Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 425



Only Krnovel

Excavation (7)

As we left the investigation team building, we saw the aerial vehicle that Cucumber had prepared in advance. The aerial vehicle, as large as a blue whale, opened its mouth wide.

Alan, Henry, and Oros went inside, and Cucumber followed. Although the interior was not fancy, it was equipped with all the features that would make one feel comfortable.

Henry took a seat and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

“Why are you following me?”

“I have been ordered to support you both materially and spiritually. The atmosphere at the top is quite encouraging thanks to the quick and clear results.”

“It’s not support, it’s surveillance. Am I wrong?”

“ha ha ha.”

Cucumber smiled awkwardly with his characteristically sullen face. It was a reasonable decision for the government to follow him from the beginning, as it would be awkward to keep someone with great ability and a strong desire for knowledge in the ruins.

“Don’t worry, your compensation will be guaranteed.”

“Do I look like someone who needs money? You hate it when people keep taking things away from you whenever you try to see something. If the owner of the ruins wasn’t Soldos, I would have switched a long time ago!”

Alan and Oros also nodded. With depth 6, money can be earned quickly, but knowledge cannot be obtained immediately even if desired.

“I will make sure to convey that point to my superiors.”

“Behave yourself.”

Henry either liked Cucumber’s answer or wanted to concentrate on his beer, so he cut off the conversation and just tilted the can.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of flying rocks hitting the thick armor of the air vehicle was audible, typical of the Slingshot Desert. Even the excellent soundproofing measures could not fool Alan’s hearing.

“You’re heading south. Are there any ruins in Vega?”

“you’re right.”

“How did you convince the Vega government?”

“If our government is sick just by coughing, how difficult would it be to persuade them? Mr. Allen, you can just ignore the other parts and enjoy the exploration.”

It was said that he took it by shaking his fist. Although it may seem polite on the outside, strong persuasion sprouts from strong force.

The aerial vehicle quickly crossed the border, ignoring the terrain. Still, the horizon was filled with desert.

The desert landscape was not filled with sand. As it was an area with low rainfall, short vegetation was spread out sparsely and widely.

The destination was a rocky mountain. The bare slopes clearly showed the passage of time, layer by layer.

‘200km southeast.’

As Alan was thinking about the distance from his original base to here, the aerial vehicle descended vertically.

The form of the research base was similar to before, with a sand-filled barrier surrounding the perimeter. The only difference was that on that side it was a plain, while on this side it was attached to a mountain.

As soon as Alan got out of the air vehicle, he found the investigators moving busily. They were carrying a person out of the cave on a stretcher.

“Get out of the way, get out of the way!”

“Get to the operating room quickly!”

The patient’s body on the stretcher was grotesque: arms where legs should be, eye pupils visible through nostrils, and tongues protruding from ear holes.

Alan blocked their path.

“What? I said Vicky!”

“No surgery needed.”

The magic in his voice forcibly calmed the investigators’ minds. As the urgency disappeared, they focused more on Alan’s words.

“What does that mean?”

“The patient is a space wizard, right? He looks like a rag, but the space is twisted and it looks like that, and his body is fine.”

“Is this okay?”

“Just think of it as being under a spell. If you are, blink twice.”

The donut-like man double-closed his pupils inside his nostrils. The investigator, who noticed this, asked.

“Then how should we solve it?”

“I don’t know right now. It’s hard for him to get enough nutrients in that condition, so please give him some intravenous fluids.”

Unlike before, the investigators walked slowly. Oros watched them and then turned his gaze away.

“Mr. Alan, is there really no way?”

“There is no solution that comes to mind right now. It looks like we’ve been tricked into [the knot game].”

[Knot Play] is a magic that twists space and twists the opponent’s body into a knot. If a space magician was hit like that, it meant that the inside of the ruins was quite vicious.

Cucumber clapped his hands.

“Mr. Allen, you are as knowledgeable about space as rumored.”

“Have you seen it in all things?”

