Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 28



Only Noblemtl

Eyes (3)

The labyrinth is not a place you can go back and forth through in one day.

Even in a maze, it can take several days to go from the first floor to the tenth floor, and if you go much lower, it can take several months.

On long journeys, if there was no proper means of recovery, the labyrinth explorers had to carry a companion who had been turned into a burden.

I don’t know if there are any healers, but in some ways, they are more valuable than magic engineers.

That is why the labyrinth explorers carried out systematic battles to prevent injuries.

‘It’s been a while since you formed a party.’

Alan watched the battle of the explorers he followed closely.

It seemed no joke that he had come down to take out the goalkeeper, as he had time to deal with the automatons rushing in in groups of five or six.

‘It’s like looking at well-meshing gears.’

It is a world where individuals can suppress the majority and even possess the power to deal with armies, but such people are a very small minority.

Until then, the majority had overwhelmed the minority. Naturally, it was easier to explore the labyrinth by joining forces.

‘Should we look for people? Or add more automatons?’

Alan, who was pondering his future exploration plans, turned his gaze forward. The battle situation had suddenly changed.

The man who had interrupted the conversation with the Lizardman, Dennis, with blue hair, jumped forward.

“Catch my eye!”

In front of Dennis, there was a line of automatons that resembled gorillas, and when they opened their mouths, iron bars that resembled gun barrels popped out.

‘Is this a weapon similar to a magic gun?’

As Alan had thought, the gun barrel glowed blue and a bullet was fired, aimed at Dennis.

It was obvious that he would get hit if he continued to advance, but Dennis didn’t care. Instead, he threw himself into the gunfire.

His two legs, or rather his prosthetic magicware, began to transform. Originally they were like normal human legs, but the joints bent backwards, transforming into animal-like shapes.

thud!

A strong footstep. Dennis’ body, lightly bounced, touched the ceiling.

Then, a blue bullet intercepted the spot where he was. However, the gorillas’ purpose was not achieved.

Dennis, who had been kicking the wall like a grasshopper, had already landed behind the enemy’s camp.

The three magic users, including Lizardman and Kakda, who had been entrusted with Evi’s repairs, poured out ‘air blasts’ one after another.

Boom boom boom!

Exactly three loud bangs were heard. The gorillas whose eyes had been focused on Dennis’s movements were scattered, and many of them were damaged by their heads falling off or their bodies being crushed.

A good fighter knows how to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses without mercy. The three warriors who had been waiting rushed in and finished off the remaining gorillas with blunt weapons.

Alan nodded.

‘It’s an expected result.’

If you only look at the firepower, you might think they are similar, but there was a stark difference.

The ability to think straight. Unlike automatons that simply perceive enemies and react according to what is engraved on the soul stone, humans are able to use their heads.

This aspect also changes when the underground people appear from the 11th floor, but in any case, it was a huge advantage in the maze section.

After collecting the loot, the party and Alan moved again, stopping at the entrance to the 10th floor to begin reorganizing.

The 10th floor has much wider passageways than other floors, has many automatons, and goalkeepers appear from anywhere.

You had to be in top condition because you never knew when a battle would break out.

Alan took a book out of his bag. It was a very expensive book, but he paid for it without hesitation. It was the ‘Star Character Elementary Interpretation’.

I was a bit upset when I saw 5 million coins, but that was only for a moment. I thought I was gaining new knowledge, so my account was in good shape.

Just as I was about to immerse myself in my own world, Dennis approached me.

“You’re really hard-working. Are you usually like this?”

“Except for the time spent sleeping,”

“No, what I mean is, is that the same in a labyrinth? It would be troublesome if an enemy suddenly jumps out of a manhole that appears while you’re reading a book.”

“If there are a lot of people at the campsite, I watch them, but if not, I keep a close eye on them.”

“Yeah. That’s a sensible response.”

Alan closed his book and looked at Dennis. He probably didn’t come here without a purpose. He waited for a moment, then Dennis rolled up his trousers.

A silver-gray prosthetic leg was revealed, hidden beneath the detachable bottom of the trousers.

“Could you please check this too?”

“Is there anything that feels uncomfortable or broken?”

“No, that’s not it. Since a magic engineer has joined the party, it would be good to have him checked. If there’s anything wrong, we can quickly identify it.”

“Then please sit in the cart while I look around.”

As Dennis sat down on the cart, Alan began to slowly examine him with his eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong with the mana pack. Don’t you recharge it separately?”

“I also have Manaheart, so if I’m really in danger, I can use that. I also have a few in reserve.”

Alan continued his inspection after checking the mana pack attached to the inside of Dennis’ clothes.

“Let me touch it for a moment.”

Alan opened the metal plate near Dennis’ thigh and pulled out the cable. Dennis’s eyes widened as the power supply through the mana pack was cut off.

“Isn’t it too serious?”

“This way, your magic resistance will be weakened and you can perform a full inspection. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”

Alan responded like a dentist, activating his clairvoyant powers and examining the inside thoroughly.

Magic Wear in the form of prosthetic limbs uses magical power as an energy source to enable joints to operate beyond human limits.

The runes [Acceleration], [Weight Loss], and [Enhancement] were also engraved to greatly increase performance and efficiency.

“[Hardening] only makes the material harder, so [Reinforcement] is used to balance it out.”

“It’s definitely different. The kid who bragged about being a magic engineer last time couldn’t even read runes. But his hands are a bit different?”

“We are just performing a normal inspection…”

“Hmm, maybe I was mistaken?”

There was nothing Dennis could read from Alan’s expressionless face. In fact, his intuition was right. Alan was examining the prosthetic leg he was touching for the first time.

