English Dub Review: The Great Cleric “The Secret of Substance X”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Luciel agrees to heal the adventurers in Shurule but demands that they stop calling him “maso-zombie”. Cattleya realizes Luciel has been consuming Substance X and informs the pope, who explains the origin of the mysterious drink.

Our Take:
We’ve seen Luciel drink the mysterious Substance X for the past eight episodes, yet we have no idea what this foul potion really is or where it came from. In this week’s episode, we finally have our answer to that mind-boggling question. With the series’s first season seemingly ending, we might as well know what Substance X is before Luciel starts the next phase of his journey.
Beforehand, we see Luciel continuing to perform his healing duties on the adventurers under the condition that they’ll stop discriminating against him as they did to other healers. They also change Luciel’s nickname, “maso-zombie healer”, for good measure. Unfortunately, the adventurers decide to call him “Saint Weirdo”, which doesn’t make his day even better. Luciel also hears plenty of gossip about the adventurer’s guild at Maritoni City, but not the good ones. Brod is forcing the adventurers to endure the same training routines that Luciel experienced, and Gulgar is sneaking Substance X into their food. Even worse is that several recipients are getting engaged, with Nanaela and Monika being possibilities, according to Luciel.
But that hardly matters, as Luciel managed to defeat three Wights on floor 30, which turned out to be three young girls the pope knew. After Cattleya and the pope recognize Luciel using Substance X, the latter informs him that the potion was part of a sage’s failed experiment to unlock latent magic. We also learn that “Substance X” wasn’t really “Substance X” at all. Its real name is “God’s Lament” due to its foul stench and taste. However, the real ball-kicker regarding the drink is that it sacrifices one of the drinker’s primary desires to give them physical growth, skill enhancement, and protection from sickness. Of course, those desires are food, sleep, and sex, which sucks since we need all three to survive.
Unsurprisingly, Luciel realizes he has lost his sexual desire, explaining why he’s still a virgin. This gives him another reason to defeat the dungeon as fast as possible so he can quit drinking “God’s Lament” and start scoring with the beautiful women. With the season nearing its end, it’s nice that I get to learn more about “Substance X” and how it affects Luciel’s goal of living a new life. We also see that Cattleya may have strong feelings towards Luciel, as she hopes he’ll leave the dungeon alive. I won’t be surprised if Luciel winds up with Cattleya at the end, but with the other women vying for Luciel’s affection, who knows if that’ll happen.