The first-floor lobby was a complete mess.
Tables and chairs were overturned, with broken plates, cups, and tea spilled across the floor.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and a nauseating stench, likely from the Poison Mushroom Monsters.
Several torches had been relit, illuminating the wreckage.
The wounded were supported by companions or post house staff, placed onto makeshift straw mats or blankets.
Near the stairs, a man lay on a straw mat with his leather chest armor torn open, revealing a mangled wound.
The man next to him had an arm bent at an unnatural angle—it was clearly broken.
Half-collapsed in the corner, the guard who had inhaled spores looked the worst; his face and arms were covered in purple-black festering blisters, and his breathing was shallow and rapid as his eyes glazed over.
Someone nearby was trying to wash the wounds with fresh water, but it wasn't very effective.
The bald owner had also sustained a minor injury, a bloody gash on his forehead. He was directing the uninjured staff to clean the lobby.
Seeing Bai Xuan come down, he wore a bitter expression. “It’s been years since anything like this happened...”
“What’s the casualty count?” Bai Xuan asked.
“Two staff members dead, and several guards and adventurers injured.”
The owner sighed. “A monster tide like this shouldn't have appeared here. It’s strange...”
Bai Xuan’s gaze swept over the wounded.
Someone was heating a dagger until it was glowing red to cauterize a wound, letting out a suppressed, agonizing groan.
Another person with more severe injuries took out a pale red potion and, with a pained look at the cost, drank it down. Their condition and wounds visibly improved shortly after.
The most miserable was the poisoned guard. His companion looked anxious and eventually gritted his teeth, pulling a pale green potion from his bag.
Suddenly, an idea bloomed in Bai Xuan’s mind.
His mana was currently full at 【155/155】. He could release 【Holy Light Catalyst】 thirteen times!
“An opportunity!”
Bai Xuan walked up to a heavily injured post house guard who was being bandaged by a companion.
The guard’s thigh had been bitten through by a wolverine. Despite the cloth bindings, blood continued to seep out. He was drenched in a cold sweat, his lips trembling from the pain.
“Actually...”
Bai Xuan spoke up. His voice wasn't loud in the noisy lobby, but it was clear enough.
“I know a bit of healing magic.”
The noise in the lobby gradually died down as several gazes simultaneously focused on him.
“You? Healing magic?” asked the injured guard’s companion.
He looked up, eyeing Bai Xuan’s youthful face and his dirty white robe with suspicion.
“Yes, the results are guaranteed!” Bai Xuan nodded in response.
The bald owner nearby wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking thoughtful.
The scarred adventurer captain also looked over, his gaze sweeping across Bai Xuan’s face and the iron rod in his hand with a hint of surprise.
“You’re a Healer?” The guard looked at the dark iron rod in his hand, feeling as if something invisible was coiled around it.
“Of course. Otherwise, how would I know healing magic?”
Bai Xuan didn't deny it. “Step aside for a moment; let me look at his wound.”
The man hesitated before making way.
Bai Xuan squatted down and focused his attention on the injured man.
【Jasper Quinlan】
【Class: Mercenary Lv.3 (Awakened)】
【Status: Heavily Injured (Thigh laceration, blood loss)】
【Health: 68/170】
【Mana: 7/30】
【Potential: 1 Star (Dust Crown)】
Ordinary stats, just a Mercenary struggling at the bottom. Bai Xuan sighed inwardly.
“Can you treat him? How much?” the guard asked the critical question.
Several others nearby who were also suffering from significant injuries pricked up their ears.
Bai Xuan hadn't actually thought much about the price.
He only knew that Colin had given him 13 gold coins, while staying at the post house cost 5 silver coins.
“How much do the priests in Blackcreek Town... charge for a single treatment?” he asked instead.
“Those lords at the church?” An adventurer leaning against the wall spat. “At least one gold coin! And that’s if they’re in a good mood!”
How much? One gold coin? Bai Xuan was stunned by the price.
In that case, his mana, which could be restored with just a night’s rest, could earn him a massive amount of gold coins through Holy Light Catalyst?
Before Bai Xuan could speak, the bald owner interjected with a word of advice. “Young man, that is indeed the price for a priest. But that’s for the high and mighty, or for those on the verge of death.”
“For minor injuries like ours, who could afford to spend a gold coin? We just boil some herbs or tough it out ourselves.”
Bai Xuan understood. His target customers weren't the common folk, but these people right here whose injuries were severe enough to require emergency aid.
“What about... healing potions?” he asked again.
“Even the lowest-grade hemostatic potion costs 30 silver coins a bottle, and the effects aren't even that great,” another adventurer remarked with a curl of his lip.
Bai Xuan quickly calculated.
He needed to open up the market, build trust, and make money. A church priest was one gold coin, a low-grade potion was 30 silver coins...
“Twenty silver coins.”
He stated a figure. “Per treatment. I can't do anything about the poisoning.” He also made sure to mention his limitations.
Twenty silver coins was still a lot of money for an individual, but for an organized group, it might be acceptable.
Sure enough, the man and two other injured guards exchanged glances and whispered for a moment.
“The post house can cover half for us.” “We’d only have to pay 10 silver coins ourselves... that’s doable.”
The guard said to Bai Xuan, “Can you really heal Jasper’s leg? Without leaving any permanent damage?”
“Rest assured, it can be healed,” Bai Xuan promised. “I can’t speak for anything else, but it will be much better than it is now.”
“Fine! Do it!” the guard said, gritting his teeth.
A surge of excitement rose in Bai Xuan’s heart.
Since coming to this world, he was finally going to earn his first sum of money using his own abilities!
“Ahem!” He composed himself and said to Jasper, “Get ready. I’m starting.”
Jasper’s consciousness was somewhat blurred from the pain, so he just gave a haphazard nod.
Bai Xuan extended his right hand, and the familiar soft golden glow of 【Holy Light Catalyst】 began to shimmer in his palm.
Under the curious, skeptical, and hopeful gazes of those around him, he gently hovered his palm over the gruesome wound on Jasper’s thigh.
As the golden light seeped in...
“Argh—!!!”
The moment the golden light touched the wound, Jasper suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream!
His whole body arched violently like a live shrimp thrown into a deep fryer. The veins on his neck and forehead bulged instantly, his eyes snapped wide, and his eyeballs quickly became bloodshot!
His hands clawed desperately into the straw mat beneath him, making a grating sound, and his legs kicked out wildly, nearly knocking the squatting Bai Xuan over!
This sudden, violent reaction terrified everyone!
“Jasper!”
“What did you do to him?!”
With several clangs, the surrounding guards and adventurers reflexively drew their weapons, pointing them at Bai Xuan with faces full of shock and rage. The atmosphere in the lobby instantly dropped to freezing point!
Rate on N.U.
