WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈

Chapter 36: The Firefly Prince (6)

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* * *

After I began researching a smallpox vaccine, every thought I had was fixed on a single piece of black magic for creating one.

“So you want my help modifying a plague curse so that it is neither too powerful nor harmful?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Hmm... Very well. I want to see what you create, too.”

The principle behind making a vaccine was relatively simple, but the time and effort required were anything but.

Several years to analyze the pathogen and determine how to weaken it safely.

Several more years to test whether the resulting vaccine was safe in animals.

Then several more years to test it on people.

Altogether, it easily took over fifteen years.

Even with magic, there was a limit to how much that period could be shortened.

Fifteen years was more than enough time for my youth to disappear.

Then, in the middle of all that, a Great Sage who had lived for a thousand years suddenly proposed a master-disciple relationship.

It might become a leash around my neck someday, but there was no option but to seize the chance.

“Master, what do you think? Is a curse like this possible?”

“Julian, as you know, this would not be easy even for me. Your request is like asking me to create fire that is not hot.”

Naturally, the answer was that it would be difficult even for my master.

A curse of disease that did not cause illness, yet made someone experience it as though they had been sick.

And a curse that would keep an egg from spoiling.

That was the curse I had asked my master to create.

It was no different from asking for a sword that cut nothing, fire that did not burn, or ice that was not cold.

“Have you prepared any knowledge or symbols that may help create this spell?”

“Yes. I have prepared some.”

I was not irresponsible enough to make such a request without preparation.

I had already organized some of the necessary knowledge so my master could create the curse.

Of course, it would have been impossible to make my master understand the principles of pathogens and immunity all at once, so I explained them in terms of existing knowledge as much as possible.

“The longer someone is exposed to a weak curse, the more resistant they become to that curse... Certainly. It is a well-founded claim.”

“Then will this knowledge help with the magic, Master?”

“Julian, there is no knowledge in the world that is useless. I laid the foundation of earth magic by studying how stones by the roadside gradually become soil.”

My master was not the only one gaining knowledge through that process.

I, too, inherited an immense body of magical knowledge.

During that time, we also exchanged questions like these.

“Julian, you truly are strange. The hypothesis you brought contains remarkable insight into the workings of disease, yet you are as ignorant as a blank sheet when it comes to the formula needed to bring it to life through magic.”

“I am still less than an apprentice where magic is concerned. I am only a child.”

“But ordinary alchemists and scholars are ashamed of what they do not know. They pretend to know it, however forcibly, or try to hide it. Yet you acknowledge your ignorance and accept knowledge.”

“That itself is knowledge.”

“Since you mention it, let me ask you something. Julian, what exactly is knowledge to you?”

I thought about the question for a moment.

What would be the most fitting line for a cool protagonist to say here?

After some thought, I gave the modern twenty-first-century definition of an expert.

“True knowledge does not come from knowing. It is knowing what you do not know, and knowing where to find the answers to what you do not know. I believe that is knowledge.”

Modern medicine was so vast that even a genius doctor could not master every specialty.

That was why hospitals had collaborative care systems, as well as countless medical journals and paper databases.

Sometimes, people distrusted doctors who looked things up, but the ability to search properly was itself one of the qualifications of an expert.

Of course, I was not sure whether that definition suited an age where romanticism still thrived and search engines did not exist.

Still, I thought it was a fairly good answer to my master’s question.

“Huh...”

My master blinked blankly, then let out a sigh.

I smiled.

“I do not know about curses or magic. But I know exactly whom to ask for knowledge about them. Does that not make me an excellent wizard as well?”

“Heh.”

A laugh slipped from between my master’s lips.

Then, as if unable to hold it in any longer, my master burst into loud laughter.

“Yes! That’s right! Hahahaha!”

My master repeatedly slapped a knee and laughed heartily.

After laughing for some time, my master wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and spoke.

“If the fools hiding in the Mage Tower, puffing themselves up with pride, heard that, they would clutch their necks and foam at the mouth! When a disciple asks something for the first time, they do not think of teaching it. They only blame their disciples for being lazy! If that is how they act, why call themselves masters at all? I want them to hear what you just said!”

“I... I did not mean it that way.”

“I know, Julian. You are not the type to go around criticizing people. I am merely talking nonsense in my old age, so pay it no mind.”

With a pleased smile, my master gathered up the knowledge I had organized.

“Good. My disciple is trying to make use of me like this, so I cannot disappoint you. I will complete the curse you desire.”

After that, we spent our time modifying the plague curse.

And then three years passed.

* * *

“Julian.”

