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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“Enemy confirmed ahead.”
At Tori’s words, who was acting as both a vanguard and a scout, everyone went on alert.
Amon drew his sword, and the yellow and blue-haired men aimed their rifles and machine guns forward.
Paul began to chant, directing his glove with embedded circuits forward instead of a staff.
The reason he was chanting before the monster even appeared was that he was certain about what would show up.
After all, only one kind of monster appeared on the lower floors.
“Thirty skeletons confirmed. Proceed as usual.”
Tori gave the command in place of Paul, who couldn’t speak due to chanting.
Then, she jumped into the enemy lines.
The orderly formation, which was unusual for monsters, was immediately broken by her charge.
Crunch!
The shield bearers at the front were crushed along with their shields by her tackle.
The shattered pieces rattled as if they were trying to reassemble.
However, after she crushed their spines and heads into powder, they didn’t get back up again.
[Tori, get out of the line of fire.]
Having destroyed the shield bearers, Tori retreated, as if she had finished her role.
Immediately after, the blue-haired man’s machine gun opened fire.
‘Wow, classic conventional weapons.’
If this was a low-fantasy version, he would have been despairing as soon as 30 skeletons had appeared at the same time.
However, as a well-developed science is indistinguishable from magic, the skeleton force was just an “ordinary” encounter in the face of modern conventional weaponry.
An entire unit was shattered in an instant.
However, the machine gun was not enough to finish off the skeletons.
There were still many skeletons left with intact spines and skulls.
Finishing them off was not the blue-haired man’s job.
It was for the mage who was still chanting.
“Burst!”
When he recited the activation words, a powerful explosion that shook the space occurred.
The acrid smell of gunpowder traveled on the wind and stimulated Amon’s nose.
What kind of applications had this magic been combined with to make it smell like this?
He was curious but kept his mouth shut since it was like a secret technique for the mage.
When the smoke cleared, not even bone fragments were left of the skeletons.
Amon let his sword hang limply, as if all his energy had left him.
“Was this what you needed me for?”
Upon hearing Amon’s words, the yellow-haired Evan burst into laughter.
“I’m just useless too and just hitched a ride. Just think of it as being comfortable like this.”
“No. You’re not useless.”
The VIP of this fight, the blue-haired Hale, spoke.
His logic circuits intensely activated and stated the reason for Amon’s existence, without any trace of humor or subjectivity.
“You should conserve your strength. The three of us are enough for the skeletons at the entrance, but we’ll need you when we go deeper. Evan. That goes for you too.”
Amon and Evan were speechless at Hale’s indifferent explanation.
It was difficult to know how to respond when they received a joke so seriously.
Regardless, Hale began to check the remaining ammunition and the condition of the machine gun on the spot.
Conventional weapons were good, but the bullets were heavy and the possibility of malfunction was scary.
A check was necessary after every fight.
The other members silently waited for Hale’s check to finish.
Beep-click.
Hale’s circuits instantly calculated the number of bullets in the ammunition bag.
“I used 154 bullets in this battle. The remaining ammunition is 1346. For your reference.”
Hearing his words, Amon’s gaze automatically went to the huge ammunition bag on Hale’s back.
‘1300?’
Putting aside the weight, it was a surprisingly ambiguous amount, despite looking large.
If they were to encounter a slightly strong monster, they could easily use up 1000 bullets.
The others seemed to have similar thoughts as Amon.
The party kept Hale’s report in mind and headed deeper into the building.
Thankfully or not, an opportunity for Amon to play an active part came quickly.
“Enemy confirmed ahead! It’s tar slime!”
The mage Paul immediately began to chant.
However, unlike with the skeletons, Tori didn’t rush forward, and the blue-haired Hale grimaced and only aimed his gun without pulling the trigger.
Only the yellow-haired man fired back at the slime.
Bang, bang!
The yellow-haired man, who was holding a shotgun instead of an assault rifle, kept pulling the trigger towards the slime.
The slime, which had been hit by the shotgun shells, was briefly pushed back, but it continued to approach as it melted the shells inside its body.
“Ugh… I really hate slime…”
Tori shuddered.
She hated slime because punching it damaged her fists.
The blue-haired man was the same.
No matter how many bullets he fired, the slime was fine. In fact, considering the ammunition consumption, it was an overwhelming loss.
Therefore, it was the yellow-haired man’s job to keep the black slime tied up.
While Paul chanted a spell to deal with the slime, the members looked at Amon.
“What do you think? Can you handle that slime?”
