Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 30



Only Noblemtl

Eyes (5)

Alan loaded Kakda onto the cart and hurried back to the battlefield. Even though it was close, he couldn’t see ahead because of the black fog, so his anxiety was evident.

“Phew···, nothing much happened.”

Kakda took a deep breath and joined his colleagues, while Alan waited behind them like the first time.

The shield generators broke as they tried to block the optic rays, and the magic users leaned against the walls or stood on poles to prevent themselves from collapsing.

The goalkeeper was defending against Dennis’ attack with his upper body bent and the hammer raised in front of him.

Every time Dennis’ short sword scraped the goalkeeper, a blue light appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

‘It’s Manasod.’

It was different from the products of enlightenment called Aura and Aurablade, also known as Geomgi and Geomgang.

If the sword and swordsmanship were the goals pursued by magic users who strengthened their bodies with magic, then the Mana Sword was a weapon created by magical engineering.

Manaswords were used for similar purposes, such as emitting lasers or plasma to cut something.

It was an essential item for dungeon explorers who could not use auras and preferred close combat.

The synergy of Manasod’s fierce power and Dennis’s quick steps pushed the goalkeeper back.

With each swish of his wrist, a wound appeared on the goalkeeper’s armor, and red sparks rose up, contrasting with the blue glow of the Mana Sword.

The goalkeeper’s eyes blinked slowly. They were recharging, so they were getting darker as time passed, but it seemed like it would take some time for them to return to their original state.

Dennis shouted, jumping back as he dodged the horizontal hand that was flying at him like chasing a fly.

“Ready for the next magic?!”

The goalkeeper’s outer armor was starting to become tattered, but it was only the outer shell that was damaged and not the inside.

“Stop whining so much!”

The staggering magic users responded to the urging and stood up. At the same time, one of the vanguards took out three cylinders from a small bag on his waist and stabbed his comrades in the left shoulder.

It was a combat stimulant containing several drugs, including cardiac stimulants, stimulants, and nutritional supplements. It was the size of a small cylinder that could be held in the hand, and a small needle at the end injected the drugs.

“The stimulant will take effect quickly, so you guys should wait.”

At Kakda’s order, the three vanguards approached the goalkeeper slowly, holding blunt weapons.

The effects of the battle stimulant reawakened the spirits of the magic users, and they prepared the combination magic once again.

[Chain of Cold]

The melted ice from the magic spear and the moisture from the labyrinth came together again, and a pure white chain rose from the ground.

The chains, leaking white steam, bound the goalkeeper’s two arms tightly together. Even when the ice cracked due to the goalkeeper’s resistance, the mana that continued to supply repaired the chains.

The vanguard, led by Dennis, charged. Their movements and avoidance of attacks were quite skillful.

A stranger might say it was impressive, but Alan read the awkwardness in it.

‘It must be an ability gained through brain expansion surgery.’

I stared at the back of the heads of the vanguards as I usually do when examining magic tools. There was a small magicware attached to the part where the neck and head connect, that is, under the cerebellum.

‘A magic wear that raises your reflexes to the limit. I think it’s called Reflex Axel.’

In addition, if you further strengthen your senses with magic power, you can possess even more outstanding abilities.

Even though the goalkeeper’s movements were restricted by the chains, considering his size and mass, each and every blow was a fatal blow.

From an explorer’s perspective, it meant it was slow, but to the average person, it sounded like heavy equipment cutting through the wind.

Anyway, the vanguards often avoided the goalkeeper’s hand. They bent their waists back to avoid the arm, and pulled their bodies with their core muscles to strike the blunt weapon.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of three drums striking each other resonated through the maze.

Just as the magic users used their magic while exhausted, the vanguard also tried to quickly take down the goalkeeper.

Now that he had been weakened during the rapid charging, this was his chance. In fact, the goalkeeper’s body was comparable to scrap metal, unlike at first.

“Not much left! Hurry up!”

