Special Individual (3)
The knight, its upper body partially vanished in a single chunk, stared straight at him.
Whirrr!
Unfortunately, the power source hadn't been damaged—the chainsaw blade kept whirring without pause.
Still, the victor was clear. The knight couldn't move properly anymore, and Allen planned to wait safely until his staff cooled down.
Just five minutes, though it felt far longer. Once the time passed, Allen aimed the staff again. The knight wouldn't dodge this time, either.
But the shot pierced only empty air.
"What the...?"
Allen's mouth opened involuntarily.
Automatons that emerged from manholes normally couldn't retreat back into them.
Yet the wounded knight mocked that common knowledge, fleeing through a newly formed manhole in the floor.
This was a new discovery. Or perhaps someone already knew but kept it secret.
Unfortunately, Allen had no time to celebrate.
From the far end of the passage, red glowing eyes multiplied rapidly. At least four wolf riders in the front row alone. No need to check what followed.
'Pig and wolves destroyed. Leopard intact, but...'
It was a number he couldn't handle right now. Allen glanced back briefly, recalling other intel.
Automatons couldn't move between layers.
'Even the manhole info's being overturned...'
Doubt bubbled up, but he had no clever solution now. Allen leaped down to the 7th layer with the leopard.
Special Individual (3)
Upon reaching the 7th layer, Allen glanced back at the path he'd taken. Fortunately, the wolf riders hadn't pursued to the lower level.
'So the knight was a special individual. But waiting for them to scatter doesn't seem likely.'
Beyond the black fog, red eyes still flickered up above. The riders hadn't left for elsewhere—they'd stationed themselves there.
'Drag it out until strong explorers arrive with backup?'
It was actually the closest to the right answer. Would massive corporations or the Explorers' Guild, eager to uncover labyrinth secrets, leave a special phenomenon or entity alone?
This wasn't even the deep layers; it was the maze area, so they could dispatch moderately strong explorers quickly.
Even if it took those explorers a full day to clean them up—at most—it meant Allen had to survive a day.
Allen turned at the heavy thud echoing from the black fog.
This spot was a three-way intersection, red eyes gathering from one passage as if asking, 'You dare think you'll escape alive?'
Sharp upward-curving horns appeared first. These were buffalo-like ones, so massive that two side by side filled the passage.
Obviously, if they charged, Allen had nowhere to dodge. Standing still would turn him into jerky.
Allen, ever calm, moved without hesitation. He tilted the cart, abandoning the automaton's heavy frame entirely, and linked it to the leopard.
Mounted on the cart, Allen gave a short command.
"Run."
The leopard recognized the order and bolted. The one caught on the 9th layer, now modified by Allen, pulled the cart at a decent speed.
Of course, that alone wasn't enough. "Decent speed" didn't mean faster than the buffalos.
Allen reached into his backpack and pulled out thin iron plates. Under the headlamp's light, the rune letters etched on them gleamed.
'Pretty heavy.'
No matter how thin, iron was iron. It had considerable mass compared to other materials.
Allen fanned the plates out like trump cards—a unique application of rune letters by a magitech engineer with mana excess syndrome.
They vaguely resembled the talismans handled by Eastern shamans or onmyoji.
The difference? Talismans used paper; these were iron plates. Allen's skills weren't yet sufficient to etch rune letters on weaker materials.
'All the rune letters look fine.'
Allen scanned the plates quickly, glanced back, then flicked them from his fingers. Like weighted cards, the plates flew surprisingly far.
No need to worry about direction. The maze walls on both sides ensured even Allen's casual tosses wouldn't veer off course.
The spinning plates clattered to the floor.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground vibrated under the buffalos' hooves, making the plates rattle harshly.
The rune letters on the plates were [Magnetism]—one Allen had prepared ahead, since automatons were made of metal.
'I figured it'd come in handy someday, but I didn't expect to use it this soon. Should've saved it for the knight...'
No time for regrets. Allen focused on the moment.
Mana imbued in the fallen plates spread like ink, finally saturating [Magnetism]. Even the charging buffalos changed course.
Clang!
Horn met horn. Bodies collided next, legs tangling. Unable to think like humans and match steps, they toppled.
Crunch!
Trailing automatons' hooves flattened them. Devoid of any tribal loyalty, the machines ignored the scrap underfoot.
Meanwhile, Allen etched new rune letters onto the cart: [Float]. The wheels lifted slightly. Not fully airborne, but lighter weight let the leopard accelerate further.
He dodged an excessive onslaught of automatons, weaving this way and that.
"Die already!"
A resisting explorer's shout rang out. As the cart advanced, a man stood in the intersection's center, having just felled an automaton.
"Still more of those damn bi—"
Spotting the leopard, the man started cursing but stopped upon seeing Allen aboard. Or maybe the buffalos chasing from behind shocked him. Probably the latter.
The black beanie-wearing man reflexively reached for the cart—like a moth to flame.
