Chapter 46

“What do we do, what do we do about our Amon!”

The day I rushed to the hospital after dealing with the Cleaners, my soles burning.

Sonia, who had come after receiving the news, wailed loudly in the private room.

Seeing his lover cry, the person in question swallowed his laughter back down his throat.

Thanks to his crying lover, Amon regained his composure and comforted her, saying,

“I’m really fine. It’s not as dangerous as last time.”

“But the doctor said you might never walk again!”

“That’s just them covering their backs in case something happens later. Don’t worry, it won’t come to that.”

“But… but…”

Her reaction was a bit different from when he had burned his side last time.

Back then, he had tried to handle it alone, keeping it a secret from Sonia, which led to trouble. But this time, he got hurt while working, so the feeling was inevitably different.

‘You knew getting hurt was part of the mercenary job anyway.’

Of course, he didn’t say that out loud.

It wasn’t exactly the right thing to say to a worried lover.

While Sonia’s tears soaked the hospital gown, all Amon could do was lend her his warmth to remind her he was still alive.

Feeling her soft hair, he let time do its work.

Only after she had calmed down did Amon explain what had happened in the dungeon.

Finding the Cleaners, them attacking first, and him pushing himself a bit too hard to finish them off.

“Did you really have to do that?”

Sonia interrupted.

Of course, logically, she understood.

This world is harsh, grudges are complicated, and the fewer threats, the better.

In a world where once you make an enemy, you can’t guarantee safety until one of you is in the grave, Amon’s actions weren’t entirely wrong.

In fact, logically speaking, taking a treatable injury to finish things decisively was the wise choice.

But that’s logic.

Emotions can’t be understood logically, so Amon could only respond with a bitter smile.

Amon comforted Sonia again and continued his story.

“I think I got tangled up in something shady again.”

“Again?”

“Again.”

Sonia’s eyes narrowed.

Realizing the meaning behind her gaze, Amon raised both hands and said,

“That’s why I’m telling you this time.”

“You’re not going alone, right?”

“I’ll let you know if I need you. Until then, focus on your studies since it’s not certain yet.”

“If that’s the case.”

With that, Sonia drew the curtains.

Waving her finger to create a silence barrier, she asked,

“So. What are you tangled up in this time?”

“I don’t know.”

By the time Amon tried to secure evidence, most of it had already been burned.

Figuring out who hired those Cleaners and what data was left at the scene was extremely difficult.

“But our mage is quite capable. They can create information from fragmented words.”

When Amon added a bit of his past-life knowledge to the Bisexual Mage’s restoration abilities, information started pouring out.

Thanks to that, although it might be speculation, highly probable information was derived.

“It’s related to the birth of the dungeon we were in.”

“Uh… Wodoom, was it?”

“Right.”

<Howling Darkness>

Shortened to Wodoom.

The story of Wodoom’s birth is somewhat widely known.

Before it became a dungeon, the company was a major corporation selling magic engravings and magical tools.

The research that led to their downfall was about magic engravings.

The content of that research was very famous.

So famous that even Sonia knew about the magic engraving research that destroyed the company.

“They got greedy, trying to create an undead army with magic engravings, and that’s what led to their downfall.”

“Right. They embedded spyware in seemingly ordinary magic engravings that would turn the user into an undead loyal to the company upon death.”

“Then the chairman and the research director backstabbed each other, leading to mutual destruction.”

Up to this point, the story was too well-known.

Because it was all caught on CCTV in the company’s basement.

But the problem was what happened afterward.

Even within the silence barrier, Sonia whispered as if someone might overhear.

“You’re saying you’re involved in the circumstances of the Lich’s birth?”

“Right.”

The reason for the company’s downfall was already public knowledge.

But the sudden appearance of a Lich and the company turning into a dungeon had no information available.

People speculated that the deceased chairman or research director might have resurrected using their own engravings, but without evidence, they couldn’t be sure.

The information Watson brought this time was about the circumstances of the Lich’s birth.

“The Lich… was the result of sabotage.”

When a company falls, hyenas swarm the abandoned company.

But unfortunately, if the company doesn’t become a dungeon, it doesn’t fall under the Dungeon Special Law.

The technology and information of a normally (?) fallen company are auctioned off and bought by other companies.

The problem is, those are all costs.

So the company behind this incident devised a method.

“They used the undead transformation technology to turn someone into an undead and turned that company into a dungeon. That way, they could take the technology for free under the Dungeon Special Law.”

“Then the company using that technology is the culprit, right?”

Sonia’s words were correct.

But Amon couldn’t have not thought of that.

“The thing is… there are too many companies.”

“Aha.”

Before its downfall, the company was quite large, so there were many magical technologies to exploit.

Some technologies were sold to environmental companies, others were used by military contractors.

Because scavengers ransacked the company and sold the technology everywhere, there were 137 suspect companies.

“What about the possibility that the first company to use the technology is the culprit?”

