Chapter 221: Mrs. Nancy is indeed a genuine Countess
Being followed by a little vampire calling him dad in the future would be truly troublesome.
Monty became anxious and said earnestly, "You can't opt out. I've already paid the deposit and contacted Mrs. Nancy. She's very interested in your information. She replied and said that she'll come to the Abyss to see you in a few days."
"This..." Charlotte wore a dumbfounded expression and looked at Monty in disbelief. "You paid the deposit? How much did you pay?"
"Just... 100,000," Monty replied, a bit nervous under Charlotte's scrutinizing gaze.
Charlotte frowned. "Didn't you say you went bankrupt from fixing your teeth? Where did you get 100,000?"
"As a vampire, who doesn't have a couple of good friends?" Monty said proudly, "I borrowed from a moneylender."
"So, you don't have a single friend who can lend you money?" Charlotte grasped the key point.
"It's almost winter. Everyone is having a hard time. It's difficult to borrow even a little. I had thousands of copper coins in my pocket, but after going out for a stroll, I only had two left when I came back," Monty scratched his head, confidently saying, "But don't worry, as long as our trade goes smoothly, with a commission of 10 million copper coins, split evenly between us, we can have a comfortable winter."
Charlotte looked at Monty, who was already envisioning a prosperous winter, and for a moment, he didn't have the heart to crush this big poor soul.
When others get scammed, the most they lose is some savings.
But this poor soul went to borrow from loan sharks to pay the deposit.
For him, this winter will indeed be quite cold.
"I must say, aren't you afraid of getting scammed? You haven't even met this person, but you dare to pay such a large deposit? Do I look like someone who can produce a little vampire worth 10 million copper coins?" Charlotte stared at him and said with a heavy tone.
"You..." Monty scrutinized Charlotte for a while, then nodded in satisfaction, "Exactly, a man of your quality deserves a higher price. Let's make it 12 million copper coins. It shouldn't be excessive."
Charlotte: ...
He was at a loss for words, unsure how to refute.
What did he mean by a man of his quality? Was he insulting him?
But he did understand one thing, this guy was beyond help.
"Just so you know, your payment of the deposit is entirely your own decision and has nothing to do with me," Charlotte made a disclaimer for himself.
"Don't worry, I won't ask you for half of this deposit," Charlotte said confidently. Monte waved his hand dismissively, "I know what you're thinking. Lady Nancy is a true Countess, even though she became a widow right after getting married. But the inheritance and power she inherited are real. Do you think she wouldn't be interested in my small sum of a hundred thousand copper coins? It's just a small token of our sincerity."
Charlotte didn't say anything in response to Monte's words.
After all, he wasn't the one being taken advantage of, and what did it matter to him to feel sorry for a vampire of level five or six? He was currently in desperate need of money himself.
"During this time, all you need to do is keep yourself in the best condition and wait for Lady Nancy's favor. Leave the rest to me," Monte said confidently, patting his chest. "This is a reward of five million copper coins, enough for you to live on for several years."
Charlotte just smiled and remained silent.
In a few days, he would come crying, saying that all the letters he wrote to his cousin had mysteriously disappeared as if he never had a cousin at all...
"I'm surprised that a magician can become a knight after losing their magic source," Monte said cryptically as he left.
Charlotte brushed it off with an excuse about enjoying exercise since childhood, but only Monte knew whether he believed it or not.
But it did serve as a wake-up call for Charlotte. In front of higher-level beings, he believed he had hidden his strength well, but in reality, there were no secrets at all.
He could still make excuses as a mid-level knight, but what if he became an advanced knight?
Besides being an exceptional healer, was he also a genius knight?
This seemed a bit far-fetched.
In addition to working hard to improve his strength, he also needed to pay attention to ways and means of concealing his abilities to avoid unnecessary attention until he became powerful enough.
For example, those old folks in the Physician Association. If they found out that he successfully transitioned to a knight and became a mid-level one in just one month, with a strength of 6,200 kg, they would probably lose sleep, right?
Charlotte felt a little sorry for Monte, but not too much.
So he closed the clinic door and went straight to the alchemy room to work overtime on making potions.
That night, Charlotte didn't sleep a wink. He spent the entire time making intermediate hemostatic potions and cleansing potions, producing a total of three hundred and twenty sets of intermediate first aid kits.
Feeling somewhat exhausted, Charlotte went upstairs and took out two bottles of strength potions from his spatial ring. He closed his eyes and felt his energy replenish and fatigue dissipate. Then he took a cold shower and felt completely revitalized and full of energy.
