Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 25



Only Noblemtl

Special Individual (4) [Illustration]

Long ago, elves were called the guardians of nature, possessing long lifespans and beautiful appearances. Their long lifespans gave them great powers without the need for desperate training, and their beauty easily won the favor of intelligent beings.

But now it was different.

As civilization developed, intelligent beings walking on two feet needed the by-products of the land and forests.

The fairies who coexist with the forest viewed indiscriminate development as a grave intrusion into their sanctuary.

The resulting friction was inevitable: forests burned, rivers turned red, and the parched lands could not support any plants.

As a result, the elves, who were strong individually but small in number, were eventually defeated and reconciled with civilized society. Sometimes, entire tribes migrated to cities.

Because of this mixing of blood, life expectancy was shortened to about 120 years. The so-called noble families preserved their bloodline and lived much longer, but only a very small number.

Anyway, elves usually live 1.5 times longer than humans, but as they adapt to society, they can now be said to be city-savvy.

If you cover his slightly long, pointed ears, he looks just like a slightly handsome and pretty human. His eyes, sparkling with greed and excitement, are just like a human being.

The elf with the Mohawk hair style twirled a butterfly knife.

Although it is a tool with problems in practicality compared to other daggers, the runes engraved on the blade, [Sharpness], have transformed it into a weapon that can easily cut through thin iron plates.

Whirl, bang!

The elf aimed the tip of his dagger at Alan. The dagger’s edge gleamed blue under the light of the headlamp.

“Looks like you got it, and we came up empty-handed.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I came running like crazy and someone just grabbed me and ate me, so I’m really depressed. Aren’t you guys?”

The five explorers lined up in a row nodded at the elf’s rough question. It seemed that the saying that they gather in groups was not wrong, as the expressions on their faces were fierce regardless of race.

The elf, who gained strength from the encouragement of his colleagues, stared straight into Alan’s eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed as if he was full of discontent with the world.

“As you know, entering the labyrinth requires a lot of things. Time is lost, and your account is emptied from buying exploration supplies.”

“···.”

“Are you alone, or are you two with the return ticket?”

The elf glanced at the cart and slowly approached the fallen knight. When Alan didn’t stop him, he even kicked it with his toes.

“So we spent three times as much as you, that’s it. Yeah, that kid’s gonna get beat up soon, so we’re doing him a favor and giving him six times as much.”

“Do you mean to ask for the loot?”

“That’s right. I don’t know if I’ll get my money’s worth since there’s a hole in the chest of this can, but… I think we should at least take some special ones so that we can make a profit.”

“···.”

When Alan remained silent, the elf frowned again and twirled the knife. The sound of the wind cutting through it was quite ominous.

“Was I not persuasive enough? Or are you just stupid?”

It was not a persuasion, but a threat. At the elf’s threat, his companions also began to touch their weapons.

If you leave a corpse in a labyrinth, it will disappear without a trace, like sinking into a swamp. If the corpse disappears, it is impossible to know how the person died, and if there are no witnesses, it is the perfect crime.

Alan glanced at the five, six including the elves. They were standing in a perfect fan shape.

“···I understand.”

“That way, it’ll be easier for you and me. Leave the leopard there. It’s already broken and no longer needed. I’ll take care of it for you.”

Alan paused for a moment and slowly stepped back, pulling the cart carrying Utah. While he was circling the open space, sticking as close to the wall as possible, the elf spoke again.

“Come to think of it, it’s hard to pull a cart, but wouldn’t it be too heavy if you had equipment? Consider yourself lucky. It’s hard to find such kindhearted people in Maze City, where there are only people who want to rip you off.”

“···.”

Alan moved anyway. His attitude of letting go was because he was worried that the knight would get caught up in the battle and get ruined.

The elf raised his voice again.

“Hey! Can’t you hear me?”

The maze was a place that Alan, who was not good at strengthening his body using magic powers, could not endure with his bare body.

Even here, at the end of the seventh floor, you had to go through four floors to get to the third floor, which was full of people. So telling them to put down their gear and go up was synonymous with suicide.

