Chapter 47: Howling Darkness Part 2

A person with a clear goal cannot afford hesitation in their steps.

As if to prove this, there was no hesitation in the exploration of the Amon Party.

An unconditional, swift assault.

At this point, it was not the time to proceed carefully and steadily while seeking safety, as they never knew when the corporation might strike them from behind.

However, this did not mean they had lost their strength in caution.

“Careful, but fast.”

“Safe, but bold.”

It meant they had learned to act quickly and boldly within sufficient reasoning.

They were steadily heading down, about one floor every two days.

Only a moderately skilled mid-level party could manage such a pace.

Usually, when a party spent two days in a dungeon, they would rest for a day, so in reality, they were descending two floors every week.

In that situation, today was a rest day for the party.

However, even on the rest day, the party leader Amon was busy.

His role on a rest day was to purchase supplies, especially food, in advance.

***

At the 3-Dollar Mart near the dungeon, Amon, who was checking the meat at the butcher’s corner, spoke.

“Cassie. Was the ham we had last time okay?”

He asked as he pushed the cart next to Cassie.

Cassie’s response was negative.

“It tasted disgustingly bad. You said it was expensive.”

“Honestly, it wasn’t good. Should we get the one we bought the time before?”

“Sure.”

Amon entered [Ham 350X18] on the kiosk.

On the opposite side of the kiosk, a 3D printer began printing the ham in 350g portions.

‘Hexen Group really is impressive.’

High-speed 3D printing technology.

With just that technology, even butchers and small retail stores could easily be outcompeted.

No labour costs, minimal maintenance costs, and it could run 24 hours a day.

It was no wonder that ordinary distributors couldn’t compete.

‘But now it’s 3 Dollar Group.’

Hexen Group’s technology was taken over, and 3 Dollar Group converted all Hexen’s large marts into 3 Dollar Marts.

The butcher franchise had suddenly become a large distribution company.

Afterward, 3 Dollar Group installed meat-cutting 3D printers in all its 3 Dollar Marts, and the machine that made the ham in front of Amon was one of those.

For an additional fee, you could have the printer stamp out shapes with music playing, but almost no one used it except kids.

While the printing continued, a well-dressed doll above the 3D printer raised three fingers, showing a stern expression.

[3 DOLLARS!]

Amon chuckled and transferred $54 through his phone.

[THANK YOU!]

The robot extended its hand for a handshake.

Amon lightly slapped the robot’s hand and tossed the ham into the cart.

Originally, Amon’s 3 Dollar Group executive card would have been in his pocket, but since he came with Cassie today, he paid via transfer instead.

It seemed unnecessary to hide it, but in this world, people didn’t have a positive view of business people, so it was inevitable.

In this world, business people were synonymous with corrupt aristocrats.

Since companies had committed so many atrocities against civilians, simply revealing that someone was a businessperson or their family member could ruin relationships with others.

It was no wonder business people stuck with other business people, and non-businesspeople stuck with their kind.

Moreover, Amon’s party was being pursued by a corporation right now.

In such a situation, ‘if Amon pulled out his executive card?’

It wouldn’t be surprising if the party members suddenly declared they were severing ties with him.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Amon stopped his unnecessary thoughts and patted Cassie on the back.

Cassie pushed the cart.

Their cart was piled high with various items.

Not just food, but ammunition as well.

As expected of the Hex… no, 3 Dollar Group, they could buy everything they needed here.

Having purchased all the supplies they needed for the next exploration, the two packed them into boxes and loaded them into Cassie’s car.

“Thanks again. I would have no idea how to move all this without you.”

“No big deal. Get in the car.”

Cassie took the wheel.

Before getting in the passenger seat, Amon brushed the mud off his shoe soles.

Finally, Cassie’s car started moving.

Inside the car, Amon muttered.

“When will I ever buy a car like this…”

“Why? Don’t you have money?”

“Yep. I’m broke. Spent it all on gear and essentials.”

