Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16.
Protection (3)
Yeouido District 2.
The beating heart of South Korea’s Hunter industry.
Even at dawn, the district blazed with activity—a city that never slept.
Hunters gathered in cafes, restaurants, and street corners everywhere, buzzing about the “disappearance of Abyss Layer 1.”
It was at that very moment.
“Three billion?!”
The Young Hunter’s cry pierced through the cafe.
Every eye turned toward him.
A holographic notice materialized in the air, projected from his wrist device.
Brilliant blue text gleamed in everyone’s pupils.
『Changtian Clan Emergency Notice
Identity confirmation of “Ghost”: 3 billion Coins
Information regarding “Ghost”: 300 million Coins
※ Payment issued after verification of information』
The cafe fell silent.
Screeeech—.
The silence shattered as a Hunter shoved back his chair and stood abruptly.
“Three billion just for confirming identity? I could live off that for ages!”
“The Changtian Clan is throwing around that kind of money?!”
“Three hundred million just for information? That’s insane!”
The cafe descended into absolute chaos.
Everyone eagerly pulled up the notice on their devices, buzzing with excitement.
Then, from a corner, the Middle-aged Hunter sipping coffee shook his head.
Gray leather jacket, ancient scars.
His face bore the unmistakable marks of countless battles.
He spoke bluntly.
“If you ask me, three billion falls far short.”
All eyes snapped toward him in unison.
Looks that screamed, ‘Has this old fool lost his mind?’
The Middle-aged Hunter smirked, his lips curling with contempt.
“Think about it carefully. The Ghost erased Layers 1 and 2. How much time did that buy us? Three months. And that’s not all—even the mighty Changtian Clan is still failing to conquer the Abyss.”
Some fell silent at his words, while others chimed in agreement.
…True enough.
“Honestly, I had my bags packed.”
“Me too. I was ready to flee Seoul at a moment’s notice.”
As the weight of his words settled over everyone,
the Young Hunter who had first cried out manipulated his smartwatch once more.
A new hologram window materialized in the empty air.
『Title: [Warning: Disturbing Content] Abyss Access Log
Author: illilil
Content:
From 08:00 PM yesterday to 06:00 AM this morning, zero individuals accessed the Abyss.
But something happened again.』
Silence.
And the air froze.
This….
“It’s just like the Queens Ratkin incident a month ago.”
“Then… you’re saying it’s the same person?”
In that moment,
the name “Ghost” burrowed into people’s minds like the very embodiment of a monster.
“Why didn’t they register their entry?”
“That’s why they’re a ghost. No one’s ever seen them.”
“Why are they hiding? After doing something like this!”
In the midst of the commotion,
a young man who appeared to have just become a Hunter cautiously asked an older-looking man beside him.
“Um… Senior. But is the Black Dragon really that incredible?”
The senior Hunter stared at the rookie.
‘Another greenhorn who doesn’t know how the world works.’
That was the expression on his face.
“Why, why do you ask?”
“Kid, does a dragon look like a lizard to your eyes?”
The senior Hunter took a sip of his drink before continuing.
“Over a decade ago, a dragon appeared exceptionally in the early 70s of the England Abyss….”
“And then?”
“The A-rank guild Island mobilized to subjugate it. With thirty elite members leading the charge.”
For a moment, the surrounding commotion quieted.
His words had somehow captured everyone’s attention.
The senior Hunter paused briefly.
Then he spoke quietly, but with unmistakable finality.
“They were annihilated. The dragon vanished without a trace.”
Silence fell over the café once more.
Only the sound of someone swallowing hard stood out distinctly.
“An A-rank guild’s elite… thirty of them?”
The rookie’s voice trembled.
He asked as if he couldn’t believe it.
“You’re saying the ‘Ghost’ faced them alone…?”
Those words were kindling.
And that spark spread rapidly across all of Yeouido.
“Did you hear? Thirty S-rank Hunters were completely wiped out by a Dragon?”
“That’s nothing. They say even a single juvenile Dragon is catastrophe-class?”
The rumor snowballed as it spread.
By the time it reached Yeouido Zone 3.
The Layer 1 extinction event had become legend.
The truth meant nothing anymore.
“According to my friend in intelligence, fifty S-rank Hunters fought a Dragon and were instantly annihilated as a group.”
“Are you sure you heard right? What I heard was that a hundred elite Hunters from the French and England allied Clans were slaughtered by a juvenile Dragon.”
