Chapter 48

The next day.

The Amon party, having returned to the surface, gathered at the training ground to discuss the dungeon.

After clearing the training equipment to the side, while Amon brought out a chalkboard, the party members curiously looked around Amon’s training ground.

“Wow. Our party leader must really be rich. Even at my university, only the rich kids could rent out places like this.”

Ogre Heavy Weapons Soldier Vox muttered.

Though it was just a private training ground the size of a tennis court with no special facilities, renting such a place still cost a significant amount.

A training ground wasn’t just an open space; it was a place where no one could spy on your training process.

Of course, a mercenary’s income could cover renting such a facility.

But since mercenary income was unpredictable, only those with stable earnings could afford it.

“Renting a place like this must cost a fortune. Do you have another source of income?”

The Water Buffalo Tanker rubbed his chin in admiration.

Just then, Amon, who had brought the chalkboard, overheard and replied.

“No comment.”

Thanks to the income from mercenary work during downtime and the royalties that came in effortlessly, renting this facility wasn’t much of a burden.

Amon’s comrades looked at him with envy.

[I think I’ve figured out the secret to the party leader’s strength. It’s true that those with solid initial capital grow faster.]

The Mute Sniper nodded and said.

Not all mercenaries were like this, but those whose bodies were their resources were monsters of ambition.

They naturally desired a place to train or conduct research.

But lacking the funds, they could only practice shooting at relatively cheap ranges.

Of course, such places couldn’t compare to a proper training ground for real combat practice.

“I wish I had a place like this too, like Amon.”

The mercenary mage said enviously.

Amidst the envy of his party members, Amon casually remarked.

“You can come here to train on your days off. Cash and I only use half of it anyway.”

“…Huh?”

“Didn’t you know? Cash has been renting it out to train together.”

Cash nodded beside Amon.

The other comrades looked back and forth between her and Amon in surprise.

Their representative, the Water Buffalo Tanker, asked again.

“Is that really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Let’s stop talking about the training ground and focus on the dungeon.”

“Huh? Oh… right.”

The party members, who had unexpectedly received permission to use the training ground, felt awkward but couldn’t hide their smiles.

The strategy meeting began in a slightly excited atmosphere, but once the dungeon discussion started, everyone focused on the chalkboard.

Amon drew a circle around the B1 mark on the board.

“We’ll name the floor where we first detected the anomaly as B1.”

The anomaly Amon’s party detected was that the dungeon had started deploying monsters with specific weapon or class affinities.

The previous floors were similar to other dungeons, so they were labeled A1 to A13, and from here on, they would use the B designation.

“The ghouls we encountered on B1 seemed specialized in neutralizing snipers.”

Their bullet-resistant skin, ability to climb walls, and near-silent movement made them dangerous.

Moreover, their camouflage in the dungeon’s darkness and their undead nature made them undetectable by thermal imaging.

If Amon’s sniper hadn’t been equipped with magic-detecting eyes, they might have been ambushed and wiped out instantly.

[Thinking about it, it was strange. Usually, undead charge at the frontlines immediately. But those ghouls seemed to wait until our party passed by.]

The Mute Sniper rubbed her arms as if recalling the chilling memory.

The Water Buffalo Tanker patted her back.

Amon continued to explain the next floor.

“We didn’t fully engage, but B2 had slimes.”

“Yeah. Black slimes that absorb electricity. They seemed designed to counter tanks who have to fight them directly.”

“Seeing how they explode upon death, even the frontline could get caught in it.”

“Then the exploration would fail.”

The Bisexual Mage sighed deeply.

With the sniper neutralized on the upper floor and cyberware on the next, if each floor continued to disable one member, conquering the dungeon would be impossible.

This dungeon, with its layered filtering system, was exhausting in many ways.

And the problem didn’t end there.

“There’s no guarantee that the monsters from the upper floors won’t appear on the lower ones.”

“In fact, it’s highly likely.”

Amon’s statement was met with agreement from Cash.

Assuming that specialized monsters accumulate as you descend, you’d have to adjust your formation with each battle.

The resulting fatigue was just a bonus.

“The placement is truly malicious.”

The Ogre Heavy Weapons Soldier grumbled.

In Amon’s words, it was a dungeon that played dirty.

“Perhaps the corporation behind the boss proposed this arrangement.”

[Probably.]

The Bisexual Mage and the Mute Sniper sighed deeply.

But sighing wouldn’t change anything.

They stopped complaining and began formulating a strategy based on the information they had.

“First, Cash and I will handle the B1 ghouls.”

The Water Buffalo Tanker had to protect the rear, so he couldn’t.

The mage lacked firepower and couldn’t react quickly enough to the ghouls’ ambushes due to chanting time.

Naturally, Amon and Cash, who wielded swords and spears, would take on the ghouls.

“Fortunately, they’re only resistant to bullets. Swords cut through them easily.”

Being specialized against a certain class meant they were weak against others.

The ghouls, specialized against snipers with high bullet resistance and stealth, were extremely vulnerable to frontline fighters.

Amon and Cash could handle them without much difficulty.

“Next, the electricity-absorbing slimes on B2. I’ll take care of those too.”

Amon had no mechanical enhancements, so he was safe even if showered by slimes.

Cash’s spear was mechanical, making it awkward to attack the slimes.

The party prepared for various scenarios.

It might seem excessive, but it was better to be prepared.

Undead specialized in genetic procedures, undead specialized in magic engravings, undead specialized against frontline fighters, and so on.

They discussed how to handle each possibility.

