Chapter 49

Kieeek!

Sssshhhhk.

The zombie spider, which had been charging forward while screaming, split in half, spraying yellow fluid.

The spider twitched a few times before collapsing and ceasing to move.

Amon shook off his sword, just in case any fluid had gotten on it, and sheathed it again.

“Be careful not to step on the fluid.”

Those who used Magic Tattoos carefully crossed the corridor, avoiding the spider’s fluid, while others simply stepped over it.

The dungeon raid centered around Amon began the day after he confessed his Divine Power.

The advantage of specialized mobs is their absolute influence within their class.

The downside is that they become infinitely weaker against non-specialized opponents.

Thanks to this, Amon’s dungeon raid proceeded smoothly.

Undead specialized in Divine Power couldn’t even exist in the first place.

Sssshhhhk.

Amon effortlessly sliced through the undead as if cutting butter with a hot knife.

The party members watched his unstoppable rampage with mixed feelings.

“Do we even need to be here?”

[We’re just baggage carriers, aren’t we?]

The others couldn’t refute the words of the Water Buffalo Tanker and the Mute Sniper.

Of course, they weren’t just lazing around.

They were doing their part against the undead they could handle.

But when specialized mobs appeared, they felt useless.

[Still, I want to do something…]

The Mute Sniper grew gloomy every time an enemy immune to bullets appeared.

But since bullets were also consumables, she and the Ogre Heavy Weapons Soldier were sidelined during those battles.

A selfish party might have been happy to save on bullets, but this kind-hearted party wasn’t like that.

After each battle, the party members treated Amon like a lord, watching his every move.

“Aren’t you thirsty? We have water.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m a bit peckish… but save the rations.”

The Bisexual Mage’s offer was appreciated but declined.

Although the mage could create drinking water, Magic Power was still a resource, and the rations… well, that went without saying.

In the atmosphere of being treated like a lord, Amon awkwardly spoke up.

“Don’t treat me like this. You’re all doing great.”

But Cash, who had been idle this time, wasn’t convinced by Amon’s consolation.

“But you’re the one carrying the burden.”

“It’s not a burden. Vox helped with the spider just now.”

Vox chimed in.

“I was useless in the last battle too!”

“Vox. I’m defending you, don’t make it harder.”

“As an ogre, I have my pride! Cash is right, I’m useless.”

“Stop saying that. I’d have died long ago without you.”

As Amon said, even he couldn’t handle overwhelming numbers alone.

Without the support of his comrades, he would have been crushed and died screaming.

Moreover, as they went deeper, specialized undead began to appear.

It was a dungeon that required everyone to do their part to succeed.

“Alright! Enough with the self-deprecation! Let’s move on!”

Amon urged the party, saying that fighting over this was as ridiculous as it gets.

The party immediately resumed the raid.

From then on, the party encountered numerous specialized undead.

Each party member handled their assigned undead well, and Amon swept through the undead with his unmatched power.

When they got hungry during the battles, they filled their stomachs with rations, and when fatigue built up, they returned to the surface, repeating the cycle.

Before they knew it, the party had reached the highest officially reported raid floor.

“So this is El Dorado.”

The Water Buffalo Tanker marveled at the undiscovered technology while exploring the uncharted floor.

As expected of a magic technology company, they found unreported technology.

Not quite regeneration, but a Magic Engraving that healed critical wounds during battle.

Since its circuit design differed from those on the market, it could be patented.

Selling this technology would make them rich overnight, and applying it to themselves would turn them into renowned mercenaries.

Usually, such discoveries would lead to disputes over distribution, often tearing parties apart.

But Amon’s party remained calm.

“The Party Leader should decide.”

[That’s right, that’s right.]

Not just the Water Buffalo Tanker and the Sniper, but the others agreed as well.

However, Amon postponed the distribution issue.

“Right now, the surface world doesn’t know we’re the leading party. Let’s not draw attention and become corporate targets. We’ll deal with the Lich first.”

The party agreed with Amon’s words and set aside the discussion about the Magic Tattoo technology.

