Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 386
Only Noblemtl
Catacombs (1)
The city, where the four elements came together – a broken wall, an invading army, a collapsed building, and a horrific corpse – was burning. No, it was burning.
The fire settled in the city. It was full of its bad temper and even invited its friend, Yeon-gi, to cause trouble.
Alan and Nicola watched the flames through the scattering ash.
“The marked points are fine.”
“A flame stays in the same place. It continues to burn even without material.”
“Yes. At what point did you forcefully stuff it?”
“It’s like playing the campfire video on repeat.”
So it doesn’t go out, and it doesn’t spread to surrounding buildings. However, living things were an exception.
“Ouch, hot.”
“be careful.”
“It doesn’t turn off easily, and you have to block the magic power to turn it off. But when I look at it, it’s a bit…”
“why?”
“Prosperity takes decades, but destruction takes a moment. Something feels vain, and the phrase “life is fleeting” comes to mind.”
Even explorers familiar with the landscape of Maze City felt that the once prosperous city had been reduced to ruins in an instant.
Alan shifted his gaze to the hawk and looked down at the capital. He had experienced this kind of great transformation twice.
The first was a labyrinthian tinnitus that resonated throughout the entire floor without even passing through a door. At that time, the restrictions on spatial movement were lifted.
The second is now. A city that was in good shape is suddenly engulfed in the winds of ruin.
Alan was delighted to see the screaming smoke. Change was another word for opportunity.
“What interesting events await us?”
“We have to get rid of it quickly before rumors spread. We’ll be pushed out by the numbers.”
Exploration teams that reach the 50th floor have a minimum depth of 5. If they encounter an expedition team operating deep in or beneath the red earth, they are likely to be pushed back in speed.
The best part is that Alan is now on the 50th floor, giving him plenty of time to get out and get away before the expedition team that heard the rumors swarms in.
“Enough? Is that right?”
“It’s woefully inadequate.”
I was not sure if I would discover anything. It was truly an exploration of the unknown.
“I hate seeing the results in advance, but in times like this, I’d rather have an answer sheet.”
“I agree.”
As the city changed, the reptilians also became stronger. Most of the ordinary kings and people turned into corpses or hid somewhere, and only soldiers from other forces walked the streets. Naturally, their armament and strength were different levels.
Of course, it was easy for Alan. He dealt with the attack and poked the damp substance strewn across the floor with his key.
“It’s hard to break it down alive.”
“You’re going to do it eventually, you devil.”
The wet substance was a reptilian soldier. The lower level of disintegration was combined with [Molecular Assembly] to transform it into a slush.
As Alan observed, Nicola winked at Taylor.
“Sir, please say something.”
“You must have done it because it was necessary. You’re not a human, you’re a monster from the labyrinth, so it’s okay to support and tease him.”
“By any chance, you haven’t given up, have you?”
Alan searched through the burned-out wooden structure. He pulled out the charred body of the box he had been working on.
Beep!
I just threw it away. Nicola saw it and came running.
“Why are you throwing that away? Don’t you know that this can is a valuable resource?”
Beep!
“Take a look? ······It’s a bit shabby.”
The labyrinth didn’t give it away easily. The corpses strewn everywhere were so shabby that you’d believe they were obtained from the first floor.
While exploring the surroundings without much success, Zion and the leopard who had gone out to scout returned.
“I found the entrance to the catacombs. Follow me.”
“Let’s go.”
The catacombs are intricately interwoven and extremely long underground, making them a good place to hide in the event of a catastrophe. In our last expedition, we also discovered a chapel of reptilians who believed in the original form of the Mother Goddess.
That’s why Alan figured there was a good chance he’d find something in the catacombs. Secret location, crowds. It was the perfect combination for something to happen.
The place they reached was a pile of gray ash like a grave. There were also protruding hand bones and pieces of skull.
“I just kicked it out, but it piled up again.”