Dennis shouted as the goalkeeper stumbled. At the same time, blue light flashed briefly on the bodies of the vanguards.

Knock knock knock!

The striking motion became much faster. He barely avoided the goalkeeper’s attacks, but he didn’t stop attacking.

The act of using magicware and magical power at the same time to temporarily borrow power that is out of your reach is called overclocking, and even if you put aside the side effects, the effect was amazing.

He narrowly avoids the goalkeeper’s attack and swings his weapon. Even if he were to be hit, it would be shallow and Dennis would be able to help him.

It was an organic, coordinated attack, like chopping down a tree. The goalkeeper fell to the side. His eyes, as bright as a magic lamp, completely went out.

“Wow!”

For a moment, a cheer erupted. The vanguards hugged each other, and the magic users hugged each other.

They took care of the goalkeeper without Alan’s help. It was like a party that came down here determined to take down the goalkeeper.

‘Except for the poor response to the wasp swarm…’

Dennis, who had recharged his batteries after a short rest, approached Alan.

“I didn’t notice because I was dealing with the goalkeeper, but another group of automatons attacked?”

“They were entities that resembled wasps.”

Alan showed the magic stones and soul stones he had collected.

“Even if the maze is narrower than the outdoors, it would have been difficult to deal with flying things… Thank you.”

“Thanks to you, I also had a great time.”

I was able to see with my own eyes what kind of results came out when the labyrinth explorers joined forces. The cooperation between people went beyond simple addition and achieved results that were more than that.

Also, I saw firsthand how the goalkeeper moved. While talking to Dennis, I was planning in the back of my head how I would deal with him.

Dennis, who had been talking about this and that, brought up a happy story.

“Do you need any parts? Or can I pay for them?”

“Then I would like to receive the goalkeeper’s eye or soul stone.”

Alan didn’t refuse. Some people say it’s polite to refuse once in a while, but he didn’t want to waste time like that.

Dennis briefly discussed the matter with his colleagues. No one frowned or objected.

They knew it too. If it weren’t for Alan, they would have been running away right now, let alone catching the goalkeeper. Naturally, there was no guarantee of life or injury.

The discussion ended quickly.

“I’ll give you the goalkeeper’s eyeball. But I need proof that you caught him, so go outside and check.”

“Of course I can wait that long. Oh, and can I take a look at the soul stone on the way up?”

“Just look at it carefully so it doesn’t break.”

“That’s a given.”

The Guardian’s Eye was the most expensive loot along with the Soul Stone. The Eye could emit a high-powered beam, making it suitable for immediate use in industry or combat, while the Soul Stone was in high demand as an auxiliary AI for walking tanks or computers.

While the body of the goalkeeper was dismantled and placed on a cart, Alan examined the broken magic tools. Kakda, who had regained his energy, leaned over beside him.

“The shield generator can be fixed.”

“Then I can take over as goalkeeper later.”

“The shield strength should not be weakened. Please remember that it is intended for single use.”

“That’s good. But it would be good to protect yourself in an emergency.”

“That’s the point.”

“That’s right. Even though we’re engaged in dangerous work, life comes first.”

Alan stared blankly at Kakda’s face. It was such an obvious statement, but it felt very awkward when the maze explorer said it.

The labyrinth explorer was a kind of thrill addict. Exploration was dangerous, but he always pursued it. It was similar to people who were obsessed with extreme sports.

He was captivated by the thrill of risking his life. Alan, who entered the labyrinth in pursuit of physical improvement and knowledge, could one day become like that.

After the goalkeeper’s dismantling was finished, the party gathered in one place.

“Shall we take a look around the 11th floor?”

“Open the map.”

Instead of paper, light emitted from the magic user’s eyes. A square map was created in the air.

“Are we there yet? It should only take about an hour to walk.”

“I’ve taken care of the goalkeeper, so he won’t be out for at least two days. Let’s go and have a look.”

