The World Best Engineer novel - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Thud, thud. Thud.

Piles of dirt fell down and some of it dropped on Lloyd’s eyelids. It made his eyelashes itch, yet he couldn’t raise his hand. He wanted to shake his head, but he also couldn’t.

‘Ah, this feeling is exactly the same as when I was tipsy. It’s not that bad.’

The whole world was spinning in his eyes. His vision was completely blurred. His dazed head was ringing.

Perhaps, that was why he was seeing random things with no filter.

‘What is this? This computer graphic that’s approaching me looks so realistic.’

Someone was coming closer to him. The dim light from the luminous mushrooms on the wall delicately illuminated his visage.

He wasn’t a human. No, Lloyd couldn’t regard him as a human. All because his visual was too unrealistically perfect to say that it belonged to a person of this world.

‘Super handsome.’

Grayish-silver hair and blue eyes. His eyes, mouth, nose, and ears were works of art. All the more so even if soot was smeared all over his face.

He still looked handsome even though sweat had flowed down and mixed with soot before it dried up. Rather, he seemed to exude a different magical charm that contrasted with his noble appearance.

‘Oh sh*t, looking at it made me feel annoyed.’

It was unfair for a person to be so handsome up to this degree. His very existence was a major disruption to the ecosystem.

So, that thing shouldn’t be a human. It was a CG. Let’s just believe it was a CG that eats, sleeps, and talks. Otherwise, Lloyd felt like his self-esteem would endlessly take a hit.

“…. oyd-nim. Are you alright?”

Don’t talk to me, CG. I feel light-headed right now. Feels like I’m going to vomit.

However the CG in front of him, no, Javier, didn’t know what was going on with Lloyd and raised his hand. Javier slapped Lloyd on his cheek abruptly.

Slap!

“Please wake up,” Javier said.

“…..”

Slap!

“You can’t close your eyes here.”

“…. Stop, that’s enough.”

Lloyd barely came to his senses. He then spoke in a hurry.

Javier, whose hand tried to slap Lloyd for the third time, stopped. It was only then that for the first time, a sense of relief showed on his face.

“Are you okay?”

“Um, I’m not okay. Because of you.”

“Pardon?”

“Just now, I knew you perfectly slapped my cheek.”

“Thank you.”

“Wow.”

“Can you stand?”

“I think it’s going to be a little difficult. Someone with a grudge just slapped my cheek.”

“I only did what was necessary.”

“Oh yes, I suppose you did.”

“Now, get up.”

Javier held out his hand. Lloyd couldn’t get help from this guy, though. The reason was simple. Javier was still sitting on the ground as well.

“Hey? You, did you hurt your leg?” asked Lloyd.

“Yes.”

“Where did it hurt?”

“I think I sprained my ankle.” Javier pointed to his ankle.

Is he in severe pain?

Lloyd was late to realize that the beads of sweat on Javier’s forehead were cold sweat.

“Is it very painful? To the point where you can’t get up?”

“Both of my legs are injured.”

“Aha, so the reason you held out your hand to me a while ago was to ask me for help?”

“Yes.”

“….”

What a shameless fellow.

“Am I your shuttle who’d help you move?”

“What is a shuttle?”

“There’s something like that. Anyway, hold on a second.”

Lloyd examined the condition of his party. 

Javier had injured his legs. Bangul had fainted in his arms. He himself had no particular sprain nor serious injury. At best, there were only minor scratches or scrapes. Of course, the full-body bruise that made his body feel numb was still painful.

‘This is no joke.’

Every part of Lloyd’s body ached. There was no place that didn’t throb.

To some extent, it was similar to the morning after he went to the gym for the first time in his life and got rolled all day long by a large athletic trainer from hell. Or, it felt like being rolled all day long inside a washing machine and got dehydrated.

All of his muscles and bones literally hurt. Even his armpit hair felt stiff!

‘Even so, it’s a miracle that we’ve survived.’

Luminous mushrooms grew all over the surrounding passageways. The dim light it produced allowed Lloyd to look around. 

The first thing he noticed was the ruined and collapsed passageway. He could also see the body of the queen ant, whose head and chest were left in tatters. 

It wasn’t until now that he realized why he and Javier were saved from the explosion.

‘Unexpectedly, the Queen Ant Shield saved us.’

Methane gas exploded from the rear. However, there was the queen ant between where the explosion came from and where they were located, for the queen ant was chasing after them.

‘The queen ant is so enormous it almost fills the entire passageway. Despite that, that giant creature had saved us. Just like a cork stopper prevents the champagne from bursting.’

