A Fungal Dream

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-One week later, Angela's POV:

"Break it!"

The knights kicked the door open as they rushed into the building, holding several silver wands, with magic gemstones embedded into their ends, capable of firing several fireballs at the same time.

As I entered after them the house, I immediately saw the signs which I feared the most.

The wood frame of the house was almost entirely covered in that disgusting green fungus I started to hate.

Contrary to the cold day outside the air here, was hot and moist as if I was standing

"Contact!"

As the knight shouted, a disgusting monster leaped onto him, its claws tearing through his armor as if it was made from paper!

"Burn it!"

At my command, the other knights surrounding them quickly cast their magic onto the monster, burning it together with its prey's body!

"Don't falter! Push forward!"

As we went further into the house, the one we were looking for stepped out from the shadow.

A tall figure, wearing a black robe and having a brown sack over his head.

"Leave… Or…Die…"

"Attack! Don't let it escape!"

The knight aimed at the mysterious individual, but they couldn't fire fast enough as it jumped on the nearest one, tearing its head off with its bare hands.

Before anybody could react, he grabbed the nearest one, crushed his shoulder, then using an inhuman strength,

"DIE!"

As it roared at us, I jumped over to it kicking it in the head.

It wasn't a strong strike, but it was enough for pushing him away a little.

"Fly! Advanced Wind Strikes!"

Using the power gifted me by the Words of the World, a light green surrounded my swords, enhancing my slashes greatly.

Piercing his shoulder, he screamed in an unhuman voice, before pushing me away with a stomach kick.

"…Be…back."

As he held his wounded shoulder, a cloud of black smoke started to escape from the eye sockets of the mask.

"Wind Flow!"

Spinning my blades very fast, I created a strong air current, keeping the smoke screen at bay.

Once it dispersed completely, the man wearing the bag disappeared, probably escaping through the open window in front of me.

"Shit not again."

This was the fifth time we found an infected house this week, with its inhabitants turning into these disgusting monsters.

It's spreading. We need to do something to contain this thing.

"Captain, you need to see this."

One of the uninjured knights pointed me at the room from where the monster jumped out.

From what I could tell, it used to be a bedroom, with its furniture broken into tiny pieces and laying on the floor.

What caught my attention was the writing on the walls, painted with god knows what.

FROM HIM, THE EYES

FROM HIM, THE HAIR

FROM HIM, THE LEGS

FOR HIM, THE LOYALTY

FOR HIM, THE COURAGE

FOR THE FATHER, THE SOUL,

"Who is this father?"

Is he the mastermind behind all of this? Did he plan out all this chaos? Where the hell is he?

*****

"Excuse me, is the clinic open?"

An elf girl looked over the counter, Staring right into the face of the bunny nurse.

"Y-Yes, Master and his assistant are in. They are currently helping out with another patient, please wait here. "

"An assistant? Who is it?"

"He is a scary [Life Scholar], who sings a lot and never shuts up. "

"That's quite mean, you know."

From an adjacent room, the [Healer] of the hideout came out, pushing a small wheelchair in which a small girl with fox ears was sitting, with one of her legs covered in a spiderweb plaster.

"Phil is quite sensitive to comments, he will surely feel embarrassed if he hears you saying something like that. "

"But Master! He is so annoying! And scary! He almost gave me a heart attack the other day!"

"Then try not to get scared so easily. He isn't that scary once you get used to…those."

The healer and the receptionist shivered as the two girls looked at them with a question mark above their heads.

"Anyway, I will push you back to your house since it's not that far away. As for you ma'am, my assistant is quite competent, he will examine you instead of me."

Before the elf girl could protest, the doctor and the nurse ran away leaving her alone in the clinic.

"…its really alright?"

Now nervous, she slowly entered the room.

It was a normal room, holding several medical types of equipment with a big table in the middle, covered in a white sheet.

"Ahh, have we met before?"

"IIIIHH!"

She let out a short scream from the words of the man behind her.

It was a tall, strange person who slightly bent forward. his skin was slightly green with his hair looked like vines. He wore a white coat over his cloth with dark sunglasses.

"Hello, I am the new assistant of Dr. Blues. You may call me Phil. Now, may I ask you to sit at the table so that I can examine you?"

The elf girl did as he said, hopping onto the table.

Phil took out two yellow gloves from his pockets, put them on his already glowed hand, and turned towards her, a friendly smile spread over his face.

"So, what seems to be the problem? Or is it a regular physical?"

"I broke my left arm and leg a few days ago, and they still hurt. The healer said that he will check them out."

"Okay. This is easy. May I see them?"

Gently, the monster grabbed her arms and started to examine them.

"So, may I ask how you broke them?"

