Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 402



Only Noblemtl

58th floor (2)

The vast plains beneath the mountain were swept by waves of abominations. Their foul stench wafted in the wind and spread in all directions.

Meanwhile, monsters on the 50th floor were either huddled together in shelters or only a few roamed the ground.

Looking at that, questions naturally arise. The abomination is strong, but is it enough to destroy it? Did the ancient people enjoy a civilization superior to that of the modern times?

But when I saw the numbers, my head nodded in agreement. There was no business in front of numbers, and the abomination was not a simple beast with only numbers.

This is the 50th floor, so the maximum depth is 60, but at that time, it was not strange for any monster to appear. For example, a deep-sea demon that lurks in all things.

‘It’s quite possible. How monstrous could it be?’

Alan pondered the question for a moment and then calmed down. Reconnaissance was essential to determine the optimal exploration route.

The falcon flew through the darkness. It looked like a bat, but it flew around emitting ultrasonic waves or scanning its surroundings with its magical power. It went over a hill and tried to catch a glimpse of the next terrain.

“hmm···.”

Alan sat up, drooling. Shiva heard his voice and asked.

“Brother, did it explode again?”

“yes.”

The flight of the eagle is extremely fast and stealthy. It may be possible to spot it in broad daylight, but it is difficult to spot it in the pitch-black red ground.

However, if you tried to reconnaissance from a distance, there was a high chance that you would be shot down. This was because the abomination moved like an army.

Alan observed the abomination hunting the falcon with his spider eyes, making as little noise as possible to avoid being detected.

I saw a tree-like abomination. It was only an image, and its actual appearance was completely different. It walked on roots with bulging blood vessels, and human ears hung from its branches.

When the ‘tree’ determines the location with its ears, the ‘beetle’ launches an ultra-long-range bombardment. As its name suggests, the beetle-like creature swallows the surrounding abominations with its butt, transforms them internally, and then fires them with its mouth.

“There they are again. I want to cleanse these horrible beings quickly.”

“Preparations will be finished soon.”

The abominations that Alan calls trees and beetles are all depth 6. In addition to them, there are other unidentified entities lurking around.

“We can’t just run away, right?”

The expression ‘military’ was not an empty expression. The moment they first intercepted the falcon, they noticed the explorer’s presence and began patrolling a wide area, gradually tightening the net.

You might ask why it can’t be dealt with, but there were many things to consider. A battle at depth 6 would make a huge noise, and the detected abominations would definitely swarm.

The 58th floor is swarming with monsters. To deal with them all, or just take out the leaders and escape, you need to be confident of victory.

Taylor and Nicola were meditating, while the box produced weapons in conjunction with the buffalo. Zion and the leopard explored their surroundings, using their ability to move in and out of the darkness as if it were their home.

Alan felt a movement beneath his feet as he was manipulating the spiders that had spread around him. He looked down and saw a leopard with its face peeking out.

“What was the result?”

He just shook his head quietly at the owner’s question. It meant that he couldn’t find a good place. He was already disappointed because Zion had gone to the other side.

Zion appeared a moment later, as silent as a ghost.

“here.”

Zion handed over the exploration tool. It contained records of the terrain and the distribution of abominations.

The relentless pursuit of the abominations had to be dropped to allow for smooth exploration. At the very least, the entity leading them had to be eliminated.

As I looked at the data accumulated in the tool, a decent terrain appeared. It was a river of flowing lava. It was so wide that if I crossed it and brought in the abominations, I could fight them even in large numbers.

Alan walked down the mountain and observed the trees through the spider. Instead of leaves, the hanging ears all turned in unison toward where Alan had been staying.

Squeak!

The tree emitted a low sound, like a broken hinge or a squeak. The abomination army advanced, and the beetles fired their cannons at the summit.

The flesh shells completely crushed the summit. The startled rocks fled hurriedly down the slope.

Taylor saw the landslide and increased his speed.