While getting dressed, Charlotte casually opened his attributes panel:
[Player: Charlotte]
[Professions: Knight, Doctor, Alchemist]
[Level: Mid-level Knight: 6,400/10,000]
Alchemist Apprentice: 1,840/2,000]
[Wealth: 85,780]
[Skills:
Wound Dressing and Medication Change: Advanced: 1,800/4,000
Suturing of Skin Wounds: Advanced: 2,600/4,000
Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Radius Bone Fracture: Intermediate: 40/2,000
Appendectomy: Basic: 320/1,000
...
Special Skills:
Hemostatic Potion Brewing: Intermediate: 987/2000
Hydrating Essence Brewing: Beginner: 980/1000
Anesthetic Potion Brewing: Beginner: 960/1000
Swordplay: Advanced: 480/4000
Whirlwind Slash: Advanced: 320/4000
Combo Slash: Intermediate: 1950/2000
Flash of Brilliance: Advanced: 1145/4000
Shadow Stalker: Beginner: 996/1000
Main Quest 1: Increase the Influence of the Abyssal Physician to 10,000 points! Quest Rewards: Rare Item x1! 100,000 Copper Coins! Completion Progress: 7640/10,000.
Main Quest 2: Extraction and Manufacturing of Insulin! Extract and purify insulin to a usable level within one month! Quest Successful Rewards: Diabetes Terminator Title! 100,000 Copper Coins!
Side Quest: Develop a new stamina potion within ten days! Requirement: Intermediate Knight recovers 10% stamina. Quest Successful Rewards: Earn the title "Potion Research Rising Star"! Potion Materials Encyclopedia x1.
Long-Term Quest: Clear the Enchantment and Restart the World! Quest Reward: Epic-level item x1!
Affection Panel: Not yet open.
Charlotte stared at the three quests. The influence quest for the Abyssal Physician was already more than halfway completed. As the reputation of the potions gradually spread, the reputation of the medical hall also grew.
The extraction of insulin and the development of a new stamina potion were giving him a headache, as these tasks couldn't be completed in just one or two days.
However, as someone with experience, Charlotte knew very well what insulin meant for diabetes patients. It was a miraculous substance that could turn a terminal illness into a manageable chronic disease. The sooner it was extracted, the sooner more patients could be saved.
The system provided him with the methods, so there was no reason to be lazy.
As for the development of the stamina potion, none of the three materials purchased from Harry met the expected results. Today, he would have to ask adventurers for help in finding the materials.
After cooking breakfast, Charlotte was joined by Vivian and Kasha, who had just woken up.
"Boss, why are you up so early today?" Vivian asked with a yawn. When she saw the noodles with fried eggs, her eyes lit up, and she said gratefully, "Boss, you are so kind. With our current conditions, you even added eggs for us."
"These are the last three eggs. Starting tomorrow morning, you won't be treated like this anymore," Charlotte said calmly, calling Kasha over to eat.
After finishing their meal, they went downstairs. Charlotte took a stroll as usual.
When he returned, he was holding a pair of ox pancreas and four unshelled ox hooves in his hands.
"Boss, are these ox hooves for decoration?" Vivian asked curiously, looking at Charlotte coming back with a full load.
"No, ox hooves are good stuff. They will be our main course for lunch today," Charlotte shook his head. These were the hooves of a large wild ox. Because the hooves were hard and had little meat, they were difficult to handle and unwanted. So they were discarded by the butcher and then brought back by Charlotte.
The only thing he paid was a little bit of Anna's reputation.
"You freeze the ox's pancreas. We'll extract the insulin from it," Charlotte handed the ox pancreas to Vivian.
"But aren't the patients humans? Can we use ox pancreas to treat them?" Vivian asked, puzzled.
"If humans can use it, why can't tigers?" Charlotte asked in return.
"Oh," Vivian didn't understand, so she obediently nodded, took out her magic wand, and chanted a spell. The ox pancreas was instantly frozen and placed in the cold storage cellar they dug in the laboratory.
Charlotte carried the ox hooves upstairs into the kitchen. He took out his Judgment Sword and quickly removed the tough outer shell of the hooves, leaving behind only the tough tendons and skin.
This wild ox weighed over two thousand pounds, and each ox hoof weighed about five to six pounds. They were chopped into medium-sized pieces with the Judgment Sword, blanched in cold water for a while, and then placed in a pot with spices for stewing.
Such hooves would not be fully stewed even if cooked for a whole morning.
But as long as they were tender, one bite would be soft and glutinous, full of collagen.
Turning waste into treasure, that's what he did.
As a reward, Charlotte gave the butcher a bottle of stamina potion that he had just developed last night with the addition of three-leaf red fruit. The butcher had subtly expressed his needs before.
Considering that he had freeloaded so many ingredients from him, Charlotte decided to choose him as a test subject to check the efficacy of this potion.
It was a win-win situation.
He definitely wouldn't lose.
Speaking of it, the butcher looked tall and strong, capable of restraining a thousand-pound pig alone. He didn't expect that behind his back...