Chapter 108: Preparing for Another Clear! (2)
He decided not to think too deeply and to complete the list he had. He went around the market for a few hours, gathering all the ingredients he needed for a five-person team—enough for roughly three days (one day extra in case of emergency).
Soon enough, noontime came. Aster had already been waiting at their gathering spot, the vacant space near the dungeon entrance, waiting patiently. He was the first to arrive, as his list contained nothing but food ingredients.
"Aster!" The next one to arrive was Liz. "So you\'re already here?"
"Huh? Where\'re the items you bought?" He quickly asked, noticing that she wasn\'t carrying much else.
"Ah... I bought these bags for everyone. Having it would make moving around easier."
As she spoke, she passed Aster a small waist bag. On it was a sign that said "Millicent" in bold letters. "This is...?" He asked.
"It\'s called a Spatial Fanny Pack. It\'s like a normal bag that has enchantments applied to it, allowing it to carry items up to a combined volume of 1 cubic meter. The weight is lessened to 1/10th only, so you still need to be careful when putting heavy things inside."
"... So, something like a 4D Pocket?" Aster joked.
"Ah, no. It\'s not that advanced." But Liz took it at face value and waved her hands in denial. "Those are too expensive, after all."
\'So 4D Pockets do exist?!\'
Aster was more shocked about this than anything else. Furthermore, Liz, the rich girl going incognito, said that it was "too expensive," so he could more or less guess how astronomical its price tag was.
"Anyway, here\'s yours. Kali, Cassandra, and Celestinya also have one, so don\'t hold back."
"..."
Aster received the bag and wondered. How much does one of them cost? Although he wanted to ask Liz directly, he felt like she\'d simply brush it off as nothing. Stealthily, he tried to search for the cheapest Spatial Fanny Pack and found one worth 5 million Tels. However, that was one with only 0.25 cubic meters of space available, with no weight reduction!
"... You only used the money we earned, right?" Aster asked, wondering how much these cost.
"I did! Along with all the items on the list, and with these five bags, it\'s exactly 10 million Tels!" Liz exclaimed while puffing her chest proudly.
Of course, her words were true. Everything she got was only paid for using the 10 million she had. However, that\'s only after she got an excessive discount as a family member of the Millicent Dragon Alliance\'s owner!
Aster decided not to delve too deeply into the matter. Having a Spatial bag is good, as it would limit their bulky loot. Furthermore, with the 1/10th weight reduction, they would be less burdened with what they\'re carrying and could proceed to clear the floor faster.
After receiving his Spatial Fanny Bag, he quickly transferred the contents of his bulky bag inside it. It was mysterious as to how that many items fit inside a normal waist bag.
As he was done transferring everything, he strapped the fanny bag around his waist and realized that the burden coming from it did feel less. Furthermore, the weight is distributed equally around the strap, making it balanced too.
"I could probably still run even with this equipped," Aster commented.
After a while more, Cassy returned, along with Kali, whom she met along the way. The two were tasked with retrieving the previous items they used from Aster\'s hotel room, like the pot, stove, campfire, and tents. And to buy ammunition, emergency potions, and other expensive stuff.
Furthermore, since there are more members now, they also got an extra tent to let three people rest at once while leaving two on guard duty.
Finally, Tina returned. She was the one who took the longest time, as she was the one who picked up the pre-ordered equipment for everyone—except Liz, who already had top-of-the-line armor and equipment.
She looked like she was carrying a mountain on her back as she walked with the items!
"H-Here..." Tina sighed as she slammed the items to the ground. "The shopkeeper said that if you need adjustments, you can do it as long as it\'s within three days."
Aster walked forward and picked up his bundle. It was packed into a single cube-like carry package to save space and allow some privacy. After pressing the button next to the handle, the lid popped open, revealing the armor and weapon set inside.
Like his request, it was made of black material, with hints of green here and there. The texture was like latex, making him slightly hesitant to wear it.
As if biding her time, Tina rushed to Aster\'s side and appealed. "Now, Darling~! Let me help you get fitted up!"
Tina had already worn her armor, but it was mostly the same as before. Her extremely revealing top was replaced with a black and green breastplate, similar to Aster\'s and everyone else\'s colors. It was paired with a pleated black skirt, long tights of the same material, and black, tough-looking military boots.
Her exposure level remained mostly the same but now looked a bit more bearable compared to the virgin-killer attire she had before.
Cassy had the same as her previous equipment: a robe with a tight-fitting inner garment. Although it follows her curves religiously, the fabric was breathable, so it didn\'t feel stuffy at all.
For Kali, it was the same tight-fitting inner garment, but instead of a robe, she wore a blazer and long pants. Their attire prioritized mobility over defense, so this appearance was a given.
"And for Liz..." Aster pulled up an epaulet attached to a short cape. "This is for you, to match the color scheme even a little."
It was awkward if she was the only one who didn\'t have the same color everyone else did, after all. The epaulet\'s cape was made with the same fabric of black and green and had two long openings that split it into three sections to let her wing pass through. The cape wasn\'t too long either, just barely reaching her hips.
After that, they borrowed the medical tent\'s comfort room to change attire.
As it wasn\'t much different than usual, it didn\'t take too long to change. In less than five minutes, the three returned outside, revealing their fully-geared appearance.
Aster smiled, excited after seeing that the armor was more than what he expected.
"Now, let\'s head into the dungeon!"