A dozen or so minutes later.
[Ding! You completed the quest. You received 50 skeleton coins, surgical skill EXP +50, special reward +1.] [Ding! Due to an unforeseen, uncontrollable incident, the Pighead Demon's affinity has converted to fear. Pighead Demon's fear +50.]
The Pighead Demon sat there with a vacant expression, trembling all over.
Across the counter, Lynn sat calmly in his white coat, writing his medical report with a quill at an unhurried pace.
He pushed a small batch of potions across the counter.
"Take half of these orally and apply the other half externally, twice a day. Take them on schedule, and your eye should begin recovering its vision in about two days. Of course, if you want faster-acting potions, the price will be ten times higher."
"Time to settle the bill. Including the surgery, medication, and nursing fees-you've already paid for the eyeball-that comes to 546 skeleton coins. If everything looks good, sign here."
Lynn raised his head and said amiably, his eyes lifeless:
"A thumbprint works too."
The Pighead Demon shakily reached out and pressed a thumbprint onto the report.
With trembling hands, he pulled a large money pouch from inside his clothes and placed more than five hundred skeleton coins on the counter.
"Can I leave now...?"
Lynn counted the coins.
He looked up, his gaze landing on the Pighead Demon's still-bulging money pouch.
But a moment later, his attention was drawn to the demon's swollen belly.
[Ding! You triggered the Pighead Demon's hidden quest: Abnormal Belly. Quest completion rewards: skeleton coins +50, surgical skill EXP +50, unlock Eye Diagnosis.]
The Pighead Demon turned to leave.
Lynn abruptly reached out to stop him. "Wait!"
The Pighead Demon's body visibly gave an involuntary shudder.
"What now?!"
He turned back, just in time to see Lynn adjust his monocle. The eyeball fell onto the table with a clack, and Lynn calmly picked it up and pressed it back in.
[SAN -1]
Lynn shook his head. "I've noticed some new problems with your body. Without a diagnosis, they could have unknown effects on your health."
The Pighead Demon clenched his tusks. "Don't lie to me! I hate being lied to more than anything!"
Lynn looked solemn. "I'm a doctor. I don't lie. Everyone who enters my little shop is my patient, and I have to take responsibility for my patients' health. If I noticed a problem and didn't tell you, that would be a real breach of medical ethics."
Seeing Lynn's solemn, earnest eyes,
the Pighead Demon finally sat back down on the stool at the counter, despite his overwhelming reluctance, and asked hesitantly:
"What's wrong with me? I feel perfectly healthy."
Lynn put on a mask. "Hold out your hand. Let me check your pulse."
The Pighead Demon hesitantly laid his bristly arm on the counter.
In the end, he decided to trust him one more time.
His expression calm, Lynn placed his fingers on the demon's pulse and felt it carefully.
[Diagnosis EXP +1] [Diagnosis EXP +1] [Diagnosis EXP +1]
Gradually, the Pighead Demon saw Lynn's brow crease, and his heart immediately leaped into his throat.
"Is something really wrong?" he asked nervously.
What he feared most was a doctor frowning right in front of him.
Because that could never mean anything good.
Lynn withdrew his hand, raised his head, and looked gravely at the Pighead Demon, his brow furrowed.
"It's neither a minor problem nor a particularly major one. It depends on how we handle it."
The Pighead Demon asked nervously, "What is it?"
Lynn said solemnly, "An ectopic pregnancy."
"..."
"..."
A brief silence fell as gusts of cool wind swept in through the doorway.
The next moment, the Pighead Demon roared, grabbed Lynn by the collar, and furiously hauled him into the air.
"Are you kidding me, you quack?! Are you messing with me?! I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that!!"
Lynn remained composed.
He adjusted his eyeball and said gravely:
"That's what your pulse tells me. There's no mistake. You need to trust my medical expertise."
The Pighead Demon bellowed, "My pulse tells you, you (bleep)ing (bleep)!! I'll say it again! I'm a male pig!!"
Lynn nodded and said gravely, "That's why I said ectopic pregnancy. If you had a uterus, it would be even more complicated. You'd need more extensive sex reassignment surgery, which would be an even greater burden on you."
"..."
"..."
Trembling, the Pighead Demon released Lynn's collar and plopped onto the stool.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about how to chop you up!" the Pighead Demon said, his eyes bulging as he ground his teeth in humiliated fury.
"Don't waste your time thinking about that."
Lynn straightened his collar, sat at the counter, took out a medical chart, and said quietly:
"Have you recently experienced abdominal bloating and pain, dry heaving, nausea, loss of appetite, or bleeding anywhere?"
The Pighead Demon slammed the counter and shot to his feet, fighting back his trembling and humiliation. "Tell me how I'd be bleeding!! Tell me how exactly I'd bleed! (Clenches teeth)!"
Lynn continued taking notes, adjusted his eyeball, and said:
"Please remain calm. These are just routine questions. Aside from bleeding down below, have you experienced any of the other symptoms?"
The pig-headed monster clenched his teeth, his eyes bulging. "So what if I have? Can't I have just eaten something bad?"
Lynn adjusted his eyeball and glanced at him. "How long has this been going on?"
The pig-headed monster ground his teeth. "A month!"
Lynn continued taking notes and asked calmly, "When did you last engage in xx activity? Do you have any unhealthy habits, such as multi-x activities or using certain inappropriate toys?"
The Pighead Demon stood there in a daze, his arms trembling nonstop. "Try asking me one more question."
Clearly, that question had enraged him.
Lynn calmly held out a hand to stop him. "All right, I won't ask that anymore. Next question."
"During your most recent xx activity, did you feel anything down below..."
Lynn frowned and made a gesture like a flower bursting into bloom. "Something like a tearing pain?"
This time, the Pighead Demon truly couldn't take it anymore.
He grabbed Lynn by the collar and roared in humiliated fury:
"I've put up with your shit long enough!"
"Explain to me what tearing pain means?! Go on, explain it! What! Does tearing pain mean?!!"
Lynn reached out and firmly rubbed his chest, shaking his head.
"Calm down. A definitive diagnosis requires specialized equipment. This is just a procedure I have to follow as a doctor. Ultimately, I'm looking out for your health! It's for your own good!"
"I assume you don't want to end up with any lasting health problems, either?"
The Pighead Demon snorted heavily through his nostrils, his chest heaving and his face twisted with rage. But under Lynn's soothing, he finally put him down.
[Soothing EXP +1] [Soothing EXP +1] [Soothing EXP +1]
Lynn straightened his collar again, put down his pen, glanced at him, and shook his head.
Lynn spoke faster. "There's another possibility. You may have accidentally swallowed something imbued with an unnatural power, causing it to mutate inside your body and create the illusion of pregnancy!"
Before you continue