MM Racing Chapter 3808 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (23)
Chapter 3808 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (23)
Chapter 3808 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (Twenty-Three)
Arkham Batman senses something's off about Night Owl.
The first class this morning was magic theory. The professor specifically emphasized that today's lesson would cover a very important topic: the inscription of magical runes and the channeling of magic. Every Batman was very interested in this and listened attentively, but Nite Owl kept getting distracted.
During the break, Arkham Batman turned to the main universe Batman and said, "What have you done to him? It's only been two days, how come he's already so distracted?"
The main universe's Batman smiled, pursing his lips, but remained silent. He knew perfectly well why Night Owl was so distracted—he thought he was cursed.
After several days of learning, most of the Batmen had gained a certain understanding of magic. Because of this, they learned that curses were real, and far more powerful than they had imagined. Skilled dark magicians could curse complete strangers without any preparation. The various dark magic curses were also very powerful; some could severely injure, some could cause mental disturbance, and some could even kill.
When deciding to use movie sets to deal with Night Owl, the main universe Batman had already come up with a complete plan.
To lure this cunning and evil fellow into the game, ordinary methods won't work. The traps in that secret room would be fine in a movie, fitting the intelligence level of the main characters and being intellectually friendly to the audience, but they're too easy for Batman.
Even if the main universe Batman upgraded the door lock to a smart lock, it still looked somewhat out of place and didn't seem like something a cunning dark sorcerer who could cause trouble right under the Sorcerer Supreme's nose would create.
The main universe's Batman didn't know the script, so he wasn't sure if the locked room was really Saffir's doing, or if there was some other hidden reason. Anyway, he personally felt it didn't make sense, so he changed the script on his own.
In his plan, this secret chamber wasn't actually Saphir's real stronghold. He deliberately created this place in the castle and placed a very simple puzzle there to frame the Sorcerer Supreme.
He cast a powerful curse on his notebook, a curse that would kill anyone who became tainted. His aim was to lure the Sorcerer Supreme in so he could kill him with the curse.
While this method wasn't particularly sophisticated, it was at least ruthless and somewhat in line with Saphir's character, leaving Night Owl no choice but to believe it.
Now he probably believes he's truly cursed, having lost all initiative and forced to cooperate with Saffir. But Saffir hasn't come looking for him; aside from sending a letter mocking him, he's vanished without a trace. How could the Night Owl not panic?
While the Batmen learn magic quickly, they're still far from being true masters, especially since curses are a very niche magical technique. Casting and uncasting curses require specialized training; these courses aren't offered in schools, so the Batmen have no way of learning the specifics. Even Nite Owl himself is completely helpless against curses.
Next comes the second phase of the main universe Batman – it is known that Saffir ignores him, there are no professors in the school who are proficient in curses, and the curse does not know when it will break out. In a desperate situation, who will Owl seek out?
After lunch, the main universe Batman and the Arkham Batman went to the top of the east tower and looked down. Sure enough, they spotted Night Owl hurrying along the bridge. He was clearly heading towards the school hospital.
“He actually went to see Dr. Schiller,” Arkham Batman couldn’t help but remark. “Now the doctor will be even more annoyed with him.”
“Let’s go, we need to get as much done as possible while he’s away,” said the main universe Batman.
Night Owl practically burst through the door of the school hospital. When Schiller came out of his office, he thought he'd gone mad.
"What's wrong with you?" Schiller opened the magical barrier and let the night owl in.
Night Owl paused, knowing that his unusual behavior would easily alert Schiller, so he tried to suppress his turbulent emotions and said, "I feel a little unwell."
"I just examined you yesterday, and there's nothing wrong with your health." Schiller turned and walked into the ward. Two of the new students were suffering from vomiting and diarrhea due to the change in environment, and he needed to prescribe some antidiarrheal medication for them.
"But I really do feel..." This time, Night Owl wasn't faking it. Ever since he learned he was cursed, he had felt unwell all over.
“Well, there’s a first-come, first-served rule.” Schiller’s tone was still gentle, but there was a clear hint of impatience in it. He said, “This is very likely a psychological problem. Go to my office and wait for me. I’ll talk to you after I’ve prescribed the medication for them.”
Night Owl had no choice but to go into his office. Those few minutes had been agonizing; he could practically count the cracks in the floorboards. A while later, Schiller came in after prescribing the medication, and it seemed Night Owl was about to pass out.
He sat down opposite Night Owl and said, "Relax, I can hear your anxious voice even through the wall. Tell me, what's wrong?"
"I...do you think there's anything wrong with me?"
“I already told you, you’re unusually anxious right now. Is there something wrong with your studies? Or are you having problems getting along with your classmates?” Schiller had already determined it was the latter, and he knew who the culprit was, even roughly imagining what methods they had used. What he couldn’t understand was why Night Owl was coming to him—didn’t he seem out of sync with the main universe’s Batman? What was the difference between this and a pig barging into a butcher’s house?
“I’m not anxious,” Night Owl said. “I think there’s something wrong with my body. Could you check me out?”
