"The child has been constantly hungry, yet he feels nauseous, vomits, and has stomach pains, and he's lost a lot of weight... He's always drowsy, and recently he keeps complaining about foot pain... This child must be possessed by an evil spirit. My father says the shadow of Tikorosh has fallen over Seattle. I think you..."
The child's mother rambled on, while Wayne looked at the chubby boy before him and sighed inwardly.
He had already activated his [General Medicine (Advanced)] skill, so from her description and his own observations, he had reached a conclusion.
The child had diabetes, and it had already progressed to the stage of diabetic foot.
Wayne reached out and pinched the boy's cheek, which immediately showed a depression and obvious swelling. He casually asked, "Does he go to school? What does he usually eat?"
The child's mother was taken aback for a moment, then whispered, "He can't go to school. We came from Haiti... I have to work to earn money, so I usually let him play in fast-food restaurants..."
Many fast-food places like KFC and McDonald's offer free refills on drinks.
For undocumented immigrant parents like them, who had to work to make a living and had no time to care for their children, they would usually give the child some pocket money, leave them at a fast-food restaurant like KFC or McDonald's, let them buy some food, and then have one drink with unlimited refills to last the whole day.
Hearing this, Wayne couldn't help but show a look of realization.
No wonder he had diabetes at such a young age...
Fortunately, from the current situation, there was still hope.
Wayne sighed and said, "He has been cursed by Tikorosh and cannot eat sugar. So from now on, he must not drink any sugary drinks or eat any sugary foods. Also, he can only eat grains, beans, and vegetables..."
The woman listened intently to Wayne's words, wishing she could memorize every single one of them precisely.
"Evil spirit, be gone!" Taking a cup of milk and muttering an incantation, Wayne handed the milk to the child.
Little Billy happily drank it all in one go, then looked longingly at the empty cup.
The woman hurriedly took out a roll of bundled change and offered it to Wayne with both hands, saying, "Thank you for exorcising the evil from Little Billy..."
Seeing the devout expression on this mother's face, Wayne sighed, pushed the money back, and said, "Keep it. You'll need it for many things in the future."
With that, Wayne took a pen and paper, wrote down the insulin dosage and various restrictions for her, and handed it to the woman, saying, "This is Bondye's blessing. Follow it strictly and be careful in everything."
Seeing the long medical instructions Wayne had written on the paper, including the daily insulin dosage, the woman could no longer hold back and burst into tears: "Thank you, thank you! Thank you! You truly are a saint!"
From the beginning, due to her family's medical history, she had vaguely suspected that her child might have diabetes, but she simply couldn't afford to go to the hospital for a consultation, nor could she wait that long.
She had come to Wayne because of Old Billy's words, holding onto a sliver of hope as a last resort.
Now, seeing the medical advice Wayne had prescribed, she finally understood the thoughtful intentions of this Voodoo Medium before her.
Tears streaming down her face, she held the money in her hands, knelt on one knee, and bowed to Wayne.
[You have obtained the title: Saint (1%). It may have unexpected effects when facing the Dark Court.]
Wayne was taken aback. The title "Saint" sounded impressive, but judging by the 1% progress, it would take a long time before its power could be unleashed.
Looking at the weeping woman and the timid, bewildered child before him, Wayne sighed softly and asked in a low voice:
"Can you get insulin?"
The price of insulin in America was several times, even dozens of times higher than in other countries. Insulin from Mexico cost only one-tenth of the American price.
The woman whispered:
"Thank you for your concern. I know someone who smuggles insulin from Mexico..."
Wayne nodded, patted the chubby child's head, and the woman wiped her tears, bowed to him once more, and left the tent with her child.
[You have performed a treatment. Your General Medicine skill has improved (Advanced 70% + 5%), Experience +5]
[Your Minstrel Performance skill has improved (Beginner 35% + 5%), Experience +5]
[Your title Voodoo Medium has been enhanced: Voodoo Medium (20% + 5%)]
After this treatment, all his skills had improved once again, but Wayne also noticed that the rate of improvement was beginning to slow down.
