Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 37

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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 37.
Reckoning (4)
Hunter Management Bureau, 1st Floor, Machine Upcycling Department.
Sunlight pouring through the windows.
Fresh air flowing from the air purifier.
The subtle aroma of coffee drifting through the space.
The ground floor where no more ghosts would ever appear!
Ahhh….
“There’s no heaven quite like this.”
Park Deputy basked in the sunlight by the window.
The joy of escaping the sunless underground life had not yet faded from his expression.
‘Can it really feel this good?’
My gaze lingered on Park Deputy’s prosthetic arm as I sipped my morning coffee.
Huh?
“You got it replaced?”
“Oh~ You noticed?!”
Park Deputy approached with a bright expression.
Whirrrr—.
He moved his fingers smoothly to demonstrate, then laughed somewhat bashfully.
“The old one only had high output, and it was so noisy. But this is a precision control model—it’s on a completely different level. It’s expensive, but it’s worth every penny.”
“It certainly looks impressive.”
“As expected of a function competition champion—your eye for quality is exceptional.”
Park Deputy’s sudden praise.
I scratched my cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“But here’s the thing.”
Park Deputy then let out a heavy sigh.
“When I saw the installment plan, I nearly stopped breathing. I’m bound to this department for life now. If I get fired, I might as well jump into the Han River.”
At that moment.
-If you come to the Han River, I’ll beat you to it.
My brow furrowed slightly at Hawkeye’s words, even though I’d moved to an apartment overlooking the Han River.
Hawkeye was….
‘Growing more like Isto every day.’
-Mechromancer, that’s an insult to me.
-What?? You long-bladed bastard, what are you saying?!
-Shut it, you iron-headed fool!
‘This is getting noisy.’
Just as this peaceful(?) morning was unfolding.
The door swung open.
Na Yong-seok, the department head, walked in.
“Good morning.”
Park Deputy and Doo-ho stood and greeted him.
Well, well.
“No need for formalities.”
Director Na waved his hand and spoke.
“Come sit down over here. I’ll tell you the official department name starting today.”
He took a seat at the conference table and projected a hologram.
“From now on, the department name is….”
『Reboot Center』
Excellent!
Park Gyu-tae clapped his hands.
The sound of his implants colliding was quite loud.
“Reboot Center! That sounds wonderful.”
Director Na smiled with satisfaction.
“It encompasses both the existing upcycling and item repair and enhancement.”
He looked toward Park Deputy.
“Park will be dedicated to existing upcycling.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And Lim Doo-ho will….”
Director Na trailed off.
“Your primary duties will be item repair and enhancement. However, since item repairs aren’t frequent, you’ll also handle upcycling as needed.”
“Understood.”
Doo-ho, now promoted to Senior Researcher, nodded.
This arrangement was only possible because Doo-ho had insisted on staying in the Machine Upcycling Department.
And truthfully.
Park Gyu-tae’s title had changed from Deputy to Senior Researcher.
In short, they held the same rank, but the actual weight of authority differed.
An Awakened One, a Functional Competition champion, and monopolizing the item ‘repair authority’—Lim Doo-ho.
He was effectively the real power behind the Reboot Center.
So Director Na had intended to transfer Park Deputy—no, Park Senior Researcher now—to another department….
「I want to stay here!」
「Your rank will be the same as Lim Doo-ho’s, you know?」
Surprisingly, Park Senior Researcher accepted without hesitation.
「That’s fine! Please let me stay. I want to be here!」
His eagerness was so intense that Director Na was taken aback.
In any case.
Not long after work began, Director Na approached Doo-ho.
“About the Changtian Clan.”
“…Yes?”
“They mentioned in interviews that the 80th Floor subjugation was intense. But there are zero repair requests.”
As Lim Doo-ho tried to grasp what that meant, Na Deputy slammed the table.
“I was planning to set up future dealings by offering equipment at a discount.”
“Ah….”
“Not a single request? Are you looking down on us?”
Of course, I knew the Changtian Clan had two production-type Awakeners.
“Still, people should know how to show respect.”
Meanwhile, Lim Doo-ho’s eyes rolled around playfully.
Hmm….
The repair incentive was certainly attractive.
‘But I don’t really need it.’
Isto’s voice, having read my thoughts, echoed in my mind.
That’s right!
-Don’t we have Mithril!
At the mention of Mithril, a smile played across Lim Doo-ho’s lips.
“Chief Lim. Something good happen?”
“Pardon? No, nothing.”
“You were smiling to yourself.”
“Oh, it’s nothing at all.”
Once Lim Doo-ho composed his expression, Na Deputy turned to self-reproach instead.
Sigh.
“The clan has broken its promises more than once, so I’m the fool for expecting anything.”
Yet there was still a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“I thought Go Gyeong-taek would be different. But it’s the same old story….”
That’s when it happened.
Na Deputy’s smart watch chimed.
His eyebrows twitched as he checked the screen.
“The Lost Items Center Director?”
He raised his wrist and a hologram unfolded in the air.
The director’s face on the screen was rigid.