The humongous body of the ant queen that almost filled the passageway served as a cork. Seems like it had blocked the pressure from the methane gas explosion.

‘Thanks to it, most of the energy from the explosion had been dispersed through other passageways in different directions.’

And what if it doesn’t? Right now, they must be dead.

‘We’re lucky. It almost completely blocked the explosive power, but when I felt my whole body ache, I’m done talking.’

If they had been directly caught in the explosion, their bodies would never be found. The queen ant’s carcass that had been torn to fragments just like a piece of rag was the evidence.

‘It was perfectly fine when it got hit by the sword imbued with Javier’s power.’

How powerful was the explosion? He had goosebumps thinking about it.

Lloyd shook his head vigorously to shake off his goosebumps and said, “Let’s move right away. If we stayed here, we’d die.”

They were lucky enough to not get caught up in the explosion. Still, he couldn’t be relieved just yet. In fact, their situation was bleak.

“The ants on the opposite side, are they dead?” Javier asked. He looked around as he stood up with Lloyd’s help. The collapsed passageway was where his gaze was directed at.

Lloyd nodded. “Perhaps.”

In the direction of the path where the explosion took place, across the collapsed passageway, there would be a road from hell. The ant beasts that were swept away by the explosion certainly die an instant death. 

And what about the others that had survived?

“Most of the passageways must’ve collapsed. They must’ve been crushed and buried alive by a huge amount of soil and sand. Then, what about the rest? It’s obvious. They’re going to choke to death.”

Layers of coal were embedded throughout the ant nest. The coal beds must’ve caught on fire. Toxic gas must’ve been produced in large quantities. They’ll suffocate to death because of the terrible heat and toxic gas.

“So, the ant beasts across the collapsed passageway can be considered annihilated.”

Explosions and fire inside underground tunnels were just as frightening. This was also the case in the modern world where technology was advanced. Even with the best facilities and safety systems, there would always be unfortunate victims each year.

That was why the ant beasts were no exception. With massive fire and a lot of combustion, they wouldn’t withstand such oxygen-deficient environment. 

“By the way, let’s first stay away from it for now. Hup!”

Now, it was their turn to survive.

Lloyd put strength in his arms that supported Javier. He made the man whose legs were injured stand up forcibly. Then, he quickly turned around, showed his back to Javier, and bent down slightly.

“Get on my back.”

“Pardon?”

“Just get on my back.”

“Thank you.”

“Wow.”

Without a second thought, this guy climbed on his back. Javier even tilted his head while being on Lloyd’s back and said nonsense like this, “Lloyd-nim, by any chance?”

“Huh?”

“Did you think I’d hesitate?”

“No. What? Out of courtesy?”

Javier was right. Lloyd thought he was going to coldly refuse once or twice.

So, Lloyd had prepared to say ‘I don’t want to carry a dirty man on my back either.’ He had even prepared some cliché like ‘I hate this too.’ However, Javier’s impudence—or cool-headedness— far exceeded his expectations.

“You’ve made a good decision. It’s a reasonable judgment. It would be easier for you to carry me on your back than help me walk with injured legs.”

“Hey, I think it’s under the premise that I’ll naturally bring you with me?”

“Then, are you going to throw me away?”

“I’ll see. Depends on how you act.”

“But you’ve already carried me on your back.”

“That’s why, you’re so heavy it’s killing me, man. You look as thin as an anchovy, why are you so heavy?”

Not that he didn’t look heavy, but Javier, that guy was far heavier than his outward appearance. His body was closely packed with muscles.

Lloyd felt like he was carrying a lump of metal on his back.

“It’s not that I’m heavy, it’s because of Lloyd-nim’s poor physical strength.”

“Wow, should I throw you away for real?”

“I won’t let you go.”

“Are you a leech?”

“Have you seen a leech this handsome?”

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“Look at how brazen this man is. He even said he was handsome now.”

“I’ll lend you my mana instead.”

“Oh, yes, yes. I’m so thankful you’re using me as a shuttle. Should I do a handstand and give you a deep bow1]The author used 그랜절. It’s a Korean meme about bowing down in a hilarious way. Just like this picture.

?”

“You said shuttle earlier, and now, what do you mean by doing a handstand and giving me a deep bow?”

“Oh, there’s such a thing. Just hold on tight so you don’t fall off.”

“I understand.”

As he quarreled with Javier, Lloyd didn’t stop walking.

Actually, it was hard. He was exhausted. 

Every time Lloyd got tired Javier would infuse him with mana. The mana was instilled by someone who had a triple circle in Asrahan Core Technique, which was as good as a High-Level Sword Expert. So, the effect was tremendous.

