Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 35
Only Noblemtl
Goalkeeper (3)
The familiar-looking goalkeeper is a metal giant over 3 meters tall who wields an explosive hammer and fires beams from his red eye.
The goalkeeper who had just appeared before my eyes was the same up to that point, but a black current of air flowed out from his joints and enveloped his entire body.
“Should we run away?”
“You still make that sound after seeing that scene earlier? Even if it jumps out, I’ll chase it through the manhole.”
The explorers who witnessed the goalkeeper chasing them with his limbs dismembered were terrified by the new phenomenon and the sight of the goalkeeper.
Alan maintained his usual expressionless demeanor, but inside he was slightly surprised.
Although the sight of a knight escaping into a manhole can be considered a special phenomenon, there are no records of a monster that appears normally, such as a goalkeeper, doing so.
‘Everyone who witnessed it is either dead or keeping it a secret.’
Anyway, now was the time to focus. Alan took out a rune card from his waistband and hurled it at the center of the explorers.
The letters written on it are [Tranquility]. It is a rune that Alan uses when the magic power of his equipment runs wild, but explorers who use magic will feel something.
“Wake up and look ahead!”
“Yeah, the goalkeeper has already been defeated!”
As the magical power flowing around them touched their skin, the mood of the explorers affected by it also boiled over a little.
Allen finally got the explorer off the wagon and sat him against the wall after he crossed the River of Death. Unfortunately, he did not have the strength or the will to fight while protecting the corpse.
Alan reached out to the party cart. No one stopped him because it was an emergency.
‘I have quite a few empty mana packs. Let’s attach them to my body for now and adjust the automaton.’
Meanwhile, Dennis dashed forward boldly.
I had to analyze how the goalkeeper I was dealing with was different from usual. That way, the damage to my colleagues would be greatly reduced.
The prosthetic leg, which received signals and magical power from the brain, jumped around like my own body. Dennis, who gradually gained elasticity, lowered his posture and glided past the goalkeeper.
‘His eyes… are good.’
The goalkeeper’s one eye followed Dennis. The order of first detecting a nearby enemy and then preparing to attack was the same.
Before Dennis’ body could completely fall back, the goalkeeper swung the back of his left hand backwards.
Dennis dodged the first blow easily, but failed to do so the second.
The goalkeeper’s waist turned 180 degrees and he swung the hammer in his right hand, as if he was sweeping the floor with a broom.
Because the hammer was so large and long, it closed the distance in an instant.
Dennis’s judgment was quick. He dodged the attack by sliding along the maze floor. The squeaking sound of the prosthetic leg rubbing against the ground was sharp.
‘He’s a dangerous guy.’
I thought I had gotten used to dealing with the goalkeeper, but I was wrong.
Less than a minute into the encounter, there was a creaking sound. It was either the hammer’s blast of air that was supposed to be easily avoided, or the goalkeeper using his size to block the escape route.
His colleagues must have felt his struggles, so Dennis converted his prosthetic limb into a reverse joint faster than usual. The parts moved rhythmically, accelerating his body.
While Dennis was distracted, the magic users were busy reciting spells. While preparing the spells to use on the gatekeeper, they also had to be wary of the maggots that had disappeared into the fog earlier.
“Fuck. Anyone got a mana pack?”
“I have one, but the pack I’m using now is almost worn out, so I need to replace it.”
Since I was doing two things at the same time, my magic power was consumed faster than usual. I was even running low on mana packs because I was on my way back to the surface.
“Use this.”
At the same time, the sound of several small objects sliding across the floor was heard.
Kakda, who was grumbling because he didn’t have a mana pack, turned around and saw Alan fiddling with the automaton while holding an empty mana pack attached to his body.
“Is that the kind of thing that charges like that?”
“You can use the magic stone or charge it yourself. Are you already forgetful?”
“I know. What I mean is, is the mana pack recharge time this short? Shield!”
The conversation was cut off, and the Evi the magicians were using fired a blue light straight ahead.
The goalkeeper who had been pushing Dennis suddenly attacked the three vanguards. The automaton in the labyrinth tends to attack the closest opponent, but this time it was unexpected.
The honeycomb-shaped defense shield was shattered in an instant. It didn’t last long, but it gave the vanguard time to catch their breath.
“It’s like an automaton controlled by an underground person!”
“Use it without sparing it!”
The artificial eyes of the Vanguards began to glow blue, and their movements became even faster. They had used the Reflex Axel to increase their reflexes and reaction speed.
The magicware attached under the cerebellum stimulated the entire brain, and the signals emitted by the brain were accelerated through the magicware and directed to the entire body.
Of course, it was equipment used when the goalkeeper slowed down with a rapid charging pattern because it put a strain on the body, but now was not the time to worry about overload.
A single hit to the hand, foot, or hammer would at least be enough to disengage the battle. Even the enemy’s movements were more subtle and faster than usual.
“evil!”
The prosthetic arm was dented even though it was only lightly brushed against by the hammer.
The only good thing is that the goalkeeper didn’t use the explosion. If he had, it wouldn’t have been just the prosthetic arm that was damaged.
Alan adjusted his automaton, ignoring the commotion going on up front. The leopard didn’t need any intervention, so he was just converting the loot Dennis’ party had acquired into allies.
‘The most sane automatons are the wolf rider and the bull.’
As Alan rubbed both soul stones at the same time, a star-shaped input window resembling a hazy mist appeared.
If only one had come to mind, it would have been as beautiful as the Milky Way, but when two came to mind at the same time, it was incredibly complicated.
