Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 31
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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 31.
Grace Period (2)
Whirrrr, whirrrr, whirrrr….
The nanobots enveloped Doo-ho’s face, and his labored breathing gradually stabilized.
Even with advance preparation, this cold was something else entirely.
Sigh.
“This is absolutely brutal.”
That’s when it happened.
Crunch, crunch!
The sound of footsteps crunching through snow echoed loudly from behind.
I turned my head.
“Huh…?”
Isto was floundering in the snow.
It made sense.
Snow had accumulated up to my thighs, so the much shorter Isto was completely buried beneath it.
Crackle, crackle.
For a moment, I thought I heard the sound of stone being crushed.
Whoooosh—.
Intense heat radiated from Isto’s body.
The surrounding snow melted away in an instant.
Only then did Isto emerge fully.
Confident triumph blazed across his LED eyes.
-Hehehehe! Snow is no problem for me!
A cold voice cut through immediately.
-A textbook display of inefficiency.
Whoosh.
Hawkeye appeared.
Thanks to his broad, splayed feet, he stood lightly atop the snow without sinking.
Listen.
-Iron-head, burrow through the snow like a mole and move. Stop wasting energy needlessly.
-What?! Did you just insult moles, you feathered fool!
-Don’t distract from the point.
If sparks had flashed across Isto’s LED eyes,
Hawkeye simply shook his head.
‘Neither cat nor dog.’
Two beings utterly incompatible.
I surveyed the landscape around me.
Everything was white.
‘This place might be harder than the Desert….’
At that very moment, a system window appeared.
[Main Quest Triggered!]
◈ Eliminate 80 Wendigos, the malevolent spirits of the Snowy Plain
Reward: Parts Shop Opening & 1,000 Points Granted
Time Limit: 1 Hour
Failure: Hidden Quest Disappears & Shop Closes
Doo-ho’s expression remained composed as he read the quest.
As expected….
‘So it’s a Wendigo extermination.’
The Snowy Plain’s cannibalistic beast—I’d reviewed it beforehand before entering.
Since they were pack hunters in their territorial domain, they were said to be extremely sensitive to intruders….
Meanwhile, the two machines beside me were making a fuss.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Kyiyoot!
-Master Doo-ho! We absolutely must succeed at this! An upgrade is essential for world conquest!
-I’ll cooperate this time for the sake of robot liberation!
-…Of course. Elongated one.
The two Super Intelligences had reached an agreement.
But the problem was.
‘Eighty Wendigos in one hour…?’
How was I supposed to find them scattered across this vast snowy expanse?
Then a memory suddenly flickered through my mind.
I recalled the time when I’d exterminated the Ratkin.
“Isto, what if you lured them out by mimicking their voices like you did back then?”
At my suggestion, Isto’s LED eyes blinked uncertainly.
-…That would be difficult.
“Why?”
-The Ratkin were simple enough to make it possible, but Wendigos are suspicious and cunning.
Hawkeye chimed in from beside me.
-They could scatter and attack sporadically.
Combat isn’t the issue, but the quest time is.
This quest….
‘It’s surprisingly tricky.’
How would an experienced hunter find them….
Wait.
Find them?
Why was I even worrying about this?
I quickly closed my eyes.
I recalled the senses I’d learned from Isto.
A skill I’d developed by applying mana resonance.
‘Bird’s Eye View.’
Moreover, with my level increased, a minimap unfurled in my mind in an instant.
Since they were magical beasts, detecting mana was all that mattered.
I began expanding the minimap’s size.
Just a bit more. More. More!
As I stretched the map further, a small dot appeared at its edge.
‘…Found it?’
I opened my eyes immediately and moved toward the detected direction.
-Doo-ho?
-Mechromancer. Going that way is dangerous.
Shh—.
I pushed through the foliage and continued pursuing the dot.
More dots began appearing on the map in my mind.
The dots were clustered together.
‘Found them!’
I stopped and reached out my hand.
Nanobots flowed from my fingertips.
Click, click.
I roughly marked the direction of the dots from my eyes, the distance to this location, and the number of Wendigos.
“There’s a pack of Wendigos about a kilometer away in the four o’clock direction from here.”
Excellent!
-Did you use the Bird’s Eye View ability?
“Yeah.”
Isto’s LED eyes spun with tactical symbols as he observed the location I’d marked on my eyes.
Then.
-I’ll circle around behind them and eliminate them!
-I’ll find a ridge and snipe from there.
At Hawkeye’s words, I pointed to the sun and offered my opinion.
“If you keep the sun at your back, the glare will make it harder for the Wendigos to see your arrows, don’t you think?”
-I’ll incorporate your suggestion, Mechromancer!
Hawkeye’s arrows were light itself.
The enemy would be even more at a disadvantage.
“And I’ll handle the wounded Wendigos….”
A resolute expression appeared on Isto’s LED eyes.
-We’ll take care of them ourselves!
-Agreed. You should stay safely in the Garage, Mechromancer.
“I can fight too….”
No, no, no.
Isto shook his head.
