Adol Sarenās face turned pale.
He followed the orders, running desperately on that strange machine. Faster, faster still, until he was gasping for breath, drenched in sweat, with his heart about to burst from his chestā
Oh right, that machine was crafted on the spot by a transmutation mage from the Mage Tower. As Adol ran, the transmutation mage squatted beside the machine, using magic to maintain and repair it.
Overall, it seemed unreliable from every angle.
So why was he running on it? Why was he running so hard, accelerating until he could barely breathe, and any slowing down would make him fall off the rubber beltā¦
Nordmark kept shouting, "Faster! Faster!" āIf he went any faster, heād die, wouldnāt he?!
Amid his grumbling, a cold, fierce aura hit him. Adol Sarenās chest tightened, his body stiffened, and he almost slipped off the rubber belt. What was thatā¦?!
What was it?!
So fierce, so terrifying, like a monstrous maw opening to swallow him whole. No chewing needed, just a snap of the teeth, bones breaking, flesh tearing, blood splatteringā¦
Was he going to die?
Was he really going to die?
His vision darkened, and he almost fell. Amid the buzzing in his ears, he heard his fatherās worried shout:
"Adol! Adol!āShould we stop him?"
"Donāt stop! Keep running!" a voice snapped. The voice was high, authoritative, full of confidence:
"Iām watching! Nothing will happen!āKeep running!"
Adol didnāt know what drove him. Fear of the speaker? Or instinctive obedience? Regardless, he gritted his teeth and kept runningā
Swinging his arms, lifting his legs, expanding his chest, inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, exhaling. The murderous intent pressed on him like a mountain, making every breath feel like a knife cutting.
Running, his vision darkened more and more, his consciousness blurred. It felt like swimming in a dark red swamp, completely lost, almost forgetting who he was.
Viscount Sarenās hands were sweaty. He glanced at Nordmark, who was focused on the light screen beside his son, where curves fluctuated and numbers jumped;
Then at the girl beside Nordmark, who smiled lightly, relaxed. She watched his son and then the machine with curiosity;
The new transmutation mage, focused solely on the machine, seemed unconcerned with anything else.
"Master Nordmark... should we let him rest... this..."
His voice trembled. Despite not being the target of Cirellaās aura, he felt weak, his chest tight, heart racingā¦
If not for worrying about his son, he might have collapsed. Where was this pressure from, and why were the other three unaffected?
Poor Viscount Saren didnāt know Garrett carried the
Endless Ink Pen
, making him immune to mental attacks. As for Norwood, ever since Cirella moved into the Mage Tower, heād mastered the
Anti-Dragon Aura
...
Garrett watched the ECG intently, occasionally glancing at blood pressure, oxygen levels, and Adolās condition, fully focused. Hearing the Viscount, he responded without looking up:
"No need, Iām watching. If thereās a problem, Iāll stop itāCirella! Prepare the healing spell!"
"Got it!"
Cirella responded enthusiastically, her fingertip glowing white, ready to cast a healing spell anytime:
Hmm, doesnāt seem needed for now?
Garrett stared at the ECG. Heart rate high, curve stable, no myocardial ischemia or other dangers...
No problem, he could hold on! After reaching maximum heart rate in a treadmill test, one could run for several more minutes!
Or, push a bit moreā
He focused, casting the
Encouragement Spell
, a spell giving warriors courage and confidence, helping them fight fear and ignore pain:
To Garrett, it was like an unknown dose of adrenaline.
The spellās effect was immediate. Adol felt a surge of strength in his almost bursting heart, the oppressive aura became less terrifying. Uncontrollably, he roared from his heart:
"Ahhhhhhā"
Running madly!
Sprinting wildly!
Exhausting all strength!
Gathering all spirit!
Withstanding the pressure, overturning the mountain!
Come on!
Come on!!!
"Heās advancing!"