From then on, the party discovered several more technologies.

According to the Bisexual Mage’s calculations, they were worth roughly 8 million dollars.

But even then, Amon’s party remained harmonious.

“Our Party Leader contributed the most. It’s only right.”

Even the Bisexual Mage, who best understood the value of the Magic Tattoo, spoke so, showing how peaceful the party was.

Of course, they were human too.

Seeing valuable items in front of them stirred greed and the desire to claim them for themselves.

But they resisted this temptation because of their strong bond and the fact that the dungeon raid wasn’t over yet.

They would continue raiding the dungeon, and if they fell out with Amon now, it would be like killing the golden goose.

So they suppressed their greed, balancing camaraderie on one shoulder and rationality on the other.

*

Two months into the dungeon raid, amidst the twisted energy bars of the underworld.

Amon, breaking through the uncharted floors, raised a question.

“But are these technologies safe?”

The company had a history of turning people into undead with Magic Engravings.

There was a good chance the technologies here were tainted.

“Then let’s sell them to a corporation and have them check.”

The Bisexual Mage responded to Amon’s question.

It was a reasonable thought.

But that was assuming the corporation was benevolent.

“What if they kill us and take the zombification technology for themselves?”

“Ah…”

The mage was at a loss for words at Amon’s point.

The party members listening chuckled.

It wasn’t a serious discussion anyway.

Since they hadn’t decided whether to sell the engravings or use them themselves, it was half-joking.

Exchanging such trivial jokes, the party pressed on.

They defeated the now-familiar specialized undead, advancing relentlessly toward the Lich.

But that day was slightly different.

At the end of a seemingly empty corridor.

Thud thud.

Cash tapped the intact wall with her blade and said.

“Hey, this door is weird.”

Her words puzzled everyone.

Amon couldn’t sense anything unusual about the wall.

“A door? Isn’t it just a wall?”

Cash, as if waiting for this, smiled triumphantly and said.

“No. This is a technology commonly used in corporate labs. If you push this part like this—”

Creeeak—

The wall slid into another wall.

A steel door with a card key slot appeared on the other side.

“Ta-da~”

Cash spread her arms, revealing the steel door.

But contrary to her expectations, the party’s reaction was lukewarm.

“Wow.”

“Good job.”

Clap clap.

The party members applauded.

They knew she did well, but seeing her so proud made them want to tease her.

“Tch.”

Only when she pouted did the party start praising her properly.

“Cash, you’re the best.”

[As expected of our sub-leader.]

“Cash is way better than Vox!”

“Cash, you’re amazing.”

In the world of party praise, Cash regained her confidence.

Meanwhile, Amon inspected the steel door.

“So, Cash. How do we open this?”

“You can see it. You need a card key.”

“Do we have one?”

“Of course not.”

“Seeing you find it by pushing the wall, I thought we might.”

“I only found out by accident. Steel doors need to be dealt with head-on.”

But Amon was skeptical of her words.

Thud thud.

He knocked on the door a few times and nodded.

“Can we do it?”

“?”

“Vox. You know how to make thermite, right?”

“I have the recipe memorized.”

“Then plug some thermite here and here.”

Only then did the party realize what Amon was planning.

The ogre, the party’s firepower specialist and a heavy firepower enthusiast, grinned.

“How much do we need?”

“As much as possible.”

Amon muttered, recalling a soldier from his past life who said,

“Power is light and wisdom.”

The ogre agreed and eagerly set up all the explosives he had on the door’s hinges.

Once the setup was complete, the party members stepped back from the door.

“Fire in the hole!”

Sssss— BOOM!

The bunker door was blown off.

Immediately after, as the party prepared to rush in,

Amon suddenly charged into the bunker.

“Eyaaaahhh!!!”

None of the party members could understand Amon’s sudden burst.

***

Deepest part of the dungeon.

Inside the bunker of the now-ruined company, the Lich sipped from a teacup.

Glug.

Thick blood moistened his lips.

His neck and chest, now just dried skin, moved with a gulping sound.

