Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 3



Only Noblemtl

Pirate (1)

Alan sat up. The hot sunlight was stinging his eyes, making it difficult to sleep any longer.

“Ugh···.”

I could never get used to the hard deck. My whole body ached like I had been punched by a boxer.

As I was stretching and looking at the horizon, Robinson, who was holding the wheel, spoke to me.

“You’re awake. How was your sleep?”

“I’m getting used to it as I sleep. I could live on the boat.”

Of course, it was a lie. My parents were worried because I was already weak, so I couldn’t say, “I’m dying from pain.” White lies existed for times like these.

Robinson nodded. Whether he took his son’s words at face value or just let it slide because he had no choice, only he knew.

Alan entered the wheelhouse, slowly dissolving the hard, badly flavored preserved food, or rather, the lump of nutrients, in his saliva.

“I’ll catch it. Just lean against the wall and rest.”

“Okay.”

Robinson immediately gave way. The sea was so calm that it seemed as if heaven had helped, so it didn’t matter who took the wheel.

Robinson didn’t really relax or rest easy, though. He sat down next to his wife and inserted a needle connected to a mana battery into his arm.

The fact that the couple had magic powers was one of the reasons they decided to escape. Even if fossil fuels were insufficient, as long as there was mana, the engine would somehow run.

In fact, if there were only two of them, it would have taken much longer to get here, but thanks to Alan, who was fine even after exerting the strength of 5 or 6 magic workers, the time was greatly shortened.

Alan steered the boat by the compass and the sun, as his father had taught him. He had an old map, but it was useless because he couldn’t see the land.

The vast ocean spread out before my eyes. The curiosity and sense of adventure that had been heightened by seeing the scenery for the first time had completely subsided. Since it was the same scenery every time, it was no longer surprising.

Still, there was a sense of anticipation stirring in a corner of my heart.

‘You can directly encounter a world that you have only experienced indirectly through books, newspapers, and other people’s stories.’

If Lanka was a narrow well covered with moss, foreign countries were the blue sky and the sun.

Alan was not satisfied with the well. He wanted to climb up to the top and see the wider sky, and experience the world outside the well.

‘The magic tools in the garbage dump were just broken ones that were thrown away. Now, you can see for yourself how they work and where they are made.’

Of course, there is a prerequisite that you have to set foot on land, but isn’t imagination free? In addition, as my positive mind grew, my body also became full of energy.

Alan, who had been sailing happily, finally swapped places with his mother and left the wheelhouse at noon.

On deck, Robinson was making drinking water from seawater. The desalination plant, which was said to be the hardest to obtain, was sucking in seawater endlessly.

Alan tilted his head at the sight.

“Are you making more than usual?”

“I’ve been lucky so far.”

“There wasn’t much wind and the waves were very weak. Yes, it was really easy to steer. An old man who used to be a fisherman when he was young said that the sea was a monster that ate people, but I guess that’s not necessarily true.”

“No, that’s right.”

Robinson straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He went into the wheelhouse for a moment and fetched an old map.

“The place I’m pointing at with my finger right now is probably our approximate location. It’s called the Haeryong Strait.”

“I heard that a strait is a sea between lands, but I can’t see any land.”

“Even if there are hundreds of kilometers between the landmasses, a strait is a strait. I asked you earlier why you make so much drinking water.”

“yes.”

“We’ve been lucky so far and haven’t been bothered by the waves, but now it’s different. We stockpile when we have the leeway in case something happens. We can’t make water when the waves are trying to capsize the boat.”

It was just as Robinson said. The Haeryong Strait was much rougher and more violent than the seas they had passed through so far. Robinson was also in charge of steering the ship.

Alan sat inside the cockpit, charging the mana batteries with Mary. Even as his stomach was churning in real time due to motion sickness, a curiosity began to sprout. It was about his father’s piloting skills.

“My dad seems like a real veteran.”

“I was a fisherman when I was young.”

Robinson noticed Mary’s gaze and nodded slightly.

“Originally, my family was fishermen for generations. So, your father-in-law, your grandfather was like that too.”

“You’ve never told me about your grandfather before.”

“Because the sea took everything away. My father, my brothers, everything. My mother was also shocked and suffered from depression until she passed away.”

Even in Lanka, where there were many starvation victims, it was rare for an entire family to disappear at once, except in a war.

Alan’s mind was starting to feel uneasy. Just imagining losing his father and mother made his heart beat wildly. He quickly changed the subject to shake off the ominous thoughts.

“Where did you say you were going?”

“I told you last time···.”

Mary looked at her son’s face for a long time and then nodded.

“I’m going to the Soldos Federation’s sphere of influence.”

“Soldos···.”

It was the real owner of Lanka and the great power that had started the civil war. I felt excited about going there.

“Soldos is the land of opportunity. It is a place where even the most humble of people can grow dragon wings. Why? Because there is a labyrinth.”

The great powers had one thing in common, besides their strong military and economic power: they had labyrinths within their own countries.

The raw materials and technology found in the labyrinth naturally made the country wealthy. The cities built near the labyrinth were an excellent source of tax revenue.

“With resources constantly flowing out, we will be able to achieve overwhelming development compared to other countries.”

“Can we go there too?”

“The labyrinth is a dangerous place. For ordinary people like us, it would be better to settle down in a peaceful city or town. The cities in the southwest in particular have good weather and friendly people. You will be able to fully pursue your dreams there. Now, since the sea is rough, let’s focus now.”