“Stop!”

As the voice grew louder, Alan pushed the cart down the eighth floor and glared at the elf. More specifically, at the leopard near the elf’s ankles.

“Ask.”

“Ugh!”

A scream erupted at the same time. The leopard’s body was split in half, so it only lost its mobility, but its jaws, which were embedded with drill fangs, were still able to move fully.

The elf’s ankle was torn to shreds by the surprise attack. Even if he were lucky enough to recover, it was a wound that would leave him permanently disabled.

“Dead…duh!”

One of the explorers who witnessed the tragedy that befell the elves turned his gun and ended up with a hole in his forehead.

Now there were only four left. Alan dove to the side as he saw a flash of light from one of the Evies.

Wedge!

An invisible blade swept across the spot where Allen had originally been.

Meanwhile, Alan, who had regained his balance, threw the card with [Magnetism] written on it. The gun was made of metal, and the type used on the lower floors had no magic resistance.

The runes that had bound the knight once again showed their will. The gun aimed at Alan turned to the side.

Tututu!

The direction of the shot changed, but the trigger that the explorer was pulling remained the same. The enemy that had been casting Ebi’s magic fell down with blood spurting out of his body.

‘Now three. No, two.’

While the equipment was being dragged into [Magnetism] and the guys were unable to come to their senses, Allen’s manapistol took out an additional life.

This was much easier to deal with than the automaton. Unlike the automaton, which would rush to the death until it broke its power source, a human would only need one bullet.

“after···.”

Alan finally cleared them out. He had a hole in his thigh, but it was better than being dead.

As I inserted the seeds of the hemostatic plant into the hole, hoping that the artery would not be damaged, a strange wriggling sensation occurred inside, causing pain.

“···.”

Alan Akmun walked towards the elf who was left alone. Although he tried his best not to show it, the pain in his thigh made his vision blur.

“You, you son of a bitch…”

“I hope we can just part ways on good terms. Your head seems to have lost its function as a thought organ, so I’ll remove it. You can put a new one on when you get back up to the surface.”

The sound of footsteps is heard at that moment.

There were three passages leading into the vacant lot, and about twenty people came running from them. If even an automaton saw them, they would be terrified and run away.

It seemed as if the big companies or the Explorers’ Guild had already sent reinforcements, but unfortunately the elves’ expressions brightened as they looked at them.

“Come quickly! I’m dying!”

The elf cursed, sweating profusely in pain.

Some looked at the faces of their dead comrades, and some aimed their weapons at Alan. Only one of them stepped forward. It seemed as if nothing more was needed for Alan, who was completely wounded.

A gun with a blue glow. A trigger that can be pulled.

Alan’s time has grown longer.

Whew~~~!

A small whistle was heard.

And a blue flash of light at the same time.

container!

A magical bullet that bounces off the ceiling with the sound of an empty can being knocked over.

Before Alan knew it, a prosecutor wearing black clothes and a pitch-black cape was standing in front of him. His gray hair, which reached down to his shoulder blades, was flowing.

“What is that!”

“You bastards, I’ll beat you all up!”

The sudden appearance caused confusion for a moment, but the enemies united as one and raised their weapons. However, the courage that had been generated by their numbers was not displayed outwardly.

WHEEK!

The whistle sounded again. Twenty bodies stiffened as if they had been frightened by the howl of a wild beast.

Alan also felt a chilling vibration across his skin, but unlike his enemies, he was able to move.

The inspector moved like a shadow. When he moved his wrist, the explorer fell down with a jerk. Judging by his chest heaving slightly, he was not dead.

The inspector, who had quickly sorted out the situation, turned towards Allen.

“thank you.”

The gray-haired woman nodded slightly at Alan’s thanks. The badge on her chest sparkled.

The badge, which looked like a broken glass, meant that he was a direct explorer of the Breaker. And his eyes were closed.

‘Blind?’

Alan, who had been wondering for a moment, thought of the cart that had rolled down and asked for the woman’s understanding.