Though a Lich didn’t need to eat, he indulged in this pastime to remember the sensations of his human days.

Moreover, it was somewhat necessary.

Storing blood and organ manipulations in his stomach was useful for later necromancy.

“Hmm…”

The Lich leisurely piled up the ingredients in his stomach while watching the CCTV screen.

Most of the CCTV cameras were broken.

In a dungeon filled with bullets and explosions, it was impossible to maintain them.

Even without intruders, the uncultured undead often destroyed them, leaving only one functioning CCTV.

The CCTV monitored the door leading to the Lich’s bunker.

If a ‘headquarters’ executive came knocking periodically, he would open it, but since the executive had recently visited, there was no need to watch.

Still, he kept staring at the CCTV because it was the only thing to do in this underground.

“Really, there’s nothing to do.”

In the early days of the dungeon, there was plenty to do.

He had to show himself outside the boss room to prove it was a dungeon,

set traps and monsters, and tirelessly create undead from the corpses sent by headquarters.

‘Decades ago, I was so busy.’

But once the dungeon stabilized, there was nothing left to do.

Explorers provided the corpses, and automatic undead circuits were installed throughout the dungeon, so there was no need to go up.

The only time he left the bunker was to greet executives from headquarters.

‘Maybe no explorers will come…’

Bored, the Lich briefly entertained the thought but quickly dismissed it.

This dungeon was meticulously crafted by headquarters and the Lich.

The upper floors were ordinary undead dungeons, but the deeper you went, the more impossible it became to raid.

Filled with mobs of extreme specialties, each floor was designed to eliminate at least one explorer.

Headquarters had run hundreds of simulations, and it was impossible for explorers to pass.

Even if headquarters sent a ninja squad, they could force their way through but would suffer heavy losses, and such powerful individuals wouldn’t be explorers in the first place.

Moreover, reaching the final floor was a problem.

The bunker was hard enough to reach, but a secret wall made it even harder to find.

Only company personnel could easily spot it.

‘Still, if explorers occasionally visit… Ah, what am I thinking.’

The dungeon was meant to be unbreakable.

For both the Lich and headquarters, it was better if explorers never found the bunker.

Besides—

‘If they find it, I’m dead.’

Frankly, the well-prepared undead hordes in the lower floors were stronger than the Lich.

A well-organized group is far more troublesome than an overwhelmingly powerful individual.

So if someone managed to reach the Lich, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Thinking this, the Lich saw a group appear on the CCTV screen.

‘Huh?’

Speak of the devil, a group of explorers had arrived.

The Lich wiped away non-existent cold sweat and contacted headquarters.

Meanwhile, he kept an eye on the party in the corner of his vision.

When the party’s woman opened the wall, the Lich’s hands moved faster.

Just before the Lich’s message reached headquarters.

Sssss—

The sound of something burning.

BOOM!

The bunker door was blown off.

Immediately after, a shout came from the other side.

“Eyaaaahhh!!!”

A dagger flew and severed the Lich’s wrist.

“Ahhh!”

Though his body shouldn’t feel pain.

The burning pain made the Lich scream involuntarily.

In that moment, Amon charged into the bunker, pinned the Lich to the chair with his sword through the shoulders and thighs, and stomped on his chest.

“Yeah. I’ve been waiting for this, you corpse.”

Though they had never met, Amon’s eyes gleamed with killing intent.

With his Divine Power-infused foot branding the Lich’s chest, Amon spoke.

“I’ve been annoyed since I saw corpses forming ranks. I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Who— who are you—”

“My mother said, ‘Those who defile rest shall be beheaded and hung upside down in the square.'”

“Ah— ahhh!!”

Amon began branding the Lich’s limbs without letting him speak.

Cash, watching from behind, muttered.

“Wow, how did he hide this personality until now?”

At least Cash knew about Amon’s temper, but the others didn’t.

“Gyaaaahhh!”

The bunker was filled with the Lich’s screams.

“Let’s be careful with the term ‘Mystic Power’ from now on.”

An unspoken agreement formed among Amon’s party members.

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