Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 32
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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 32.
Grace Period (3)
Hawkeye raised her bow.
Swish.
Blue light condensed along the drawn bowstring.
The enemy’s true form remained unseen.
A predictive shot based on countless accumulated data.
Whirrr—!
An arrow of light pierced through the darkness and shot forward.
And then.
-Shouldn’t there be a massive crash sound?
A question mark appeared in Isto’s LED eyes.
There should have been an impact sound, normally.
But neither a collision sound nor the noise of a missed arrow embedding itself in the wall reached our ears.
Hmm~.
-A complete miss, it seems?
-This… this shouldn’t be possible.
Hawkeye’s scope repeatedly cycled between confusion and focus.
Just as she was about to turn transparent and investigate herself.
“It’s here.”
I stopped her and eyed the floor of the opposite Corridor.
The enemy would come here eventually anyway.
“Let’s set a trap instead.”
-A trap, you say?
Isto stepped forward eagerly.
-Leave that to me, sir!
-Y-yes, I’ll help too.
As the absurdly powerful creatures began recklessly smashing the solid stone floor, I stopped them.
“No, not like that.”
-Sir?
-Hmm?
“I’ll do it.”
-You, Necromancer?
-How do you mean?
As they tilted their heads in confusion, I smirked and rolled my shoulders.
“I’ve learned things on the way here—might as well put them to use.”
I gathered mana at my fingertips and traced a pattern in the air.
Starting with the mana circuit pattern for stone generation that Hawkeye had handled.
Naturally.
‘Using it as-is would be boring.’
So I modified the pattern.
Instead of stone creation, stone annihilation.
And then….
I immediately drew a fire-creation pattern in the empty air.
Unlike before, I didn’t compress this mana circuit.
‘Since it’s not meant for long-term use.’
So I settled the mana circuit I’d drawn in the air onto the ground without inscribing it with nanobots.
Thanks to that, I could complete it in no time.
[Your understanding of mana circuits increases]
‘That feels like praise. I’m in a good mood.’
Then I heard Hawkeye’s concerned voice.
-Mechromancer. If you don’t inscribe it on the ground, the pattern will gradually fade away.
“It’s a trap anyway. Volatility is enough.”
For a moment, Hawkeye trembled.
-Showing us efficiency firsthand—what an honor!
With a slight smile, I accepted one of the Wendigo mana stones I’d caught earlier from Isto.
Placing the mana stone at the end of the circuit settled on the ground.
“Mana circuit energy supply complete.”
Light swept once, and the mana circuit activated.
Oh! Oh!
-It feels like just yesterday you were learning mana sensing, yet this is incredible progress!
‘Now that I think about it, it was only a few months ago.’
My group retreated from the trap and waited for the unknown opponent.
Finally.
Screech-crack, boom!
Tearing through the darkness came two transparent monsters over 5 meters tall.
Crystal skeletons within, bodies made entirely of ice—two ice golems advanced without hesitation.
Thud. Crackle-thud. Crackle-crackle…
The ground froze with every step they took.
And then….
The moment the leading ice golem stepped onto the circuit I’d drawn.
Whoooosh!
The Wendigo mana stone on the ground blazed with light.
Crack-rumble-rumble-rumble!
The Dungeon floor collapsed in an instant, and a massive sinkhole yawned open.
Before the ice golem could even lose its balance, it plummeted into the chasm.
And then….
Whoooosh-roar!!!
From the bottom of the chasm, a pillar of fire erupted with scorching heat.
The ice golem melted in an instant.
Tremendous steam billowed upward.
Ooh! Oh!
-Leader! The creature is shrinking!
That was when it happened.
Whiiiing──!
Hawkeye’s arrow of light flew toward the ice golem.
But.
The arrow failed to pierce the golem’s body.
Or rather, should I say it passed right through?
The moment the light touched the transparent form, it scattered in all directions, diffusing into chaos.
“Oh….”
Leader let out a sound of realization.
Now I understood why Hawkeye’s first strike had vanished.
“It passed through.”
The ice golem trapped in the inferno still flailed helplessly, while the other ice golem remained motionless.
Hawkeye’s shoulders drooped.
These creatures….
-They have poor compatibility with me.
Leader examined Hawkeye’s bow.
Despite gathering light to fire, the bowstring was still there.
Leader opened the Garage.
‘If light won’t work, there’s only one answer.’
