Ch.3333. Cyberpunk and Mercenaries

“Enemy spotted ahead.”

At Tori’s words, who served as both vanguard and scout, everyone assumed combat positions.

Amon drew his sword, while Yellow and Blue aimed their rifle and machine gun forward.

Paul directed his circuit-embedded gloves forward instead of his staff and began chanting.

He started chanting even before the monster appeared because he was certain what would show up.

After all, only one type of monster appeared in the lower levels.

“Thirty skeletons confirmed. We’ll proceed as usual.”

Tori gave the order in place of Paul, who couldn’t speak while preparing his spell.

Soon, she leaped into the enemy ranks.

The monsters’ surprisingly orderly formation collapsed instantly under her charge.

Crack!

The shield-bearing skeletons at the front were shattered by her tackle, shields and all.

The scattered pieces rattled as if trying to reassemble themselves.

But when she stomped on their spines and skulls, grinding them to dust, they never rose again.

[Tori. Move out of the line of fire.]

Having destroyed the shield-bearers, Tori returned as if her role was complete.

Immediately after, Blue Hair’s machine gun spewed fire.

‘Wow, conventional weapons indeed.’

In a low fantasy version, thirty skeletons appearing simultaneously would have been cause for despair.

But as they say, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Before modern conventional weapons, a skeleton unit was merely an “ordinary” encounter.

In an instant, one unit was shattered.

However, the machine gun wasn’t enough to finish off the skeletons.

Many skeletons with intact spines and skulls remained.

Finishing them wasn’t Blue Hair’s responsibility.

It was the job of the wizard who had been chanting all this time.

“Burst!”

As he uttered the activation word, a powerful explosion shook the space.

The acrid smell of gunpowder carried by the wind irritated Amon’s nose.

He wondered what this spell was derived from to produce such a smell.

Though curious, he kept quiet since it was practically a trade secret for wizards.

As the smoke cleared, not even bone fragments of the skeletons remained.

Amon lowered his sword, feeling deflated.

“Was I really needed for this?”

Hearing Amon’s words, the yellow-haired Even burst into laughter.

“I’m useless too, just tagging along. Just enjoy the easy ride.”

“No. You’re not useless.”

Hale, the blue-haired VIP of this battle, spoke up.

His logic circuits worked furiously as he explained Amon’s purpose without a hint of humor or subjectivity.

“You need to conserve your strength. The skeletons at the entrance can be handled by the three of us, but we’ll need you when we go deeper. Even, the same applies to you.”

Amon and Even were left speechless by Hale’s matter-of-fact explanation.

It was awkward to respond when a joke was taken so seriously.

Regardless, Hale proceeded to check the remaining ammunition and the condition of the machine gun.

Conventional weapons were good, but they had the drawbacks of heavy ammunition and the risk of malfunction.

Checking was essential after each battle.

The rest of the members waited silently for Hale to complete his inspection.

Eeeeng- click.

Hale’s circuits instantly calculated the amount of ammunition left in the feed bag.

“I used 154 rounds in this battle. 1346 rounds remain. For your reference.”

Hearing this, Amon’s gaze automatically turned to the massive ammunition bag on Hale’s back.

‘1300?’

Setting aside the weight, it seemed like a lot but was actually a somewhat ambiguous amount.

When facing slightly stronger monsters, 1000 rounds could be used up quickly.

The others seemed to share Amon’s assessment.

The party kept Hale’s report in mind as they headed deeper into the building.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Amon’s chance to shine came soon.

“Enemy spotted ahead! It’s a tar slime!”

The wizard Paul immediately began preparing his chant.

But unlike with the skeletons, Tori didn’t charge forward, and blue-haired Hale only aimed his gun barrel with a grimace, not pulling the trigger.

Only Yellow Hair responded by firing at the slime.

Bang! Bang!

Yellow Hair, wielding a shotgun instead of an assault rifle, continuously pulled the trigger at the slime.

The slime was pushed back momentarily by the shotgun pellets but kept approaching, dissolving the bullets inside its body.

“Ugh… I really hate slimes…”

Tori shuddered.

She disliked slimes because punching them damaged her fists.

Blue Hair felt the same way.

No matter how many bullets were fired, slimes remained intact. Considering ammunition consumption, it was an overwhelming loss.

Therefore, containing the black slime was Yellow Hair’s job with his shotgun.