Beep beep!
Hawkeye formed an X with both arms.
Absolutely not, he was saying.
Though it was disappointing.
In the end, Doo-ho nodded in agreement.
‘If something happens to me, they’ll disappear too.’
Reluctantly, Doo-ho entered the Garage.
How much time had passed?
At Doo-ho’s ear, as he sat perched on the workbench.
[You have gained experience points]
[You have gained experience points]
[You have gained experience…]
System notifications ringing out like madness.
Wow….
“They’re just pushing through, aren’t they.”
One-sided slaughter.
There was no other explanation for it.
But….
‘I can’t see outside, so it’s frustrating.’
As if reading his mind, Isto’s voice echoed in his head.
-Doo-ho! Are you bored because you can’t see outside?
‘I’m sorry for being the only one enjoying myself.’
-Once we complete this Quest, the shop should open, and there will probably be monitoring equipment available!
Hmm….
‘That’s good news to hear.’
* * *
In the middle of the Snowy Plain.
A horde of Wendigos was heading somewhere.
Skeletal frames with only thin hide stretched over them, ribs protruding sharply.
Deer antlers sprouted incongruously from their heads.
They wore the fallen hunters’ belongings like trophies of war.
One creature had a dented helmet threaded onto its antler branch, while another wore an ill-fitting breastplate slung carelessly across its body.
The leader dragged a jagged longsword along the ground as it walked.
Behind them, at some distance.
Buuuuuung─.
Isto advanced rapidly, radiating heat and melting the snow beneath.
Joints replaced with amorphous alloy rotated smoothly.
Speed began to build.
Buuuuuung!!
Intense heat erupted explosively.
Snow melted away in an instant, a path opening before it.
Screech?
The Wendigo guarding Seonmi turned around.
Its eyes kept melting away.
The heat drew ever closer.
Screech? Screeech?
The Wendigo tilted its head in confusion.
Its companions, one by one, turned to look behind them.
Then.
Thud-thud, thud-thud!!
Isto charged at full sprint directly into the pack of Wendigos.
-Ehehehe~ Time for extermination!
Crack!!!
A Wendigo’s torso was pierced through by Isto’s fist.
A sudden assault.
Screech! Shriek! Screeech!!
The pack of Wendigos cried out in a mixture of panic and rage.
As one lunged at Isto, the rest swarmed in together.
Oh!
-Experience points flooding in all at once!
Numbers spun across Isto’s LED eyes.
Crunch! Crack! Splinter!
Wendigos shattered one after another beneath Isto’s swinging fists.
I grabbed one by the arm and hurled it at another beside it.
Snap!
Its antlers shattered as both creatures burst apart simultaneously.
Just as the startled ones hesitated.
Upon the ridge.
Hawkeye drew back the bowstring.
Whistle—!
A brilliant flash shot forth against the backdrop of sunlight.
The arrow vanished into the glare for the Wendigos’ eyes.
Thwack!
The first Wendigo’s chest was pierced through.
Thud! Crack! Splinter!!
Four more behind it were penetrated in succession.
Screech… thump, thump….
The Wendigos collapsed limply.
Hawkeye adjusted the scope and spoke.
-The method Super Intelligence taught me is quite efficient.
* * *
A short while later.
Doo-ho walked along the snowy path that Isto had melted with heat.
As he ventured further, Isto and Hawkeye were extracting magical stones and horns from the creatures.
Doo-ho gazed down at the wendigo corpse.
The equipment the creatures wore belonged to people who had once been someone’s family.
“Isto, gather these for me.”
-The magical beast corpses, you mean?
“No, the equipment the wendigos were wearing.”
The two creatures collected the gear without complaint.
Soon, a substantial pile of hunters’ belongings accumulated.
Doo-ho shoved the equipment into the Garage.
When I get out later….
“I should leave these at the Yeouido Lost and Found Center.”
-Ooh! As expected, Lord Doo-ho is truly merciful!
But then.
‘Why isn’t the Quest completion window appearing….’
A wendigo that had been lying still on the ground suddenly sprang up and lunged at Doo-ho.
However.
Splurch—!
Nanobots pouring from Doo-ho’s body pierced straight through the wendigo’s skull.
“Whew, that startled me.”
Isto and Hawkeye froze in an instant.
Just as he was about to reassure them, the Quest completion window appeared.
[Main Quest Completed!]
Reward: Parts Shop Unlocked & 1,000 Points
Doo-ho deliberately made a fuss about it.
He had no intention of scolding them for this.
The two approached hesitantly.
Upon seeing the reward.
Oh! Oh! Kyiyoot!
-Finally!
-This is what we’ve been waiting for!
They spun in circles around Doo-ho.
The long-awaited Parts Shop!
But the joy was short-lived.
A new window blocked their view.
[Hidden Quest Triggered!]
◈ Destroy the Snowy Plain Dungeon Core
Time Limit: 2 hours
Penalty for Refusal: Garage Access Restricted for One Month
Success Reward: Ring of Evasion
Accept / Decline
Doo-ho exhaled sharply as he finished reading the contents.
