A Fungal Dream

For demand, I put a * behind each new skill to make it easier to read.

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"That mortal is quite interesting."

"Right? He's even better than those heroes!"

"When was it the last time somebody rejected our gift?"

"And the creatures he created looked quite interesting,"

"But it seems like he won't be doing anything interesting for a while?"

"True, he's just sitting in his room, playing with his toys."

"... Let's make things more interesting."

*****

BOOM!

"Son of a-"

I poured some water on the flames, which turned blue on contact.

"What the fuck."

Quickly, I grabbed one of the potted plants and put its content on the flames.

Suddenly, the flames burned through the wet soil, turning green.

"What the  fuck!?"

Not knowing what to do with it, I let it burn, keeping my fair distance from it, holding my notebook.

"Experiment 2330: Somehow, someway, I set the fluid on fire, which seems to be impossible to put out. Possible weapon application."

After all the earth disappeared, the flames extinguished, leaving the container somehow intact.

Sigh, back to the drawing board.

Next to me, a small kayeri brought me a cup of red wine.

"Thanks."

It has been around a week since the dungeon accident. Since then, some things have changed. The kayeri have already dug a series of tunnels and caverns in which they have started to cultivate the mold, for what, I have no idea.

Oh, and they got slightly smarter. They knew how to put on pants now, and could obey simple commands, although they still couldn't talk.

Maybe because they didn't have a mouth.

As I sipped from my drink, I sighed as I continued mixing more liquids, with no rhyme or reason.

Bamm!

"IT'S TIME!"

Oh, god no.

Not looking behind, I quickly turned invisible, turned to my new skill which erased my presence, and held my breath.

Leave me alone, Leave me alone. Leave me al-

"I.can.see. YOU."

It was the first son of the king, Eric. He wasn't wearing his monster armor, instead, he was dressed in a pricey-looking blue silk cloth.

Seeing his face, I shivered.

He was the spitting image of the King. Green short hair, blue eyes, unnaturally wide mouth. The only thing that he inherited from his mother was the green scales, which ran through his neck.

No idea what he was, but I didn't want to meet her mother.

Smiling like an idiot, the prince grabbed my shoulder, not letting me go.

"Come on, it's a beautiful day outside! Perfect for training!"

"W-Wait! Wait! Wait a sec! I have research to do!"

No matter what is said was mercilessly dragged outside, to the training area.

The people training there stopped when they saw us arrive, some even snickered.

Yeah, that's right, I am back! Laugh it up!

When I was let go, the prince threw two familiar short sticks at me, then he grabbed one of the wooden broadswords laying on the ground.

"Let's go!"

… Fuck.

Knowing what would happen, I crouched down, holding the two sticks tightly.

" Full Speed."

Saying out loud the action of what I was doing didn't do anything, but everyone was doing it, so it kinda stuck with me.

Using all the movement enhancement skills, I dashed right before the prince, swinging my weapons at his head and torso.

"Nice try."

Without even moving his weapon, he stopped me in midair, making me feel like I was in jelly.

"This is cheating."

"You aren't getting stronger. Blame yourself."

He didn't attack, so using a boost of strengths, I pushed myself back, sliding a few steps away from him.

"Alright, then let's try this."

I started to run again, this time making a circle around the prince, turning on and off my invisibility, trying to confuse him.

"Pentagram."

In a random rhythm, I would break the circle, jump on the prince, and run away when I missed him.

"Child's play. Mana Shock."

A wave of colorless energy from the prince's body pushed me aside, making me slide on my back for a couple of meters.

"Ouch, that hurt."

"You are still too slow. Go run a few circles with the others, then go lifting up weights."

"… I think I broke my arm."

*****

Before the gates of the kingdom, the guards on watch were in the middle of playing card games, when something appeared from the woods.

Quickly, they grabbed their weapons, aiming at the intruders.

"Halt! No further!"

One of the brown hooded people stepped out and fell on its knees.