“The footage from CCTV cameras installed in the city is also excellent evidence.”

It was only natural that Alan would get caught since he used [Space Manipulation] so casually. Even if he tried to hide it as much as possible, it was a fact that could easily be found out with just a little analysis.

“Three rare space wizards entered, but they were all defeated. Good luck to you all.”

“The guy who cheers is spouting ominous words.”

Henry clicked his tongue in disapproval. Cucumber stood in front of the cave and pointed inside with both hands.

Allen and three others went straight in after confirming basic information about the ruins from the aerial vehicle.

Alan looked at Henry, who was entering confidently. Orosya was a man who could break through the space with his muscles, but what kind of confidence did Henry, who was only at a depth of 2, have?

“Are you okay?”

“Of course you guys should protect me!”

Henry let out a loud noise, then smiled faintly.

“I’m joking. How can someone who just gets carried around wear a professor’s business card? Even if he could, the Soldos government wouldn’t call him. Just watch my power clearly.”

Henry took off the ornament from his beard. Alan realized that his magical power flow had changed. It was particularly concentrated in his beard.

“Is it bloodline magic?”

“That’s right. The whiskers wiggle when they sense danger. Hmm?”

Henry tilted his head, then moved closer to Alan and then moved away repeatedly.

“Why does my beard shake when I walk next to you? It’s strange.”

“That’s because the ruins are right in front of us.”

“I drank the beer, but is your beard drunk? Anyway, let’s go.”

Near the entrance was an ordinary cave. Henry took careful steps, while Oros strode ahead. If there were traps, he was sure to activate them to eliminate the danger.

The magic lights that were scattered on the cave walls continued to flow and then suddenly stopped. The place where the cave and the ordinary marble corridor merged into one was the entrance to the true ruins.

“The beard is fine.”

Henry, believing in his own abilities, went right in. As soon as he set foot in the hallway, he stopped walking. Alan, who was still standing in the cave, observed the change.

“The entrance is nothing special.”

“Mr. Alan, please explain in detail.”

“We increased the space by about 10m per 1cm.”

“Oh, it’s moving little by little.”

Oros nodded and strode inside. He, too, seemed to be marking time, but he quickly escaped the area of ​​distorted space with Henry by his side.

“□□□□□□.”

Oros, who was 3 meters away from Alan, opened his mouth. Because of the distortion, the sound was scattered because 3 meters equals 3 kilometers. As Oros was about to speak again, Alan also entered the hallway.

“Mr. Alan, come here… You came quickly.”

“The distortion has been removed.”

Henry, who had been scanning the hallway, responded to Alan’s words.

“No, then why didn’t you take care of it before I went in?”

“At that time, it was being analyzed.”

“hmm···.”

Henry looked at him suspiciously. Regardless, Alan observed the marble-ceilinged hallway. According to the exploration report Cucumber had given him, it was dangerous to go left or right.

“I’ve only scratched the surface, so what about exploration? Where should I start?”

“Let’s ask the experts.”

“There is such a person?”

When Alan took out the Heaven’s Way, Henry’s beard stood on end.

“Why are you bringing up hell?”

“We need to bring out the experts.”

Alan took out the soul of Coatl. It was weak in its glow due to being tormented by the snake.

[□□□]

And since the labyrinth had blocked their mouths, communication was impossible. Alan put Coatl into the teddy bear-shaped automaton that the box had given him.

As I placed the teddy bear on the floor, Coatl started moving towards the left.

“Did you put the soul of hell into the automaton?”

“yes.”

“Who is that?”

“I am an ordinary soul.”

“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t worry. If you’re a soul pulled out of Hell, you probably have a grudge against me. What if I lead you into a trap?”

“That would be fun too.”

Henry narrowed his eyes and turned away from Alan.

“Why did the beard leave you? That’s why it’s dangerous to associate with a labyrinth explorer.”

“Henry, stay with me.”

“You’re a maze explorer too.”