“Technically, some of the gear was stolen from the Hexen Group, and the essentials had been spent on past party medical bills, but either way, the expenses were high.”

At Amon’s words, Cassie chuckled.

“Just don’t push yourself too hard. If you need it, I’ll even lend you the car key.”

“I can’t keep doing this forever, can I? By the way, how did you even get this car? From your parents?”

“My dad bought it. He got it with the alimony when my mom got into that cult and they divorced.”

“Uh… Hmm…”

The Confucian Amon was left speechless.

Even if he wasn’t a Confucian, it wasn’t exactly an easy topic to respond to.

But Cassie, who had said it, didn’t seem to mind at all.

For her, the past was just the past.

“Well, at least it’s a good thing. My mom got the alimony before she gave it all to the cult.”

“That… I’m sorry.”

“No, no. You don’t have to hide the cross necklace. When I met you, I realized that priest was a strange guy. I used to think all religious people were weird, but now I don’t think it’s always like that.”

“You can talk all you want about that priest.”

“I’ve been doing just that.”

Cassie turned the steering wheel.

The car was heading toward Amon’s house.

As they got closer to Amon’s house, traffic piled up, and the car was barely moving.

In the routine traffic jam, maybe because she was bored, Cassie spoke up again.

“But don’t you do missionary work?”

“Missionary work sounds so grand. Well, I do it, but why?”

“I’ve never seen you encourage others about it.”

At her words, Amon thought about Paul’s party.

A party that truly believed in the goddess after being saved from death by Amon.

Remembering their faces, which he had seen at church this weekend, Amon turned the question back to Cassie.

“What do you think encouragement means?”

“Heaven, hell, and the like.”

“Yeah, I do it, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

“I really can’t imagine you doing that. So how do you do it?”

“Heaven isn’t something you force onto people. I need to become their heaven and approach them.”

“That sounds really cool.”

“It’s a line I’ve been working on for a few years.”

Amon, who said it casually, made Cassie chuckle as she continued driving.

***

Finally, the two arrived at Amon’s house.

“Leave the stuff in the car. See you tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

Amon got out of the passenger seat.

Watching Amon walk away, Cassie muttered.

“Heaven, huh…”

Then, she smiled softly before driving off.

Towards the bustling downtown area.

***

The next day, After completing their supplies, Amon’s party headed towards the dungeon as usual.

They fought a few battles, taking breaks in between, and carefully assessed their position.

Amon, the leader of the party, asked Henn, the dual-element mage who acted as the brains of the group.

“Where did we get to last time?”

“We reached the middle floors. We made it to the floors where elite ghouls appear.”

“How far is our best record from the top, according to our standards?”

“About ten floors. That party has never encountered a lich either.”

“Then, depending on the situation, the middle floors could actually be the upper floors.”

“That’s right.”

Henn didn’t outright deny it.

The party that had discovered the lich was unable to defeat it, and as a result, the lich had retreated deeper into the dungeon.

Since then, no one had seen the lich again, which led some to argue that the information about the lich being the dungeon boss could be false.

However, Amon’s party was certain that the boss was indeed a lich.

At least, according to the information they had, the lich was unmistakably the boss.

“Maybe the party that first discovered the lich was just a pawn of the corporation.”

“That’s not impossible.”

Amon and Henn continued to discuss possible scenarios.

While the two strategists were deep in thought, the rest of the team checked their own statuses.

[How was the ghoul just now?]

The mute sniper communicated in sign language along with telepathy.

Although telepathy made it seem redundant, it had become a habit.

Because of this, some of the party members had learned a few signs.

The buffalo tank, who had received the message, responded.

“What do you mean?”

[Did you feel like the bullets weren’t going in as easily as before?]

“You’re the only one using a gun here.”

[Oh, right.]

The sniper, a little embarrassed by the tank’s remark, proceeded to explain what he had felt during the recent battle.

[The bullets didn’t penetrate as well as I expected.]

“Well, that’s because we’re on a lower floor now.”

[That’s not it. The ghoul had skin that seemed resistant to bullets.]

