New Continent, Tupa Tribe Camp, inside a spacious tent.
Ever since acquiring the new language, Kapak had been holed up in his tent, rummaging through his collection of wooden boxes, eagerly reading the inscriptions on the items within, and curiously learning about their uses.
The various intricate artifacts fascinated Kapak. As he examined these clever and practical items, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration for the invaders’ ingenuity. Though their actions were despicable, their advanced technology was something to aspire to.
“If one day our tribe could also create such ingenious things, not only would we be able to resist the invaders, but we could also live and develop better.”
As he sifted through the items in the box, Kapak couldn’t help but feel this way. He spent the entire afternoon sitting in front of the box, fiddling with its contents.
Just as Kapak was continuing to examine his collection, hurried footsteps suddenly approached from outside the tent. Hearing the footsteps, Kapak quickly gathered the scattered items and placed them back into the box. As he was closing the lid, the tent flap was pulled aside, revealing a bearded, burly tribesman with a look of urgency on his face.
"Baru? What’s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?" Kapak asked curiously, having just finished tidying up.
The man, catching his breath, replied, " Huff... huff... Shangya, Shangya has caught the Red Stripe Disease. She’s very weak now. The shaman says she might not make it through the night."
"What?! Take me to her!"
Hearing Baru’s words, Kapak immediately stood up and followed him out of the tent. After walking through the camp, which was filled with various tents, they finally arrived at a larger tent. Several people were standing at the entrance.Entering the tent, Kapak saw that many people had already gathered inside. They were crowded around a bedding area in the center, anxiously watching what was happening. There, a tribal woman, tears in her eyes, was cradling a girl about ten years old.
The girl in the woman’s arms looked weak, drenched in sweat, and was breathing heavily, as if suffering from a fever. She was semi-conscious, and her skin was covered with streaks of red marks of varying depths.
Seeing this, Kapak’s heart tightened, and he asked the woman.
"Aunt Muma... what happened to Shangya...?”
"It’s Red Stripe Disease... The shaman has done everything he can, but there’s nothing more to be done. This isn’t an illness caused by evil spirits, so ordinary herbs won’t work. The shaman says it’s all up to the will of the Great Spirit now, but you know... Shangya is so young... she won’t make it..."
The woman spoke with a choked voice, and Kapak’s heart sank upon hearing her words. His expression grew as grim as those around him.
Red Stripe Disease was an illness that had plagued the tribes of this land since ancient times. The cause was unknown, but once contracted, red streaks would appear on the skin, accompanied by weakness, fever, and even unconsciousness. It had a significant mortality rate.
Adults in the tribe had a chance of surviving the disease due to their stronger constitutions, but the elderly and children who contracted it were almost certain to die.
In this land, many illnesses were caused by evil spirits, and such diseases could be cured by shamans who drove out the possessing spirits. However, many illnesses, like this one, were not caused by spirits. In such cases, shamans could only rely on herbs, but their effectiveness was limited. For example, the current illness was beyond the power of herbs to cure.
Based on past experience, Shangya’s condition was almost a death sentence. The atmosphere in the tent was heavy with sorrow. This was not the first time they had experienced such a situation. Every year, a number of tribe members died from this disease.
After understanding Shangya’s condition, Kapak felt deeply discouraged. Like the others, he lowered his head, looking at the little girl tormented by the illness. Against this disease, they could do nothing but mourn.
Amid the woman’s sobs, the atmosphere in the tent was solemn. Kapak recalled the girl’s lively demeanor in the past, his heart filled with grief. Then, suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.
"Aunt Muma, wait a moment. Shangya might still have a chance. I’ll be right back!" Kapak said to the crowd, then, under their puzzled gazes, he rushed out of the tent.
Running through the camp, Kapak returned to his tent and began rummaging through his wooden box. After searching for a while, he found a small glass bottle containing white pills.
Holding the bottle in his hand, Kapak read the label on it, which listed the name of the medicine and its instructions.
"Alomesin Tablets, produced by Cobit Pharmaceuticals in Tivian. Specifically for New Continent Red Streak Fever..."
