Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 353



Only Noblemtl

Diver (3)

As Catherine slid her palm down the wall of the passage, the metal plate transformed into a transparent glass window. The dark deep sea showed its face as always.

“The deep sea is strange.”

“Please explain in detail.”

Alan was a frequent visitor to Samramansang, but he was a complete beginner compared to Catherine, who was completely realistic. At times like this, it was good to consult the opinions of experts.

“These days, the emergence of information monsters has decreased.”

“It doesn’t feel like a good explanation.”

“That’s right. It’s not a decrease in absolute numbers, but it feels like they’re really hiding. Like animals that are scared of something.”

“What other symptoms?”

“As erosion becomes more frequent, mental attacks also occur more frequently.”

“Since when?”

Alan glanced at Oros after hearing the date. Coincidentally, it coincided with Kamai’s resurrection ritual and the appearance of the Demon of the Deep.

“We’re trying to contact other bases right now, but it’s difficult.”

Contact while immersed in the deep sea was different from reality. Dark emotions, negative magic, and data fragments were scattered, so magic signals could not spread widely. If the distance was far, you had to go back and forth as an avatar or use a secret technique.

“We will leave as scheduled, so please rest for now.”

Nicola muttered as soon as Catherine left and the door closed.

“Have we broken the seal?”

“Us?”

“We went together. Why? Were you moved by my loyalty? My usual behavior is a shining light to others.”

If only I hadn’t added the footwork, I could have knocked some of the dust off Allen’s heart, which was like an eternal iceberg. That snout was the biggest problem.

“Mr. Alan, do you feel any guilt?”

“no.”

Is it better to be the culprit who hid a plot in the resurrection ceremony than to be the one who is bad? Allan simply accepted the request of the descendants who wanted to revive their ancestors.

“Professor, even if he knew the answer, he probably wouldn’t have felt guilty.”

“Subjectively, I want to crush the magician Nicola, but objectively, I agree.”

Even though the deep sea is always dark, time passes. At 9:00 AM in real time, we departed for Base 1.

The Deep Sea Lighthouse had a base camp and several forward bases. They were named 1 to 5, and as the number increased, the depth also increased.

Catherine floated towards Alan like a ghost.

“Bases 4 and 5 are repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.”

“Why?”

“At that depth, you’ll find some huge guys.”

The monsters that swim in the deep sea of ​​all things are large. This is because the sludge that has become concentrated is an excellent source of nutrients.

“What is the largest information monster you’ve ever seen?”

“I once had two colleagues bragging about seeing a terrifying creature. They said it had the basic appearance of a kraken and the legs of a sea serpent. It was the largest monster they had ever seen, so they called it the Master of the Deep.”

Just from the description, I knew it was a deep-sea demon. They said there were no recent sightings, so I needed to investigate further.

I slowly headed towards the first base. Moving in the deep sea is not a function of hands and feet, but of the mind. That is why my mental power was rapidly decreasing as the distance increased. In addition, the pressure of the deep sea, or more precisely, the turbid magic power, continued to interfere.

“Hmm···.”

“Phew, phew.”

Even though they had been given stimulants to strengthen and protect their minds, the sounds of groaning could be heard from all directions. They were especially loud because the deep sea was so quiet.

“Are you okay?”

“yes.”

Compared to the pressure of excessive magical power, it was still easy. The pressure I felt when I possessed Kamaishi’s body was exactly like this.

‘So even if you have arrhythmia, you must have used magic.’

At first, his body must have been quite injured, but later he was able to remove the obstacles by passing the burden on to the spirits.

‘I wanted to know more, but I didn’t have time···.’

The density of the black liquid gradually increased. If the area near the sea of ​​clouds was steam, the area around the ark was water, and this place was like a thick soup.

The scenery was mostly comprised of the occasional floating debris in a dark place with limited visibility. Occasionally, a shadow would suddenly appear somewhere and disappear, and a strange sound would startle the eardrums and pass by on the other side.

