Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 45
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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 45.
The Back of My Head Tingles (1)
Doo-ho!
“Hm?”
-As the tank, I shall descend first!
The excuse sounded plausible enough.
But the truth was….
Mana stones were drawn across Isto’s LED eyes.
‘He’s itching to pick them up.’
I let him go ahead.
-And while I’m at it, I’ll dispose of the beasts too!
Perhaps sensing my skepticism, Isto added that remark before immediately descending the Stone Stairs.
Thump-thump-thump!
Watching him descend the stairs for the first time, I found it quite adorable.
Hmm….
Was it because his limbs were so short?
In any case.
‘Should I head down too?’
Just as I was about to descend the Stone Stairs.
-Mechromancer.
“You want to hurry down too?”
-I am not like that iron-headed fool.
With those words, Hawkeye drew a triangle on the stairwell wall using a steel arrow.
It resembled a hang glider.
-Can you spread your nanobots across your back in a formation like this?
Oh.
Only then did I grasp Hawkeye’s intention.
“Let me try.”
Shhhhh….
I flowed the nanobots across my back, forming a hang glider shape.
Hmm….
-The density and structural integrity seem unstable.
The observation was accurate.
The nanobots’ formation wavered intermittently, and it was only natural since I’d never attempted to maintain such a fixed structure before.
-For a first attempt, you did well.
Hawkeye suggested we try again next time and gestured toward the Stone Stairs.
I gathered the nanobots back in.
Thud, thud.
Descending several steps and peering down below, the depths seemed endless.
Isto, who had departed first, still had quite a distance to descend.
Certainly….
If I could properly use a hang glider, it would be fast and convenient.
Well….
Situations like this tend to arise frequently when traversing the Abyss.
I glanced back at Hawkeye.
‘True to form for an efficiency fanatic.’
Thanks to that, I could devise a new application for nanobots.
With resolve hardened, I opened the main window.
『Nanobot Lv.6』
And….
Looking at available stats, I had 196.
‘Quite a bit accumulated.’
In other words.
I could raise the nanobot level three times.
But I couldn’t focus only on nanobots.
Investing in both mana circuits and mana affinity would yield better efficiency.
“Allocate 50 stats to nanobots.”
[Nanobot level increases]
There was no hesitation.
『Mana Affinity +40 → 137
Mechanical Knowledge +26 → 130
Craftsmanship +30 → 130
Mana Circuit +50 → 135』
A clean distribution.
I reached out my hand.
Whoosh….
The density, quantity, and emission speed of the nanobots felt distinctly different.
‘Level 7 is something else.’
I rapidly deployed nanobots behind my back.
This time, a stable hang glider form.
Hawkeye gave a thumbs up, clearly pleased with the improvement.
-Shall we descend now?
“Wait.”
-Why is that?
I reshaped the nanobots into the form of an angel’s wings.
Channeling mana through them, I flapped slowly.
Flutter, flutter.
Silver wings moved with gentle grace.
My body lifted slightly before touching down again.
‘I can’t take flight, but this landing approach should work better.’
Nanobots flowed from my hand, binding Hawkeye in an instant.
-M-Mechromancer, sir?
“Let’s go now.”
-Huh???
Before Hawkeye could even process his confusion, Doo-ho hurled himself toward the center of the staircase.
Silver wings unfurled magnificently.
As I channeled mana into my wingbeats, the descent velocity plummeted dramatically.
Only then did I relax.
-Magnificent, sir!
“Isn’t it?”
Haha. Hehehehe….
Just then, Hawkeye cried out.
Hey!
-Iron-headed fool!
-Huh?! W-What’s that?!
-Going down first. Kyiieeek─!!
* * *
Upon arriving at the Ancient City, Doo-ho withdrew the nanobots.
The city was not dark.
The roots that had covered the ceiling were gone.
Looking ahead, the city’s contours revealed themselves.
Buildings constructed from stone.
Half-collapsed arches and pillars came into view at once.
A strange silence hung over the ruined Ancient City.
Oh! Ooh!
-Daily sustenance!
Isto, who had descended belatedly, widened his LED eyes as he picked up a mana stone from the ground.
Hawkeye was already collecting mana stones and placing them in the Garage.
-We’ll live in abundance for quite some time.
Doo-ho began gathering them as well.
-Doo-ho, sir. You can rest inside the Garage if you’d like.
“No, no. I want to test something.”
-Yes, sir?
I immediately generated nanobots behind my back.
Whoosh.
A long tendril of nanobots extended, coiling around a mana stone and placing it in the Garage.
Then another tendril wrapped around another mana stone.
This was possible even before.
And thanks to the nanobot level-up….
‘I think something like this might be possible.’
Whoooosh—!
In an instant, dozens of nanobots split apart behind my back, extending in all directions.
