A Hospital in Another World? Chapter 1078: Has the Elven Secret Realm Become So Polluted?

Firelight flickered.

Fragrance lingered in the air.

In the clay pot, large chunks of warty pig meat tumbled around, bubbling away. Various spices, native to the Storm Islands, were stuffed into a large muslin bag, which floated and sank alongside the meat.

The meat hadn't even finished stewing, yet its tantalizing aroma was already spreading layer by layer.

On a clean stone slab, freshly baked muffins were just brushed with a generous spoonful of honey.

This honey, freshly extracted by Garrett from the beehive, had a golden hue. It was sweet, with a unique sense of power from the magical plants. The moment it touched the tip of the tongue, it excitedly bounced up.

After savoring the rich taste, one could take a bite of the fruit specially picked by Aishe Moon Song. The fruit looked ordinary, hanging unnoticed on the branch, but one bite revealed a refreshing flavor that cleansed the palate from the tongue to the stomach.

Then came a large piece of roasted venison. The fire, controlled by magic, was reduced to its lowest, penetrating every tiny fiber.

The rich taste of the meat intertwined with the sweetness of the honey, creating a luxurious flavor that made one crave for another big bite…

Golden-brown fried bird eggs…

A wild chicken, stuffed with tubers and mushrooms, roasted to a tender softness—by the way, the eggs from this wild chicken were also just served on the table…

Of course, these dishes weren't quite enough to fill the stomachs of this group of big eaters. To make up for this, Aishe Moon Song went underwater and brought back a big fish.

When she returned with a fish twice her own length and nearly as thick, the entire team—except for Sisoyin—was shocked:

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Come help!"

"Help unload the fish!—Be careful! This fish isn't even dead yet!" said Bernard, who clearly hadn't fought enough freshwater fish and lacked experience.

"Ouch! The tail hit so hard! It hurts, it hurts!" complained Garrett, who overestimated himself, trying to grab the fish's tail but failing to maintain his protective spell.

"I'll chop off its head!—What! This fish's bones are so tough! Is its whole head made of bone? I'll need to switch axes!" said Mr. Hawthorn, who was completely unfamiliar with the various fish in the rainforest…

"I'll scrape the scales!—Why are these scales so tough, like bone? Do I have to dig them out with a dagger?"

After a chaotic struggle, Garrett, rubbing his painfully sore shoulder—it really hurt, possibly bruised—cautiously approached the fish's head. Using his mental energy, he enveloped the entire fish and then commanded everyone to step aside:

"Move back! I'll handle the scales and bones!—Calcium Extraction Spell, activate!"

The entire fish immediately went limp. The fins stopped flapping, the tail stopped swaying, and even its mouth no longer struggled to open and close. It lay there limply, looking bewildered and ready for slaughter.

"Garrett, you're amazing!" Cirilla cheered. The Silver Dragon girl, despite her hands being covered in fishy smell, slime, and all sorts of strange substances, patted Garrett on the shoulder:

"From now on, whenever we eat fish, you're in charge of scaling and deboning!"

"Please, no…"

Garrett smiled bitterly. Miss, when you eat fish, do you ever worry about bones? The big fish you catch from the sea, don't they always have just one big bone in the middle with no other bones?

Regardless, the fish's gills, intestines, and all other internal organs were thrown far away. The huge fish body was cut into segments and grilled on the stone slab until it was golden and fragrant:

"Delicious! Delicious, delicious!" Cirilla eagerly grabbed a venison rib with her left hand, biting through both meat and bone with a crunch;

Her right hand seized a large piece of fish, and she stuffed it directly into her mouth. Concerns about food being too hot or too much at once were irrelevant…

As long as the food was good, these issues that troubled mortals never bothered the Silver Dragon girl!

Aishe Moon Song was the head chef, and Ms. Jasmine assisted her. Bernard and Mr. Hawthorn took care of all the heavy lifting. With this feast laid out, everyone was voraciously stuffing themselves—

Even Garrett was no exception.

"Garrett, don't get fat!"

"Don't worry, this much food won't make me fat! Mmm… Mmm, mmm, mmm…"

Garrett chewed vigorously. What a joke, how many kilometers had he run today?

Forty?

Sixty?

Eighty?

Or more?

With such intense exercise, if he didn’t replenish enough food, how could his muscles and bones hold up?

Running a marathon every day, eating several thousand calories extra was a breeze!

"Give me meat! I want that big fish tail! That piece of meat is the most flavorful!"

Fish meat!

High protein!

Low fat!

Connected to the powerful tail fin, rich in collagen. With all the calcium extracted, what's left is the gelatinous part between the fins. A big bite fills the mouth with a burst of fresh flavor!

