Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 21 Muscle Strain
Major Moritz produced a small silver coin from somewhere and fiddled with it in his hand. The coin moved deftly between his fingers, appearing and disappearing intermittently. Winters didn't notice this, but Andrei was completely captivated by the major's magical handling. He thought to himself: I absolutely mustn't play dice with this senior, or I'll definitely lose my pants.

“Although you have several external injuries, your coma is clearly not caused by them. Other spellcaster trainees who did not have these injuries also fell into a coma.” Major Moritz pondered for a moment and then spoke of some of his observations.

Winters then realized that the other unconscious students around him were all spellcaster students from the same year as him, from the same region as the Azure Sea. A quick count revealed that they were all there.

"Did all the spellcasters faint last night?" Winters asked tentatively.

“Not last night, but the night before last. You’ve been unconscious for almost two days.” Major Moritz told Winters about the current situation without reservation: “The United Province says that almost all spellcasters have lost consciousness, but we don’t know if they are telling the truth. I can only be sure of one thing: when we came to pick up the trainee officers yesterday, all the Hailan spellcaster trainees were in a deep coma.”

Major Moritz chuckled softly, as if he had just realized something. "That's why General Layton was so angry."

“Yes, Winters, you didn’t see it, but I’ve really seen something amazing.” Andrei added happily from the side, “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Chief Cornelius get so badly scolded and not be able to say a word.”

"If it weren't for Cornelius, why would we send a brigadier general to pick up the cadets?" Major Moritz was also very happy. It was clear that the fact that Chief Cornelius had been scolded by Brigadier General Layton was a recent source of joy for Major Moritz.

Winters recalled the lash he had received while on duty the previous night, and his goodwill toward Brigadier General Layton suddenly increased.

Cornelius was hot-tempered, ruthless, and decisive, with drastic methods. The soldiers both respected and feared him; in everyday interactions, he was indeed quite unpopular. However, he was highly capable, and it was rare for him to suffer a setback. Winters deeply regretted not being able to witness Colonel Cornelius being reprimanded.

"Let's talk about your current situation," Major Moritz said, turning the conversation back to Winters. "I've seen many injured spellcasters, but I've never seen anything like what you're going through."

Major Moritz pointed to Winters and the other unconscious trainees: "You didn't fall into a coma because of external injuries. We have no way of knowing what internal injuries you suffered. But since you are awake, the others should be able to recover on their own as well."

"Has no one else woken up? I remember waking up once already," Winters asked hastily, certain that he had a conscious memory of it, and it wasn't a hallucination.

“Some people never wake up, while others, like you, wake up once. They’re given medicine and then fall asleep again,” Major Moritz said, fiddling with the silver coins.

"Medicine! That's right, someone fed me medicine!" Winters suddenly remembered that he had drunk a slightly bitter liquid.

"That's not really medicine, it's a sleep aid I concocted. I don't know if it'll work. I wanted to help you fall asleep, so I mixed two sleep aids and gave you a little." Major Moritz explained to the two warrant officers what kind of sleep aid he had used:

“I have severe insomnia. The Fremans would dry the roots and stems of a plant, grind them, and drink the infusion to treat insomnia, and I happen to have some of the powder they use here; the natives of the Far Western colonies of the Pseudo-Muro Empire like to enter a calming state by chewing a type of leaf, and the natives claim that they communicate with their ancestors in this way, and I also happen to have some of that dried leaf.”

When you first regained consciousness, you were clearly in immense pain. It would have been better to keep you unconscious, so I tried mixing these two things together and feeding them to you to help you return to sleep. Thankfully, it worked.

Winters then realized who had helped him. The last time he was awake, Winters was in so much pain that he wanted to roll on the floor, but this time he could bear it. He said gratefully, "The medicine you prepared must be effective. I feel much better than when I was awake last time. Thank you, senior."

“No, no, no, you’re mistaken. It wasn’t my medicine that helped you, and what I concocted wasn’t medicine, just a sleeping aid.” Major Moritz waved his hand gently and stated his conjecture: “My sleeping aid won’t repair your body; your body is repairing itself.”

