Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 108
Only Noblemtl
Maggots are also people. I don’t want to talk about the existence of human rights for those who can be called the labyrinth gang, but I mean that they are also people and can think.
As crazy as they are, they would have no qualms about stealing the Oparts owned by Ethel Matap.
At the time, your brain may have gone a little crazy due to excessive secretion of hormones such as endorphins and dopamine or use of illegal drugs, but after the work is over, you are bound to get worried.
They preferred to solve their worries with force, and to do so they had to maintain their magic wear and magical tools.
The maggots that came to Alan to have their magicware inspected were constantly mouthing words as if they were bored while waiting.
“Eshel Matap is making a fuss over nothing.”
“That’s right. With so many Ooparts, how can you keep them all to yourself? Sharing them doubles the fun, but you have no sense… In fact, you’re the ones who are doing more and only blaming us.”
“Hey, old man, you’re pretty articulate. That’s what I wanted to say. We’re a good fit. Would you like to join us?”
“Still, the outside air is good.”
Taylor would chime in next to Alan and encourage the maggots to talk. When he told her what was going on outside, she would listen with shining eyes and appropriately share her own stories.
Even though it seemed like a normal conversation, it was a kind of transaction. Something like, ‘I said it, so now it’s your turn.’
Sometimes he would ask sharp questions.
“I’m sure the lake kids said they saw Gary being taken away from the 24th floor plains···.”
“It must be Ethel’s trick. They live off of magic tools, so isn’t that natural? Those who were tricked to death are the ones who are retarded.”
“Okay, okay.”
Taylor, who was re-hired in the company and re-enlisted in the military, was able to blend in well by using his experience working at Breaker. Thanks to this, he was able to glean some useful information.
The maggot organizations are on good terms with each other, the path under the cliff is roughly connected, we don’t know who gave us Ethel’s information, etc.
After Alan finished checking the left prosthetic hand, he placed it directly into Maggot’s empty shoulder. He firmly connected it and activated the magic circuit, causing a blue light to flow softly before disappearing.
A man dressed in black, clean for a maggot, shook his shoulder.
“The kids are as good as they say.”
The man was a mid-level executive like Gary. He didn’t know what kind of abilities Alan had as a magic engineer, so he sent his subordinates first and visited later.
“What is your name?”
“It’s Nobak.”
“Nobak, would you like to work with us?”
“It’s hard to get the latest information if you stay down there. Instead, I’ll come down often.”
“I can’t help it… Anyway, the strength I feel from my arm is no joke. The last time the guy who came down fixed it, it kept creaking and it was annoying, so I don’t think it’ll be like that this time either, right?”
“You can use it until you die.”
“ha ha ha!”
The executive took Alan’s words as a joke and laughed as he disappeared. Looking at the time, it was 9:00 PM, and there was no one to come now.
Alan, who had set up a makeshift workshop in the central hallway, packed up his tools and headed to his quarters.
Alan sat down on a hastily made chair and asked Taylor, who kept looking at him.
“Why are you like that?”
“What you said at the end. It wasn’t a lie, but something felt off… I don’t know the circumstances, but it felt creepy.”
“You must have a lot of worries.”
“The decision will be made tomorrow.”
The day that the maggots and the unidentified group promised to meet was tomorrow.
During that time, all members of the Cliff organization that Gary belonged to had their magicware checked. Without exception, if there was even the slightest problem, they came to Alan.
Why did you do that before the meeting?
“These guys expected it too. That there would be a fight in some way.”
“That’s bold. What if you die like that?”
“As long as it’s not me, it’s fine.”
“You ugly brothers are pretty crazy.”
Shiva, who had been lying in the corner with nothing to do, slowly got up.
Shiva temporarily put aside his priestly calling card and acted as a martial artist, and was treated as a lunatic even among the maggots.
The mainstream reaction was, ‘Without even Magic Wear?’ After all, Shiva was a purely physical being, except for the artificial eyes and brain extension devices.
“I don’t think that’s the right word for you to say.”
“You don’t know the greatness of the body your mother created.”
“And you’re wearing a glove.”
Taylor didn’t even consider artificial eyes or brain extensions to be magicware. They were more like necessities of life.
“It’s not a handgun, it’s a fashion item.”
“Who asked me where I could get a gauntlet made of much stronger material? It was a dwarf from somewhere.”
Meanwhile, Alan wondered who had told Maggot about Ethel Matap.
‘Did you know about the existence of Oparts? Or were you just trying to get in the way of something you were doing?’
If it was the latter, I could just ignore it because the symbol was annoying, but if it was the former, I had to think differently.
‘You must have borrowed someone else’s help because the conflict with the Ethel Tower was burdensome.’
Usually, when things go this way, they end up trying to boil the hunting dog. Maggots are also instinctive, and they prepare thoroughly.
Or maybe they are just blinded by greed after seeing the Ooparts taming the creatures of the primeval forest and want to steal them.
‘They’ll hand over the Oparts first because of the Geass or magic contract. Then they’ll try to steal them.’
The next morning, the members of the cliff organization rushed out, led by the leader. Before leaving, the leader gave instructions to Gary.
“You’ve had a hard time in the swamp, so stay here this time. We might have to move, so work with the kids who are left here.”
Gary nodded in understanding, but when he turned around, his expression was rotten. It wasn’t consideration, it was a bother.
The maggots swarmed out, and there were only ten people left in the cave, one of the hideouts. If you count Alan and Gary, there were four, so almost half of them were hidden enemies.
Gary called his men to the central corridor. The six reserve workers sighed as they looked at the messy objects.
“You little shits. You knew this would happen, so you slept through it all without cleaning up yesterday.”
“I’d rather get hit with a bullet than clean up here.”
