Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 86
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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 86.
Before the Sun Rises (4)
Crackle, whirr….
A sound like an impact driver erupting from the combat robot’s entire body.
The combat robot’s thick arms.
And its short, sturdy legs.
Every joint disengages, falling to the ground.
Thud—!
Clang, clang….
The moment it hits the floor, components scatter in all directions as if shattering into fragments.
When the Soul Bot burrowed into the combat robot’s interior, every fastening point simultaneously came undone.
Whirr— whirr—.
The combat robot thrashes about.
But its armor had already been completely disassembled, leaving only the motor and chassis.
Thump, thump.
I approached and glanced down at it for a moment.
The small guided missiles mounted on its chest made my skin crawl just looking at them.
Absolute madness.
‘Bringing a lethal robot into a tourist attraction.’
Whoosh.
I activated my Metal Manipulation skill and withdrew the Soul Bot once more.
I deformed the small guided missiles lodged in the combat robot’s chest so they wouldn’t detonate, then stored them in the Garage.
If I left them here, there’s no telling what kind of accident might occur next.
‘Whoever Zhang Wei is, he’s crossed a serious line.’
I turned and issued orders to the Androids.
“Dismantle it.”
The Androids rushed forward in unison.
The way they tore out the combat robot’s wiring and sensors looked like a pack of starving demons.
Whirr, wheeeeee!!!!
What had been a combat robot desperately pushed its main motor to maximum output. Its chassis trembled violently against the floor, and the screech of metal filled the dim Night Market.
Crunch—!
The Android whose leg had been grotesquely bent by the combat robot’s initial attack.
Its hand dug deep into the gap in the combat robot’s chest cavity.
And seized the main motor.
Then.
Rip—!
It tore the motor out with all its strength.
Whirrr….
Only then did the motor fall silent.
The combat robot’s body went limp.
Silence.
Scattered across the corridor floor were countless components and wiring tangled together.
Thud!
The Android with the bent leg set down the motor it had torn out onto the floor.
Bom-i, watching from Doo-ho’s shoulder, shuddered.
Master.
-That was genuinely terrifying, ribbit.
It seemed to have felt something akin to cannibalism among its own kind.
Doo-ho merely shrugged his shoulders.
And then.
Whoosh.
I loaded metal manipulation onto the Soul Bot and repaired the Android with the bent leg.
The warped leg frame returned to its original shape.
The already damaged artificial skin was beyond help.
The Android with the corrected leg tested moving it.
I swept my gaze across the surrounding floor.
‘That one just needs component replacement. That one is for parts….’
I quickly categorized the Androids to be repaired and organized the situation.
The Soul Bot split into multiple branches.
I rapidly replaced components on units that could be salvaged.
The hopeless ones—I sent only their intact parts to the Garage.
The entire process took barely a minute.
Six years of work in the Machine Upcycling Division proved invaluable.
Moreover, the Soul Bot moved the instant I thought of it.
I muttered to myself.
“I should have drunk the Heart Water earlier.”
-At least you drank it now, ribbit.
I nodded at Bom-i’s words and was about to move forward when—
Master!
-Don’t forget the Echometal Gloves, ribbit.
“You want me to take those in this situation?”
-Isn’t it easy to turn them into gold bars with metal manipulation, ribbit.
“Well, that’s true.”
-It’s only proper to claim the spoils, ribbit.
Ha.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
-Are you displeased, ribbit?
“No, let’s do it.”
Whoosh—.
Soul Bots flowed from my hands, sweeping across the floor and gathering fragments of Echoetal.
As metal manipulation was applied to the Soul Bots, they took on the shape of genuine gold ingots.
Duo-ho stuffed the spoils (?) and the Android into the Garage.
Actually, there was something.
Duo-ho had entertained such a thought before.
If only I could transfer the Android’s artificial intelligence to a combat robot.
But.
‘It wasn’t compatible with military systems.’
So, regrettably, I had ordered the Androids to dispose of it.