“Repair the body?” Winters didn’t understand what the major was talking about.

"I believe that you fell into a coma because you suffered a severe injury somewhere in your body. It's just that there's no external wound, so outsiders can't see it. This kind of invisible injury can only rely on your body's self-repair ability. When does your body repair itself? I guess it's when you're in a coma or asleep."

This means that while you are unconscious, your bodies are actually working hard to repair themselves. However, when you are awake, the intense pain caused by your injuries can actually hinder this repair process. Therefore, I put you into a sleep state to give your bodies more time to heal.

Major Moritz's explanation was clear and easy to understand, and Winters grasped it readily.

Winters tentatively suggested, "If I want to recover faster, should I sleep more?"

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s correct.” Major Moritz nodded.

"Could you give me some more sleeping pills?" Sleeping is Winters' favorite activity.

“That’s all. I only had a little of each of these sleep aids in stock. I originally intended them for my insomnia, but you’ve used them all up.” Major Moritz spread his hands helplessly. “But…”

Regardless of the language used in the world, anything before "but" can be considered nonsense.

“But…” Major Moritz said with a smile, “I have another way that can achieve a similar effect to medication in helping you sleep. You can give it a try.”

"Uh... thank you, senior." Winters was also puzzled, so he could only nod and express his gratitude.

"Don't thank me. You should thank your classmate who has been taking care of you these past two days. It was your classmate who stayed with you the whole time," Moritz reminded Winters.

Winters quickly stood up and bowed deeply to Andrei: "Thank you so much."

"No, no, no, don't thank me..." Andrei also quickly stood up and explained apologetically, "I just changed shifts less than an hour ago. Before that, Bard was taking care of you. He couldn't take it all day and just went to sleep."

"What? Bard?"

--------------------------------

The weather is clear and the waves are high, with colorful flags fluttering on the mast.

The speedboat, fully loaded with trainee officers from Hailan, had sailed out of the rain zone. The trainees no longer had to be trapped in the dark and damp cabins, and everyone rushed to the upper deck for some fresh air.

Taking advantage of the good weather, Winters and Bud also enjoyed the sea breeze on the upper deck.

"You drank back what you spat into the cup last night, did you know that?" Bud asked with a smile.

"Don't mention it, please... I feel like throwing up just thinking about it." The hangover made Winters' head throb, and this time it wasn't the phantom limb pain from using magic, but a real, visceral headache. Only after truly understanding Major Moritz's "alternative therapy" did Winters realize how unreliable first impressions could be. His refined demeanor was merely a facade; his true nature was alcoholism.

The major was referring to alcohol as a substitute for sleep aids, and the idea of ​​achieving a similar effect to sleep aids was to drink until one lost their memory.

Moreover, the major preferred rum, a spirit favored by lower-ranking sailors, rather than wine or ale.

Since sugarcane was introduced from the Far East, sugarcane plantations of all sizes have sprung up like mushrooms after rain on the island chain outside the Gulf of Cenas.

Rum, a byproduct of the sugar industry, also began to gain popularity in the Cenas Bay region, and it is unknown when it became Major Moritz's favorite.

Under the guise of treatment, Major Moritz, who was looking for drinking buddies, got Winters drunk until he was unconscious, and indeed fulfilled his promise to help Winters "achieve a near-drug-induced sleep effect".

"So how are you feeling now?" Because Winters was almost drunk, Bard was very curious about the effects of Major Moritz's treatment.

"I have a headache, feel nauseous, and want to vomit," Winters said weakly, leaning against the ship's railing.

"I was asking about magic."

“Well, I think the major’s theory makes some sense; sleep can indeed repair the third hand.” Winters had to admit that the inexplicable pain he felt every time he woke up was less. “By the way, did you get any gunpowder?”

“Here it is.” Bud pulled a small horn tube from his satchel. “I asked the captain for some gunpowder, and he just gave me a dime. I’ll return it to him when you’re done.”

Winters took the gunpowder cartridge, pulled out the stopper, and poured some gunpowder onto the ship's side. Then, recalling the feeling of using fire magic, he maintained his casting gesture and tried to ignite the small pile of gunpowder in front of him with a fire spell.

