Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 391
Only Noblemtl
Dragon Cult (1)
The ruins that were once the capital were filled with screams and flames. The once peaceful city was completely destroyed, despite the gloomy atmosphere.
Taylor surveyed the city from atop a charred bell tower. Shiva was by his side.
“They smelled something and came swarming like a pack of dogs. They must all be serious monsters.”
“Those brothers and sisters must have truly passed the genius verification.”
The labyrinth is structured so that only those with abilities can continue to descend, so only the most pure and refined ones gather at the bottom. Explorers who stand out in the lower levels and are looked up to as geniuses.
When those people gathered together, they literally harvested the reptilians. If it was just one expedition, it would be okay, but when several of them swept in at the same time, there was no way to resist.
“This is the first time I feel sorry for the monster in the labyrinth.”
“The other expeditions are also amazing.”
The equipment and skill of the explorers were indicators of how advanced modern civilization was. The total amount of power was enormous, and the level of development was overwhelming compared to the reptilian era.
“Were there really this many talented people?”
“You seem very sensitive today.”
The labyrinth promotes technological advancement and accelerates individual growth. It is difficult to adapt to the magic power that becomes thicker as you go deeper, but if you endure it, it will turn into a great benefit.
“In times like this, shock therapy is necessary.”
“What does that mean?”
“It would be better if we could see the real monsters on our side.”
Taylor looked down at the roof. Alan was sitting with his back against the wall of the bell tower building, and the boy disguised as an automaton was sprawled out on his back, using the instep as a pillow.
Alan stared at the sleeping boy.
‘Were the Dawn Armor and the Dawn Ego artificial spirits? Or avatars with split souls?’
Since Yeongan had absorbed it, it was a spiritual being, but it was difficult to determine its exact identity. I put it aside for now and thought about something else.
Alan has recently noticed the existence of a thread that can intervene in the labyrinth through events.
‘The body is a machine. The barriers and magic circles that make up the labyrinth are also programs in a similar context.’
If there are stars on the soul stone, there are colorful threads in the labyrinth. They are only visible when the use of magical power is at its peak and there is a light between the eyebrows.
I fiddled with the visible thread. When I pulled the yellow thread, the lights in a certain building went out. When I pulled it with the same strength, angle, and length, this time it collapsed.
‘Only research will give us the answer.’
I moved my eyes to look at Zion and Larissa. The two were practicing using the Dawn and Dawn Armor while bickering in the open space.
“You bragged about gaining special abilities. When will you get them?”
“Think about it. How many days will it take? Stop whining before I open your head and check if you have a brain.”
Zion rolled his eyes at Larissa’s words and swung Dawn hard. Just then, the flames nearby split into upper and lower parts and continued to burn.
“It’s easy.”
“How did you do it?”
“well.”
“You can’t explain it, right?”
The fire that Zion had shared was reunited. Larissa laughed at the sight.
“Try it again, it can’t be a coincidence.”
“No? It’s easy? You watch carefully and follow along.”
The result was a failure. Zion fled and looked for the place where Alan had been. Alan had disappeared in the meantime and was in the middle of the collapsed library.
Zion tried to sneak up behind Allen, but stopped when he saw his concentration.
Alan waved his fingers in the air like a piano in front of a bookshelf that had been turned to dust by the magical bombardment of the reptilian invaders.
The ashes turned into wood, and the wood became glossy and assembled into a bookshelf. A book appeared on the empty bookshelf, and then it turned back into ashes and collapsed.
“What are you doing?”
“I was trying to play the book.”
Just because a book is created doesn’t mean it’s full of content or readable, but just looking at it rationalizes it as a new grape. It’s much better to try, even if you fail.
I was leaving the library, thinking that today’s attempt was in vain.
Boom!
The library wall collapsed and the expedition team appeared. They picked up the reptilian stuck in the wall, then made an apologetic signal and retreated.
Taylor jumped from the roof and landed next to him.
“It’s bustling. If I may exaggerate a bit, there are more explorers than reptilians. Should we start going up?”
“No, go to the 51st floor.”
“···.”
“You must devote yourself to your original purpose, which is training.”
The 58th floor, where the clues to physical modification were located, was difficult to descend alone. If Alan were to go down alone, he would somehow manage, but when asked if he could endure it, he would shake his head.
The Burning Royal Palace Exploration Team entered Heaven and Earth without bloodshed. When they passed through the black gate, instead of screams, thunder struck their eardrums. When the dark clouds roared, a blue pillar connecting the sky and the ground appeared, illuminating the red land gloomily.
