Chapter 4: Lady Sweetie Minotaur
This female minotaur had a physique no less imposing than the minotaur from earlier in the morning. Her well-developed pectoral muscles seemed to strain against the pink dress as if they could burst at any moment. Above her white bovine head were a pair of obsidian-like black horns, exuding a powerful sense of intimidation. The dried bloodstains on her face added a touch of ferocity.
The centaur she supported leaned against her chest, his brows furrowed, and his frail appearance had a somewhat effeminate quality.
This combination gave Charlotte a somewhat strange premonition.
"Please come in," Charlotte stepped aside to make way.
The female minotaur is half-carried, half-guided the centaur into the clinic, and sat him down on a stone bed.
"What seems to be the problem with this patient?" Charlotte calmly asked.
"It's all because of that damn old bull. He hurt my sweetheart! Doctor, you must heal him!" The female minotaur's face was filled with resentment, and her gritted teeth made Charlotte feel a bit afraid.
"Th-th-this..." The centaur also became animated, pointing and gesturing at his face. He looked sorrowful and indignant. "Look at this, it's all wounds. I rely on my face to make a living. How am I supposed to face people in the future..."
Charlotte followed his pointing finger and saw a few scratches under the thick brown horse mane that covered his three-foot-long horse face. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't be noticeable at all.
If they had come a little later, those small wounds would have healed on their own.
[Ding! The patient, Centaur, has issued a quest to you: Treat facial injuries. Quest reward: 10 copper coins.]
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the system reward was directly linked to the difficulty of the task.
But even a mosquito leg is still meat. Ten copper coins would be enough for a breakfast meal. Charlotte gladly accepted the quest.
"Oh... my sweetie! I feel so sorry for you!" The female minotaur embraced the centaur's head in her broad bosom with a pained expression. "Rest assured, I have already taken revenge for you. I slashed that old bull one hundred and eight times and even snapped off one of his horns."
Charlotte:...
He felt sorry for the minotaur for three seconds.
Just for the sake of this effeminate guy, she slashed her husband one hundred and eight times. This minotaur lady was too terrifying.
"Hmph, don't think I can forgive you just like that." The centaur crossed his arms, wearing an air of pride.
"Sweetie, don't be like this. I'll buy you whatever you want. You must forgive me..." The female minotaur's expression immediately turned anxious.
"I'm three hundred silver coins short for this month's performance..."
"I'll cover it all!"
"Well... then I'll reluctantly forgive you this time." The centaur's lips curled slightly, but his tone still carried a hint of resentment.
Charlotte couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!"
This was too magical.
For the sake of four silver coins, the minotaur mortgaged his horn to him, while his wife squandered money outside to please a male mage without batting an eye.
Three hundred silver coins, that was thirty thousand copper coins!
This centaur knew the art of flattery and could make women pay. He was truly a role model for all of us.
"I think this patient's condition is indeed quite serious and requires immediate treatment," Charlotte said with a serious expression.
"Doctor, use the best medicine and make sure to heal my sweetie," the female minotaur pleaded earnestly.
"Doctor, you must save my handsome face," the centaur said, feeling nervous as he saw Charlotte's solemn expression.
"Don't worry, I won't hesitate to spend your money. Charlotte nodded slightly. "I'll do my best."
Charlotte took a stack of magic potions from the cabinet and began treating the centaur with the horse head.
He carefully located the barely visible wounds, cleaned them with disinfectant, and then applied a layer of hemostatic potion evenly.
The small wounds quickly healed at a visible speed and soon disappeared.
To put it plainly, they were just tiny scratches that were not even worth using adhesive bandages for.
Because of this, did the lady minotaur slash the minotaur one hundred and eight times and break off his horn? This was outrageous and beyond belief!
After the wounds healed, Charlotte took out the 'Moisturizing Essence' he had previously promoted to Lady Diana and gave the refined male mage a facial treatment.
"Doctor, what is this applied on my face? It feels cool and comfortable," the centaur lying on the stone bed asked with his eyes closed.
"This is my latest development, the Moisturizing Essence. It has the effects of beautifying, moisturizing, and hydrating the skin, as well as significant benefits for scar care after wound healing," Charlotte explained.
