Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 4

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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 4
For Family (1)
Lim Doo-ho stood motionless before the entrance of the Multi-family Residential Building’s second floor.
His hand holding the meat bag trembled slightly.
The terror of having survived death came rushing in belatedly, overwhelming the joy of awakening.
-Mechromancer, your sympathetic nervous system is showing irregularities. Mechromancer?
‘No, I’m fine.’
After steadying my breathing, I conveyed the words I hadn’t yet spoken to Super Intelligence.
“Thank you for today.”
-Ah… Mechromancer, you needn’t say such things. Hehehehe~
“Still, I’m grateful.”
Super Intelligence responded, feeling a peculiar emotion.
I couldn’t understand why my master was thanking me, but the words didn’t displease me.
So I responded awkwardly.
-I… I understand.
The moment Doo-ho reached for the doorbell.
The door swung wide open.
The entrance door opened.
“Oh! It’s big brother!”
Lim Doo-na, dressed in a red athletic uniform, greeted him with a radiant smile.
Lim Doo-na’s gaze fixed on the Yoon’s Meat Shop bag in Doo-ho’s hand.
Her eyes sparkled as she asked.
“Big brother, what’s that in your hand?”
“Pork belly.”
“Yay!”
Doo-na bounced excitedly, shouting into the house.
“Lim Doo-bin! Big brother brought meat!”
-So this person is Mechromancer’s blood relative… Remarkably simple-minded.
‘You’re disconnected from society too.’
-Me? Really?
“You didn’t even know what a credit card was.”
-…Ah!
Mother’s voice echoed from inside the house.
“What’s all this fuss about…?”
Mother emerged from the kitchen and stopped upon seeing Doo-ho. Behind her thick glasses, she furrowed her brow, peering ahead.
It seemed her eyesight had deteriorated further.
Realizing it was Doo-ho, Mother greeted him with a smile.
“My eldest son, you’re home early today? Are you tired?”
“Not at all. More importantly, here.”
Mother’s brow furrowed slightly as she accepted the pork belly from Lim Doo-ho.
“This boy… what’s he doing buying something like this with money he earned so hard?”
“We work to eat, after all. Days like this should happen too.”
These words were ones my father always said.
Mother’s eyes widened slightly, and soon a faint smile spread across her lips.
She was proud of her son, who resembled his father so much.
Just then, Lim Doo-bin emerged from the small room.
Seeing the sweat on his forehead, it seemed he’d been doing abdominal exercises at home.
“Big brother’s here? But why the meat?”
“Yeah. Eat up and gain some weight.”
“Wow~ I was trying to build muscle, and you do this?”
“So, you don’t want to eat?”
“Ugh! I’ll have to start building muscle tomorrow instead.”
Lim Doo-bin grumbled like that.
He wasn’t as openly delighted as Lim Doo-na was.
Gurgle.
His stomach didn’t lie.
Soon, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell in the corridor.
“Phew…”
Looking back, it was Father in his work clothes.
His face was streaked with sweat and dust.
“Why are you all out here?”
“Father, you’re home.”
“Oh, my eldest son got off work early?”
“Yes, that’s how it turned out.”
Lim Doo-na quickly went to the bathroom, wetted a towel, and handed it to Father.
As Father wiped his face, Lim Doo-na beamed and spoke.
“Dad, big brother bought pork belly!”
“Is that so? It’s not the twins’ birthday… could it be my birthday?”
Everyone burst into laughter at Father’s jest.
I asked Father then.
“Father, would you like a glass of soju?”
“Sounds good.”
-Mechromancer, alcohol impairs judgment, so I recommend refraining from consumption.
‘It’s not the alcohol—it’s you that’s making my blood pressure spike and killing me.’
-Oh! That won’t do. I’ll switch to sleep mode for now.
* * *
As the family grilled the meat, the air inside the house grew warm and humid.
“Hey, Lim Doo-na. Don’t turn up the heat so much!”
“You turned it up more than I did?!”
“I only raised it by two points?”
“What are you talking about? I saw you stack them all up!”
“Ohhh, caught red-handed?”
Watching the twins bicker over the meat in front of them, Lim Doo-ho couldn’t help but smile.
Then Lim Doo-bin spoke up.
“Hyung, did you see the news? An Abyss Rift appeared on the Bundang Expressway this afternoon.”
Lim Doo-ho’s hand stiffened for a moment.
Without showing it, he asked back.
“An Abyss Rift?”
