A Hospital in Another World?

Chapter 219

Before being called out by the old man, Mage Aurora Worton had been arguing with Garrett for quite some time. If it weren’t for the excitement of everyone around and their attention being drawn to the microscope, someone would surely have noticed their conversation:

"I remember you have one too?"

"Yeah, I do."

"You’ve had yours for a while, why let him go up and talk?!"

"Oh... well, he’s already up there, why bother pulling him down? Besides, he didn’t claim to have invented it, he only said he discovered it in the south..."

"But there’s a reward for this! There’s a reward! Don’t you want that Eternal Flame?"

"Well... haha... I’ll find another way in the future if I want that. It’s not good to compete with him for it... I have other methods to get that thing..."

"But why miss out on a reward like this!"

The two of them whispered back and forth, shoulder to shoulder, neither able to convince the other. It wasn’t until the mechanic old man announced the award winners that Aurora, in a hurry, raised Garrett’s arm...

Garrett tried to struggle, but Aurora, whether because she was two years older than him or secretly enhanced herself with some Bull’s Strength, had grabbed onto him in such a way that Garrett couldn’t budge. He could only watch as Aurora bent his arm and pointed at him loudly:

"He already has this thing!"

The hall suddenly fell silent. The mechanic old man looked at Aurora, then at the magician whose hands he held, and then at Garrett. His once flushed face gradually darkened. Meanwhile, the magician in front of him trembled slightly, his complexion visibly turning pale as he muttered repeatedly:

"I said I discovered it... I didn’t say I made it... I said I encountered it in the south..."

The mechanic old man fell silent. After a moment, he released the magician’s hands, turned to the audience, and cleared his throat with authority:

"What is your name? Who is your teacher?"

"I am Aurora Worton, and my teacher is Grand Mage Carlisle," Aurora replied smoothly. The mechanic old man nodded gently, his expression softening slightly:

"So, you are a disciple of Carlisle. I understand that you want to defend your friend, but the purpose of this meeting’s awards is to reward magicians who extensively share knowledge with their peers. Although your friend has had this—" He lightly tapped the microscope. "—for a while, he has not submitted it for publication in the Alchemy and Magic Journal. Therefore, this reward cannot go to him."

Aurora was at a loss for words. He turned to Garrett, his face alternating between red and white, his lips moving like a goldfish lifted out of the water. Garrett, helpless, took a step forward to stand in front of him and bowed slightly to the mechanic old man:

"Thank you for your guidance, Master, and thank you to this gentleman for his enthusiastic promotion of the microscope. Regarding what Aurora just said, I would like to add—"

He reached for his waist and pulled out a stack of papers from his spatial bag, holding them up with both hands:

"This microscope was made by me in July of last year to contain a plague. In February of this year, I wrote its usage into a paper and submitted it to the Magical Review Department along with the physical item. As for not submitting it to the Alchemy and Magic Journal and not attracting the attention of esteemed masters, I can only say... I’m very sorry."

He raised his hands gently. The mechanic old man furrowed his brows, and with a slight movement of his fingers, a pair of transparent mage hands took the paper and brought it directly to him. The two lines of bold text on the cover, written in thick and clear ink, remained vivid after several months:

"Observations on Onion Skin, Cork, Meat, Bees, and Other Insects Using a Homemade Microscope"

A note was tucked into the title page. The reward given by the council for this paper was 1 research point and 1 contribution point; there was also another paper, "Observations on Dysentery Bacilli Using a Homemade Microscope," which also earned 1 research point and 1 contribution point. The mechanic old man raised his eyebrows, about to express his anger:

Who reviewed these two papers?

Who was the idiot with such poor judgment?!

Such an invention that could open new doors for magicians, and it’s worth so little in rewards?!

No wonder people dare not submit... It would be strange if they did! With such consolation rewards, who would think they could get published?

But now was not the time to rush to the Magical Review Department and demand accountability. The mechanic old man quickly flipped through the paper, confirmed the originality of the microscope, and immediately smiled at Garrett, waving him up:

"So, about this—microscope, do you have any other content to share with everyone?"

"...Yes." Garrett walked briskly up, and the magicians spontaneously made way for him, giving him a wide path. Garrett took his seat on the stage and skillfully began operating the microscope, while also pulling out items from his spatial bag one by one:

"First, I want to explain that placing the object directly on the stage for observation is not the best method. Because the object may be uneven, making it difficult to focus and achieve the best observation results.

I usually sandwich it between two pieces of glass— the one below is thick and sturdy, called the slide, and the one above is more transparent and thinner, called the coverslip... It’s also best to have a constant light source below the stage for clearer viewing...

Apart from using the magnification of the objective and eyepiece, there is another method, which is to drop a drop of oil on the coverslip. By utilizing the shape and refraction of the oil droplet itself, the specimen can be magnified by 2 to 10 times. The oil drop should be clear and transparent, with a good refractive index. I use refined olive oil, although it’s said that cypress oil yields the best results, but I couldn’t find any...

The principle of the microscope is to enlarge the real image formed by the first lens and make it fall within the focal length of the second lens. Therefore, calculating the focal length is very important...

If you can find a skilled craftsman, the objective part can be made into a turntable, rotating several objectives back and forth, in combination with an adjustable eyepiece, allowing observation at different magnifications... The jeweler I found back then had mediocre skills, so I only made this tube...

