A Hospital in Another World? Chapter 1080: The Torrent in the Shadows

"Garrett, look at that bush over there, with its segmented main stem. We call it the Green Nine-Section, also known as the Soul Vine. If you pick its leaves and process them, you can use them to enhance the range of your mental energy!"

"Garrett, don't touch that frog! Remember, it's particularly small, only about the size of a fingertip, with bright colors—golden yellow, crimson red, and brilliant blue. It's extremely poisonous; just a drop of blood will kill!"

"Garrett, come and find a campsite!—Don't always think about opening your Mage's Cottage. You're a servant of nature, so communicate with it, ask where it's suitable to camp!"

Garrett pushed through the bushes, hanging his head in dejection as he followed along. His special training with the elf wasn't over yet, or rather, Aishe Moon Song was becoming even more diligent, trying to cram all her knowledge into him.

Why do I have to learn this?

I'm a mage! If I need to camp, I can just open the Mage's Cottage!

If that doesn't work, I can cast Rope Trick and crawl inside to get through the night!

But there was no way around it. First, Aishe Moon Song was pressing him hard. Second, learning multiple skills would always prove useful in the future. And third...

Garrett also knew that this time, Sister Moon Song was taking him to treat Lady Jasmine's father, staking her own reputation to ensure it.

When the time comes, bringing a barely-twenty-year-old half-elf novice who can't recognize plants, animals, or even find a campsite...

All doubts will be directed at Sister Moon Song!

Fine, I might as well learn!

"...The campsite should ideally be near water... near water... on high ground near water..."

Garrett racked his brains, trying to recall fragmented memories from his past life, combined with some camping experiences Bernard and Mr. Baronessimo had taught him in this life, to find a suitable campsite. After wandering around for a while, he finally found one.

"Sister Moon Song! Look! This spot isn't bad!"

"This won't do." Aishe Moon Song took one glance and shook her head.

"Look at this watermark; when the water rises, it'll flood the campsite. Do you want to wake up floating?"

"Uh..."

Garrett hung his head in disappointment and continued walking forward. As the sky grew darker, it became apparent that if they couldn't find a campsite, Sister Moon Song would really make him sleep outside.

Out of desperation, he transformed into a bear form and ran forward with all his might. After a while, he called out again:

"Sister Moon Song! Look here! The ground is high, and the water won't reach!"

Aishe Moon Song followed the sound and came over. She took a quick look around and dismissed his choice:

"Look at these hoof prints—this one's from a wild boar, and that one's from a capybara. They come to the river to drink water, and if they come, the leopards will come to hunt. If you don't want to be bitten on the neck in the middle of the night, go ahead and sleep here!"

"Please, Sister Moon Song!" Garrett's face was covered in tears.

"Do I really have to memorize a bunch of paw and hoof prints? I'm a mage, not a hunter!"

"Boss, I'll memorize them for you!" The barbarian eagerly stepped forward. Aishe Moon Song shot him a fierce glare, causing the over two-meter-tall barbarian to shrink back. She turned to Garrett with a stern face:

"Where's your mental energy? Where's your natural affinity? Ask! Ask the plants around here—where the water will rise to, what animals come to drink, if there are mosquitoes, if there are poisonous insects... Ask!"

Garrett: "...T_T"

Fortunately, it was a matter of communicating with mental energy. If he had to ask out loud, Sister Moon Song would probably reprimand him with "What do you think your nose is for?"

After going back and forth three times, they finally found a suitable place to stay. Before Garrett could clear the ground, Aishe Moon Song had already taken out a handful of seeds and gently held them up.

The seeds sprouted, branched out, and grew into long vines. One end extended to the left, the other to the right, winding around the trunks of two tall trees. Then, from the two trunks, countless fine vines emerged, intertwining and weaving themselves into a net.

"See that?"

Aishe Moon Song raised an eyebrow at Garrett.

"In the forest, sleeping in a hammock like this is more convenient than sleeping in your Mage's Cottage. If any magical beasts pass by, drink water, or hunt, they'll just walk underneath, without disturbing each other."

Seriously?

What's wrong with the Mage's Cottage?

Garrett was just about to argue when Sisoyin had already squeezed in, inspected the rope net, and chuckled. Then, he turned to Garrett and nodded:

"She's right. A Mage's Cottage standing on the ground might be dug up or knocked over by a bad-tempered magical beast. It's more comfortable to sleep in a hammock, and you'll have a quiet night."

"Uh..."

Garrett thought about it and realized it made sense. But when it came down to it, he still preferred to sleep in the Mage's Cottage:

"No worries, I'll just change the spell model. I'll merge the Mage's Cottage with nature; no beast will be able to dig it up!"

However, with such a Mage's Cottage, everyone crammed inside wouldn't fit. Apa alone would take up half the space, Cirilla would surely want a room to herself, and as for Bernard, would he sleep on the floor in Garrett's room?

