Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 85
Only Noblemtl
The snake that had tried to attack Alan had its skin peeled off, leaving only meat and bones. If a stranger saw it, they would mistake it for a cut-off ox’s tail.
The explorers hurried on without touching the meat. Alan followed behind them.
“The snake that greeted us from the beginning was 14 meters long. The welcoming ceremony was rougher than I thought.”
“That’s not something someone who has torn off his beak should say. When did you calculate the length?”
“I just added it roughly after looking at the pieces.”
“Titanoboa is originally big. No, all the creatures living in the primeval forest are big. Since there is so much meat, if you know how to eat it, you won’t starve to death. As long as you don’t get eaten.”
“Speaking of meat, I don’t think you’ll bring any.”
“It doesn’t taste that good. It’s hard to satisfy the taste of a supply platoon that hasn’t been here for a few months and hasn’t come down for very long.”
Alan nodded and looked straight ahead. All the carts used by the Breakers were floating upward, avoiding the rough rocks and roots sticking out of the ground.
There was no way they didn’t know the method he used on the wagon. In fact, the floating wagon was the original, and Alan simply copied the principle.
He is still a sprout, and there are many big trees around him. So, until he grows up to be the same size, he just has to keep an eye on their footsteps.
The world originally followed the pioneers who left behind huge footprints. The power suit, rune pen, and even the simple cup we use today were all invented by someone first.
It can be disconcerting when the path disappears, but that’s actually where the fun begins.
You become the pioneer, and others will follow you. You can stay in the forefront for a long time and leave your mark on the world, or you can find stability and walk slowly with others. The choice is yours.
Of course, Alan had no intention of waiting for anyone. He was determined to walk the path ahead if there was one, and to create one if there wasn’t one.
Awww!
The distinctive howling of the seagulls pulled Alan out of his deep thoughts. His senses, which had been immersed in deep thought, began to find their place, and the surrounding scenery began to come into view.
The explorer at the forefront of the supply line raised a staff high. At the same time, something quickly unfurled. It was like a plate shaped like an umbrella that had been folded upside down by the wind.
“Start exploring!”
The name of this magical tool is the Magic Wave Detector. It emits magic waves in all directions, hits something, and analyzes the reflected waves to determine the location of terrain or living things.
The result appears as a hologram: a blue three-dimensional minimap appears around the detector, with red dots scattered throughout.
“Estimated number of direwolves! 20 of them! 2 minutes until arrival!”
Since the target of the battle was not a person, he relayed the information he had found out loudly. The others followed suit, also in loud voices.
Most wild animals are wary of people and will run away if a large number of people are crowding around.
However, since the animals in the labyrinth have the breath of the creator in them, they unconditionally turn hostile when they sense an explorer. Neither a mother bear protecting her cubs nor a tiger whose territory has been invaded would be that ferocious.
By hearing the sound of branches breaking on the ground, one could guess how large and heavy the monster approaching was.
‘It must be bigger than a leopard.’
I’m talking about a real leopard wearing its skin properly.
Soon, the bushes parted on both sides and a pack of gray-furred wolves appeared. As Alan had expected, they were huge, nearly 2 meters long.
Some of them, uncharacteristically for wolves, would kick the trees around them and jump up. Two of them even targeted Alan in that manner.
‘They say animals hunt the weak first. Do I look that easy? There are also dwarves, so it’s not a matter of height, but rather a matter of relatively small stature?’
The distraction was only a small part of Alan’s mind. Most of it was focused on the direwolf that was targeting him.
“left!”
Shiva’s voice hit my eardrums. Shiva jumped up, stepping on Taylor’s shoulder, and flew like a missile.
He barely avoided the fangs flashing in the air and then dropped kicked the direwolf’s torso. The direwolf, outnumbered by the force, was slammed into a tree, and a sharp branch pierced part of his body, turning him into a sandbag.
Now there was only one wolf left. Before Alan’s robotic arm could move, the panther that had been lying still in front of him leaped up vertically.
[Stealth] Thanks to this, the direwolf noticed the leopard late. The price for this was fatal. The leopard bit below the nape of the neck, and its fangs pierced through the hide in one breath.
The leopard’s artificial muscles contracted strongly, rotating its body 180 degrees. The leopard, having trampled the direwolf, fell down.
Knock knock!
The leopard did not let go of its enemy even once, and the shock was transmitted directly to the neck. The long tongue that had been sticking out in search of a place to live hung limply. What can I do? The tongue and the wolf are a community of shared destiny.
At Taylor’s feet, only a headless torso was lying there. Alan’s gaze followed the rolling head.
The supply corps fought well. When they had the skills, they dealt with them alone, but when they were lacking, they formed teams and fought together.
In a labyrinth where a momentary mistake can cost you your life, it was really important to know your place. The ability to save yourself in a moment of crisis was not a matter of recklessness, but of cool judgment.
People may have difficulty being objective because of their pride, but I didn’t see any of that in Breaker’s staff.
“like···.”
“Like a gear?”
“yes.”
“That’s the fear of organizations. It’s why individuals can’t defeat a group. There are exceptions, like Jake, the Collector, and the Tailor, but they’re not human, so let’s leave them out.”
The supply unit, which had dealt with the direwolf pack without any casualties, immediately began to disband. They were all in the primeval forest, containing magic stones. They were large enough and pure enough to fetch a decent price.
“Since the animals are swarming around from the beginning, it will be easy to collect magic stones to operate the compass.”
“If you can handle it. There are more than a few who have turned into stinking organic matter while being a guest. The number is increasing in real time. By the way, by now, you should have collected all the magic stones to get to the 22nd floor.”
