Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 102
Only Noblemtl
Terragula.
The name of a giant mole that appears from the 24th floor of the primeval forest. Because of its presence, all bases are gathered on the 23rd floor.
Terragula dug like crazy, moving freely several meters underground, unlike explorers who could only dig a meter deep in the primeval forest.
You might be worried that you won’t be able to catch him due to terrain changes that only apply to explorers, but you don’t have to be.
Because all the creatures and monsters that appear in the labyrinth want to kill the explorer. Even if the explorer runs away, they will chase him to the end as long as he is within their range of perception.
Alan, to be precise, the sensors built into the power suit detected a slight vibration. There was also a faint sound like a pickaxe hitting a rock.
“There’s something underground. Expected encounter time 10 seconds.”
“Terragula. Using terrain features like rocks and trees.”
10 seconds is a very short time, and its sudden appearance may feel unreasonable.
But Taylor thought it was because he had experienced it all his life, and Shiva responded calmly thanks to his monkish mental training.
Ten seconds had passed after just a few breaths and blinks. Contrary to expectations, Terragula only circled around underground and did not reveal himself.
“It’s an erosion attack. Get out of here quickly!”
Before Taylor could finish shouting, Alan, Shiva, and the leopard broke away from their original positions.
The box was an automaton focused on other aspects rather than combat, so its mobility was poor and its slow legs made it unable to leave the circular range.
The rest of them had escaped, and the box was left alone, but Terragula continued to circle around the same spot. It still thought there was a person above it, as it could sense enemies through vibrations.
The moment when the box takes just a few steps forward.
Kuung!
The ground sank in a circle. Dust rose up, limiting the view of the surrounding area.
Alan extended his palm forward. In the snowfield, he would spit out flames to melt the frozen door, but this time he would blow away the dust with the wind.
Only then did I see the mess Terragula had made. The sunken ground had turned into an anthill, continuously sucking in anyone who stepped foot on it.
The claws of the Terragula waiting at the center and bottom of the trap looked extremely strong and sharp. They didn’t show any signs of dullness even after digging the ground like that.
Because of the steep slope and the constantly flowing dirt, anyone who reaches the bottom will be pierced by the spear-like claws.
Shiva took a rope out of his bag.
“Brother Alan, let’s pull it up together. If we leave it alone, the same disaster that happened in Seolwon will happen.”
“I can handle that much on my own. So let’s just watch.”
Alan’s tone was like that of a researcher who was expecting results. Shiva gave up on persuading him and considered just running in and killing Terragula.
During the short time that I was pondering, the box opened its drawer. If I were to compare it to a crab, it looked like its belly had opened.
A round sphere emerged from within and rolled down the slope of the ant pit.
Terragula absentmindedly cut through the lump of iron that had reached right in front of his nose. It was an impressive scene that made you realize how sharp his claws were.
But it was buried in the scene that followed.
Boom!
The dirt and sand rose high. It was unusually red.
Taylor frowned at the sight.
“If we do that, there won’t be any parts left. I don’t know if the magic stone will be safe.”
Perhaps because he was a natural-born explorer, he worried about the loot before the gruesome scenes.
“It’s because the self-defense strength has been increased. In this case, the algorithm must have judged that an active attack is much better than holding out.”
The box had already descended to the bottom of the anthill, searching for scraps of meat. Soon the creature raised its pincers, and the stone it was holding flashed.
After receiving the magic stone, Alan immediately absorbed it into the compass. The needle inside the crystal began to spin around and continued to point in one direction.
“It’s working. I can finally go to the 25th floor.”
After walking for about three hours from the place where I hunted Terragula, a door appeared. After passing through a pitch-black space with nothing in it, my vision became blurry.
As soon as we entered the 25th floor, fog greeted us. The humidity was so high that it felt like water was caressing our cheeks. There was also a strong smell of water mixed with dirt.
Alan closed his visor again and looked at Taylor.
“You say the existence of the swamp is valuable information?”
