Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 67
Only Noblemtl
Monk (2)
Shiva, a monk of the Mother Church, walked a tightrope on the doctrine. He was excellent at giving legitimacy to his actions. From the perspective of others, he was already a wonderfully corrupted religious person.
He spent much more time grooming his light brown beard than praying. Combing it thoroughly, applying balm, and taking supplements that were supposedly good for the beard.
Every time Alan looked up, Shiva added an explanation.
“Brother Allen, you are really curious. Oh, should I say inquisitive? What would people think if I went around looking like a slovenly person while preaching Mother’s will?”
“I guess the priest must have had a hard time exploring.”
“No. People are surprisingly strong in their reactions to visual stimuli. If I were dirty, they would frown, and naturally, a negative image would be attached to my brothers and sisters who are engaged in the priesthood. To prevent such things, we reduce our prayer time and focus on cleanliness. Do you understand?”
“Your tongue is long. You could kill an underground person by just sticking your tongue out.”
Taylor blurted out. At first, he had used polite language and words to try to woo Shiva, but now he had become blunt.
“Thank you for the compliment. If you are going to preach Mother’s teachings, you must also be very persuasive. If an old brother can say that, then you must have achieved results in your practice. Oh, my mistake. Brother Taylor.”
Taylor shrugged and just ignored Shiva’s pun. In the world of explorer talk that kills both children who don’t exist and parents who have disappeared, that was just a greeting.
Besides, they knew very well that they were not sincere to each other. As proof, Taylor and Shiva got along well.
“Is it okay to drink alcohol instead of water?”
“Alcohol? I just drink fermented beverages from grains or fruits that I happen to get. Throwing food on the ground is also a sin, so I deal with it through my throat.”
“If you can process the alcohol quickly, then water is water. Can I have some too?”
“No. I will bear all the guilt. But I will keep your determination firmly in mind.”
“No, don’t do that···.”
As the two were scheming, Taylor, who had something on his mind, glanced in the direction where Alan was. Then their eyes met.
“Wouldn’t it be okay to have a sip in a crowded campsite? No. Hold on.”
Taylor, whose feet were numb, gave up on his plan. He had to set an example in front of the young Alan, so what a shame.
Alan didn’t really think much about alcohol. It wasn’t a battle situation, and a sip in a crowded campsite was fine.
The reason I was watching the two whispering was because I was curious about what kind of abilities the monks used and how they utilized them.
‘Does someone have to get hurt in order to be healed? It seems like such a bad idea, but on the other hand, I’m curious.’
After finishing the camp, as we walked through the 12th floor of the cave following Zion’s guidance, an underground man who had not been seen before emerged from the wall. The underground man, who was clad in sturdy armor, was accompanied by a buffalo automaton.
After confirming the appearance, Shiva put on a pair of armor with blunt protrusions that resembled grapes.
“You poor souls are trapped in purgatory. This time, I will step forward and set you free—.”
Shiva’s horse’s tail stretched out. He ran with short legs and reached the underground man in the blink of an eye.
The Underworlder thrust his spear at the dwarf priest who had reached before him, but the spear’s blade only caught in the air.
Shiva, who had slid his spear into his gauntlet, continued forward. Like a salmon, he swam upside down and thrust his sword at his forehead while still attached.
The powerful blow caused the underground man’s eyes to pop out. As if that wasn’t enough, he rolled backwards several times and collided with the buffalo that was following him closely.
The buffalo turned its body to the side at that moment and safely received the underground man. However, it was only a momentary peace.
Shiva bounced like a bouncy ball and clung tightly to the underground man’s body. Bison, underground man, Shiva. The underground man in the middle looked like a fighter trapped in a cage.
In boxing, the fight where the fighters hug each other and exchange short-range strikes is called dirty boxing. That was exactly the situation at the time.
Shiva grabbed the armor of the underground man and beat his body mercilessly. In fact, he should have been knocked out already, but since he had to deal with the buffalo as well, it took a while.
The buffalo had no choice but to allow Shiva to strike while using the underground man as a shield. For the automaton, the underground man was something to be protected. When faced with this situation, there was nothing he could do.
Taylor nodded as he watched the battle scene.
“In fact, dwarves often use long weapons because of their physical disadvantage. But when they fought with their hands and feet, I wondered what they were doing, but I found out that they had some credibility.”
“Light and skilled movements, isn’t it?”
“okay.”
Even to Alan, who was a bit of a wuss, it was a brilliant move. No matter how hard the buffalo tried to stab him with its horns, Shiva never got out from behind the man.
He struck the buffalo with his fist and crushed its flank, and when it tried to attack, he used the underground man as a shield. Unable to find a way to fight back, the buffalo gradually turned into scrap metal.
“You deliberately left it unfinished and just let it breathe. That’s a good method too.”
While listening to Taylor’s explanation, Alan looked at the leopard and the box following him. He also typed in the special characters so that they would not attack him.
‘If I make a mistake, I might as well become a shield like that. I need to study areas for improvement.’
The best scenario would be one where Allen just stands behind and pours out firepower, but when does the world go as planned? Thanks to Shiva, we were aware of the unexpected, so we had to prepare for it.
“You mostly use bouncy movements to overcome your short legs. But it’s a movement that looks bad.”
After dealing with the underground man and the buffalo, Shiva dodges the sword of another underground man by swinging it. His unruly movements are similar to those of a drunk person.
“If you had been under me when I was an instructor, I would have treated you harshly.”
“I heard you were an instructor before. How was it?”
Alan asked, glancing sideways at Zion, who was watching with her arms crossed. For some reason, her ears seemed to perk up.
“We’ve been going into the labyrinth together since I was 8.”