Zion blew the wind several times with his sword. A whirlwind of ashes and bone fragments passed by, and a door leading down was revealed.
As Alan opened the door riddled with holes, a staircase appeared. The reptilian’s body was basically large, so the space was wide enough for him to enter while wearing a power suit.
A passage awaited them beneath steps made of bricks and finished with lime. As they descended further and further, the dirt disappeared and the rock distribution increased.
A heavy air and magical power settled on his shoulders, but it wasn’t enough to dampen Alan’s spirits.
“There’s a body up ahead. It’s definitely different than before.”
In the past, those who had naturally ended their journey in life were laid to rest, but now, many corpses that had been swept away by the invasion were seen. They were not properly treated and were just lying around.
As we moved forward past the corpses, a fairly large space appeared. The floor and ceiling were filled with one large piece of wood.
“It’s a scene I’ve seen before.”
“What is it? Tell me too.”
“Nicola wasn’t there at the time. Take your time and look around.”
The branches supported shapes such as the sun, waves, and the earth. The carvings gave us a glimpse into the Reptilian worldview.
Nicola quickly lost interest as it was just a piece that didn’t seem to have any power, and Alan re-entered the passage.
Spiders spread throughout the catacombs, more complex than spider webs, sending signals and images.
‘Reptilians are terrified because they don’t know when the soldiers will come…’
Even though I knew that it would immediately turn hostile if it recognized the Labyrinth Explorer, just looking at its appearance made it seem like it was not a monster subordinate to the Labyrinth, but a real living thing.
Their fears were soon realized. Footsteps were heard above the heads of the reptilians huddled near the ladder. The door creaked open, and light poured down. The soldier jumped down with it.
“What are you looking at? Let me look at it too. Ugh···.”
As soon as I shared the footage with Nicola, the scene of the spear piercing the head popped up, and it was blown up.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“It’s like throwing a wolf into a place where there are only lambs. It ended blandly.”
The soldier who finished the massacre climbed up the ladder. The dim light coming down through the open door cast a gloomy light on the blood scattered on the ground.
Nicola shouted as she tried to stop sharing the video.
“Look over there. Are you seeing it?”
“Yes. Blood is seeping into the ground.”
“What’s so peaceful about that? You’re faster than a sponge. Let’s go.”
When they arrived at the scene, only a pile of corpses greeted the explorers. The floor of the passageway remained dry, as if it had never swallowed blood.
“There’s definitely something there, but I missed it. Can you feel anything?”
“···.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust my own senses, I’m just asking out of courtesy to try to accommodate other people’s opinions.”
“I don’t know yet.”
Alan recalled the contents of the stone tablet he had seen at the 43rd floor ruins.
After King Mol-an’s death, the unified continent split apart and blood flowed again. It was more terrible than the wars of conquest. Assassins reappeared on the ruined continent, and they danced a strange dance to celebrate its destruction.
Then the city disappeared and a forest appeared.
‘What if it wasn’t a description of the passage of time, but rather an expression of the intervention of a great mystery?’
Alan glanced at the pile of corpses. Dealing with mysteries required resources, and the life force contained in blood was perfect for sacrifice.
Even here, in the royal capital that boasted of its splendor, offerings to extract strength were abundant everywhere.
Alan distracted himself again. He observed the catacombs through the spider and took pictures of several places where people were gathered.
‘As equal as possible.’
I deliberately sent spiders up to the ground to lure the soldiers. When the soldiers who entered the catacombs started to massacre, I quickly ran over and observed the blood being absorbed.
I felt something, but unfortunately I couldn’t find the source.
‘I wish I could find the assassin. Should I have kept the horns alive?’
But how can you revive someone who is already dead and in a drawer?
They say that when you don’t need it, it’s visible, and when you look for it, it’s invisible, and that was exactly the case right now. Every time I passed the 50th floor, the assassins that I occasionally saw had completely disappeared.
