In an instant—
(ΩДΩ)!!
Her long hair, dragging all the way to her ankles, suddenly stood on end. Behind the curtain, a blood-soaked boy (〝▼皿▼) wielded a chainsaw, straddling the demon hunter and grinding the saw against his shoulder.
Sparks flew, and bone shavings scattered everywhere.
Noticing the customer outside the curtain, Lynn looked up abruptly. His expression shifted seamlessly into a professional smile, revealing white (eerie) teeth. "Welcome! We have plenty of potions. Please come in and wait a moment—I'll get yours once I finish with this customer. It won't take long. Hehe…"
Lynn let out a friendly chuckle.
[Female Ghost's Fear of You: +30]
[Female Ghost's Fear of You: +40]
"Aaah—Aaah—"
The female ghost clutched her head, letting out a terrified shriek (ΩДΩ). Under Lynn's confused gaze, she screamed, stumbled away (forgetting her composure entirely), and fled into the dark mist, still wailing.
[Ding! Reputation in Ghost Alley: +1]
[Ding! Reputation in Ghost Alley: +1]
[Ding! You have successfully traumatized a customer. The female ghost's trait [Lively] has changed to [Timid]. Achievement Unlocked: Customer Terrorizer!]
[Customer Terrorizer]: Your extreme eccentricity often leaves customers severely panicked. The apprentice at Bloodsaw's Potion Shop is treading a path of no return… Permanent Bonus: Customers' panic toward you +1 permanently; Pain inflicted +1.
Lynn froze, a cloud of question marks hovering over his head.
How did I become a Customer Terrorizer?! I've always adhered to the principle of customer first, honesty, and smiling service!
You lousy system—stop giving me weird achievements!
"Trying to run?!" Lynn growled (╬￣皿￣), pinning down the crawling demon hunter and revving the chainsaw again.
"Screw it—I'll finish healing this patient first!"
Sizzle—Sizzle—Sizzle—
"God! Oh God!"
Finally, ten-odd minutes later, Lynn tossed aside the chainsaw in satisfaction. He smiled at the polished, gleaming white bone, blew on it gently, and said: "Sir, we're done! All the venom that seeped into the surface of your bone has been cleared. Now we just need to let the flesh regenerate, and your shoulder will be as good as new!"
Lynn wiped the sweat from his brow, a sincere, proud smile of a hard worker spreading across his face. The feeling of saving a life was so fulfilling—it made him feel like his soul had been elevated.
"Sir, are you satisfied?"
"Sir?"
Lynn turned in confusion. He saw the demon hunter twitching uncontrollably, his eyes wide with terror (??Д??), foam bubbling from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back so far only the whites showed.
"Sir! Sir!!" Lynn panicked.
...
Half an hour later—
[Ding! You have used unconventional methods to disable a Legendary Demon Hunter beyond your level. Achievement Reward Unlocked: Pain Inflictor!]
[Pain Inflictor]: Title. Permanently increases pain inflicted by all tools +5%.
Lynn stared blankly at the absurd system notification in his mind. On the operating table in front of him, the demon hunter finally regained consciousness from his delirium.
"You're awake?"
The moment he opened his eyes, Lynn's professional smile filled his vision.
Click—
Instinctively, the demon hunter jumped up from the table in terror, firing a dozen shots in Lynn's direction.
"Stay away! Don't come near me!"
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -10]
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -5]
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -1]
He trembled, clutching the revolver, still shaken. Across from him, Lynn stared wide-eyed, splayed against the wall in a "T" shape—bullet holes traced a perfect outline around his body, narrowly missing him.
"Calm down! Sir, please calm down! Forget the unpleasant memories—don't worry, I've fully treated your wound!" Lynn held up his hands, speaking with authority.
With his foot, he subtly kicked the chainsaw aside, preventing the customer from recalling any unpleasant images.
The demon hunter panted, trying to steady his nerves. He turned to look at his shoulder—it was wrapped in thick bandages. Aside from a slight stiffness when moving, there was no longer the empty feeling of missing flesh, nor the tearing pain from the Black Butterfly venom.
It was as if the horrific experience had been just a nightmare.
The demon hunter gaped: "That fast?"
Lynn nodded seriously: "You're almost fully recovered. After removing the venom-infected muscle tissue and superficial bone shavings, the only thing left was to speed up flesh regeneration."
He held up an empty potion bottle. "I used the shop's best flesh-regeneration potion. Combined with your extraordinary constitution and strong vitality, most of the missing flesh has grown back."
"Only a small central area was too far from surrounding tissue, so I added a bit of other meat to fill it. Don't worry—I've eliminated any rejection!"
The demon hunter froze. He tore off the bandages in a hurry. His shoulder was indeed as good as new, pink and tender—but in the center of the wound, there was a patch of muscle slightly different in color from the rest.
It was pale, soft, with a single hair sticking straight up.
[Pork!]
The demon hunter's hair stood on end. He grabbed Lynn by the collar, lifting him up, and glared at him, grinding his teeth.
Lynn raised his hands in surrender hastily, his desire to survive kicking into high gear. "Sir, while the process may have been a bit unpleasant, the result is perfect, isn't it?"
He blinked innocently. "And I promise—if there's any recurrence in the future, you can come back for a free follow-up service anytime. I guarantee your satisfaction!"
The demon hunter trembled: "Follow-up service?! You're still thinking about a follow-up service?!"
[Demon Hunter's Mood: Extremely Unstable.]
[Danger Level: +30%]
[Danger Level: +50%]
[Danger Level: +99%]
"Sir!" Lynn said solemnly. "I'm a doctor. While there were some minor hiccups during treatment, think about it—compared to rotting to death from Black Butterfly venom spreading through your body, the slight pain of bone-scraping therapy is nothing, isn't it?"
"Being alive is the most important thing!"
[Consolation XP: +1]
[Consolation XP: +1]
[Ding! Target's Danger Level Decreasing…]
Finally, after Lynn's questionable pep talk, the demon hunter gritted his teeth and released his grip on Lynn's collar.
He took a deep breath, set Lynn down, and snarled: "Truly worthy of being my clansman. To survive this long in the dark world, you're certainly capable—your torture skills are top-notch!"
Lynn scratched the back of his head, grinning: "You flatter me! You flatter me!"
"Do you think I'm praising you?!" The demon hunter grabbed him by the collar again, his eyes blazing with fury. "Have you never performed surgery on anyone before?!"
Lynn shook his head quickly, holding up three fingers solemnly: "I swear I have! I just did a cesarean section earlier—both mother and daughter are safe! They even thanked me!"