“If I were a major company chairman, I would deliberately delay using the technology.”

“That makes sense.”

Amon finished his explanation.

Only then did all the pieces fit together.

The Cleaners had every reason to be sensitive.

Taking technology from a company turned into a dungeon is different from taking technology from a normally collapsed company.

Depending on the situation, they could face the hammer of the law, which could shake the company’s existence.

“If this gets out, rival companies will tear them apart.”

In a world where the law is ineffective, that’s from the commoner’s perspective.

From a company’s perspective, the law is both a shield to legally block opponents and a sword to strike them.

At least in corporate battles, the law functions properly.

So, whoever the mastermind behind this incident is, if this fact gets out, rival companies will happily sue.

Depending on the lawsuit’s outcome, they could lose their monopolized technology or be hit with fines that could shake the company.

That’s why they needed to destroy the evidence at all costs.

“I understand.”

Sonia tapped Amon’s bed with her finger.

“Why do you keep getting involved in these things?”

“Keep? It’s only been twice.”

“Ordinary people don’t get involved in trouble like this even once, let alone twice, especially with major companies.”

“…”

Amon kept his mouth shut.

Strictly speaking, many people get involved once.

They just don’t experience a second time, disappearing without a trace after the first.

Amon was just special enough to experience the privilege (?) of a second time.

But that just means he’s not ordinary, so Sonia’s conclusion was correct.

Amon flinched at Sonia’s sigh.

“So, you’re really not going alone this time, right?”

“Right. I promise. If I need you, I’ll definitely call.”

“That’s all I need.”

There’s no option for compromise.

As experienced with the Hixen Group, corporations are tenacious.

If it’s not cost-effective, corporations might quietly overlook the damage caused by individuals, but the incidents Amon and Sonia got involved in couldn’t be settled with a calculator.

It was either the individual dying or the corporation falling.

With no intention of sitting still to die and no reason to, the two immediately made their next plan.

“So, do you have a plan? Like last time?”

“Well… it’s not much of a plan. We need to gather information first. Before they come to attack us.”

“How about we expose this to the media before they attack us?”

“If we expose this without focusing, we’ll turn all the corporations against us.”

As mentioned earlier, the technology from <Wodoom> is spread across many companies.

But exposing this without pinpointing one company?

We could be beaten by all the companies using that technology.

“We need to make it one company’s responsibility. That way, other companies will side with us.”

At least if we focus on one, other companies can claim ignorance.

In fact, if the mastermind company takes the blame and falls, other companies can play the innocent victims and actively help.

Sonia nodded.

“I understand. Then, as you said, the key is to find out who’s behind it. How do you plan to get the information?”

“By asking.”

“Who.”

“Who else?”

Amon showed Sonia the wiki page about Wodoom’s boss, the Lich, on his phone.

“Wouldn’t it be best to ask the person directly?”

***

A few days later, Amon, fully recovered, returned to the party.

The party members welcomed their leader’s recovery.

“Sorry. You didn’t enter the dungeon while I was gone, did you? You didn’t have to.”

“We couldn’t. What if we ran into Cleaners or something without you?”

The Water Buffalo Tanker’s reply made Amon chuckle.

Every member of this party had experienced being screwed over, so safety was their top priority.

Barbaric mercenaries or explorers might call them cowards, but Amon called it wisdom.

“But you must not have made any money while I was gone.”

[Don’t worry about that.]

The Mute Sniper, now familiar, spoke through the Tanker’s telepathy.

[We took on some light requests among ourselves.]

“Thanks to that, our coordination got smoother. We even created a combo move, I’ll show you later.”

The Bisexual Mage chattered beside the Sniper.

The Ogre silently gave a thumbs up.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Amon unknowingly smiled.

Cash approached from behind and slung her arm over Amon’s shoulder.

“So, Leader. What’s our goal? You said there’s a way to not get our necks chopped by those ‘masterminds’?”

Amon looked around at the party members.

No one ran away.

Skipping the part about respecting their will and giving them a chance to run, he immediately explained the plan.

It wasn’t anything grand.

“Before they find out about us and kill us, we’ll raid the dungeon first.”

Amon’s words elicited varied reactions from the party members.

“Wow. This is, behind us corporations, in front of us a Lich.”

[Perfect. A glorious death or a muddy life.]

“Vox! I’m going to live gloriously!”

“They say a living dog is more glorious than a dead lion. So, if we survive, isn’t that glorious?”

No one was scared.

They were already brimming with confidence.

Finally, Cash, still arm in arm with Amon, said,

“Life has become too eventful since I met you.”

“Am I a plague god?”

“A plague god?”

“There’s an expression like that in the East.”

“Japan?”

“Joseon. Wait, does Japan have it too?”

While making such trivial talk, the party began checking their equipment.

Speedrunning the Howling Darkness.

Amon’s heart began to race at the appearance of new content.

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