“Don’t feel too much pressure. We brought you along not for that, but for other things.”
The party members looked at Amon’s sword with anticipation.
Amon couldn’t be sure either.
However, he nodded.
‘I have a lot of those at home anyway.’
Surprisingly, this sword was one of the more common swords for Amon.
He had a whole closet full of weapons seized from the Higzen Group guards, if he was being a bit exaggerative.
He could use a couple of swords however he wanted.
Amon said he would try and drew two swords.
“I’m going in.”
At Amon’s words, the yellow-haired man briefly stopped firing.
Amon jumped into what had been the yellow-haired man’s line of fire, and swung his sword.
He showed off a bit clumsy two-sword style, and hacked at the slime.
The sword surprisingly held up well.
The slime’s body, which could melt shotgun bullets, didn’t even affect Amon’s sword.
It was unknown whether it was due to the performance of the sword or Amon’s divine power.
However, there was one notable point.
‘It can’t regenerate either.’
Just like the demons that Amon had cut in the past, the black slime also did not recover from the cuts.
Amon rode the momentum and hacked at the slime.
The slime stopped moving when it had been divided into 30 pieces.
“Is it dead?”
Who was it? The one who said the resurrection spell.
Thankfully, the slime didn’t resurrect.
The slime, which had been divided into 30 pieces, melted away, leaving behind only a nucleus-like eye.
When the slime was taken care of by Amon, Paul, who was chanting, asked, showing his undisguised sense of defeat,
“How did you do that?”
“It’s all thanks to my equipment.”
Amon mentioned his equipment instead of his divine power.
The party members accepted his explanation.
On top-of-the-line new material weapons, anti-regeneration or attribution was a basic enchantment.
No further excuses were needed.
“Ooh. I knew it!”
The yellow-haired man placed his arm casually on Amon’s shoulder.
Thanks to Amon’s performance, they were able to defeat the slime much more comfortably than usual.
“Could I ask for your help if they appear again?”
Paul asked apologetically.
“I’m sorry if I’m placing too much of a burden on you.”
Amon’s jaw dropped.
This level of character in cyberpunk!
Why would a person this good be a mercenary?
Amon was weak against people who were so kind.
He refused Paul’s offer to give him a bonus and instead decided to take full responsibility for all the black slime that appeared in this exploration.
The subsequent exploration went smoothly.
The skeletons were dealt with as the original party members did, and whenever a black slime appeared, Amon took care of it.
Besides those monsters, they smoothly took care of the monsters that were the reason for them to recruit Amon.
“Ghouls!”
Ghouls.
They were the reason for recruiting Amon.
Ghouls weren’t enemies that bullets were completely useless against, like slimes.
They were enemies that could be turned into pieces of meat with bullets.
However, they weren’t as unstable as skeletons that would shatter if a bullet grazed them.
In order to stop the ghouls, they had to separate their necks from their bodies, and it was difficult to do that with bullets.
They needed a vanguard that could separate their necks from their bodies.
Of course, they had Tori as a vanguard, but…
“Ghouls on the ceiling!! Amon!”
“Yes!”
That was the problem.
Tori was nimble, but her reach was short and there was a limit to the length of her arms.
More than anything, it took too long to remove their necks one by one with her fists.
This was why they needed a vanguard that used a sword, and it was for this reason that Amon had been recruited.
Slice.
Amon’s sword flash passed through the ghoul’s neck.
With a clean cut, the head fell from the body.
“Were you a magic user?”
Paul asked, seeing Amon’s sword shine.
Amon smiled as his answer.
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
They gradually defeated the ghouls.
The machine gun and shotgun blew the ghouls’ lower bodies away, and Tori’s punches and Amon’s silver sword flash would pass through their necks.
And when the chant was fully prepared, Paul’s powerful attack would completely erase the ghouls, leaving behind not even dust.
Even though this was the first time he was joining them, Amon’s teamwork with the party members was going too smoothly.
The party members were seriously considering whether it would be okay to make Amon a permanent member.
“So, what do you think? Would you like to join us?”
If it was up to him, he would have liked to accept.
Their teamwork was good, and the people were kind.
However, he didn’t know how much they could support Amon’s goals.
Amon was also a divine power wielder with many secrets to hide.
Therefore, he couldn’t rashly give an answer.
“Could you give me some time to think about it?”
The party members who had read a bit of a story from Amon’s equipment gave their understanding.
“Let us know whenever you decide.”
The exploration was resumed after that.
The exploration was more enjoyable than he thought, and it went very fast.
