Fenrir had brewed several more potions since his last successful batch, but none of them made it to the market.
He sat in the dim glow of his lab, swirling a bright blue vial in his hand, the mana-infused liquid sloshing gently against the glass.
His mood, however, was anything but calm.
The chaos from earlier—the intrusion attempt, the annoyance of his undervalued potion sales, and the suffocating monotony of school—still lingered like a storm cloud over his mind.
Selling potions didn't appeal to him at the moment.
Instead, he needed something else. Something to work on.
Something that would make use of his mood and channel his irritation productively.
"A weapon,"
He muttered to himself.
The first idea that came to mind was a sword. Classic. Efficient. It suited his taste.
But as he looked around the lab, he realized there wasn't nearly enough space to install a forge or smithy, and he didn't have the raw muscle mass to work with molten metal anyway.
"Fine. Then I'll just strengthen myself first."
He muttered again, standing and stretching.
His thoughts shifted toward enhancement—potions that could boost strength temporarily or permanently.
But as he wracked his brain, nothing came to mind that met his standards. Most strength-enhancing potions were crude, temporary, or had ugly side effects.
If he wanted something better, he'd have to make it himself.
He booted up his system terminal and accessed the books and files he had downloaded over the last week.
Dungeon botany, alchemical theory, rare resources, potion mechanics—he skimmed through them all with practiced ease.
As the night deepened, the glow of his screen was the only light in the lab.
To his surprise, the more he read, the clearer the connections became.
'This makes more sense than it used to…'
He thought.
In his previous life, potion crafting and ingredient theory had been distant, complex fields reserved for specialists.
He had never delved this deep before. But now, he found himself drawing parallels and patterns effortlessly.
It was as if his brain had been rewired to understand the flow of ingredients, the resonance of mana, the delicate balance of extraction and combination.
He paused.
'Is this the result of the divine blood in this body? Or… was the previous owner of this body just a hidden genius?'
Either way, it didn't matter now.
This body was his.
And with it, he would forge ahead.
By dawn, Fenrir had compiled a full recipe.
A body enhancement potion—not temporary like the cheap market ones, but a real booster that could gradually expand muscle capacity, nerve reactivity, and internal mana circulation.
It wouldn't be instant, but it would be stable. Permanent.
He reviewed the ingredient list.
Most of it was common: Fire-root bark, Vein-thread moss, Ironspice resin—all available in mid-tier dungeons.
Nothing too hard. He already had some of them stored from past gathering trips.
All except one.
'Moon Flower.'
A faintly glowing silver-blue petal with an ethereal sheen, Moon Flower was rare not because it was powerful, but because it only grew in a very specific dungeon—the Moon's Cavern.
A low-leveled dungeon with unique environmental conditions: no light, high ambient mana, and a frozen lake that reflected the moon's light underground.
It sounded poetic, but in reality, it was a pain to access.
Fenrir searched the local dungeon database, hoping to find someone selling Moon Flower.
Nothing.
Not a single listing.
He frowned and dug deeper, trying to find who controlled access to the Moon's Cavern. It didn't take long. A single name popped up in his system's internal search.
[Dungeon Exploitation Club – Argent Academy.]
Fenrir stared at the listing for a long time.
The club had an exclusive license to study, enter, and harvest from the Moon's Cavern dungeon.
It made sense—schools often partnered with dungeon authorities to reserve small-scale dungeons for student use.
But this also meant that the only legal way to enter the dungeon was through the club.
'So I need to join the Dungeon Exploitation Club…Now, how do I approach them.'
The realization didn't irritate him. In fact, it made him laugh under his breath. He has completely forgotten about Dain's offer buy this point.
"Looks like I was going to join them anyway. But how do I make sure I am not rejected?"
He said. It was a problem for sure, but Fenrir was sure he would think of something.
It was supposed to be next week that he joined. But now, with a very specific goal in mind and no legal workaround, he needed access now.
He stood up from his chair, stretching out his back with a groan, and checked the time.
'Still early enough to make it to school…'
With a small smirk, Fenrir pulled off his lab coat, threw on a plain black hoodie, and left the lab.
He had a Moon Flower to collect—and it seemed the dungeon club just became more than a simple cover story.
______
The next morning, Fenrir walked through the gates of Argent Academy with a slight frown on his face.
The sun filtered through the tall iron archways, and the buzz of student chatter filled the air, but his mind was elsewhere.
'What kind of excuse do I even use to join an invite-only club?'
The Dungeon Exploration Club wasn't just prestigious—it was exclusive.
The school's internal system had labeled it as "restricted access," requiring approval from current members and the club in-charge.
Normally, Fenrir would have ignored such a thing, but now, with Moon's Cavern locked behind those doors, he needed a way in.
The more he had dug through the dungeon list under the club's domain last night, the more impressed he had become.
From mid-tier elemental rifts to rare, environment-specific dungeons like Moon's Cavern, they held access to resources that could shape entire careers.
And of course, they had the one thing Fenrir needed most.
He was still mulling over possible strategies—maybe fabricating a recommendation, or bribing the student council—when a familiar voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, did you think about what I said?"
Fenrir blinked and turned toward the sound.
Dain stood next to his desk with that same casual grin on his face, leaning forward slightly with his hands in his pockets.
Fenrir stared for a second, then blinked again.
"About…what?"
"My offer. The Dungeon Exploration Club?"
Dain tilted his head.
"I asked you earlier this week, remember?"
Fenrir's expression froze. Right. He had been invited.
He'd just been too distracted to process it back then.
Now, as if the universe had tossed him a lifeline, the answer had come straight to him.
"I'll join. But only if I'm not pressured to attend every meeting. I've got… other priorities."
Fenrir said without hesitation, sitting up straighter.
Dain laughed, clearly not surprised.
"That's fine. We've got people who just do resource scouting or record-keeping. You can talk to the club in-charge about your schedule. She's super chill—probably won't even remember what day it is."
"Sounds like a good fit, then."
Fenrir replied dryly, suppressing a small smile.
He had been wondering how to get into the club. Turned out, he didn't need to lie or bribe anyone—he just had to accept the offer already made to him.
And with that, Moon's Cavern was now within reach.