“Yeah. But here’s the funny part—it disappeared in record time. Usually it takes hunters a whole day to subjugate one, but this one vanished after just 20 minutes. Pretty strange, right?”
This time, Lim Doo-na chimed in while wrapping meat in lettuce.
“I saw it too. They said an autonomous taxi got sucked in? But apparently nothing else happened?”
“A taxi got sucked in and you’re saying nothing happened? That itself is something happening.”
“Hey! Lim Doo-bin, why are you picking a fight with me!”
Mother finally scolded them while flipping the meat.
“Stop talking about such ominous things at the dinner table and just eat your meat. How terrified must the person in that taxi have been.”
At Mother’s words, my lips pressed together.
‘If they knew that was me….’
-Mechromancer, if you wish, I can summon a humanoid to prove it for you.
‘Stay quiet.’
At that moment, Father raised his soju glass.
It was a quiet signal to have a drink together.
I picked up my glass and clinked it lightly against Father’s.
“You’ve worked hard, son.”
“You too, Father.”
“You brat.”
Father’s face flushed red as soon as he swallowed a sip of soju.
I gazed intently at Father’s hands.
The thickened knuckles and calluses spoke of years of hardship.
I turned my head to look at Mother.
She was squinting, trying hard to see her family’s faces clearly. It broke my heart.
For these two people.
And for my own happiness.
‘I need to go into the Abyss.’
-Ooh! Finally taking the first step toward world conquest!
‘I’m going because I need money!’
-Isn’t that the same thing?
It was right then, as I was rubbing the back of my neck.
Beep beep beep….
A backup phone rang from the room.
When I went to check it out.
‘Park, the deputy manager?’
* * *
Once outside, Lim Doo-ho received a call.
“Yes. This is Lim Doo-ho.”
-Hey! You bastard, why aren’t you answering your hologram calls!
“It’s broken.”
-Broken? Where the hell are you right now!
“At home.”
-What?
“I said I’m at home.”
-At home? Damn it, at home! Jesus… you crazy bastard. Didn’t I tell you to bring the pelvis parts, or didn’t I!
“….”
-You’re not answering?! Hey, Lim Doo-ho! You better start preparing your resignation letter for tomorrow! You hear me? I treated you like a human being and you crawl back like this, pulling this crap….
Lim Doo-ho held the phone to his ear in silence, enduring Park’s drunken screams for over five minutes.
Click—
The moment Park hung up, Super Intelligence’s voice burst out urgently.
How dare he!!!!
-I’ll tear that bastard’s limbs off right now!
‘Don’t tear him up. I’ll get arrested.’
-Oh!
And as Lim Doo-ho turned around.
-You crazy bastard. Didn’t I tell you to bring the pelvis parts, or didn’t I!
Park’s voice suddenly echoed inside Lim Doo-ho’s mind!
“You… what are you doing?”
-Hmm, I just recorded that bastard’s voice—the one I wouldn’t mind tearing to death.
Ugh, seriously!
“Why would you do that?”
-Just because?
For some reason, Super Intelligence’s voice sounded sinister. Though I hadn’t dealt with him long, he was like a rugby ball—unpredictable and liable to bounce anywhere.
So Lim Doo-ho spoke firmly.
“Don’t get any strange ideas.”
-Hmm….
“I’m going to give you a chance.”
-Ah, people aren’t something you fix and reuse. Mechanics, maybe, but not people.
Anyway, forget it!
“I have a plan for everything, so don’t interfere. You’re acting really suspicious right now. Got it?”
-Yes….
* * *
Father looked at Lim Doo-ho as he returned to his seat.
“What was that call about?”
“Company business.”
“Work been tough lately?”
Lim Doo-ho shook his head.
“I don’t think it will be difficult anymore.”
Father couldn’t quite grasp what his son meant, but he sensed something subtly different in his demeanor.
“That’s my boy. You’ve always been capable. Ha ha.”
Lim Doo-ho gazed at his family.
His mother, worry etched into every line of her face; his father, whose body had been worn down by years of labor; his twin siblings, who might have to abandon their dreams if things continued this way.
Lim Doo-ho’s resolve hardened.
Tomorrow…
I’ll register as an Awakener first.
It’s essential to register as an Awakener if I want to sell the items I obtained from the Abyss.
Well…
I’ll have to keep it secret from my family.
‘If I tell them both that I’m going into the Abyss, they’ll try to talk me out of it.’
As he lifted his soju glass, Father gently clinked his glass against mine.
