CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 88

In front of Clayton lay a pile of women’s clothing and undergarments—ranging in styles, all of them indecent. The moment he pulled them out, a foul odor filled the air, accompanied by sticky white stains.

Clayton recoiled in disgust, nausea rising in his throat as if his entire stomach was about to empty itself. He hastily shoved everything back into the spatial pouch. Only once the items disappeared from view did he finally exhale in relief.

"Disgusting! Those guys were seriously messed up," he muttered, visibly disturbed.

He had hoped to profit from looting the bandits’ belongings. Instead, it felt like he’d opened some kind of biological hazard.

Clayton took a moment to compose himself before moving on to the next pouch.

He opened six spatial pouches in total, but each one was just as disappointing. After sorting through eight altogether, he’d only collected around 500 low-grade mana crystals—far less than he’d hoped for.

With little expectation, he opened the ninth pouch—only to find it packed full of empty wine bottles. Hundreds of them.

Now it all made sense.

The stolen money hadn’t gone to treasures or gear. The gang had squandered it all on booze and women.

Whatever hope he had left vanished. He turned to the final pouch with no enthusiasm.

But this one turned out to be different. It held a few useful items: five hundred low-grade mana crystals, a mid-tier one-star healing salve—likely used by the one-handed pickpocket to treat his wounds—and several books.

Judging by the contents, it was probably the boss’s pouch.

Clayton flipped through the books, and a small grin tugged at his lips. Inside were training manuals for three spells: Aqua Needle Rain, Water Dome, and Core Detonation

—the suicide spell the pickpocket boss had attempted to use against him.

There was also a book titled Introduction to Medicinal Ingredients and Basic Alchemy.

Seeing this, Clayton finally felt satisfied. At the very least, he’d recouped the money he spent on the crystal deer—and maybe even made a small profit.

He applied the healing salve to his injuries before cleaning up and getting some much-needed rest.

...

That Night

Clayton took out the crystal deer he had purchased and released it from his entry space. The poor creature looked weak and sluggish—probably from being in a dimension with barely any ambient mana.

Worried, Clayton quickly fed it stalks of wheat and sorghum, then channeled purifying energy into its body. He even lit calming incense to help soothe its stress.

Gradually, the deer’s condition began to improve. Clayton felt relieved and continued caring for it attentively.

...

The Next Morning

As soon as he woke up, Clayton’s first concern was the deer. To his delight, it already looked much better than it had the night before. He gave it fresh food and mana-infused water, continuing to nurse it back to health.

Afterward, he tidied up the house and took a warm bath, mindful of the risk of infection. Just as he was about to apply more ointment to his wounds, the chime from his defensive array rang out.

Annoyed at the early interruption, he nonetheless went outside—just in case it was something important.

To his surprise, two familiar figures stood at the gate.

"Oh! Brother Arthur, Uncle Lorenzo! Come on in!" he called out.

Arthur and Lorenzo, who had been chatting casually, were taken aback the moment they saw Clayton’s condition. They hurried inside, concern evident on their faces.

"Hey, Clayton. What happened to you?" Arthur asked bluntly.

"Yeah, why are you all banged up?" Lorenzo added, disturbed by the sight.

Clayton waved them off with a chuckle. "Haha, it’s nothing serious. I just got careless while practicing some magic."

Arthur and Lorenzo exchanged doubtful glances. It was clear they didn’t believe him, but they chose not to push the matter, respecting his privacy.

Once inside, Clayton offered them drinks.

"Want something to drink? Tea, maybe?"

"No need. We won’t be staying long," Arthur replied.

"Yeah, you should be resting anyway," Lorenzo added.

Clayton nodded and asked, "So, what brings you two here this early?"

Lorenzo glanced at Arthur, who explained, "We’re organizing another dungeon raid. The last one was a huge success, and the dungeon shifted again. More opportunities have opened up."

Clayton gave a thoughtful nod, but didn’t seem interested.

Arthur sighed. "But seeing your injuries... I guess it’s not an option for you this time."

Clayton smiled nonchalantly. "Relax, don’t feel bad. You know me—I’d rather farm or laze around than go diving into dungeons. Wounded or not, I still would’ve passed."

Arthur looked like he wanted to argue but gave up with a sigh. This raid was important, but trying to change Clayton’s mind was a losing battle.

They chatted casually for a while. At one point, Clayton teased:

"By the way, it’s rare to see Uncle Lorenzo join a raid. I thought you preferred the quiet life, like me?"

Lorenzo chuckled sheepishly. "Normally, yes. But this time is different. Liora’s at home alone. If I died... what would happen to her?"

He added, "I trust Arthur and the team. And I’m in a financial pinch right now. Dungeon raids are the quickest way to earn money. I also want to thank you again, Clayton. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be thinking about raiding dungeons—we’d probably be bums by now, unable to pay the grain tax."

"Don’t be so formal, Uncle. You’ve helped me plenty. Of course I’ll return the favor," Clayton said sincerely.

Lorenzo smiled warmly.

"Oh, right—since I’ll be gone, Liora will be on her own. If anything happens, I’m counting on you."

"Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her."

Lorenzo looked relieved. After chatting a bit longer, they prepared to leave.

Arthur also bought several pollution scrolls from Clayton before heading out.

"Be careful during the raid, alright? I expect a souvenir," Clayton joked.

"No worries. We’ll bring back something good," Arthur replied with a grin.

After they left, Clayton resumed treating his wounds.

...

A Few Days Later

Clayton’s injuries had improved significantly, and the deer was looking much healthier. It had nearly reached the size of a normal crystal deer, though it was still a bit thin.

Clayton had grown fond of it—especially now that it looked even cuter. Dingo, too, seemed happy to have a new companion. There wasn’t even a hint of jealousy.

Eventually, Clayton decided to name the deer: Gemma.

Gemma seemed to like the name. She licked Clayton’s hand the moment he called her by it.

Life returned to a peaceful rhythm. Clayton began studying the alchemy book while sipping tea, occasionally petting Dingo and Gemma as they lay beside him.

But when he reached for a refill, he realized his tea was gone. Checking the tea box, he found it nearly empty.

That was odd. Over the past year, he’d harvested tea four times—two kilograms per season. With his farming expertise, he’d always had a large stock.

Then it hit him—he hadn’t harvested this season’s tea yet. He also remembered the one-star tea making process Vino had given him. If even zero-star tea tasted great, the one-star variety had to be incredible.

Excited, Clayton headed straight for the potted tea tree he had planted.