My Blade is Suited for Your Flesh

This was the first human he had encountered in this Dark World in the past two years. Judging by the display, this was a being of explosive combat capability.

"I require healing, as well as some battle potions and recovery elixirs."

From beneath the large top hat came the raspy voice of a middle-aged man.

Lynne instantly rose to his feet, a professional smile decorating his face, saying: "Welcome, please come in."

The demon hunter strode through the main entrance, the soul lamp hanging by the door flickering frantically, nearly extinguishing. This also indicated the extraordinary strength of the demon hunter.

The demon hunter sat at the counter, lifting his head to scrutinize Lynne. Immediately, Lynne felt his skin burn with pain; a mere glance inflicted harm, illustrating the strength of this man.

"I didn't expect to encounter another of my kind, alive, in this Dark World."

The demon hunter remarked with a fleeting glance. He detached a flask from his waist, took a sip, and a strong, pungent aroma of liquor hit the air.

[Ding! Task Triggered: Heal the demon hunter, Reward: 500 Skull Coins, Demon Hunter's Favorability +50]

[Task Failure Penalty: Death by the demon hunter.]

[Ding! Kindred Bond Triggered, Task Failure Penalty Annulled.]

A thud resonated in Lynne's heart. The moment he saw the task failure penalty pop up, he sensed misfortune. And indeed, it was just as he predicted.

A demon hunter wandering the Dark World would harbor no goodwill towards any monster, and fortunately, he was also human; otherwise, this powerful man would have surely cleaved him in two.

Lynne steadied his emotions. He calmly looked at the demon hunter, smiling, "May I ask which of your wounds you would like me to heal?"

Beneath the high hat, the pair of pallid lips moved slightly, and then he removed his cloak, turning around.

In an instant, Lynne's pupils contracted. His entire shoulder was a bleak shade of dark red, upon it congealed lump after lump of dark blood, looking utterly ferocious.

The injuries could only be described as horrifying. And Lynne immediately wondered, what kind of being could have inflicted such wounds on this demon hunter.

The demon hunter spoke in a raspy voice, "I was ambushed by a red-clothed evil spirit and nearly lost my life. I won't let her go, but first, I need to heal my wounds."

[Ding! The system has completed a preliminary diagnosis for the host. The target's right shoulder has been corroded by the 'Black Butterfly's' extreme poison. The poison has penetrated the target's bones; the situation is serious.]

"Black Butterfly?" Lynne hesitated.

The demon hunter shifted slightly, sneering, "You actually know this poison? It seems I have underestimated you."

Lynne chuckled dryly.

No. He didn't know. He merely subconsciously repeated the key term from the system prompt.

"System, what is the Black Butterfly?" He asked inwardly.

[Ding! Black Butterfly is a conglomerate formed entirely by resentment and necromantic energy in the Dark World, highly corrosive and invasive to life. If an ordinary creature is contaminated, it will turn into pus and blood within five seconds.]

Lynne shuddered. Without another word, he donned a full set of protective gear, including a mask and gloves.

"Can I cure it?" He asked the system internally.

[Ding! You can attempt bone-scraping therapy for preliminary treatment.]

The demon hunter turned his head, impatiently saying, "Can we begin?"

Lynne immediately collected himself, calming his emotions, and with his mask on, seriously said, "Guest, your injuries are quite severe, and from what I see, the poison has already penetrated your bones. If you want treatment, we need to first deal with the tissues corroded by the poison."

Slick—

Lynne raised two boning knives, earnestly saying, "We need to conduct a surgical debridement first."

The demon hunter hesitated for a moment, asking, "How proficient are you in surgery?"

Lynne nodded, "Rest assured, my experience is very extensive. Although this is only my second time performing surgery, my previous patient gave me high praise. I have confidence."

The demon hunter clearly paused for a while, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. Then Lynne heard the hesitating voice from beneath the tall hat.

"Are there any other medical shops nearby?"

Lynne sharpened his two boning knives, laughing heartily,

"There should be none left, and even if there were, they probably would have been eradicated by my teacher. We don't allow the existence of a second medical shop around here, hehehehe…"

"…"

"…"

A fleeting silence prevailed, the wind whistling as it danced with the cloak of the demon hunter. He then turned, baring his shoulder, and with closed eyes declared, "Fine! I'll trust you this once, proceed with the blade."

"Alrighty!" A satisfied grin bloomed on Lynne's face.

Two large knives clanged and scraped against each other in his hands.

Clang—

Clang—

Sparks flew.

It was faintly visible that beneath the shadow of that tall hat, the craggy corner of the demon hunter's bearded mouth twitched slightly.

[Demon Hunter's Sanity -1]

For some unknown reason, he felt as if he had wandered into the wrong place; it didn't look like a medical shop at all, but rather more like a butcher's shop.

Was it just his illusion? Why did this seemingly weak lad always give off an urge to turn around and run immediately?

"Do you need anesthesia?" Lynne excitedly asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"No need."

The demon hunter took a sip of his drink, glanced at him, and calmly stated: "Anesthesia would only affect my neural reflex speed; a true man never uses anesthesia."

With a snap, Lynne gave a thumbs up, earnestly responding: "Great, I have never used anesthesia on anyone; it seems we are truly in sync!"

A jolt went through the demon hunter's heart. What had he just said?

However, before he could react, the sound of the blade entering the flesh resounded, and his entire body instantly stiffened.

He cranked his head around, gazing at the knife embedded in his shoulder, and mumbled in a daze: "Has it started?"

Lynne calmly replied, "No, just testing the knife."

"Oh."

The demon hunter turned his head again, in a daze, his hand reaching subconsciously for his wine flask, intending to take another sip. But for some unknown reason, the hand holding the flask trembled slightly.

There shouldn't be any big problem, this kid might seem unreliable, but he surely wouldn't dare play any tricks and offend a distinguished demon hunter...

Plunge—

The demon hunter (ヾﾉ꒪ཫ꒪)—

"What the hell are you doing now?!" The demon hunter turned his head, his eyes glaring, beholding another knife embedded in his shoulder.

Lynne seriously held his toolbox, stating, "Selecting tools of appropriate size; I'll leave those two in as spares."

The demon hunter, his eyes nearly bursting, retorted, "Can't your spares be placed beside? Must you stick them in my shoulder??!"

Lynne shook his head, calmly explaining, "Sir, I am testing the sharpness of the surgical knives, you should be aware if a knife is not sharp, the pain induced while cutting would be more severe, which is extremely undesirable! So, as a doctor, I must ensure my knives perfectly suit your flesh. And the places where the knives are inserted will be cut off anyway, you don't need to be overly concerned about the condition of your shoulder."

The demon hunter was petrified in place. Damn, that made sense. But did he really do this unintentionally? Why did it sound so unreasonable no matter how he heard it!