Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 121
Only Noblemtl
The way down to the 8th floor was easy. The automaton was too weak for Alan, who could easily get through the middle of the primeval forest.
To be exact, it lacked detail. The solidity of the automaton’s metal body was similar to that of a primitive forest creature, but its movements were predictable.
What good is it if you go beyond the limits of a creature’s joints? There is no killing intent, so there is no mental pressure, and the attacks without ferocity and cunning were cute.
It was a good practice match since I had some free time. It was time to get used to Zion’s movements.
Since I inputted it into the power suit, it would automatically reproduce the movements, but it was Alan who had to bear the burden.
If you know exactly how much recoil there will be depending on how you move in real combat, it would be easy to reinforce it with shock absorbers or runes.
‘Now is 15% of the senior’s time.’
Alan’s body leapt forward at an unprecedented speed. He was very agile, maintaining a steady stride as if his legs were not his own.
The armadillo-like creature spotted an enemy and curled up. Not for defense, of course, but for attack. A vicious protrusion rose from the surface of the solid metal sphere.
The moment the guy was about to start rolling, Alan, who had already arrived, blocked his movements with the sole of his foot. He lightly pushed him away to avoid the thorns, and in the moment of the gap, he took a stance and hit him hard with the top of his foot.
The guy who suddenly turned into a soccer ball broke the formation of the automatons that were following him. The explorers who had dug in between used their magic to cut the circuits around them, and the battle ended easily.
Alan soothed his aching bones and muscles. Fortunately, he had been controlling himself, but if he had tried to mimic the maximum of 30%, his muscles might have gone on strike.
‘Even 30% is great. That alone is enough to crush the magicians I’ve faced before.’
In fact, 30% was just Allen’s guess, and he didn’t know what Zion’s true abilities were. In the first place, the enemies that appeared during the journey to the pyramid couldn’t even draw out her true feelings.
‘I guess I should add another balance controller to my left leg.’
After completing his own feedback, Alan continued walking. When he reached a dead end, Lecter pressed against the wall. Each time, a certain part of it went in.
It was a secret passage that was occasionally found in mazes and caves. It would still exist now that there were university students inside, but it wouldn’t be strange if it disappeared at any time if everyone left.
As we entered, the black fog disappeared. Thanks to this, we could roughly see what the inside looked like. There were buildings similar to modern architecture everywhere.
It was a very large area, too large to be simply considered a vacant lot hidden in a secret passage.
As the people arrived, Professor Oros came out to greet them.
“Lecter and the explorers, thank you for your hard work. Rest for now, and students, follow me.”
Although he let out a whimper and sigh, Oros was the kind of person who would blink at such things. Instead, he smiled as if he found it cute.
“I feel excited when you are happy.”
Alan looked at the students walking along, then met Lecter’s eyes. He had a serious expression.
“Why are you like that?”
“There is no end to learning, so it’s pathetic to come to a place like this and act like that. Shouldn’t you be happy about it instead?”
“That’s why.”
“I knew you’d sympathize. I like it very much.”
“Then, since it’s free time, should we follow the professor? I wonder what he’ll talk about about these ruins.”
“good idea.”
The explorers clicked their tongues as they listened to the conversation between the two men. They hurriedly walked towards the tent area, fearing that sparks might fly.
Oros led the students into a building. A collapsed wall served as a door. There were fan-shaped, stepped seats and a platform at the bottom.
He stood halfway up the stairs and raised his voice.
“What do you think when you see this place?”
When there was no answer, he pointed at one of the students who was trying to avoid eye contact. The student wearing glasses stammered.
“···It resembles the National Assembly building.”
“Yes, it is similar to the Senate. I thought so at first, but as I explored the surroundings, my view changed. This is a school. Students with a passion for learning like you have probably sat here for some time.”
The sharp-eyed orc pointed with his thick finger at a perfectly clean wall. There was something drawn on it that was impossible to make out.
“As you know, that’s not graffiti, it’s the writing used by the underground people. Of course, we can’t read it. But since we know what this place is, we can imagine it.”
Oros added that this was a place of education, and that phrase would be appropriate.
Alan thought differently, because he could see the letters without having to guess.
[What is this meal? Our wolf eats much better!]
[These days, younger students don’t have the basics.]
[Yeah. Same thing with you.]
Just as people live everywhere, the underground people also had a similar atmosphere. It meant that they were not monsters at one time, but intelligent beings.
‘If all of this is not a trick of the Labyrinth Creator…’
Alan repeated the most important premise: if it was a trick of the creator, then all the scholarly knowledge accumulated so far would be useless scraps of paper.
‘But it’s okay because magic engineering remains… right? No.’
There was no superiority in knowledge. They just had different uses, but each and every one was valuable.
“Isn’t it fun?”
“yes?”
When Alan turned his head at the sudden voice, he saw Lecter with a faint smile on his face.
“Class? Every time I listen to Professor Oros’s words, it’s interesting. The fact that it’s not certain actually stimulates my imagination.”
“hmm···.”
Lecter crossed his arms and nodded absentmindedly.
Alan looked around again. There was a mixture of readable and unintelligible letters.
‘Ideographic characters? Phonetic characters?’
Strictly speaking, it was close to phonetic letters, but strangely, it was impossible to interpret. It looked and felt like a fog. It meant that the mystery of the labyrinth interfered not only with the eyes but also with the brain.