-Deputy!
“Yes, what is it?”
-Could you approve the release of the ‘Entropy Scanner’? It’s urgent!
Na Deputy’s eyes narrowed.
The Entropy Scanner was equipment used to measure the age of archaeological artifacts or dungeon byproducts.
Once it left the facility, a budget report would follow—it was an expensive item.
Which is why.
“No way. That costs money.”
…What?
The Lost Items Center Director’s mouth fell open.
Both Lim Doo-ho and Park Deputy looked at Na Deputy simultaneously.
‘He’s being so stubborn.’
‘Turns out he’s a miser.’
Nevertheless, Na Yong-seok was the one who had made a substantial investment in the Reboot Center.
Both of them silently expressed their gratitude for that fact.
Sigh….
-Please don’t joke around.
“I’m not joking. File the paperwork and go through proper review.”
The Lost Items Center Director spoke urgently.
-Deputy Director, if you just listen, you’ll understand! Someone left ten burlap sacks at the Lost and Found Center, and their contents are far from ordinary!
Burlap sacks?
“Ten of them?”
-Yes! And apparently, there are belongings of first-generation hunters from the 2000s among them.
At the mention of first-generation, Na Yong-seok’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“Who brought them?”
-By all accounts, it seems like a ghost.
“A ghost?”
The Lost Items Center Director caught his breath and continued.
-We checked all the CCTV footage in that area. Either nothing was recorded, or the cameras were deliberately angled away.
“Deliberately?”
-Yes. It’s too sophisticated to be coincidence.
Na Yong-seok crossed his arms.
“So that’s why you call them a ghost?”
-A hunter who moves in and out of the Abyss without leaving a trace, who saved Seoul yet refuses to reveal their identity. Who else could it be but a ghost?
The Lost Items Center Director continued.
-These belongings are so old that they were nearly impossible to track down.
“…I see.”
-You know as well as I do that if the first-generation hunters hadn’t broken through the 3rd Floor, Seoul wouldn’t exist today.
Those words stirred something within Na Yong-seok.
“So you need an Entropy Scanner?”
-Yes! We need to verify if they’re genuine and return them to the families.
Na Yong-seok fell silent for a moment.
But then….
“How did you know the Hunter Management Bureau has an Entropy Scanner? That’s classified information you shouldn’t know about.”
-That’s because Go Gyeong-taek… no, I mean….
Na Yong-seok didn’t miss that slip.
‘Did he just say Go Gyeong-taek?’
The flustered Lost Items Center Director made another mistake.
-There are also belongings of Chairman Han Hyun-chul’s older brother among them… no, anyway, just help me out! Brother! Please! Yong-seok!
Han Hyun-chul meant the Changtian Clan.
Na Yong-seok let out a sigh.
“Tell Go Gyeong-taek that I’ll bring it to him personally.”
-That he had heard about Entropy from you….
When I Deputy glared, the Center Director clamped his mouth shut.
* * *
Lost and Found Center basement, personal effects storage room.
Thud.
The moment the door closed, the air settled into stillness.
Han Hyun-chul stood before the table.
A rusted K2 rifle.
Dozens of military ID tags.
Faded combat boots and a helmet.
The stench of demonic beasts seeped from them.
Each artifact bore a date marked by the Entropy Scanner.
Most were relics from the Abyss’s earliest days.
Remnants of an era when Awakened were thrown in without system or standard.
‘If it was the 3rd Floor back then….’
A hell incomparable to now.
Awakened were ground to dust in waves.
Those who never returned piled up, floor after floor.
Han Hyun-chul’s gaze shifted to the end of the table.
Several plastic cards came into view.
One card caught his eye.
『Awakened Registration Certificate
Name: Han Hyun-jun
780401-1××××××
Registration Date: 2001. 05. ××
Emergency Contact:
Han Hyun-chul(01×-×××-×××)』
Han Hyun-chul could not reach out for a long time.
He only stared down at the card.
Eventually, he picked up the registration certificate.
Turning it over, a faded photograph emerged.
A young man in military uniform.
I thought it was an expressionless face, but now I could see the fear swallowed in it.
“…Brother.”
The massive sinkhole that appeared in Yeouido in 1999.
That was the Abyss.
Soon after, those who Awakened between the ages of sixteen and twenty began to emerge.
Those thrown into the Abyss simply for being Awakened.
Remembering the chaos of that time, Han Hyun-jun’s fearful expression in the photograph was inevitable.
That was precisely why.
I despised a nation that demanded sacrifice.
I abhorred politicians who reaped privileges without bearing responsibility.
I could not endure a system that consumed the deaths of Awakened ones as mere statistics.
‘So I made my choice.’
Instead of searching for my brother, I chose the path to change the world.
Instead of looking back at the dead, I chose to gather strength.
To stand at the center of it all!
I descended relentlessly, again and again.
Deeper still.
Into the abyss’s darkest depths.
Han Hyun-chul bit his lip.
The taste of iron spread across his mouth.
The hand holding the registration certificate trembled slightly.