"H-Help us."

*****

"Was that really necessary?"

It's too early! He will notice it!"

"Who cares? It has already started. This is going to be fun."

"… Poor guy."

*****

"Can't… move... Need… Alcohol!"

Grabbing the nearest bottle, I drank the whole thing, feeling the warmth bringing me back to life.

"Phaww! Training my green ass! This is torture! I literally tore several muscles during this shittery!"

The worst of all this was that the entire thing was pretty much pointless. A normal mushroom's body only has like 3.1 grams of protein in 10 grams of mass. I am literally unable to make my muscles stronger since I don't have enough of the stuff in me. (AN: a normal human body has 10.6 kg, or 15.1%, of body mass. Really should have gone to a med school!)

When I was reaching for another one, my poor, poor door was kicked open again, this time the second person who I didn't want to meet today.

"Not today, Margaret. I don't have the mental or physical strengths to listen to you. Please leave your message to voicemail. Beep!"

"Shut up, The King wants to speak with you, we have some guests who seem in need."

"Guests in need? Seriously?"

Turning toward the insect girl, I noticed that she was dead serious.

"Sigh. Alright,  alright let me grab my bag."

In case of emergencies, I prepared a bag, which I filled with different combinations of potions and surgical objects.

Following the insect, we arrived at the throne hall.

While the king was on his usual throne, before her several people were kneeling, each dressed in brown capes.

The King nodded, sitting on its throne, then spoke.

"Chief, this is the physician who I was talking about. He will help you and your tribe heal from the inflicted wounds."

"I will do my best."

I stepped forward and raised my voice.

"I will first treat those who are in the most critical state. Those who are still able to walk, help those who aren't and place them on beds. My king, I don't have enough space for all of these people, so I will treat them here."

"Alright. You are the healer here; I will not say anything. This is your job."

"Then I will not hold back. Somebody brings cushions and bandages! To those who are starving, give them light meals. I will start the examination, who is in the worst condition?"

"… It's my son, Hector."

The one who answered me was the one who was at the lead of the group.

When he looked at me, he took off his hood, revealing his face.

It was an elf, with blond hair and blue eyes, with a black freckle under his left eye.

"Where is he?"

"… We left him outside with most of the wounded. We couldn't bring them here…there were too many."

What?

"Damn it, bring me to him!"

I stormed out of the caste, looking at the carnage before me.

"Dear God."

It was horrible, bodies lying on the floor, bleeding, some were missing an arm or a leg.

"What the hell happened? No, that is not important. I will need to work fast."

I grabbed my sack and took out my equipment.

*****

Chief POV:

"This is… incredible."

We, the forest high elves, are a race who are deeply connected to nature. We respect it and in exchange it provides for us, teaching us its secrets. People from all around the world come to use it for healing, and yet, this man, this supposed simple elf, was showing us knowledge of medicine that we have never seen before.

With his drugs and surgical skills, he saved countless lives in seconds, even able to reattach limbs, while maintaining a serious expression.

When he reached one of our warriors who had several cuts so deep, they reached his lungs, he just poured his medicine on it, sewed the wound closed and while the warrior was recovering quickly, he turned to the next patient.

"Faster. Must go faster!"

Suddenly his movements became faster, creating after images, while he was treating the wounded.

It was a spectacle so unique I was dazed till I heard the physician shout.

"Hey, this is your people I am seeing here! Bring the water and blankets, those who have any medical knowledge, bandage the open wounds!"

To his word, the idling crowd went to action, helping him save lives.

One of my people, the leader of the warriors, who just got his wounds closed, sat next to me,  and looked at the scene.

"Chief, do you see what I see?"

"Indeed. It's like a battlefield."

It was as if that man was fighting against death itself, trying to see as many lives as it took.

No matter how much blood stuck on his clothes, he kept on going, bringing back people to the living.

"He is at your son."

He was right, the doctor was kneeling over my unconscious son.

