Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 13 Refusing Treatment
The doctor's hut is located in the southeast corner of the six-leaf grove.

The shaman in the camp was a chubby old man. Kaga patted his chest and guaranteed that this old man, whom everyone respectfully called "Big Eyes," had lived in the camp since Kaga was a little pony running around. His medical skills were "strange" but effective, making him a "general practitioner" who could treat both humans and animals.

Merchants and adventurers traveling from north to south would habitually seek out the "Big-Eyed" witch doctor for any minor ailment, such as a headache, fever, or a broken arm or leg.

"Uncle Big Eyes is incredibly skilled!" Kaga proclaimed confidently. "If he says he can cure something, he'll guarantee a cure!"

Chen Mo casually replied, "Then... what about those that can't be cured?"

Without a second thought, Kaga replied matter-of-factly, "If it can't be cured, then of course it should return to the embrace of Mother Earth!"

Chen Mo: "..."

Following the small group of people, they pushed open the wooden door. The dim light took Chen Mo's eyes a while to adjust.

In the center of the room was a large platform, on which were placed various earthenware jars, pottery bottles, wooden buckets, crystal bottles, tin cans... of different heights and shapes, piled up haphazardly, with all sorts of colorful "medicinal herbs" soaking in them. Some looked like vines, some looked like fur, and some looked like some kind of biological tissue.

In the corner, a half-full crucible was slowly bubbling, its surface glowing a dark green under the light, and it seemed to contain a few pieces of debris that looked like bat wings.

Deep inside the room, in an old rattan chair, lay a fat body, seemingly asleep, its chest rising and falling slowly with its snores.

"Grandpa Big Eyes! I've brought people to treat your injuries! Wake up, wake up!"

Kaga thumped the soft wooden planks on the ground with its front hooves, and the old man slowly turned his head.

Upon seeing the old man in person, Chen Mo finally understood the origin of the nickname "Big Eyes." The old man's two eyes were strikingly different in size. The larger eye was round and bright, like a peeled crystal grape, full of life. The smaller eye, on the other hand, was narrowed into a slit, resembling a shriveled raisin, almost invisible if not looked closely.

The old man greeted Kaga with a smile, his chubby face crinkling into a deep wrinkle. However, when his gaze fell on Chen Mo, and especially when it swept over the little white dog quietly following behind him, the smile on his face instantly froze as if it had been chilled to the bone.

The large eye scrutinized Chen Mo from head to toe, lingering on Xiao Bai for a long time before slowly asking in a strange tone, "From Black Crow Castle?"

Alarm bells rang in Chen Mo's mind as he instinctively sensed something ominous.

He nodded in agreement and quickly added, "Yes, but I've already left there. I'm now preparing to go to the Southern Continent to stay with relatives."

The half-human Makaga was clearly unaware of the subtle shift in the atmosphere. He tilted his head curiously, flapped his ears, looked at Chen Mo, and then at the witch doctor: "Hey? Grandpa Big Eyes, how did you tell he was from Black Crow Castle at a glance?"

"Hmph! I can smell that lingering, putrid stench emanating from the necromancer even from eight feet away!"

Chen Mo roughly understood that this person must have some grudge against the necromancer, but since he needed help at the moment, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and clarify: "This witch doctor, I am a necromancer, not a necromancer."

He emphasized the word "undead" in an attempt to highlight the huge difference between them.

In the Starry Continent, this distinction is indeed crucial. Necromancers communicate with the native undead creatures of the underworld and are classified as neutral summoners, falling within the acceptable and tolerable range of mainstream nations.

Necromancers, on the other hand, directly resurrect real-world corpses, manipulating the bodies of the dead into puppet undead with no self-control.

Without a doubt, the vast majority of living beings cannot accept their bodies being used by humans after death.

Women, in particular, are bound to be mortal enemies of necromancers, given the thought of being resurrected by a necromancer and becoming mindless zombies, not knowing what disgusting things might happen to them.

Therefore, necromancers can be considered a notorious and taboo existence on the continent, deserving of universal condemnation. To demonstrate the "importance" placed on necromancers, most countries on the continent have regulations stipulating that upon encountering a necromancer, they must be utterly reduced to ashes, so shattered that even several necromancers could not revive them.

Chen Mo didn't want to be labeled with that tag.

"It's all the same!" The fat witch doctor waved his short, stubby fingers impatiently, then held up his palm to Chen Mo, comparing the front and back, and said with a look of disdain, "You want to treat an injury? Ten gold coins a time, cash only! Not a single copper less, no credit!"

"Ten gold coins?!"

Chen Mo repeated it in disbelief. He looked at Da Yan incredulously, then at Kaga, wondering if the old man genuinely disliked necromancers and was taking his anger out on them, or if he was just making up an excuse to raise the price.

What does ten gold coins mean?
On the Starry Continent, due to limitations in mining technology and the scarcity of gold itself, its value is far greater than that of Blue Star in Chen Mo's memory.

Taking the Green Pine Kingdom, where he currently resides, as an example, the kingdom's own minted currency is quite limited. The more commonly used currency among the people is the standard Sky Coin from the Sky Empire.

The currency conversion system was roughly a base-100 system, with 100 copper coins equaling 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins equaling 1 gold coin.

Based on the basic market prices, Chen Mo's rough estimate is that it is roughly equivalent to two copper coins, two hundred silver coins, and twenty thousand gold coins.

Ten gold coins are equivalent to two hundred thousand.

Little Golden Retriever, the eldest son of a zircon family, only had one gold coin and a dozen or so silver coins on him.

This fat old man asked for ten gold coins right off the bat? This isn't just asking for an exorbitant price; it's refusing treatment altogether.

Chen Mo forced down his emotions and cleared his throat: "Well then, I'm sorry to bother you. I really can't afford this expense, so I'll take my leave now."

Facing the direction of the big-eyed witch doctor, Chen Mo put one hand in his pocket and slowly backed away from the small house filled with a strange aura.

As he was leaving, the old man's large eyes flickered, and he muttered, "Young man, let me give you a piece of advice: it's best not to get involved with that old necromancer from Black Crow Castle in the future..."

Chen Mo didn't say anything, and quietly left the room. A small group of centaurs followed him out, their ears and tails drooping listlessly.

Seeing the little guy like this, Chen Mo felt a little less annoyed. He forced a reassuring smile and patted Kaga's sturdy shoulder: "It's okay, it's not your fault."

Reality is rarely as one wishes. Today's events have served as a wake-up call for him. Black Crow Castle, which has always remained aloof from the surrounding countries and powers, may seem to have some shady dealings.

Hearing Chen Mo's words of comfort, Little Kaga felt even more ashamed. The centaur frantically pawed at the ground with its forehooves, raising clouds of dust, as if it wanted to dig a hole in front of the witch doctor's door and kill the old man who had tarnished the face of the centaur's future warrior.

Suddenly, the centaur stomped its foot heavily and slammed its palm against its furry head. Chen Mo even heard a muffled thud as if its skull had been shaken!

"I remembered!"

Kaga's eyes lit up instantly: "A couple of days ago! I received a group of adventurers from the north! I think they had a healer in their group!"

"Come on! I'll take you to find them!"

(End of this chapter)