It was quiet compared to the 50th floor. Allen summoned the rampage spirits and dealt with them one by one while he observed the thread.
The tangled web was too complex and extensive to handle. I still don’t have the skills.
‘Does the collector know? I can’t ask questions either···.’
If I were a clone who had infiltrated as a graduate student, then that would be fine, but of course not now. I couldn’t put my head in the mouth of a beast that would 100 percent chew me out because it was curious.
Alan observed the thread even as Taylor patted his back, Shiva’s beard burned, Nicola walked on crutches, and Zion wrapped bandages. He invested all the monster’s loot into the recovery magic circle, and examined the thread again.
‘It feels similar to a star character. Is the thread a real shape, or does it just look like a thread at this level?’
Let’s fiddle with the thread.
“Eww!”
Taylor jumped high into the air during the fight, as the ground he was standing on had turned into a jagged surface that threatened his groin.
The slime-like abomination’s body developed a tube. It was a signal to fire a projectile.
When Alan pulled the string, this time the ground flipped over. The projectile flew to the wrong place, and Taylor stomped on the abomination with a rock. Using his magical power to inflate his body’s weight, the abomination turned into a flat plate.
Nicola approached, leaning on what appeared to be a metal rod, a spinal cane.
“Circuit magic, runes, star magic. What’s the name of this major?”
“Does the name matter?”
“Even one light magic is far away, but having four majors… is terrible.”
“Isn’t that funny? What about Nicola?”
“The light is right. It’s dazzling and beautiful. That’s why I was fascinated.”
If you have fun, you will be empowered in any situation. The ceaseless exploration is the driving force behind your growth.
The Red Earth’s thread was much harder to handle than the Dinosaur’s Land. It was hard even on the 50th floor, but here, the mental power drain was enormous.
As Alan let out a ragged breath, the boy magically created a stone chair and slapped it with his tail, telling him to hurry up and use it.
It took a lot of time to properly understand the true nature and abilities of the thread. I had fought enough under the pretense of training, and decided to go up to give my head another stimulus.
Even after a month on the red earth, the 50th floor was still teeming with expeditions.
‘The longer you desire it, the more you will get.’
The fruits of years, decades, and centuries of invested effort, accumulated layer by layer, are what make up modern civilization.
Alan went into the twilight zone, inspired by their honesty. He came out in the middle and visited the 43rd floor.
On the 43rd floor, there are ruins carved out of a cliff, and the Roman Company is currently using it as a base.
Larissa, who was going up together, said.
“I was originally just going to pass by, but now that I’m here, I guess I should do some secret investigation.”
Who could stop the chairman’s daughter from doing it? In the explorer’s guild where power is everything, the father is at depth 7 and the daughter is at depth 5, so she has ample reason to do whatever she wants.
The ruins on the 43rd floor were dug into a cliff, and the headquarters of the Assassin’s Cult was also built by carving into the rock face of a mountain.
‘The appearance is similar. Is it a coincidence?’
The now-lost stone tablet records the death of King Mol-an and what happened afterward. When combining various clues, it is highly likely that the Assassin Cult, the main culprit behind the murder, built the 43-story ruins.
As soon as she arrived, Larissa started to harass the startled staff. Her actions became twice as fast as the rumors of her being cold-hearted were true.
The reason we arrived at the 43rd floor is to revive the stone slab and check if there were any parts we missed.
Alan entered the room where he had first seen the stone tablet. He chased away the explorers who had been hiding and idling during the temple, and fiddled with the thread.
Taylor screamed, looking up at the ceiling, which was making a terrible noise.
“It’s falling apart!”
Taylor held up the rock. Shiva was a dwarf and could not reach it.
“Brother, I will cheer you on.”
“Don’t just talk about it! Strengthen the Holy Spirit!”
But before the prayer was over, the collapsed ceiling returned to its original state. When Alan pulled another string, a stone tablet appeared. It was slightly damaged, but the content was the same.
“There is no income.”
When the thread was returned to its original location, the stone chamber returned to its neat state.
Alan headed to the top. He entered a room where a stone slab appeared when sunlight shone on it.
The slab was briefly restored after experiencing a floor-collapse incident. The dead King Mol-an and dancing assassins appeared.
Larissa made a displeased expression.
“Why are you doing that?”
“We suffer because of them.”
“It is not clear whether they are the cause. It is not advisable to make hasty judgments. If you pull this….”
Zion hurriedly lowered his head to avoid the flying stones.
“Junior···.”
