Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 420



Only Noblemtl

Excavation (2)

Traces of the intelligent beings known as the Underworld, now called the Ancients, are hard to find on the surface.

When Alan was a novice maze explorer, he thought the creator of the maze was just making it up to make people laugh.

‘No, it was information control.’

Valuable information was power, force, and money. That’s why powerful organizations kept it hidden and used it only for themselves.

Then something changed.

“Do you remember the day when tinnitus shook the entire floor, Alan?”

“I was talking to the professor back then. After that, I was able to use spatial magic in the labyrinth.”

“And the Collector and the Immortal revealed the Fragments of Wishes.”

“you’re right.”

Since the day the two villains dropped the bomb, strangely, there have been many restricted areas. Not just in Soldos, but all over the world.

The place Alan was visiting now was one of them. Security was so tight that only Professor Oros and his temporary assistant Alan were allowed to enter.

“If it weren’t for you, professor, I wouldn’t have even been able to set foot here.”

“Mr. Alan, do you now realize the greatness of the Professor? I knew this would happen and prepared for it.”

Oros took the cylinder out of his bosom. He unrolled it like a roll of toilet paper and it transformed into a large screen.

“Press here and come explore the unknown with me.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Alan pushed the assistant contract aside and contacted his distraught colleagues, first to Taylor.

[I wanted to go, hehe, but I guess there’s nothing I can do. Bye, hehe, have a good trip.]

[Your true feelings came out in the middle.]

[When will I? Sister, I’ll go now! I’m busy, so this is all for now.]

Taylor quickly cut off contact, wondering if she was dating a witch. Next up was the holy water addict Shiva.

[Brother, first and second is mercy. I will pray for Brother Alan and anyone who will suffer in the future.]

[I haven’t met anyone yet.]

Shiva had already marked Alan as the perpetrator and said that they should reflect together. Of course, there was a bit of a joke mixed in. Zion’s voice pushed out Shiva’s prayer.

[I can’t fall behind my juniors because I’m a senior. I’ll catch up soon, so just wait a little.]

[Don’t stop practicing the unknown method.]

[···.]

Zion had no answer. The training she had learned was to erase her emotions and channel the energy that went into them into her talent for the sword. The result was nothing more than a simple weapon of massacre.

[The junior has such a good sense.]

[Senior, even if you go back a little, you will still be able to reach the top.]

[···okay.]

Alan was doing a good job of coaxing Zion. As soon as her voice faded, someone’s scream was heard.

[Yaaaaaaah! Naaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

[I’m hanging up.]

Nicola was furious that he should be taken too. But Soldos said no, so what could be done?

Alan cleared his communications and looked out of the air vehicle. A barren wasteland of gravel and rocks stretched out to the horizon. Small whirlwinds blew here and there, and the wind-sculpted rock formations showed off their shapes.

This was the Slingshot Desert, which could be found if you went all the way south from Maze City in the center of Soldos. As the name suggests, it was a dangerous place where gravel mixed in with the whirlwind flew around as if it had been shot with a slingshot.

Thud!

There was a sound of something hitting the outside of the air vehicle. Most likely it was gravel blown by the wind. That’s why the air vehicle’s frame was as thick as an armored car.

After enduring the whirlwind of complaints like the tantrum of a stone, we arrived at an excavation camp.

On the outskirts was a sand-filled barrier. It was a hexagonal frame made of wire mesh, wrapped in cloth, and filled with sand. A ‘No Warning’ sign was stuck high on the barrier.

‘What is that pile of dirt outside? It’s a grave.’

Exploring the ruins was, of course, dangerous. Alan turned his head away from the buried victims.

Inside, there were white tents and prefabricated structures. People carrying excavation tools were moving around busily.

Alan looked around the corner of the camp. The man guarding the tent was a soldier disguised as a mercenary, and inside lay a Titan.

Alan followed Oros down. The largest, igloo-like building he was heading towards had large signs reading ‘Soldos Geological Survey Unit’.

As soon as Oros entered.

Whirl! Slap!

A sharp sound rang out at the same time. Oros was holding a whip with his bare hands. The owner of the whip was a dwarf with a white beard. There were rings hanging from his beard that were presumed to be relics.

“Huh, who is this? Isn’t this Professor Oros, who ignored my message from three months ago and only shows up when he needs something?”

“Henry, I think the whip is a bit excessive.”

“That’s excessive. It’s useless to joke around with a body stronger than the metal that withstood the pressure of the deep sea.”

The orc and the dwarf laughed at the same time and hugged. Naturally, Oros knelt down to match their height.

“Henry, this is Alan, the labyrinth explorer. And this guy is Professor Henry.”

Alan opened his visor and took Henry’s outstretched hand.

“I’m Henry, the head of the investigation team. I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you rejected the green lump’s advances several times?”

“It’s just that the direction we pursue is different.”

“But is he really a young man? His eyes look like those of an old man who is a hundred years older.”

“I’m in my twenties.”

“And the real depth is 6?”

“yes.”

Henry looked at Oros and then back at Alan. He kept repeating the same thing over and over until his eyes started spinning.

“I understand the lump, but depth 6 in your early twenties?”

“you’re right.”

“Heh heh···.”

Henry stroked his white beard. Blue light sparkled inside his eyes.

“The El Dorado Bank, is that real?”

“What rumors have you heard?”

“It says that they destroyed the large building in Los Cielo, drove out the Ibex mercenaries, and even destroyed the coastal cliffs. Is that true?”

