Poseidon in Arknights

After all, she's there to perform surgery, not to harm people. What if she kills the patient before she even starts working? There would be no way to seek justice then.

As for his own research, Xiyue doesn't even have a theory about it. The only thing on her that's related to consciousness is the consciousness-connecting bracelet that she uses as a teaching tool to connect with the classroom.

That was just a dream created by the main party, which summoned the consciousness of the other side. Even if the consciousness was destroyed in that dream, only a small wisp of consciousness was destroyed, and it was impossible to use this bracelet as a surgical method.

The dream was even more stable because she was the main character. That's why Eleanor and Jessica were able to attend classes all night long; for most people, that thing would only last a few minutes.

In its original world, the bracelet was a quick and convenient short-term communication device for transmitting information, not something used for attending classes.

“Just call the child over.” Xi Yue looked at Muerses. “There won’t be any trouble, as long as the child doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“Mmm.” Muirsey nodded. “Don’t worry, Eve is a well-behaved child… well, probably.”

"Ha, whatever you say goes." Xi Yue smiled and then went back to watching TV.

—————Rhodes Island Medical Center—————

"Why another injection?" Ifrit reluctantly stretched out her hand, letting Himer draw blood from her arm. "Didn't we just have one yesterday?"

“Because your condition has become very strange.” Himer pushed up his glasses. “The concentration of Originium in your blood has become extremely stable recently, and even shows a downward trend.”

"Isn't this a good thing?" Ifrit scratched her head. Although she didn't know much about medicine, normally speaking, wasn't it a good thing that her condition had stabilized?

“This change came too suddenly, without any warning.” Himer placed the blood sample in a box next to him and looked at Ifrit with concern in his voice. “Moreover, some infected cases have also experienced a sudden period of stability followed by a rapid worsening of their condition.”

“I would never do that.” Ifrit looked at Hamer. “I’ve really been feeling a lot better lately. I don’t have those fire visions anymore, and that fat guy isn’t talking anymore.”

"I understand." Himer nodded, her brows still furrowed with deep worry. Initially, Himer was extremely happy to learn that Ifrit's condition had stabilized and even shown signs of improvement.

This might be because their treatment was finally starting to work, but after a brief period of excitement, Himer became worried because this plateau or even decline came too suddenly.

After reviewing some materials, Himer learned that there were indeed a very small number of cases among the infected, which, like Ifrit's case, experienced a sudden plateau and decline.

Patients at this stage may even feel that their bodies are completely fine, a stark contrast to their previous state.

This is only temporary, lasting from a week to a few days. The seemingly decreased concentration of Originium in the blood will suddenly increase, accompanied by an acute attack of Oripathy, like a dying patient's last burst of energy before death.

'I hope I'm just overthinking it…' Himer looked at Ifrit, who was playing video games in front of her. 'I hope it really is just because of our treatment.'

Hamer carried the suitcase out of the ward. He took out his phone from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed a number. The phone rang for a while before being answered.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Dr. Kal'tsit, do you have a moment? If so, could you come to the medical department? Ifrit's condition isn't quite right, and I'd like to ask for your opinion."

"Okay, I understand. I'll be right there."

"Okay, then after I send the blood sample for testing, can we meet in Ifrit's ward?"

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

"How is it?" Hamer looked nervously at Kal'tsit, who was holding the report. "Are there any problems?"

“According to the report, there are currently no problems.” Kal’tsit looked at the report and then handed it to Himer. “Ifrit’s health is indeed very good at the moment, and it’s not a so-called false period of stability.”

"Is that so?" Hamer took the report and nodded, still with some doubt in his eyes. "But Ifrit's condition hadn't been good before, why did it suddenly decline?"

"..." Kal'tsit glanced at Ifrit's previous reports. Each time Ifrit's blood Originium concentration was tested, there was indeed a very small increase. Only in the most recent reports did Ifrit's blood Originium concentration enter a stable state.

The two more recent reports show a decreasing trend in Ifrit's blood concentration. Without these two reports showing a decrease, the situation might be simpler.

For infected individuals like Ifrit, it is already extremely difficult for the concentration of Originium in their blood to reach a plateau, let alone a decrease.

It's normal for Himer to suspect that something is wrong with Ifrit's condition, but after several rounds of testing, Kal'tsit confirmed that Ifrit is currently in good health and is not in a false stable period.

