Upgrades Tested in the Labyrinth
"That's an example of why you shouldn't do that."
The preparations for the next expedition went smoothly. He inspected Taylor's magitechwear, manufactured mana bullets, and reinforced the leopard, who served as both bodyguard and vanguard.
Shiba, who had been half-reclining on the sofa, watched Allen's work and spoke up.
"I thought Brother Allen made it look easy going down there, but it turns out there's a lot of hard work poured into it. The world really can't be judged by its surface alone. That's what makes it all the more impressive and wondrous."
"I'm more mystified by why you're here. Why hole up in this place instead of living in that nice house where Mother God's priests gather? It's even in a wealthy area—must be comfy."
Shiba laughed at Taylor's jab as he reattached his mechanical arms.
"If the body gets too comfortable, the spirit gets trapped right along with it. A bit of asceticism helps with training."
"So you're saying this place is that bad?"
"You're twisting my words again. Just think of it as adapting to a new environment. And I can't stay in Mother's embrace forever, can I?"
"Drop the holy water act."
"What's wrong with holy water? Can't you see its clear, pure, shimmering hue?"
"Peel off the label and I'd never know. Gimme some too. It's in the fridge, right?"
Taylor strode to the fridge and swung open the door. It was packed with glass bottles bearing faint traces of labels.
As if their bickering had never happened, the two clinked their bottles lightly and tilted them back. Taylor plopped his rear on the sofa and flicked on the TV.
The channel, shifting in sync with signals from Taylor's artificial eye, locked in place. A stern-faced announcer was delivering the news.
Taylor clicked his tongue as he watched the news.
"An individual's deviation? Judging by how they're announcing it, they're already starting to cut off tails."
"But with the city government stepping in, we can trust it'll be handled properly, right?"
"I told you before. The shares are all tangled up. Lockhart's just a figurehead anyway. Looks like they'll sacrifice one director, grease some palms here and there, and sweep it under the rug. Not surprising—it's always like that."
Allen looked up from maintaining the leopard at the chatter.
"You're being too noisy while I'm trying to focus. We got a decent living room when we moved—why come to the workshop to yap?"
The leopard stood, rubbing against Allen's leg. It even bared its teeth at Taylor and Shiba.
"It's gotten more expressive?"
"Not really. I just diversified its behavior patterns based on a book I bought. I thought it was useless, but it's pretty good. If I develop it further, it could make conditional judgments based on combat changes. Eventually, the goal is strong AI that thinks like a human and makes its own decisions. I'd love to slap on top-grade external armor too, but no spare resources yet..."
Clang!
The door slammed shut suddenly, silencing the warehouse. Shiba, who had been rolling around, and Taylor, who was grabbing holy water from the fridge—both vanished.
Allen shrugged and moved on to the next task.
"This is the second time, but there sure are a lot of explorers."
"Ugh, country bumpkin."
No matter what Taylor said, Shiba focused on sightseeing. He even prayed to the Mother of All Things now and then when he spotted children.
Taylor eyed him with interest.
"Thought you'd nag, but you're surprisingly quiet."
"They must have their reasons for entering the Labyrinth, right? I imagine it's hard to find work on the surface, so this is their alternative."
"Spot on. Labyrinth work is dangerous, and kids only get half the adult porters' pay. Still, it's enough to eat for a few days, so they come here. The ones who make it this far already know everything—they're basically adults."
"That's a bit..."
"How do they stack up against goblins?"
"Those kids seem tougher, actually."
Allen, riding in the cart, lifted his head at the odd sensation of passing through the Labyrinth's gate. He stowed the finished mana bullets in their following box and started walking on his own two feet.
"Our goal this time is to take down a gatekeeper and get a peek at the primordial forest."
Goal reaffirmation. Taylor and Shiba listened intently for this part.
"Stepping foot there briefly won't change our depth rank, but repeating it will shift our entry line from first to second."
That was the biggest reason, really. Entry alone took hours now; switching lines would cut it short.
Shiba, savoring the Labyrinth's air—damp, metallic, oily—stroked his chin beard.
"Gotta be a hassle going down every time. No spatial gates that work in the Labyrinth?"
"Think of the Labyrinth layers as different dimensions, like the real world and the Labyrinth itself."
"Normal spatial pouches are useless here, but Oparts work, don't they? So someday we'll find a spatial gate Opart."
"If it existed, it'd be common knowledge by now. Labyrinth exploration history goes back over a century. Deeper layers might have 'em, though."
As usual, layers 1 through 3—with their set workshop—passed without combat. On layer 4, Shiba tilted his head at the suddenly empty maze.
"Just one layer down, and it's this different?"
"This is why newbies... Allen."
"Layers 1-3 have fixed manhole positions for automatons. From 4 onward, they're random. Enemies get stronger too, so efficiency drops."
