly his shoulder.

Moreover, the monstrous presence that had been attached to him had disappeared and was nowhere to be found.

Only the lingering lumps and red spots on his skin indicated that he had been afflicted with something.

"W-What on earth…? Ah!"

The man looked at something wriggling on the floor.

A writhing creature with spikes and a flipped-over flesh lump.

It was the monster that had posed as his shoulder, now lifeless.

The monster was dead.

The man looked bewildered and turned to the young man.

"Uh, um… Is this, by any chance… cured?"

It was quite awkward to face the target he had just screamed and pushed away as if it was a demon.

However, Wonderstein smiled as if he didn't care at all.

"Yes, of course. I successfully removed the Debulroot that was attached to your body."

His smile radiated pure kindness.

The man felt something welling up in his chest.

It was an emotion shared by everyone present in that place.

The residents surrounding him erupted into joyous cheers.

Intense cries of relief and comforting words filled the air.

Even Ivanenko and the soldiers, who could be considered reluctant participants, showed signs of joy.

They, too, had been worn down by repeated despair.

Yet somehow, the wandering magician managed to cure those afflicted by the curse plague.

After that, things progressed rapidly. As Wonderstein's hands touched one by one, the degenerated parts of the curse plague patients fell off as if losing energy, and the infected areas recovered with only minor injuries, returning to their original state.

Some of the degenerated parts resisted.

They bared their teeth, screamed, and spewed a green liquid. However, those who experienced such actions found themselves drained of all strength and collapsed as soon as Wonderstein's hands touched them.

[?????］

As he absorbed the Debulroots, the status window became so damaged that reading the text was nearly impossible. His body also grew increasingly tense, as if he had caught a severe cold. Nevertheless, he continued the recovery work.

The penalty for quest failure, 'Debulroots -200,' was no longer visible.

The Debulroots he was currently enslaving had already surpassed that obtained during the Rose Windmill's test. He realized the absolute scarcity of Debulroots.

With the breakthrough of the dressing room, skill book, and the Circus Troupe's fame reaching 150, the places where he needed to use Debulroots continued to expand. However, the ways to obtain resources were limited.

Relying on daily contributions from the average favorability of troupe members and circus fame, along with occasional member quests and sub-quests, constituted his entire source of Debulroots.

In the previous showdown with the Satbyeol Circus, he had depleted the Debulroots gathered over two months in just one week. Despite having to face five more tests in the future, he couldn't guarantee that the required Debulroots would be less than during the Rose Windmill.

But just now, by touching 30 people, he acquired an amount of Debulroots equivalent to half of what he had gathered in the past three weeks.

Though he experienced pain, the effect of the smiling man's analgesic and the anticipation of future Debulroots were sufficient reasons to endure.

*Sub-Quest – Plague Treatment

: A plague has spread in the village. Please rescue the people.

Conditions for completion

: Rescue 200 people infected with the plague. (30/200）

Reward upon success

: None.

Penalty upon failure

: [Debulroots -200］

With a simple calculation, if he rescued 200 people, it was an opportunity to obtain more than three thousand Debulroots. It was an opportunity he could not afford to miss.

"Mr. Magician…?"

Ivanenko cautiously approached him.

The initially rigid attitude was now gone, replaced by a very polite demeanour.

Treating 30 plague patients in an instant was an amazing skill. Even considering that they were in a milder condition than other residents, it was still remarkable.

"Can you treat patients in a more severe condition than this?"

"Of course, leave it all to me."

Wonderstein nodded confidently, wearing a smile full of confidence.

The expressions of the residents in the hall brightened.

The path to salvation for their families, neighbours, and friends had opened.

"The urgent patients are all in the village church. The local priest there has been using sacred powers to treat patients."

"Didn't the priest collapse from exhaustion earlier?"

"That's correct. Due to his age, he could handle around 20 patients a day."

"I understand. We need to hurry. Oh, before that, I'm thinking of changing clothes. Do you have any spare clothes?"

On Wonderstein's suit, dozens of fangs from a snake were attached, dangling like ornaments.

It was the monster attached to the hand of the last patient he treated, attempting to attack before being deprived of Debulroots and succumbing.

Wonderstein received clothes from Ivanenko and went into the room.

Maya's gaze followed him.

Change clothes? Maya knew about his ability.

With a simple snap of his fingers, he could change his or someone else's clothes effortlessly.

There was no need to ask for clothes or find a separate space to change.

Could it be?

Maya had an uneasy premonition. She had felt it since he declared his intention to 'cure' the disease.

Debulroots was an extremely dangerous curse.

She didn't doubt the abilities of the leader, but she wondered how he intended to 'cure' the disease.

With his genius ideas about magical theory and the power he possessed as a mage, she hoped for something extraordinary.

However, what he showed her surpassed her imagination.

As his hand touched the deformity, the curse vanished like melting snow.

It was a similar effect to the priests of the Holy Church injecting sanctity.

He had perfectly removed the mutated area.

In some ways, it was superior to the Holy Church's method.

When sanctity was injected, the mutated area burned and caused pain to the host as if it were on fire. However, Wonderstein's method cleanly separated the mutated area without causing any harm to the person.

What could be the principle behind this?

An ordinary magician would not have been able to find even the slightest clue no matter how much they observed.

However, Maya was the greatest genius in the history of the Magic Academy.

In the midst of the situation repeating 30 times, a few theories and speculations crossed her mind, and she could make one inference.

Maya cautiously approached the room where Wonderstein had entered.

Through the slightly open door, his figure without a robe was visible from behind.

His shoulders and back were agile but at the same time, had well-developed, sturdy muscles.

However, she couldn't feel any beauty or embarrassment while looking at it.

It was because of the dark blue bruises engraved on his back.

They wriggled and spread like something alive.

It was the moment her incomplete hypothesis fell into place.

He didn't cure or remove the deformity.

He had accepted it into his own body.

Maya's pale face turned even paler.

It was a local area, but it was the deformity of 30 people.

Accepting that into his body was like taking on that disease himself.

Are you in your right mind?

Maya felt anger towards him.

It had been a long time since their first meeting.

Perhaps because of that, her breathing became a bit rough.

Wonderstein's superhuman hearing didn't miss it.

"Who are you?"

Wonderstein untied his clothes and turned around.

The deformity wriggling on his body was completely covered by this.

Maya hesitated for a moment behind the door, then extended her head.

Wonderstein, seeing the girl visible at the door, greeted her with a welcoming smile.

"Oh, Maya. What brings you here?"

Seeing him smiling as if nothing had happened, Maya felt frustrated.

She barely controlled her eyes, which kept trembling.

"Are you going to the church?"

"Yes. There are more people there who need help."

Help who?

Maya wanted to say what she wanted to him.

If he was willing to endure the pain like his usual self, she should have respected his choice.

He would go his way, and she would go hers.

That had been Maya's way of living, her way of looking at people, and her attitude towards life.

It was like that for everyone except family.

So she had heard comments like being arrogant, heartless, or lacking humanity.

She was even indifferent to such gossip.

Even when the teaching instructors acted that way, it was a bit annoying, but that was all.

But now, after becoming an adult—after the age of 22 for her—the roots that had supported her for the first time felt shaky.

"I know."

"What?"

His clothes changed, and after turning around, her single word caught Wonderstein.

She smiled at her mentor, who looked at her.

"I know that the director absorbed the deformity."

For the first time, the cat that had silently twisted in her mind made a soundless meow, and tears welled up.