Every time Lloyd received mana from Javier, he felt like a power tiller that had eaten a lot of oil.

“Huff, heup, I feel energized. Power up, power up. Heup. Huff.”

“Do you want more?”

“Oh my supreme-ruler, what a shabby mana for such precious body!”

“….”

“Shut up and give me more. Come on. I’m so exhausted I’m going to die, seriously.”

“I understand. However, if we were to engage in a conversation and you were short of breath, the Asrahan Core Technique’s performance would also be affected. Your energy will deplete faster. So, please refrain from excessive chatter.”

“You told me to just shut up and walk? But I don’t want to? Huf, huff.”

Slap!

“Ouch! Why did you hit me?!”

“Wow wow, giddy up!”

“… I’m going to throw you away for real.”

Both of them used each other as they were arguing. While Javier was using Lloyd as a shuttle, Lloyd was using Javier as a fuel tank. In addition, this kind of small squabbling could bring them comfort.

‘If I were trapped alone in a place like this, I would’ve gotten a serious mental breakdown.’

Lloyd shuddered.

This dark passageway was hundreds of meters underground. The explosion destroyed his torch. The only light available came from the dim luminous mushrooms that grew here and there. 

If he had been isolated alone without anyone to talk to, he would’ve felt a maddening fear. In addition, perhaps because Lloyd was carrying Javier on his back, a more-than-welcome message popped into his mind.

Ding dong.

[Javier Asrahan is very grateful for your actions.]

[Javier Asrahan shows trust towards you for the first time.]

[Javier Asrahan’s favorability towards you has increased by +6.]

[Your current relationship with Javier Asrahan : -14]

[A visible improvement in your relationship with a key character has earned you 108 RP.]

[Current RP : 157]

“Dude. Thank you, I guess,” said Lloyd to Javier.

“What do you mean?”

“Nevermind. I think I’m starting to see a familiar path.”

“I think I do too.”

Fortunately, finding a way up wasn’t difficult.

On their way down earlier, they had to fight countless ant beasts. The remains from their fight were strewn across the path they’d come down from. To put it in another way, the carcasses of the ant beasts that had been butchered by Javier had made a line. All he had to do was walk in the direction of where the carcasses were spread.

The passageway became increasingly familiar to him. Every time that happened, his hope grew. The light in his heart gradually brightened.

That was certainly the case, until he met the collapsed and blocked passageway that blocked the way ahead.

“Tsk.”

Did it collapse because of the explosion earlier?

Lloyd brushed off the sweat off his forehead. He looked at the collapsed and blocked passageway. He then examined the other side of the blockage with his survey skill. 

However, no clear path could be seen within the range of five meters. This meant that he had to dig at least 5 meters to be able to pass through the blockage.

‘I’d rather be a gentleman than dig 5 meters. It might even be 50 meters before we could pass through.’

Seems like searching for another path that didn’t collapse using his survey skill would be faster. Lloyd turned away, they didn’t have much time.

‘We have to hurry…’

It was at that moment-

Thud thud thud thud. Rumble!

“….!”

There was a rumble. The whole tunnel shook. A cloud of dust came rushing in. However, Lloyd jumped into the dust and then he saw it. He saw that the way to go back had collapsed. The meaning was clear to him.

“Don’t tell me, are we trapped in here?”

“I suppose so.”

This time, there was no joking around.

Lloyd put Javier down and examined the collapsed passageway at his back. Likewise, inside the 5 meters range, there was no open path that could be seen.

‘We’re doomed.’

They were completely trapped. Lloyd’s heart was beating fast. His eyes went dark. The worst thing he feared the most had happened.

‘How long can we survive here?’

Lloyd quickly identified the space they were confined in. It was only a few meters long. As such, the oxygen would deplete faster.

‘Half an hour? Perhaps even shorter.’

After that, there would be an oxygen shortage. They could do nothing to stop that. But Lloyd couldn’t just sit still and suck his fingers like this.

Lloyd took Bangul that had fainted from his chest and gave her to Javier.

“You, woke her up quickly. I don’t care if you slapped her on the cheek just like what you did to me earlier or anything else. Do you understand? We need her right now.”

“I understand.”

Lloyd didn’t know whether Javier understood the situation, but he received Bangul without saying any unnecessary remarks.

Lloyd level-headedly racked his brain. 

‘I have to take a gamble. It’s all or nothing.’

There was no going back. If it ended here, it all would be over.

He had to try every possible means. The time had come to efficiently pour out the 157 RP he had gathered.

When he made his decision, Lloyd opened the skill window.

Author’s note: Skill window: Customer, the business hours are over. ^^

Tl/n: I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d buy me a coffee!