“There are some injured people, so I’ll go down for a moment.”

This time, the woman only moved her head.

Fortunately, Utah and the cart were safe. When Alan returned with the cart, the lot was crowded with people.

The unconscious explorers were captured and their bodies were placed on the wagons they had brought with them.

“Is this yours?”

A cold voice was heard from the side. The woman was standing there without making a sound.

Alan looked at the knight and the leopard lying at her feet. The leopard, which had followed its master’s orders until the end, was completely ruined.

Alan asked cautiously.

“In this case, is my ownership recognized?”

“Where did you register?”

“It’s a breaker.”

“Then that’s good. I don’t know about other places, but Breaker is like that. If necessary, you just have to pay a fair price.”

It was the largest explorer’s guild in Maze City, a city full of all sorts of tricks and taunts.

‘Or maybe there’s something I don’t know.’

In fact, it was more strange that Breaker, which was comparable to most large corporations, had no flaws. It was just a thought that suddenly occurred to Allen, and he never said it out loud.

The woman pointed to Utah on the cart.

“Party member?”

“No. I was being chased by the automaton and then I cooperated.”

“You protected him even though he was a complete stranger?”

Even though my eyelids were closed, I felt like I knew what the eyes inside them looked like.

And silence. It lasted until a group emerged from the crowd.

This time, he was wearing a Breaker badge. The man standing in front spoke to the woman.

“I have arrived. Do you have any instructions?”

“Heal these two.”

“All right.”

Their actions were swift. They laid Alan down on the floor, injected him with an injection into his thigh, and easily removed the hemostatic agent and bullet. He even drank some potion, which made his body feel more energetic.

“It’s all over.”

“You guys move the wagon and the wounded to headquarters. Put the loot in front of this guy.”

“All right.”

“You, follow me.”

Alan stood up at those words. He felt pain in the area where he had been injured, but it was bearable.

“I don’t know if you could have solved it yourself, but since I helped you, you should at least investigate the circumstances. Do you agree?”

“I agree.”

“I won’t ask you any difficult questions.”

True to her word, the woman asked a simple question as she ascended towards the ground.

What floor did the incident start from, did you discover any unusual phenomena, how did you come into conflict with that group, etc.

It was so easy to answer that I began to question whether the survey was even correct. It ended quickly and the silence became longer.

Alan, who had come up to the ground, took off his mask. The demon told him to always wear it so he wouldn’t inhale dust, but now the stale air felt pleasant.

Alan followed the woman up the fortress walls, a place that ordinary explorers were not allowed to visit.

The landing pad above had a streamlined air vehicle. To ride an air vehicle within Maze City, you had to pay a high tax.

Alan asked her.

“Is there still any investigation left?”

“ah······.”

The silence was unusually long. The red lights attached to the aerial vehicle also colored her cheeks red.

“Since you’re here anyway, just take the bus. The destination is headquarters.”

“I’m going there too. Thank you.”

Anyway, I had to go there because the place I often stay is nearby. The seats were facing each other.

Since there are no signals or traffic jams in the air, the aerial vehicle arrives at its destination quickly.

Breaker’s headquarters was the tallest building in the area, behind the five-story building that Allen usually frequented.

The woman who stepped onto the rooftop landing pad first took the lead, and Alan followed her. The sky was clear today, so the stars were clearly visible.

The woman also had her eyes open and was observing the stars. Her pupils were clearly following the stars.

‘You weren’t blind?’

The woman whose eyes met Allen’s closed her eyelids again. Then she opened her mouth as if nothing had happened.

“The peculiar entity, the article, would be nice if you could sell it to us.”

“I will do that.”

It might have been a suggestion to a woman, but Alan didn’t feel that way, so he readily agreed. It would have been difficult if the Breaker side had thought it was a disgrace when they had saved his life.

Of course, there was also a reason why Alan’s intuition screamed that a bird smaller than the knight was real.

“Okay, bye.”

The mood for parting was set, but the woman’s destination was also the first floor, and the two rode the elevator together. The inside of the elevator was quiet.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────