“If the matchup is bad, I’ll make it good.”
I retrieved discarded android parts.
Casting metal manipulation, the scrap metal instantly transformed into sharp steel arrows.
‘Perhaps I’ve been using metal manipulation so frequently.’
These days, the system barely bothers to notify me of proficiency increases for ordinary skills.
I lifted a bundle of steel arrows.
“Hawkeye.”
-Yes.
Hawkeye gazed down at the steel arrows I had crafted.
Then.
He picked up just one.
-This will suffice.
As if attempting to redeem that near-mistake from moments before.
Hawkeye nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring without hesitation.
Whiiiing!
The steel arrow flew forth with a crisp whistling sound.
Crack!!
The steel arrow pierced through the melting Ice Golem without hesitation and penetrated the exposed core.
With a rumbling sound, the golem whose core was destroyed crumbled to the ground.
[You have gained experience points]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Lev…]
The experience from the Ice Golem was beyond my imagination.
Excellent!
-One down~ Hehehehe.
But then.
The mana circuit drawn on the ground began to fade.
Since I hadn’t inscribed it, time had run out.
As the surging flames subsided.
The Ice Golem waiting in the rear stopped before the pit.
It gazed down at its companion’s gruesome remains, then slowly extended its hand.
A deep, resonant cry echoed out.
The surrounding air rapidly grew frigid.
The moisture in the air and the remaining golem’s debris began to be absorbed.
Crack, crackle, crackle….
The Ice Golem began to increase in size.
“What in the….”
Before I could even react.
-Duho! I’ll handle that one!
Patter patter, tap, tap, tap tap tap!
Isto dashed toward the golem with increasing speed.
The golem pulled with a freezing force, drawing everything inward with tremendous power.
As if it would swallow everything whole.
A piercing whistling sound!
The suction was so immense that even I staggered.
But.
Isto leaped into it with apparent delight and shouted.
-This is using barbarians to control barbarians!
Isto made a magnificent leap into the powerful pull.
I muttered to myself.
Hmm….
“That’s not quite right.”
-The idiom for using an opponent’s strength is four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds.
At Hawkeye’s words, I nodded in agreement.
A sharp, tearing sound erupted!
Whether Isto resisted or not, he spiraled inward, drawn inexorably into the vortex.
The Golem raised its massive palm to block, but it was already too late.
—D-dizzy!
Isto regained his balance and plunged directly into the Golem’s chest, the very center of the maelstrom.
CRASH!!!
With a deafening roar, Isto burrowed deep into the Golem’s body.
A heavy tremor resonated from within the Golem’s frame.
And then.
BOOM—!
Isto burst through the Golem’s back, emerging on the other side.
He clutched the Golem’s core firmly in his grasp.
—Handled it! Hehehehe
He waved the core triumphantly toward Hawkeye.
[Experience gained]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Lev…]
Multiple level-ups in succession.
The Golem’s experience yield must have been tremendous.
* * *
Once the situation had settled.
I approached the Golem’s remains to examine them.
A transparent crystalline skeleton.
The patterns etched into its surface caught my eye.
‘What does this mean….’
One thing was certain—these were mana circuits.
In that moment, fragments of the mana circuit knowledge Isto had imparted to me before clicked into place.
Fortunately, the recent level-ups had unlocked the understanding.
I examined the patterns carved into the crystal again.
Ah~.
‘So this was an absorption circuit.’
I committed to memory the principle by which the Golem had consumed its ally’s remains to grow larger.
‘What if I incorporated an amplification circuit pattern here?’
My eyes gleamed with possibility.
Perhaps I could create something truly fascinating.
‘Devouring the opponent’s strength to grow progressively stronger.’
Ideas continued to spring forth unbidden.
Hmm.
‘I shouldn’t linger on this here.’
I shook off the thoughts and turned to leave.
Isto lifted the small core.
-What should we do with this?
Duho accepted the core.
The intact golem’s core was about the size of a ping-pong ball.
I turned my head to look at Hawkeye.
“You hit something this small in one shot?”
-Heh. Through my scope, the sun itself looks no bigger than this.
With that answer, Hawkeye collected the arrows I had crafted and returned.
Hmm.
‘Somehow it seems a shame.’
I handed over all the steel arrows I had made earlier.
“I’ll give you all of them.”
-You mean… all of them?
The one who received the arrows expressed joy by extending and retracting the scope.