Clearly, the first time had yielded the greatest boost, and it would likely taper off gradually from then on.
Still, this was acceptable. If quality wasn't enough, quantity would make up for it.
"Next!" Old Billy's voice called from outside the tent. His daughter had clearly told him something, making Old Billy willingly stay behind to help Wayne maintain order.
A burly Latino man ducked into the tent, looking somewhat skeptical as he said to Wayne, "Medium, my finger is swollen and hasn't gone down. It's starting to affect my work..."
Wayne nodded, motioning for the man to extend his hand. After another round of ritualistic gestures, he bestowed milk mixed with antibiotics and dexamethasone.
The patients who came afterward included those with colds, red and inflamed throats, bronchitis, swollen and painful joints, diarrhea, and nausea with vomiting.
Fortunately, all fell within the scope of Wayne's two-pronged treatment of antibiotics and hormones.
After a busy session and waiving the fees for two patients who looked truly pitiful, Wayne had performed six exorcisms in total, earning fifteen hundred dollars.
With the positive feedback from the first batch of patients, Wayne's reputation as a street Medium living in a tent gradually spread throughout the nearby neighborhoods. By the third day, over a dozen patients had come seeking "exorcisms."
After all, the improvements in their friends' conditions were visible to the eye.
Moreover, these lower-class individuals all suffered from some degree of inflammation or similar ailments.
For those without health insurance, a single visit to the hospital for a doctor's glance could saddle them with thousands of dollars in debt. Now, with the opportunity to ensure their well-being through a two-hundred-dollar exorcism, they naturally flocked to him.
That day, Wayne earned thirty-two hundred dollars.
By evening, Mike and David, returning from work, were overjoyed.
They knew doctors made money, but they never imagined it could be this lucrative.
As long as Wayne kept earning steadily, gathering $20,000 within a week wouldn't be a problem.
Early on the fourth day, Wayne looked at the Panel before him with satisfaction.
[Career: Adventurer (Level 1, Career Path not chosen)
Titles: Court Rebel (higher chance of gaining favor from Dungeon Streets); Voodoo Medium (85% effective against Voodoo Cult Believers); Saint (5%)
Stamina: 1.3/1.3
Intelligence: 1.2/1.3
Spirit Power: 0.6/0.6
Health Points: 50/60
Experience Points: 81/100
Free Attribute Points: 1
Skills: Minstrel Performance (Intermediate 10%); Stranger in a Strange Land (Passive 50%); Tactical Dagger Usage (Specialization); Compound Creation (Beginner 70%); General Medicine (Specialization 3%)
Battle Pet: Wild Hound (Level 1 40%)
Status: Minor Illness]
His General Medicine skill had directly advanced to Specialization, and more importantly, he had finally saved up a brand new Free Attribute Point!
Wayne had agonized for a long time over where to allocate this attribute point, but he finally decided to add it to Spirit Power.
After all, each skill activation consumed 0.1 Spirit Power, limiting him to only six skill uses per day.
After adding the point, it would be sixteen uses!
However, he wouldn't add it now but when his Spirit Power was nearly depleted, to see if there might be any additional effects.
Wayne's condition was much better than before, and he could clearly hear the voices of the dozen or so people waiting in line outside the tent.
It seemed a number of street folks had gathered outside as well, having seen the line and assumed it was some kind of food distribution point, so they came to see what was happening.
Wayne found it both amusing and exasperating.
He lifted the tent flap and called in the first patient in line.
Soon, a gaunt white homeless man ducked inside, looking rather nervous. He sat down in front of Wayne, glancing around, and when he spotted the clay pot containing the bone pile, he shuddered all over.
Wayne said in a low voice:
"No need to be afraid, brother. What are your symptoms?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the nervous-looking homeless man suddenly pulled a revolver from his coat, aimed it at Wayne's chest, and shouted:
"Heretic, die!"