Clack, clack-clack-clack-clack-clack!
The mana stones rolling across the floor were snatched up in a heartbeat.
The mana stones were immediately hurled into the Garage.
“It works!”
Phew.
-You resemble the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
“Thousand-Armed what?”
-A Buddhist statue with many hands, is it not?
Ah, I see.
I created dozens of arms behind my back and spread them out in a circular formation.
“You mean a Buddha that looks like this?”
-Oh! How magnificent!
Hahahaha, hehehehe, ehehehe….
After laughing together, we swept all the scattered mana stones into the Garage.
As I picked up the last mana stone and handed it to Isto.
Crunch, crunch.
He received the mana stone and chewed it down eagerly.
-The absorption rate is excellent!
Apparently displeased by that.
-Iron-headed fool. Rivers give generously when you draw from them. Eat sparingly!
-Strike while the iron is hot!
-Does that saying even fit here?!
-Huh?! Doesn’t it?
At their bickering, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Just a bit more and my level will rise, and I’ll have a considerable amount of mana stones too.’
Excellent, excellent!
That moment.
[Hidden Quest Triggered]
◈ Resealing the Inactive Zone
Time Limit: 02:30:00
Penalty for Refusal: 1 Save Point Lost
Success Reward: 3000P, Elixir
※Upon acceptance, the 2nd Floor will be temporarily locked.
Accept / Refuse
Isto reacted first.
Oh!
-3,000 points?! That’s incredible!
-Mechromancer! You’re giving us an Elixir!
Doo-ho’s eyes widened.
‘An Elixir?!’
I couldn’t help but recall the time Black Dragon had given me one.
That absurd efficiency—pushing past the nanobots’ limits in a single stroke.
‘Looking at the rewards alone… I can’t pass this up!’
A quest that seemed to overflow with profit.
Even glancing at the refusal penalty made the choice obvious.
Doo-ho took a short breath and spoke.
“If it’s resealing the inactive zone… it must be referring to that wall on the stairs, right?”
All three of their gazes turned simultaneously toward the stairwell wall where mana was emanating.
“We can handle it while climbing up.”
-That’s right! I’ll smash it to pieces. Hehehehe~.
Well…
The part about locking the 2nd Floor bothered me slightly.
‘But it said it would only be temporary.’
“Accept.”
Thump.
A heavy reverberation erupted beneath my feet.
Grrrrk—!
The grinding sound of stone echoed in succession.
“…What?”
The moment I turned around, the Stone Stairs began retracting sequentially into the wall from below.
What?!
I instinctively reached out.
Whoosh—!
The extended nanobots burrowed into the gap between the stairs and the wall.
Silver strands wedged in like a keystone, holding firm.
Hawkeye!
“Go up and destroy it!”
Tap! Tap-tap!
Hawkeye was already ascending the Stone Stairs.
But….
Crack, crack-crack! Whoooosh!
The nanobots could no longer hold and scattered explosively, the stairs crashing into the wall.
Yet Hawkeye refused to yield, scaling the wall instead.
The problem was….
The target point lay at a height beyond his capacity to reach.
Eventually, Hawkeye descended slowly along the wall, slipping back down.
-…My apologies.
“No, it’s fine.”
It’s beyond anyone’s control.
I said as much, but seeing the vanished stairs, my spirits sank.
‘Is this really a Quest, or just a trap…?’
As if answering my thoughts.
Thud, thud-thud….
A wooden automaton the size of an adult man emerged from between the buildings.
Its limbs were grotesquely elongated.
Its face bore a disturbingly twisted grin.
Hawkeye tightened his scope and muttered low.
Hmm…
-An Automata, it seems.
“That’s an Automata?”
Isto chimed in.
-A trivial creature that occasionally appears in Ancient City ruins.
Before he could finish.
Ooh! Kyeeee!
The creatures welcomed the Automata with fervent enthusiasm.
The reason was simple.
-Master Doo-ho! Experience points!
-I shall elevate you from F-rank!
Thrilled beyond measure, they burst forth immediately.
Doo-ho furrowed his brow.
‘Do they not grasp the gravity of this situation?’
Having never lived as the strong, Doo-ho could not fathom their mindset.
Whooom! Shwaaack—!
Regardless, fist and steel arrow converged simultaneously.
Crunch! Bang!
The Automata shattered effortlessly.
Everyone awaited the experience notification sound.
There was no response.
-…Huh?
Isto’s LED eyes transformed into question marks.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye approached the automaton’s remains and rummaged through its interior.
This thing….
-There’s no mana stone.
-What are you saying, you tin can? It can’t move without a mana stone!
-Iron-headed fool. Do you think I’m lying?
Doo-ho pulled up his status window.
『Experience: 4378 / 4392』
‘It’s exactly as it shows?’