The vast deep sea may seem to be full of things, but if you look closely, you will see only emptiness, just like the universe.

Nicola muttered as he watched the large shadow disappear beneath him.

“It would have been creepy if I was alone.”

“Are you scared?”

“Do not spread rumors. Darkness is nothing before light. Witness my power!”

Nicola’s body glowed brightly.

“uh?”

“What the heck!”

The divers were speechless. It was not because of Nikola’s trolling, but because the light he emitted revealed the exterior of Base 1. Strange shapes appeared on the cliffs that jutted out like bamboo.

Originally a donut-shaped structure made of metal, it was now just a donut overtaken by mold. As the divers approached, the mold began to glow a soft red.

“If you don’t have confidence, back off.”

The divers ignored Catherine’s words. They were brimming with pride in their skills and pride in being a member of the deep sea light. They wrapped themselves in air bubbles and entered. Even though the mold burst and scattered spores, they could not reach them.

Alan deliberately touched the mold.

“Hey! It’s dangerous!”

“It’s thrilling.”

“Mr. Alan, what effect does it have?”

When Alan rubbed his fingers, the mold fell off.

“Erosion and parasitism.”

“If it’s a parasite, it can stick to you and change your personality, or even dominate you in extreme cases? How do you know so well?”

I’ve done it before. When I came with Kiri, I was parasitized by an avatar in mermaid form. The flow of magic power from the mold was similar to that time.

Alan plunged his arm deep into the moldy mass. Oros seemed to have expected this, and Nicola watched with her mouth open.

Blue waves spread out from the center of the arm, dyeing the mold it touched a color brighter than the clear sky. They began to conquer the red mold.

“During the Cold War… the struggle between the free world and the communist world….”

“Professor, what did you say?”

“It’s nothing.”

As Alan made a gesture of prying open something with his hand, the moldy wall moved to the side, creating a large hole.

“How did you do it?”

“Imagination?”

“It’s strength.”

“You know very well.”

Nicola tried to resist the urge to say, “What do you know?” In the past, Nicola would go around saying, “That’s easy,” and venting his frustrations on others, but now he was on the receiving end.

The inside of the base was also a war between the molds. When the blue ones made a big wave, the red ones pushed back with numbers. Every time that happened, Alan would throw the exploding lumps, and the red molds’ momentum was greatly reduced.

In the wake of the deep-sea lantern divers, discolored, petrified molds were scattered everywhere. Among them were fragments of what looked like a plaster statue of a human being.

“Is this the bad taste of the deep sea?”

“No kidding, it’s the diver from Base 1.”

The end of mental erosion is mutation, a phenomenon in which the mind of a sane person turns into an information monster.

“Are parasites just the beginning?”

“Yes. It is at a point where there is at least some hope for a return.”

The Blue Fungus Legion followed Alan and swept through the base. Catherine and the divers swept through first, so the capture was easier than expected.

“Wake up!”

“You came. I’m fine.”

Divers were pulling three survivors out of the panic room. They survived thanks to recognizing their inferiority and solidifying their defenses as soon as the incident occurred, but their moldy bodies were not in good condition.

Catherine and the divers pushed the survivors into the center and reached out. With each invisible wave, a little bit of mold fell away.

Several divers who had been concentrating were startled by the sudden change in light.

“Blue?”

“be careful!”

Alan casually walked past the surprised divers, plucked out a handful of blue mold and rubbed it on the survivor.

“Crazy······, huh? Phew.”

The survivor, though exhausted, tried to jump up, but was relieved to see the red mold disappear. Alan, who was in a state of recovery even when left alone, stepped back.

Nicola asked quietly.

“Is mold eroding?”

“yes.”

“Blue too? Then if you just give the order, it can be a parasite too. Can it mutate too?”

“···.”

“Answer and go.”

While Alan was looking around the base, the cleanup was complete. Catherine decided to send the survivors back to reality.

“So the number of people will be reduced. Two will escort the survivors, and six, including me, will continue to act as guides.”