“It was a mistake. This time…, that’s fine.”
The original ending was of assassins dancing and reptilian civilization being overtaken by nature, but an additional stone tablet appeared. It was crooked, as if it had been engraved in a hurry or mixed with emotion.
‘Natural objects are fine, but other things turn to dust.’
It was carved to show the reptilians and the traces they had left behind slowly disintegrating and disappearing.
The unknown disaster gradually expanded its scope and even reached the Assassin’s Cult. Several Assassins knelt before their master and begged, but the dragon simply watched the approaching destruction.
Since it was only a sculpture, there was no way to know what the dragon’s emotions were. The record on the stone tablet ended there.
‘You’re knocking on the stone tablet even though you’re on the verge of death. You’re risking your life to keep a record.’
It was a very desirable position. Who would want their legacy to disappear? Alan was no exception.
Anyway, the dragon’s plan to prevent destruction by killing the King of Mol-an failed. Or maybe there was a secret hidden that even he didn’t know about.
As Alan let go of the thread, the top transformed back into its original empty stone chamber.
*
Alan gained the ability to intervene in the labyrinth, albeit imperfectly. It was nothing particularly surprising, but nothing that would spread easily.
Nicola was tightly bound by the contract, and Zion had become good at lying after learning the method of keeping his name a secret.
It meant that the scales that held Alan and his biological father, Chairman Jake, who had been held up like the sky, were leveled.
Taylor knew what it meant.
“The agents of Breaker, especially the 3rd generation, treat Jake like a god. That’s how they were born and trained.”
“You know very well.”
“I also played a part while living as an instructor···.”
The problem was Larissa. She had no restrictions, so she could tell everything to Chairman Roman. But as time passed, Roman Company remained quiet.
The reason is.
[The confrontation between the superhumans and the destroyers continues in Kasara.]
Because the Destroyer had started his activities. He chased away all the miners who were digging for ice steel, and Soldos, who was startled, gathered the superhumans from Depth 7 and sent them to Kasara. Chairman Roman was also among them.
“I want to see it.”
“Don’t say such horrible things. You can’t go anyway because Soldos is controlling it.”
“Who controls what they want?”
“Of course Soldos can do whatever he wants… right?”
“I’m still just thinking about it.”
“Alan, I always find the word ‘yet’ unsettling.”
“hmm···.”
“Why is that?”
Alan split his mind in two, using one to talk to Taylor and the other to explore the universe. He did this with aplomb, something others would be reluctant to do for fear of mental contamination.
“I know too.”
“The Dragon Cult is very active in the Western Continent and the Southern Continent. They even overthrew a country in the Southern Continent.”
“It’s a mess. What about the collector?”
“They raided the data center of a large IT company, took a bunch of stuff, and then all the news disappeared.”
“The whole world is a mess. This isn’t the sign of destruction I saw on the stone tablet, is it?”
“It’s just ordinary.”
“What is your standard for chaos?”
“It should be about the same size as the moon…”
“Stop it! Stop saying scary things.”
Alan sensed a magical signal coming from afar. He pulled his mind up from his exploration of the universe and received the signal.
[Contact is fine, but please just once···.]
The owner of the voice was Saranthoya, who served the Sea of Creation. The only dragon Alan knew was the Sea of Creation, and he requested a communication to light a fire to learn about the relationship between knowledge and destruction.
[I want to know about the relationship between dragon knowledge and destruction.]
[I don’t know. I’m sure Changhae knows, but he’s still sleeping.]
Changhae had been blocking the volcanic eruption of Baekdu Mountain and his energy was greatly diminished, so he did not wake up.
‘Or maybe you have something to hide.’
If I told everyone that I had a face, would the word secret exist? But Alan had no intention of giving up.
[I would like to visit, but when will that be possible?]
[You might as well go to the Southern Continent.]
Sarantoya mentioned a country that the Dragon Cult had recently taken control of.
[Are you saying we should fight and steal knowledge?]
[If you say my name, it won’t come out as harsh.]
[Are you possibly in a cooperative relationship with a force that overthrows the state?]
[···.]
Silence was the answer. In any case, the Dragon Cult was an organization that could not be let down. How much more so when they lived only by following the orders of a transcendent being.
I did not mean to criticize them, because it is difficult to hastily distinguish between good and evil in the justice that each person believes to be right.
“It will be easier to judge if you see it for yourself. In that sense, let’s go to the Southern Continent.”
“How long has it been since you came up···.”
As Taylor spoke, he was gathering up his clothes one by one.