That’s when it happened.
Thud. Thud….
Footsteps echoing from all directions.
Automatons began to emerge one by one, soon filling the urban landscape.
The absurd numbers sent a chill down Doo-ho’s spine.
‘They don’t even give experience….’
And I’m supposed to face this many?
* * *
Reports from hunters returning from the Abyss poured in all at once.
“The vines transformed into a giant hand!”
“It was so fast…. It dodged every vine attack while escaping.”
“It fights using the Abyss environment! This can’t be explained by anything other than Ghost!”
The AI counselor compiled the reports in real time.
Duplicate testimonies, matching circumstances, and discrepancies or exaggerations.
The organized data was immediately transmitted to the Ghost Task Force Team.
.
.
.
Ghost Task Force Team office.
The internal camera’s angle adjusted automatically.
The hologram displayed a duty officer asleep, slumped over the desk.
The AI issued a command to the Android handling miscellaneous tasks in one corner of the office.
Whirr, whine.
With a soft motor hum, the Android approached and gently tapped the officer’s shoulder.
Mmm….
The officer lifted his head with bleary eyes.
The Android pointed to the hologram.
-There is an urgent report.
“…A report?”
I skimmed through the hologram, but the drowsiness clinging to me made it difficult to absorb the information.
Eventually, I sighed and reached toward the dive port embedded at the back of my neck.
Click.
The moment the cable connected, my brainwaves shifted through the hologram interface.
Electrical signals stimulated my brain as the AI-organized information flowed in, compressed and condensed.
Drip.
A nosebleed trickled from the employee’s nose.
It was only a brief moment, but my brain had overloaded from the strain.
Damn it….
I muttered while plugging my nose with tissue.
“If it’s going to be like this, maybe I should just upgrade to a full-brain prosthetic….”
Still grumbling, I processed the information I’d received and disconnected the dive port.
A massive vine appendage.
Doo-ho and….
The death of a plant-type beast.
A sinkhole?
Each keyword was deeply unsettling.
With a hardened expression, I immediately contacted the Ghost Task Force Team Leader.
* * *
The Android awakens me with a small, quiet voice.
-Master.
“…?”
-The Ghost Task Force Team is calling.
Go Gyeong-taek sat up in bed, put on his smart glasses, and connected the call. Soon the Ghost Task Force Team Leader appeared on the hologram.
-My apologies for the late hour.
“Please, don’t say such things. There are people out there working without sleep.”
When Go Gyeong-taek offered a warm smile, the Team Leader’s expression visibly eased.
He asked.
“Is this a report related to Ghost?”
-Multiple reports have come in, and it appears something unusual is happening on the 2nd Floor.
“What kind of…?”
The Team Leader continued his report.
-Suddenly, vines clustered together and lunged at something, the swamp expanded, and then… the ground caved in.
Go Gyeong-taek’s eyes, which had been narrowed in thought as he stroked his chin, widened slightly.
Such an occurrence on the upper levels—that was unprecedented.
The report was clearly grave.
-At this level… I believe we should report this to the Chairman.
“Don’t.”
-Sir?
The Team Leader was startled by the sudden chill in Go Gyeong-taek’s tone.
Go Gyeong-taek soon masked that sharpness with a smile as he spoke.
“With all due respect, knowing that my grandfather is elderly, it seems inappropriate to cause him worry over something that isn’t even confirmed yet, doesn’t it?”
-Ah, yes. You’re right. I was shortsighted.
“More importantly, have the Scouts assemble at the Yeouido Abyss entrance, and prepare my equipment as well.”
-…You’re going in?
“There might be a Hunter who hasn’t come out yet.”
-But what if Ghost is in the middle of a Quest? Won’t that interfere….
Go Gyeong-taek’s smile faded.
“Team Leader.”
He called out briefly, then paused.
That silence was far more oppressive.
“Your words seem to have an edge to them.”
As the Team Leader stiffened, Go Gyeong-taek drove the nail home with a smile.
“I’m A-rank Go Gyeong-taek.”
-…I-I apologize. That wasn’t my intention….
“I understand. I do understand, but I’ll be the one to judge whether it will interfere.”
After ending the call, Go Gyeong-taek gazed out the window.
The moment the Chairman is informed, he’ll try to confront Ghost directly.
But.
‘If I make contact first and succeed in scouting him?’
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Not only the Clan’s and the Han Hyun-chul Family’s standing,
but holding the big card that is Ghost….
That would be me, Go Gyeong-taek.
I became a Mecromancer
Author |
Keongang E
Published |
February 25, 2026
Publisher |
TaleSyx
Website |
https://talesyx.com
Email |
[email protected]
ⓒ Keongang E, 2026
This publication is protected by copyright law and cannot be reproduced or transmitted without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0045
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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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