The Pig-Headed Fiend stared at Lynn in stunned silence, his single eye wide with disbelief. He'd been left dumbfounded by the human's ruthless act of yanking out his own eyeball—and now, watching Lynn casually tuck it back into its socket as if nothing had happened, doubt crept in. He couldn't help but suspect that Bloodsaw's apprentice might have been transformed into a patchwork abomination. No ordinary human could stay so calm in his presence, let alone act so recklessly with his own body.
"I don't want yours. I want my own eye," he rumbled hoarsely.
[Ding! Danger Level Decreased to 45%]
Lynn's expression stayed calm. He tapped his eyeball back into place casually, settled onto the stool again, and reached into his arms.
"I actually have that."
Under the Pig-Headed Fiend's stunned gaze, Lynn pulled out a large eyeball still glistening with blood and flesh—it was even twitching slightly.
Crash—
The Pig-Headed Fiend shot to his feet, trembling violently. "Th-This… this is…"
There was no mistake! He recognized it instantly—it was the very eye the old hag had torn out of him. But how did this human apprentice end up with it?
Lynn placed the eyeball on the counter and said quietly, "I met that kind old lady this morning. She gave this to me as a toy."
[Pig-Headed Fiend's Sanity: -30!]
The Pig-Headed Fiend stared fixatedly at the eyeball on the counter. Cold sweat dripped from the bristles on the back of his neck down his spine. He knew all too well how terrifying that scavenger was—she'd plucked his eye out without breaking a sweat, and could've snapped his neck just as easily if she'd wanted to. Yet that scavenger… had given his eye to this frail human?
He grew more and more certain that this apprentice was anything but ordinary. In fact, he was starting to find him terrifying—he couldn't gauge the human's true strength.
[Ding! Danger Level Decreased to 20%]
The Pig-Headed Fiend stared at Lynn hesitantly. "Something the old hag gave you… you dare just hand it back to me?"
Lynn's tone was flat: "I'm not handing it back—I'm selling it. 200 Skull Coins, market price."
Was he truly not afraid at all? The Pig-Headed Fiend stared, searching for any hint of weakness. Could he be on close terms with that scavenger?
[Ding! Danger Level Decreased to 10%]
Clink—
The Pig-Headed Fiend pulled a pouch from his怀里 and dumped a pile of Skull Coins onto the counter. He glared at Lynn. "Fine. I'll buy it."
Lynn calmly swept the coins into the counter, then put on his gloves and mask again, grabbing a monocle. "Deal. Do you want this done here, or shall we go to the operating table?"
"Here," the Pig-Headed Fiend snapped firmly. No resident of Wraith Alley wanted to step foot on Bloodsaw's operating table.
"Very well." Lynn picked up the boning knife casually. "Lean against the counter and rest your head on it. You can scream if it hurts."
The Pig-Headed Fiend sneered grimly. "Do you think I'm afraid of pain?"
Pfft—
Lynn took a sip of alcohol and sprayed it directly onto the bloodstained blade. The Pig-Headed Fiend fell silent immediately.
Lynn lit a candle and held the blade over the flame, heating it back and forth for several minutes. Then he narrowed his eyes, gripping the knife, and inched closer to the Pig-Headed Fiend's head.
A drop of cold sweat splattered onto the counter.
The Pig-Headed Fiend trembled. "D-Do you need a knife just to reattach an eye?"
[Pig-Headed Fiend's Sanity: -10]
Lynn said quietly, "I checked earlier—there's quite a bit of calculus and blood clots in your eye socket. It's clear you don't take good care of your eyes. This step is a free extra service. No need to thank me."
"W-Wait a minute!" The Pig-Headed Fiend panicked.
But it was too late.
Crackle—Crackle—
The sound of twisting flesh and blade scraping against bone echoed through the shop.
"Aaaah—Aaaah!" The Pig-Headed Fiend let out bloodcurdling screams of terror.
...
[Ding! +1 Knife Skill XP.]
[Ding! +1 Knife Skill XP.]
[Ding! +1 Knife Skill XP.]
Minutes later, Lynn cleaned the debris from the Pig-Headed Fiend's socket with antiseptic, confused as to why he was gaining Knife Skill XP instead of Surgery XP this time.
"Done," Lynn said calmly, wiping the boning knife clean with a rag. "Don't move. I'm reattaching the eye now. If you squirm, I might put it in backwards."
The Pig-Headed Fiend slouched against the counter, foaming at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably—he clearly hadn't heard a word Lynn said.
Lynn froze, muttering under his breath, "Crap…"
[Forgot the anesthetic…]
He'd forgotten it last time too, when stitching up the doll's arm… Oh well.
Lynn shook his head, his expression returning to calm. He used tweezers to pick up the [Pig Butcher's Eye] he'd soaked in reagent earlier, then turned to search the medicine cabinet behind him.
Seconds later, he pulled down a white vial. Faint handwritten marks—"5", "0", "2"—were visible on its surface.
"What's that?!" The Pig-Headed Fiend trembled, regaining consciousness.
Holding the eyeball with tweezers, Lynn shook the vial and said quietly, "My homemade super adhesive. It'll keep the eye from falling out. Combined with my master's special recovery potion, it guarantees a 95% success rate."
He explained in a serious tone.
The Pig-Headed Fiend trembled. "Hurry up and finish! Do you hear me?! I don't want to stay here a second longer! Do you hear me?!"
Lynn nodded. "Don't worry—we doctors have strong professional ethics."
He calmly mixed the thick reagent, spread it evenly around the eyeball, aligned it with the socket, and settled it gently into place. He grabbed a professional tool to adjust the eye's angle, then felt around in his toolbox and pulled out a hammer.
Pig-Headed Fiend: "(ΩДΩ)!!"
[Pig-Headed Fiend's Sanity: -20!]
"What are you doing?! What are you doing?!!" The Pig-Headed Fiend screamed in terror.
Lynn frowned. "Don't move. This is the final physical step. If you mess up the alignment by squirming, I'll have to pull it out and start over—and that'll add a huge surcharge to your bill."
Shaking his head, Lynn held the terrified pig head in place. Then he carefully picked up the hammer and tapped the small bracket securing the eye, focusing intently as he eased the eyeball into the socket little by little.
Minutes later, Lynn froze.
The Pig-Headed Fiend flinched. "W-What's wrong?! What's wrong?!"
Lynn frowned. "It's backwards."
Pig-Headed Fiend: "(ΩДΩ)!!"
"No need to worry," Lynn said calmly, reaching out to grab the bracket securing the eye and yanking upward sharply.
Rip—
Amidst the Pig-Headed Fiend's horrified screams and plummeting sanity, Lynn wrenched the misaligned eye out forcefully.
"Just a minor medical accident," he said quietly, readjusting the eye. "This one's on the house. I'll fix the position."
The Pig-Headed Fiend let out shrill screams of terror, struggling wildly. "I don't want it anymore! I'm not doing this! "
[Sanity: -20!]
[Sanity: -20!]
"Stay still!" Lynn's eyes turned sharp, and he roared. "This is the final step! As a doctor, now that you've paid, I must take responsibility for you! I guarantee every patient walks out of here in perfect condition!"
With that, Lynn raised the hammer aggressively.
"Stop!!" The Pig-Headed Fiend reached out, screaming in terror.
Bang—
Sparks flew.
...