While Paul was chanting a spell to deal with the slime, the members looked at Amon.

“How about it? Can you handle that slime?”

“Don’t feel too pressured. We didn’t bring you for that thing, but for something else.”

The party members looked at Amon’s sword with expectant gazes.

Amon couldn’t be certain either.

But he nodded anyway.

‘I have plenty more at home anyway.’

Surprisingly, this sword was just one of many common swords for Amon.

With a bit of exaggeration, his closet was full of weapons looted from Higgjen Group’s security guards.

He could afford to use up a couple of swords.

Amon drew two swords, indicating he would try.

“I’m going in.”

At Amon’s words, Yellow Hair temporarily ceased fire.

Amon leaped into what had been Yellow Hair’s line of fire until just now and swung his swords.

Displaying somewhat messy dual-wielding swordsmanship, Amon slashed at the slime.

Surprisingly, the swords held up well.

The slime’s body, which dissolved even shotgun pellets, couldn’t affect Amon’s swords.

Whether it was due to the sword’s performance or Amon’s Divine Power was unknown.

However, there was something unusual.

‘This one can’t regenerate either.’

Like the demons Amon had cut in the past, the black slime couldn’t heal its sword wounds.

Amon pressed his advantage and sliced the slime to pieces.

The slime stopped moving after being cut into 30 pieces.

“Is it defeated?”

Who was that? The one who just chanted a resurrection spell.

Fortunately, the slime didn’t resurrect.

The slime, divided into 30 pieces, melted away, leaving only something resembling a nucleus-like eyeball before evaporating.

With the slime handled by Amon, Paul, who had been chanting, showed his disappointment and asked:

“How did you do that?”

“It’s all thanks to the equipment.”

Amon mentioned the equipment instead of Divine Power.

The party members accepted this explanation.

After all, healing prevention or binding enchantments were basic for top-grade new material weapons.

No further explanation was necessary.

“Oh! I knew we could count on you!”

Yellow Hair casually put his arm 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 more appear?”

Paul asked apologetically.

“I’m sorry if we’re putting too much burden on you.”

Amon’s mouth gaped open.

Such decency in a cyberpunk setting!

Why would someone so nice work as a mercenary?

Amon was weak to such kind people.

He declined Paul’s offer of a bonus and agreed to handle all black slimes that appeared during this exploration.

The subsequent exploration went smoothly.

The skeletons were handled as the party members usually did, and Amon took care of any black slimes that appeared.

Dealing with the monsters that were the reason for recruiting Amon also went smoothly.

“Ghouls!”

Ghouls.

These were the reason they had recruited Amon.

Ghouls weren’t completely immune to bullets like slimes.

They could certainly be turned into meat chunks with guns.

However, they weren’t as unstable as skeletons that would shatter at the slightest graze of a bullet.

To stop a ghoul’s activity, one had to separate its head from its body, which was difficult with bullets.

They needed a vanguard who could separate the ghouls’ heads and bodies.

Of course, they had Tori as a vanguard.

But…

“Ghoul on the ceiling!! Amon!”

“Yes!”

This was the problem.

Tori was agile but had short reach and limited arm length.

Moreover, removing heads with fists took too much time for each ghoul.

This was why they needed a vanguard who used a sword, and this was the reason they recruited Amon.

Slash.

Amon’s flash of the blade passed through the ghoul’s neck.

Belatedly, the head separated from the body, leaving a clean cross-section.

“Are you a magic user?”

Seeing Amon’s sword glow, Paul asked.

Amon answered with a smile.

It wasn’t an incorrect statement, after all.

They methodically eliminated the ghouls.

The machine gun and shotgun blew away the ghouls’ lower bodies, then Tori’s fists and Amon’s silver flashes passed through their necks.

And when the chanting was sufficiently prepared, Paul’s powerful blast erased the ghouls without leaving even dust.

Despite joining today for the first time, Amon coordinated with the party members too smoothly.

The party members seriously considered making Amon a permanent member.

“What do you think? Would you like to join us permanently?”

Part of him wanted to accept.

They worked well together, and the people were kind.

But he wasn’t sure how much they would support his goals.

Amon was also a Divine Power holder with many secrets.

Therefore, he couldn’t answer hastily.

“Could I think about it for a while?”

The party members, who had read some story from Amon’s equipment, understood.

“Of course. Let us know whenever you decide.”

The exploration resumed afterward.