“Yes.”

“Where black magic is concerned, you have now reached nearly the same level as me.”

“...No. I still have much to learn.”

Before I knew it, I had accumulated knowledge of black magic nearly equal to that of the Father of Magic.

Black magic.

The more I studied it, the more I realized it was medicine.

Black magic was originally a collective term for magic that could violate another person’s life.

Necromancy, which violated the bodies of the dead.

Hypnosis, which violated the minds of others.

Curse magic, which violated living life.

Those were the kinds of things collectively called black magic.

But ultimately, medicine was the form those fields of knowledge had taken after developing.

No wonder it had been so easy to understand.

It was easier to grasp when I connected necromancy to surgery and curse magic to internal medicine.

For the record, I could not learn hypnosis.

Psychiatry was not an area I knew well, either.

I should not have regretted it...

But perhaps because I was a man, I felt a little disappointed.

At least I was the protagonist. Have a drink.

In any case.

After resisting the temptation of sinister hypnosis, my knowledge of black magic had reached the point where it could be compared to my master’s.

“There is no need to be humble, Julian. I did create black magic a thousand years ago, but I did not study it much after that. It is not strange that you caught up.”

That was what my master said, but the Great Sage’s knowledge of black magic was by no means shallow.

Judging by experience alone, my master’s level was equivalent to that of a black mage with forty years of practice.

There was no way I, who had studied it for only three years, could catch up.

“I still have much more to learn, Master.”

“Hmm... That attitude of yours still has not changed. Arrogance may be the enemy of truth, but this seems a little excessive.”

In any case.

According to my master, my knowledge of black magic had reached a level where I could speak with my master freely.

In other words, I had risen to the level of an associate professor.

Thanks to that, the end of that long and tedious research was finally beginning to come into view.

“Let us change the catalyst from lead to silver.”

“Should we replace the symbol of death with a snake’s shed skin, Master?”

“Let us add this conditional statement as well. vestigium = verus, inscriptio = falsus. It will probably fizzle, but still.”

And in the end, we created it.

A curse that did not cause illness.

“...We finally succeeded, Master.”

Because of the Julian persona, I could not exactly cheer.

But I could not hide the tremor in my voice through acting alone.

Thankfully, my master seemed too overwhelmed to notice.

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

With trembling hands, I carefully lifted an egg.

In the past, when we injected failed curses, the inside of the egg had been horrific.

There would be clumps of dark red blood, or the entire contents would decay into black, murky liquid.

The tiny embryo inside the egg could not withstand the toxicity of the curse and died.

But what was visible beneath the magic lamp now was completely different.

The thin chorioallantoic membrane surrounding the interior.

Blood vessels stretched clearly across that transparent membrane like a spiderweb.

Within it, the embryo pulsed faintly without losing its vitality.

And white, opaque spots bloomed across the chorioallantoic membrane.

Those spots were proof of our success.

“Finally...”

“Then is the medicine you spoke of complete now?”

I shook my head.

We had only taken our first steps.

Now, we had to culture the weakened virus inside this egg and carry out countless tests to ensure that the cultured virus was safe.

But...

“Master, we no longer need to fear plagues.”

A good start was half the battle, and if this was half of what remained, we were practically there.

My joy lasted only a moment.

I remembered what I had to do first and carefully set the egg down.

“Master.”

Then I bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

“...”

“This would have been impossible without you, Master. I could not have created it even after twenty years on my own.”

I must not get the wrong idea.

I had merely spent three years getting a free ride on the knowledge the Great Sage had accumulated over a thousand years, then used it to create this magic.

I had not even created the magic alone.

That was why I could not forget to give my master credit.

“It is all thanks to you, Master.”

“Hoho. This is not something you need to thank me for, Julian.”

My master waved a hand.

“I only translated your idea into magic. You were the one who conceived of this medicine.”

“But you were the one who put it into practice.”

“You were the one who conceived of it. Let us end this argument. It is an achievement of both of us. Would it not be foolish to argue over who came first?”

I nodded.

I knew well the weight of the idea my master spoke of.

“I understand.”

“Now, should we not prepare for the next stage? You said animal testing, correct?”

“Yes. I will have to ask Wangcho... Hex.”

“Good. Go and prepare. I will take care of the cleanup today.”

“Thank you, Master.”

I bowed once more and left the laboratory.

On my way to see Wangcho, my steps felt lighter than ever.

* * *

Author’s Note

I am planning to release several chapters in a row for the first time in a while.

I will schedule an additional chapter for tomorrow morning.

Footnotes:

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