According to Paul, this was already the 10th time this party was completing this dungeon.
Even though they were just circling around the entrance, it was not because this party lacked skill, but because they were looking for something.
“The lower floors of this building were a place where they researched defensive magic in the past.”
They came here because of the mage Paul, who focused on attacks and buffs.
The reason was that it would give them a bit more peace of mind if he learned defensive magic.
Since it was a familiar course, and now with Amon added, their progress was incomparable to the past.
However, despite the quick progress, there were no results this time as well.
They did not discover any magic recipes, and there were no monster drop items.
“Ah… we’re striking out again this time.”
The yellow-haired man sighed.
They had thoroughly searched an entire floor but didn’t discover the recipes they wanted.
“It’s a shame but let’s end this exploration here.”
Paul was the most disappointed.
The party members comforted Paul and got ready to return.
It was then.
“Something’s caught on my thermal vision.”
The blue-haired man said, pointing to a corner.
Everyone’s attention was focused on him.
The blue-haired Hale said that and reached for the wall in the corner.
Then, he nodded and took out a sticky bomb from his waist and installed it on the wall.
“Get out.”
All of the party members left the room.
Boom!
Soon, there was an explosion and the sound of something collapsing.
When the group returned to the room, there was a secret passage that hadn’t been visible before.
At the end of the secret passage was a door.
“Boss room?”
Paul denied it after hearing Amon’s murmur.
“It’s not the boss, it’s a mid-boss.”
“How do you know?”
“According to the report of the party that encountered the lich for the first and last time, there were two Death Knights guarding the lich’s door. 20 years have passed since then, and the lich has gone deeper underground so no one has met him since, but I doubt there would be any big changes from back then.”
Amon was convinced.
Meanwhile, the party members were preparing to enter the boss room.
“If it’s a mid-boss, there’s a much higher chance of getting a drop item.”
Tori smiled boldly and bumped her fists together.
The other members were also ready to fight the mid-boss.
However, Amon was the only one in the group who was opposed to the idea.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
His cautiousness was fully demonstrated once again.
They had no information about the boss, and he had only planned to hunt mobs at the entrance and return today.
He had neither planned nor prepared to fight a mid-boss.
He had joined this party intending only to follow them to the entrance.
Therefore, Amon didn’t want to take the risk of facing a mid-boss.
“I’m sorry. I’m not ready yet.”
Fortunately, the party didn’t blame Amon.
Rather, they apologized to Amon.
“No. It’s our fault. Thinking about it, it wasn’t a part of the plan, but it was like we were forcing you to do it.”
The party members also looked apologetic towards Amon.
However, it was a little regrettable to go back since they had already discovered the mid-boss.
If they went out and came back again, other people could have taken it first.
Especially since bosses had a higher probability of dropping essences and recipes, and they didn’t know if they would respawn, the competition was fierce.
Also, unlike other days, today, they had been able to save a lot of bullets thanks to Amon, and their condition was at its best.
It felt like there wouldn’t be another chance if they missed this one.
Paul couldn’t take his eyes off the boss room entrance.
Nevertheless, with his sense of responsibility, he barely managed to take his steps to head out with Amon.
Amon, unable to watch Paul any longer, opened his mouth.
“I’ll go up by myself.”
“What?”
“After all, monsters don’t respawn for 24 hours after being defeated, right? We eliminated them all when we came in, so the way back will be safe.”
“But…”
“I’m just asking just in case, but is my help needed for the mid-boss here?”
At Amon’s question, the party shook their heads.
Even though it seemed like this, this was a party that had explored near the lowest floor of the dungeon and returned.
There was no way they would be swayed by a mid-boss at this entrance level.
“Then do as I said.”
At Amon’s suggestion, the party members’ lips tightened.
Then, Paul barely managed to part his lips.
“Thank you.”
Amon nodded and stood up from his seat.
Then the blue-haired man grabbed Amon.
“Take this in case something happens.”
It was a disposable barrier.
The blue-haired man said that he had at least five of these and hadn’t used any of them today so he was more than free to give it away.
Amon accepted it gratefully.
You could never be too careful when it came to safety.
“Let’s check the boss out before going just in case.”
In case it was some crazy hidden boss, the party could give up and retreat, so Amon was saying that they could check the boss and then withdraw.
The party gratefully accepted Amon’s send-off and opened the boss room door.
As soon as the door opened, a three-headed wolf chimera made eye contact with the party.
Unlike Amon, who was tense because it was a boss he was seeing for the first time, the group breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s not a hidden one. It’s a normal mid-boss.”