As they continued, they noticed something strange.

“Doesn’t the party leader seem capable of handling most of these?”

The Water Buffalo Tanker pointed it out, and the others realized it too.

Except for suicide bombers, Amon could handle most specialized undead.

The party’s gaze turned to Amon.

“Have you undergone any mechanical enhancement procedures?”

The Water Buffalo Tanker asked, and Amon shook his head.

[What about magic engravings?]

The Mute Sniper asked, and Amon shook his head again.

“Have you undergone any genetic modification procedures?”

The Ogre Heavy Weapons Soldier asked, and Amon nodded.

“Then, are you saying you’ve achieved this level with just essence?”

The Bisexual Mage asked, and Amon nodded again.

The party members were stunned.

Seeing their expressions, Cash chimed in.

“See? I told you Amon must have some divine bloodline.”

Cash poked Amon’s side playfully.

Amon grimaced and replied.

“No, I’m human.”

“Then explain how a human with just essence, and Sky Step at that, can achieve this level.”

“Because I possess divine power.”

“…Huh?”

Amon’s bombshell statement left Cash frozen in place.

Not just Cash, but the entire party was stunned.

While everyone doubted their ears, Amon confirmed his statement.

“I can use divine power. My enhanced physical abilities are part of it.”

“WHAT!?”

The party’s shock echoed through the training ground.

***

After Amon’s divine power reveal and a bit of commotion, the party calmed down.

Amon’s reason for revealing it was simple.

They were trustworthy enough now.

It didn’t make sense to keep secrets from people he’d be risking his life with, so he decided to come clean.

Amon seemed satisfied with his decision.

But the ones who had just learned the truth were still in a daze.

Cash, who adapted the quickest, asked.

“Why are you telling us this now?”

“Is there a better time?”

“Well… no, I guess not.”

Strictly speaking, the party had never had such a private conversation before.

They lacked the place and the timing had always been awkward.

Eventually, the party members began to accept that Amon was a divine power wielder.

[It means the party leader trusts us that much.]

The Mute Sniper’s telepathy resonated with everyone.

Surprisingly, they accepted it rather easily.

After all, each party member had their own significant backstory.

The Water Buffalo Tanker, a veteran of the European wars.

The Mute Sniper, formerly of a foreign intelligence agency.

The Ogre Heavy Weapons Soldier, a former military contractor researcher.

The Bisexual Mage, a former corporate academy instructor.

Each had their own compelling reasons, so accepting Amon’s revelation didn’t take long.

They had already shared their pasts in the dungeon or over meals, and now it was Amon’s turn.

“Then let’s reorganize our formation around Amon. No matter how meticulous the lich is, it couldn’t have prepared for a divine power wielder…”

“Divine power.”

“Huh?”

“Please call it divine power, not mystic power, in front of me.”

Amon fiddled with the cross around his neck as he spoke.

Now that they were comrades, he asked for their ‘respect.’

The Bisexual Mage, who was leading the meeting, awkwardly corrected herself.

“No matter how meticulous the lich is, it couldn’t have prepared for a divine… I mean, divine power wielder. Undead are naturally weak against divine power.”

“Then let’s reorganize around me. What about supplies?”

“Let’s minimize the volume… I think we can replace them with energy bars I made…”

The party members paled at the Bisexual Mage’s words.

The Bisexual Mage’s energy bars.

The party knew them all too well.

“You want us to eat that? That feed block?”

Amon called it a feed block.

“I’m a beastman, not a livestock. Even compressed fodder would be better than that.”

The beastman tanker also recoiled.

The other members unanimously rejected the Bisexual Mage’s energy bars.

The Bisexual Mage’s energy bars.

A cursed food that the comrades had tried once and never again.

But despite their rejection, the Bisexual Mage’s single sentence silenced them.

“Do you have any other ideas?”

“…”

No one could answer.

Ultimately, the mage’s suggestion was adopted.

Some called it energy bars, others feed blocks, and others compressed fodder. As the food was chosen, the party’s expressions soured.

Regardless, the mage pulled out the energy bars from her bag.

“Let’s try them before we descend. If you can eat them here, you can eat them down there too.”

The party looked at the plastic-wrapped energy blocks before them, recalling the recipe.

Genetically modified cereal, insect-based artificial meat ham, fake eggs mixed as a base, with fruits added for vitamins and minerals, and a bit of vegetables for fiber.

A pinch of salt and a dash of caffeine for energy enhancement completed the twisted abyss energy bar.

For reference, the finished energy bars were vacuum freeze-dried for sterilization.

Amon picked up the abyssal energy bar with his fingers and grumbled.

“Damn. Who the hell came up with this?”

“Don’t know. Someone made it when I was a grad student at the academy.”

“Then why are you still making it?”

“Force of habit, I guess. It definitely reduces the load.”

“Sigh…”

Amon took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and put the energy bar in his mouth.

A few seconds later.

“Pfft!”

He spat the bar back into the bag.

The other members, who had been watching nervously, also took their turns.

The results were…

“Ugh!”

Not much different.

Even for cyberpunk residents accustomed to sawdust-like chicken skewers and plastic-tasting fake boiled eggs, the Bisexual Mage’s energy bars were on another level.

This was cursed food.

“You’ll get used to it if you keep eating.”

The Bisexual Mage nonchalantly took a bite.

She then shared various tips, but advice from someone with ruined taste buds wasn’t very helpful.

It wasn’t until Amon discovered that boiling the bars with water and seasoning made them somewhat edible that they were officially adopted as the party’s rations.

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