“Is this gifted education that starts at a young age? It’s too early for early education.”
“Even at that age, he was able to catch the upper-level automata. He had tremendous talent for swordsmanship, so I had nothing to teach him. That’s why I took him with me to gain experience in the labyrinth.”
A fearsome talent, at this point Zion’s head turned. His ears turned right in this direction.
“How was your life as an instructor?”
“It wasn’t a very good memory for me.”
Upon hearing those words, Zion turned his head sharply. His slightly dazed eyes widened slightly.
“It wasn’t my companion who had the problem, it was me. Those who can’t go any lower in the labyrinth end up as instructors. That means a lack of talent and potential.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll fix it up for you.”
“Remodeling? I understand it’s comforting, but the word choice is a bit off···.”
“How about the Titan above? It’s the same size as a human, but as strong as a Titan.”
“I like that one. Magics···.”
Taylor, who was about to say something but finally saw Zion, closed his mouth.
“Is that in the plan too?”
“Should I…need it?”
“You’re a guy, so show some empathy. This time, you were joking and creepy.”
Taylor finished the conversation with a grin. Shiva, who had cleaned up the two underground people and the two automatons, approached, shaking off his hands.
“I have freed your suffering soul. May you find peace in your mother’s arms…”
“Pain?”
Alan thought of the underground man who was barely hanging on to his life. Wouldn’t it be painful to be at Shiva’s mercy? He shook his head and shook off the thought.
“Isn’t it dangerous to come out directly to the forefront?”
“I’m a therapist, so if you get hurt, I can just treat you. It’s much better for me to get hurt instead.”
Zion, who had been quietly listening, joined in the conversation. He was holding a sword in his hand that had not a single drop of blood or oil on it even after retrieving the magic stone and soul stone.
“transformation···?”
“Sister, I am not that kind of person.”
“François told me to avoid people who like to be hit because they are perverts.”
“Oh no… I got caught.… It’s a joke, so please remove that weird expression. In order to find an answer to the question of whether or not to step forward, we need to think about the role of the therapist.”
Shiva looked at Taylor first.
“We need to assess the situation and then use recovery techniques appropriately.”
“Please call it a holy method instead of a recovery method.”
“Yes, the law of the land···.”
Next was Alan.
“We have to keep him alive until he gets proper treatment.”
“Sometimes that is the best way. The divine power is not infinite and the labyrinth is deep.”
It was Zion’s turn, but she was looking at Alan with a somewhat irritated expression, as if she had said her opinion first.
Shiva said, putting his hands together.
“Two of you… Yes, I listened carefully to the opinions of the three of you. They all talked about the role of a monk based on the premise of injury. One day, I suddenly realized.”
Shiva clenched his fists. His voice was heated and his emotions were agitated. For the first time, he seemed like a real priest.
“If no one gets hurt, there is no need to spread the law. To do that, you have to quickly remove the cause of the problem. If there is no enemy, no one gets hurt. That is the ultimate healer.”
“Physical therapist?”
Taylor’s words brought silence to the room. Alan stroked the leopard’s rune, and Sion wiped his clean sword once more.
Shiva slowly turned his head and smiled kindly.
“It was a joke that made me feel old. It was probably a good intention to give a little joy to the juniors who were tired from exploring the stuffy underground.”
“stop···.”
“I will remember that beautiful heart.”
“You’re not being sarcastic, are you?”
“That’s not true. I was keeping it in mind to use when I meet older seniors or patients. People my age will definitely like it. Please don’t misunderstand, I never intended to tease you.”
“Shiva baby ···.”
“I’ve heard it so many times that I’m starting to like it. Hehehe.”
Since there was no fighting, the party moved very quickly. They did not encounter any enemies, except for a few that suddenly popped out of the cave walls.
Alan thought that the reason was Zion, who had taken on the role of guide. He had closed his eyes again, and he did not slip at all on the uneven floor.
‘Is it because of the magic wave?’
A subtle vibration that I had felt since I first met her, one that I would not even notice unless I concentrated. It spread out around her.
It would be rude to ask about his abilities in detail, so I just remembered and planned to talk to Taylor.
“Huh.”
A small snort was heard. Zion opened his eyes and looked at Allen. It wasn’t a look of accusation, but rather a look of confidence or pride.
Only then did Alan realize that he had been staring intently at Zion’s face. It was an expression of curiosity, but she might have thought otherwise.
Alan and Shiva, who had set up camp in the vacant lot, sat in front of the stone lantern and talked.
“Why did you start exploring, Shiva?”
“Please leave out the word ‘nim.’ I was originally supposed to be in charge of guarding the hospital, but the high priest brother sent me down.”
“You are honest.”
“Why would you add lies and dirty your mouth? I don’t understand why you would say something like that when you told me not to pollute other brothers.”
Taylor said after hearing that.
“Know thyself. Do you know what that means?”
“Where can you find a monk as devout as I am?”
“When I hear you say it like that, I guess you do know.”
Taylor finally chuckled as if he had hit the jackpot. As the conversation continued, the topic of mines came up.
“Is that true? Huh···.”
“I said I was a slave, but the supervisors made them all sign contracts and sent them down. Those kinds of people are usually meticulous in that regard. They ignore the law, and when others break it, they get mad.”
“I’ll go and see the situation there with my own eyes. Can you help me?”
Taylor looked at Alan. Even though he was older and more experienced, he always let Alan make the decisions.
“Let’s go and see.”
“Yeah, I knew you’d say that. What do you plan on doing, Genius Inspector? Will it be difficult if there’s a conflict between organizations?”
Three eyes looked at Zion, and she nodded her head in acceptance without hesitation, as if she had been waiting for it.
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