“A good storyteller builds anticipation in his audience.”
“···.”
“It’s not 100% a lie, so could you please remove your cold gaze?”
Alan turned around and looked around. Even by a rough estimate, the swamp was enormous. It was a size that any explorer who had reached the 25th floor would not be able to miss.
“I’ll tell you more details later, so just wait. First, you have to adapt to the environment.”
Taylor pointed down. There was so much water that the ground was muddy rather than soft. The soles of his explorer boots were slowly digging into the ground.
The places with plants were somewhat better, but they only slowed the rate of loss and were not a fundamental solution.
Allen and his party attached the soles they had prepared in advance to their shoes. They tied the laces attached to the soles tightly to securely connect them to the exploration boots. Although the soles looked ordinary, they were magical tools with [floating] and [buoyancy] applied.
The group, now free to move, cut down trees and built a raft as planned.
“If you want to do something right, you have to get into that watery area ahead of you, and to do that, you need a raft.”
“Brother, would you like to burn the box and the leopard?”
“We should ride it too. The sole is also a magic tool, so if you keep using it, the magic power will be consumed a lot.”
While I was working, I heard the sound of a helicopter rotor spinning. It was the appearance of a vicious mosquito that lives by sucking blood.
The swamp was a place where water stagnated, making it a good environment for mosquitoes to live in. That’s why there were so many of them, and because they were primeval forests, they were also large.
Shiva, who always thought positively about everything, was startled when a palm-sized disgusting creature flew around, making a squeaking sound.
“Abominable creatures···.”
“When will we love all things?”
“Mosquitoes are an exception. My mother probably made them while she was sleeping.”
“It’s blasphemy!”
“Brother, you shouldn’t do that.”
The atmosphere was very chaotic as we were building a raft and even chasing away mosquitoes.
Still, the results were pretty good. With Alan carving the runes as if he was drawing a dragon’s eye, it showed no signs of sinking even when a leopard or a box was mounted on it.
“Magical engineering is always fascinating to see.”
“Mystery and fuel, magic, can easily distort the laws of physics that govern any phenomenon. Would you like to learn?”
“I would like to decline, because following my mother’s teachings is difficult.”
“You must be having a hard time with the hangover.”
Taylor, who had found a large piece of wood somewhere, jumped onto the raft. The rest of them got on board and rowed with the crude-looking oars, but despite its appearance, the raft moved forward steadily.
Shiva watched Taylor demonstrate his prowess.
“Brother.”
“why?”
“Looking at you today, you seem like a jack of all trades, not an explorer.”
“···That’s not wrong. It’s easier to explore if you know the basics of everything, like camping, hunting, climbing, and gathering.”
The swamp was full of trees whose names I couldn’t identify. The dense foliage made it difficult to see far. The ominous fog also played a part.
Alan looked up at the tree, which was so thick and tall that it reminded him of a building.
“You called it the Swamp of Life, but contrary to its name, it looks like ghosts appear.”
“What are you worried about when you have monks? Priests have been the hard counter to evil spirits since ancient times.”
Of course, it was just a joke, since ghosts don’t appear in the primeval forest.
As we went further inside, the tree became larger and larger. It was so large that we could have placed a private house on top of it.
Meanwhile, Taylor stopped the raft.
“I guess I’m lucky I didn’t get wet. Then let’s go up.”
After finishing speaking, Taylor climbed the tree, holding onto the trunk and vines. Alan remembered the movements exactly and climbed up using the strength of his power suit.
The leopard followed along quite well on its own, using its claws, but the box had to be pulled up using a rope.
With three people and two cars up, the top of the tree was full. If we also used the trees next to it, which had branches intertwined, there would be much more space.
The box was difficult to move, so Alan, Taylor, and the leopard went over.
“It looks just like a bird’s nest.”
“That’s why the explorers who come here live in the trees. The inside is dense with trees and many branches, so it’s easy to move around.”
Alan sat on the edge and observed the swamp. There were still many obstacles, but he was able to see much better from the higher position than when he was below.