It is impossible to confirm whether Coatl knows about this place or not, but he followed it as soon as it moved.

Traps that only extend the distance appear frequently. And they are harmless except that you have to walk a lot.

The real thing was a spatial cut and a door with an unknown destination. A deep mark was left on Oros’s forearm where he had cut through the cut, and the automaton that passed through the door was lost.

Even in the midst of chaos, Henry was fine. Alan really wanted a beard.

“Why did you hide your abilities in the Shelter Ruins?”

“It didn’t start properly because of the fog.”

“You don’t react well to threats that surround you.”

“I see you understand.”

“Can I get a beard?”

“Absolutely not!”

Coatl’s guidance, Alan’s [Space Manipulation], Oros’s action, and Henry’s caution created synergy. The speed of exploration was ignited.

As they passed through the hallway and reached the metal door, Coatl turned to look at Alan, then flailed his arms and legs wildly, trying to convey something.

‘Do you want liberation?’

Alan held up two fingers. It meant that if he cooperated twice more, he would be given freedom. Understanding, Coatl became quiet. He took out the Heaven Road again and put Coatl in.

“Are you sending your tormented soul to hell again? You’ll be chased by snakes again.”

“I put him in a special solitary cell. It’s a good place to conduct thought experiments.”

“Solitary confinement?”

“yes.”

“Hmm···.”

Alan put his hand on the door, turning away from Henry’s voice. Even wearing the golden crown, he remained silent.

In such a case, there was a good key called strength. When Alan and Oros grabbed the left and right sides of the door and applied force, the metal door opened wide.

‘Ah, [Molecular Assembly]···. It’s okay now that I opened it.’

Alan tried to reflect, but then changed course to rationalization. Then he looked inside.

The interior was round and spacious, with a large ∩-shaped structure in the center. Control devices similar to those seen in the shelter were placed around the structure.

“The beard here is tame. What kind of facility do you think you are?”

Henry asked, stepping inside without hesitation.

“Space Gate Management Office.”

“Did it run wild and naturally become a barrier to protect the ruins? That makes sense.”

The interior looked fine to Alan, so they each began to investigate. Alan first looked at the control unit. It was quiet even when he pressed the buttons and touched the dials.

‘There is no power.’

Alan opened his eyes and lightly touched the device with his fingers filled with magic power. If it was connected to the magic source, the flow would be visible.

Alan’s gaze followed the faint magic. At the end of it was Henry, holding onto the storage box and struggling. Oros approached and tore open the storage box, taking out the diamond-shaped crystal inside.

Henry quickly ran over and inserted the crystal into the hole in the wall. Blue waves rippled inside the ∩-shaped structure.

“You solved it quickly.”

“If you put in something of similar shape, it works the same way now as it did in the past.”

“you’re right.”

Alan pressed a button on the control unit. Even though he couldn’t see the labyrinthine letters, he knew by feel that they were the key to operating the facility.

After some trial and error, I manipulated the dial and the waves that had been rippling inside the structure calmed down. It became transparent like a glass window and revealed a certain scenery.

“The capital of Vega.”

Alan turned the dial.

“Those ruins? Oh, that’s around Tilli’s Sansimon.”

I turned the dial again.

“Ice? It looks like the polar regions. That’s the resort on the Western Continent we went to on our honeymoon.”

Alan sent the spider to a resort. As soon as the spider passed through the door, the people around him were seen startled.

“They don’t recognize the door, and it’s a one-way street. I ordered the spider to come right back, but it can’t.”

“But in an instant, we were transported to the other side of the planet.”

It was impossible with modern magic, since the magical power consumption increased exponentially with the distance traveled. Henry made a serious expression.

“What a truly curious and dangerous device.”

“Yes, it’s perfect for gifting a magic splitting bomb.”

“you···.”

“Let’s look for other places too.”

This time, he put on the crown and touched the dial. Then, a dark place appeared beyond the space door. Henry narrowed his eyes.

“It looks just like a grave.”