Chapter 36: Preparing for the Dungeon

After receiving Eva's approval to enter the dungeon with Ken, Lucas returned to his own room to wait for Ken.

"This might sound bad, but if he gets into any trouble and you cannot safely save him, save yourself. He may have potential, but he's still a newbie. I would choose an experienced veteran rather than a newbie without any hesitation, and you're very valuable to the guild as one of our main tanks. Furthermore, he insisted on going there even though I suggested otherwise." Eva said to Ken once they were alone again.

Ken smiled and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to us. I will make sure of it."

Sometime later, Ken went to look for Lucas in his room.

"Are you ready? We're going to prepare for the dungeon."

"Yes." Lucas nodded.

"We're going to head to the supply room first to stock up on some antidotes and poison resistance potion. The only thing that can really threaten our lives inside that dungeon are the Red-Eyed Serpents."

Lucas followed Ken to the supply room, which was in the basement and only a couple of steps away from the gym.

"Hey, Ken. Whatchu need? And who's that kid?" A middle-aged man with circular glasses sat inside the supply room that reeked of medicine and other weird aromas.

"This is Lucas, a newbie. We're going to train— mostly him— inside the Intermediate-rank dungeon our Team Leader recently bought."

"Oh, the dungeon with Red-Eyed Serpents? So you need antidotes and poison resistance potions. What else? How about some mana potions?"

"Nah, I still have plenty from the previous batch."

"Alright, then—"

"Wait." Lucas suddenly spoke.

"I can get mana potions here? Are there any discounts for guild members?"

"Hm? Do you need mana potions? You can get them for free— at least the low-quality ones. The higher quality ones are reserved for guild raids and the higher ups." Ken said to him.

"F-Free? Did you just say free?" Lucas looked at him with wide eyes.

Out of all benefits he would receive from joining this guild, getting free mana potions is probably the best one!

After all, as an ability user, he requires a lot of mana, and in order to farm monsters efficiently with Devastate, mana potions are almost mandatory.

'Most of my profits go towards buying mana potions. If I can acquire mana potions for free, that would be a huge money saver!' Lucas subconsciously smiled at this thought.

"I want some mana potions." He said to the clerk a moment later.

"Alright, but you should be aware that even though they are free, it's not as though there is no limit. You can only get a bundle of mana potions every two weeks. If you want more, you'll need your Team Leader's approval."

"Oh..." The slight smile on Lucas' face immediately disappeared.

A bundle of mana potions every two weeks will only save him some money, but it won't save as much as he initially thought.

"Trust me, a bundle of mana potions may not seem like a lot, but they add up, especially when there are over a hundred members in this guild. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every month just to keep mana potions supplied." Ken said.

A few moments later, Lucas was given a bundle of mana potions, and there were 12 potions in a bundle.

'This should last me two weeks if I use them sparingly.' Lucas thought to himself.

"Alright, now that we have our potions, let's go find our third party member... Oh, right. Lucas, do you have a weapon?" Ken suddenly asked him.

"I have a steel sword in my room," he said.

"A magic sword? Does it have any enhancements?"

"I think it's just an ordinary sword." Lucas shook his head.

"Then let's head to the weapon storage first. You can't enter an Intermediate-rank dungeon with an ordinary sword. You won't be able to do any real damage to them because of their tougher body. But this begs the question, what did you use to kill the Red-Eyed Serpent last time?"

"Some random sword I picked from the storage room." Lucas said.

"Eh? You killed a Red-Eyed Serpent?" The clerk looked at Lucas with a suspicious face, seemingly in disbelief.

"It's real. Our Team Leader was there to witness it." Ken smiled.

"You're surprisingly strong despite your appearance. Not bad."

"You'll be even more surprised if you learn his level. I will give you a hint— he was under level 15 when he killed the Red-Eyed Serpent." Ken chuckled.

"What?! You've got to be shitting me!"

"I wish I was. Anyways, we're gonna go now. See you later." Ken began walking away without letting the man respond, and Lucas followed him.

"That was Robin, by the way." Ken said to Lucas after they left.

Sometime later, they arrived at the weapon storage room, and it was the same place where Lucas borrowed his sword.

"Every weapon in here has been enhanced with mana crystals, but they're nothing too special, so pick whatever you like."

Lucas nodded, and he went to look for the same sword that he'd used the last time, as it felt pretty comfortable in his grasp when he used it.

A few moments later, he found the sword.

It was a simple-looking sword, but it looked especially sharp for some reason.

"Not a bad choice. This weapon has a sharpness enhancement on it, making it easier to slice things apart, especially if there is nothing but skin and meat." Ken said.

And he continued, "If you have decided on that as your weapon, let's go find our third member, who will be our support."

"Okay." Lucas nodded.