“Alan, it’s time to eat. Let’s set up the tent.”
“why?”
“The ground is filled with the stench of burning, and the catacombs are filled with staleness and dampness.”
Taylor was right. Alan sat down on one side of the space-expanding tent and moved the dishes mechanically. The power suit fed them, to be exact.
Alan left his resting comrades and went outside. He turned his back to the tent, sat down in the middle of the passage, and stared into the full darkness.
After a while, a gray hair popped out from inside the tent. It approached stealthily like a burglar cat and raised both hands.
“Wow···.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ve seen it all.”
“yes.”
It was visible from the moment Zion first appeared. Allen’s field of vision was 360 degrees, covering everything from top to bottom.
Zion leaned down, holding both of Alan’s shoulders. He brought his lips close to his right ear.
“Are you looking for an assassin?”
“yes.”
I deliberately kept silent for fear of recalling the unpleasantness of having my body taken over in the past, but Zion spoke first.
“Should I take the lead?”
“How?”
“By feeling.”
The magic user’s intuition sometimes predicts events that did not occur, and solves difficult problems without a clue in one breath.
Zion walked ahead, holding the white sword like a dowsing device. Nicola was indignant at the irrational solution he witnessed.
“On what basis?”
“How did you try to find it?”
“We’ll go deeper, or explore the places where reptilians gather.”
“You’ve done that so far, but you’ve gotten nowhere. This is also an exploration, so shut up and follow me.”
That was it for now, with no clues. Thinking that Nicola was exploring too, he followed quietly.
Several hours passed as I followed Zion around. As soon as it was time to sleep, Taylor yawned.
“Should I go to sleep soon?”
“Brother, are you tired?”
“As I get older, my body sends me signals when it’s time. Oh my, I’m dying.”
“Your jokes are too harsh. What are you going to do if Brother Allen asks you to return the Yong In Hwa…?”
“How can I return my body? It’s not even an object… Hmm, if it’s Alan, then it’s possible.”
“If it were him, I would save his brain and put him back in a machine body.”
Nicola also joined in the conversation. Alan ignored the small talk and approached Zion.
“Let’s stop for today and rest.”
“···.”
As he remained silent, Alan placed a hand on Zion’s shoulder. At that moment, Zion’s eyes widened slightly. Alan’s eyes also pierced through the wall and looked somewhere.
“Found it!”
“You found it.”
As Zion and Powersuit started running, the three people who had been infected with the yawning disease also started running.
Taylor scrunched up her face.
“Oh, it’s time to get off work···.”
“I know that feeling.”
Only Nicola, who had experience in corporate life, could relate.
“Brother Nicola, you were in a position to give orders. There are reports that you put a face pack on and slept soundly while your subordinates worked overtime.”
“Because skin is important. I was given a good allowance, so who the hell told you that?”
Alan chased after the suspicious reptilian. He led the people to one place, and deliberately dragged the soldiers in like Alan. Unlike the people who were at depth 1, he was at depth 4, so he leisurely escaped.
But the spider that was watching him made a mistake. It was crawling on the ceiling and accidentally touched a weak spot.
Knock!
It was a very small sound, but this was underground. The reptilians stopped dead in their tracks. And the gunshots ran like wild animals.
The reptilians stirred up trouble all over the catacombs, deliberately provoking the gathered people to mix up, and even going around in circles several times at the crossroads.
The guy who had been running desperately for hours listened to the sounds around him. It was quiet. He took a deep breath and walked somewhere.
The guy reached a place where skulls were piled high. He put his mouth to one of the skulls and muttered, and its jaw clacked. The skulls sank inward, scattering bits of bone.
The reptilian entered the open passage. He took a few steps and then tilted his head.
Kik?
Originally, the door was supposed to close as soon as you entered. You should have heard a faint squeaking sound on the floor.
I turned around and saw a pitch-black, rippling wave. A power suit walked out of the wave that was blocking the door from closing.