"Here's 29 Mana Crystals." Lucas placed the pouch containing the Mana Crystals on the desk.

"Okay, give me a moment to examine the Mana Crystals," said the woman behind the desk.

Meanwhile, Darius spoke in a low voice, "Hey, am I dreaming right now, or is that the same little bastard who abandoned us and stole our backpack?"

"I-It's definitely him… I think…" John responded in a similarly dazed voice, sounding like he couldn't believe it.

"Is he crazy, or does he simply not care about us? How can he act so calmly before us after what he'd done? It's almost like we're invisible to him or something..." Jenny asked.

Darius snapped out of his daze a minute later.

When he realized that Lucas' was blatantly ignoring them, his face flushed with redness, and veins began bulging all over his face.

"YOU FUCKING BRAT!" Darius walked up to Lucas before slamming the desk.

Lucas turned to look at Darius and said in a calm voice, "What?"

"WHAT?! WHAAAAAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU ABANDONED US IN THE DUNGEON AND RAN AWAY WITH OUR SUPPLIES! HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW US!" Darius roared at the top of his lungs, forcing the people in the building to cover their ears.

Lucas raised his eyebrows in a puzzled manner before acting like he came to a realization.

"Oh! I remember now! You're the team I entered that novice-rank dungeon with! I'm sorry, but I am really bad at remembering people's faces. When you went to fight those three green goblins, another monster appeared near me, forcing me to run away. I tried looking for you guys afterward, but you guys were already gone." Lucas made up an excuse on the spot.

"Bullshit!" John also approached them.

"I don't believe it! You abandoned us on purpose! If another monster had shown up, why didn't you call for help?!"

"Why would I abandon you guys? I was only a level one with no experience in the dungeon. I was really scared at that time— so scared that I couldn't even scream for help, and my body instinctively ran away." Lucas said with an innocent look on his face.

"Do you really expect us to believe that crap?" Jenny grouped up with them a moment later.

Lucas shrugged, "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. However, it's true that I never intended on running away."

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

Darius could no longer control his emotions and raised his fist, preparing to strike Lucas.

However, Melody suddenly appeared between them like a ghost and said in a calm voice, "Fighting between players is not allowed in the guild building. If you wish to continue, you may do it outside, or we have full authority to punish you."

"Darius, stop it. We can take care of him outside. Offending the guild isn't worth it." John patted Darius' shoulder to calm him down.

"John is right. Let's forget about him for now." Jenny added.

"Fuck!" Darius lowered his fist a moment later.

He then pointed at Lucas and said, "I will remember this! If I ever see you outside or inside a dungeon, I will make you regret ever messing with us!"

Darius then left the guild in heavy footsteps, followed by his teammates.

Once the guild was peaceful again, Lucas returned to the desk in a nonchalant manner, acting like he wasn't part of the drama just now.

The others inside the building looked at Lucas with speechless expressions on their faces. How can someone act so unconcerned? It was almost like Darius and his team couldn't even enter this young man's eyes, much less threaten him.

Melody looked at Lucas with a profound gaze. After standing there for a moment, she said to him, "I don't know what happened, but you should watch your back. Darius' team has been punished before for murdering another player."

"Thank you for your concern," Lucas said without turning his head.

Many minutes later, the woman behind Lucas' desk said, "I have examined the Mana Crystals, and you have 28 low-quality F grade Mana Crystal with one medium-quality F grade Mana Crystal. If you sell them to the guild, you will get 1,200 dollars. Are you willing to continue with the trade?"

"Yes, I am." Lucas nodded.

"Great. Do you want the money in cash or do you want them as credit?"

"Cash."

"Give me a moment."

After spending a minute counting the money, the woman handed Lucas 1,200 dollars.

Once he accepted the money, Lucas asked, "The guild provides lodging, right? How much for a night?"

"That would be 25 dollars for a night. If you want the premium rooms, it'll cost a hundred per night. We also don't serve food." The woman said.

"Let me rent an ordinary room for 3 days," Lucas said.

"That would be 75 dollars."

Lucas handed back 75 dollars to the woman, who then handed him a key.

"Your room number is 4."

Once he had the key in hand, Lucas walked to the back of the building, where a dozen rooms were available, and he went into his room.

Inside the small room were a single bed, a desk with a mirror, and a bathroom.

After locking the doors, Lucas took off his bloody clothes and went inside the bathroom for a shower.

He even took the clothes to the shower with him so that he could wash the blood off his hospital gown.

Half an hour later, Lucas hung the clothes by the window before lying naked on the soft bed.

'How long has it been since I slept on a proper bed?' Lucas wondered to himself, not including the hospital bed he was forced to sleep on.

And before he realized it, Lucas had fallen asleep.

Furthermore, he didn't sleep just the entire night.

Three days— that was how long he slept for, and he did this without waking up once.

When he eventually woke up, Lucas felt incredibly refreshed, unaware that he'd been sleeping for three days.

"It's been a while since I have had such good sleep."

After getting off the bed, Lucas went to the bathroom for another shower.

*Knock* *Knock*

Someone knocked on his room the second he left the bathroom, his hair still dripping with water.

Hearing the door knock, Lucas went straight to the door without even bothering to put some clothes on.

"What do you want?" Lucas opened the door a moment later.

"..."

A black-haired woman with big assets stood outside his door with a frown on her face.

"I will report you for sexual harassment," she said to him.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Melody said to him.

Seeing Lucas' nonchalant expression, Melody rubbed her eyes for a moment before speaking, "Forget it. I am here to tell you that your room rental has ended. If you want to stay any longer, you'll have to pay up."

"What are you talking about? I paid for three days. I should still have two more days left here." Lucas said with a slight frown on his face, still unaware that he'd slept for three days straight.

Melody didn't say anything, only pointing to the digital clock on the desk.

Lucas turned to look at it, and when he saw the date on it, his eyes widened with surprise.

"I slept for three days?" Lucas was dumbfounded upon learning this.

"Anyways, if you're not going to pay for more days, I will have to ask you to leave as soon as possible." Melody then said to him.

"I will leave. Give me a few minutes to prepare."

Melody left shortly after without saying anything else.

Lucas went to put on his clothes and made sure that he had everything with him before he left the guild.

After leaving the guild, Lucas went to some cheap restaurant to fill his stomach, and he somehow ended up spending more money on food than he did at the guild.

'What should I do now?' Lucas wondered to himself as he waited for his stomach to digest some of the food.

Even if he wanted to return to the public dungeon, he'd need a team of at least three people to be allowed inside.

He then looked down at his hospital gown.

"I should probably change my clothes… but does my appearance really matter? I'd rather spend that money on weapons and treasures that can help me kill more monsters…"

After thinking for a moment, Lucas decided to stay in his hospital gown for now, as there was no real reason to change them.

He was someone that doesn't really care about his own appearance. Furthermore, he has been walking around with the same ragged clothes for years before this, so he was already used to it.

"I know! If I cannot enter the dungeon by myself, I can simply hire some people to enter the dungeon with me or team up with other solos. Now that I have some money, that should be doable."

Due to the three-man entry requirements and many people wanting to enter dungeons solo for greater profits, there are places people can go to temporarily team up with each other, and once they enter the dungeon, they will go their separate ways.

'Before I go back to the dungeon, I should stock up on some more Mana Potions just in case.' Lucas thought to himself.

He then left the restaurant sometime later.