‘Well then, shall I go back?’
I began running at full speed.
My presence extinguished using Blood Soo’s assassination techniques.
* * *
Night Market Corridor.
The Drug Dealer crouched low, peering out through the gaps between collapsed vendor stalls.
Floating in the air was the exterior plating of a combat robot.
Armor forged from minerals extracted from the Abyss.
It was a metal so durable that Hunters processed it into weapons, and it was even used in military equipment.
Yet that impossibly hard exterior plating crumpled into a single mass, crushed by an invisible force without a single hand touching it.
The Drug Dealer shuddered.
It was impossible.
‘With just telekinesis…?’
The Drug Dealer swallowed hard.
Following someone of that caliber would only be a hindrance, not a help.
‘Is he insane? An S-rank Hunter?’
No, it was even stranger than that.
‘Why hasn’t there been even a rumor about someone like that until now?’
I’ve always kept tabs on any Hunter of note in this world.
That masked man wasn’t in the Hunter cards I’d collected.
‘Someone of that level should have become famous long ago.’
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sight.
Only after the masked man left did I carefully rise to my feet.
I ended the recording on my smart glasses, uploaded the footage to social media, and transmitted my current location and situation to the rescue network.
I had no intention of waiting passively for rescue.
“I’ll head to the Chinese Zone and ask them to open the door.”
And I immediately moved toward the Chinese Zone.
* * *
Chiko Island Main Security Room.
Zhang Wei stood before the control panel, flipping through holographic windows floating in the air.
Behind him.
Beyond the shattered door, the corridor was strewn with the tangled corpses of the Android and security personnel who had burst in to arrest Zhang Wei.
That was when it happened.
One of the combat robots I had released to eliminate the remaining people in the Night Market flashed red and then went dark.
Zhang Wei’s hand froze.
‘What just happened?’
He immediately pulled up the footage transmitted by the combat robot that had just shut down.
Several figures appeared in the distance down the dimly lit Night Market Corridor.
The combat robot began charging toward them.
Zhang Wei dragged the screen forward to identify who they were.
In that instant.
The screen spun and the feed cut out.
Zhang Wei replayed the absurd footage.
And shortly after.
Kekeke.
Laughter leaked from his lips.
‘So there’s someone on the other side who knows how to use their head.’
The fact that they had utilized the green stone in that brief moment meant the opponent was skilled at reading situations.
Zhang Wei immediately connected a channel to the Chinese Zone on Chiko Island.
A hologram soon materialized.
It was a young man with a delicate appearance and a friendly demeanor.
-When will you let us run wild?
‘He’s young, so he’s quite reckless.’
Zhang Wei spoke.
“Li Chen. Before that, there’s something we need to do first.”
-Please tell me.
“We need to head to the confiscated goods storage at Neutral Zone Underground Level 2.”
-You mean the green stones we brought in through that adult goods informant before?
Zhang Wei’s brow furrowed.
Only then did Li Chen settle down.
-The green stones… you mean.
“Yes. Take a spatial ability user and gather all the stones there, then bring them up. On your way out, you’ll encounter those coming to retrieve them.”
Zhang Wei gazed at Li Chen with a sinister smile.
“If they’re bothersome, dispose of them as you see fit. If they look useful, make absolutely certain to cut off their breath.”
What….
-So you’re saying to kill them all anyway?
“You said you wanted to run wild, so you don’t want to?”
-Of course not. That’s why I follow you, Zhang Wei.
“And secure the exits well when you leave the Chinese Zone.”
-Leave it to me.
The channel cut off shortly after.
A communication window materialized before me.
I reached out and connected the channel.
-Zhang Wei, we have a serious problem.
“What are you panicking about now?”
-The combat robots I was assigned… more than half of them are destroyed.
“…What?”
Zhang Wei rubbed the back of his neck.
‘Did this bastard take something?’
The man beyond the hologram spoke urgently.
-I know what you’re thinking, but I wish this were a dream too.
