A Hospital in Another World? Chapter 1083: Have I Published Any High-End Papers? Let Me Think About It...

Garrett stood quietly under the suspicious gazes of those around him. He remained calm and composed, his heart like still water, not feeling the slightest bit of annoyance.

For one, these elves were relatively polite. Not only did they refrain from reprimanding him directly, but they also avoided whispering or exchanging glances with one another. Even with some doubts, they merely stood in place, communicating through their eyes.

Having grown accustomed to patients' families pointing fingers, shoving, shouting, and demanding to "call the chief" or "call the manager" at the slightest disagreement, Garrett found the elves' reserved behavior quite refreshing.

Secondly, this was, after all, someone else's territory... an outpost... a treatment center... which could be likened to a hospital. The current situation was equivalent to him traveling abroad without proper documentation or a medical license, eager to treat a patient. That would be practicing medicine illegally!

He had to prove himself first!

Thirdly, Lady Jasmine had just finished visiting her father and turned back to look at him, her eyes brimming with tears. The determination of the patient's family to have him treat the patient made Garrett feel that his trip had not been in vain.

Thus, Garrett stood his ground, casting a comforting glance at Lady Jasmine and gently patting her hand. Then he shifted slightly and turned his gaze toward the patient sealed within the heart of the tree:

His complexion... it was difficult to judge through the faint green hue of the tree's heart. Was it yellow? Black? Or some other color? Ah, if only he could break the seal and take a closer look;

His lips... also hard to judge, but a string of blisters around the mouth suggested ulcers;

His cheeks were gaunt, extremely so. Breathing... Garrett had stared for a full minute without seeing any rise or fall of the chest, suggesting that the patient was in a sealed state, with his metabolism reduced to an extremely low level...

As for his heartbeat, Garrett had tried to lock onto it with his mental energy but failed. Without a lock, he couldn't use the electrocardiogram spell. Even if he could, he wouldn't dare randomly cast it in such a complex magical seal...

Garrett glanced around and whispered, "He's been sealed in there for such a long time?"

"Yes." From the crowd, Elder Fahim, leaning on a polished, well-worn cane, nodded at Garrett.

"Sealed... for over thirty years. Hmm, let me think, thirty-two years, four months, and seventeen days."

Garrett gasped and looked at him with admiration. To recall the patient's admission date down to the day—what a terrifying memory and what a sense of responsibility!

Any seasoned doctor, any senior chief, who could recall such precise dates, was worthy of the utmost respect from their juniors!

However, Garrett was more concerned with something else: "Was he this thin before he was sealed? Or did he gradually become thinner over the years? His abdomen..." Garrett glanced at the patient's stomach:

"Was it this distended before the seal?"

"He was thin before, very thin, but not to this extent." Elder Fahim followed Garrett's gaze toward the patient.

"We watched him become thinner and thinner over the years until he was nothing but skin and bones. Occasionally, when we woke him, he couldn't eat, and his condition deteriorated rapidly."

Garrett frowned. A long-term bedridden patient would indeed become emaciated due to muscle atrophy. However, where would the necessary substances for even the lowest level of metabolism come from if the patient couldn't eat for such a long time?

Could the patient have been breaking down his own muscles to provide protein and amino acids over all these years?

"Young friend, are you going to treat him? Over the years, many healers have come and gone, many have examined him... We're always open to new healers joining in to help save our kin. Do you have any ideas about his condition?"

Elder Fahim asked with a smile. Garrett hesitated for a moment.

"I've just arrived here and haven't fully grasped the situation. If it's convenient, could you explain it to me?"

"Of course, of course." Elder Fahim's smile narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze, old but not cloudy, swept over Garrett, lingering especially long on his face—

Garrett suspected that the elder had seen through his disguise magic and even glimpsed his true face beneath. Ahem, speaking of which, what did his true face even look like? He hadn't looked in a long time...

"But not here. The sealing area needs to maintain an appropriate concentration of magic power; too many people would be harmful to the poor child and the ancient tree. Come, let's sit outside and talk..."

Led by the elder, the group moved outside. The elder's disciples and the gathered forest wardens bustled about, moving chairs, setting up tea tables, pouring tea, and serving snacks:

Even before Appa, a small pile of fresh berries was placed, and it ate with its eyes half-closed, tail wagging, looking very pleased.