"Ah, manhole over there..."
Shiba pointed at the ceiling. The manhole paused, then burrowed back into the rock.
Shiba marveled at the stone splitting like pudding and resealing.
"Still amazing every time. And it even fools people... Calling the Labyrinth itself a living being doesn't seem wrong."
The next manhole appeared sooner than expected. Two deer automatons burst out, their blade-like antlers whirling to shred explorer flesh.
Shiba stepped up to liberate the monsters' souls, but Allen stopped him.
"Let this one handle it."
"The leopard...?"
Shiba noticed Allen pointing at the box rolling faithfully behind.
"Huh, its shape?"
Only then did he realize the box had changed. Its drum-barrel body was bulkier now, topped with a crab-eye camera.
At Allen's call, the box swiveled its eye, locked on the charging deer, flushed red, split open mid-body, and deployed a launcher.
Thump!
One shot, one explosion. The deer exploded before they could close in.
The box rolled up, extended mechanical arms like pincers, dismantled the deer, and collected loot.
Taylor whistled in admiration.
"Automating collection too? Looks just like the claws now."
"Got inspired. Collection's not precise yet, so for gatekeepers, I still have to step in."
Taylor was thrilled at the reduced hassle, but Shiba looked serious.
"Brother Allen."
"Yes, speak."
"Brother Taylor at least has a shotgun, but I only do close range. Any chance of getting caught in mana bullet blasts?"
"I'll adjust so that doesn't happen."
"Good to hear."
Then Allen's voice added to Shiba's relieved ear:
"I've also calculated that even if you get caught in the blast radius, you won't be badly hurt."
"Pardon?"
"You were insanely tough in that mine last time. Took a mana bullet head-on and just passed out."
"Wait, was that mana bullet yours, Brother Allen?"
"I made it, but the manager batted it away, so ownership transferred. Like how in soccer, the last touch scores the goal."
"..."
Shiba prayed to his Mother, then rummaged in the cart for holy water.
Allen and Taylor watched quietly and chatted.
"Said you were trying new repertoire, but that's genuine, right?"
"Looks like real hurt feelings, not acting. You messed up this time."
"Was it the power?"
"Nah..."
End
Thanks to Taylor's guiding, the journey was smooth. He picked the shortest paths and optimal rests, boasting his decades of experience as they pushed forward.
Unlike Sion, his danger sense was weak, so they ran into enemies more often. But that was normal.
Taylor knew it well and wasn't fazed. He declared proudly:
"Gotta fight to make money. Am I wrong?"
"Brother, shameless but spot on."
"More importantly, teamwork. We fought together in the mine camp, but that's nowhere near enough. Why do you think friendly fire happened?"
"Friendly fire? I'm perfectly fine. Anyway, I agree. Once we know each other's abilities, intentions, and habits, the friction vanishes."
Allen thought the same. Full firepower meant nothing if hesitation from misfires ruined it.
There were other ways: save mana bullets for preemptive airstrike-style hits instead of mid-battle, or load special-effect ones.
Mana bullets engraved with [Infiltration], [Confusion], [Block] runes were that type. Instead of area blasts, they emitted mana pulses to disable automatons outright.
Useful even against people later—silencing magitech or interfering with airborne spells.
'Or control blast direction.'
That'd need more runes, too much for now. Removing others would weaken power.
Shiba could tank a few hits anyway, thanks to dwarf physiology and holy arts synergy.
But saying that would hurt his feelings, so Allen stayed quiet. His earlier slip was from juggling too many thoughts.
'No math during talks from now on.'
With that resolve, they reached layer 10. Just as he thought they'd skip the gatekeeper again, a massive manhole popped out.
"Gatekeeper."
"Heard they're rare with all the competition—lucky. Another soul to send to Mother's side."
Allen held back Shiba, who was raring to charge.
"Mind if I handle this one solo?"
"Solo?"
Shiba's eyes flicked up and down. 'A magitech engineer up front? What for?' his body language said.
"Not me—the kid here."
At Allen's gesture, the leopard advanced. Taylor crossed his arms.
"Been itching to pit it against one. Perfect timing."
Taylor stepped back fully, and Shiba relaxed his stance.
Meanwhile, the leopard crouched low and dashed at the gatekeeper. It nimbly dodged the overhead hammer smash, slipping between its legs.
Crunch!
[Sharpness]-enhanced claws dug into the knee joint's outer armor. Too thick to sever artificial muscles or pipes in one go.
The gatekeeper bent to snatch the leopard's body. But its grip closed on air; the leopard fully escaped behind and latched onto its back.
Whirr! Grind!
Drill fangs pierced the nape in an instant. A living thing would've sprayed blood, but the gatekeeper—painless automaton—