Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 376
Only Noblemtl
Forbidden Zone (5)
Sophia’s complexion was clouded.
“A collector’s clone? I guess I just got more worried because I found out about it for nothing.”
I didn’t even know that the Collector had died before Nicola told me. The events he brought back to life and caused were obviously acts of Depth 7, so his body also reached the same realm.
“It’s truly amazing that you’ve recreated the body of a depth of 7.”
The most commonly used method of distinguishing depth after discovering a labyrinth is a loose method of guessing, “I guess this is how many floors I’ll be playing on.”
However, when the number changes from 6 to 7, the feeling changes a lot. As Sophia said, the body of depth 7 is different, and it is difficult to put it in the same category of life.
They are the fruits of miracles born from layers of mystery and will, and they are seekers who break the chains of mortality and challenge transcendence.
In any case, the planned cultivation of a depth 7 body that requires a complete transformation or body change is an area that is absolutely impossible to achieve even with modern, or even near-future, life magic engineering.
However, the fortress held by the Collector had the ability to reproduce the body of a depth 7, and that was information that anyone would rush to while firing lasers with their eyes.
“The collector’s slaves will try to kill us.”
As Sophia sighed, Alan fiddled with the key again.
“You’re being silent. I want one, but the security has become too tight.”
“That?”
“You don’t like it?”
“When did I do that?”
Sophia was also a wizard, so she was full of thirst for knowledge. Even when her life was threatened, her eyes would flash with a gun.
“It really is a great fortress.”
“But there are limits. If there were unlimited duplication, there would be no need for collectors to be quiet.”
“Even if resurrection is possible, it can only handle one body···.”
“I think so too.”
Up to this point, this is a hopeful prediction, and there may be a desperate speculation that the collector has hidden his power for the time being. Of course, this is not a problem to worry about now.
Taylor checked his power suit. Red light was emanating from the eyes of his dragon helmet.
“They are coming.”
Beyond the bulkhead, heavy footsteps and a fierce magic force grew closer. A much larger cannon barrel protruded from Taylor’s rectangular pack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The walls that held Alan and his companions were heard rising one by one. As soon as one of the partition walls rose, and the warlock’s boots came into view, a red beam of light split the hallway, literally erasing the warlock’s upper bodies.
“It’s powerful enough to easily split a building, yet there’s not a single scratch on it. The hallway is incredibly sturdy.”
“Alan, I’ve already taken out three people.”
“It doesn’t really matter. I’ll just focus on the task at hand, so figure it out yourself.”
“There’s a depth of 6 there.”
“Can’t you see me?”
Taylor kept his mouth shut at Sophia’s scolding. He was the weakest of the weak, unable to be pushed around due to his age.
While his colleagues defended the front and back of the passage, Alan focused on the door.
‘Put the keys away for a moment.’
The suspiciously motivated guy was still vibrating slightly and screaming for help, but the limitations of a half-baked tool without a blade were clear.
Alan put his hand on the door and focused.
“죽여! 이 개새끼들!”
“Stop it! The master will punish the loser severely… Ugh!”
“Junior, please lower your voice so that you can focus···.”
The screams coming from all directions gradually died down.
‘Decisive weapon?’
It has a grand name, but in Alan’s opinion, it is ultimately a magical tool. It operates with a soul stone as its foundation, power is supplied by a magic stone, and paths are connected with a magic circuit.
If you look at it broadly, it’s the same. Thinking like that, I put a lot of magic power into it.
The magical power flowing through the door was hostile, so it was difficult from the start. It was incomparably more difficult than when I hacked Coco’s power suit.
‘It’s a decisive weapon.’
If you try to hack, they will attack you in return. If you fail to defend, you will be disabled at the very least and killed at the very most. If you are lucky, your nerves will be burned, and if you are unlucky, your brain cells will be completely cooked.
But Alan continued on. His left eye glowed blue, his right eye green. Finally, as a soft light lingered between his eyebrows, a wisp of magic seeped inside.
Like a salmon jumping over a waterfall, he went up the magic circuit, dodging pursuers who barbed their teeth everywhere, and spreading his magic in all directions.
Alan’s main image was observation. He could see where the magic power was reaching.
‘chain···.’
The first thing that came into view was the chain and the capstan that controlled it. The magical circuits surrounding the capstan were lined with a security program that resembled a golem.
‘What are you trying to do by fixing the fortress in the imaginary realm?’
Alan recalled the scene where the fortress absorbed the darkness of the Forbidden Zone. The darkness that turns people into monsters is useful, but there is something more important.
It is a stone monument with three souls sealed at depth 7.
‘no way?’
A facility that combs out bodies of depth 7, and a soul that matches the level of the body. If the collector can subdue them, the power will increase significantly.
Alan let go of the chain and turned his mind. He ignored the illusions that the firewall in the magic circuit gave him and walked around busily.
He crossed snow-covered mountains, dived into lava lakes, and crossed deserts where the sun never sets. Despite the interference of illusionary magic, Alan’s mind wandered around the fortress.
‘I guess we’ve already secured the tombstone.’
It was clear that it had been recovered, judging by the scene where it easily absorbed the darkness of the restricted area.
The mind is faster than the body, so you can travel to the other side of the planet if you want to. Of course, if you can handle the load on your brain.
Alan found more places where magic power was concentrated. One was the fortress command center.
‘You can’t do that.’
No matter how strong your mental strength is, if you try to force your way in, there is a high chance that you will be torn apart.
Here’s the collector’s clone vault.