"Moisturizing Essence?"
Both the centaur and the lady minotaur looked puzzled. It was their first time hearing about it.
"Just this morning, Lady Diana specifically came to get two bottles and said it had a good effect," Charlotte added.
"Lady Diana approves of it?"
The centaur and the lady minotaur's eyes lit up.
Lady Diana was somewhat famous in the Abyss, admired by men, and envied by women for her beautiful appearance. She was also the legitimate heiress of the Harriman family, a true socialite.
If a beauty like her was using this product, it couldn't be bad!
Both of them looked at the pink potion bottle in Charlotte's hand with a hint of excitement in their eyes.
"No wonder I feel my pores relaxing, and the injured area is also itching. It's effective," the centaur praised.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. He only wanted to give the new product some credibility, and it seemed that mentioning the landlady's name was very effective.
He didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt about it.
After all, he worked so hard to earn money just to pay the rent to the landlady!
Considering the weak appearance of the centaur, Charlotte also gave him three bottles of intermediate stamina potion and two bottles of blood circulation potion.
"Wound treatment: 100 copper coins, hemostatic potion: 100 copper coins per bottle, intermediate stamina potion: three bottles for 600 copper coins, blood circulation potion: two bottles for 200 copper coins, Moisturizing Essence: one bottle for 800 copper coins. Total: 1800 copper coins." Charlotte listed the items on a list and handed them to the lady minotaur.
"Do you have more of this Moisturizing Essence, Doctor?" the centaur asked, holding a half-empty bottle of pink emulsion, his face full of anticipation.
The lady minotaur, who was checking the list, immediately looked up, equally hopeful, and looked at Charlotte.
Charlotte looked in the direction of the cabinet, calmly saying, "There's one bottle left."
"I want it," the centaur and the lady minotaur said in unison.
Charlotte took the last bottle of Moisturizing Essence from the cabinet and looked at the two of them.
The centaur looked at the lady minotaur with watery eyes. "Sweetie, I think I still need another bottle to consolidate."
"My sweetheart, don't you still have more than half a bottle? When you finish using it, I'll buy you a new one. Let me have this bottle for now," the lady minotaur's tone grew firmer, determined to get it.
Although the centaur with the horse head felt a little unwilling, he wasn't the one paying after all. Being well-versed in how to please his benefactor, he could only choose to give in and turn to Charlotte, asking, "Doctor, when will there be new stock?"
"At the moment, it's uncertain. The new product is difficult to refine, and the required medicinal materials are not easily obtainable," Charlotte shook his head.
It wasn't that he wanted to engage in some kind of scarcity marketing. There were only four bottles of the failed product in the first place.
At 800 copper coins per bottle, he wished he could sell a few more bottles to cover the rent.
Although he had detailed blending formulas in his notebook, he was completely ignorant when it came to alchemy and wasn't very confident in replicating the same potion.
Accepting the 26 silver coins, Charlotte smiled and watched the two of them leave.
With the additional 10 copper coins as a bonus from the system, Charlotte earned a total of 2610 copper coins from this transaction.
He was getting closer to accumulating the 5000 copper coin rent owed to the landlady.
It wasn't that he was being greedy; it was simply a case of helping those in need.
If he had just cleaned their wounds casually and charged ten copper coins, the centaur would refuse. He would accuse Charlotte of lacking medical ethics and not giving his handsome face proper care.
In this way, he gained two valuable customers for his Moisturizing Essence.
Before Charlotte could even catch his breath, the sound of knocking came from outside the door...
One morning, Charlotte hardly had any rest as he treated eight patients in a row.
Most of them were trauma cases: those who had bravely fought and been beaten by society, those who had been hunted and retaliated against by their prey in the wilderness, and those who had fallen victim to domestic violence.
From wound cleansing to hemostasis and suturing, with the bonus of the rare-grade suture needle, Charlotte became increasingly adept and received unanimous praise from the patients.
"Phew, it's finally over." Seeing off the last patient, Charlotte hung the "Closed for Business" sign on the door, signaling the end of today's consultations.
