Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 33
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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 33.
Grace Period (4)
Whoooosh! Craaaaaack!
Ice and frigid air tore asunder in the empty space, splitting violently in both directions.
The shockwave sent my body reeling backward.
Nanobots immediately cascaded from my arms, burrowing into the ground to anchor me in place.
Under the influence of the amplification circuit, more fragments were drawn toward the core I had thrown.
But the golems claimed some for themselves.
The Ice Golems swelled noticeably in size, their icy gauntlets growing thicker and more formidable.
Meanwhile.
About the size of an adult man.
Grotesquely oversized jaws and long arms that dragged across the ground.
A pathetically scrawny frame compared to the towering golems.
This was the creation I had brought forth.
Well…
‘I can’t expect perfection on the first try.’
What mattered more was that the golem had absorbed the remains as anticipated.
In that instant.
[Unexpected Creation]
You may register a temporary identification name.
‘Whew, that startled me.’
A situation neither the system nor I had foreseen.
I studied the golem for a moment.
My first golem, built on absorption and amplification as its foundation.
The word that surfaced in my mind was.
‘Predator.’
As if reading my thoughts, Hawkeye spoke to me from within my mind.
-How about the Italian word for predator, “predatore”?
‘…That’s difficult to pronounce.’
-My apologies.
Ah, come on.
No need to apologize.
I scratched my cheek and turned to the system window.
“Predato.”
I adjusted the pronunciation to suit my preference.
[The identification name “Predato” has been registered.]
The core glowed crimson.
Predato then lifted its head.
Crack.
The surface cracked, then regenerated along with the cold energy.
I recovered the nanobots embedded in the floor.
Then I pointed across the plaza with my finger.
Predator!
“Devour those things.”
I’d essentially ordered absorption rather than an attack.
Crack, crackle.
Predator moved forward at my command.
‘I’ve programmed it to move through absorption and expulsion….’
Its body lurched forward grotesquely mangled.
Honestly, I’d been skeptical about how much help Predator could be against these giants.
Hmm….
-Sir, the youngest one is far too small, isn’t it?
Hawkeye spoke while tightening his scope.
-With respect, in its current state it’s utterly useless.
I crossed my arms.
For now….
“Let’s watch.”
The thing is.
‘If it just absorbs properly, that’s a success.’
Glance.
I checked the quest timer.
[Time Limit: 00:42:17]
Tight schedule.
Then Predator slowly charged at the nearest golem.
Thud!
It bounced away pathetically from the golem’s kick.
Combat was Isto and Hawkeye’s responsibility after all.
Even so, Predator had produced meaningful results.
Oh!
-An opening!
Boom!
Isto burst forward, pushing off the ground.
He shattered the ice golem’s contracted leg with a punch as it kicked.
The golem lost its balance and collapsed.
Whoosh! Crack!
The moment it planted its hand on the ground and its chest became exposed, Hawkeye’s steel arrow pierced the ice golem’s core with perfect accuracy.
[You have gained experience points]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Le…]
Kuooooo!
The remaining five golems attempted to absorb simultaneously.
Slowly, deliberately.
Predator, now risen from the ground, swallowed fragments and expanded its mass.
The golems grew increasingly bloated.
The more I destroyed, the larger and stronger the survivors became.
Hawkeye spoke with concern in his voice.
-At this rate, clearing the Quest will be difficult.
Ooooh?!
-No wait! The youngest one’s a game-changer!
When I turned my head at Isto’s words, the considerably enlarged Predator was coiling around the Ice Golem’s ankle.
Sinuous, like a serpent.
Huh, that’s odd?
“I didn’t anticipate that either.”
Whoosh!
Its body, now gelatinous, crawled up the golem’s leg and bound it tightly.
Isto cheered triumphantly, kicking away the sluggish golem’s leg.
Tilt.
The Ice Golem toppled forward.
The instant Isto moved to exploit the opening.
Another golem’s fist descended toward Isto’s head.
In that moment!
Whiiiing— Crack!
A steel arrow pierced the golem’s elbow joint.
Boom!!
The deflected fist narrowly missed Isto, slamming into the ground instead.
The battle grew increasingly fierce.
* * *
How much time had passed?
In the relentless combat, thanks to those two’s desperate efforts, we brought down two more Ice Golems.
Isto and Hawkeye were undeniably formidable.
But the real problem was our limited time.
Then something unexpected occurred.
Predator, now enormous, stretched its body like a serpent and simultaneously ensnared all the golems’ legs, instantly paralyzing them.
Oh! Oh!
-The youngest is magnificent!
Thump!
Isto, having launched from the ground, shot upward like a bullet.