"New Continent Red Streak Fever... Could this be Red Stripe Disease...?" Kapak muttered to himself as he read the label.
He then carefully examined the symptoms listed on the bottle and found that they matched almost exactly with Red Stripe Disease. He also knew that the invaders referred to the land he lived on as the "New Continent."
"So it really might be Red Stripe Disease. A disease that the tribes have been unable to cure since ancient times, and the invaders managed to produce a cure in just a few decades?"
Holding the bottle, Kapak muttered in disbelief. However, there was no time to dwell on it. After checking the dosage, he poured out two pills and rushed out of his tent, heading back to Shangya’s tent.
"Aunt Muma, give these to Shangya."
Arriving in front of the woman, Kapak handed her the pills. The woman looked at him with a hint of confusion.
"Kapak... what is this?"
"It’s a herbal powder pill given to me by a wandering shaman I met before. He said it’s effective against Red Stripe Disease. Give it a try."
Kapak said this because, due to the invaders’ atrocities, the tribe harbored a deep distrust of industrial products other than firearms. So, for now, Kapak didn’t dare to tell the truth.
"Is that so...? Then let’s try it..."
Hearing Kapak’s words, the nearly desperate Muma took the pills and, with a glimmer of hope, gave them to the semi-conscious Shangya, followed by a sip of water.
After that, Kapak and many others stayed in the tent, waiting. They waited for over two hours.
During those two hours, the girl in the woman’s arms, who had been breathing heavily, gradually began to breathe more steadily. The red streaks on her skin began to fade, her fever subsided, and she fell into a peaceful sleep.
Seeing this, everyone in the tent looked on in amazement, and the woman turned to Kapak with joy.
"Great Spirit! This... this is truly miraculous! Kapak, your medicine really worked! Thank you so much, Kapak! Your medicine saved my Shangya!"
The woman exclaimed gratefully, and the onlookers began to murmur in astonishment, discussing the incredible scene before them.
"Hey, Kapak, you’re amazing! You can even cure illnesses now..."
"Red Stripe Disease is something even the shaman can’t handle, but this kid’s medicine actually worked..."
"Kapak! Do you have any more of that medicine?"
...
Amid the chatter, Kapak was momentarily stunned by what he saw, but then he too felt a surge of joy.
“It’s true! The medicine really works! It can cure Red Stripe Disease!”
Kapak thought to himself, feeling immensely grateful that he could now understand the invaders’ language and knew how to use the medicine.
“Praise Aka, the knowledge you bestowed upon me has allowed me to help others in the tribe. This is truly wonderful.”
Kapak smiled as he realized the true value of knowledge. He had more than just that one bottle of medicine in his collection. If the others were equally effective, he could help the tribe overcome even more diseases.
Not just medicine! If he could master the invaders’ other technologies and even create their tools, the tribe could escape backwardness, hunger, and disease.
“The reason the invaders can slaughter our people is because they have more advanced weapons, medicines, and tools. If we could have and use these, we could resist them to some extent.”
But all of this required knowledge! More knowledge! Kapak realized that simply learning the language wasn’t enough. To better help the tribe, he needed more knowledge about the invaders’ advanced technologies.
And this, the spirit known as Akasha could provide, as long as he could offer equally valuable knowledge in return!
At this thought, Kapak paused. He couldn’t immediately think of how to find knowledge valuable enough to offer to Akasha.
After celebrating Shangya’s recovery with the jubilant crowd, Kapak returned home. Along the way, he pondered silently.
“It seems I’ll have to find an opportunity to ask the shaman if our tribe has any hidden, valuable knowledge.”
...
On a quiet corner of King’s Campus Library.
Having just exchanged for new knowledge, Dorothy sat with a deep look of confusion on her face.
“Slow Time Shout? A 30% Slow Timedown within a ten-meter radius, with no effect on myself, lasting five seconds of my own time. Seems decent, but... why did I only get one segment? When I used Pritt Common, I got three segments of Unrelenting Force. This time, using the complete Spirit Glyph, I only got one segment of Slow Time? And this Slow Time have a range limit? It can’t affect anything outside the radius? That’s not how it worked in the game…”
With these questions swirling in her mind, Dorothy decided to ask the system. It usually answered questions about its own functions.