"Hmmm? Isn't that quite a personal question?"

"Don't worry, there is something called doctors confidentiality which dictates that I have to stay quiet about the embarrassing sicknesses of my patients."

The assistant continued to bend her arm, gently making sure that it still worked.

"I-I brook them in the factory where I lived, before coming here. We made cloth there from cursed caterpillar silk, so it was already a deadly area. my skin absorbed too much of its poison, making my bones fragile."

"Fragile? Interesting. I would like to see one of those caterpillars myself."

The elf girl looked at the doctor in shock.

"Those things are covered in poison! The fumes which escape from their body can make you spit blood! It is crazy to even approach them!"

"Don't worry, it was just my scientific curiosity speaking. I am not mad. Your arms seem to be in good condition if not a little stiff. I will move onto your leg, so excuse me. but I will need to take off your boots."

Phil kneeled down, and took off her left boot, exposing her smooth leg.

"Still, it's quite a luck for you to arrive here in that state."

"It was some members of the resistance who found me. They took me and some of the most wounded here, to hide and heal."

"Understandable. They can do only so much since it would be suspicious for more people would disappear."

The resistance was a group of demi-humans who go out to the surface, saving the most wounded demi-humans and trying to overthrow the current regime in control, for a brighter future.

The elf girl nodded, while she grimaced from the pain.

"We will surely become free once the Toad arrives."

"Toad? What is that?"

"You don't know? A new kingdom formed in the middle of the Dead Zone Forest, completely inhabited by demi-humans, called the Night Thong Kingdom. Apparently, some of the representatives from there managed to enter Holy City and they are planning to conquer it!"

"And their king is called the Toad? Is it a frog demi?"

"I don't know, but I heard that he is strong, able to use almost all types of magic!"

" Really? Well, I sincerely hope, that they will liberate us soon."

The assistant let go of her foot and put her boots back on.

"Done. Your limbs seem healthy, the pain should be coming from the thickness of the bones. Go home and drink several liters of milk, to make them stronger, and after a month the pain should fade away. If the pain becomes worse, come back and we will give you some pain killers."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome. 4 silver coins, please."

*****

"That was easy."

I sat back on my chair, exhaling my fatigue from my system.

"A week. Only a week passed, and yet I feel so tired."

This environment was tense and friendly at the same time.

The guards were on high alert all the time, in case of a human attack, meaning that fights between them are a regular occurrence, making this place super crowded during the night.

Lucky for me, my inability to fall asleep, was one of the selling points for me to work here, meaning, that while the doctor was sleeping, I had to treat patients lining up at the door. Sometimes, I would treat the same customer several times a day, thanks to these idiots not having enough brain cells of stopping hitting each other.

At least, I earned some bonus silver and received a new skill called [Basic Healing] allowing me to finally use a little amount of magic without chanting, by speeding up the time their bodies need to heal.

Then there were the villagers who were quite friendly to each other, probably caused by their shared past of slavery.

I can't count the number of free foods they gave me when I went to the market to buy more materials for my tests! It was insane!

I looked around myself, sighing in relief.

"Even though I am not a medical doctor, I still ended up helping others. My father would be proud of me…yeah."

I left the clinic and locked it up.

Blues and that cat girl, whose name I always forget have another key, so they can unlock the door when they come back.

"Let's spend the day more pleasant. Hmmm, why not grab a bite while I'm at it?"

I still couldn't feel hunger, but since I gained the ability to sort of taste food, I went to the nearby pub, to drink and eat. Just a little thing to remind me of my once human origin.

As I walked through the street, I actually stayed visible. At first, it was so uncomfortable for me to be seen by so many people, but after five days I got used to it and the people as well to me.

Before children would run away in fright from me when I passed next to me, now they would follow me around sometimes, asking me for treats, which I usually give them when they go to the clinic.

Like today, some demi-human boys and girls ran at me, pulling on my coat and asking me to give them candy.

"Sorry kids, but I don't have any with me today. Maybe later."

When I finally got rid of the mob of children, I entered a western salon-looking building that had the billboard with the name "DUSTY SNAKE" written on it.

The inside of the building was dark, but well-lit by the lanterns hanging on the wall. The people inside were drinking and eating loudly as some of them sang unethical songs.

Smiling at the scene I sat down at an empty table, situated near the corner of the restaurant, and waited for the waitress to arrive.

"What should I eat today? Yesterday's meat was delicious so let's go with some of that famous fish I heard so much about. Yeah, that sounds good."

Soon one of the tavern girls came to me, took my order, and went away.

"Ahhh, she was cute. if only I had the drive or the tool for it-"

Once my food came to me, I started to devour it.