He drove his fist deep into the immobilized golem’s chest.
Crack! Snap!
The moment fissures spider-webbed across the solid ice armor.
Whoosh! Bang!
As if waiting for that exact moment, Hawkeye’s arrow streaked through the air, piercing through the fractured gap to impale the golem’s core.
The golem crumbled to dust.
Then.
Roooaarrr!
Predator absorbed the shattered remains.
What had started human-sized now loomed over the remaining golems.
The tide of battle reversed in an instant.
Only one golem remained.
More than that.
‘Massive doesn’t even begin to describe it.’
Predator’s head brushed against the ceiling.
Doo-ho shouted.
“Predator, crush it!”
Grrruuuhhh!
The moment the command left his lips, Predator collapsed forward.
Less an attack than an avalanche.
Overwhelming mass surged toward the last ice golem’s head.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
-Grandeur fills the chest!
With that cry, Isto hurled himself forward as if to shatter the golem’s legs.
But.
Whoooosh!
Perhaps because Predator had grown so massive.
Its body, cascading down like a liquid monster, engulfed not only the Ice Golem but Isto as well.
-Huh? Huh??
Shuaaaah─
Inside the transparent, colossal ice jelly.
Isto, trapped alongside the Ice Golem, drifted as if suspended in zero gravity.
-…????
LED eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Why… why am I?’
The moment Doo-ho saw that and rubbed his temples.
Whiiiing──!
Hawkeye’s steel arrow pierced through.
It penetrated Predator’s body.
And struck true through the Ice Golem’s core trapped within.
Crack!
At last, even the final golem vanished.
[You have gained experience points]
[Level Up!]
Boom!
Simultaneously, Isto burst through Predator’s body.
In his hand, he held Predator’s core, spinning wildly.
-I got it out!
As Doo-ho looked up, Predator, now bereft of its core, had solidified into hard ice.
And the core in Isto’s hand ceased its rotation.
The mana circuit patterns had dissipated.
As if to prove it.
[Temporary registered entity has been erased]
A System Message appeared.
Predator’s body had become a massive support pillar holding up the dungeon’s ceiling.
Like the columns of an ancient temple.
And.
-Here it is, Doo-ho!
Isto came scurrying over and held out the core.
Doo-ho accepted it, a corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
Had Isto not extracted the core and made his escape, he would have left it behind.
But now that things had turned out this way….
“Next time, I’ll have to craft it properly.”
He placed the core into the Garage.
I gazed up at the colossal ice pillar once more.
Hmm…
Even I had to admit it.
‘Creating Predator was the right call.’
-The foresight befitting a world conqueror! Hehehehe.
Hawkeye, who had gathered the steel arrows, chimed in as well.
-More calculated than any robot, sir.
A barrage of praise from both of them.
Doo-ho shrugged his shoulders, feigning indifference.
“…Don’t make a fuss.”
Though internally, I was grinning so hard my nostrils flared.
Anyway.
“I need to deal with the dungeon core quickly.”
A hidden corridor revealed itself where Doo-ho had gestured with his chin.
A deep darkness with cold air flowing from it.
Isto immediately took the lead.
There were no more traps along the way.
Likely, the horde of Ice Golems in the plaza had been this dungeon’s main boss.
And at the end of the corridor, a stone gate came into view.
Grrrrind.
Isto pushed open the heavy stone gate, stepped inside, and came back out.
Sigh.
-No traps, sir.
The LED display showed a straight-line frown, disappointed.
‘Is that really something to be disappointed about?’
Doo-ho and Hawkeye entered the chamber.
In the center of the room, a blue crystal hovered above a small altar.
The Snowy Plain Dungeon core.
In the corner, five old wooden boxes sat stacked.
Hawkeye issued a warning.
-Those might be mimics, sir.
“Mimics?”
-Beasts that devour whoever opens the box. They cannot be identified by any skill until the box is opened.
Doo-ho nodded in understanding.
Roughly four minutes remained until the quest ended.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
-I shall open them for you, sir!
“No, no.”
-Sir?
“Put them all in the Garage.”
“Understood?”
Isto’s LED face took on a dejected expression as he loaded the boxes into the Garage.
Thanks to that, the interior became empty.
‘I’ll tell Isto to open them later, anyway.’
With a light heart, I stood before the Dungeon Core.
As I reached out my hand, nanobots flowed forth.
Silver dust spiraled around the Core in an instant.
[Announcement]
Abyss 80th Floor has been cleared.
“…What?”
Doo-ho’s hand froze.
A faint smile spread across his lips as he confirmed the announcement.
‘I did it…!’
This meant Seoul was safe for the next year.