The exploration was more enjoyable and progressed much faster than expected.

According to Paul, this party was already on their 10th run through this dungeon.

Although they were circling around the entrance, it wasn’t because the party lacked skill but because they were looking for something.

“The lower floors of this building used to be a place where protective magic was researched.”

They were searching this place because of Paul, a wizard focused solely on attack and buff magic.

He needed to learn a defensive spell or two to feel more secure.

With the familiar course and Amon’s addition, the progress was incomparable to before.

Despite the rapid progress, there was no harvest this time either.

They didn’t find any magic recipes, and the monsters didn’t drop any items.

“Ah… another wasted trip.”

Yellow Hair sighed.

Despite thoroughly searching an entire floor, they didn’t find the desired recipe.

“Disappointing, but let’s end our exploration here.”

Paul was the most disappointed.

The party members consoled him as they prepared to return.

That’s when it happened.

“I’ve detected something at twelve o’clock.”

Blue Hair pointed to a corner as he spoke.

Everyone’s attention turned to him.

Blue-haired Hale said this and headed to the corner, feeling along the wall.

Then he nodded and took out an adhesive bomb from his waist, installing it on the wall.

“Outside.”

All party members left the room.

Boom!

Soon, with the sound of an explosion, something crumbled.

When the group returned to the room, a previously invisible secret passage was visible.

At the end of the secret passage was a door.

“Boss room?”

Hearing Amon’s murmur, Paul denied it.

“Not the boss, but a mid-boss.”

“How do you know that?”

“According to the report of the party that encountered the Lich for the first and last time, two Death Knights were guarding the door to the Lich’s room. It’s been 20 years since then, and the Lich has gone deep underground, so no one has encountered it since, but there shouldn’t be much difference from back then.”

Amon understood.

Meanwhile, the party members were preparing to enter the boss room.

“If it’s a mid-boss, there’s a much higher chance of item drops.”

With a spirited smile, Tori bumped her fists together.

The other members were also eager to fight the mid-boss.

But Amon alone was negative about the idea.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

His caution was displayed once again.

There was no information about the boss, and he had planned to hunt only the mobs at the entrance today and return.

He had no plans to fight a mid-boss and wasn’t prepared for it.

He had joined this party with the intention of only following them to the entrance.

Therefore, Amon didn’t want to take the risk of facing a mid-boss.

“I’m sorry. I’m not prepared yet.”

Fortunately, the party didn’t blame Amon.

Instead, they apologized to him.

“No, it’s our fault. Come to think of it, this wasn’t in the plan, and we were forcing it on you.”

The party members showed apologetic expressions toward Amon.

But having already discovered a mid-boss, it was a bit disappointing to turn back.

If they left and came back, others might claim it first.

Especially since bosses had a high chance of dropping essences or recipes, but it was unknown if they would respawn, competition was fierce.

Moreover, unlike usual, today they had saved a lot of bullets thanks to Amon, and their condition was at its peak.

It felt like if they missed this opportunity, there wouldn’t be another.

Paul couldn’t take his eyes off the boss room entrance.

Nevertheless, out of responsibility, he was about to leave with Amon.

Seeing Paul like this, Amon spoke up.

“I’ll go up alone.”

“What?”

“Monsters don’t respawn for 24 hours after being killed anyway. Since we cleared everything on the way in, the path up should be safe.”

“But…”

“Just to ask, do you need my help for this mid-boss too?”

At Amon’s question, the party shook their heads.

Despite appearances, this party had explored near the lowest floor of this dungeon and returned.

They wouldn’t be overwhelmed by a mid-boss at this initial stage.

“Then let’s do as I suggested.”

At Amon’s proposal, the party members’ lips sealed.

Eventually, Paul barely managed to speak.

“Thank you.”

Amon nodded and stood up.

Then Blue Hair grabbed Amon.

“Just in case, take this.”

It was a disposable barrier.

Blue Hair said he had at least five of these and hadn’t used any all day, so he had plenty to spare.

Amon accepted it gratefully.

One can never be too cautious about safety.

“Just to be safe, let’s check the boss before I go.”

In case it was some crazy hidden boss, the party might also give up and retreat, so Amon wanted to check the boss before withdrawing.

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 and the party made eye contact.

Unlike Amon, who was tense at seeing an unfamiliar boss, the party sighed in relief.

“It’s not a hidden boss. Just an ordinary mid-boss.”