Allen hesitated. Taking the man would slow the cart, making it easier for the frenzied automatons to catch them.
Leaving him as bait was the optimal choice. Death was familiar to Allen; sacrificing a stranger wouldn't prick his conscience.
'But do I have to?'
Vito had helped him escape Nobak. His collar only had tracking, so running far enough would do—but Vito knew Allen's condition.
Even when splitting up seemed obvious prey for Nobak, Vito stuck with him to the end.
He'd fainted at the last moment, but still.
Big or small, Allen had received someone's help.
What he'd given didn't matter.
The fact he'd received it did.
The dilemma didn't last.
The cart slowed for easy mounting; Allen extended his staff. The man was quick on the uptake.
He hopped on and collapsed to the cart floor.
"Thanks. Your situation looks rough too..."
"Do you have any ranged attack options?"
"Right, no time for chit-chat. Wish I did, but my EBI got wrecked when my party died. It had built-in piercing magic missiles—would've helped a ton..."
"Can you handle mana?"
"Got a small mana heart."
Allen nodded toward the backpack in the corner.
"Mana pistol inside. Don't touch anything else—just grab that."
"Mana heart's brand new, so it's tiny..."
"Not the time to nitpick. Seems rested enough, so quit complaining and get into position. It'll work even with a mana stone—no need to worry."
"Calm as hell even now."
Allen's composure rubbed off; the man's flushed face returned to normal.
As instructed, he pulled out the mana pistol, crouched on the cart, and scanned around.
"Should I shoot too?"
"Rear suppression's covered. Just watch for enemies ahead."
While Allen kept tossing rune letters to hold off the automatons, they passed another intersection.
The seemingly eternal buffalos veered right and vanished.
"Slow down."
Allen commanded the leopard and finally caught his breath.
"Strange. Why'd they suddenly disappear?"
"Heard a small explosion somewhere. Probably went that way."
"How do you know?"
Allen looked; the man had removed his beanie. Black rabbit ears perked up from within.
"As you see, my hearing's sharper than most. That boom proves we're not the only ones fighting in the maze. Maybe reinforcements?"
"Too early to assume."
Rash hope, crushed, turns to deeper despair.
Buoyant rise. Shattered hull. Body-crushing vortex. Then bubbles. Allen knew this all too well.
Still, the breather was real, so the man's face brightened a bit.
"Like I said, insanely calm. Anyone'd think you're an android. The mask makes it worse?"
"..."
"Nah?"
"Perfectly human."
"Right, only humans handle rune letters in real-time."
In the slowly moving cart, the man extended a hand. Seeing the soot on his palm, he wiped it on his clothes and offered again.
"Name's Yuta. Owe you my life."
"Allen."
The cart reached what could be called an open space. Unconsciously dodging automatons from all sides, they'd reached the end of the 7th layer.
No human traces here. No pursuers, so tension eased.
Only now did Allen realize his heart pounded wildly. Thump-thump. Clear as if listening through a stethoscope.
A growl rumbled from someone's stomach. Exhaled breaths were loud too.
And then—pffft!
Allen and Yuta knew that sound well. Coming from above, it raised goosebumps. Without a word, they leaped back.
Scraaaape!
A chainsaw greatsword from the ceiling's darkness gouged the floor, sparking. Vivid red blood mixed in.
Unlike Allen, Yuta was unlucky. His right shoulder was mangled like it'd been bitten—muscles, bones, vessels utterly pulverized.
His brain couldn't withstand the shock and blacked out, but he'd bleed out soon anyway.
Allen had no time to check the wound.
The intact knight ignored Yuta and glared at Allen.
'Another knight? Or the same one repaired?'
Allen thrust his staff forward in his left hand, subtly gripping a rune letter card in his right.
The red flower had temporarily boosted him beyond a normal human, but a frontal clash was foolish. One swing of that chainsaw greatsword would slice him like styrofoam.
Even without that, Allen lacked confidence in close combat. That's why he controlled automatons.
"Attack."
Sound speed was roughly 340 meters per second. The instant Allen spoke, the leopard lunged from the shadows at the knight's flank.
Crunch!
The leopard's armor, layered with [Hardening], didn't slice immediately. But it was only a matter of time—the outcome unchanged.
Cables spilling like entrails, the leopard collapsed. The knight turned to Allen. Its eyeless red glow was somehow more terrifying.
Of course, fear didn't erode Allen's mind. His serene state fit a master of clarity.
Thud!
The knight moved toward Allen.
Thud! Thud!! Thud!!!
The sounds grew louder, but the distance didn't close. The knight thrashed its legs in place.
The cause: scattered rune letter cards around them. Allen's mana-infused [Magnetism] emitted faint light, obeying its master.
Whirrr!
The knight tried hurling its spinning chainsaw greatsword. But the blade, released from its hand, halted just ahead—far from escaping.
It was a prison encircled by [Magnetism].