Meanwhile, Keiran and Concordia had also finished taking inventory of their food supplies and were now aware of which food items were capable of restoring specific recovery parameters. They also noticed an 'ingestion by channeling' function within the Cancer System. Through this, they could channel a particular food item directly into a patient's system regardless of the patient's state of consciousness.
"It's like the drip feed used in hospitals in the Real World" Concordia noted.
"Pretty convenient system" Keiran said.
"I agree" Concordia said.
"It seems like whenever we boost immunity while enhancing cellular regeneration and applying poison coagulation and mitigation measures, all other recovery stats reduce in speed with regards to the general diminishing of the patient's health. Some stats are actually beginning to increase as well. It's been gradual but some recovery is definitely occurring. It might just be a temporary fix till we find an actual antidote though" Keiran noted.
"But what's with these stats that never hit zero regardless of whether we're scanning the patient or not?" Concordia asked.
"Probably environmental factors" Keiran stated plainly.
"Environmental factors?" Concordia asked.
"All living beings ultimately get their energy from Sunlight. Plus oxygen aids the blood in processes that release energy. These readings with regards to 'Vitality', 'Energy Boost' and 'Mental Fortitude' must depict certain environmental factors that contribute to health. The brain needs oxygen to function plus the energy it needs to function is also released by the blood via processes that release energy. These factors must contribute to the 'Mental Fortitude' parameter" Keiran explained.
"You must be talking of respiration" Concordia realized.
Keiran nodded.
"I'm a bit worried about Arlene and Mitsuki. They chose very challenging lands. They might not be able to acquire as much of a balanced diet as we did" Concordia said.
"I think you underestimate them Concordia" Keiran said.
"What do you mean?" Concordia asked.
"The entire goal of this trial is to buy time. No Dream Knight our age excels at this better than Mitsuki" Keiran said.
Concordia smiled.
"You're right" she said.
Meanwhile, in their location, Mitsuki and Arlene sat inside their shelter sipping tea leisurely while their patient lay on the ground in suspended animation.
"Should we really be taking things easy at a time like this when we have a patient to attend to?" Arlene asked.
"Arlene, you are an information specialist so you should understand what I've just done. What do Bears do during Winter?" Mitsuki asked.
"They hibernate" Arlene replied.
"After doing what?" Mitsuki asked.
"After eating a heavy meal to build up their body mass" Arlene said.
"What happens to their food supply during Winter?" Mitsuki asked.
"There's almost no food supply during Winter" Arlene answered.
"Why do some animals eat more than others?" Mitsuki asked.
"Differences in metabolism rate" Arlene answered.
"What happens during hibernation with regards to metabolism rate?" Mitsuki asked.
"I see…so that's what you're getting at. During hibernation, metabolism is slowed to a crawl. Most higher brain functions slow down leaving only those that support life. It's the reason our body temperature reduces while we're asleep. This is because of reduced energy consumption. It's also why we eat less during the hours of the night than we do during the hours of the day" Arlene explained.
"You are indeed an information specialist. Placing the patient into a state of suspended animation mimics hibernation. By raising their stats through 'ingestion by channeling' and placing them into a state of suspended animation, we can conserve their recovered stats as well as reduce the potential for further debilitation due to body activity. That's another application of my Internal Titanium Chrono Chrome" Mitsuki explained.
Meanwhile, Keiran and Concordia occasionally drained the venom from their patient's bloodstream via osmosis, replenished lost water and energy via a balanced diet, renewed vitality by occasionally bringing the patient into regulated Sunlight and finally enhanced energy release via adequate ventilation.
For a day, in our various continents, we all worked hard to preserve the lives of our patients. After a day, the countdown finally hit zero. At that moment we received a new notification in our various lands.
"Congratulations on completing the Debilitation Vs The Proverbial Shell Of The Crab Phase. The next phase begins now. To solve a problem, you must first understand the problem. Venom can indeed be cured with venom. It is foolish to fight fire with fire, however, a truly wise man can stop a raging inferno with a blaze. A boss fight will definitely occur in this level…of that I assure you. Defeating the boss is not the only way to cure your patient but for those of you that can't think of any other way, you must definitely defeat the boss. However beware…for spiders flee before it" my Dad's voice said sinisterly.
"Hey…is now the time to be making HP jokes?" I glared at the notification suspiciously.
"You're going to need lots and lots of Fenix Downs…uh-um…I mean tears in this level. Time to go fox mode!" my Dad's voice said with a laugh and the line cut.
"Hell yeah! Time to get that head of Medusa and save Andromeda by downing the Kraken!" I roared in excitement.
"Clash Of The Titans huh?" Ciella stared at me with a weird expression on her face.
"Hmm, hmm, to do that though, I'll first need Perseus' Shield" I said and clenched my fists in excitement.
We scanned our menu and found a new skill entitled 'Scorpio'.
"Scorpio?" Ciella asked.
"Another one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac" I said and accessed the Scorpio System.
A map popped up with this notification.
"The Scorpio System maps a Debilitating Stat to the source that inflicted the stat" the message simply read.
"Hmm…Ciella, you know that during the Dry Season, it is very common for bushfires to break out right?" I asked Ciella.
She nodded.
"In the days of old, Farmers created areas of completely bare land around their Farms via the use of controlled fires. These bare areas are known as Firebelts or Firebreaks and are capable of protecting Farms from the spread of bushfires depending on how wide they are. If the fire can't find any grass or wood to burn within the Firebelts, it cannot extend into the Farms and eventually dies out. That's what my Dad meant by the saying 'it is foolish to fight fire with fire, however, a truly wise man can stop a raging inferno with a blaze'. To find the source of our patient's ailment, we might need to scan him with the 'Scorpio' system as well. I believe doing this might generate a map leading us to whatever creature inflicted his injury" I explained.