He was almost dead with a giant hole in his stomach, missing most of his organs with his eyes and left leg. It was nothing short of a miracle for him to survive the trip here.

"… Bring me one of the corpses!"

A corpse? Why would he need that?

A pair of helpers brought one of the wounded who died during the transport and laid him down next to my son.

"Thank you for your sacrifice."

Doing a quick prayer-like gesture, the doctor took out a knife and stabbed it right into the dead body, opening it up.

"What is he-"

Moving like lightning, he transplanted the organ of the corpse into my son, while applying various drugs to him. He even took the eyes and legs of the deceased, putting them on him.

"I hope this works."

When he closed the wound, he injected my son with something.

Soon, green rashes appeared on his stomach and leg, making him cough.

Quickly, he injected him with another thing, making him stop and his breathing return to normal.

"This should be good enough. Onto the next."

"Wait!"

I was too late, he already moved to the next patient.

I ran to my child, who was breathing normally, with the stitches slowly disappearing from his body.

"This-This is a miracle."

*****

[Several gods are amazed by you saving hundreds of people.]

[One of the gods feels a connection between them and you.]

[User been deemed worthy to receive a new blessing]

[You received the Blessing of Airmed, Goddess of Healing and Resurrection]

[User received several skills:[Healing Hands] [Medical Senses] [Medical Mind] [Surgical Precision]]

[All basic skills related to healing have been upgraded]

25.

I couldn't save 25 people. I did my best, but they were too weak, even using my mold as a healing agent they died on me.

Damn it.

I knew that I wasn't a real doctor, just a fake who was relying on skills, but having people die under my hand while I was trying to save them is the worst.

"Hey, we are taking them to their rooms. The King wants you to keep an eye on them."

It was the insect girl handing me a towel. She looked quite seriously at me.

"… Right. I am going."

I put the towel on my head, getting some blood out of my hair.

The patient seemed to stay stable, luckily it seemed like I didn't mess up things too badly.

"Phil."

The king and the elf leader were walking to me.

"Thank you. You saved them…. You saved them all."

"… It was nothing. They should be alright, but I will keep an eye on them to see if there are any complications, but they should make it."

"And- And my son?"

"With the medicines I gave him should keep him alive. If you excuse me, I still need to make sure that the wounded are placed correctly on the beds."

"Yes… Yes. Go."

Following the group of people, I checked on every one of them when they were laying in their rooms.

Once they were done, I ordered my helpers to keep an eye on the patients and tell me if there are any problems.

"I will make more healing potions, tell the King to bring me the ingredients for it. Change their bandages after an hour."

"Yes, sir!"

I nodded and went to my lab, thinking about the things I need to do.

"I need more herbs and men. The wounded will need special care. Can the kayeri help me? Maybe if they are wearing facemasks, but the many limbed ones might scare the patients. "

When I reached the door, I found it wide open.

"Did I forget to close it?"

When I opened it, I found somebody on the floor, minded by the tentacles of one of my guard dogs.

"Just what I bloody needed. Sigh, follow me."

Deciding that showing these guys now wouldn't be that bad, considering what I just did in the dungeon, I walked out, the creatures dragging the intruder behind me.

Back in the throne room, the king was still talking to the elf chief.

"My King, I caught an intruder."

His majesty was still with the elf leader, talking about something.

"What?"

"This person was in my lab, captured by my guards when I entered. Since this is your Majesty's kingdom, I shall abide by your  rules."

"… Show me who it is."

"At your orders. Release it."

The tentacle monsters let go of their prey and quickly went back where they came from.

The person quickly got on their feet and glared at me.

It was an elf, but this specimen was a woman, guessing from the breast she had, with her left eye bandaged up with a brown cloth.

"Rina! What were you doing in there?! Do you have no respect for the man who saved us?"

The elf girl kept quiet and just stormed away, not stopped by his parents.