Schiller pretended to pull out a stethoscope. He was actually quite familiar with this procedure, because Stark's anxiety disorder, at its worst, would also manifest as physical reactions. Even after he had ascended to the status of the Iron Man, he would spend an entire night wondering if cancer cells were rapidly multiplying within him, or even experiencing early-stage cancer symptoms. Therefore, Schiller had also learned some internal medicine diagnostic techniques.
Of course, he only learned the surface level, such as listening to the heart rate with a stethoscope, looking at the fundus of the eye, and tapping the knee.
He was about to proceed with the procedure when Night Owl shouted, "That's not what I meant. I meant... don't you know any magic tricks?"
This stumped Schiller. He really didn't know. He was the school doctor, a position he'd been dragged into by Strange. If he had any use for anything, it was probably in using the gray fog as a last resort. But when it came to magical healing techniques, any professor here was better than him.
However, out of a sense of responsibility, Schiller still asked Gray Mist in his mind, "What's wrong with him?"
“He’s fine,” Gray Mist said. “He’s in good health; we haven’t found anything wrong with him.”
Schiller didn't want to reveal the Gray Mist to Night Owl, so he cleared his throat and said, "I told you, I checked you before, there's nothing wrong."
"Checked with magic?"
“Yes.” Schiller nodded. He couldn’t exactly be lying; the Gray Mist was an Outer God, belonging to the mystical realm along with magic.
"Then why don't I feel anything?"
“Well, that’s how magic works. It doesn’t require as many instruments as scientific examinations.” Schiller recalled the scene of Wanda examining others and then said, “You just point at them.”
Night Owl was skeptical. He said, "That was checked yesterday. Can you check me again today?" Because he encountered the letter last night, the previous check was obviously invalid. So he wanted Schiller to use magic to check him again to see if there was any curse inside him.
“This…” Schiller thought for a moment. He felt that Night Owl might have been tricked by the main universe's Batman and his crew; the other side might have used some underhanded tactics, which was why he was so anxious now.
But based on Schiller's understanding of Batman, Batman generally wouldn't do something like poisoning someone, except for Bruce Wayne.
So the examination probably wouldn't reveal anything, but if he said there was nothing, the other party would definitely become even more anxious. Although he was on the opposite side, whether for the sake of the school doctor's duties or to prevent Night Owl from becoming desperate, Schiller had to alleviate Night Owl's anxiety.
So he nodded and said, "Stand up."
The owl stood up. Schiller said to the gray fog in his mind, "Give my eyes a flash of light."
Night Owl stared intently at Schiller's movements, then noticed a mysterious glint in his eyes, followed by a slight change in his expression.
“Sit down first,” Schiller said.
"How is it?" Night Owl asked.
"Have you eaten something bad lately?" Schiller chose the safest way to ask. After all, Batman also needs to eat, and the excuse of "illness coming from the mouth" was the best.
"So there's a problem?"
“I can’t say there’s absolutely nothing, it’s just that I don’t quite understand it,” Schiller sighed. He still maintained his principle—to avoid lying to Batman as much as possible. What he said was true; without the help of the gray fog, and since his eyes weren’t X-rays, of course he couldn’t understand it.
Night Owl's heart sank. He leaned forward, staring intently into Schiller's eyes, and said, "Do you know what's unusual?"
Upon hearing his question, Schiller knew that the main universe's Batman had indeed made his move. He must have used some method to make Night Owl think there was something wrong with him, but he didn't know what his next plan was. Schiller decided to leave the matter vague.
“I told you, I don’t understand,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “In terms of magic, I’m good at concocting potions, but I don’t have any profound expertise in other areas, so I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Night Owl's expression changed noticeably, making it hard for Schiller to ignore. As expected of the main universe's Batman, playing against him was incredibly stressful; Night Owl certainly knew how to pick his opponents.
Night Owl walked away somewhat dejectedly. However, as he left the office, he noticed the encyclopedia of magical plants and animals on Schiller's desk. He glanced at it but didn't pay it any mind, since Schiller had already said he could concoct potions, so consulting the ingredient list was perfectly normal.
Suddenly, Night Owl seemed to realize something. He quickened his pace, returned to the library as fast as he could, opened the secret room, and took Saffir's notebook with him.
He recalled a professor mentioning in his magic theory class that curses require a medium. The caster and victim may never have met, but they can be connected through certain objects. This connection is the medium of the curse. The medium isn't the victim's personal belongings as commonly imagined, but rather extremely rare magical materials. The more malevolent the curse, the more evil the materials required.
If he can't investigate the curse itself, then he can investigate the medium. Saffir has already stated in the letter that only those who touch the notebook will be cursed, which means the medium might be in the notebook.
Night Owl examined the notebook from left to right, but couldn't figure it out. He thought that some very special materials might only show their effects under specific lighting, so he turned off the dormitory lights. As soon as the lights were off, blue fluorescent marks appeared on the notebook cover, forming a very complex magic circle. Night Owl's eyes widened instantly.
Meanwhile, Strange, who had just entered the library and opened the secret room, looked at the empty table with some confusion: "Where's the notebook that the props team put here?"