"Delicious… really delicious… Sister Moon Song, the food in the Bountiful Forest is so good…"

After the feast, Garrett lay under a tree, rubbing his stomach, gazing at the full moon through the leaves, humming softly. As he hummed, he couldn't help but secretly reach out for the berries on the large leaves beside him:

Ah, these berries are delicious too… sour, sweet, a mix of various fresh flavors…

I feel like I can still eat!

I can eat another leaf full—no, even a basket wouldn't be a problem!

I have another stomach just for these things!

"Yeah, it really is delicious… The Bountiful Forest never lacks food; it has nurtured so many plants and trees, and so many animals. I've never seen so many different species of animals and plants anywhere else…"

Aishe Moon Song sat nearby, hugging her knees and gazing at the same full moon, but her voice unknowingly carried a note of sorrow:

"I hope that in the future, this forest will always remain bountiful, never to be tainted by darkness…"

Garrett fell silent. He suddenly stood up, grabbed a handful of berries, and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing vigorously. Then, he stood up and opened the Mage's Hut:

"I'm starting work!—Cirilla, are you free? Come help me!"

"Okay!"

The Silver Dragon girl jumped up. As she was about to enter, she suddenly waved her hand, stirring up a whirlwind:

The berries Garrett had grabbed in a handful;

The honey-drenched muffins;

The golden, fragrant fish;

The roast chicken, just removed from the fire, with a portion still uneaten…

All were swept up by the whirlwind and flew toward her. Without much movement, Cirilla just stood there, opened her mouth, and with a single inhale, the food disappeared into her mouth like birds returning to the forest.

"I'm full! Let's go!"

Aishe Moon Song's body stiffened, and she looked at Garrett, instinctively jumping up. She hesitated, raising her arm as if she wanted to enter with him, or perhaps to stop him.

Before she could move, Sisoyin had already grabbed her arm, half-supporting, half-dragging her in another direction.

"Let them go," the elder elf said softly, his voice filled with sympathy and sorrow:

"Let them go on their own. If they need help, they’ll call… don't look, don’t go…"

Garrett and Cirilla, one after the other, entered the Mage's Hut. In no time, the walls closed in, the door disappeared, and everyone was shut outside. The shadowless lamp had already been hung up, and Garrett and Cirilla worked together to set up the necessary equipment:

Glass dishes, paraffin, slides, cover slips;

Scalpels, surgical scissors, saws, chisels, large glass jars, small glass jars;

Various Petri dishes, various culture fluids, microscopes…

With another wave of his hand, the corpse of a unicorn fell onto the operating table. Its abdominal cavity had already been opened, and its organs were laid out. Garrett bowed to it in sorrow, closed his eyes, and began using mental energy to examine the body:

"… The range of energy erosion hasn't expanded."

"The anterior wall, posterior wall, muscles, bones—compared to last time, there's no change. We can tentatively conclude that while stored in spatial equipment, this energy erosion doesn't act."

"Now, we'll place it in a natural environment for a few hours and observe any changes. Cirilla, assist me; we need to open its skull and check for any changes in the brain cells… First, we shave off the head's fur…"

With each command from Garrett, Cirilla executed the corresponding action. Nearby, the oak staff extended a root, holding the  as it swiftly recorded the data and drew diagrams:

Though with the meditative core, the adage "a good memory is no match for a bad pen" might not apply, it was still important to keep records. In the short term, they could show Aishe Moon Song, or other elves, or perhaps the unicorn's kin;

In the long term, the process of autopsying a unicorn corrupted by foreign energy could serve as a model for students. Who knows, someday one of his students might need it?

"Shave off all the fur and examine the skull…"

"There are no signs of external trauma to the head

, so it’s likely the cause of death wasn’t due to a blow to the head… Now, prepare for the craniotomy. Cirilla, watch, when performing a craniotomy, we usually make an incision from the brow ridge to the occipital region…"

"Then, along the midline, we cut open the periosteum, using the back of the scalpel to peel the periosteum from the incision to both sides, exposing the frontal and parietal bones… Next, we use a bone drill to make a hole on one side of the parietal bone…"

"Given this is a unicorn, we should take some samples from the base of the horn for comparison. The unicorn's horn is the most resistant to contamination, so we can see if it’s been affected…"

Thus, as they dissected, Garrett explained, taking samples while describing the procedure. When the skull was opened, revealing the brain, both Garrett and Cirilla, standing on opposite sides of the operating table, gasped softly:

"Ah!"

Had the foreign energy already turned the unicorn, which was so adept at purification and resisting corruption, into this… or had it only become like this after death, when its body lost vitality?

"The Elven Secret Realm… the situation is getting worse." At the border of the Bountiful Forest and Rain Song Forest, a silver-haired elf gazed at the silver moon hanging above the treetops, feeling the shadowy claws that seemed ready to darken the moonlight, filled with worry:

"We must inform our friends, urging them to retreat as much as possible…"

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