novelraw Chapter 197: It's Really Not Easy That You Survived Until Now
Chapter 197: It's Really Not Easy That You Survived Until Now
Chapter 197: It's Really Not Easy That You Survived Until NowBut as she forced herself to open her eyes a sliver and watched Lynn stitch her wounds with such careful, deliberate movements, for no reason at all it felt like a warm current ran through her body.
As if the pain eased considerably.
Although he was a stranger of a brother…
Yet unexpectedly Alice felt cared for and protected, just like long ago when her father, mother, and brother hadn’t changed yet…
It was reassuring.
She gently closed her eyes again, and a small curve appeared at the corner of her mouth without her noticing.
It hurt, but she was also very happy.
Could this be what being loved felt like?
[ Ding! Alice’s Affinity for you +40, Trust for you +30, Hatred value decreased by 3% ]
[ Ding! You hurt Alice, Alice Hatred -0.2%, Affinity toward you +10 ]Lynn (〃´皿`)q said: "Shut up, stupid System!"
After spending several hours re-stitching Alice’s body and thus massively boosting her Affinity,
Lynn knew it was time to complete the Night Doctor job transfer task.
He opened his panel immediately.
His gaze fixed on the curse he carried.
[Crying Clown].
This was the curse he’d gotten after drinking the Pig-Headed Butcher’s bowl of soup.
Displayed as a negative status.
But like the other curses he had recorded, it came with no description;
he still had no clue what negative effects it would cause.
Based on his own speculation surrounding those four characters:
A clown who smiles by day but cries alone backstage at night.
Clowns bring smiles, but crying is the sorrow that contradicts a smile.
If this were the Dark World, you had to think in extremes.
[ Madness ]
Lynn narrowed his eyes and wrote those two words in his notebook.
Then,
hesitating for a moment,
he wrote a second word.
[ Out of Control ]
Of course, this was only a guess. What the curse actually was would have to wait until it triggered.
Once he understood how it affected him, he could temporarily remove it at critical moments to prevent it from causing major mistakes.
He set down his pen.
Lynn sat on the counter and thought carefully.
Just then, a loud knocking sounded at the door.
“Welcome!”
Lynn lifted his head instantly, a professional smile appearing on his face.
This was something he hadn’t expected.
Wandering Souls Alley hadn’t had a single customer for two whole days.
“How strange. Such a large area, not even a shadow of a ghost. For dozens of kilometers around, only your shop is open?!”
A lizardman walked in—long neck, entirely red, wearing tattered travel clothes and carrying a bundle. His eyes were like an eagle’s, while his voice chirped like a lesser demon.
[ Combat Lizard (Red) ]
[ Race ]: Lizardman
[ Level ]: 49
[ Alignment ]: Neutral Evil
[ Combat Ability ]: Quick movement and crafty attack methods.
[ Description ]: A humanoid race. In the Dark World, lizardmen are notorious for cunning, brutality, and greed. Although they sometimes trade with other races, if they think you are weak, no matter how you appear, they will not hesitate to kill you and loot your belongings.
His gaze landed on the smiling Lynn;
his eyes spun as he quickly scanned the human before him and performed a basic assessment.
Thin.
Delicate-skinned.
Easy to bully.
Still human.
“Customer, how can I help you?” Lynn kept his professional smile and adjusted his monocle.
The lizardman immediately bared sharp teeth in a sly grin, hooked his long nails on the daggers at his waist, and strode forward.
He didn’t speak.
Almost the moment he took a step forward, he drew a sharp dagger and extended a greedy long tongue.
“Of course I want all your valuables!!”
Bang—
A gunshot.
A bullet ripped past his forehead.
The lizardman’s expression froze.
Bang bang bang bang bang—
Five more bullets whizzed past his ears, the gaps between his fingers, the top of his head, and his groin.