Since he didn't intervene, I also kept to myself, making a mental note to inject the girl with the suppressant just in case she got infected.

"Yash, kids, right?"

"Excuse my daughter's rudeness, we had a very long journey here. I am Taranath Wynfaren, chief of the high forest elves. Thank you again for saving my son Nyilan and our people."

"You are welcome. They will need to rest for a while. Does your place not have a pharmacy?"

"…."

I must have touched a sour spot, the expression of that guy turned dark.

"We were attacked by humans."

"Really? I am sorry to hear that. At least you managed to escape."

"… We were originally around a thousand."

"… I will go now."

I don't have the time and will to hear any backstories. This day was long enough as it was.

"Wait."

The king put his hand on my shoulder, putting some strengths in its grip.

"We will need you to go with a group to that village tomorrow. Your ability to hide and heal will be useful for this task."

"My king, I am needed here to take care of the wounded. Going away now would be irresponsible for me."

"We can keep them alive while you are away. Don't need to worry."

…Fuck it. I don't have any energy to argue.

"I will need some more time to prepare for it. May I ask for a batch of new herbs to restock on my potion supply?"

"I have already sent somebody to collect some for you, with an order for a new coat, considering your trend of destroying your clothes."

"Hmm? Oh, right."

I just realized that the one I was currently wearing was covered in spots of blood, giving it a murderous vibe.

Seeing me just realizing this, the king gave me a rare smile.

"Seeing you work made me realize why doctors wear those coats in the first place. It would be disgraceful for my physician to wear something so filthy."

"Thank you for your concern. Do I have to shave for the occasion?"

"… It would gather less attention."

*****

The next day, a group gathered before the gate of the city.

It mainly consisted of elves who were the least wounded.

"He is coming."

Noticing the approaching individual, the elves stopped talking and looked at him.

It was the doctor who saved their loved ones, but he looked quite different.

Instead of his white coat, he wore a brown leather one, paired with a belt, on which several vials hang.

He also shaved, showing his elven face, and he grew his hair out, tying it behind his head.

"Morning, we have a great day today, don't we?"

The elves kept silent, then one by one they bowed before him and shouted together.

"THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!"

The doctor seemed surprised by this.

"Ehhh, thanks for what? All I did was help you guys out."

"You saved our lives and healed our wounded! We cannot be more thankful for you!"

"… Well, you are welcome. "

*****

In the elves' village:

Amongst the burned-down buildings, various people were moving around, carrying charred corpses to a single area.

They threw the bodies on the pile, and stepped aside, letting a capped old man approach it.

"The gods gave us this power to purify this land."

From his pocket, he took out a small silver container and poured its black content onto the bodies.

Immediately, something started to grow.

It was a strange greenish black substance, with snow-white flowers appearing on top of it.

[

Name: Phil Smith 'Plague Father'

Race: [Molded High Elf] Lv: 1/100 (0/100)

Main Class: [Life Father]

Sub Class: [Rouge]

HP(Health Points): 240/240

SP(Stamina Points): 260

MP(Magic Points): 160/160

TMN (Tamed Monster Numbers): [231.810]

Blessings: [Blessing of Nergal] [Blessing of Airmed]*

Active Skills: [Basic Steady Hand] [[Hive control] [Hive Absorption] [Hive Repulsion] [Mold Field] [Basic Spirit Voice] [Aether Vision] [Steam Engineering] [Dagger Arts][Presence Concealment] [Lock Picking]

Passive Skills: [Body Knowledge] [ Plant Knowledge] [Medicine Knowledge] [Stamina Enhancement] [ Movement Enhancement] [ Reflex Enhancement.] [Basic Sponge Mind] [Perfect Stomach] [Hive Mind] [Music Instrument Knowledge] [Prayer Knowledge] [Healing Hands]* [Medical Senses]* [Medical Mind]* [Surgical Precision]*

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] [Medicine Pioneer] [Hive Master] [Giver of Life]

]