Mary interrupted at the right time. It would have been enough to just point out the positive aspects, but there was no need to preach about the negative aspects as well.

It is true that the Soldos Federation is called the ‘Land of Opportunity’, but that is a phrase that applies only to a small number of people. How many people enter a foreign country illegally with nothing and achieve success?

Even if they managed to avoid surveillance and enter the country illegally, there were still problems. It was difficult to overcome the imbalance in academic ability and cultural differences in just one or two years, and above all, it was difficult to be active before obtaining legal status.

There were many problems, but Mary was careful not to say anything. She didn’t want to burden her son, who was already having a hard time, by saying unnecessary things.

“Ugh···.”

Alan’s face turned pale because of the rough current. As a mother, I wish I could feel the pain for him, but that was impossible. I just pray that he can get through this ordeal safely.

Ellen forced the corners of her mouth to rise when her eyes met her mother’s. Mary smiled back.

‘Let’s not talk nonsense here.’

The clever Alan knew. He would have known it when he was ten, and now that he was sixteen, he knew it. His experience in the factory and his reading had given him an idea of ​​what was going on outside.

But I pretended not to know so that my mother wouldn’t worry. There was hope, so there was no need to think about misfortune first.

Thud!

Alan’s head automatically turned upward. The dark night sky scattered large raindrops in all directions. The wind was strong and the waves were so violent that his stomach was upset.

Still, I held on. I soothed my rumbling stomach by slowly and steadily pumping horsepower into the engine so that it wouldn’t stall.

It was almost an instinctive act. When I closed my eyes in a deep sleep and opened them, the situation had changed drastically. Sometimes the rain stopped, and sometimes the moon peeked out through the clouds.

Finally the sun rose, and land was visible.

“Phew···.”

Robinson, who had been holding the wheel until now, let out a deep breath. Tension and worry escaped with the exhale, and relief and peace came in with the inhale.

“You’ve made it through the hump. You and Alan have had a hard time. You must be shivering all night, and your body must be sore and your stomach must be rumbling, but you need to eat at least a little to endure the journey.”

Robinson also spread out the map while dissolving the nutrient lump in water and eating it.

“Can you see the land? It’s called the Serpent Islands.”

“Everything around here is named after marine life.”

“I don’t know if it’s true, but they say that a long time ago, there was a sea dragon’s nest here. Sea dragons command sea creatures, so it’s an appropriate name in a way. There are a lot of reefs near that archipelago, and the current is strong, so if you approach without caution….”

Robinson, who had been trying to shake off his fatigue and explaining this and that, stopped talking. He took out a telescope hanging on the wall and looked into the distance.

A ship came into view. It was fast and had several crew members on board. Even though the crew’s faces were blurry due to the distance, they looked menacing.

It is common for someone to change like that after enduring the harsh life at sea, but this was too much. In addition, something flashed in the morning sunlight. Judging by its long shape, it was clearly the muzzle of a gun.

He was a pirate.

“Fuck!”

Robinson threw the telescope to Alan and took up the wheel again, ignoring the efficiency of horsepower consumption and raising the speed of the ship to maximum.

Tudadadada!

When people are emitting all their power, they quickly become tired. The engine was no different, screaming in pain.

Alan looked at the pirates through his telescope. The size difference between the pirate ship and the fishing boat was obvious. It reminded him of a dump truck and a compact car.

‘If I just hit it, it’ll split in half.’

Even the speed was extremely fast. If the fishing boat moved one step ahead, the pirate ship would follow three steps behind.

Robinson also realized this fact. If he continued to run across the sea like this, he would definitely be caught.

“No. Please.”

Pirates are pirates for a reason. It was better to be sold as a slave or become their servant. If you were unlucky, you could end up being a target for boredom.

How did we leave Lanka, now that we could see land, all we had to do was follow the coastline, we couldn’t get caught like this.

Robinson turned the wheel. The bow of the ship pointed toward the archipelago. It was better to gamble on a glimmer of hope than to be captured and turned into livestock or killed.

The name of the sea area surrounding the Sea Serpent Archipelago is ‘Sea Dragon’s Anger’. As the name suggests, the ocean currents began to flow strongly.

The ocean currents, which had a set direction, ignored even that and turned their heads at every moment. As a result, the small fishing boat staggered like someone who had poured alcohol directly into their blood vessels.

“Alan! What distance?”

Alan stretched out his hand and raised his thumb, just as his father had taught him. He compared the size of the pirate ship to his thumbnail. If it were that size.

“It’s 500 meters!”

Fortunately, there was hope. Now it was just a little further to go. There were many reefs between the archipelago, so any pirate ship larger than a fishing boat would have to turn around.

Time passed more slowly than ever. Robinson gripped the wheel, which was slippery because of the sweat on his palms.

‘Please. Please.’

At that moment, the ship rose high. Heavy waves lifted the vessel upward.

Alan held onto the wall. He was out of his mind. Soon the boat was sinking and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It was like his heart was sinking.

It was a great relief that the ship did not capsize. Alan could see the archipelago getting closer. If I were to exaggerate a bit, I could count the number of leaves on the tree.

Boom!

But the shock that followed made my head go blank. My mind was so empty that I had no time to think about what was going on.

The cause was the reef. The wave that lifted the fishing boat high drove it into the reef. Like a backbreaker, a wrestling technique that crushes the back and spine.

The boat broke into pieces, spewing its passengers into the sea. Alan, too, floundered in the salty water.

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