Chapter 58 – Cheating in the Labyrinth

Chapter 58 – Cheating in the Labyrinth

After the Incheon Defense Battle, I returned to my room with Minju’s ability and lay on my bed, lost in thought for a moment.

“Let’s see…”

The Aerial Mothership is powerful. But as powerful as it is, it required many things. In other words, to properly operate an Aerial Mothership, several conditions had to be met.

First, a Medium-Class Production Facility was needed.

The Aerial Mothership has no offensive capabilities of its own. It’s essentially just a large transport ship carrying Interceptors.

And those Interceptors are Medium-Class. Since I couldn’t produce and repair all of them myself, I had to build a Medium-Class Production Facility.

‘I can build this.’

Originally, there was a drawback that the combat capability of Interceptors, the core of the Aerial Mothership, needed to be further enhanced.

Now that the Photon Condensation Upgrade was complete, if only the quantity was sufficient, Interceptors would be able to conduct air-to-ground combat effectively.

‘Next is the Super-Large Production Facility…?’

This was the problem.

The Super-Large Production Facility required each facility to produce a single part simultaneously. In other words, a minimum of 4 facilities had to be arranged in a 2×2 shape and dedicated to this task.

‘So, a total of 5 production facilities are needed.’

I briefly examined the current harvest and estimated the mana regeneration rate. After all, there were now 5 Mana Facilities.

Since Research Facilities and troops also needed to be maintained, two Mana Facilities were barely enough for even one small production facility.

The three newly summoned in Incheon were solely for maintaining the four newly added submarine patrol boats.

This meant there was room to build new production facilities.

However… mana expenditure wasn’t limited to this.

The Man… The maintenance cost of the Aerial Mothership will be a problem.

The Aerial Mothership is a giant machine.

It consumes as much mana as The Man. Even though three Mana Facilities were added, considering the number of additional production facilities, it was clear that operating the Aerial Mothership would be difficult.

That’s not to say there’s no way.

The method was an Artifact.

Among them, if you summon using one that has the ability to gather mana on its own, you can reduce the maintenance cost.

And if it’s a guy with additional abilities…

You can summon it much stronger than a regular Aerial Mothership.

Like a Flagship, so to speak.

Then I’ll have to go get an Artifact first.

I started to rack my brain.

***

First, the Medium-Class production facilities were immediately set up. This was to reliably increase the number of Interceptors and Assault Cannons, and to help with maintenance.

As the Medium-Class Production Facility began churning out troops, everyone seemed to have something to say, apparently impressed by the increasing number of Assault Cannons, which were the core of my forces.

It seems like the number of Assault Cannons has increased recently, hasn’t it?

Indeed.

No, really.

…Indeed.

Perhaps because I was preparing the Aerial Mothership, the number that had truly increased was the Interceptors, but few people noticed.

Unlike the Assault Cannons that were always on the ground, the Interceptors only flew in when needed, so that seemed to be the case. They would just think, ‘They came earlier than usual?’

In addition to strengthening the military, I also focused on strengthening internal affairs.

Choi Yongjin decided to patrol the roads between each city.

And I worked hard to normalize Incheon.

Furthermore, crops began to emerge in earnest from the Dungeon. Most of the crops were potatoes and sweet potatoes, which were easy to cultivate and whose seeds were relatively easy to obtain.

With chickens and eggs, of course, and protein supplemented by edible Maned Deer and Sand Squid, there were no major problems.

In particular, with the Monsters in the sea off Incheon being cleared, coastal fishing had recently resumed. Also, it seemed that people were collecting clams and crabs from the tidal flats again.

‘That’s good.’

We were probably the only ones in the world who could eat real seafood. Since there was plenty of food overall, this was truly eating like kings in the Apocalypse.

Perhaps because of that, many survivors were flowing in.

Even with a rough count, the population far exceeded that of the time in my Previous Life when it was grandly titled ‘Humanity’s Last City’.

Moreover, most of My Faction were Koreans, so there were no communication problems. Also, there were virtually no factions. Of course, this was largely due to my enormous influence.

Having finished some of my housework, I…

Headed to the Dungeon after a long time.

“Seongjae. I have something to do for a moment.”

Seongjae was with me.

* * *

“Wow… There are even more new people now.”

Seongjae exclaimed, looking at the bustling Dungeon Entrance area.

“Well, many people commute to the Dungeon these days.”

I answered calmly. On the other hand, commerce was also very active around the Dungeon Entrance.

This was so that when people came out of the Dungeon with byproducts such as edible Monsters, agricultural products, or Mana Stones, they could sell them immediately without needing to transport them far.

However, we didn’t necessarily need to encounter those people.

This was because there were separate entrances for the Worker Bugs that mined Adamantite, Mithril, etc., and for administrators.

Of course, the Dungeon was mine. Furthermore, I had monopolized all the mining development rights inside, which made it possible.

But… Today was going to be a little different.

The Artifact I was aiming for was not in a Fixed Rift, like the first or second Dungeon, but in a [Non-Fixed Rift].

“Let’s see…”

I checked my luggage.

Unlike Fixed Rifts, once you exit a Non-Fixed Rift, you cannot re-enter. In other words, it is a type of [Instant Dungeon].

Therefore, I had to prepare everything I needed before entering. Even then, there was a limit to the number of people who could enter at once. This Dungeon, where the Artifact I was aiming for was located, only allowed two people.

Well… it’s going to change once we get inside.

I thought of the heavy resources in my bag and grinned. Besides that, there were also combat rations and several changes of clothes. Various water items, including hygiene tools, were inside the hiking backpack.

Meanwhile, I checked Seongjae’s luggage once again.

“Seongjae, did you pack your bags well?”

