The Golem Mage

Everyone had their eyes fixed on Bailey after he swallowed the pill, each person eager to witness what would truly happen to him, many in the room were genuinely hoping that, for the city’s future and its chances against the zombie horde, the cure would prove effective.

However, there were a few, like the Raisa Clan who silently wished for the opposite, with all the recent success the Gordons Clan had enjoyed, from their pivotal role in the Blood Moon battle to the overwhelming impact of this auction, clans like theirs were desperate to see the Gordons fail at something—anything—that would drag their name through the mud for once.

It stung that the Gordons were thriving even while other clans were still struggling to recover from the losses of the Blood Moon war during previous months’ battle, and naturally, this only intensified the resentment of those clans who had never been on good terms with the Gordons to begin with.

Though Alec couldn’t read minds, he had a strong sense of what those types were hoping for right now.

But he was more than prepared to disappoint them, as he wasn’t the type to present something he wasn’t absolutely sure about.

Long before he had confidently introduced the pill he had gotten as part of his loots’ from the Ancient Primordial Tree and verified by the system Inspect skill, he had also tested it thoroughly.

And what better way to test it than on a few infected mid-rank mages within his own clan?

It was thanks to those trials that he knew a single dose of the Tier 7 Undead Purge Pill would be enough to cleanse Bailey’s infection.

Ten of the Tier 6 version would have achieved the same result as well, in fact, they were more cost-effective to produce since the refining process for Tier 6 corpses wasn’t as limiting and restraining as the Tier 7 Corpse as they belong to the high rank realm.

Which means he had a larger stock of Tier 6 Undead Purge Pills.

But since he wanted to make a clear demonstration, Alec chose the most effective method to showcase the cure.

After all, the difference in effect between taking one pill to cure the infection and taking ten over time would vary significantly during an active infection.

By curing a Tier 7 mage like Bailey Lanzt with a single dose, Alec wouldn’t just prove the pill’s potency, his credibility would skyrocket, and his word would carry the weight of law in this topic in future.

At first, after Bailey swallowed the pill, nothing seemed to change, he stood as before, calm and unmoved.

But just after the one-minute mark, a sharp groan escaped him, and he nearly dropped to his knees, fortunately, Alec was quick to support him with a steadying arm.

Before everyone’s eyes, Bailey’s infected shoulder began twitching violently, as the green veins thrashed underneath his skin, visible even from a distance, the blackened area pulsed as his unaffected veins surged to the surface, poking and prodding at the corrupted flesh trying to battle the Virus.

The pain grew unbearable, and Bailey could no longer suppress his cries, and a loud wail tore from his throat.

Yet, they could all see the infection receding, the black spot slowly shrinking, leaving that part slightly black, and the frantic green veins were also losing strength, which was slowing their resistance and movement.

As the infection weakened, the pill’s effect kept Bailey conscious, holding him back from slipping into unconsciousness. After fifteen long minutes, the virus finally succumbed.

As the green veins stilled, fading into the darkness of the rest of that shoulder, and the blackened skin dulled, no longer infected, but still dark from the virus still underneath the skin.

“As of this moment, I’m proud to tell you all that he is cured of the zombie infection and the Virus is dead,” Alec announced, his voice clear and firm.

“But understand—just because the infection is dead doesn’t mean the process is over, there are still steps that must be taken to ensure a smooth recovery.”

Bailey was resting on one knee, catching his breath, when he noticed a sudden flash, before he could react, the remaining blackened flesh on his shoulder was sliced clean off in a swift motion, exposing the bone underneath.

“I apologize for doing that without warning,” Alec said calmly to the exhausted Bailey, who stared back with a dazed, pained expression.

The agony from the Undead Purge pill’s battle with the Zombie virus had already left him drained, and now even a wound that would’ve barely stung before now felt like torture.

“Once the virus is cured, it dies within the infected area of the body, but even though the virus is dead, the tissue it occupied is still contaminated with residual zombie cells, that flesh must be removed immediately, as foreign cells like that shouldn’t be allowed to linger and parasitize the body any longer.” Alec continued, addressing both Bailey and the crowd.

He straightened, raising his voice just slightly.

“Now that the infected flesh is gone, the wound will heal naturally, however, because this is a demonstration and since I’ve inflicted harm—I’ll make an exception and give Bailey one of the only two Tier 7 healing pills currently in the Gordons Clan’s possession to speed up the recovery.” Alec had mentioned the Gordons only had two Tier 7 healing pills just so he could direct the crowd’s attention away from the fact he was about to give something so precious away

The crowd, already holding their breath in awe, sat stunned, it felt as if their brains couldn’t keep up with what they’d just witnessed.

Many had prayed the pill would work, but watching it succeed with their own eyes was something else entirely, something cinematic and almost surreal.

The zombie virus had stolen countless lives, claimed brilliant mages, and torn apart families, and now, not only had a cure been revealed… it was about to be auctioned, and it wasn’t even the royal clan behind it, it was the Gordons a Mid Tier clan.

Everything felt so unreal to the crowd, even though it was unfolding right before their eyes, and now, to top it off, they were hearing Alec casually mention giving away a Tier 7 healing pill to speed up the recovery process.

Many could barely believe it, some were already wishing they could teleport onto the stage and beg Alec not to waste such a rare item, as it was better to let the injury heal naturally and preserve the pill in an unbreakable glass case for others to marvel at.

A few, in fact, found themselves wishing they had been the ones infected by the zombie virus, just for the chance to experience what a Tier 7 healing pill felt like, strangely enough, one of those people was none other than the Patriarch of the Gordons Clan himself, which showed just how coveted the pill really was.