[ Ding! Combat Lizard SAN -20 ]
[ Ding! Combat Lizard Fear of you +10 ]
[ Ding! Combat Lizard Fear of you +20 ]
He could clearly feel that each shot missed by a millimeter—every bullet only that close to hitting him. He had only seen such miraculous marksmanship from that Demon Hunter.
This person’s gun… was so accurate…
A drop of sweat.
Plop, it fell to the floor.
[ Combat Lizard Fear of you +30 ]
Lynn’s face remained kind and smiling. The revolver spun once in his hand with a metallic sound, then he sheathed it at his waist.
“Customer, are you sure you want all my possessions?”
Lynn’s smile was so sincere and friendly.
It felt warm.
The Combat Lizard (；OдO) spread his ten fingers;
the two daggers in his hands clattered to the ground as he stammered:
“J-just joking… it’s obvious you’re a very friendly shopkeeper… right?”
Lynn smiled: “I’ve met a kindred spirit.”
…
A few minutes later.
[ Ding! You triggered the quest: Sniffling Lizardman. Quest reward: 100 Skeleton Coins, 100 base experience ]
The Combat Lizard sat in front of the counter with his legs crossed like a civilized person.
His long tail swung back and forth, showing none of the earlier ferocity;
instead he looked more like a polite gentleman.
The Combat Lizard reached out and rubbed his congested nose, politely saying:
“It’s like this, respected doctor. My companions and I are traveling wanderers. We’re not bandits and we don’t go around killing and looting like the bad lizardmen, you know that.”
Lynn indicated he understood.
The lizardman placed his hands crossed on the counter, sneezed, and continued:
“Because of travel fatigue, I think I might have symptoms of a cold. Could you diagnose me? And prescribe some cold medicine—whatever’s cheapest.”
Lynn remained calm: “Don’t worry. Customers are our gods. With me here, I guarantee your medicine will cure you.”
He reached out and placed his hand on the lizardman’s wrist.
Right at the moment of diagnosis,
[ Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding—— ]
A dozen random-diagnosis prompts rang in Lynn’s ears at once.
He stiffened, and his brow immediately furrowed.
The lizardman’s heart dropped.
This doctor’s frown made his skin crawl! The furrow was really a furrow!
He anxiously asked: “Doctor, is my cold serious?”
Lynn lifted his head and looked at him solemnly:
“No, the cold isn’t serious.”
“That’s good.”
“Eat whatever you want, have something nice, go wherever you want to go—don’t skimp on yourself now…”
“Uh… thank you for the doctor’s advice.”
“Spend more time with your family. Leave memories for your loved ones. Do the things you were once too afraid to do;
go do them now. Don’t be sad—take care of yourself.”
“…”
The Combat Lizard was stunned.
Why did this sound increasingly eerie the more he heard it?
It’s just a small cold, right?
Why does it sound like I’m terminal and about to croak any second?
Something’s wrong!
“Doctor!” the lizardman widened his eyes and slammed the table:
“Why are you saying it like I’m dying? Please don’t scare me like this!”
Lynn took a deep breath, adjusted his monocle, and looked away from the lizardman’s face:
“Sorry, the cold really isn’t serious.”
“Of course it’s not serious!” the lizardman snapped.
“But the other diseases I diagnosed… are one worse than the next.”
“…”
A brief silence.
The Combat Lizard looked bewildered.
Lynn pushed up his glasses, his expression grave, and recited one after another, eyes lowered:
“Late-stage tuberculosis, chronic muscle atrophy, intermittent psychosis, hemorrhoids, coronary heart disease, cerebral vascular occlusion, osteoporosis, leukemia, cataracts, impotence…”
With each disease he named,
the lizardman trembled violently.
By the time Lynn finished the last disease, the lizardman had become (((;
꒪ꈊ꒪;
))).
“Doctor, please don’t joke… I… I only have a cold. Hearing you like this, I feel like nothing in my body is okay anymore…”
Lynn’s eyes brimmed with sympathy: “Yes, you truly are the first person I’ve ever seen who survives with more than a dozen illnesses…”
Lynn’s eyes reddened.