Alan stretched out both hands into the chaos, his fingers and arms moving independently to remove or create stars.
While my hands were busy, my right eye was scanning the overall picture, while my left eye was spinning around trying to find errors.
I memorized the patterns of frequently used asterisks, so I got immediate feedback when a problem arose.
‘Arrow, where is it?’
Following the small arrows visible to my left eye, I saw that the stars were gathered together like the corners of a cube.
The slightly crooked shape was an eyesore. In reality, it would have caused problems in operation.
‘The angle is slightly off.’
It wasn’t a big deal to Alan. He pressed the star with his magically charged fingers and pulled it towards him, and it finally transformed into something that could be called a cube.
As the bull, which contained the rider’s soul stone, rose, Alan told Kakda about it.
“Please inform the vanguard.”
Even if they shouted loudly, their voices would likely be drowned out by the noise and excitement of battle, but those who had undergone brain augmentation were able to communicate clearly even in the midst of chaos.
“What are you going to do?”
“I will charge.”
“That’s enough… No… I’m done talking.”
Kakda didn’t vomit. Didn’t you see Alan finish off the wasps like a beekeeper? Besides, the wizard knew Alan better than Dennis.
As soon as the short-range communication was over, Alan hit the bull with his stick. The bull ran through the center of the maze like a bull wearing a red veil.
Knock knock knock!
The sound of metal hooves hitting the maze floor was loud because the weight was heavy. I don’t know if it was Alan’s voice, but this was audible.
As promised, the vanguards retreated to the sides and pressed against the wall. Dennis, who had caught the goalkeeper’s attention until the end, jumped up, and a bull’s head suddenly appeared in the spot where he had been.
And then the crash.
Since the maze was a closed space except for the front and the back, the sound of collisions that had no place to go exploded in a lump. The listener’s eardrums rang and expressed their distress.
As the bull’s output restriction was lifted by manipulating the star character, a tremendous roar was heard the moment his head and the goalkeeper’s lower body collided.
It was so strong that the goalkeeper’s left leg was crushed and lost its function. As a bonus, it was hanging almost completely off his pelvis.
But the goalkeeper was also tough. At the moment of the collision, he held on to the bull’s horn with his left hand and quickly twisted his wrist.
A horrifying, discordant crackling sound came from the bull’s throat. The neck, which had turned into a twisted cone, could not hold out for long and fell to the ground, rolling around.
The gatekeeper is alone, but there are many explorers. The magic has been activated. It was difficult to avoid the narrow maze, but the current gatekeeper has injured his leg.
[Piercing Ice Spear]
A spear, resembling a transparent crystal, flew in at high speed and lodged itself in the goalkeeper’s body. Moisture gathered around the protruding spear shaft, creating white steam.
The water is freezing, so what about the metal and internal parts that are in contact with the ice? The goalkeeper’s body gradually slowed down around the window.
But there was no time to just admire the sight of a fatal blow. A large hammer was flying towards the rear.
It wasn’t just any hammer. The head, which resembled a revolver magazine, contained six red lights, each filled with explosive power.
Even six lights flashed simultaneously.
Is this what it feels like when thunder strikes right next to your eardrums? The sound is so loud that you can’t hear it. Or maybe you just lose your mind for a moment.
“hmm···.”
Alan groaned and touched the fallen body. Fortunately, no body parts were missing or broken, even though the expedition suit was torn in several places.
As I moved my eyes, I saw a small plate emitting smoke. The shield generator I had been carrying was rolling around in front of me, burning black.
Alan stood up, grabbing the leopard that was blocking him with his body. He was protecting his master as he had previously programmed.
Even though the torso was somewhat intact, many of the [Hardening] and [Reinforcement] runes were erased due to the destructive power of the explosion.
And beyond that, the three magic users who were slightly ahead of Alan were reduced to one.
Celine and the blunt man in charge of the treatment turned into blood and flesh, painting the walls and ceiling of the maze red. The guess that there was at least no pain was a consolation, not a comfort.
Kakda, who barely survived by lying face down, had his back and tail completely burned. Starting from the end of his tail, it turned into ash and began to fall off.
Alan looked ahead for a moment. Dennis and the vanguard, their eyes wide open at the death of their comrade, were turning the goalkeeper into scrap metal.
The lower body had been destroyed by Alan, and the single eye was already empty, so there didn’t seem to be much danger.
“Kakda. Come to your senses. Can you hear me?”
“···.”
There was no response, only faint exhalations.
Alan took Celine’s first aid kit and his own at the same time and looked inside. First, he sprinkled the recovery potion in Celine’s box on the back and forced it to be fed.
“···.”
Still, my breathing was still in a state where I couldn’t tell at any moment whether it would stop.
Alan took out some bloodsucking seeds from his box. Bloodsucking seeds were for nutritious purposes, so they might or might not work, but it was better than sitting still like an idiot.
But the seeds did not germinate. They penetrated the skin, but there was no sign of them.
‘Kakda’s magic power is almost gone.’
The magic power was so weak that it seemed as if it would run out like breath.
Alan placed his palm on the part where the seed had dug in and gave it magic power. Normally, he would have to use his magic power, but now he had no time to do so.
After a while, my palm started to tingle. When I took my hand off, a flower boasting transparent red leaves was blooming.
When I put my ear to Kakda’s head, I could hear a faint rustling sound.
I took a deep breath, but then I heard footsteps, as if things were getting worse.
Thud thud!
Alan looked back. The noise in the black fog was getting louder. The distance was getting closer.
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