‘This is in progress.’
The last place I found was on the opposite side of my current location. It wasn’t as crowded as the command center, but there were quite a few warlocks there.
‘Found it.’
Alan’s mind returned to his body. He tapped his shadow with his finger before hacking into the clone vault with all his heart.
Eyes flashed fiercely in the shadows. The shadow that left Alan’s feet moved quietly. It passed Shiva’s feet, and passed the warlock whose bones were swollen from the dark power, and reached a quiet place.
The leopard popped its head out of the shadows, scanning the hallway and ceiling with its soft blue eyes.
Various footsteps could be heard from the other side. As I hid in the shadows under the magic lamp, the black magicians passed by in a rush.
“The intruders?”
“The resistance is stubborn.”
“What kind of trouble is this because of a few guys?”
“High-level personnel are in a difficult situation because of their work. And there is a separate cloning facility.”
The leopard moved again after the warlocks had completely passed. It encountered several enemies, but they all passed quietly.
The leopard, having reached the location indicated by Alan, entered the ventilation shaft cautiously. It was so narrow that even a baby would have difficulty crawling through, but it was easy for the leopard, which was united with Shade. And for the many shadows following behind.
The leopard lay down on its stomach and looked inside. The stone tablet that the master had asked for was placed in the center of the magic circle, and there were black magicians surrounding it.
[······!!!]
Thanks to accepting the undead, I could hear the screams inside the tombstone. They were screams filled with pain.
The leopard lightly tapped the shadow with its tail. Dozens, hundreds of red eyes appeared, staring at the leopard. Then they flowed out of the vent.
The shadows that had infiltrated inside gradually spread out. They seeped under the warlock’s robes, between the cracks in the boxes, and under the table.
The pale-faced black magician who had been concentrating on activating the magic circle opened his eyes.
“It’s an intruder.”
Kwaaang!
As he spoke, pitch-black panthers leaped out of the shadows. They had strange appearances that made them seem like panthers. They had two heads, jaws split on both sides, and eyes filled with pupils instead of markings.
Alan was a combination of Shade and the darkness of the Forbidden Zone, a monster with a mind full of murder.
A monster hung on the warlock’s back. As if it wasn’t enough to bite his shoulder, it opened its mouth wide on his chest. The gaping ribs dug into the wizard’s back.
Three monsters rushed at the black magician who was in charge of the magic circle.
“How funny.”
The wizard’s shadow opened its mouth wide. It swallowed one monster and licked its lips at another. One bit the warlock’s forearm, but it was immediately cut in two.
pop!
It didn’t come easily. It exploded and messed up my vision and senses.
The pale warlock, who had finished cleaning up the interior, turned his head and stopped abruptly. The tombstone had disappeared.
‘The tombstone has been secured, and we’re done here.’
The door opened slowly. While Alan held it open, Oros v1.1 went inside, ripped off one of the test tubes, and threw it outside.
bang!
The door closed as the test tube escaped. Alan gave orders to Oros v1.1.
[Destroy everything and self-destruct.]
My business at the fortress is over. I would like to stay longer, but if I did, I would not be able to return home in good health.
Alan drilled a hole into the clone’s brain and decapitated it. His hands were shaking because he was so sorry, but he had no choice because if the Collector opened his eyes in the clone, it would be certain that he would be wiped out.
After finishing the test tube storage, I reached out to the warlock who was confronting Sophia. Black doors popped out and restrained the enemy’s limbs.
The cutting power of the space door is tremendous, but of course there are those who can endure it, and at those times, it temporarily serves as a restraint.
Before the warlock could pull himself away, Sophia’s ice pierced his neck.
“Are you done?”
“Not yet.”
“still?”
The box contained all the corpses of the warlocks.
“It’s over. Let’s escape.”
Alan and his party ran to the place where the chain was lowered. The leopard that joined them in the middle disappeared into Alan’s shadow.
[···.]
The voice of the stone tablet was too weak, as if something had happened. No matter how strong the soul was, it was this weak when the supporting body was lost.
I overcame the obstacles blocking my path while realizing once again how important it is to have harmony between the mind and body.
*
The Collector dodged Iris’s incoming blow.
pop!
No, I couldn’t avoid it.
“Once or twice is enough. Do you know what a remote detonation is?”
“···.”
The collector looked down at the Iris wrapped in seven colors and then quietly turned his head.
Boom!
The part of the fortress where the chain was sticking out exploded loudly and small figures jumped out.
Iris noticed a small vein on the Collector’s fist, then looked back and forth at the fortress, which was, overall, a very small hole.
“I don’t know who they are, but they’re great guys. I really like them.”
“···.”
When the Collector remained silent, Iris clapped her hands. It wasn’t just applause, it was a clap of hands. The fierce blades in the wave ripped through the Collector’s clothes.
“It looks like I’ll have to go back empty-handed and without any income.”
“No, there is income. Catan is not in the labyrinth. I guessed wrong.”
“He’s a dead person. A labyrinth? What does that mean?”
But the Collector did not answer. One of his rings flashed and his body disappeared. After a moment, the fortress released its chains and, in a flash of light, disappeared through the restricted area.
Iris, left alone, stood on the magic platform and looked down. The forbidden area that boasted the vastness of the city had become a barren plain. In the center of the battlefield, right below, there was even a bottomless pit.
If this were reality, it wouldn’t have ended with tens of thousands of deaths.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper rest.”
Iris hummed as she walked, trying to patch up the hole in the restricted area.