“What do you think, Alan?”

“it’s okay.”

Oros asked Catherine as the survivor disappeared from sight.

“Have you finished assessing the situation?”

“They say a large creature that resembles a red sea urchin attacked. It’s not big enough to come up here, so it’s unclear why it showed up.”

“Oh, that guy? He’s stuck at the bottom of the cliff.”

The first base was built on a cluster of cliffs reminiscent of a bamboo forest. The presence of cliffs did not mean that the deep seabed had been reached. The cliff terrain was also floating like floating objects or floating islands.

Catherine and the divers’ eyes were simultaneously fixed on Alan.

“What are you doing now?”

I didn’t ask how he knew. Even though it was a short time, it was enough to realize Alan’s abilities.

“Just stay still. Catherine said it was a scared animal, right? It’s similar.”

“Could it be that the owner is chasing them?”

“Maybe so.”

What if Kamai and the demons keep fighting, and the information monsters are running away in all directions in shock from the aftermath?

The expedition team packed only the necessities and moved to Base 2. As Alan had said, they saw a sea urchin quietly clinging to the bottom of the cliff.

But now was a time when I didn’t even have time to fight something like that. The sea urchins sensed me and ran away.

The second base that we reached was intact. They even asked what was going on when they saw our urgent situation. As they joined, the number of divers increased to twelve.

The road to Base 3 was rough. Not because there were monsters, but because the density and pressure were eating away at my mind. It felt like I was wading through jelly.

Base 3 was a small mountain-like mass of debris. To be exact, it was well hidden somewhere inside. Thanks to Catherine, there was no need to worry about getting lost.

After passing through the passageway made between the garbage and waste, a large open space appeared. The egg-shaped structure floating in the center was Base 3.

Nicola tilted his head as he looked at the base.

“It looks like Emmental cheese. Is that how it’s supposed to be?”

As he said, the base was riddled with holes. Of course, this was a sign that something had happened, and it was soon apparent. Something had burst out of the base’s surface and created the holes.

“Prepare for battle!”

Catherine’s words spread among the divers. Various weapons were summoned into their empty hands.

The identity of the attacker is an information monster and resembles a tuna. What is impressive is that it has a jet engine instead of a tail fin.

“What kind of shape is that?”

“Someone’s imagination flowed into the deep sea and took shape.”

“I’d rather have that than something horrible.”

“I’ll go first.”

Alan approached the divers who were closing in on Nicola. Oros joined them.

“Ms. Catherine.”

“I’m busy.”

“Can you summon a net and apply pressure on me? No, just change the direction.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to look into what information it contains. If I do it right, I might be able to find out what happened.”

Information monsters swallow all kinds of information that falls into the deep sea. In other words, you can hunt them and split their ships to get information. It was also a way for divers to make money.

Catherine replaced the gun with a rope. The divers also had ropes in their hands, and the net hung down like a curtain.

The divers were caught in the eyes of the bluefin tuna that had once again jumped out of the base. The guy rushed at them without a second thought.

The net and the sharp jaws collided. The magical power exploded, tearing the net and sending six divers flying. But it was effective.

The tuna’s path changed towards Alan. The fish thrust its spear at its defenseless prey.

“Hey!”

Oros, who had been hiding in the nearby floating objects, jumped out. He dared to charge with his body like in real life and hit the bluefin tuna in the cheek. The body of the guy, who was as big as a large bus, spun around.

“Look at my brilliance!”

Nicola’s light struck the bluefin’s pupil. It’s not like there’s a real optic nerve, so the eyes are temporarily blinded. It’s just that Nicola wanted it to happen, so the same effect was applied.

Alan approached quietly and placed his arm against the head. A hand with concentrated will broke through the tuna’s defenses and grabbed the source in one breath.

Kwaaaaah!

It is not a sound that resonates around. It is the memory of a blue marlin. The guy was startled by the roar that erupted from the deep sea and went up without thinking. Alan also remembered the path the guy took.