Chapter 9: Hidden Mission Triggered

Chapter 9: Hidden Mission Triggered

"There's a saying: 'Every wrong has a perpetrator, and every debt has an owner.' I'm just a doctor who treats and saves people. If you're the vengeful soul devoured by the treant, please don't trouble me! I'm leaving now!"

Charlotte's throat twitched, and he turned around, preparing to run away.

This was just too terrifying!

Someone inside the treant's throat was greeting him?

This was beyond his capabilities. He would gladly forgo those hundred copper coins!

"Hey, hey, hey! Doctor Charlotte, don't go!" The voice from the throat sounded increasingly urgent.

"Oh damn, this mysterious person is not to be trifled with! They even know my name!" Charlotte was greatly shocked, and his determination to flee grew stronger.

"I'm Guy! The dwarf blacksmith from the corner ironworks. Last month, you treated my ears!" the voice from the throat said.

Charlotte's footsteps halted. Indeed, he remembered this person.

Guy, the dwarf blacksmith from Baka Street, was a sturdy, chubby fellow with a blind left eye. But he had decent skills. Last month, he had come to Charlotte to have his ears treated. The previous owner of Charlotte's body had transplanted a dog's ear onto him, curing his hearing problem.

"Are you a person or a ghost? What's going on?" Charlotte asked.

"Early this morning, the treant came to me to have its teeth replaced. While I was fitting the teeth, I accidentally rolled into its throat and got stuck. Please help me get out," Guy's voice came from deep within his throat.

So, it was a dental surgery accident?

Charlotte couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Where are you currently stuck? How's the situation? What help do you need from me?" Charlotte asked quickly.

Now the situation involved two individuals, and if mishandled, it could result in two deaths.

"I'm completely stuck now. Damn it, just a moment ago, it swallowed a few times, nearly sending me to the rectum! I can't crawl out on my own. Throw a rope down, I'll tie myself up, and then you find someone to pull me out," Guy grumbled from deep within the throat.

So, he's a foreign object with his thoughts.

But that's good news.

If Charlotte were to venture deep into the treant's throat, attempting to loosen the object that was stuck, it would essentially condemn the treant to death.

Charlotte crawled out of the treant's partially open mouth and, in the process, shoved in a wooden stick taller than a person to support it.

The treant had already fallen into a semi-unconscious state, and its breath was becoming weak.

Charlotte rushed into the clinic and quickly came out carrying a thick and heavy iron chain. He tied one end to a large stone pillar near the clinic's entrance and then carried the chain back into the treant's mouth.

"This treant has already stopped breathing, right?"

"What is that doctor doing carrying an iron chain inside? Doesn't seem reliable at all!"

"This human doctor is indeed unreliable. He doesn't even know magic. How can he be called a doctor?"

The onlookers mocked and jeered, and some had already set their sights on the treant's pockets, intending to take advantage of the situation.

"I can't pull you, so I tied the iron chain to the stone pillar. You have amazing strength, so grab hold and climb out on your own!" Charlotte stood on the base of the treant's tongue and extended the iron chain towards the throat, letting it drop down.

"Okay! Thanks!" Guy's voice came through.

Charlotte quickly ran out of the treant's mouth, taking a few steps back to distance himself from the iron chain.

As he watched the dying treant, all he could do at this moment was wish it good luck.

Huh? This additional reward is great!

Being observed was worth as much as ten patients.

Feeling his purse a little more full, Charlotte's mood became even more delightful.

"You didn't use all the money for a tooth filling as medical fees, did you?" Guy looked at the treant.

The treant looked at the copper coin in its hand, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'll get the tooth filled next month."

"Damn it!" Guy gestured an irritable middle finger. "I've already fixed your teeth, and you still want to wait until next month. You almost cost us our lives. You can't do business like this, can't do it."

"Dr. Charlotte, thank you for saving my life. If you need anything forged, feel free to come and find me. I'll give you a free order," Guy patted his chest and said to Charlotte, then he sniffed his hand with a disgusted expression. "It stinks too much! I'm going to take a bath first. Goodbye!"

After speaking, he ran off without looking back, spinning like a top.

Charlotte certainly wouldn't refuse such a good offer of a free order.

He even felt that it would be a waste of this free order opportunity to have Guy forge a surgical knife. Why not have him forge a large 40-meter-long sword instead?

Iron was still valuable in the Abyss.

It should fetch a good price if sold.

The onlookers dispersed, and many people regarded Charlotte, the human doctor, with a bit more admiration.

Charlotte was also preparing to go back and take a bath, and change his clothes.

After several trips to the treant's oral cavity, he emitted a foul odor as well.

However, the treant didn't leave. It stood at the entrance of the clinic, seeming somewhat hesitant.

[Ding! Treant Emos seems to need help. By communicating with it, you may trigger a hidden quest and receive special rewards!] the system's prompt sounded.

Charlotte, who had already turned around, halted his steps and turned back to look at the treant. He asked, "Is there anything else you need help with?"

"You're a doctor. Can you help me lift the curse on my body?" The treant crouched down, its murky eyes looking at Charlotte, filled with hopeful anticipation.

"A curse?" Charlotte looked at the withered skin all over the treant's body.

The treant's gaze dimmed slightly as it said, "Yes, five years ago, I fought against a black sorcerer. Just before he died, he cursed me, making it so that I can never see sunlight again. Otherwise, my entire body will wither and die."

Black sorcerers were entities belonging to the chaotic evil faction, practicing dark and malevolent magic that often took many innocent lives.

Looking at this pitiful treant, a race that relied on sunlight for growth, being subjected to such a vicious curse was heart-wrenching.

Forbidding the treant from basking in the sun was no different from depriving a human of the right to breathe.

This also explained why it appeared in the Abyss.

Apart from the underground dens of the northern goblins, this should be the best haven for a treant cursed like this.

Without sunlight, the treant's strength would stagnate or even regress and its injuries would be unable to heal.

That was also why, as one of the races with the strongest regenerative abilities, it couldn't heal the injuries on its body.

[Ding! Treant Emos has issued a quest to you: Lift the black sorcery curse on its body. Quest reward: 300 copper coins! Special reward x1!]

The special reward was quite enticing, usually yielding good items.

However, as a doctor, Charlotte had to treat his patients sincerely.

Facing the treant's hopeful gaze, Charlotte said, "Give me a detailed description of the appearance of that black sorcerer and the specific manifestations of the curse on your body. I'll find some time to research and see if I can find a solution."