“I’ve seen it before, but it wasn’t anything special.”

“When another party took care of the goalkeeper? This time, we did it ourselves, so isn’t it different?”

Opinions turned to the viewing area, and Alan followed the party.

The darkness that filled the downhill path to the 11th floor was thicker than usual. Just looking at it made me feel like I was being sucked in, like a door to a labyrinth.

On the way down, Alan unconsciously rubbed his temples and ears. A gurgling sound echoed in his head.

Kakda, who was walking nearby, watched the scene.

“Labyrinthian tinnitus?”

“Yes. It’s worse than going up and down the floors of the maze.”

“It seems like your magical sensitivity and senses are really keen. Why do you think it’s better than me, a wizard? Are you not interested in wizards by any chance?”

“It’s much more fun to make something···.”

Alan kept his mouth shut. The 11th floor was a cave with a strong trace of artificiality.

The originally bumpy floor was polished to a level where a cart could easily roll along. It looked just like a maze before it was smoothed out.

I had no intention of going too deep in the first place, so I went back up to the 10th floor.

Since I had the goalkeeper, the 10th floor was not difficult. Luckily, I didn’t encounter any other automatons.

There was a party that sighed at the sight of the wagon, perhaps targeting the goalkeeper, but they did not break the unwritten rule of not approaching.

After replenishing my strength at the 9th floor campsite, I headed back to the ground.

Whenever Alan rested, he kept touching the goalkeeper’s eyes. He even pulled out the cable and tried connecting it to the soul stone.

Dennis spoke as he handed me the soup.

“What are you going to do? Attach it to that tiger over there and shoot some eye rays like a goalkeeper? It could be used as a secret weapon when setting fires or fighting people.”

“That’s not it.”

“then?”

“It’s a secret. Oh, and it’s a leopard, not a tiger.”

“Really? Whatever the name, it looks like it can pull a cart and be quite useful. Should we hire it?”

“It’ll be fine as long as the magic supply is smooth. Without a magic engineer, fighting would be impossible, but it would be less of a burden if we could just leave the wagon to them.”

“Ah, the magic supply. That was the problem.”

Unless Dennis was an explorer who went deep into the depths, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to save money if he ran the automaton at his current rate of income.

“Wait a minute. So you’re saying that your Manaheart is that big? Or are you a young master somewhere?”

“I am not your highness.”

“Well, there’s no way a rich kid would go through a labyrinth alone. He seems pretty used to camping too.”

After speaking, Dennis picked up his empty soup bowl and headed towards the pot.

Alan looked behind him, and some letters appeared in his left field of vision.

Name: Dennis

Race: ??

Features: ????, Prosthetic user, Speed ​​battle

The eyes filled in Dennis’ information.

Information was output by linking with Alan’s brain, that is, his memory. Naturally, anything beyond Alan’s understanding could not be displayed.

The eyes also have a memory editing function, so there is no need to memorize unnecessary information.

Alan blinked to clear the question mark.

Name: Dennis

Race: Human

Features: Blue hair, prosthetic limb user, speedster

This time it came out right.

There are still some shortcomings, but they can be resolved through tuning. As big data accumulates, one day, the eyes will be able to analyze living things and objects without Alan’s judgment.

If we do that, we will be able to get one step closer to the ‘Eye of Akasha’ that sees through all things.

After emerging from the labyrinth, Alan scanned the crowd of explorers. His eyes drew an arrow on the castle wall.

name : ??

Race: ???

Features: Black Cloak, Breaker Badge

Even things that would normally just pass by were captured in this way. It meant that one could notice existences outside of one’s consciousness.

Alan looked cautiously at the being he had provisionally named an agent of Breaker. It was not the woman he had seen last time.

Name: Unknown

Race: Human

Features: Black Cloak, Breaker Badge, Agent?

Of course, I don’t know the name, but ‘Agent?’ is a reflection of Alan’s thoughts.

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