“Hey, system, why did I only get one segment of Slow Time Shout this time when I used Spirit Glyph, but with Pritt Common I got three segments of Unrelenting Force? And why does Slow Time have a range limit?”
The system quickly responded.
“Reply: Slow Time involves the time axis and is an advanced Shout, requiring more linguistic knowledge to fully unlock. The range limit exists because the time axis structure of this world differs from that of Nirn. This Shout cannot command the entire time axis.”
“If you are dissatisfied with the Shout’s power, after learning enough Dragon Language characters and gaining basic mastery of the Dragon Tongue, you can expend additional Revelation spirituality to enhance the Shout’s power. If you choose to enhance Slow Time, you can increase its range, but it is advised not to exceed a five-kilometer radius, as abnormal fluctuations in the time axis may attract the attention of divine beings.”
After the system’s reply, Dorothy fell into deep thought.
“Slow Time is an advanced Shout... so it costs more? That makes sense. If each segment slows time by 30%, three segments would total 90%, almost like stopping time. That’s pretty overpowered... And because the world is different, the time axis structure is different, so it can only slow time within a range, not affect the entire world. That also makes sense…”
“But what’s interesting is that after mastering enough characters, I can use extra Revelation to enhance the Shout’s power. If I have enough Revelation later, I can use the surplus to strengthen the Shout. I wonder how efficient that is? But I have to be careful not to overdo it with Slow Time, or it might attract the attention of gods…”
Shaking her head, Dorothy stopped thinking about the Shout and turned her attention to the new "pen pal" she had connected with through The Literary Sea Logbook. She was also very interested in his information.
“From the sound of it, the other person seems to be a young man, fluent in a language called Spirit Glyph, not a Pritt-folk. This Spirit Glyph looks like a series of stamps, not like the alphabetic scripts popular on the mainland. It must be some kind of pictographic script.”
“The young man knows a few Pritt Common words, and the language he uses isn’t an alphabetic script from the mainland, so he’s probably from one of Prittish’s overseas colonies. He might be a native of that place.”
“Hah... these words really can travel far. They’ve even reached overseas. I only gave a bit of Revelation, could it really travel that far? It’s more likely that my Revelation landed on a book in the Pritt Kingdom, which was then taken overseas by a ship and found by that native.*
“I should look up some information later to see which colonial people use this Spirit Glyph. Royal Crown University must have some folklore studies…”
Dorothy thought to herself. The Royal Crown University library, while lacking in mystical texts, had an extensive collection of mundane books on every subject imaginable.
“Perfect. I’ll spend a few days reading in the library. By then, Nephthys should have finished reading Thorn Velvet’s mystical texts, and we can move on to the next step.”
With this thought, Dorothy stood up and decided to check if the library had any materials on colonial folklore.
...
Two days later, King’s Campus, the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge gathering place.
"Phew..."
Sitting in her usual spot, Nephthys turned the last page of the book in front of her and closed it with a snap. After taking a deep breath, she looked at the cover.
The Procession of the Hive Queen, Volume 4.
“Finally, I’ve finished reading all of them…”
Thinking this, Nephthys gently closed her eyes and began to silently pray, asking the hidden deity to cleanse the contamination in her mind.
A moment later, Nephthys opened her eyes again. The strange sensation in her mind had disappeared. She had finished reading all four volumes of Thorn Velvet’s books, but her mind remained uncontaminated. She was still the same as before.
“Now, it’s time to inform Miss Dorothy. We can begin the next step…”
Standing up from her seat, Nephthys thought with determination.
=====================
Author’s Note:
By the way, the medicine mentioned in the text is a type of antibiotic in this world. The invention and widespread use of antibiotics have effectively treated many illnesses and injuries caused by bacterial infections, making a significant impact.
Originally, antibiotics were invented and popularized in the 20th century, something that wouldn’t exist in the Victorian era. However, this is a fantasy world with its own setting. Many aspects of this world, including medicine, are far more advanced than the Victorian era. I’ll explain the reasons for this later.