Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 19



Only Noblemtl

Labyrinth (4)

While the fox’s jaws were gnawing on the neck of one of the cavalrymen, the other two stabbed with their spears without stopping, turning the fox into a hole-filled tofu.

As the automatons tangle in a mess, the wolf, which has lost its rider, launches a final charge toward the culprit instead of attacking the fox.

bang!

Carlson’s shotgun blast dampened his momentum, and he was caught like prey by Aung and Alan, who rushed in together.

“Are you okay? It hurts when you bite.”

“I took out the soul stone. Now put it down and keep the cavalry in check.”

Before Aung could say anything concerning, Alan took out the wolf’s soul stone with his hand.

While the two men held off the cavalry that had almost taken down the raccoon, Alan brought up the soul stone’s input window.

An opaque fog rose, and star characters twinkled within it like the Milky Way.

Alan’s fingers moved quickly across the stars, searching for familiar patterns.

‘The last time I deleted this, the aggression disappeared. Then, the line right below it is likely a phrase that designates a target.’

He erased the cluster of stars with his glowing blue fingers and returned the soul stone to the wolf’s wide-open chest.

The wolf staggered to his feet as he used his magic to stimulate the power source, like an electric shock.

As the wolf’s eyes, which had been glowing white, turned bright red upon seeing the cavalryman, Carlson approached him in wonder.

Exactly!

“Hey, why are you like this?!”

While Carlson was flustered after avoiding the wolf’s bite thanks to Alan pulling him from behind, Aung exchanged glances with Alan and used the wall of wind to push the wolf back towards the cavalry.

Unlike humans who can easily become incapacitated after being stabbed once by a spear, the automaton, the fox, had a intact power source and was fighting even though its torso was torn in half.

Carlson asked, stroking the arm that was almost bitten.

“Didn’t you manipulate the asterisks to make them our side?”

“It’s easier to input the command to treat all enemies as enemies, except for the ones excluded, rather than to recognize and attack each enemy individually. I just deleted that part and changed the targets of hostility to indiscriminate.”

“Ah, intermittent explosive disorder… No, since it’s a wolf, it’s probably closer to rabies.”

The wolf, who had just been pushed back by Aung, bit the cavalryman’s wolf who had almost finished off the civet.

Kwajik!

As he bit the wolf’s leg, the rider’s balance wavered, and he barely managed to pierce the wolf’s head with his spear, but at the same time, he gave his waist to Carlson’s shotgun, who approached him.

Alan easily incapacitated two limping wolves with his magic bullets, biting each other.

Now there was only one cavalry left. As usual, the automaton did not run away, but charged boldly.

The cavalryman jumped over the wall like the one he had encountered before and aimed for Carlson’s head.

To be precise, the rider jumped up and raised his spear, and the wolf slid low on the ground and aimed for the groin.

Carlson hesitated where to block the brutal attack, but trusted his comrades and pulled the trigger toward the cavalryman who had arrived right in front of him.

Boom!

The gunpowder mixed with magic stone exploded violently, lifting the cavalryman high into the air and then crashing down like a puppet with its strings cut.

Although the bullets were expensive, Carlson had no hesitation because he was a college student and not a timid maze explorer.

It was a good attitude because he would lose his life if he hesitated over that small amount of money.

And most importantly, the wolf opened its mouth wide and aimed at Carlson’s vital spot, which was left defenseless by the recoil of the shotgun.

Bam!

When Alan, who had approached her without her knowledge, touched her with his cane, her body rose slightly.

Even a target that is struggling hard is easy to hit if it is floating. The blade of wind created by Aung swept vertically past the wolf.

As the battle ended, Carlson, still in a dazed state, let out a sigh of relief. He had sweated more than ever during their time together, and his face looked like a ripe apple.

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

“Magic Stick. Good performance.”

“It’s still vibrant even without that. No, how do you know that?”

Meanwhile, Alan discovered a magic stone. Its sparkling color was clearly different from the plain magic stones.

This is compared to the magic stone, but the magic stone was also an indispensable driving force in modern civilization.

As Alan crouched down and stared at the magic stone, Carlson tapped him on the shoulder.

“If you want it, take it.”

“Is that okay?”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to catch those things anyway. If you hadn’t operated the automaton, I would have been seriously injured or even killed.”

Instead of saying anything humble, Alan smiled and nodded. Too much humility can make those around him uncomfortable.

My steps back were light. Maybe it was my mood, but when I got to the 5th floor, even the air felt refreshing.

Even the clanking sound of the wheels, which I was worried would be noticed by many automatons, was soothing.

As they passed the halfway point of the fifth floor, Aung waved at Alan, who was looking behind him.

“excuse me.”

There was a naked corpse half-buried in the wall.

It would be expected in a swampy place, but the walls of the maze were made of indestructible, mysterious rock, and of course, very hard, so the current sight was unfamiliar.

But now that I’ve become a maze explorer, it’s also something I have to get used to.

Dead creatures and broken automatons were quickly sucked into the walls unless someone moved them.

Like food being absorbed into the intestines.

Like an organism that slime embraces.

So some scholars have argued that the loot from the labyrinth was a bait to lure people out.

While some agreed with him, the overwhelming majority were influenced by the logic of money and the benefits of civilization’s advancement.

As Alan pondered such thoughts, the body completely disappeared. There was no trace left behind, so it seemed as if what he had just seen was a dream.

“You were naked just now?”