Viscount Saren straightened, full of joy. Garrett stared at the ECG silently, while Norwood let out a heartfelt cry:
"The belt snapped ahhhhhā"
The speed of a knight or a level 4 warriorās body was incomparable!
Without time to adjust, the belt on the machine was trampled and finally snappedā¦
"Uhā¦"
"Uhā¦"
"Sorry, Master Mage," Viscount Saren hurriedly took out his purse, "Iāll compensate. Our viscount territory will definitely compensateā¦"
The chaotic scene ended with Garrett handing over a form. Not a bill, of course not, for handmade experimental equipment, he wouldnāt be stingy enough to demand compensation. Butā¦
"Please sign this experimental report." Garrett smiled:
"The content, process, and results of the experiment. Please review it, and if there are no issues, sign here."
Viscount Saren, trembling, read the report carefully. Not that he distrusted Master Nordmark, but a noble signing a mageās document without looking had long died outā¦
After carefully reading, he signed with a flourish, twisted the emerald cap on his seal ring, and stamped the magic seal, then began pulling out his magic crystal card:
"How much do we owe? Is a thousand gold coins enough? Or two thousand?"
"Hmmā¦"
Garrett hesitated, his gaze drifting. His offer to the council army was 1,000 contribution points for 20 people, treating one or ten at that rate.
So far, on average, three to four per group needed his treatment. Averaging 250 to 300 points per person, including othersā examination fees, it wasā¦
How much exactly? Converting contribution points to gold coins, how much was it?
Someone please set a price, he was really bad at negotiating! Ah, now thinking of the past life, hospitals had fixed price lists, such a blessed timeā¦
While pondering, Norwood coughed beside him:
"A
Blood Burning Potion
or
Burning Warrior
, official price 100 gold coins. Refined version is ten times the price, rare, needing favors to buy."
In other words, Garrettās actions saved the viscount at least 1,000 gold coins today.
"Three thousand gold coins!"
Viscount Saren immediately raised the offer. Garrett coughed and nodded slightly:
"Then itās settled. By the way, please take back the giftā"
"No no no! Please accept the gift!" The viscount, as if scalded, grabbed the jewelry box, placed it on a side table, and quickly returned:
"Especially the gift for the lovely young lady, it must not be taken back!"
Garrett glanced at Cirella. The silver dragon girl, eyes downcast, lips slightly curved, seemed satisfied. Good, the plan passed~~~
He warmly saw off the viscount and his son. Returning, Norwood approached immediately:
"Boss, this machineā¦"
"Ah!" Garrett raised his hand, stopping him. Enthusiastically clapping, he quickly gave orders:
"Norwood, write up theāuh, treadmill? Register it with the council. Have your apprentice create a new, more stable machine. Iāll write the paper, and weāll sell the machine to the temple!"
Three days later, Archbishop Nogla in his office opened Garrettās newly published paperā¦ Of course, a new machine matching the paper was placed in front of him.
"We noticed that monitoring the ECG of warriors helps closely observe advancement dangersāsince many advancement comas and sudden deaths are due to cardiac overload, this warning is necessary."
"The lack of close observation was mainly due to warriorsā intense combat during advancement, making ECG probes unable to stay attached. Therefore, we designed this machineā¦"
"Running hard on the machine, reaching maximum heart rate, then maintaining it. This method tests the warriorās cardiac enduranceā¦"
"Furthermore, during running, high-level warriors can exert pressure. Warriors running desperately have a certain probability of advancing under pressure. Since itās monitored throughout, this advancement method is relatively safeā¦"
"Seiren." Archbishop Nogla rubbed his temples wearily:
"Calculate how much this will cost us again?"
"ā¦The Alchemy Guildās quote is 1,000 gold coins per machine," Bishop Seiren replied respectfully:
"Replacing the rubber belt, lubricating oil, etc., and repair costs are extra. I think five to ten machines for the templeās first batch should be enough."
The key wasnāt buying the machines, but the subsequent repairs. No, repairs werenāt the most expensive part, the key was having people who could read ECGs!
Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.