This was the first human he'd encountered in the past two years in this dark world.
And judging by the panel, this person was a powerhouse in terms of combat abilities.
“I need treatment, as well as some combat and recovery potions,” came a raspy voice from beneath a large, dark top hat.
Lynn immediately stood up, putting on a professional smile. “Welcome, please come in.”
The demon hunter strode through the door. The soul lamp hanging at the entrance flickered wildly, almost going out, indicating just how terrifyingly powerful this demon hunter was.
The man sat at the counter and raised his head, his gaze intensely inspecting Lin En. Instantly, Lynn felt a burning pain on his skin, as if just the man’s gaze had inflicted harm. It was clear that this person was no ordinary human.
“I didn’t expect to find another living person of my kind in this dark world,” the demon hunter remarked, glancing at Lynn.
He pulled a flask from his belt, took a swig, and the pungent smell of alcohol hit Lin En’s nostrils.
[Ding! Task Triggered: Treat the Demon Hunter’s injuries. Task reward: 500 skull coins, Demon Hunter Favorability +50]
Task Failure Penalty: Death by Demon Hunter.
[Ding! You’ve triggered a Kin Bond. Task failure penalty removed!]
Lynn’s heart skipped a beat. As soon as the failure penalty popped up, he sensed something was off. Sure enough, his intuition proved right. A demon hunter wandering this dark world would have no fondness for any monster. Thankfully, since he too was human, this powerful man wouldn’t chop him down on sight.
Lynn calmed his mind. He looked at the demon hunter, smiling calmly. “May I ask where you need treatment?”
The demon hunter slightly moved, and with a cold smile, said, “You actually know about this poison? Guess I underestimated you.”
Lynn gave a dry chuckle. No, he didn’t know what it was. He’d simply repeated the key term from the system prompt.
“System, what’s this ‘Black Butterfly’?” he asked internally.
[Ding! The Black Butterfly is a conglomerate formed entirely from resentment and necrotic energy in the dark world. It has highly corrosive and destructive properties. Any ordinary creature contaminated by it will turn into pus and blood within five seconds.]
Lynn froze for a moment. Without hesitation, he suited up in full protective gear, including a mask and gloves.
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“Can I treat it?” he asked the system in his mind.
[Ding! You can attempt to scrape the bones and detoxify as an initial treatment.]
The demon hunter turned, his patience wearing thin. “Can we start now?”
Lynn snapped out of his thoughts, taking a deep breath. With his mask on, he said seriously, “Your injury is severe, and it seems the poison has already infiltrated your bones. If you want treatment, we’ll need to remove the poisoned tissue first.”
He raised two bone-scraping knives. “We’ll need to perform a surgical debridement first.”
The demon hunter hesitated for a moment. “What’s your surgical skill like?”
Lynn nodded confidently. “Don’t worry, I have plenty of experience. This may be only my second time using a scalpel, but my last patient gave me a great review, so I’m quite confident.”
The demon hunter paused for a while, as if weighing the pros and cons. Then Lynn heard his doubtful voice from beneath the top hat.
“Are there any other medical shops around here?”
Lynn casually sharpened his two scalpels, grinning. “None that I know of. If there were, my teacher would’ve taken care of them. No other medical shop is allowed to exist here, hehe…”
“….”
A brief silence followed, the wind rustling the demon hunter’s cloak. Then he turned around, exposing his shoulder, and closed his eyes. “Alright, I’ll trust you this time. Start the procedure.”
“Great!” Lynn beamed with satisfaction.
The two knives in his hands scraped against each other with a sound like metal clashing.
Clash—
Clash—
Sparks flew.
Beneath the large top hat, Lynn could faintly see the demon hunter’s unshaven lips twitching slightly.
[Demon Hunter’s SAN value -1]
For some reason, the demon hunter had a nagging feeling that he had come to the wrong place. This didn’t look like a medical shop at all—it looked more like a slaughterhouse.
Was it his imagination? Why did this weak-looking kid give him the impulse to turn around and run?
“Need some anesthesia?”Lynn asked, visibly excited.
“No need,” the demon hunter said with a glance. “Anesthesia will only affect my reflexes. A real man doesn’t use it.”
Lynn gave him a big thumbs-up, saying earnestly, “Perfect! I’ve never used anesthesia on anyone before. This really aligns with my expertise!”
The demon hunter felt a sudden chill in his chest. Did he just say that? Before he could process it, he heard a sharp, wet sound as the blade sank into his shoulder.
He froze up, staring blankly at the knife stuck in his shoulder. “Is this how it starts?”
Lynn calmly replied, “No, I’m just testing the blade.”
“Oh,” the demon hunter mumbled, turning his head and reaching for his flask. He instinctively took a drink, but for some reason, his hand trembled slightly.
No big deal. This kid might seem unreliable, but he surely wouldn’t dare to pull anything malicious, not when he’s dealing with a powerful demon hunter…
Plop!
The demon hunter's face contorted in fury as a second blade pierced his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Lynn, holding his tool kit with both hands, said calmly, “Just looking for the right size tool. Those two are just for backup.”
The demon hunter’s eyes nearly bulged out. “You couldn’t put your backup tools on the side?! Why the hell do you have to stick them in my shoulder?!”
Lynn shook his head, maintaining his composure. “Sir, I’m just testing the sharpness of the scalpel. You should know, if a blade isn’t sharp enough, the pain will only get worse. That’s something no one wants.”
“So as a doctor, I must ensure my knife fits your flesh perfectly.”
The demon hunter stiffened. Damn it, that actually made sense.
But why did everything sound so… wrong? No matter how he thought about it, it felt like twisted logic.