There was nothing unusual about it, but if you looked at it for too long, you might start to get suspicious, so Alan decided that this was enough.

“The runes and the magic circuits are all normal. There are no scratches or dents, and the cooling system is also sound.”

“Of course I should. I can’t buy a car because of this.”

“That’s right. If the prosthetic leg is badly damaged, Dennis won’t be able to eat because of the cost of repairs.”

The brown-scaled Kakda poked its face out. The lizardman’s characteristic scales sparkled in the light of the magic stone lantern.

“The amount of money you’ve been borrowing from me is enormous. There’s no such thing as a beggar.”

“I paid it all back. Stop spreading rumors. You magician.”

“Don’t call me that, call me a wizard.”

As magic became more widespread and anyone could use it, wizards began calling such people magic users.

The magic wand that Dennis uttered was a word used in teasing. Don’t you tease a child who can’t control his pee by calling him a wet-pee? It was a derogatory term that arose in that context.

Kakda was feeling bad and tapped the maze floor with his tail.

There have been times when I’ve become childish when I’m with my friends.

Alan opened his mouth in that atmosphere.

“You said you were going to work at the Magic Tower? Then aren’t you a wizard?”

“Of course it’s a wizard.”

Kakda’s tail curled in a circle, as if he was happy to be asked a question.

“I learned magic since my scales were soft. I bought Evi to use magic to help my body, and the ‘air explosion’ I used earlier is my natural ability.”

“Which tower are you applying to?”

“It’s the Ethel Tower.”

Essel Mattap was one of the best. If you were to compare it to other companies, it was a major corporation. So it was a place that any magician or magic apprentice would want to work.

“You came down to the labyrinth because of the bonus points.”

“Yes. If you apply for the Dungeon Explorer program, the lower your class, the more bonus points you get. There’s no upper limit.”

Kakda nodded as if he was right. Unlike Dennis, he raised the corners of his mouth as if he could understand what was being said, and showed Abby the memory crystal he had pulled out.

“Do you happen to know how to use memory editing?”

“No. I haven’t studied that yet.”

Ebi was a magical tool that used a central processing unit made of soul stones to read spells contained in memory crystals and cast magic.

Alan guessed why Kakda had said that.

“Because of the time limit?”

“The contents of the memory correction keep getting deleted, so I have to buy it every time. I’m really curious about the face of the developer of the technology, or rather, magic.”

“What will you do when you meet me?”

“You must be a successful wizard, so you should just stay quiet. What can you do?”

Even in Alan’s eyes, the memory correction initialization technique was the pinnacle of sorcery.

The claim of the magic towers selling memory crystals with magic was this: if used continuously, the circuits will deteriorate and cause accidents to the user.

The reason was plausible, but no one believed it. If the memory modification was strong, wouldn’t it be difficult to sell more? Companies had to somehow sell their products to make a profit.

In fact, it was similar not only to memory correction but also to other things. For example, the battery of a cell phone would start to stutter after two years, or the magic circuit of a TV that was being watched well would suddenly break.

Alan asked, returning the memory correction.

“If Mr. Kakda gets a job at Essel Tower, he’ll be doing the same thing, right?”

“Now is now, then is then. But I’m applying to the Labyrinth Exploration Department, so that won’t have anything to do with that.”

The lizardman turned the question as smoothly as his scales.

People’s perceptions and minds change depending on where they stand. Alan had no intention of saying anything about that.

As they began to run out of things to talk about, Alan opened his book and Dennis started talking to Kakda.

“I heard the news that the goalkeeper was taken care of, so I came down, so it must be about time for him to reappear.”

“I hope it happens this time.”

Even on the same 11th floor, the evaluation differs depending on whether you deal with the goalkeeper or avoid it. That’s why people who need results like Kakda always aim for the goalkeeper.

The lie that he had faced the goalkeeper did not work. It may fool him for a while, but he will soon be found out.

The labyrinth is not a place to come down for fun, but a magical realm that realizes high risk, high return better than anywhere else.

That’s why you can quickly tell whether your opponent is a beginner or a veteran just by looking at their skills and their attitude towards the enemy.

As the two’s story was gradually coming to a close, Dennis looked around, curious about the book Alan was reading.

Of course, knowing the value of knowledge, I asked the owner’s permission first.

“Can I take a look? I’m curious what the Star Character Book looks like.”

“You can’t rent it, but it’s okay to just watch it from the side.”

“Let’s take a look. Ugh···.”

Dennis glanced at the pages of the book for a moment, then ran off with a look on his face like he had drank 100% lemon juice.

“What is that?”

“This is a beginner’s interpretation of the star characters.”

“I only see the black part. There are more letters than spaces. The letters all look the same.”

“No. Depending on the amount of magic power granted, the strength of the stars will change, and the meaning of the letters will change. It will also change depending on the angle at which the lines are connected.”

Dennis pretended to cover his ears as if he didn’t want to hear it, then muttered to Kakda.

“He seems like a better scholar than you.”

“You’re a magic engineer, right?”

“No, aren’t wizards also a kind of scholar?”

“It’s different because we’ll be supporting the combat series.”

*

The next day, the party was able to meet the goalkeeper they had been hoping for. As if the heavens were helping, there were no swarms of automatons milling around.

Knock knock knock!

The goalkeeper, recognizing the enemy, approached with a heavy noise.

A bulky steel body, thick legs to match, and a huge hammer reminiscent of heavy equipment.

The walls of the maze shook as the troll-like automaton, easily over 3 meters tall, moved.

The goalkeeper’s single eye cast a red light in all directions, so intense that the gray rock appeared to be soaked in blood.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────