“You son of a bitch, just wait a minute. I hate those guys who snicker from afar the most.”

“Ahem.”

Nicola, who was running next to me, gave me a sneaky glance.

“Why? What?”

“Isn’t that what you usually think about…?”

“That’s right. Since ancient times, fighting has been about clashing weapons, exchanging glances, and getting close enough to feel each other’s breath. Do you think those who stand far away and click their fingers will realize the moment when life and death are at stake?”

“Then that means you don’t like Alan either···.”

“What?!”

Taylor and Nicola relieved their mental stress by joking. It was much better than hunkering down.

Alan looked back only after he had gotten quite far from the mountain. Just then, lightning struck the summit and darkness fled. An army of squirming flesh was coming over.

He ran all the way to the lava river, planting traps including mines everywhere. He turned around as soon as he crossed the river using [Space Manipulation].

A lava river that was 1km wide. The surroundings were very bright thanks to the red river water. Naturally, the heat was also very intense.

“It’s scary. And in some ways, it’s also spectacular.”

“This is what happens when Brimstone National Park explodes. When will the Fire Elemental Lord awaken?”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It’s a legend.”

“When I was a kid, dragons were like that. Many people still believe that, but we now know that they are real.”

As Taylor said, most of the general public perceived the Baekdu Mountain eruption as a natural disaster. How many incidents have been packaged that way? It was time to sort out the group of hateful people who had been chasing us and think about it.

“Come.”

As soon as Alan finished speaking, darkness began to stir on the other side of the river of fire. Abominations covered in rotten flesh, swollen tumors, and oozing pus began to come into view.

I saw a spider. It was walking on human fingers.

A raccoon was seen. The beast’s head was cut off and connected.

A person appeared. If a collection of eyeballs can be called that.

As their name suggests, they were abominable. They imitated the forms of living things, but this was not an acquisition of merit, but rather closer to blasphemy.

Boom!

At the same time, a massive explosion greeted them. The mines that Alan had planted were sending a fiery blast at the disgusting monster.

Ten of them were oxidized in a single explosion. But that was it. It was just a small dent in the overwhelming numbers.

A loud explosion erupted from all over the legion. The abominations covered in torn pieces of flesh and dirty blood were not frightened, but rather excited.

I rushed straight into the lava river, thinking it was flat ground. Then I jumped in. A bright red lava that matched the volume of the abomination spurted out.

Even though their skin was burning and their flesh was melting, they continued to advance. They continued to push forward as if they were all one. However, the natural disaster called the Lava River broke their recklessness.

Squeak!

The tree at the center of the legion roared. It opened its mouths wide and let out a roar in all directions. The abominations that were touched by the sound wave lasted longer in the lava. Their bodies pressed against each other, hardening into a part of the bridge.

Alan looked up at the organic bridge and trees that had broken through the first third of the lava river in an instant.

“So that’s how you grant a strengthening effect.”

“My junior is always calm.”

[Hey, focus and do a good job escorting Alan.]

Zion’s eyes snapped open in the direction of the communication. The black titan was standing there.

Taylor enjoyed the heightened visibility. He didn’t need any time to adjust to his new body. He was born with this.

[Hoo, hoo.]

“Taylor, your breathing is too loud.”

[Be quiet, I’m concentrating.]

[Brother, I’m ready.]

A Titan that looked like a walking fortress stood next to him. At first, Shiva was just rolling around, but after arduous training, he became an excellent pilot.

Alan watched the completion of the bridge between the two Titans. Nicola licked her lips with her tongue.

“Is this correct?”

“If you’re still anxious, attack a few times.”

Nicola immediately raised his staff. A small sun rose, spinning like a mirror ball and radiating light in all directions. Each flash became a bullet that took the life out of the abominations.

The bridge was slightly delayed in completion. About 50 monsters sank into the lava. That was it. The size of the legion still filled the lava river beyond.

“How do other expeditions explore?”