To increase the magnification and improve clarity for the user, there are many methods. One is to grind better lenses to increase the magnification of the convex lens. Of course, it’s also possible to use magic for magnification instead of grinding lenses;

Second is to improve the polishing accuracy of the inner wall of the tube so that the inside is bright enough, and the view won’t be blurred;

Third is to seal the tube. If possible, fill it with... stable, non-combustible gas to prevent dust and condensation from entering the interior...

If there is a strong enough light source and the quality of the convex lens is good enough, a light shield can be added to the center of the condenser lens to allow only the light reflected and diffracted by the specimen to enter the objective lens. In this way, the magnification can be significantly increased..."

"Before observing the specimen, it should be stained. I have written separately about staining methods and reagents in my paper, but further research and development are necessary..."

Garrett spoke tirelessly, item by item. On the platform, the magician who had originally introduced the microscope grew more and more uneasy as he listened. Finally, he began to shuffle nervously towards the edge of the stage. His face flushed crimson, and even the sparse hair that couldn’t conceal his receding hairline turned red.

He walked with his head down, shoulders hunched, his robe trailing on the ground, looking utterly dejected. Garrett couldn’t help but feel sorry for him—how pitiful. If it weren’t for his sudden appearance, the magician could have received the reward and turned his fortunes around...

No one reached out to stop him. No one spoke up to intervene. Even the old man who had initially praised him, suggesting that the award should go to him, only looked at him with pity. Yet Garrett’s gaze occasionally fell on him, and suddenly he took a couple of quick steps forward, grabbing the unfortunate, balding magician:

"You don’t have to leave..."

The balding magician raised his head abruptly, his face full of surprise, instinctively taking a step back. But Garrett didn’t look at him anymore. As he extended his hand to hold him back, he turned to the old man on the platform:

"As you said, Master, the purpose of the award at this meeting is to reward the act of ’discovery.’ This gentleman—"

At this point, he forcefully dragged the balding magician and turned him towards the platform:

"—the act of promoting the microscope has actually achieved excellent results in sharing. Moreover, he previously claimed to have ’discovered’ this instrument, not ’invented’ it. So, there’s no need to deprive him of the honor just because I’m here."

"But you..." The balding magician’s lips trembled. As the reward that was within reach turned into nothingness, the inventor himself spoke up for him. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. He wanted to decline, he wanted to express gratitude, but he didn’t know what to say. And in the middle of the hall, Aurora Worton was already anxiously calling out:

"Hey, you..."

Garrett turned back with a smile, waving to his followers. The hall fell silent, and the gazes of the magicians, both young and old, were fixed on Garrett:

Some, especially the older magicians with poorer attire, looked at Garrett with admiration. The other half, mainly the young and arrogant magicians, glanced sideways, with expressions of disdain for the gullible. Aurora Worton even heard people behind her whispering to each other:

"Is this guy an idiot?"

"Why give away something that’s already in hand?"

"Why give it to someone else... that guy is old and poor, he has no potential, even if you recruit him, it’s useless, right?"

Aurora Worton turned her head and glared angrily. She then turned to Garrett, trying to stretch her neck as far as possible, almost climbing onto the chair:

"Why give it to him! What about—"

"Aurora!"

Garrett interrupted loudly. He pushed the balding magician forcefully, making him take two steps forward, and then stepped aside himself. The old man on the platform had been looking at them both with gentle eyes all along, neither approving nor disapproving. Only when the two seemed deadlocked did he smile and stand up:

"You—"

At this point, he quickly glanced down at the cover of the paper with a drop of his eyes:

"Garrett Nordmark, are you saying that you want to give the Annual Award of ’Aen Stone’ to this magician?"

"I adhere to the rules and respect the judgment of the masters." Garrett replied calmly. The old man’s smile deepened:

"Even if you don’t get the award in the end?"

"Even if I don’t get the award." Garrett remained unusually calm. What was a piece of magical equipment worth? If he followed his plan, what he could obtain far exceeded just an equipment.

"Very well." The old man clapped his hands and nodded calmly. "Then I hereby announce that, since this gentleman was the original promoter of the microscope and his work has had a tremendous impact, the Annual Award of ’Aen Stone’ of this year’s ’Gold Point’ will be given to him—"

He reached out his hand. The balding magician stood still, his sparse hair gleaming red under the lights. There was a slight stir in the hall, some envying the man’s good fortune, some couldn’t help but gossip about Garrett being a fool. Aurora Worton couldn’t help but exclaim, looking at the old man and then sighing helplessly:

"Ah..."

Can’t resist.

Can’t argue.

The opponent’s level is too high.

Their own teammate, no, their own boss, is too much of a drag, giving away things that are already in hand...

However, his sigh got stuck halfway. On the platform, the old man smiled again, gesturing to Garrett:

"So, Mr. Garrett Nordmark, would you be willing to publish your paper in ’Gold Point’ and authorize the Alchemy Society to produce and improve your invention?"

Aurora Worton stood still. He stiffly turned his head, looking at Garrett’s calm smile, his cervical vertebrae creaking in his neck.

Known: Promoting this achievement can earn an award from the Alchemy branch and receive a custom-made magical tool that matches his own level.

Known: The rewards obtained by the creator should not be less than those obtained by the promoter.

Question: How much should the creator get?

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