The first day in the village, I healed ten villagers. All of them are men who can work and hunt animals and monsters for food.

After treating them with the food and water we brought, they quickly left the village to get more supplies for the rest of the villagers.

Seems like doing it ten times is exhausting for Kayla even with Mana Potions. She slept instantly after the tenth patient leave the hospital.

As for the other members, they are patrolling outside and inside the village. Those who are patrolling inside were looking for a trace of the homeless Black Slime summoner. And those who are patrolling outside were looking for the Dragon Dung Flower. I didn't ask them to take care of the flowers yet. Just locating them.

The quest given by the king is to cure everyone in the village. If we destroy the flowers first, some people might leave the village right away thinking that living without having the need for food and water is good. They will think that they have no need to work anymore. That's why we'll take care of the flowers after everyone is cured.

Just like I told Albert, it might be over in a week.

The second day, another ten people is in the hospital. Five villagers and five hunters. And just like we feared, someone asked if they can just get out of the village without being cured since.

"No way. You can, but I will kill you if you do so. My quest is given directly by the king to cure everyone here without sparing anyone. If you don't want to be cured, I will gladly kill you."

After saying that, everyone shut their mouth and didn't dare to ask any more. They must have been afraid that we have an S-rank hunter and an expert level mage here.

By the way, Ellen and Jessica is leaving in the second day, together with the five hunters who were just cured. Just like I thought, the hunters will try to leave this place quickly without caring about the fate of the villagers. Good thing I only healed the villagers with family in the first day.

The chief and the villagers said that fifteen people is more than enough to stock some supplies from hunting and fetching water. So, on the third day, I only cured the hunters. This way, the number of people staying in the village will be lessened.

The fourth day, I cured the rest of the hunters, and the children of the village. It's because children don't eat as much as adult.

I spend my free time walking around the village. I asked the chief and the villagers about what they know about the homeless man, and even investigate the stable the chief lend him to sleep. But I didn't find anything. I guess he must have left the village after infecting everyone here.

Let's imagine what he's thinking. He entered this village to conduct an experiment. Before he grabbed a villager for experiment, he planted the Dragon Dung Flowers around the village. Then, once he planted them, he started taking a villager and conduct an experiment somewhere. He either put them to sleep or knock them out. Once he grabbed quite a number of people, the chief asked his son to submit a request to the guild. Hunters started to take the request and go to this village.

By that time, the homeless man's experiment bear fruit, and he returned the missing people back to the village. But he didn't have enough, so he also grabbed the hunters and other villagers until everyone is infected.

Then, after no other hunters entered the village, he left the village since there's no one else to experiment on. I guess that's what happened. I discussed this possibility with Victoria, Kayla, and the others as well.

I'll tell Albert to put up wanted posters with the homeless man's description since I can't find any clues of his whereabouts.

After seven days, like I expected, everyone is cured.

"Thank you, messiah, for curing us." The chief said.

"Like I said, I'm not the messiah!"

It's annoying to be called the messiah for a week.

"By the way, the person who did this to you has disappear. So, I want you to keep the fact that I have cured you all as a secret. I don't want that person to be wary of me since I want to capture him." I said to the villagers.

I don't want to capture him. With the wanted posters, someone must be interested in capturing him. I'm just afraid in case he's related to the cult. It will be dangerous if the cult knows about the effect of a Black Slime inside your body. Though for me, they will be easier to find than having explosive devices in their mouth. But I will still be careful about anything that possibly related to the cult.

After saying goodbye to the villagers, we're finally home. I just opened a portal back home since the other hunters, including Ellen and Jessica, are all already left.

I reported the situation to Albert, and left everything to him. Now, I'm back to my break again.

What should I do in this one year before entering the medical school?

Right! I forgot! Training camp!

We have a training camp, together with the guards at Melk and Mellian, and all Albert's agents. I should bring the Werewolves as well at that time. I think there's still a few months before the training camp.

I guess until then, I continue getting stronger and take quests while making name for my clan.

...….