“Yes. Someone already took the equipment. It’s kind of a tradition for the person who finds the body to take the equipment.”

“hmm···.”

Carlson’s frustration was caused by another reason. If he had died by an automaton, it would have been a sad death, but if he had ended up at the hands of a fellow explorer, it would have been a perfect crime.

“Do you think it was someone else’s doing?”

“Whew… They don’t call Explorers the second monsters for nothing. Breakers are the largest Explorers’ Guild, so fortunately, their party matching is relatively reliable.”

Of course, it was forbidden to let down one’s guard. Now, trust had been built between Alan and the other two, but at first, they had put up a wall and were very cautious.

There was no fighting until we reached the second floor, perhaps because we had paid our respects to someone’s passing.

As it was the end of work hours, the scrap metal collectors who usually stayed on the first and second floors also changed places with their shifts or went upstairs after haggling with someone.

They stared at the heavy cart pulled by Aung for a moment, but that only lasted for a moment.

One of the rules of a labyrinth explorer.

Do not covet other people’s spoils.

The automaton on Aung’s cart was of a type that appeared much lower down, which was evidence that its fighting power was superior to that of the explorers sitting around on the first and second floors.

As a profession that lives off of mana and blood, their temperament is rough, so it is best to avoid trouble as much as possible.

As he walked forward and passed through the black door, the night sky greeted Alan. The stars had disappeared due to air pollution and light pollution, but the black curtains alone brought peace to his heart.

Alan headed to the breakers and entered the accounting room. Accounting was an important matter, so there were workers on duty even at night.

The employee with the little bat wings quickly finished the settlement, and each person was given 1.5 million coins, minus the fees.

As Alan sat down in a chair on one side of the lobby, Carlson and Aung sat across from him.

“Take more? If you only consider contribution, you are overwhelmingly superior.”

“It’s okay. If I were alone, I would have abandoned most of them.”

Alan shook his head. If he had gone down alone, he would have abandoned most of the automatons.

Besides, the party was not porters but combatants, and they did all the hard work, so it was right to divide it equally.

Carlson and Aung smiled, as if they knew it.

“It cost quite a bit to buy exploration supplies like water generators and energy bars, but I earned 2 million in ten days. If it’s hard to get a job later, should I change my career path to this?”

Carlson, who had been joking, said quietly.

“Alan, have you ever studied magic engineering at an accredited institution?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“The way you approached students was completely different. When the kids around you had questions, they would buy books or ask the professor first. But you took the time out of your free time to confront them directly.”

“You have a good eye.”

“The cane you made yourself was also a clue. There is no such design among the ready-made ones. But the finish was rough enough to be considered a workshop-made product.”

“Crude? Bad words.”

Carlson waved his hand as if he had misunderstood Aung’s words. His serious and desperate appearance made people laugh in return.

“No, that’s not what I meant! ···Alan would be more of a student at Maze City University than a labyrinth explorer.”

“Thank you for your kind words, but I have my own reasons.”

“···.”

Carlson also had an inkling of it and was careful with his words.

Although the qualification of a labyrinth explorer is granted by market logic, it is ultimately only a temporary ID card and comes with many restrictions.

The inability to open an account at a financial institution and the inability to enter university were also some of the limitations.

Still, Alan was confident. After all, wasn’t college a place to visit for more efficient learning?

The obsession and desire to gain knowledge that had kept me searching through the garbage dumps in Lanka for useful books was still there, if not even greater.

So, even if the location is different and it takes a bit of a detour, I don’t mind.

The physical wear and tear and improvement in lifespan due to excessive magical power were merely passing stages on the way to finding the truth. At least that’s what Alan thought.

Alan, whose vague thoughts had become concrete, stroked his left eye.

“Should we try Akasha’s eyes this time?”

“What even Katan, the greatest magic engineer in history, couldn’t accomplish? Yes, I’ll cheer you on. May his title go to you. If you do well, don’t forget us.”

“If you keep going down the labyrinth, seeking knowledge and unlocking secrets, it will happen.”

If your name spreads that far, it will reach the heavens where your parents are. Or maybe you have already heard the news that you are doing well through Nobak, who drilled a hole in your head.

After parting ways with the group, wishing each other a happy future, Alan found a hotel with better facilities than a capsule hotel. It was a gift to himself.

As he warmed his body with warm water, he felt drowsy, but he couldn’t fall asleep like that, so he endured it. As soon as he finally dried himself and reached the soft bed, Alan’s memory was cut off.

*

‘How many hours did you sleep?’

Alan checked his watch. He had fallen asleep at 11 p.m. and it was now 12 a.m.

“Only an hour has passed… No, a day has passed.”

The stiffness from sleeping for a long time and the muscles overworked in the labyrinth worked in synergy to make me wake up.

If you were to ask if I had unintentionally stayed without extending my stay and was staying without paying, that wasn’t it either.

This was a common occurrence for a maze explorer, and since the hotel was affiliated with Breaker, the hotel automatically deducted the accommodation fee from Alan’s account.

“Hmm···.”

As he tossed and turned, a groan escaped Alan’s lips.

Before falling asleep, I discussed my great dream about the Truth and the Eye of Akasha, but first, there was a problem that had to be resolved in my mind.

Exploring dungeons is good, and studying the alphabet is good, but first, I needed a way to inject energy into my weak body.

Naturally, one more thing was added to the next plan.

A bookstore and a pharmaceutical workshop.

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