As Taylor had expected, the supply column’s course changed dramatically. It moved almost perpendicular to the direction it had been going.
After walking for a while, I came across a moving door. When I passed through it, I was on the 22nd floor. On the 22nd floor, I hunted animals and collected magic stones to activate the compass.
This time, near the door leading to the 23rd floor, we encountered another company’s expedition team. All of their equipment was painted with the Chilseong mark, so much so that you could tell where they belonged even with your eyes closed.
“It looks like things are going well.”
“Even if it’s bad outside, it has to be good here. Unless you plan on risking your life fighting.”
“Oh, that guy’s belt wasn’t made by Chilseong, it was made by Hextech.”
“The mark drawn is not the Big Dipper, but the Six Stars.”
“It’s easy to change a brand. I heard that Chilseong’s belt recently reduced its cost, so I guess that’s the effect.”
The explorer at the very front glanced through the ranks to see if he had heard Allen and Taylor’s conversation, and one explorer tugged at his bag to cover his waist.
The two groups that arrived on the 23rd floor surveyed the terrain and split up in opposite directions. Breaker went to the right, Chilseong to the left, based on the towering peak.
“The Chilsungdo Breakers have their own bases, just like the Breakers. If you’re in this location, you’ll soon be able to see the Breakers’ bases.”
As Taylor had promised, the dense tree density began to decrease, and a plain appeared. In the distance, there was the Breaker base surrounded by a barrier.
Alan’s left eye worked like a telescope.
“I imagined it would be small since it’s a base in a labyrinth, but it’s bigger than I thought.”
The perimeter was surrounded by a Hesco Barrier, a large barbed wire-wrapped sandbag. Beyond that, a concrete structure could be seen.
“Because there are quite a few people staying there. The inside of the sack is called the outer wall, and the outside of the concrete wall is called the inner wall.”
The inner part was used by Breaker’s staff, and the outer part was open to general explorers. Other companies initially charged high fees for using the base, but Breaker’s free opening forced them to follow suit.
“Instead, we will pay you in another way.”
“Be sharp. There will be less backlash if you treat it as a settlement fee increase rather than charging it separately as a base usage fee. But it’s cheaper than when you used to pay the usage fee.”
As the base came into view, Shiva took out his hip flask. Taylor sidled over like a bee lured to a flower.
“Breaker spreads a lot of positive influence. But Brother Taylor···”
“What about me?”
“Don’t you always slander me when you see me?”
“Just kidding. Anyway, Breaker has its share of suspicious aspects like other companies, but it also gives a lot to society.”
“The nun who raised me when I was young also briefly explored in her youth and had fond memories of Breaker. Maybe she met Brother Taylor.”
“Well, I’ve met so many people, and now my memories are fading away···.”
Breaker was a strange company in many ways. It would be hard to find a company that gets more praise than it gets criticized. And it’s a big company.
As Jake Marshall said in his inaugural speech, Breaker only tried to break through the labyrinth. If it helped the purpose, they provided many conveniences even to non-company members.
The supply line passed through the gate without any checks. The road leading to the inner city was divided into commercial and residential areas by a boundary.
Just like the port of Aromaia, people were moving busily. The only difference was the size of the hope. Depending on how big it was, the complexion of the people on this side changed, and naturally, the skin of the people on this side was much more radiant.
“The chairman of a large corporation, a strongman of depth 7. With both power and wealth, is he pursuing honor?”
“Conquering the labyrinth is an achievement whose name may be mentioned until the extinction of mankind.”
“You wouldn’t know it if you colonized another planet.”
“It’s still a long way off. We’ve just established a small settlement on the moon. Space colonies? That won’t happen until I’m dead.”
Maybe Taylor was right. With such a huge honey pot called the Labyrinth, who would have the luxury of looking outside?
Resource exploration is a big part of space exploration, but with resources constantly pouring out from the dungeon, there was little need to do so.
No wonder citizens of the Soldos Federation are polling to lower the budget for space exploration and increase the budget for labyrinths.
So the Soldos Federation wants to somehow get back the labyrinth-related interests, but the Maze City government just snorts at them.
In the early days of the discovery of the labyrinth, the council members who were blinded by lobbying and granted the status of a special autonomous city were still being chewed to dust even after they became skeletons.
The supply line slowed down a bit. There was a checkpoint in front of the inner gate, but this time, it passed quickly. At that moment, one of the supply managers who was in the middle quickly approached Allen.
“I was skeptical at first, but your skills are good. However, even registered explorers are not allowed to enter this place. Have fun exploring.”
The inner door closed just in front of him. Alan looked inside until the gap was completely gone.
“The facilities are fine, but it’s a shame.”
“François, you bastard. You’re being so picky about an orc.”
“Isn’t that a half-orc?”
“It says ‘Oc’ on your personal information, so that’s what I thought. Is that why you look so gentle?”
Of course, being gentle meant that compared to a normal orc. If you have a human next to you, of course you will look fierce.
“If that’s what it says, then you’re right. I guess I was mistaken. Okay, let’s go back outside.”
“Not resting?”
Alan’s finger pointed to the sun.
“It’s still broad daylight.”
“There’s no night here. If you act like that punk, it’ll be hard for me.”
“I tend to forget unnecessary memories quickly···.”
“Are you a machine?”
“It’s not wrong to say that living things are machines made of organic matter. In fact, I didn’t mean to say that we should just go out without thinking.”
Alan took out the compass that was vibrating faintly from his bosom. To be exact, only the needle was vibrating. It was not normal for the needle, which was silent until it was fed with a magic stone, to vibrate faintly.
A compass is an object that points to something. At the end of it, there may be a door, a relic, or a monster.
End