“Hey, even if I was an Advisor, I still completed my service.”

He seemed to take great pride in his Loyalty Military Pack.

I smiled at The Man’s reply, then-

“Let’s start like The Man.”

I pointed at the Nest Mana Stone.

“What should I do?”

“Just wait for a moment.”

I briefly put aside Seongjae, who was curious. I placed my hand on the Nest Mana Stone and felt its interior. A Fixed Rift required a Mana Band to specify The Man pattern, but a Non-Fixed Rift did not.

Rather… I had to create The Man band.

Whoosh-

I concentrated and drew up mana.

I carefully adjusted The Man mana, condensing it into a small Mana Band as if kneading dough. The Man, once again, I began to create the band’s pattern even more profoundly.

“Ugh…”

It was not an easy task.

Unlike the core of the Nest Mana Stone, which already had a band shape, the non-fixed type had to move subtly while maintaining The Man Mana Band shape.

To put it in everyday terms, it was the difference in difficulty between weaving a pattern with a tangible rubber band and creating a pattern with intangible cigarette smoke.

However, for me, who was tempered by a vast Mana Quantity and The Man’s operational experience, it was a difficult task, but not a problem.

“Good.”

The Man, a small pattern created by concentrating for several minutes.

I explained to Seongjae how to use The Man pattern.

When I once again poured mana into the Nest Mana Stone using Fire Manipulation-

Whoosh-

With the familiar sound of a waterfall.

My body began to be sucked into the Rift.

***

“Whew…”

I let out a sigh.

‘It consumed a significant amount of mana.’

Typically, Non-Fixed Rifts were places one entered after consuming a lot of Mana Stones. As someone with an overwhelming Mana Quantity, I didn’t need to do that, but even so, the expenditure was certainly a burden.

“Haaak. Haaak. Haaak!”

However, unlike me, Seongjae’s face was pale from the enormous mana expenditure.

“Chew on this one.”

I handed him a Medium-Class Mana Stone and cautiously looked around.

It was a dark place with impressive brick walls.

‘We found the right place.’

At first glance, it looked similar to ruins, but.

Its nickname was ‘Labyrinth.’

True to its nickname, the paths were intertwined like spiderwebs, making it a maze. In the previous cycle, many survivors wandered here, eventually exhausting all their supplies and dying.

The paths were that intricately intertwined.

And there were many traps that hindered progress.

Of course, the biggest problem was the Monsters that resided here.

“I hope it just ends without us encountering any-“

It was then that I muttered to myself.

Kwooaaah-

With a strong tearing sound.

A Brown Tentacle flew towards my head.

Whoosh-

Incredible speed. Whether I dodged it just in time or not, the tremendous sound of wind brushed past my ear.

“Tsk!”

I clicked my tongue and immediately looked for Seongjae.

“W-what is this now?!”

Seongjae was shouting in panic.

It was natural that he kept scanning the corridor, seemingly afraid of the tentacles flying from the other end of the dark hallway.

I tried to snap Seongjae out of his daze.

“Seongjae. Fire Manipulation, please.”

“Oh, oh!”

Whoosh!

A bright Fire Manipulation blazed from his hand, illuminating the surroundings. Meanwhile, the Brown Tentacle began to move away, as if to avoid the Fire Manipulation.

Sliiiide-

It was natural for Seongjae to let out a sigh of relief.

“Siwoo.”

“What.”

“A Labyrinth Tentacle Monster? Isn’t this a bit too niche?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“It’s a thing.”

Seongjae gave a somewhat lewd smile.

…I decided to walk a little distance away from him.

***

We walked aimlessly for a while like that.

“Where are we now…?”

As if it truly was a labyrinth, Seongjae frequently looked confused. If even he, with his excellent sense of direction, was like this, it was obvious how much the other survivors must have struggled.

Having arrived at a somewhat wide clearing, I slowly unpacked my bag. Seongjae seemed a little surprised by my fire manipulation.

“Siwoo, where are we supposed to go?”

“Just head to the center.”

“Which way is the center?”

“I don’t know.”

I answered calmly. There was no map of the Labyrinth. Even if there were, there was no way I would have memorized the map of this complicated Labyrinth.

But…

“Then what do we do? Aren’t we really going to die like this?”

“If you don’t know… you find out.”

I grinned.

I took out some well-compressed transparent PET plastic from my bag. I laid them out in the clearing and began to summon, stirring up mana with fire manipulation.

‘Summon Observation Probe.’

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp-

Soon, dozens of observation probes began to circle the Labyrinth.

***

We set up a base camp in the clearing and watched the observation probes scout. We had also summoned about four worker bugs to assist us, so there was nothing to worry about.

I even handed over control of the observation probes to Seongjae, and we took turns mapping out the area. He occasionally flinched in surprise at the wiggling brown tentacles.

“Why isn’t that thing attacking us?”

“Because fire is its weakness.”

I answered his question calmly.

After two full days passed like that…

We finally found the center of the Labyrinth.

It was also where the monster guarding this dungeon lived.

Finally, we had a direction.

Seongjae should have been even happier, having gotten closer to our goal, but his expression was dark. More precisely, he was frowning as he looked at the intricately tangled map.

“Hey, this looks like a week-long journey, doesn’t it?”

That was half true. An Observation Probe could reach the center quickly because it flew, but humans were different.

Now that the destination was precisely identified, there was no need to wander, but if The Man started walking through the complex Labyrinth himself, it would take a considerably long time.

But the reason it was only half true was…

“No, half a day is enough.”

Because I had the magic Legion.

“[Rough Terrain Pioneer] Summoning.”

Boom!

As for the path, The Man only had to clear it.