Yeah, this is the stuff! If only it didn't turn into mold in my mouth!

As I kept eating several people came to my table.

"Dr. Phil, would you mind me and my guests sitting with you at your table."

"Not at all. Please do."

As they sat, down I observed each one of them.

An elf, who looked strikingly similar to the one I left behind when I entered this hideout. The other one was a cat beast woman, a cheetah to be precise. Yellow hair and cat ears, with dark spots on them, shining yellow eyes, small breasts, and an expression so strict that it almost felt like she wanted to kill me. Next to her was a bulky man with no hair on his body with a single, big eye in the middle of his head. Last, but not least was a beautiful woman, who had, for lack of better words, a shit ton of creepy eyes all over her body.

I could only see her head due to the black robes they wore, but on her neck, forehead chin, ears, you name it, she had at least a pair of eyes there.

Who are they? I have never seen them before.

The elf, smiled at me as he slights bowed his head towards me.

"Dr. Phil, I haven't had the time to thank you for saving my life back there."

"You are welcome. I was just passing by, so it was nothing special. If I may ask, who are your friends, I don't remember meeting them."

"Oh yes, they arrived here recently, we currently serving the same lord, so we know each other pretty well. The werecat is Senya, the cyclops is Brutus and the domeki is called Yui."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. If I may add, it's an honor to meet people who are working for the Toad."

The four of them looked at me in shock, probably surprised at me figuring out their secret.

Seriously, guys, you have boss-monster written all over your face. This is such a cliché encounter!

"Please don't look so shocked. All sorts of rumors spread all over the hideout and you all radiate…such strengths! it was easy to put the two together."

Good, suck up to the ones who are in a higher position than you.

The elf man seemed to want to say something, but that many-eyed woman was faster than him.

"Very impressive. Not many people are able to figure out such a thing by themselves. You must possess quite an intellect."

"Oh, please stop, I am weak to flattery! Rather than wasting our time why won't you tell me, why have you approached little old me? Is it for my medical skills? You don't look too sick to me. Did the mighty Toad catch something serious?

The werecat girl reacted to my mockery by grabbing my arm in which I held my fork, squishing with just enough strength to not break it.

"Show more respect to our king, peasant. Or I will make you regret it."

Peasant? is she from noble birth? Well, this is quite interesting.

I put my fork down and smiled at her gently.

"Miss, with all due respect, mocking your king wasn't in my slightest intention. I just trying to get as much information about the client I will be healing as possible. If the great Toad can go to our clinic, I would love to examine him. If not, then I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have other things to do today."

I stood up, put the money for the food on the table, and left.

"Shit this is starting to feel like a plot for a low-rated novel. subjects of a powerful entity came to me, probably wanting me to save their master from some super disease, as a reward I will receive a great position or marry into the king's family and have a ton of adventurers with them. Well, fuck that!"

I don't want to work with anyone. The only reason I am in the clinic in the first place is to steal different rugs to further my research on the mold. Once I suck the place dry, I will be off, looking for other methods to experiment. Working for the Toad would be a nightmare, being limited by the whims of man and the rules he created.

"Flying solo is just better. Since I am Isekai Han Solo, the best character ever!"

*****

As Phil, walked home, he didn't notice that he was being followed by two figures.

One was a black cat beastman, wearing black skintight closing as a ninja.

She was ordered by Senya to follow the strange individual and note down his every movement, to decide if he was worth working for them.

The other one was a small rat. it looked unordinary except for a gaping wound hidden on its stomach which revealed its missing inside, the mold moving the tiny creature like a puppet.

In the corpse's eyes, several infected beings saw their creator and started to rush towards the place. Like a tideway of the living dead.

[

Name: Unknown.

Race: [Low Molded Chimera Skeleton] Lv: 10/70 (20/60)

Main Class: [Life Scholar]

Sub Class: [Runner]

HP(Health Points): 60/60

SP(Stamina Points): 70

MP(Magic Points): 20/20

TMN (Tamed Monster Numbers): 1

Blessings: [Blessing of Nergal]

Active Skills: [Basic Steady Hand] [Basic Fast Eye]

Passive Skills: [Basic Body Knowledge] [Basic Plant Knowledge] [Basic Medicine Knowledge] [Basic Stamina Enhancement] [Basic Movement Enhancement] [Basic Reflex Enhancement.] [Basic Sponge Mind] [Perfect Stomach]

Affinities: [Basic Farming Affinity] [Basic War Affinity] [Basic Pestilence Affinity][ Basic Fire Affinity.] [Basic Life Affinity] [Basic Death Affinity]

Titles: [The One Who Saw A Thousand Worlds] [Knowledge Driven] [Chosen by Flies]