"It's fine; I'll try the hammock too." Lady Jasmine eagerly joined in, holding a few vines between her fingers to make one for herself and another for her husband. Sisoyin shrugged:

"I won't sleep in that thing; it's too cold."

He conjured a vine at his fingertip, which split into two, then four, then eight, and into countless strands, burrowing into the ground. The vines dug into the earth, creating a large pit.

Sisoyin burrowed into it, and the soil collapsed over him, covering him completely. Garrett watched in shock:

"What the..."

"Hey, kid, you don't get it." The middle-aged elf lay comfortably in the earth, with only his head exposed above the pit, winking at Garrett:

"The soil here gets heated by the sun during the day, making it warm. Sleeping in it at night is super comfortable. Oh, my old back, my knees, they'll be nice and warm..."

Alright, you win. Garrett shrugged and turned to head back to his own place. Just as he turned, he heard Sisoyin shout:

"Hey, kid! You have to sleep diagonally in a hammock; otherwise, you'll fall out!"

Huh?

Who's he talking to?

Garrett curiously turned his head. He saw Mr. Hawthorn twisting and turning on a nearby tree, trying to shift from lying straight to lying horizontally. Not far away, Lady Jasmine looked up with amusement at her husband:

"Should I tie another vine around you to secure you in the hammock?"

"No! No!" The tall mercenary vigorously shook his head. Clearly, he had his pride, especially in front of his wife:

"I'll manage on my own!"

Lady Jasmine smiled at her husband and lay back on her hammock. The group settled in, some in the Mage's Cottage, some in hammocks, some in pits. Before long, the entire campsite gradually quieted down.

Garrett, as usual, conducted experiments, observed corpse tissues, and reviewed spell models, working late into the night until he finally drifted off to sleep. It felt like he had just closed his eyes when a sudden scream pierced the silence:

"Ah—"

Garrett leaped out of the Mage's Cottage. Light spheres rose around the campsite, revealing Mr. Hawthorn standing on the ground, waving his arms, stomping his feet, spinning in circles, and hopping about.

He jumped around, slapping himself all over, pulling at his clothes, tugging at his pants, kicking off his shoes...

His movements were so bizarre that Garrett had only seen similar antics performed by spellcasters in the great wilderness or by shamans from northern tribes in the New World during their ritual dances. No, strictly speaking, it was even weirder than those...

At least they didn't tear off their clothes while dancing!

"Enemy attack!"

Garrett shouted. His hands moved rapidly, casting a series of defensive spells on himself. He had just finished three spells when Aishe Moon Song snapped at him:

"There's no enemy attack! Step aside!"

"Huh?!"

Garrett was stunned. Aishe Moon Song had already jumped down effortlessly, pulling Mr. Hawthorn aside with a vine. She waved her other hand, causing the light spheres in the camp to brighten:

"Look, look, what's on the ground!"

Garrett bent down to see that a black torrent was surging forward, densely packed, and upon closer inspection, it was made up of countless large ants:

"What huge ants!"

Garrett exclaimed. Each ant was longer than the first joint of his pinky finger, their powerful mandibles clicking menacingly, making one's skin crawl. The torrent flowed across the ground, past where Mr. Hawthorn had been standing, and was now heading straight for the Mage's Cottage!

Without thinking, Garrett cast a general spell for repelling insects and snakes in front of the cottage. However, this simple trick seemed to have enraged the army ants:

The black torrent paused for a moment before rearing up. They formed an ant bridge several meters high, their bodies stacked head-to-tail, and came crashing

 down towards the Mage's Cottage.

"Bernard! Apa! Cirilla! We need to move!"

Garrett had no intention of challenging a million ants. He quickly cast a spell, expanding a force field barrier to briefly halt the army ants. Then, he threw out another Mage's Cottage nearby and called for everyone.

Retreat!

Give these things some space!

Cirilla, Bernard, and Apa filed out, grinning as they watched Aishe Moon Song conjure a small fireball, which she used to carefully burn off the ants clinging to Mr. Hawthorn.

Sensing the heat of the flames, the ants opened their mandibles and obediently dropped to the ground. As for the ants that had bitten into Mr. Hawthorn and been knocked off, their powerful mandibles remained embedded in his skin...

"Let me handle this." Garrett had to step forward. With a wave of his hand, a Cleansing Spell swept over Mr. Hawthorn from head to toe. The tall mercenary let out a long sigh of relief, finally relaxing, though still visibly shaken:

"I fell asleep and rolled off... I was too tired, and the ground was comfortable, so I didn't want to climb back up to sleep..."

And then the army ants crawled all over him... Truly unfortunate and also quite comical...

Garrett shook his head, both exasperated and amused. Beside him, Aishe Moon Song crushed an ant between her fingers, her expression growing more serious as she watched the massive ant swarm:

"They've been corrupted too... When did even they become corrupted..."

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