They had faced it before and had been able to defeat it without much damage at that time as well.
Hearing those words, Amon was relieved.
Then, Amon turned back towards the exit of the dungeon without hesitation, and the party faced towards the mid-boss.
“See you above ground!”
“I’ll pay you once I go above ground!”
In response to Amon’s words, the party members answered with a thumbs-up and closed the boss room door.
There weren’t any problems during his ascent to the surface.
In fact, it was much more pleasant than when he had come down.
There were no monsters or people, so it was a very peaceful road to the surface, except for it being a little eerie.
That was how Amon was able to safely return to the surface.
The sun, which had been in the sky when he had entered, had already disappeared a long time ago.
‘I should be heading back soon.’
Sonia would be worried.
Amon headed to the Explorers’ Guild building to report his return.
However, the atmosphere in the guild was chaotic when he entered the building.
‘What’s going on?’
He focused his hearing and headed to the counter.
While he was crossing the crowds to get to the receptionist, he picked up fragmented words.
Scavengers, human trafficking, dungeon.
He thought he knew what was going on, but he couldn’t be certain.
Amon spoke to the employee that had taken his reception in order to get clarification.
“I often heard the word ‘scavenger’ on the way here, did something happen?”
“Well… it seems that scavenger activity has been discovered in the dungeon. Judging from the state of the corpses, it seems that they have been active for about a week. So the police have started an investigation, but there’s no sign that the criminals have left the dungeon yet.”
“Are these scavengers the ones who do organ harvesting and human trafficking?”
“Yes. You heard correctly.”
Upon hearing her explanation, Amon reflexively stroked his chin.
A sense of unease that kept creeping up on him was dominating his mind.
‘No way.’
Nevertheless, he couldn’t shake off this sense of unease.
In the end, he delayed his return home a bit and investigated more about the scavengers.
He gave money to some of the more experienced explorers and police officers and compiled information. He was able to get a grasp of the scavengers.
‘They’re quite meticulous.’
Considering the first disappearance, the scavengers had been active not for a week but for a month.
The fact that they had not been caught during that time meant that they were pros.
It meant they were not an unplanned gang that let their desires run wild and leave traces everywhere, but a group that was acting rationally and systematically.
He seemed to understand their modus operandi.
‘Parties who planned to challenge a mid-boss were the ones that disappeared.’
Frankly speaking, it was a very clever idea.
Bosses had higher drop rates, but they were more dangerous.
The cause of death for one party member was often due to mobs or traps, but the cause of a party wipe was often due to bosses.
Therefore, even if a party that challenged a mid-boss disappeared as a group, people wouldn’t notice.
Party wipes were common in dungeons.
Besides not raising suspicion, there were other benefits.
‘Parties were always exhausted right after a raid.’
The vanguards would be very tired, and the rear guards would have used most of their ammunition.
If parties were weakened, they could even aim for parties that were stronger than them.
When he considered that, Amon’s hand naturally went to his phone.
[Sorry, Sonia. I think I’ll be a little late today. Eat dinner first.]
After sending the message, Amon turned off his phone.
His steps were headed to the entrance of the dungeon he had just exited.
As he inserted another bill into the turnstile installed at the entrance of the dungeon, Amon swore internally.
‘Damn, damn, damn…’
There were no coincidences in this world, and tragedies always had their omens.
It might be a hunch, but the unease that was binding his heart gave his intuition certainty.
His steps gradually quickened.
‘Paul, Tori, Even, Hale…’
The faces of his kind party members came to mind.
If only they had been unkind, Amon would have ignored them like the people in ordinary cities.
He might have felt a slight pang of guilt, but he would have likely dismissed it as unavoidable in this world.
However,
They possessed shining personalities, a rare find in this wretched world.
They had given Amon an experience whose value couldn’t be measured.
Yes, it was worth risking his life for.
Having justified his actions in this way, he retraced his steps and headed deeper into the dungeon.
‘If only I was wrong…’
If only he was wrong, he would gladly be ridiculed by his party members.
He desperately wished it had just been a pointless struggle, a new entry in his hall of shame.
He saw a fork in the path.
‘Left, fourth path!’
He didn’t slow down, but broke into a run in that direction.
And the moment he entered the passage,
KWA-GWA-GWANG!!
An ear splitting explosion roared from that direction.
‘Damn it!’
Explosions were commonplace in the dungeon.
But even this explosion sounded different to Amon.
‘Please, just be alive!’
Amon ran with all his might.
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Wish they are alive