He rejoiced as if it were his own achievement.
If Seoul were swallowed by the Abyss, it would mean the end for Doo-ho and his family, who had only just begun walking down a path of prosperity.
That was one of the reasons he had come here.
“This is good. This is really good.”
With joy in his heart, he clenched his fist.
Crunch, crunch!
The nanobots mercilessly twisted the Core.
Boom—!
The Core shattered into pieces, scattering blue light.
[Hidden Quest Achieved]
Reward: Ring of Evasion
A ring materialized in the air.
Doo-ho quickly snatched it and slipped it onto his finger.
As the ring adjusted to his finger size, a status window appeared.
[Item Acquired]
Name: Ring of Evasion
Grade: Rare
Effect: Once per day, absolutely evade all attacks
Hmm….
Let me think about this.
Doo-ho’s eyes widened as he read the effect.
“Absolute evasion once a day, and it’s only Rare grade?”
Hawkeye tightened his scope and spoke to Doo-ho, who found it unbelievable.
-If this had been Legendary or Mythic grade, there would be no limit on uses.
“…!”
In other words.
If it were Mythic grade, the opponent’s attacks would be meaningless.
Isto interjected, displaying a large exclamation mark on his LED eyes.
-An item like that would be cheating!
At Isto’s words, Doo-ho let out a quiet laugh.
Honestly, even this much was….
“It’s like insurance on my life at the moment of desperation.”
-That’s right! A very fine item indeed. Ehehe~.
That was when it happened.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The dungeon shook violently.
Cracks spread in all directions as the collapse began.
Just as I was about to leave the room, a system window appeared.
[Dimensional Control]
Layer 1 can be erased.
Erase / Postpone
Did I need to hesitate when I’d already cleared the 80th Floor?
The answer was already decided.
“Let’s descend to Layer 2.”
At my words, they nodded vigorously, eager to go down.
“Postpone.”
[World Announcement]
The disappearance of South Korea Abyss Layer 1 has been postponed.
‘They’re even broadcasting something like this as a world announcement.’
Hmm.
Over there, they must be cheering, saying they’d risked their lives to save Seoul.
Whoooosh—.
As a blue portal materialized, Doo-ho exhaled deeply.
Sigh, I don’t even know anymore.
‘I should go get some proper rest… and then head to work.’
He pushed his body into the shimmering portal.
* * *
Abyss 80th Floor.
A region of black, jagged basalt that churned endlessly, never cooling.
The very heart of it—where an ordinary person would incinerate in mere moments.
A frost magic sword had pierced through the chest of the lava colossus and remained embedded there.
[Announcement]
Abyss 80th Floor has been cleared.
Waaahhhhh!!
The clan members embraced one another, their cheers erupting in unison.
Some even shed tears.
Confidence had already bottomed out after successive failures.
Had the specter not appeared, Seoul would have been swallowed by the Abyss.
Han Hyun-chul, the clan leader of Changtian Clan, withdrew the sword from the colossus’s chest.
A vicious cold emanated from the blade itself.
It was enough to make one forget this place was a lava plain at all.
“A magnificent blade indeed.”
“It seems to suit you well.”
Turning around, it was Go Gyeong-taek, the strategist of Changtian Clan.
He continued.
“Including that sword of yours, Chairman—all the items that played a significant role in this subjugation were purchased from the Hunter Management Bureau.”
Han Hyun-chul nodded in acknowledgment.
Soon after, Go Gyeong-taek’s expression grew troubled.
However….
“Several items were damaged due to the intensity of the subjugation.”
Go Gyeong-taek briefly outlined the conditions from the transaction.
“We agreed to purchase the items at a discount below market price, in exchange for entrusting their repairs to the Hunter Management Bureau.”
Just as Han Hyun-chul was about to agree.
“We could repair them ourselves—why go to such lengths?”
An executive from Changtian Clan interjected.
“But we already made a promise….”
“You can ignore such promises. The Hunter Management Bureau operates just like merchants, after all.”
The executive continued with a sneer.
“Our clan has two Production-type Awakened ones. What more do we need?”
Today was a day of celebration.
Go Gyeong-taek kept his mouth firmly shut.
At least there was one consolation—
the sword that Han Hyun-chul held in his hand remained intact.
As he turned to leave with that thought,
[World Announcement]
The disappearance of South Korea Abyss Layer 1 has been postponed.
In that instant, the cheers died down.
Postponed, not disappearance?
Wait a moment.
Another ‘World Announcement’??
Han Hyun-chul’s eyes wavered.
In other words,
the power of life and death over Abyss Layer 1 had been granted to the ghost.
Became a Macromanser
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 without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0033
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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
—————