"Let's start with introductions." Once everyone was seated under the ancient tree's shade, Elder Fahim clapped his hands and smiled as he pointed to himself:

"My name is Fahim Starry Morning. That long-winded, cumbersome name can be remembered later; just call me Fahim. Hmm, by human standards, I am a Nature Walker who has just entered the realm of legends. Unfortunately, my age has caught up with me, and I can no longer progress further."

Garrett stood up respectfully. —Thinking carefully, it made sense that the entrance to such an important elven sanctuary would be guarded by a legend. He bowed his head in greeting:

"Elder Fahim, hello. I am Garrett Nordmark, an 11th-level mage, 11th-level nature priest, specializing in the School of Evocation, with a focus on healing."

Elder Fahim's smile remained unchanged, but a few of the surrounding elves' smiles grew stiff. Garrett almost wanted to add their thoughts:

Evocation?

Healing?

What nonsense?

Why would Evocation and healing be paired together?

Fortunately, no one said this out loud. Instead, everyone introduced themselves one by one in turn:

"Anari Linga, 16th-level Nature Walker, healer. Elder Fahim's disciple." A female elf with light green hair tied up high and wrapped in vines nodded first.

"Antu Moonshadow, 15th-level Nature Walker, warrior, archer." A male elf with bulging arm muscles immediately followed, glancing at Linsong with evident admiration.

Before Linsong could respond, a third, cold voice cut in:

"Delara Von Loxia, spellcaster."

The female elf who spoke had short silver hair, a tall, slender figure, and a calm, expressionless face. Garrett followed the voice to nod and smile at her, only to pause suddenly and rub his eyes unconsciously:

Though the female elf's face was clean, it seemed shrouded in a layer of mist. Her features were clear when facing her directly, but as soon as one turned away, her appearance became impossible to recall...

What was this?

Some form of disguise magic?

He glanced at her a few more times, only to be subtly pulled by Aishe Moon Song, who indicated he shouldn't reveal any strange reactions. After the other elves and Cirilla introduced themselves, Lady Jasmine stood up gracefully, tears in her eyes, and bowed deeply to the elves in the forest:

"Thank you all for treating my father. After all these years, being able to see him again... I am truly... deeply grateful..."

"Young girl, Selwyn is one of our kin; it is the duty of every elf to help their own." Elder Fahim smiled and raised his hand to signal her to sit down. Then he turned to Garrett:

"Young man, the young lady from the Moon Song family says you are an experienced healer and willing to help treat Selwyn. As kin, we are, of course, very grateful, but as an elder, I also must be responsible for my patient. Do you understand?"

"I understand completely." Garrett sat firmly, smiling as he nodded at him:

"Such a difficult case wouldn't be immediately handed over to an outsider, especially an 11th-level nature priest. I need to prove myself first—so, how do you need me to prove it?"

"Hmm, at 11th level, basic wound healing, disease removal, and mortal wound treatment should be no problem for you." Elder Fahim stroked his beard and nodded thoughtfully.

He glanced around at the surrounding elves, his gaze briefly passing over several warriors before he waved one of them over:

"Maiglin, the bugs you just caught, bring out a few. —Young man, take a look, what would you use to treat someone bitten by these? What herbs and what healing spells would you use?"

"Um..." Garrett stood up, leaned over, and took a look, confused. He answered honestly:

"I don't recognize these insects, and I barely know any jungle herbs. If I were to treat it, I would immediately extract the parasite, drain the venom, neutralize the poison, prevent infection, reduce inflammation, and then treat the symptoms accordingly."

A flicker of disappointment flashed in Elder Fahim's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He nodded kindly:

"No worries, you're from the human world; it's normal not to recognize them. —So, we have a warrior who has been experiencing increasingly poor sleep lately. He can't breathe when lying flat and must lean back or even sit up to sleep. How would you treat this?"

"Orthopnea, consider heart failure or respiratory failure—" This time, Garrett responded without hesitation:

"Common causes include heart failure

, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mediastinal tumors, aortic valve regurgitation, pulmonary edema, pulmonary fibrosis, and so on. A detailed diagnosis is needed to further confirm the condition."

A string of unfamiliar terms poured out. Elder Fahim furrowed his brow for a long moment before smiling and sighing:

"I'm getting old, too old to understand these new human terms. Let's try something simpler, something everyone here can understand—"

He waved his arm at the surrounding young elven warriors and spellcasters:

"Since you're a mage, you've read the  and  journals from the Magic Council, haven't you?"

Garrett was stunned. The elder quickly blinked, his white eyebrows twitching mischievously:

"How many papers have you published in  and ?"