“That doesn’t make sense…. So which one is the real monster—the Dragon or the Ghost?!”
Photography was strictly forbidden in the Yeouido Abyss.
In that place where no footage remained, where no evidence survived.
The ‘Ghost’ was transcending legend and entering the realm of myth.
* * *
Yeouido Zone 1.
Unlike Zone 2, which thrummed with the shouts and fervor of Hunters, this place was a fortress of steel—governed by cold silence and authority.
At its heart, the top-floor conference room of the Changtian Clan Headquarters.
Around a massive obsidian table sat the patriarchs of Hunter Families who held South Korea in their grasp, alongside representatives of major Guilds.
The air in the conference room was glacial, and the silence pressed down like lead.
Every eye converged on a single figure.
The elder at the head of the table.
Han Hyun-chul.
Lord of the Han Hyun-chul Family and living legend who unified the mid-to-large Guilds to establish the Changtian Clan.
Despite his eighty years, his spine remained straight as steel, and his gaze burned like an unrusted blade.
His white hair was no mark of decline—rather, it crowned him with majesty.
“Report.”
At that weighty command, the reporter unconsciously straightened his posture.
“Just now, we assembled a Task Force to track the ‘Ghost.’ Two A-rank tracking Hunters, an information analyst, and a high-performance AI….”
“Superficial.”
Han Hyun-chul cut off the reporter’s words like a blade.
The reporter masked his alarm and asked carefully.
“Chairman, then who would be appropriate to send?”
Tap. Tap.
Han Hyun-chul’s fingers drummed against the obsidian table. That rhythmic sound tensed everyone in the room.
“To find someone beyond common sense, you need a perspective beyond common sense.”
His gaze turned toward empty space.
“Make contact with Vlad.”
“…!”
In that instant, everyone doubted their ears.
“V-Vlad, you say?!”
“An Interpol red notice target… or rather, you’re saying you’ll hire an assassin?”
Murmurs rippled through the room like waves.
Han Hyun-chul merely raised his hand slightly, and the conference room fell silent.
He spoke.
“Vlad is more skilled than anyone at erasing traces and concealing himself. So wouldn’t he be perfectly suited to tracking down a ‘phantom’ that moves without leaving a trace?”
No one could refute such plausible logic.
Then, a guild representative cautiously raised another concern.
“But Chairman, even if they did eliminate a layer, isn’t 3 billion won excessive?”
“Excessive?”
His voice was low, yet the frost-edged fury contained within it froze everyone’s spines.
He slowly swept his gaze across the room.
Weighing the faces of everyone seated at the table, measuring even their breath.
“Originally speaking.”
He continued.
“Seoul has one month left before the Abyss swallows it whole. Have you forgotten that?”
No one answered.
His gaze settled on the one who had just spoken.
“I hear you’ve already completed transferring your assets to America?”
“…!!!”
The guild representative’s face turned to stone.
Han Hyun-chul exhaled deeply and gazed beyond the floor-to-ceiling window.
The Abyss rippled in twilight hues.
That fathomless chasm breathed like a living creature, its depths unknowable.
“When the first layer vanished initially, I thought it was a phenomenon born of chance. But when Layer 1 disappeared again, it ceased to be mere happenstance. This means….”
The hypothesis that left his lips transcended everyone’s imagination.
“The phantom might possess the key to annihilating the Abyss itself.”
“But Chairman! What do you mean a dragon at the Abyss’s highest level?”
Another guild representative cautiously raised a counterargument, and a cold smile formed at Han Hyun-chul’s lips.
‘Questioning me about the Black Dragon that appeared in the system-wide announcement.’
The man was pathetic, but Han Hyun-chul replied calmly.
“That’s precisely what makes it more remarkable.”
“I beg your pardon…?”
Han Hyun-chul leaned forward.
“Think about it. Someone found the Black Dragon in Layer 1, and the dragon actually fled from a human?”
He posed the question to everyone present.
“If any of you are confident enough to have explored Layer 1 thoroughly enough to locate a dragon, or to face one alone and survive, then stand up.”
“…!!”
When no one moved, he continued with a scoffing tone.
“They bought us three months in a moment when everything was crumbling. And if they hold the secrets of the Abyss… 30 billion won, no—even 100 billion won would be a bargain.”
The truth of the matter was.
I don’t know why the Black Dragon abandoned that place.
But.
If the Ghost caused the Black Dragon to flee.
‘Then the Dragon must have lost in a brutal clash!’
Han Hyun-chul rose slowly from his seat.