Unless you’re really secretive, it’s easy to find your tracks at depth 5 and up. Not to mention depth 6, where you can change the terrain by unleashing your power.

When there are many eyes watching, there are no secrets, and when there are people who sell information to make a profit, the speed of transmission becomes even faster.

The atmosphere around them changed at Henry’s question. The soldiers disguised as members of the investigation team pricked up their ears.

“It’s a bit of an exaggeration. As you can see from the street map, the building is intact.”

“What about the rest?”

Alan simply held his tongue. Rather than making excuses since there was clear evidence left, he let each side take it at their own pace.

“Anyway, with two Depth 6s, and people with brains full of ink, it’ll be reassuring. The other guys were so frustrating.”

As Henry clicked his tongue, the soldiers disguised as investigators licked their lips. Some pretended to be busy and escaped from the building.

“I want to see how much excavation work has been done.”

“If you want to see it, then go see it. Let’s go.”

Henry picked up a small bag that was propped up against the wall. It was a magical tool that had been applied with space expansion magic.

“You two must have brought glow sticks and flashlights, right? The lights must never go out.”

“Of course, I prepared thoroughly as Henry told me to.”

“Is that automaton following you too? One looks like a floating toy, and the other looks like a pet.”

Each one was a box and a kid. No one noticed the leopard hiding in the shadows.

“Don’t worry, Alan will take care of it. Let’s go.”

“No, that’s not it. You can’t get in… Well, you’ll know once you experience it.”

Henry entered the igloo-like building. Researchers and soldiers were strewn about. The light in their eyes was dim, and their skin was sagging. They looked like they were starving.

Oros looked at them closely.

“Henry, why are they like that?”

“The inside is filled with darkness like a labyrinth. A labyrinth is simply dark and devours light, but here, there is one more thing added.”

“It’s soul-stealing.”

Henry turned his head at Alan’s words.

“How did you know if I hid it on purpose? Do you have any acquaintances here or connections with the government?”

“I just took a picture.”

“Luck is a skill. You have great qualities.”

In fact, I just observed people with my spiritual eyes. Although their spiritual powers were greatly reduced, no one suffered permanent damage. They just needed a break.

“Are you going to come back after investigating just enough to endure it?”

“That’s right. It took some sacrifice to figure that out. The government promised compensation if they survived, so it must have been a challenge worth taking on.”

This meant that the advance party included criminals and illegal immigrants. Criminals benefited from the new opportunities, while illegal immigrants could receive citizenship and enjoy the welfare of Soldos.

Human life was just a number to some. When Alan first entered Maze City, he was just a ‘Labyrinth Explorer 1’.

“So there was a tomb outside the wall.”

“You have a keen eye for detail. Would you like to work under me, or rather, with me? Twice the compensation offered by the lump sum, no question. How do you feel about it?”

“Henry, what are you doing in front of me?”

Oros came between Henry and Alan.

“You’ve grown uselessly in size! Today is not the day···.”

Henry grumbled and entered the large room. There was a sinkhole filled with darkness. The investigators who had just escaped lay down and retched, and the automaton carried them to safety.

Alan crouched down on the edge and put his hand in. As soon as he touched the darkness, it felt like thousands of ants were crawling on his skin. They even bit him.

He alternated between the Ma-an and the Yeong-an to observe what effect the darkness had on the body and soul. Being able to see with the eyes was a tremendous advantage. Alan quickly concluded.

“The soul is the admission fee.”

“Tell me more, tell me more.”

“When the light goes out, the collection interval gets faster.”

“Oh… This is a picture of my granddaughter. What do you think? She has mixed blood of watermen and elves, so unlike dwarves, she has long arms and legs….”

“henry!”

While Oros silenced Henry, Alan investigated further.

“Come in.”

Beep?

“hurry.”

Beep···.

The box plunged into the darkness and then jumped out in surprise. The soul was slightly disturbed.

Alan threw the spider at the boy, trying to stop him from dipping his tail into the darkness. The boy was briefly immersed in the darkness and then bounced back.

‘So that’s what the admission fee meant.’

Only beings with souls could enter. Alan came up with a way to dramatically increase the time they could stay. It wasn’t something he had developed just now, but it was written in a magic book gifted to him by the Kamai School.

Alan pulled out a miniature heavenly path.

“No, is that the road to hell? Do you also use necromancy?”

“Henry, let’s just focus.”

Oros subdued Henry again. In fact, no matter what Henry did, he could not break Alan’s concentration.

Alan took a soul from the Heaven Road. It was one of the Antarctic believers who had raided the warehouse. He split the soul left and right.

Kkieeeek!

Ignoring the screams, he spread it out like animal skin. He roughly finished tanning it and trimmed it to make it look like a cloak. Then he put it on the box.

“Come in.”

Beep!

“It’s okay this time.”

The box did not disobey Alan’s words. It immersed itself in darkness and emerged again after ten seconds.

“It’s a success.”

As Alan calculated, only the soul cloak was damaged, and the soul in the box was intact. As long as there were enough souls, it would be okay to stay below.

“Please wait a moment. Stay still···.”

Alan took a few souls and turned them into cloaks, which he gave to Oros and Henry.

“It’s got a soul. I can feel its presence and screams.”

Squeak!

Oros heard the soul scream as if it was a depth 6. He could have filled his hands with magic and tore the cloak apart.

“A scream? I just feel chills.”

Kkeeek!

Henry knew nothing. In fact, ignorance is often bliss.

“Let’s go now.”

Alan also put on his soul cloak and jumped into the sinkhole. Henry’s shouts followed him, saying that it was deeper than he thought.