This was a rule set by the original owner of the body—to operate the clinic for half a day and close when the time was up.
More importantly, the potions on the shelf had been nearly depleted, especially the disinfectant and hemostatic potions, which had been completely used up.
"I'm so hungry, so tired..." Charlotte supported himself on the counter and sat down, drinking from a large jug of water with loud gulps.
He didn't even have time for breakfast in the morning.
Moreover, this body had extremely poor endurance. The level of busyness in the morning couldn't compare to the continuous rotation he experienced in the three clinics on Earth while also managing the workload on the ranch. However, the overwhelming fatigue he felt in his body forced him to stop.
"Meow~"
The snow-white lion cat crouched in the corner, looking at him with some wariness.
"Come here, let me pet you for a while." Charlotte beckoned to it.
The lion cat jumped onto the highest level of the counter with a thud, sticking its head out and casting a disdainful glance at Charlotte, seemingly carrying a hint of contempt.
"Do I look so unlikeable to cats?" Charlotte sighed, but it seemed that the cat's right hind leg had some issue. Next time he managed to catch it, he should take a look.
After resting for a while, Charlotte took out the money bag and emptied it on the counter. The silver and copper coins made a delightful clinking sound on the table.
After carefully counting, there were 38 silver coins and 523 copper coins. In total, that was 4323 copper coins!
In addition, there were collateral items of equivalent value: a broken cow horn, a dagger, and a gold necklace.
Among them, the system rewarded 338 copper coins, and the rest was consultation fees.
"The money is coming in so quickly!" Charlotte held a handful of copper coins, feeling that life was full of hope and his body was filled with strength.
Of course, there was still a difference compared to the male demon in the club who made 300 silver coins without lifting a finger.
Charlotte quickly calmed down. Today's morning revenue was mostly supported by the "Moisturizing Essence." Three bottles of essence brought him 2300 copper coins.
The following six patients paid less than 200 copper coins each.
Of course, this money wasn't pure profit as it needed to deduct the cost of the potions.
He put the silver coins back into the money bag and kept it close to his body, while he hid the copper coins in a hidden compartment beneath the counter.
Patting his chest, Charlotte felt a heavy sense of security.
With a thought, the transparent player panel popped up in front of him.
[Player: Charlotte]
[Profession: Doctor, Alchemist]
[Level: Fourth-tier Mage Discarded (Trash!)]
[Wealth: 4323]
[Professional Skills:
Wound Cleansing and Dressing: Intermediate: 1321/2000
Skin Wound Suturing: Intermediate: 1926/2000
Uterine Incision Surgery: Beginner: 230/1000
Castration of Cats and Canine Animals: Advanced: 650/4000]
...
[Special Skills:
Holy Light Healing (Previously Owned)
Water-based Cleansing Technique (Previously Owned)]
...
[Main Quest: Reach an Influence of 1000 as the Abyssal Physician! (Treating one patient grants 10 influences) Progress: 90/1000; Task Reward: New Training System x1! 10,000 Copper Coins! Rare Item x1!]
[Side Quest: Not Yet Triggered]
[System Shop: Not Yet Opened (Opens at 10,000 Wealth Points)]
[Favorability Panel: Not Yet Opened]
Proficiency in wound cleansing and suturing has improved. Other than that, the wealth value has increased to 4323 copper coins, and the equivalent items that were not converted to currency have not automatically been calculated into wealth points.
The opening of the system shop is tied to wealth points. In the future, the expenditure for purchasing goods might be in wealth points, but it's uncertain whether real-world wealth will decrease accordingly.
After spending real-world wealth, will the wealth points decrease as well?
Besides earning money from completing quests, Charlotte is most looking forward to the functionality of the system shop.
Closing the panel, Charlotte prepared to go out and purchase a batch of potion materials while grabbing lunch.
The clinic had run out of potion ingredients.
He inserted the dagger he received from a customer in the morning into the side of his boots, confirmed that the magical talisman attached to the inside of his long sleeves was ready to be activated at any time, placed a thin iron plate at his chest, and carried the exact amount of money needed in a worn-out cloth bag. With courage, Charlotte opened the door and walked out.