Two weeks before Roy and his clan took the quest, someone left the village. He was the homeless man who experimented on the villagers and the hunters who visited the village.

Although he looked haggard, he's actually an advanced level mage in ice element, and wind element.

He knocked out the people he will experimented on, or kidnap them in their sleep and escape quickly with his wind magic. Then, injected those people with clones of a Black Slime, which is his summon.

Unlike Roy's Black Slime, his was different. The Black Slime is already capable of making clones of itself even when the summoner was still beginner level in summoning element.

As for the origins of the Black Slime, it was part of Javier's clones, way before Javier first contracted with his first master. And Javier forgotten about it.

When Javier made a contract, his connection with that clone disappear. And it's as if the clone is its own entity.

And about forty years ago, the Javier's clone accidentally got summoned and became the homeless man's summon.

Now, the homeless man has found a good way to use the his summon. His goal is to attain immortality. And he's halfway there with achieving it after experimenting on the village, with the result of no longer needed food or water anymore. No more sleeping is just a side effect to him.

And so, he left the village to report to his old friend, who is a fellow researcher.

He managed to get an appointment with his friend, but what he didn't know is that his friend is the head researcher of the cult.

"So, you're halfway through your research to immortality, huh? Using the clones of a rare Black Slime as substitute for human's organs." The cult's researcher said.

"That's right! But I don't know if it can cause longevity to people's lives or not. I do know that once the clones spread inside their body, they no longer need to eat or drink or sleep anymore! If it can stop the process of aging as well, we might as well be immortal!" The homeless man excitedly explained.

"It's your summon, right? Let's try to use the real Black Slime instead of its clones. We can research it by experimenting it on me. And if something happened, you can summon it from my body, right? It will disappear from my body and I will be normal human again." The researcher said calmly.

"Are you sure? Then let's do it!"

Then he injected the real Black Slime, which is actually clone of the real Black Slime, into the researcher's body.

A few days later, the researcher's inner organ turned black. And he no longer needs to consume anything anymore to live.

"I see. This is useful. Good job in discovering it!" the researcher said to the homeless man.

"Then, should I summon it? It won't do anything if the real Black Slime is unable to create its clones."

"There's no need for you to do that anymore."

The researcher, calmly cast a fire magic on the homeless man, and killed him. The homeless man died without knowing why he was killed.

"This way, I can become closer to the True God! Even closer than that shitty Archbishop!"

That's his real goal in lending his own body to be experimented. This way, he can do more works without being tired, and research more, for the sake of the Evil God.

Then the researcher asked his subordinate to clean up the corpse of his former friend. And at that time, he remembered a small detail of a report from the past, and asked his subordinate who wrote it.

"Hey, if I remember correctly, there's a kid who can summon a Black Slime in that city you were watching, right?"

"Yes. It was in the city of Melk, just days before the stampede."

"Hmm… it was after his test that someone unknown suddenly appears, right? And we thought that the failure of the stampede might be connected with that unknown person."

"You are correct."

The researcher is trying to connect the dot about Roy, and the unknown person.

"Tell me more about that Black Slime summoner."

"Well, he's weak. His awakened elements are summoning and air. His summon is a weak Black Slime which he used as a throwing weapon during that test. So, we assume that he's just an idiot."

"…an idiot, huh? Well, doesn't matter. It just means that he probably already died although the stampede was a failure. There's no point in looking for him anymore. Black Slimes might be useful for a lot of things. That's why I'm curious about summoner who made a contract with Black Slime. Though if he's stupid, I won't think of making him my subordinate. I'll just enjoy my new body and research more for the sake of our lord."

And just like that, Roy almost being targeted by a higher up of the cult personally. But Roy is safe because the report says that he's stupid.

In Roy's past life, the researcher is known as someone who never rest. His infamy was spread through the whole world when Albert found out that he's connected with the cult.

…if Roy's memory about people is a little bit better, he would be able to connect the rumor with the Black Slime infection.

Though because of this event, someone powerful in the cult is looking for anyone who has a Black Slime as their contracted monster.