Creatures that were unaware of this area were moving around actively.
Carbonemis.
It was a carnivorous turtle whose shell was as long as an adult male. Its mouth resembled a cutting tool.
Purussaurus.
A giant crocodile, it grew to be over 10 meters long. Smaller creatures walked around below with their eyes peeking out.
Titanoboa.
The 10m-long guy who made an anaconda into a baby moved using a tree. The tree was so big that even if a heavy snake was hanging on it, it didn’t move at all.
“I feel it again, but it really is huge.”
There were 10m-tall creatures scattered everywhere. How fierce must the competition for survival have been back then?
“That’s why knowledge is important.”
“?”
Taylor’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.
“Humans are weak. Even orcs, who are of good weight and strong, are not weak compared to animals…”
“I know what you’re trying to say.”
Alan nodded and continued.
“Yes. The reason why the weak have achieved civilization and become the rulers of the planet is because of knowledge. There are many secondary factors such as transmission, improvement, and learning, but the core is knowledge.”
Alan looked away from Taylor, whose eyes were unfocused. He needed soil to grow the blood-sal flower as the fairy had requested.
“I should have taken some before I came up. It’s swamp soil, so it must be rich in nutrients.”
“Wait a minute. Do you remember what I told you?”
“Is that an Emperor Salamander?”
The emperor salamander was a creature up to 2 m long that grew aquatic plants on its back. Unlike other creatures in the primeval forest, it could also run away.
There was fierce competition to capture the corpses, as pharmaceutical companies and life research institutes bought them at high prices, claiming that they could unlock the secret of their vitality, allowing them to easily survive for 300 years.
The real-life emperor salamander was on the verge of extinction, so touching it would be a disaster, so it was mainly caught in mazes. Of course, if you could find one.
“Even if it’s hard to find, if you’re going to experiment, that guy would be better. I’ll catch it for you, so just wait a little bit.”
“yes.”
Alan answered, but didn’t have high expectations. He thought he had come to a place with good air to recuperate, and if that didn’t work out, he would just experiment with dirt.
A day passed like that.
Taylor was holding a fishing rod, somehow he had brought it with him. Small fish that looked like piranhas were flopping around him.
“Shall we just experiment?”
“You can eat this fish grilled or raw. There are no parasites to worry about.”
Taylor gave a strange answer. It was as if he was still asking for a chance. Or maybe he just enjoyed fishing.
“Even the creator of the labyrinth has some surprisingly sloppy parts.”
“why?”
“If it were me, I would only put poison in half of the same species, and fill the non-poisonous half with deadly parasites.”
“If you keep saying horrible things, there will be no fish.”
“You don’t have to eat it. I don’t really like it.”
Alan thought of the fish in Aromaa. The fish in the waters off the city, where the cartel ruled, were particularly plump.
“Oh, it’s coming out strong. Let’s see if you can stand the smell of something roasting.”
That’s when Alan caught sight of something. There was a creature the size of a small crocodile swimming towards him.
“I’m here. I’m here. I knew this would happen, so I prepared a secret bait.”
As if to prove that Taylor’s words were not empty boasts, the three-foot-tall emperor salamander bit the fishhook with a snap.
The guy who was dragged up made a gurgling sound with his mouth and spat something out. It was a human finger.
Taylor’s face turned white, and Alan looked at him reproachfully.
“The special bait was a finger?”
“Wait! No! There’s no way I would do that.”
“Like I said before, I won’t eat fish.”
Taylor sighed and threw all the fish he had caught down the tree.
Alan looked in the direction the salamander had swum in. The sight of a finger was not a good sign.
Either someone’s reckless challenge ended in failure, or a ferocious group deliberately attacked the explorers.
The latter was a pain in the ass in many ways, so the former was better. However, if you expected something from the labyrinth, you could easily be betrayed.
Several shadows could be seen approaching from the trees. I would have preferred them to be monkeys, but upon closer inspection they were using only two feet to walk along the branches.
End