CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39

A group of people immediately turned their eyes to Clayton, curiosity written plainly on their faces. They wondered what the boy was planning next.

"What now?" Brother Tiger asked gruffly.

"Just a moment, Brother Tiger. I promise I won’t waste your time," Clayton replied, offering no further explanation.

He began to limp away in a specific direction, his body clearly still not fully recovered. After a short walk, he reached the charred carcass of the wild boar. Summoning a skeleton to assist him, he pulled out his sickle and, with some effort, began to butcher the beast.

The surrounding crowd furrowed their brows, even more confused by Clayton’s actions.

The skeleton held the boar’s body steady and collected its blood while Clayton focused on the most difficult task: severing the creature’s massive head.

After finally removing the head, Clayton held it up with both hands and presented it to Brother Tiger.

"Here, Brother Tiger. A small gift—a wild boar’s head—as a token of appreciation from us tenant farmers for keeping the peace in Sunlight City."

Brother Tiger was momentarily silent before a satisfied smile spread across his face. Now he understood the boy’s intentions.

Clayton was using the wild boar’s head as an offering—a clever gesture. The beast had been on the city’s radar for its destruction, so presenting its head as proof of its defeat was a savvy move.

Even more impressive was the value of the head itself, especially the tusks, which fetched a high price. This wasn’t like the ordinary boar’s Clayton had hunted before.

Brother Tiger couldn’t help but view Clayton in a slightly better light.

"All right, I accept your offering! The city government will definitely appreciate your efforts," he said with a satisfied nod.

Despite his casual tone, Clayton—watching closely—could tell that the hostility toward him was beginning to fade.

That brought a wave of relief. After all, being on bad terms with someone in power could lead to countless problems—unfair taxes, exclusion from hunts, and more.

In the adult world, there are no eternal friends or enemies—only eternal interests.

Clayton had long wanted to repair his relationship with Brother Tiger, but the opportunity had never come—until now.

Once everything was settled, Brother Tiger and his group prepared to leave.

Bravus, still restrained by Tiger’s men, seemed desperate. He kept struggling.

"No! Don’t take me! You can’t frame me! I’m innocent...!"

His ranting quickly soured Brother Tiger’s mood. Without warning, he struck Bravus hard.

Bang!

Bravus collapsed, bloodied and bruised.

"If you keep acting up, don’t blame me for getting rough," Brother Tiger warned coldly.

After that, Bravus finally went quiet. The group left peacefully.

As they departed, the nearby farmers let out a collective sigh of relief. Tension drained from their bodies. Some even began gossiping about the chaos that had just unfolded.

Clayton, though exhausted, didn’t allow himself to rest just yet. He immediately approached Arthur.

"Brother Arthur, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve been blamed for something I didn’t do," he said sincerely.

"Don’t worry about it. I just couldn’t stand watching someone like Bravus sacrifice others for his own gain," Arthur replied with a shrug.

Clayton nodded. Then the two began discussing how to divide the wild boar meat.

Arthur was reluctant at first, but after Clayton insisted several times, he finally gave in. He assigned a few people to process the carcass and distribute the meat.

The boar was massive—around 220 kilograms. After sharing it, Clayton still received a generous portion, around 150 kilograms.

He and his group were satisfied and began preparing to head home.

Still not fully recovered, Clayton was assisted by one of his mini skeletons on the journey back to the city.

Halfway there, he approached Equus to express his gratitude.

Clayton was still trying to make sense of it all. There was a time when he wanted nothing more than to kill Equus, viewing him as a thorn in his side. But the right opportunity had never come, so that desire had been postponed.

Now, Equus had actually saved his life. Clayton had noticed his changing attitude for a while but hadn’t thought much of it. He’d dismissed it as unimportant.

But now... Clayton genuinely felt thankful and let go of all past grudges.

Once again, the phrase rang true: In the adult world, there are no eternal friends or enemies—only eternal interests.

Equus was startled at first, then gave a respectful nod. He seemed relieved, as if a long-held burden had been lifted. For some reason, helping Clayton felt like the best decision he had ever made.

He didn’t know why—and decided not to question it.

After exchanging a few more words, they parted ways.

Under the starry night sky, the group of farmers finally returned to the farming complex. Everyone dispersed to rest.

Clayton, utterly drained, couldn’t wait to collapse into bed and recover.

...

A few days later, Clayton’s wounds had healed nicely. He was especially pleased to find that two of his skills, previously capped by the [Divine Experience Bar], had finally leveled up.

Now, all three of his core skills had reached Level 3.

With the improvements to his Farming and Holy Skeleton skills, the traits—or entries—they granted became significantly more powerful.

For example, thanks to the Farmer’s Intuition entry, Clayton now claimed to understand 50% of all lower one-star ranked plants—including their care, recovery methods, and specific needs.

It was estimated that once his Farming skill reached Level 5, he would achieve full mastery over such plants.

That made the skill far more valuable than before.

However, as he continued to practice and recover, boredom began to creep in.

So, he decided to head to the city center in the outer ring. Aside from selling the wild boar meat, he needed to buy materials to craft new magic scrolls—especially powerful ones like Hank’s.

He departed with four of his mini skeletons.

Upon arriving at the city’s outer ring core, Clayton was surprised by the sheer number of people crowding the streets.

Curious, he asked a passerby and learned that the Winter Festival was underway.

Intrigued, he wandered briefly but didn’t linger. He headed straight to his usual store.

"Good afternoon, sir! How can I help you today?" the female shopkeeper greeted warmly.

"Yes, I’d like to sell some meat," Clayton replied.

He brought out seventy kilograms of wild boar meat. The shopkeeper blinked in surprise and immediately began evaluating it.

She was always happy to see Clayton—a regular customer—but hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise today.

"This is high-quality meat, free of violent energy. Altogether, it’s worth 250 low-grade magic crystals."

Clayton nodded, satisfied with the price—four crystals per kilogram, one more than normal meat.

The higher price was due to the meat being clean and free of violent energy.

Usually, monster meat contained aggressive energy that was harmful to the human body, making it inedible without special processing. That significantly lowered its value, so most people avoided it unless refined.

Fortunately, Clayton had purified the meat using leftover magic purification scrolls—and to his surprise, the results were excellent.

If he ever sold those scrolls to hunters or slaughterhouses, they would likely be in high demand.

After completing the transaction, Clayton bought his needed supplies and left the store.

He then wandered through the festival, checking out the colorful stalls and lively atmosphere.

Eventually, he came across a crowd gathered around one particular area.

As he approached, he realized they were gambling with ice stones—a traditional Winter Festival pastime.

Ice stones were mysterious objects from outside the city or discovered in dungeons, often encased in rock, sand, or ice. After it’s discovered, the stone—or whatever it is—is frozen in ice for the Winter Festival. Because opening them was expensive and the contents uncertain, they were sold cheaply.

Thus, a form of gambling emerged: who knows—maybe inside lies a treasure?

Clayton could only shake his head in disdain. To him, these people were just fools chasing illusions.

But just as he was about to walk away, his eyes locked onto something in the crowd.

His expression turned puzzled—then stunned.

"...What on earth is going on?" he muttered.