Initially, Garrett Nordmark had no intention of intervening.
He was completely out of his element! No diagnostic equipment, no treatment medications, no surgical conditions availableâwas he supposed to treat with his head or his knee?
Besides, he was merely an emergency department physician in his past life! An emergency physician! Faced with a suspected case of cerebral hemorrhage, his first instinct was to administer first aid, and his secondâto call the neurology and possibly neurosurgery departments for an urgent consultation!
However, the occupational hazard of being a doctor kicked in. Seeing someone lying on the ground, possibly unconscious and vomiting, he couldnât help but shout, "Open the airwayâ"
This shout attracted dozens of pairs of eyes towards him. The barbarians who had just dispersed a little now tightened their circle around him again, forming a neat iron barrel. Garrett suddenly found it hard to breathe: he could tolerate the smell of blood, but the stench of sweat was unbearable!
"Spread out! The patient needs fresh air!" he yelled without looking up. From the left front, that deep and powerful voice responded:
"Can you save my brother?"
Garrett choked. He reflexively looked upânot at the speaker, but at the old priest standing by. The priestâs cheeks had lost much of their rosy hue, showing fatigue, yet he still managed to smile and nod at Garrett. The meaning behind his previous question was clear:
This patient is now your responsibility.
"Can you please treat him?"
"What medication do you need? Weâll find it immediately!"
"Donât worry about the reward, as long as you can cure himâ"
Thud, thud, money pouches fell to the ground one after another. Garrett instinctively stepped back:
"I might not be able to save himâ"
"Please, just try your best." A gentle female voice spoke up. Garrett turned to see the crowd parting for a tall, muscular barbarian woman.
She was almost half a head taller than Garrett, draped in a white wolf pelt with fierce wolf teeth over her shoulder and lifeless wolf eyes. Holding a bone staff topped with a black raven carving, she moved swiftly and lightly. As she passed, men on both sides bowed deeply:
"Olga."
"Olga."
"Great Thinker."
The woman nodded briskly at them. Stopping three steps away from Garrett, across the patient on the ground, she bowed:
"Pastor Martin has exhausted all his methods. Just now, you tried to bring my husband further away from death, and we are grateful for your kindness. If youâre willing to try, whatever the outcome, we can accept it."
If only patientsâ families were this understanding in his past life⦠Garrett mused internally. He earnestly explained:
"I might not be able to save him. My abilities are limited, and Iâve just arrived here today, unfamiliar with berserking. As the elder said, the world inside the head is unknown to most of us; we can only entrust our fates to destiny. Moreover, I will be leaving tomorrowâ"
"We abide by the Father Godâs will, who decrees that we should not give up hope until the end arrives," Olga declared firmly. Despite her furrowed brows and worried heart, her speech was decisive and clear.
Garrett sighed inwardly, impressed by the woman who could command a unique title among a tribe that revered brute force. He nodded:
"Then please give me a moment to examine your husband."
He knelt down, focusing on the patientâs eyes. The giant man continued to stare blankly ahead, motionless. However, to the trained eye of a doctor, more was revealed:
Pupils constricted, gaze drooping, focusing on the tip of his own nose. Garrett moved his hand in front of the man, lifting it, but the giantâs gaze remained unaltered. It seemed very much like thalamic hemorrhageâ¦
Garrett quickly assessed the situation. As he examined, he asked:
"How long has it been since the berserking started?"
"Did he collapse immediately after the berserking ended?"
"What usually happens during berserking?"
With Olga present, the surrounding barbarians quieted down, allowing only the patientâs brother to respond precisely:
"About half a dayâ¦"
"No, after killing that seal, he went into a frenzy for a while, and we almost couldnât restrain himâ¦"
"Berserkers fill their chests with the power of rage during berserking. While enraged, they can ignore all injuries and painâ¦"
Garrett gleaned the information he sought, pondering for a moment before turning:
"Could someone demonstrate the process of berserking for me?
You can stop right before fully berserking, just shout before you start, so I can feel your armâs reactionâ"
"Me! Me! Me!"
Barbarians eagerly raised their hands.
After a scramble, the patientâs brother got the opportunity, sitting in front of Garrett. Four barbarians held down his limbs, Bernard held his right hand to prevent him from lashing out at Garrett during the berserk phase. Garrett sat across, touching his pulse, focusing for a minute:
"Start!"