Throughout my life, there had been dozens, hundreds of opportunities.
Why had I never tried to find my brother?
Drip.
A single tear fell onto the registration certificate.
I thought they had long since dried up….
I slowly steadied my breathing so they would flow no more.
I carefully placed the registration certificate into the box.
As I lifted my head, various personal effects lay scattered across the table.
The Center Director’s words came to mind.
‘To think Ghost brought all of these….’
The events from days ago resurfaced.
The moment when clan executives had revealed their greed, claiming they would expose the credit for conquering the 80th Floor.
While they did that, Ghost was….
‘Collecting these all along.’
Han Hyun-chul pressed his forehead.
Shame arrived late, making it all the heavier.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the corridor outside the door.
A sharp, cutting aura emanated from Na Yong-seok’s back.
He was an A-rank hunter of the Hunter Management Bureau.
Go Gyeong-taek stood with his back to the door, blocking his path.
“Step aside, Director Go Gyeong-taek.”
“Director Na. Let’s call it a day, shall we?”
“Call it a day?”
Director Na clicked his tongue sharply.
“This doesn’t sit right with me at all.”
As he stepped forward, an oppressive killing intent seeped through the air.
Flinch!
Go Gyeong-taek’s hand reflexively moved toward his sword hilt.
Seeing that, Deputy Director Na Yong-seok’s brow furrowed.
‘He’s actually considering drawing steel just because I showed a little killing intent.’
I withdrew the killing intent and spoke.
“Director Go Gyeong-taek, you remember the agreement—we took over equipment management in exchange for selling it to us cheaply, right?”
“….”
“Then why haven’t we received a single repair request? What does that tell you?”
My gaze pierced through Go Gyeong-taek.
“It means you think we’re fools.”
“That’s not the case.”
I let out an exasperated breath and poured out my words.
“And another thing—you manipulated our center director into bringing up the Entropy Scanner. Do you have any idea where the maintenance costs come from?”
“That’s….”
“It all comes from taxpayers’ money. Don’t go throwing your weight around just because you have some power!”
As I growled, Go Gyeong-taek withdrew his hand from the sword hilt.
“I apologize for the Entropy matter.”
“An apology? That’s… unbelievable.”
A brief silence.
Go Gyeong-taek spoke first.
Director.
“Soon, the Changtian Clan will show sufficient sincerity regarding this matter… in a different way.”
My eyes narrowed.
“A different way?”
“You’ll find out soon. I’ll take responsibility and deliver the results you’re looking for, Director.”
I stared at Go Gyeong-taek for a moment longer.
Director Go Gyeong-taek.
“…Don’t play games anymore.”
With that warning, I turned and left.
Go Gyeong-taek watched Na Yong-seok’s retreating figure intently.
The fact that he had to endure such treatment even from a mere deputy director of the Hunter Management Bureau.
‘It’s absurd.’
Grandfather Han Hyun-chul only praised the fallen clan members.
Even though it was he who had secured the items and devised the strategy.
No matter how hard he tried.
No matter how much he proved himself.
Recognition never came.
‘Would it have been different if I were his biological grandson?’
Go Gyeong-taek murmured softly, his eyes fixed on Na Yong-seok’s receding back.
Not the one who produces results.
It’s the one born into the right family who stands at the top of this world.
“So what.”
This game is rotten, but I have no intention of overturning it.
If this is a world where family is everything.
‘Then I’ll climb to the very top.’
By any means necessary.
* * *
One hour later.
Outside the Lost and Found Center.
As Chairman Han Hyun-chul emerged from the entrance.
Reporters swarmed around him.
“Chairman! What brings you here?”
“A visit to the Lost and Found Center is unprecedented!”
Questions overlapped and poured out.
It made sense.
News had broken that a massive quantity of hunters’ personal effects had been discovered.
Moreover, from Abyss Layer 1 during its grace period.
In other words, it was the work of Ghost.
And on top of that, the family head of the unrelated Han Hyun-chul Family had come here personally.
It would have been strange if this hadn’t become a major issue.
Han Hyun-chul withdrew a plastic card from the box he was holding and displayed it.
“The reason I’ve come here is that this is my older brother’s personal effect.”
The reporters’ expressions grew subtle.
They couldn’t believe that even the great Chairman Han Hyun-chul had only just recovered his family’s belongings.
Han Hyun-chul spoke toward the cameras.
“I wish to express my gratitude to Ghost for bringing my brother’s personal effects to me.”
One reporter raised his hand.
“Do you have plans to search for Ghost in the future?”
“I do.”
Then.
One reporter asked provocatively.
“Are you confident that the 80th Floor conquest was cleared entirely by the Changtian Clan’s power?”
The other reporters flinched momentarily.
And….
Han Hyun-chul answered calmly.
“The unsung hero of the 80th Floor conquest… I believe it was Ghost.”
At that moment.
Questions erupted from the reporters.
He had become a Necromancer.
Author |
Keongang E
Publication Date |
February 25, 2026
Publisher |
TalesYX
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 authorization.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0037

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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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