"..." Kal'tsit looked at the report and suddenly noticed the time given in the report, "The testing started to show a flat trend on December 26th of last year?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Hamer nodded. "I was happy when the trend was stabilizing, but as more and more reports of a stable trend emerged, and even a downward trend appeared, I really started to worry."

Kal'tsit nodded. If it was at this point in time, then she could roughly guess what was going on.

"Oh, Dr. Kal'tsit is here too." Muirses suddenly appeared from outside the door and looked at the three of them. "Hi, missed me?"

"Hmm, Muelseth?" Himer turned her head, looking at the suddenly appearing Muelseth. "You're back from Lungmen? Planning to go back to Columbia?"

"Hmm, no, not that fast." Muirses shook her head, then, as if by magic, several amusement park tickets appeared in her hand. "I'm here to invite Eve to Lungmen!"

"Going out to play?!" Upon hearing the word "go out to play," Ifrit immediately jumped out of bed. "Really?"

"The tickets are all bought~" Muirsey waved the tickets in her hand. "What do you think?"

"Oh, great!" Ifrit immediately became excited, but then she saw Himer's disapproving expression.

Himer pushed up his glasses: "Ifrit, your condition is still unclear, you can't go out yet."

“Hmm…” Ifrit also became unhappy, pointing to the tickets in Muirsey’s hand, “We can’t let Muirsey’s money go to waste, we’ve already bought them.”

"..." Himer looked at Muirse beside him, "Is it still possible to get a refund now? If not, I'll give you the money back. Ifrit's condition is a bit strange right now, and I'm not comfortable letting her go out of Lungmen."

"Sigh, this..." Muirse looked at Himer with some difficulty, then turned to Kal'tsit for help.

To be honest, Muirsey's purpose wasn't entirely innocent. She did want Ifrit to go to Lungmen for a couple of days, but she also had her own ulterior motives.

Her little scheme was quite simple: she wanted to spend some time alone with Yuuki at the amusement park. She planned to invite Ifrit to Lungmen, and Yuuki would have to be there to keep an eye on Ifrit.

Then she'd pull out the tickets and casually invite everyone to the amusement park. Once inside, Ifrit and Himeru would be in one group, and she and Yuuki in another—perfect! As for the others, Muirsey hadn't bought any extra tickets.

If you're so capable, then go and queue up in this long line to buy tickets. Come on in! The few tickets that Muirsey has in her hand are ones she managed to buy yesterday after queuing in a separate line from 10 a.m. until almost 2 p.m.

For Muirsey, this would be a pretty perfect date, since Miss Yuzuki also wants to take care of the patient, right?

Once we get to the amusement park, Eve will definitely be attracted by all the rides. Then, Himeru can take Eve with her, and Yuuki and I can just keep an eye on things.

By then, Xiyue had taken care of the patient, Eve had her fun, Himeru gained peace of mind, and Muirsey had some time alone together.

What a perfect win-win situation!

Although Kal'tsit was unaware of Muirseth's ulterior motives, she could roughly guess that Muirseth's purpose in going to Lungmen from Ifrit was most likely to seek help from Yuuki.

Ifrit's current state is likely also due to Yuuki. Although the exact time is still unclear, a few days before that point in time was the day Yuuki lost her temper in Chernobog.

After subsequent testing, Ifrit entered a period of stability, which must be related to this.

Kal'tsit nodded: "Ifrit is indeed in a good condition to try going out."

“But…” Himer still hesitated, “Ifrit’s condition…”

"I'm feeling great!" Ifrit walked over, looking quite energetic. "I want to go out and have some fun~"

“I bought your ticket too~” Muirsey waved the ticket in her hand. “Let’s go together. Ifrit’s condition has stabilized now, hasn’t it?”

"This..." Himer looked at Ifrit beside her, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "In that case, let's rest today. It will be afternoon by the time we go to Lungmen. Even if we play, we won't be able to play for long."

Ifrit became excited when Himer agreed: "Oh, great!"

—————Nighttime, Rhodes Island, Ifrit's Room—————

Ifrit lay on the bed, tossing and turning, but her eyes were closed, as if she were having a nightmare.

In a dream.

"Where am I?" Ifrit walked through the flames, looking at the faint flames burning low, almost touching the ground. "Am I dreaming?"