They had faced it before and were able to defeat it without much damage.

Hearing this, Amon could also feel at ease.

Eventually, Amon turned back toward the dungeon exit without hesitation, and the party headed toward the mid-boss.

“See you on the surface!”

“I’ll transfer the payment once we’re back on the surface!”

Responding to Amon’s words with a thumbs up, the party members closed the boss room door.

***

There were no particular problems on the way up to the surface.

In fact, it was much more pleasant than going down.

The path to the surface was very peaceful, except for being a bit eerie due to the absence of both monsters and people.

Thus, Amon was able to safely return to the surface.

The sun, which had been up when they entered, had long since disappeared.

‘I should head back soon.’

Sonia would be worried.

Amon headed to the Adventurer’s Guild building to report his return.

However, when he entered the building, the atmosphere in the guild was chaotic.

‘What’s happening?’

He pricked up his ears as he headed to the counter.

As he crossed through the crowd to reach the receptionist, he picked up fragmentary words.

Scavenger, human trafficking, dungeon.

He had a rough idea but couldn’t be certain.

Amon approached the employee who had handled his registration to get confirmation.

“On my way here, I kept hearing the word ‘scavenger.’ What’s going on?”

“Well… it seems scavenger activity has been discovered inside the dungeon. Based on the condition of the bodies, they’ve been active for about a week. The police have started investigating, but there’s no sign of the perpetrators leaving the dungeon yet.”

“Are these scavengers the ones involved in organ trafficking and human trafficking?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

After hearing her explanation, Amon unconsciously stroked his chin.

An overwhelming sense of anxiety dominated his thoughts.

‘No way, it can’t be.’

Yet he couldn’t shake off this anxiety.

Eventually, he delayed his return time a bit and investigated more about the scavengers.

After gathering information by slipping money to experienced adventurers and police officers, he was able to get a grasp on these scavengers.

‘They’re quite methodical.’

Considering the first disappearance, the scavengers had been active not just for the past week but for a month.

The fact that they hadn’t been discovered during that period meant they were professionals.

It meant they weren’t an unplanned gang leaving traces everywhere due to their desires, but rather an organization operating rationally and systematically.

Their method of operation was also understandable.

‘Parties planning to challenge mid-bosses were mainly the ones who disappeared.’

Honestly, it was a very clever approach.

Bosses have higher drop rates but are equally dangerous.

While the cause of a single party member’s death is often due to mobs or traps, the cause of an entire party’s annihilation is often due to bosses.

Therefore, even if a party challenging a mid-boss disappeared entirely, people wouldn’t notice.

After all, party annihilation is common in dungeons.

Besides avoiding suspicion, there was another advantage.

‘After a raid, parties are inevitably exhausted.’

The vanguard would be tired, and the rear would have used up most of their ammunition.

A weakened party could be targeted even by those who were normally weaker.

As his thoughts reached this point, Amon’s hand naturally moved toward his phone.

[Sorry, Sonia. I’ll be late today. Go ahead and have dinner.]

After sending the message, Amon turned off his phone.

His footsteps headed toward the entrance of the dungeon he had just left.

As he inserted a bill into the turnstile at the dungeon entrance, Amon cursed inwardly.

‘Damn, damn, damn…’

There are no coincidences in the world, and tragedies always have precursors.

It might be an overreaction, but the anxiety gripping his chest gave certainty to his intuition.

Gradually, his footsteps quickened.

‘Paul, Tori, Even, Hale…’

The faces of the kind party members came to mind.

If they had been unkind, Amon might have ignored them like ordinary city people.

There might have been some guilt, but he might have moved on, thinking it was unavoidable in this world.

But,

They were possessors of shining character, hard to find in this miserable world.

They gave Amon an experience that couldn’t be valued.

Yes, that’s worth risking his life for.

Having rationalized his actions, he headed deeper into the dungeon, tracing the path from memory.

‘If only it were an overreaction…’

If it were just an overreaction, he would gladly be teased by the party members.

He desperately hoped to update his dark history by saying it was just a wild goose chase.

A fork in the road appeared.

‘Fourth on the left!’

He sprinted in that direction without slowing down.

And the moment he entered the fork,

Boom!!

A deafening explosion was heard from that direction.

‘Damn it!’

An explosion sound common in dungeons.

But even that explosion sound seemed different to Amon.

‘Please, just be alive!’

Amon ran with all his might.