He instinctively covered the cysts on his face, which had been burned into his skin by the fire. In his mind, the horrifying image of the doctor’s hands coming to squeeze them out flashed in an instant.

Dada dada dada—

He trembled in fear, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

[Burned Ghost Fear Level +20]

[Burned Ghost Fear Level +20]

And just in that moment, Lynn, with a mask covered in viscous fluids, took it off and flashed a friendly smile at the burned ghost, saying,

"I’ll go grab the tools from the back. Please wait just a moment. You’ll be next."

The burned ghost’s entire body of cysts quivered.

What a terrifying smile!!

Why did he smile like that when he said "you'll be next"? What kind of creepy grin is that?!

[Burned Ghost Sanity -20]

[Burned Ghost Sanity -20]

Earlier that day, he had seen that old pervert from the Blood Saw Pharmacy leave, so he thought he might try his luck. Maybe, just maybe, he could get his burns treated without feeling quite as horrified.

But who would’ve thought, the old pervert had left and a little pervert stayed behind!

He nervously glanced at the ghost baby twitching on the counter, its face almost transformed into a black, gooey mess.

"Could this… be my fate too?" he whispered to himself.

Just then, a loud and eerie sound of an electric saw being pulled echoed from behind the curtain in the back.

Zzzzzzz—Zzzzzzz—

The burned ghost (ΩДΩ) grabbed his head in terror, his bones feeling like they were about to snap from sheer fright.

An electric saw!! It’s an electric saw!!

Didn’t he just say he was going to grab some tools from the back?!

But why is there the sound of an electric saw? What’s going on?!

In his mind, an image appeared: A deranged serial killer with a manic smile, holding a chainsaw and slowly walking toward him.

(?Д?) His head was surrounded by a cloud of black smoke.

In the next moment, he heard footsteps.

Thud—Thud—

The sound was getting closer!

Someone was coming with an electric saw!

The silhouette of a figure began to appear through the back curtain, and the sound of the chainsaw grew deafening.

Ah—Ah—Ah—

The burned ghost screamed in panic, clutching his head as numbers floated around him.

[Sanity -20!]

[Sanity -30!]

[Sanity -40!]

In an instant, his sanity reached zero, and the burned ghost, crawling and tumbling in terror, bolted for the door, screaming,

“Black shop!! Black shop!! Help! Help me!!”

Ding! The burned ghost's mission failed!

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Ding! The burned ghost's fear level of you has increased by +400!

Ding! Congratulations, you’ve gained your first customer with an "extreme terror" level of fear toward you. You’ve earned 100 Skull Coins!

Ding! Your fame +10

Lynn: "???"

He pulled back the curtain, staring in disbelief at the trail of ashes the burned ghost left behind as he scrambled outside.

"What happened? I just went to sharpen my scalpel, and he left just like that?"

And what’s with the +400 fear level?

Why is he so terrified of me?

I’ve always maintained a philosophy of smiling service, spoken politely, and taken great care of my customers. Shouldn’t this build rapport, not terror?

Lynn couldn’t understand.

Oh well, if he’s gone, he’s gone.

Lynn sighed.

At any rate, he’d better take care of the ghost baby first.

Ding—

Lynn’s sharp carving knife gleamed in the light.

…

An hour later, Lynn sat behind the counter, smiling contentedly as he set down his knife, looking at the ghost baby sitting across from him.

"Doesn’t it look much more pleasant now?"

With a small cherry-like mouth, plump cheeks, big eyes, and a delicate nose, the previously grotesque, twisted mess had transformed under Lynn’s careful hands into a cute and lifelike little figure.

Back before crossing over, Lynn had been top of the class in handcrafts. His clay sculptures had received unanimous praise from his classmates.

Lynn smiled, feeling pleased with himself.

Just then, a vertical pupil suddenly grew on the ghost baby’s forehead.

Pop—

Lynn instantly popped it.

With his eyes closed, he muttered, "This isn’t the place to grow eyes. I spent all this time sculpting your face. If you try to ruin it, don’t blame me for using the knife again."

[Malignant Ghost Baby Fear Level +50]

[Malignant Ghost Baby Fear Level +50]

Ding! The system detects that the Malignant Ghost Baby’s fear level toward you has surpassed the rate at which its resentment grows. The threat level has decreased to -321 and is still decreasing.

Ding! You have triggered a hidden mission: Suppress the ghost baby’s resentment. Current progress: 321. You’ve earned 151 Skull Coins, shaping skill experience +100, and a special reward: 5 strands of vengeful spirit hair.

Lynn was stunned.

So this could trigger a hidden mission?

Looks like there’s still a lot about this system that he needed to explore.

In the next moment, five long strands of hair appeared in his hand.

The description appeared before him:

[Vengeful Spirit Hair]: Hair from a female ghost filled with immense resentment. Once attached to the target, the hair will coil around the neck, suffocating them to death.

Lynn rubbed his chin.

This could be a useful self-defense item, but with only five strands, he would have to think carefully about when to use them.

He tucked the hair away and sat back behind the counter, quietly continuing to tap on his abacus, waiting for the next customer to arrive.

Of course, his attention never wavered from the ghost baby in front of him.

The moment it showed any sign of breaking down, Lynn would immediately reset it and bring it back to shape.

Time passed quickly.

The light from the soul lantern outside began to fade.

This meant that night was approaching in this world.

In this world, the way to tell night from day was by the light of the soul lantern, as it would never light up at night. Without the lantern’s protection, any monster could break into your sanctuary and tear you apart.

Just as the lantern light grew dim and Lynn was about to close up,

Knock knock knock—

A knock came from the door.

A tall man, dressed in a thick black cloak, a black top hat on his head, and gray-white hair flowing down his back, appeared at the door.

His towering shadow loomed over the threshold, exuding a powerful, oppressive presence.

Lynn’s heart tightened.

Because a panel appeared before his eyes:

[Monster Hunter, Okaros]

[Race]: Human

[Level: ???]

[Combat Ability]: You are very likely to die.

[Alignment: Chaotic Good]

[Description]: A powerful demon hunter who travels alone in the dark world. He belongs to no organization and is extremely mysterious. His life’s work is to hunt large monsters he deems evil. Do not attempt to understand him. It is extremely dangerous.

Lynn: "???"

This looked like… a person!