“If it’s depth 7, it’ll be wiped out.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Wouldn’t they all look the same to their juniors?”

“A clumsy genius can’t live because he’s so sad.”

While Nicola grumbled, the bridge was completed. A four-lane bridge that was hard to believe was hastily built, connecting the two sides of the lava river.

The tree roared again. The abominations running across the bridge doubled in speed. Their muscles, which had grown much larger, burst through the skin.

Kyaaaaak!

Their roar was now right in front of my nose.

Alan looked at the whole scene indifferently. A ‘thud’ sound echoed from behind. There was also a clanking sound of something moving.

“Fire.”

Beep!

The mechanical sound of the box was heard, and a blue pillar passed overhead. Then the roar of the abomination died away for a moment.

The bridge was cleared. The box controlling the disintegration gun installed on the buffalo’s back raised its thumb. As its name suggests, it was a weapon that split the enemy apart. If Allen was by his side, the lower level of disintegration was added, doubling the effect.

But it was only for a moment. The legion of abominations filled the bridge again. While reorganizing the disintegration cannon, Shiva blocked the way. He stood blocking the bridge and crushed the approaching abominations, sending them falling into the lava river.

The birds flying in between were sorted out by Nicola and the leopard. Nicola also had another role to play.

“Come.”

“check!”

Nicola raised her head. The information Alan had sent was displayed on the artificial eye. She saw a black mass flying towards her. It was hard to miss the red outline. She used magic to intercept the shell fired by the beetle.

“Please step aside.”

The moment Shiva threw his body to the side, the disintegration cannon that had finished its maintenance swept across the bridge again. The legion of abominations filled the empty space again.

The other side of the river was still full of abominations. But Alan could see a difference. As he slaughtered the legion, their bodies were pushed forward, and so were the trees.

“I’m going.”

[preparation···.]

Taylor disappeared before he could finish his words. He reached the tree in one breath through the pitch-black door. He pulled out the Titan Mana Sword. The magic fusion reactor, which had agreed with Taylor’s will, responded, and a tremendous amount of power erupted through the Mana Sword.

A red pillar cut through the tree. The root side, with its bulging veins, remained standing, while the branches, with their ears instead of leaves, fell askew.

In a split second, Taylor realized that the operation had succeeded. But he did not let his guard down. He buried the mana sword into the heart of the tree.

Kwarrung!

A bright red lightning flashed around the tree and the Titan. Lightning shot out of the ground and reached the sky. Its appearance was just like a tree.

[Go to next.]

Taylor saw the tree squirming, even though it was chopped into small pieces, but if Alan’s judgment was correct, then so be it. He gathered his strength again and prepared to move.

This time, the place it appeared was in front of the beetle. However, it was prepared. As soon as it saw the Titan, it spat out a flesh shell and ran away using its grasshopper-like hind legs.

The thing spat out another shell. Then it glared at me for a moment before jumping away into the darkness. As expected of a monster on the 50th floor, it knew how to endure it.

With the two heads that commanded the legion gone, a rift appeared. The will to annihilate the explorers was the same, but the discord hindered their advance. The bridges that broke free from the protection of the trees were the first to start burning.

Alan was about to say let’s clean up, but then he looked down at the lava river. The water level was higher than before. It wasn’t an illusion, it was even moving.

The lava around the bridge swelled. A giant fire spirit resembling a snake rose up. As soon as it appeared, the temperature around it rose sharply.

The bridge was completely cut off and the abominations sank. The abominations and the rampaging spirits didn’t care whether each other died or not.

“Junior?”

“This is a pretty useful sample.”

“Fighting a fire spirit soaking in lava? I’m fine with it, but···.”

“It’s a good experience to have at least one….”

Alan’s eyes found stirrings upstream and downstream. There, too, rampaging spirits of various shapes rose up.

“Let’s step back for a moment.”

On the first day of exploring the 58th floor, the number of enemies that appeared was not small.

[Alan, me?]

Someone’s voice echoed across the communication channel.