Chapter 41: Solo Clear

"Congratulations on reaching your goal. You just leveled up, right?" Ken said to Lucas after sensing a change in his mana aura.

"Can we leave this place now? I am already tired of this foggy scenery." Cherry yawned as he spoke.

"I would like to stay here a little longer to hunt a few more monsters." Lucas said.

Ken didn't refuse the idea and nodded, "Go ahead. Today will be our last day here, anyway. Hunt to your heart's content. At this rate, you'll probably clear the dungeon by the end of the day."

Lucas wasted no time after hearing Ken's words and immediately began hunting his next prey, as he wanted to know how long it would take for him to fill the key with mana.

An hour later, Lucas finally encountered an Earth Hog and killed it with relative ease.

After killing the monster, he looked at the progression of his quest, and to his surprise, it had only risen by five percent.

'Five percent... I will need to kill 20 more of these monsters before I can fill the key, which isn't too bad, but with how long it is taking me to find a monster now, this dungeon might not even have enough monsters to fill the key, and I don't have much time left inside this dungeon.' Lucas sighed inwardly.

At the end of the day, Lucas has only managed to kill two more monsters before leaving the dungeon with the others, filling his black key to 15 percent.

"See you at the raid in a few days." Ken said to Cherry after dropping him off.

"Don't you dare forget about your promise to tell the Team Leader about my help!"

"Relax, I already told her yesterday. Whether she forgives you or not is entirely up to her, so you can't blame me for anything."

Cherry didn't say anything else and entered his apartment.

After returning to the guild headquarters, Lucas went straight back to his room, and after a quick shower, he knocked out on the bed without eating anything.

"He really managed to reach level 25 in 2 short days..." Eva muttered to herself in a low voice.

Even though she already expected this result after hearing their experience in the dungeon from Ken, it doesn't lessen the shock of such a feat.

"He might become a Team Leader one day in the near future if he continues at his rate." Ken smiled.

"Assuming he stays with us for that long." Eva said.

"Huh? What do you mean? You think he's going to leave us soon?"

"I don't know, but people like him usually don't stick to one place for long. They will find people who are more and more talented, allowing his growth to continue steadily. We're only a C-Rank guild. We won't be able to hold him for long."

"If you say it like that..." Ken sighed out loud, but he completely agreed with Eva.

"If we can get on his good side, perhaps he might assist us in the future when he's famous."

"That is if he doesn't die in a dungeon due to recklessness." Eva shook her head, as reckless people like Lucas often die before they can show off their full potential.

"Then let's hope he stops being reckless." Ken laughed.

However, the following day, Lucas would break Ken's hope when he asked Eva if he could enter the dungeon to finish off the rest of the monsters inside.

"I should have proven myself capable of entering that dungeon by myself now. I would like to finish what I started and clear out the dungeon." Lucas said to the dumbfounded Eva with a straight face.

"Why do you want to go back there? I thought you only needed to reach level 25." Ken asked him.

"Yes, that was my goal, and I have achieved it. Once you achieve one goal, one would normally find another purpose, right? Furthermore, despite being level 25, I am still very weak compared to most of the players in the world."

Despite Lucas' logical words and explanation, Eva still didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in the dungeon.

"Just let him go, Team Leader." Ken suddenly said.

And he continued, "I have watched him for the past two days, and not once was I worried about his safety. I believe that he's fully capable of soloing the dungeon."

"..."

Eva narrowed her eyes at Lucas, who remained standing there with a stubborn look on his face.

"It's not that I don't have faith in you, Lucas. Even if you're desperate for growth, you must learn to slow down. I have witnessed many talented young men as reckless as you, but they all succumbed to the dungeon after overestimating themselves."

"After you clear this dungeon, I will be placing you on a mandatory resting period. You shouldn't spend all of your time inside dungeons at your age."

"I understand..." Lucas eventually nodded his head and agreed to her terms.

"Are you going there now? Need a ride?" Ken asked him.

"If you don't mind."

Ken noticed Eva staring at him before looking at her with a smile, "Don't worry, I will be back after dropping him off. I have no intention of going in there with him since I have already done my job."

Sometime later, Ken drove Lucas to the dungeon.

"Good luck, kiddo. If you die when I am not looking, I will curse you from your grave, do you understand me?"

Lucas nodded, and he entered the dungeon without saying a single word.

Once Lucas entered the dungeon, Ken drove back to the headquarters and began preparing for his own raid.

Meanwhile, Lucas would spend the rest of the day wandering the dungeon, and despite the foggy environment, he knew the dungeon almost as though it was on the back of his hand after spending two whole days inside.

After spending many hours in the dungeon, Lucas cleared his first dungeon, and since neither Ken or Cherry helped him, it could be considered a solo clear, which is an incredible feat even amongst veterans.