Rogel returned to the clinic soon after leaving for a while.
Meanwhile, Lina had also completed the treatment of the Gardener Elf.
After simply cleaning its wounds, Lina bandaged it up.
She hadn't learned any medical knowledge about Gardener Elves, so she could only rely on her previous medical experience to help it.
But now it seemed somewhat effective.
Although the Gardener Elf's condition still didn't look very good, it was a bit better than when it was lying on the flower.
Rogel pulled out a jar of honey from his pocket and placed it next to the Gardener Elf.
"What's this for?"
Lina was a bit confused.
Could it be that Gardener Elves can heal their injuries by eating honey?
"It's food prepared for it."
"After all, it seems like Gardener Elves don't eat insects."
Rogel rubbed his chin.
"..." Although what Rogel said made sense, Lina still felt something was odd about it.
"Alright, from now on, whether this Gardener Elf survives depends on itself."
"If you don't have anything else, Lina, I'll be on my way."
Rogel said and was about to leave.
But Lina stopped him.
Then, under Rogel's puzzled gaze, she pulled out a money pouch and handed it to him.
"If your earlier invitation still stands, then these thirty Gold Coins will be my investment in you."
Lina flashed a slightly mischievous smile.
Hearing this, Rogel couldn't help but smile: "What, you've decided to go out to sea and have a look, huh?"
Lina heard this, smiled but said nothing.
It seemed that Old Nelson had told her quite a bit.
Rogel thought to himself.
He then took the money pouch, looking at her with a broad smile.
"Welcome aboard, Miss Ship Doctor."
"No way, I've invested so much money, I want to be the First Mate." Lina blinked.
"Alright, First Mate Lina."
Rogel agreed to Lina's request without hesitation.
A rich lady invests so much, and only asks to be the First Mate, is there any need to think about it?
Hesitating for even a second on this would be a crime, right?
"Also, if possible, I'd like these facilities added to the ship..."
Lina pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket with a few requests written on it.
Rogel glanced at it, found no issues, and nodded.
"Then the ship matters are all yours, Captain Rogel."
"Leave it to me."
Rogel patted his chest in assurance, then left in high spirits.
Today, he not only gained a beautiful First Mate but also a large sum of money.
This shortened the time until Rogel set sail by a whole lot.
...
After leaving the clinic, Rogel headed straight for where the shipwright Felik was.
He intended to discuss his ship's matters with Felik.
Even though all the Gold Coins he had amounted to just over forty, alongside the fifty Gold Coins Felik initially mentioned was the minimum requirement.
But he never said building a ship required a lump sum of fifty Gold Coins up front.
Rogel could pay a part first, and then the rest once the ship was built.
After all, Rogel hadn't been idle recently, having gotten quite familiar with Felik, making such things quite feasible.
However, when Felik received a portion of the money, he couldn't help but look at Rogel with some surprise.
"Did you discover a sunken treasure? Where did you get so much money?"
Rogel pondered for a moment, and then looked at him seriously.
"A beautiful lady willingly sponsored me."
Felik heard this, paused for a moment, glanced at him, then silently withdrew his gaze.
Then, he picked up his tools and continued working.
I don't believe you, a beautiful lady sponsoring you...
Why don't you say an angel caressed my head and gave me a bag of gold?
What nonsense.
This kid definitely found a sunken treasure…
What luck!
Felik thought with a bit of envy.
Seeing this, Rogel shrugged helplessly.
See, these days, when you tell the truth, no one believes you.
"Once the materials arrive, remember to come help out."
Halfway through, Felik suddenly remembered and turned to look at Rogel as he spoke.
He then added a comment.
"This is also part of an apprentice's work."
Rogel heard this, feeling a little speechless.
Felik really was something; earning his money yet also making him help with the work, even Scrooge should come learn from him.
However, he didn't refuse.
Although it seemed a bit of a loss, on the one hand, he could keep an eye on his ship, and on the other, he could learn relevant skills through practice.
...
Since Felik still needed to wait for shipbuilding materials to arrive before starting work, Rogel decided to continue exploring the Cave.
Since the Key had teleportation functions, Rogel no longer had to travel so far, but could do it directly from home.
Teleport!
When the screen lit up again, Rogel had already arrived at the first level of Harmony Cave.
Also known as the familiar Bone Village.
Looking at the surrounding environment, it was no different from when he arrived before, even the pile of bones that the Skeleton Secret Witch resurrected was still there.
It seemed the cave's monsters didn't refresh like in games...
Rogel mused thoughtfully.
After considering for a moment, he didn't immediately head to the second level through the well, but chose to continue exploring the first level.
This was a habit cultivated from playing games.
When exploring a place, he would try to cover every corner to avoid missing any important items or objects.
Rogel began exploring the village.
The bone houses in the village were nothing special, they seemed to just be set decorations.
There was almost nothing inside the houses, at most a few bone fragments turned into jars and pots.
It felt a bit eerie while puzzling.
But Rogel didn't leave empty-handed.
To the west of Bone Village, there was a pond.
However, this pond appeared more like a swamp.
Scarlet muddy water, bubbling sludge, with many small mosquitoes flying above.
It just looked foul.
[Croak!]
Several toads with red warts on their backs leaped out of the mud, pouncing towards Rogel.
The mosquitoes above the Red Mud Pond also didn't seem well-intentioned, swarming to encircle Rogel.
Seeing this, Rogel frowned.
It wasn't that it was particularly tricky, but these things just looked too disgusting.
Upon the game's inquiry, Rogel decisively chose auto-battle.
[Auto-battle engaged…]
[The Red Wart Toad attacked you, but you dodged it.]
[The Red Wart Toad attacked you, but you dodged it.]
[... ]
[You killed the Red Wart Toad, gaining Combat Experience.]
[You killed the Red Wart Toad, gaining Combat Experience.]
[You killed the Mud Mosquito, gaining Combat Experience.]
[...]
These swamp monsters seemed like regular small creatures that the game character easily dealt with in auto-battle mode.
[You found Toad Skin x1.]
[You found Mosquito Wings x1.]
Incidentally, he also obtained some monster materials.
However, clearly, these weren't the main focus.
Rogel shifted his gaze towards the strange plant in the pond's center.