His shadow seemed to engulf the entire conference room.
“By any means necessary, mobilize every resource of the clan to locate the Ghost.”
His gaze deepened like an abyss.
“And… they must become one of us in the Changtian Clan.”
He walked toward the window.
Morning sunlight bathed the Abyss.
Yet the Abyss devoured even that brilliant radiance.
Han Hyun-chul gazed at the Abyss for a moment, then closed his eyes.
If…
I could bring the Ghost into the clan.
At least Seoul would…
No.
‘We might… be protected.’
* * *
Hunter Management Bureau.
Machine Upcycling Department.
Arriving early in the morning, Doo-ho was replacing the arm of a malfunctioning android.
A holographic news feed played on his smartwatch.
『Experts Estimate Ghost at S-Rank or Higher』
『Three Billion Coins—Will the Ghost Reveal Itself?』
『Ghost in the Abyss Causing Chaos Overseas!』
Doo-ho furrowed his brow.
Truth be told, he was rather bewildered.
After resting thoroughly at the Garage and coming to work, the world had descended into pandemonium.
‘I never expected Layer 1 to vanish again.’
-It’s all thanks to you, Doo-ho!
Isto’s cheerful voice echoed in his mind.
Far too bright and buoyant.
“The Quest didn’t mention anything about a layer disappearing. Why does this keep happening?”
-Oh! I don’t know either. Hehe
Sigh….
Just then, Park Deputy entered.
“Lim Doo-ho.”
A notably more respectful form of address lately.
In the old days, it would have started with “Hey!” and ended with “You bastard!”
Park Deputy pointed at the hologram news.
“I was watching. Three billion! Three billion won!”
“Yes, that’s quite a sum.”
Quite a sum?
Park Deputy, flushed with excitement, moved his mouth roughly.
“Damn it! Three billion is enough to buy the ‘Full Dive Cerebral Body’ that only the upper class can afford, with money left over! If you just back up your brain, you become an immortal being!”
Whirrr, clang.
Park Deputy swung his cheap prosthetic arm about as if showing it off, then added:
“Damn, if I’d just awakened, I’d have rushed straight into the Abyss and completely turned my life around!!”
Then Park Deputy looked at Doo-ho with eyes full of pity.
“Well, you’re just a natural who’s neither one thing nor the other. Can’t awaken, and you’ll spend your whole life tinkering with parts….”
‘Ah, there he goes again.’
Doo-ho silently released his nanobots.
A single wrench on the workbench quietly levitated.
Park Deputy rubbed his eyes and muttered.
“Am I imagining things?”
And then.
Whirrrrr—.
This time the wrench slowly rotated on its own and began tightening the bolt.
Park Deputy’s jaw trembled slightly.
Then.
Click, click.
A screwdriver moved of its own accord, unscrewing the bolts!
What entered his field of vision was.
Tools floating in midair, moving of their own volition.
As if transparent hands were working simultaneously on multiple tasks.
Aahhhhh!!!
Park Deputy screamed and stumbled backward.
“Park Deputy?”
“…B-behind!”
“Behind?”
The moment Doo-ho turned around, the tools settled onto the workbench.
Park Deputy’s jaw chattered uncontrollably.
“What do you mean behind?”
“The tools were floating behind you just now….”
“Geez, why are you scaring me like that first thing in the morning?”
When Doo-ho smiled at Park Deputy, the tools rose into the air once more behind him.
That instant!
Park Deputy’s memory of that day when he’d locked eyes with the android came rushing back.
“I-I’m heading to the rooftop! Don’t call me even if something urgent comes up! Absolutely not!”
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a resounding crash.
Lim Doo-ho snatched the wrench suspended by the nanobots and tightened the final bolt.
A quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
-Master Doo-ho. That was an absolutely magnificent whip.
‘I think so too.’
Then I activated the android.
A moment later.
Watching the android’s eyes open gently, I stretched my body once.
Suddenly, the Quest reward came to mind.
‘It said convenience facilities.’
Could it be a shower room?
Or perhaps.
A kitchen?
Not that I particularly need such things.
Hmm.
I’ve finished the morning work too….
‘Let me go see how the Garage has changed.’
Lim Doo-ho stirred the air with a rippling motion and pushed his body through.
I Became a Mechromancer
Author |
Gungang E
Published |
February 25, 2026
Publisher |
TalesYX
Website |
https://talesyx.com
Email |
[email protected]
ⓒ Gungang E, 2026
This publication is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0016

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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