“…Explain further.”

[Maybe it’s because the ghouls are faster, but even considering we’re on a lower floor, the bullets didn’t seem effective. It might be my imagination, but the ghouls seemed to be targeting my gun instead of me.]

The buffalo tank’s eyes narrowed at her words.

While most parties might overlook something like this, Amon’s party, which prided itself on caution, did not ignore the detail.

“Leader. Excuse me, but I have something to say.”

The tank asked for permission to interrupt Amon and Henn’s discussion.

Amon, who had been writing something down, looked up.

“What’s going on?”

“The ghoul earlier… According to Bens, the bullets didn’t seem to be working. It might be her imagination, but she believes the ghouls were targeting her gun specifically.”

Amon and Henn’s faces darkened at the information.

For a moment, a heavy silence fell between the three of them.

Amon sent the tank back to the others, and had a brief discussion with Henn.

Then, he tore off a piece of paper, wrote something down, and called the party together.

“What’s going on?”

Noticing the tense atmosphere, Cassie asked.

Amon and Henn maintained their serious expressions as they shared the sniper’s words with the group.

Based on her report, they proposed a theory.

“Maybe the boss has set up specific gimmicks in each floor to destroy certain equipment.”

If that was the case, the difficulty of clearing the dungeon would rise exponentially.

For example, if the floor was filled with ghouls specialized in destroying firearms, and the next floor was filled with ghouls specialized in destroying swords, what would happen?

By the next floor, there would likely be very few humans left with proper weapons.

Henn added to Amon’s speculation.

“Depending on the situation, there may be entire floors designed to neutralize certain roles. No, it’s more likely to be that way.”

The mage, thinking like a lich, added that if he were the lich, he would have set it up this way.

The party’s members also wore grim expressions.

They couldn’t deny the possibility.

“If this is true, it makes sense why this dungeon hasn’t been cleared so far…”

[If they filter one party member out per floor, no one would ever reach the lich.]

“The previous parties never shared information. They would have been stuck at certain floors, so they probably didn’t know about this. Or maybe they did and just didn’t share it. I believe the latter is more likely,” Amon continued.

Finally, Cassie clicked her tongue in frustration.

This wasn’t good news.

As a party on a mission to clear the dungeon, the thought of getting bogged down was unacceptable.

So, Amon made a suggestion.

“Today, let’s break the rule just once and explore one floor below.”

Breaking the rule of only advancing one floor a day was against their usual safety protocols, but Amon felt there was something more important to confirm.

“If monsters like that appear on the next floor, we’ll need to prepare quickly.”

Amon suggested they engage in one battle on the next floor and then retreat.

Rushing down to the next floor without exploring and adapting would be reckless.

However, the party didn’t scold Amon for breaking the rule.

If the ominous feeling turned out to be true, confirming it once would be much wiser than blindly continuing with their original plan.

Especially since they were in a position of having the luxury of time right now.

After exchanging looks, Cassie spoke up.

“Alright. Let’s check it out.”

“Thanks. But make sure to prepare properly and be ready to retreat immediately.”

The party then descended to the next floor.

***

What they found there was…

“Be careful, Torso! Those slimes have substances that can disable cyberware!”

These slimes were specialized in neutralizing cyberware, particularly effective against the tank who had undergone cybernetic enhancements.

Luckily, thanks to Amon and Cassie, who hadn’t received cybernetic treatment, the slimes were quickly dealt with.

However, they couldn’t celebrate their victory.

More slimes were closing in to surround them.

“Prepare to retreat immediately.”

At Amon’s command, the party quickly made their way back to the surface.

They reached the surface safely, having done little more than a quick check of the new floor.

The sun was still high in the sky, but Amon’s party didn’t regret their brief exploration.

After all, life was more precious than money.

Amon addressed the group.

“Good job on the exploration today. Tomorrow, let’s hold a strategy meeting and skip the dungeon for a day.”

No one disagreed.

With a promise to meet at Amon’s training ground the next day, the party disbanded.