After cleaning the path ahead, Jake and the others worked to find the loot left by the fire slimes. Aside from some items that they already had mastered, they only found a ring and an amulet.
Ring of Vitality
Health + 05(0%), master this item to permanently obtain the status points.
Durability: 05/05
Amulet of the Inner Peace
Meditation (0%), master this item to permanently learn this skill.
Durability: 10/10
Meditation: it recovers your mana by one mana point per level and per minute.
While Jake didn't want to learn magic, he needed mana to use Mana Blade. So, he had to think for a while if he was going to learn that skill or not. In the end, Jake decided to learn it. The items that will grant him the power to recover stamina and mana after every hit still would take a while for him to have the chance to obtain them.
Putting the ring aside, the blue amulet really feels weird on Jake since not only his demeanor but even his attire made him look like a grumpy warrior.
"I think this amulet would look really good on me," Lana said while looking with serious eyes at the item. "How much do you want for it?"
"I am also interested in that, but sharing that kind of item would be meaningless," Louise said. "With a blue robe, that amulet would create not only a harmony between colors, but it also would bring some elegance to someone who has a long neck and…"
Jake rolled his eyes… why were those two talking about fashion in a fantasy VRMMORPG? That was weird on so many levels. Nevertheless, while Jake was getting and selling most of the items since he was doing most of the work, he could make exceptions now and then due to the circumstances. Still, he only wished that those two would want the amulet for its in-game purpose and not by its looks.
In any case, after promising them that he would give them the amulet, Jake began to walk toward the entrance of the dungeon. Even without help, Jake already could kill the fire slimes by himself and much sooner before the next could come out of the dungeon. When the creatures used Fireball, he repelled them by swinging his sword horizontally. He got so much faster if compared to the first time he faced them that the idea of missing never crossed his mind. Occasionally, a slime would come from the sides of the mountain. Still, even before the creature could approach, Louise would eliminate them.
"I guess this means that we are prepared, to explore the dungeon, what now?" Lana asked.
Even with half of the numbers, Jake could say for certain that they already have the same strength as the party he saw two days ago entering the dungeon. Still, since that same party failed at clearing it, he wasn't so sure if they should challenge it already. In the end, Jake decided to keep grinding for a while since the special class was a reward for the third mission and not for clearing the dungeon. While things got a little more intense due to the spawning rate of the fire slimes, it only got to the point where Lana and Louise couldn't just sit on the ground.
Jake had forgotten to check a certain thing, so he suddenly used Mana Blade in one of the fire slimes. When the creature died, he noticed that his health wasn't recovered. As expected, Lesser Vampirism only affects melee attacks.
"Hey, I was thinking…" Lana said.
"That is quite the dangerous hobby you have," Jake said.
"I think I heard that somewhere, where was it, again?" Louise tilted her head.
"Anyway… shouldn't get some shields for the two of us before challenging the boss of the dungeon?" Lana asked. "Jake is our only front-liner and he is pretty self-centered and wild. I think we will eventually get hit by some stray shots and we should have some means to block it."
"I suppose that makes sense," Louise nodded. "What do you think, Jake?"
"I agree, I am self-centered and wild," Jake said.
In the end, Lana and Louise decided to buy some shields after the mission. Considering how many coins they obtained in the last few hours, they should have just enough to buy one that will grant them some elemental resistance against fire, or at least some increase in willpower and mentality.
After those five hours of continuous grinding, Jake's Fire Resistance reached level nine, Lana's healing reached level eleven, and Louise's Ice Arrow reached level six. It looked like they still had some room for improvement before challenging the boss, but Jake decided that it was time to go for it.
"Nothing for you this time, champ?" Luke asked as he was passing the shields to Lana and Louise.
"Do you sell potions?" Jake asked.
"Only the small ones, each of them costs two hundred coins," Luke replied.
Jake rubbed his chin while he was thinking of the prices. They seemed too high… but considering that the idea of finding and cultivating herbs was pretty difficult, it made sense. Still, spending so many coins on consumables didn't seem like a good idea. Regardless, Jake had ten mana potions, and he decided to use those and then improvise if necessary.
"You will eventually find good places to cultivate your plants, so you don't have to worry about it," Luke said.
That seemed pretty obvious. Still, Jake didn't like to hear it from Luke's mouth. As usual, he didn't pass him a good feeling. No one over friendly passed Jake that feeling, after all.