Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 344



Only Noblemtl

In the middle of the empty desert, sand rose up. The inside of the door thus created was not a desert, but a city.

As the necromancers of the Kamai School were about to rush in, Alan overtook them and entered first. The first structure he saw was the gate.

“It’s tall and clean.”

Nicola, who had followed along in a hurry, left a comment. As he had said, the rocks were doggedly cut straight and stacked in order.

The power suit slightly bent its knees. The artificial muscles shot the heavy mass upward. It landed on the wall with a thud.

Alan glanced over the city’s overall appearance. Most of the houses were angular, made of stone, brick, and concrete. The checkerboard pattern seen from the sky indicated that the Necropolis was a planned city.

Taylor also climbed up the wall.

“You can’t live in a place like this. It’s just a ruin.”

“Without human supervision, things fall apart faster than you think.”

“Necropolises are also ruins hidden in the cracks of space, right? Like the mines, the facility where the little ones were, or the island sent by Leviathan.”

“Similar.”

“Can you go out whenever you want?”

“···It’s not easy.”

Even when examining it with [Space Manipulation], there didn’t seem to be any weak points that could be penetrated. At least near the gate where we first entered, there seemed to be some possibility.

“I didn’t know the Necromancer leader was also skilled in spatial magic. Opposites attract, is that it?”

“There may be a treasure that distorts space.”

Since this is a tourist attraction and people walk through every nook and cranny, even if it existed, it would be very difficult to find because it is hidden.

There was nothing worth seeing besides the cityscape, so I launched a few falcons and chased after the necromancer.

Their destination was a structure reminiscent of a religious facility. A tall, wide dome building with corridors extending outward and wrapping around it in a square shape.

In the center of the courtyard, surrounded by a corridor and filled with dirt, was a dried-up pond. An elder wearing a golden mask was drawing something nearby.

“oh!”

“oh···.”

Taylor and Allen were both impressed, but their meanings were different. Taylor was amazed by the magnificence of the mask, while Allen sensed the elder’s level.

‘At least mid depth 6?’

It’s not something that can be easily judged, so I ended up just making a rough guess. The difference from the beginning to the end of 6 is bigger than the gap between 1 and 5.

The necromancers rushed in to help the elder with his work. As more people joined in, the magic circle grew larger in an instant.

Alan looked at the dome building, which was mainly made of white marble. The beautiful tiles formed flower-like shapes, and the stained glass showed off a gorgeous light.

The baboons and jackals also left, leaving only the elder with Alan. He too was at depth 6.

Even though there was no depth 7, there were two 6s in a small organization made up of blood relatives. I could feel the power of the necromancer group that survived for 500 years after Kamai’s death.

“How long is the work left?”

“It’ll be over soon. Do you know why the Necropolis was destroyed?”

“I understand that Kamai died and the group dispersed naturally.”

Like Catan, the records of why he died were unclear. There were all sorts of rumors, such as that he tried to become a god but failed, that he used all his life force to prevent a disaster, and that he was assassinated.

“Are you telling me the truth?”

Alan’s voice was faintly filled with anticipation, and soon Nicola was also close by, listening.

But if you ‘expect’, you will be betrayed.

Each elder shook his head firmly.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”

“Are you telling some useless joke to relieve your boredom?”

“I sense anger in your choice of words. Once the work is done and the ritual begins, you will know without me having to tell you.”

The magic circle grew larger as each elder uttered a sly word. The necromancers drew hieroglyphs using their own blood, which were also a type of rune.

Even though it was the same [Flame], its form was different depending on which continent it was used on and what era it was in. The effect was the same, so the magician could use the rune that was convenient for him.

However, things changed a bit after the discovery of the Labyrinth. The standard was set based on the runes found in the Labyrinth.

Alan also studied the ancient Kemet runes to utilize Kamai’s knowledge, which allowed him to roughly decipher the uses of the magic circles.

“[Soul] [Wandering]? Astral projection?”

“You’ve caught the thread. I have to join you too, so I’ll be going now.”

He disappeared without even giving me a proper answer. I’ve always felt that older people like to harass me by being quiet.

I looked at Taylor, and he looked back.

“why?”

“I just saw it.”

“Just what. I get the general idea.”

“Guess.”

“Why do you interrupt me? I’m just trying to joke around. How else would I be able to bother you?”

“Taylor is the worst.”

Zion shook his head at Taylor, then opened his arms wide towards Alan.

“I can answer any questions you have. Ask me anything.”

“Do you know anything?”

“···.”

Zion was silent at Taylor’s attack. In fact, Allen didn’t expect much from her either, he just wanted her to be energetic and healthy.

“Something feels wrong. I will forgive you out of generosity as your senior, so tell me honestly what you were thinking.”

“I didn’t think about it at all.”

“You don’t think of anything when you see me?”

Zion held onto the tail of the horse and hung on. Although the nuance was a bit strange, it was obvious who he had learned it from. Taylor, the mastermind, was laughing heartily.

Alan realized the importance of education. Humans are social animals, and they can change just by forming relationships.

Anyway, even though Taylor got into bad waters, it was pretty good from Alan’s perspective. The slightly sly nature that was in Sion added humanity to the otherwise ruthless killer.

“Are you lost in your own thoughts again?”

Zion approached briskly as if she was going to do something, but her wish was not granted, because each elder called for Allen.