The man deliberately rotated his smartwatch.
Through the hologram, the Plaza came into view.
Destroyed combat robots were scattered everywhere across it.
Only then did Zhang Wei’s expression harden.
“You… you….”
Coming to his senses, Zhang Wei erupted in anger.
Why report now!
“What about the guided missiles?!”
-Do you think I’m an idiot? I already fired them… wait, hold on.
The man’s lips twitched.
As if something occurred to him, his gaze suddenly shifted.
People hiding in buildings came into view.
-That should do it.
“What are you talking about?”
-I’ll handle it quickly and report back.
“You bastard, what are you trying to—”
Before Zhang Wei could finish, the other party disconnected the channel.
He breathed heavily, clearly displeased.
Then he forcibly suppressed his emotions.
‘He said he’d handle it, so I’ll hear back from him.’
…Regardless.
‘Who the hell is destroying the combat robots?’
Zhang Wei commanded the AI to filter only Hunters from the current list of entrants, then scanned the windows floating before him.
Only officially ranked Hunters from B-Class to A-Grade.
The first name that caught his eye was Go Gyeong-taek.
The name alone was unremarkable.
He’d been on television recently because of Ghost or whatever, and he’d faced him directly on the ship yesterday, so there was no way he wouldn’t know.
The problem was the next name.
Seol Ye-na?
‘Who the hell is this?’
In that instant, a scene from inside the ship flashed through his mind.
Ah!
“The crazy woman in the panda mask standing across from Go Gyeong-taek?”
If so, that actually made some sense.
The woman in the panda mask had been matching Go Gyeong-taek blow for blow.
“So that was Seol Ye-na.”
But.
Even if both were Grade A, they’d be woefully inadequate against a combat robot.
Damn it….
‘Why does my plan keep falling apart?’
* * *
Three men emerged from the Chinese Zone on Chiko Island.
One of them was Li Chen.
They immediately began running.
After sprinting for a considerable distance, they reached the vicinity of the Korean Night Market.
A man wearing smart glasses was looking around ahead, walking toward them.
The moment he spotted Li Chen’s group, his face went rigid.
He stumbled backward as if seized by fear.
Li Chen slowed his pace and asked in Chinese.
“What’s wrong?”
The man’s eyes widened, and he urgently asked in broken Chinese if the door had opened.
Li Chen offered a friendly smile and spoke in halting Korean.
“Yeah, it opened.”
Then he asked with a serious expression.
“Why is it like this here?”
Relief washed over the man’s face.
“…I’m alive.”
The man clung to him, his voice trembling.
“Please, take me back to the Chinese Zone.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Oh God, don’t even ask. Some madman brought a combat robot into the Korean Island Section. People are being killed by it, running away….”
Li Chen listened without speaking.
Gradually, a faint smile crept across his lips.
The man who had been rambling slowly fell silent.
His jaw trembled.
The man took a step backward.
Li Chen tilted his head.
“Why did you stop talking and back away?”
The man’s lips quivered.
“Y-you’re not…?”
Only then did Li Chen’s lips curve upward.
“Yeah. That madman is our boss.”
He slowly raised his blade.
Ah….
The man, trembling like an aspen leaf, squeezed his eyes shut.
The blade descends toward his neck.
Clang.
With a sharp metallic ring, the blade bounced sideways.
The man collapsed where he stood.
Opening his eyes, the man quickly touched his neck.
Remarkably, he bore no wound whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Li Chen’s eyes narrowed.
With good reason.
Something was embedded in his blade.
‘A, a fork??’
In that moment.
Oh my.
“Hunters live and die by their gear~.”
A woman wearing a panda mask approached silently from across the way.
She raised her hand slightly.
Whoosh─.
The fork embedded in the blade was pulled free and sucked into Blood Soo’s hand.
She tilted her head.
“Guess the equipment is cheap?”
I Became a Mechromancer
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 may not be reproduced or transmitted without permission.
UCI |
G720:N+A277-20260210015.0086
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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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