“Brother Gary, what should we do first?”
Gary twitched his finger at the maggots, who were being treated particularly kindly. Meanwhile, Alan and his group moved slowly behind the maggots.
“Why are you calling… Shut up…!”
The maggot couldn’t speak properly. The tip of the dagger pierced his throat and came out sideways, so how could his vocal cords be intact? The man who had been spitting out blood fell down.
“···?”
“!!!”
The five people who remained could only blink their eyes at the sudden change. The shock was so great that their brains stopped thinking.
Still, it was worth risking my life and stealing in the labyrinth, as my body moved unconsciously and I drew my weapon.
But now that we’re not in a combat situation and we’ve gathered to clean up, how great of an equipment would we have? Our main weapons were all in our respective quarters.
Even if they were properly armed, would they be able to stand a chance against Allen and his group?
Taylor also cleanly cut off both of their necks with Mana Sword, and Shiva broke his opponent’s spine with Regime.
pop!
As Alan looked at the two bodies, an explosion occurred and they collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
Gary gulped at the sight. He was more afraid of the display of force that Alan had shown than of Taylor or Shiva.
It would have been better if it had been caused by a visible external force, but it was an invisible blade. The body that he had trusted so strongly was betraying him.
That’s why there’s a saying, “Don’t mess with a wizard.” If the thinking ability of an ordinary person is like an office computer, then a wizard is like a supercomputer.
If you hacked Magicware with that power, there was no way to stop it. You could use Magicware with a strong firewall, but would such a thing be easy to obtain?
Through the open visor, Alan’s indifferent eyes were glimpsed. No trace of the emotions that should have been shown, such as the joy of killing, the agony of killing a person, or the disgust at seeing blood.
“Gary.”
“yes!”
“Relax.”
Even though Alan wasn’t holding the suicide switch, the polite speech just came out on its own.
“ha···.”
A long sigh escaped Gary’s lips as he realized his situation. There was no going back now. Either offer the Oparts to Lorenzo and beg for mercy, or die by the swords of his former comrades.
Gary took a quick look around the passage before leaving the cave that had been his home. With no one alive in the lair now, the labyrinth would swallow up any traces in an hour.
Gary, whose thoughts had reached that point, looked at Alan.
“excuse me···.”
“Speak.”
“Could it be that the automaton hidden outside has disappeared?”
“It’s okay, I’ve put in enough magic stones that have been given magical power.”
“Your own magic power?”
“Of course. If you use magic stones mined from mines or automata, the labyrinth will swallow you up.”
Gary thought he was well-prepared, but Alan was so magical that it only took a little effort.
As he exited the cave, a steep cliff greeted Alan. When he raised his head, he saw the blue sky and the sun through the crack.
Gary silently placed his hand on the cliff and began to climb like a lizard. Taylor frowned at the sight.
“Isn’t there another way?”
“Unfortunately, there isn’t.”
Gary’s speech became more polite than ever. Even though he used the same formal language, the nuance was different.
“Is it like this every time?”
“yes.”
Gary’s answer was firm. Even an average person can climb a 500m rock wall in under 50 minutes with a little training, so it would be much easier for someone who had been strengthened with Magic Wear and Mana Heart.
With the [manpower] and [light weight] that Alan had drawn, the monkey was able to climb the cliff at a speed that would make you want to go away.
Taylor asked as he followed Gary.
“Aren’t you going to take the leopard and the box?”
“It’s in the opposite direction from our destination and it’s a long way. We have to follow them quickly because we don’t know how their deal will end.”
“How long can you last?”
“I’ve put enough magic stones in the box. If you stay still, it should last three months, and if you move around as usual, it should last about a week.”
“You put a lot in there.”
Gary moved without hesitation, as befitting a native. The plants that the previous leader had dug through had not yet recovered, so he was able to move with ease.
Before climbing a hill, Gary looked back and nodded slightly, indicating that they had arrived.
“Look over there.”
At the place Gary pointed to, there was a maggot that I had seen in the hideout. It was clearly left there to watch the surroundings, but its eyes were actually directed towards the transaction site.
The moment when Alan tries to manipulate it through the magic power he had planted in advance.
Boom!
There was a loud explosion and the maggots disappeared on the other side. Thanks to this, Allen and his party were able to climb the hill easily.
The situation below was as expected: people covered in green-patterned camouflage robes clashing with maggots.
“On the left is the lake, in the middle is the cliff, and on the right is the ruins.”
“A relic?”
Alan responded to Gary’s question.
“They say there is a stone temple-like building in the middle of the forest, but there is nothing inside. In the center is an empty shelf with books.”
Taylor poked Alan with his finger. Their eyes met, and he had a mysterious expression on his face. It seemed to mean that this was the place where Taylor’s method was discovered.
Meanwhile, a group of robed men began to swarm the maggots. It was not without casualties, but only ten men overwhelmed over a hundred men. The number of maggots quickly decreased.
Alan gradually felt the need to intervene. If the maggots ran away like this, the suspicious group would disappear with the green box that was probably containing the Ooparts.
Alan stayed on the hill for a while, while the rest of us descended the slope.
As he raised his arm, the magic launcher extended its barrel, aiming at the person preparing the spell in the center of the suspicious crowd.
Phong!
The sound was cute, but it instantly destroyed the wizard’s defenses. The sad thing is that it was the end. Still, the maggots did not miss the opportunity.
The leader of the Cliff Clan turned his head at the sound coming from behind. Gary was coming with his guests.
“Gary, how are you?”
Contrary to what he said, he seemed very happy.
Gary wanted to tell her that it wasn’t the right time to be happy since the grim reaper was visiting, but now they were strangers.
End