Using the fire spell to ignite gunpowder is a skill that spellcasters learn when they first begin, and it is arguably the easiest effect to achieve.

But the gunpowder did not ignite as Winters had expected; instead, Winters' phantom limb pain, which had been gradually subsiding, flared up again.

Winters was in so much pain that he was shaking all over. He felt unsteady on his feet, so he held onto the freeboard with both hands and waited for the pain to subside.

Bard quickly poured Winters a glass of strong liquor: "There's no need to rush into trying magic. Don't worry, your magical abilities are definitely still there. The fact that your phantom limb pain is gradually subsiding means your magical abilities are gradually recovering, doesn't it?"

"I was just giving it a try; I didn't expect to recover so quickly." Winters held the wine glass in his hand but didn't drink. "It seems I can only heal slowly."

“I think it’s quite apt for you to call your magical talent ‘the third hand’ and ‘the fifth limb’,” Bard said thoughtfully. “Look, isn’t this a muscle strain from overexertion?”

"Hahahaha." This quirky analogy tickled Winters' funny bone: "You're right, I've pulled a 'magic muscle' right now. Not just a muscle strain, I feel like my tendons almost snapped."

After laughing, Winters said to Bard, "By the way, you said you'd definitely be assigned overseas. Look, aren't you here in the Republic of Aquamarine now?"

“I did apply for overseas assignment, and I never expected to be assigned to Veneta.” Bard was in good spirits despite not being sent overseas: “It’s just that this year is unusual; there haven’t been any overseas assignments, everyone’s stayed home. But I still feel a little strange…”

"Don't think too much about it. Going to Hailan is better than being sent overseas." Winters was as optimistic as ever: "Don't worry, the Hailan Army won't deliberately exclude people from the United Province. Besides, I'm here for you, so don't worry."

“I don’t really care about regional discrimination, because no matter where you are, it’s the poor who are discriminated against the most.” Bud’s perspective is always unique, but his attitude has always been peaceful.

"Don't be so pessimistic. We've finally gone from cadets to officers. We must celebrate when we get to Blue City." Winters patted Bard's shoulder hard, accidentally aggravating the knife wound on his right arm.

"Officer, would you like some more wine?" A sudden voice interrupted Winters and Bard's conversation.

The one who interrupted was a sailor. His skin, tanned dark from years of exposure to the sun, revealed only the whites of his eyes. His hair was matted together in clumps, clearly unwashed in a long time. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes fixed longingly on the wine glass in Winters' hand.

“Go ahead and drink.” Winters handed the glass to the sailor. Winters didn’t really like drinking, but there was no clean fresh water on the ship. “But I’m not a master. Just call me Winters. This is Warrant Officer Bard. There are no masters on this land anymore. The aristocracy was overthrown twenty-seven years ago.”

"Thank you, officer, thank you, officer." The sailor bowed repeatedly, then took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, letting out a long, satisfying sigh. Although the Alliance had eliminated the nobility twenty-seven years ago, many still held a place for them in their hearts.

"Please don't call me sir, just call me Winters. Brother sailor, I happen to have a question I'd like to ask." Actually, Winters had been wondering about something ever since he woke up today, and now there was a sailor who could answer it for him.

"Please tell me, please tell me," the sailor nodded hurriedly.

"Why do I feel like we're heading east?" Winters judged the ship's direction of travel by the sun's trajectory and found something strange.

“That’s right, we’re heading east.” The sailor’s tone was as if someone were asking him if one plus one equals two.

"What?" Now it was Winters and Bard's turn to be dumbfounded.

The landmass of Cenas Bay is roughly semi-circular, with the United Provinces Republic occupying the northern half and the Ocean Blue Republic occupying the southern half. Ocean Blue City is located south of Guitu City, facing Guitu City across the sea; this is basic geographical knowledge.

But the sailor in front of me said: The ship is not heading south, but east.

Winters spent two whole days on the ship before realizing that this wasn't the route home.

"Where are we going?" Wentes asked, tugging at the sailor's clothes.

“Sir, of course we’re going to Taniriya.”

(End of this chapter)