“Come to the center of the magic circle.”

The size of the magic circle was similar to a soccer field. It was only the size that was visible, and if you look at the compression ratio, it was an exaggeration, but it was comparable to the size of a small city.

Each elder handed Alan a black ankh. As a golden current appeared on the surface of the ankh, the necromancers murmured.

“Be quiet. You come this way…”

Alan stood in the center of the magic circle, and four elders took the four directions: east, west, south, and north.

“How strong is the magic circle? Can it fail before it even starts?”

“It won’t come off even if you rub it with force. And don’t worry, I have extra materials. Can we focus now?”

“yes.”

As Alan stopped asking questions, the elders recited spells from their respective directions. They even cut their palms with a blade to drip blood.

‘It must be uncomfortable.’

Why the palm? When making magic tools, the sensation of the fingertips is important, but if it was like that, it would be difficult to work because of the pain.

‘Can’t you hurt your arm?’

I wanted to ask, but it didn’t seem like a situation where I could get an answer. The dark blue-green magic power that poured out of the magic circle gradually expanded in size and rose into the sky.

It was a pillar of light. It was a different color, but it felt similar to the one stretching into the sky from the palace of the King of Mol-an.

Clouds gathered in the sky where only the sun showed its presence. The white clouds condensed over the magic circle and turned completely black.

A spark of tangible, turquoise magic that anyone could detect, grew in frequency and struck the ground with lightning.

The target was Alan. He didn’t feel alive at all, but he tried to resist the lightning just to test it out. Just by slightly releasing his magical control, a thick barrier was created.

The lightning’s force was dampened by the barrier, and by the time it reached Alan, it had become like a cotton ball.

‘Vertigo? The kind that shakes your mind?’

The first attempt ended in failure due to Alan’s resistance.

“Indeed, your magic resistance is amazing.”

“It’s similar to the city defense barrier.”

If this was Soldos and not Kemet, Alan would have been in a lot of trouble.

The elders attempted a second attempt without any additional materials. A larger lightning bolt struck the summit.

This time, he accepted it silently. Unlike the strong momentum, the strange magic stayed only on Alan’s head.

‘It feels different from the wish piece.’

The energy of the fragments somehow tried to reach the brain, but the lightning’s magical power simply enveloped it like a mother bird brooding over her eggs.

Alan looked around. He had accepted the lightning strike without any change.

‘No.’

A change occurred. The world stopped. The magic around them froze, and the elders froze. So did everyone else.

And Alan was looking at himself, or rather his spirit or soul, out of his body, looking at the power suit.

‘There is a saying that when you are about to die, life passes by quickly.’

If you were to look back on your life in that short time, how fast would it have to be? On the contrary, if the review was slow, time would have stood still.

Alan poked his head into the chest of the power suit and saw a small boy crouching, startled by the lightning. Of course, his time had stopped.

‘Where should I go?’

At that moment of such contemplation, a vibration was felt. The black ankh that had also disembodied began to tremble strongly in a certain direction.

Alan followed the vibrations. It was quite awkward to walk in a spirit state, but when he strongly thought about walking, it soon became easy.

I left the courtyard and went through the corridor into the city. But something different from before caught my eye.

‘There are a lot of residents.’

The necropolis, which was thought to be a ruin, was full of people. Or, to be exact, souls.

‘Didn’t the elders know?’

I glanced back, and the scenery beyond the corridor had completely changed. The courtyard was full of plants and trees, and the pond was filled with clear water.

Looking straight ahead again, the cityscape has changed. The ruined buildings have been neatly transformed, and the spirits have become human-like.

Alan looked at the Ankh, which had stopped vibrating. This meant that from now on, he would have to figure out a solution on his own.

‘Wait, freeze time? Kamai should take his time searching and study here?’

Ank felt uneasy and trembled violently, then calmed down. Learning to solve the consciousness is learning, so he moved forward.

First, I examined the souls. They were mimicking their past behaviors just like reptilians. At that moment, the kids running around the market broke through Alan’s body and disappeared on the other side.

‘You’re repeating the past.’

I understood why the elders said that. If the past repeats itself, we will also be able to see how Kamai died.

The missing kids ran through Alan’s body again, then crashed into a passing cart and rolled around.

‘uh?’

Alan, feeling something strange, reached out his hand to the stall. His palm passed through the jar on display. He waved his arm in front of the merchant, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Am I the only ghost?”

As I spoke out loud, the merchant’s shoulders shook slightly. He picked at his ear with his little finger and resumed his business.

“Can you hear me?”

“Is there a bug in your ear? Why do I keep hearing a buzzing sound?”

It was the same for other merchants as well as the jar merchants. Some people didn’t feel it at all.

Alan explored the surroundings. After listening to the conversation, he learned that the place where the ceremony was held was the city hall.

I headed to the top of the dome building, thinking that since I was a ghost, no one would be able to stop me. It seems that people with high status tend to prefer higher places.

But contrary to expectations, there was no kamai there. Instead, there was just a pot-bellied man eating only dates.

Alan slowly walked around the room, feeling doubtful, and then stopped in front of the window.

‘Was the Necropolis this small?’

It was embarrassing to call it a city. When I thought about it carefully, the dome building was the same shape, but it didn’t have any tiles or stained glass.

‘Kamai’s past?’

I came in with high expectations, but ended up looking for Mia.

‘No way, right?’

End