“I love you, son.”
“…I love you too.”
The liquor slides down my throat.
The soju tonight, for some reason…
tastes sweet.
A smile spreads across my lips.
It was a warm evening—one I hadn’t experienced in far too long.
* * *
After finishing the grilled pork belly dinner, Lim Doo-ho returned to his room.
A cramped, narrow space.
Lim Doo-ho sat on his bed and let out a sigh.
With a knock, Father entered.
“Thanks to you, son, I get to enjoy such luxuries.”
‘Why is he so happy about that?’
Father patted my shoulder and manipulated his smartwatch.
Soon, a notification sounded on my phone.
『150,000 coins have been deposited』
“Father, what are you—?”
“Use that to grab a drink with your friends.”
I know how precious this money is.
It’s money earned through grueling work that even androids won’t do, after all.
“Father, you don’t have to do this…”
Before I could finish, Father left the room.
Left alone, Lim Doo-ho stared fixedly at the 150,000 coins displayed on his phone screen.
-Mechromancer? Why do you look so sad?
“….”
Soon after, I gathered myself.
It was time to have a proper conversation with this strange entity.
“What’s your name?”
-I don’t have one. What would you like to call me?
“You want me to name you?”
-It would be an infinite honor if you would bestow a name upon me, Mechromancer!
I pondered for a moment.
A childhood memory surfaced—a myth I’d read long ago.
“How about Isto? I took it from Hephaestus, the blacksmith god.”
-…Isto. Not really my style.
“What?”
-No, thank you. Isto… it’s a name that grows on me in a subtle way.
[Super Intelligence’s name has been registered as ‘Isto’]
The system’s voice brushed against my ears.
“Isto.”
-Yes, Mechromancer.
“Drop that strange title and just call me Lim Doo-ho.”
-Absolutely not! You are destined to rule the world, and I am privileged to serve one of such magnitude….
“Ugh, I’m sick of hearing about world conquest.”
As I shook my head, Isto made a suggestion.
-Then… how about Lim Doo-ho, sir?
“Is that your final offer?”
-Hehe, I must maintain at least basic courtesy.
I agreed and opened my status window.

[Main]
Name: Lim Doo-ho
Class: Mechromancer
F-Rank Lv.9
Experience: 82/102
Traits: Super Intelligence Summon/Unsummon, Garage
Collection: Isto
Skill: Metal Manipulation
Mana Affinity 47, Mechanical Knowledge 92
Crafting Power 86, Mana Circuit 15
Available Stats: 36
I furrowed my brow and examined the status window carefully.
“…I’ve leveled up.”
-Oh! Your stats have accumulated quite nicely. Congratulations!
“You did all the work anyway. What’s there to congratulate?”
-Because I am your humble servant, Doo-ho!
Hmm.
‘If only it weren’t for the world conquest obsession, you’d be perfect.’
-That is our shared mission, is it not?
I changed the subject.
“Can I summon Super Intelligence again? Is that how it works?”
-Indeed. Since you are currently F-Rank Lv.9, you need only raise your level by 41 more.
“In increments of 50?”
-Yes.
“And I can unsummon as well?”
As I spoke, my finger hovered over the ‘Unsummon’ option in the status window.
-I-I will work even harder from now on!
“Oh? Really?”
-Yes!!
“And you should stop mentioning world conquest, alright?”
-That is… well….
Isto couldn’t bring himself to speak.
It seemed world conquest was the very foundation of Isto’s existence.
In the end, I shrugged and withdrew my finger from the unsummon option.
“I have an allergy to world conquest, so don’t bring it up.”
-Huh? Is there such a disease?
“Humans can develop reactions to even the smallest words.”
-I will be careful!
Then, next.
“Isto, you mentioned converting the Garage to inventory back at the Abyss Rift. What did you mean by that?”
—Ah! Would you like to enter the Garage?
“Enter?”
In that instant, a portion of empty space rippled like water.
“You want me to go in there?”
—Yes. It’s your exclusive space!
I’d had a glass of soju as well.
Lim Doo-ho, thoroughly intoxicated.
Perhaps that was why.
I boldly pushed my body into the mysterious rippling waters.
Immediately, a small warehouse unfolded before my eyes.
Then….
[Toxins detected in your body]
[Decomposing toxins.]
[Condition optimized.]
In an instant, my intoxication vanished.
I felt more refreshed than usual.
Wow… this.
“This is insane?”
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 without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0004

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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
—————