"Yes and no, this is the depths of your consciousness." A rough voice suddenly rang out, and the flames in front of him suddenly rose, the rising black smoke forming a huge figure.

"It's you, you big fatso!" Ifrit looked warily at the enormous figure before her. "Why did you drag me here?"

"It's nothing. You seem to be enjoying using my power, right?" The Balrog looked at Ifrit in front of him. "Your health has improved a lot recently, haven't you? I've put in a lot of effort."

"But it's all because of you that I've become like this." Ifrit looked at the Balrog before her. "Just tell me what you want."

“I will teach you how to use fire.” The Balrog looked at Ifrit. “You will never have to worry about your flames suddenly bursting out and hurting people again, but there is one condition.”

"That's so good?" Ifrit looked at the Balrog suspiciously. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, and isn't my current state also because of you?"

"Why are you suddenly offering to help me? What are you up to?"

"..." The Flame Demon looked at Ifrit, this kid was not so easy to fool now. "It's nothing. It's just that you need to study, and the process is a bit dangerous, so you need to stay on Rhodes Island to be safe."

Chapter 124: Little Fire Dragon's Journey to Dragon Gate

"How about postponing it for two days?" Ifrit looked at the Balrog in front of her. Although she was really looking forward to being able to fully control her flames, she still had to go out and play tomorrow.

"There's no time to lose. Don't you want to master your flames in a day?" The Balrog looked at Ifrit. "If you can completely master your flames, won't that Himer be happy too?"

"Hmm?" Ifrit stroked her chin, looking at the Balrog suspiciously. "I have a feeling you're up to something. Why are you in such a hurry? You want me to master fire? Didn't you always cause me trouble before?"

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? What are you trying to do? You just said you had a condition."

"..." The Balrog silently stared at Ifrit, 'This kid is really hard to fool.'

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Ifrit looked at the Balrog with increasing suspicion. "You're not actually hiding something, are you?"

"Yes, I have conditions." The Balrog nodded, readily admitting that beating around the bush was not in their race's style. "You can't go to Lungmen."

"Huh?" Ifrit stared at the Balrog, her mouth agape. After a moment's thought, she said, "What are you afraid of, aren't you? Is that why you're worried that Mimiu will take me to Lungmen?"

“Yes.” The Flame Demon nodded. “I don’t want to go in at all. That place is like an abyss. I don’t know how the Flame Kingdom is willing to let Him stay here.”

"Him? Who is he?" Ifrit scratched her head. She had never seen this big fat man so resistant to something, and it seemed to be...a person?

“It is Him.” The Balrog looked at Ifrit and corrected her, “He is a true god, far superior to those behemoths or other weak consciousnesses.”

"A god? Is he very strong?" Ifrit looked at the Balrog with some curiosity. "Is he stronger than Saria?"

"Are you kidding me?" The Balrog looked at Ifrit speechlessly. Its eyes, made of firelight, floated upwards, were covered by smoke and dust, and then reappeared, as if it were rolling its eyes.

“How can I describe it to you?” Balrog looked at Ifrit. “Let me put it this way: if He so desires, He can destroy a country in a few days, and no one can stop Him.”

"Moreover, this is only my rough estimate."

"Are you kidding me?" Ifrit looked at the Flame Demon, her eyes filled with suspicion. "There's no one that powerful, and doesn't the Flame Kingdom have any powerful ones?"

"Yes, of course," the Balrog nodded. "But what good is that?"

"Never mind then, I can't reason with you. Go see for yourself when you wake up."

As the Balrog finished speaking, the surrounding flames instantly surged up, engulfing the scene before Ifrit's eyes.

——————Ifrit's Room——————

"Hiss~" Ifrit woke up with a start and sat up, rubbing her head. "Why does my head hurt so much?"

"It's nothing, a headache is normal. I don't know any of those delicate spells anyway." The Balrog's voice appeared in Ifrit's ear. "If I weren't inside you, I wouldn't have been able to pull you into the consciousness space."

Ifrit looked left and right, and suddenly, flames burst into flames on her left arm, burning and billowing, gradually forming a huge smoky figure.

"Hmm, it's been a while since I've seen reality. If it weren't for that big shot next to me, I'd really like to burn something to liven things up."