‘The Hierarchy of Language, the Mystery of the Labyrinth.’
Something unidentifiable was covering Alan’s eyes. What kind of magic could make this possible?
That’s why it’s called a mystery. Something that goes beyond common sense and cannot be understood.
The letters engraved on the surface of the staff obtained from the catacombs also escaped Alan’s understanding. The letters engraved on the tombstone had been moved, so it must have been a person’s name, but he could not read them.
‘You’ll find out someday as you go down.’
If this is the case for Allen, how frustrating must it be for other scholars? Since they couldn’t read the text, they had no choice but to confront it directly.
So, for all the Ooparts, real-life experiments were the most important, and that’s why they had to come down to the labyrinth.
‘Wait, school? You said you made a magical tool that converts life force into magic at school?’
Alan thought for a moment. It wasn’t strange, since universities on Earth have research labs. Universities are the temples of learning and the birthplace of academics.
In the past, when I met a warlock, a negative image was attached to the technology that dealt with life, but originally, the technology was divided into good and evil depending on the user.
Even if they look evil, they may bring peace to the world, and even if they look incredibly gentle, they may hide a blade inside.
A typical example is the development of a magic fusion reactor while making bombs, and the creation of cancer cells, an example of an aggressive use of healing magic.
Oros’s class continued. As he believed in learning through practice, he constantly asked questions to his students and gave them instructions.
To the blond Carlson who had been with me on my adventures in the beginning.
“Go around and find runes and write them all down.”
For curly-haired Milliem.
“Investigate the automaton that appears here. If it’s too much with just the students, ask the explorers for help.”
Days like this continued. While the other explorers were bored, to Alan this was heaven.
“Knowledge is the best.”
“The thinking is the same. Very good. More knowledge, more power!”
Lecter was of a similar ilk to Alan. He sometimes made outrageous remarks.
“If there was a great devil of knowledge, I would sell my soul for it.”
“Is there such a devil?”
“No. So my soul is safe.”
“Actually, if possible, it would be better to pay the price in another way. If the owner of my soul changes, the ownership of my knowledge also changes.”
“There are many other ways.”
“is it so?”
“That’s what black magic usually deals with. But you need to know that.”
As Lecter lowered his head slightly, shadows fell over him. The shadows on his haggard face made him look like a villain plotting a plot.
“Black magic itself is not illegal, but if you use it against people, you will be immediately wanted.”
“You can harm people with other magic too.”
“That’s what I wanted to say. But it’s something that cannot be tolerated by society. So you too, be careful when using black magic.”
“I didn’t even learn it.”
“I’ve been watching you for a few days, and you’ll learn anything quickly. Be it black magic, sorcery, or elemental magic.”
Alan and Lecter were always together. Lecter even asked Professor Oros to become his personal escort.
“Competitors are important, but understanding is just as important. I hope we can be that kind of person to each other.”
Oros smiled and readily agreed.
After receiving approval, Lecter’s investigation began in earnest. He mainly visited places that were off-limits to students and had not yet been explored.
Alan wandered around freely and discovered a staircase under the rubble. As an explorer and a scholar, it was a place he could not just pass by.
“Let’s go. Do we need to wait for anyone?”
When Lecter touched the bracelet, a blue light flowed. His presence was faint and his face was worn out with fatigue, but he was actually a Depth 3 power user.
As they went down the stairs, they saw a door. As Alan approached, the door split open on both sides. As the two entered, it slammed shut.
“no way?”
As Lecter approached, startled, the door opened again. It was some kind of automatic door. Lecter scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
Meanwhile, as Alan was looking at the sign, he heard Lecter snorting.
“hmm···.”
“Again, why is that?”
I don’t know if it’s a habit, but I sometimes make that sound.
“It’s nothing.”
As he said that, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Alan. It seemed like he had something to say, but he had no intention of saying it.
The two walked down the dark passage. Alan looked at the signs he encountered.
‘Break room, storage room, control room···.’
Then I stopped in front of a heavy door. Unlike the entrance, this door did not react when I approached it.
As Alan looked up to see the writing above the door, he heard Lecter’s voice.
“You, can you see it?”
“What does that mean···.”
“Are you trying to pretend not to know? The words written there mean ‘biological research facility.’”
Alan was speechless at the sudden statement. Did Lecter also receive knowledge from the ruins? If so, how many people are there like that?
“···.”
“I’ve been watching for a few days and it’s clear. Don’t think you’re the only one special. There are surprisingly many people who know but hide it. I’m one of them, even though I’m only a handful. I’m one of the so-called chosen ones.”
“Choice?”
“Yes, the choice of the labyrinth. The labyrinth is like a living, breathing creature. Don’t you feel that way too?”
When Alan still pretended not to know, Lecter shook his head gently.
“It was intended to share our troubles with others of the same kind, so don’t be too cautious. If you don’t want to talk about it now, you can talk about it later. People like us have a mission. We have to uncover the secrets of the labyrinth and reach the end to see what’s there.”
An awkward silence flowed. The cold air felt strangely hot.
“Mr. Lecter, what did it say there?”
“Biological research facility. It’s a simple word. Are you testing me by any chance without me knowing?”
This made it clear that the letters in the labyrinth had a hierarchy, and the letters you could read were determined by what knowledge you had acquired.
Unlike Lecter, Alan also saw the writing underneath.
‘Closed until accident recovery.’
End