Garage access restricted for a month?
In the past, I could have survived without it.
‘But now, even a single day is unbearable…!’
How dare they!
-Threatening our nest like this! We should hack the system and format it!
-Taking a strategic stronghold hostage—such contemptible tactics.
Doo-ho watched the two of them fuming and gave a slight shrug.
“Enough, both of you. Calm down. But….”
He turned his gaze back to the Quest window.
“What’s the reward again?”
All three of their eyes naturally drifted downward.
Success Reward: Ring of Evasion.
The moment they confirmed that line.
The attitudes of the two who had just been cursing the system shifted as if they’d been lying all along.
Ohhhhh!
-Master Doo-ho! With this, we can prevent ambushes like before!
-For the sake of securing Mechanomancer’s safety, we absolutely must clear this Quest!
Doo-ho muttered to himself as he watched them.
‘…They were blaming themselves all along.’
He immediately accepted the Quest.
Immediately after.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…!
The ground beneath my feet trembled and gave way, and from the widening crevice, azure pillars erupted skyward.
A gaping maw lined with massive ice crystals like jagged teeth.
An unfathomable darkness stretched beyond.
It yawned open as if beckoning me inside.
A dungeon.
Another world within the demonic realm.
Yet Isto’s reaction upon seeing that imposing entrance was unexpected.
Excellent!
-We can avoid the blizzard now!
Hawkeye chimed in agreement, adjusting his scope.
-A structured dungeon is far more efficient than a pursuit across the vast Snowy Plain.
-If it’s a dungeon, there should be treasure too! Hehehehe.
Listening to their conversation, I couldn’t help but laugh.
This is truly….
‘How the strong converse with one another.’
There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in the backs of the two as they entered the dungeon.
* * *
The interior of the dungeon was far more spacious than anticipated.
The ceiling stretched so high it disappeared from view, and the corridors extending left and right vanished into darkness.
And here’s the thing.
‘It’s much warmer than outside.’
So I deactivated my nanobot mask.
That’s when Isto took the lead.
-I shall take point, sir!
Isto’s LED eyes illuminated the path ahead brightly.
Hawkeye quickly moved to the rear.
After taking a few steps.
Isto.
“Shine your light on the ceiling.”
-Yes, sir!
As Isto looked up, a portion of the pattern hidden in the darkness was revealed.
Intricately tangled lines.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Mana circuits are connected?’
“Isto, trace the lines with your light.”
Following the beam of light he cast, my gaze traced the circuit until its end became clear.
What is this.
‘It’s a symbol denoting flame.’
I stared intently at the corridor.
-Doo-ho, sir?
“…Could it be.”
I retrieved the spear from the Garage—a hunter’s keepsake.
Whoosh─.
The moment the spear I threw passed through the corridor.
Flames erupted violently─!!!
Raging infernos surged from the walls and ceiling on all sides.
-D-Doo-ho, sir! It’s dangerous!
The startled Isto tried to shield me, but I’d already retreated backward, wrapping myself in nanobot armor.
It was within my expectations, actually.
However, the surging flames continued to burn relentlessly.
Boom! Boom!
Isto’s patience finally snapped, and he began pummeling the stone wall with his fists.
He was trying to demolish the wall to block the flames.
But if he destroyed that entire long corridor…
‘The passage might collapse and bury us alive.’
“Isto, step back.”
-Huh?
“I’ll handle it.”
With those words, Doo-ho reached out his hand.
Silver nanobots danced gracefully through the air.
‘If I just sever the circuit flow, it should work.’
Click, click.
The nanobots gnawed at the connection points along the circuits drawn on the ceiling.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The surging flames diminished and extinguished.
Oh! Oh!
-Intellectual problem-solving! How magnificent!
Hawkeye beside him also chimed in, his scope gleaming.
-An efficient method of disarming! Truly befitting my master.
Doo-ho shrugged his shoulders.
‘Just got lucky, but they’re making such a fuss.’
After that, more traps continued to appear.
Whoosh whoosh! Ting! Clang! Thud!
When spears shot out from the walls.
The spears that struck Isto’s body bounced off harmlessly.
-Huh?!
Isto had no idea what was happening.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Then at other times, massive boulders came rolling toward them.
Whoosh crack–!!
Hawkeye altered the path of the rolling boulder with arrows of light.
The three of us made a decent team.
Meanwhile, Doo-ho examined the disarmed traps.
‘A mana circuit that generates stone…’
The traps taught me several mana circuits.
‘I should test them out later.’
.
.
.
How much further had we progressed?
Boom–!
Heavy footsteps echoed from the distance.
The three of them came to a halt.
Whoooosh….
A biting chill swept in like fog.
White breath escaped from Doo-ho’s lips.
Beyond the darkness.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As the rhythmic sound drew closer, vibrations traveled through the ground with increasing intensity.
Hawkeye peered through the scope into the dark corridor and reported.
-Mechromancer, sir. Two massive cold reactions ahead. I’ll handle them.
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+A277-20260210015.0031
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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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