A tiger-like roar erupted from across. Garrett watched intently as the barbarianâs face turned red, veins bulged, and he started panting heavily. Under his fingertips, the pulse raced from 50 beats per minute over 100, the force against his fingers indicating a significant rise in blood pressureâ
"Stop!"
He shouted loudly. Olga, prepared, suddenly chanted louder, directing a ring of icy light with her bone staff. The barbarian shuddered and quickly calmed down, his pulse and blood pressure rapidly returning to normal.
Alright.
Indeed, an adrenaline surge, boosting combat effectiveness. Overdoing it leads to burst blood vesselsâ¦
Brain·hemorrhage.
"I think I understand whatâs happening," Garrett released his hold, standing up to explain to Olga. He gestured, and an ãIntangible Illusionã of a skull appeared in the air, showing the skull, brain, and the blood vessels within, all clearly defined:
"Itâs the blood vessels inside the brain that have burst, spilling blood thatâs pressing against the brain. If I knew which vessel burst and how much blood has leaked, I might be able to intervene. But right now, I have no way of seeing the details. Do you have any method that would allow me to see inside his head?"
He looked hopefully at Olga. In his previous life, he would have immediately called for a CT scan. But now, without a CT machine, he could only hope that the barbarian priests had some arcane method.
"â¦I have no way," Olga pondered for a moment, then sadly shook her head. She turned her expectant gaze towards Pastor Martin, who also shook his head:
"By the grace of the Lord of Radiance, we can use the holy light bestowed upon us to see through a personâs inner and outer being. But this divine spell, I could barely perform at my peak, and todayâs exertions have been too great. If possible, I could try to perform it after tomorrowâs dawn prayers?"
Garrett immediately shook his head. Thereâs an optimal treatment window for cerebral hemorrhage, the earlier, the better. Moreover, he had to return to the inn tonight and depart with the large group from the inn early tomorrow...
He gritted his teeth, handing the ãEndless Ink Penã to Bernard:
"Stand opposite me! As I move, you follow, ensuring we are always face to face!"
Bernard acknowledged. Garrett had the patient propped up to sit upright, positioning himself and Bernard on opposite sides of the patient. Concentrating, calming his breath, he closed his eyes slightly, entering a meditative stateâ
ãDetect Magicã!
Well, a CT scan is essentially very thin slices of X-rays, layered and then compiled by a computer into a detailed imageâ¦
Without a CT machine, he had no choice but to manually attempt it.
Garrett forcefully activated the X-ray magic. Only upon activation did he realize the challenge: reading a single film was easy, but dozens, hundreds of thin slices, remembering every detail to compile an image, was extremely difficult.
He managed only seven or eight layers before sweat drenched his forehead and nose.
Canât continue?
The challenge of emulating a computer with human effort seemed too dauntingâ¦
Garrett bit his lip, stepping left. Just a bit more, he had already started to gather some data, one more try!
"Bernard! To the left!"
"Here!"
Step by step, Garrett and Bernard slowly circled the patient, taking half a day for each step. After just three steps, Garrett felt dizzy, on the verge of collapsing, sweat streaming from his forehead to his chin.
"What are you doing?"
Someone suddenly asked from outside the circle. Garrett turned, bursting with joy:
"Your Excellency! How did you get here?"
"How could I not? If I hadnât come, you would have fallen!"
Archmage Serano looked up at the sky.
Garrett understood immediately: the commotion from Pastor Martinâs healing spell was significant. Archmage Serano probably came out of caution, not initially intending to intervene...
But here he was, seeing Garrettâs disheveled state, compelled to ask.
Garrett briefly explained his need to the archmage. Without hesitation, Serano shook his head:
"It doesnât need to be so complicated. Step aside and wait!"
He produced a gem-encrusted bracelet, holding it in his palm, directing it at the patient. Garrett felt a chill, as
if an invisible cold breeze swept by. He turned curiously, but Serano didnât explain, focusing intently as if listening to something. Then, he turned to Garrett:
"Can you draw the brain? Draw it out, and Iâll show you where the bleeding is!"
Garrett quickly summoned an ãIntangible Illusionã. The archmage scrutinized the sketch, pointing out:
"Hereâs quite a bit of blood⦠here⦠here⦠hereâ¦"
"How did you know?"
"I sent an incorporeal being to look inside!" Serano replied matter-of-factly:
"In the future, if you want to see inside a human body, itâs best to contract an incorporeal entity!"
???
That works?