“I’ll make you a quiver when we get back.”
-Really, truly?!
What is this…?
‘He really loves it, doesn’t he?’
Duho placed the golem core in the Garage.
“Let’s head out soon.”
-I’ll take the lead!
The three of us began walking through the widened Corridor once more.
How long had we walked?
As we reached the end of the Corridor, my vision opened up and the Plaza came into view.
“…Wow.”
We all stopped in our tracks.
There were seven Ice Golems in the Plaza.
Oh!
-Ice chunks gathered together, I see.
-The iron-headed fool speaks as if it’s nothing, but this is a beginner’s zone. A single one of those golems would be slightly stronger than a C-rank party.
‘That much?’
I swallowed dryly.
Fortunately, the golems did not approach.
Judging by the fact that they didn’t attack immediately, the area where I stood appeared to be a safe zone.
I brushed my chest and opened the Quest window.
[Time Limit: 42 minutes 17 seconds]
“It took longer to get here than I expected.”
-No way! This pace is plenty comfortable.
Then Hawkeye went even further.
He ran his finger across the arrows with a flourish.
Heh.
-Perfect timing to deal with the 7th-tier.
Was that supposed to be funny?
Still, it did ease my mind a little.
Well….
‘I said the two of us could handle it easily, but….’
What bothered me was how the Ice Golem had absorbed the remains of its companion earlier.
Might as well.
‘I want to experiment with applying the mana circuit knowledge I just awakened.’
It’s not something I can test anywhere.
But I trust that Isto and Hawkeye will clean up any mess if I slip up.
I narrowed my eyes and observed one of the golems.
Then I made my decision.
I extracted the golem core from the Garage.
I spoke to them.
“I have an idea, so just handle one of them for me.”
-Understood, sir!
Loyal Isto moved out first.
His pace quickened as he charged toward the center of the Plaza.
Three Ice Golems detected the intruder and extended their fists toward Isto.
Boom! Boom-crash-boom!
The impact shook the interior.
Isto blocked all three of the Ice Golems’ fists.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye moved silently, scaling the wall and nocking an arrow.
In that moment.
Whoosh.
Nanobots flowed from my arm, tracing patterns through the air.
The ‘absorption’ I’d witnessed earlier and fragments of mana knowledge I’d accumulated so far began to crystallize in the air.
Thanks to leveling up, I was more dexterous than usual.
[Mana circuit understanding increases]
[Mana circuit understanding…]
Despite the urgent situation unfolding around me, a faint smile bloomed at the corner of my mouth.
The sensation of creating something.
I never knew it could feel this good.
Startled.
‘Am I really this bold?’
Surprised at myself, I refocused.
To inscribe the most crucial rune I’d awakened through leveling up into the empty space.
‘It needs to know I’m the master.’
I had no use for an uncontrollable monster.
Soon three intricate patterns intertwined in the air, radiating brilliant light.
I observed the battle unfold.
Isto was locked in melee combat with four golems.
‘How can such a small frame contend with them?’
Just as a fifth golem moved to join the fray.
-Macromanser. Target acquired within range.
At Hawkeye’s confirmation that I could strike at any moment, I nodded.
Whiiing!
A steel arrow cleaved through the air.
It pierced the core of the golem approaching Isto with perfect accuracy.
Crash—!
The powerless golem crumbled to the ground.
[Experience gained]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Lev…]
Another level-up notification echoed through my mind.
I compressed the mana circuit floating in the air and pushed it into the golem core resting on the ground.
The same method I’d used when creating the trap moments before.
Of course, compression would extend its duration considerably.
Thrumthrum thrumthrum.
The core accepted the mana circuit and began to tremble.
It spun with a soft whirring sound.
Whoooooosh────.
A powerful gravitational force erupted.
Shhhhk shhk…
The fragments of the collapsed golems in the distance were sucked into the spinning core.
In that very instant.
The remaining six golems extended their hands in unison.
Kuoooooo!
An instinctive movement to absorb their comrade’s remains and enlarge themselves.
My concern had become reality.
I had become a Macromanser
Author |
Gungang E
Published |
February 25, 2026
Publisher |
Tail Six
Website |
https://talesyx.com
Email|
[email protected]
ⓒ Keongang E, 2026
This publication is protected by copyright law and may not be reprinted or reproduced without permission.
UCI|
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0032
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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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