Became a Mechromancer - Chapter 88
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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 88.
Before the Sun Rises (6)
People who had been hiding throughout the Night Market emerged and gazed at the wreckage of combat robots scattered across the distant ground.
As their eyes shifted toward Lim Doo-ho, relief and admiration mingled in their expressions.
“Did that Android just pour out of thin air?”
“And he destroyed it without even laying a hand on it!”
“And the way he climbed that wall!”
“My God! He was floating in mid-air!”
As tension dissolved, some wiped their eyes while others collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way.
Then a young man muttered under his breath.
“If I had that kind of power, I would’ve stepped up too.”
Ignoring the disapproving gazes around him, the man spoke again.
“Honestly, isn’t it more shameless for someone with abilities to pretend they don’t see anything?”
Finally, a middle-aged woman cut off the young man’s words.
Listen here!
“Don’t speak so carelessly.”
“…What gives you the right?”
Crunch.
The middle-aged woman crushed the edge of a vendor’s stall. In truth, she was a cyborg.
“Were you hiding because you lacked power, just like him?”
“….”
“That implant arm alone shows clear signs of modification to boost output!”
“…!!”
Come to think of it.
The masked man told them to hide, then without hesitation threw himself at the combat robot alone.
Not once did any of them offer to help.
“We didn’t have the courage—we just hid. Yet you dare speak such shameless words?!”
In the end, the young man apologized under the sharp glares of those around him.
Meanwhile.
A female former Hunter was live-streaming this entire situation through her smart glasses.
The holographic chat window displayed on her smart glasses was absolute chaos.
『This is insane!!!!』
『Even the American S-rank telekinetic user isn’t on this level, right?』
『If we’re talking about Andre, it’s hard to say who’s superior between him and the masked man.』
『Military robot crushing!』
『Blood Soo could probably match that.』
『Who?』
『An assassin.』
『Don’t compare an assassin with a masked hero.』
Another topic emerges on the forum.
『Anyone else able to bring an Android into their personal subspace?』
『Yeah, this is a mystery to me too.』
『I think I can manage one.』
『I tried it and it didn’t work. ㅜㅜ』
『Didn’t the Masked One exceed ten?』
『Just looking at that proves the Masked One is off the charts!』
And shortly after.
『That destroyed robot was from the continent, so why are the continental folks staying silent?』
『Not a conspiracy! Apparently the continental people locked down the Night Market entrance on Chiko Island!』
As this post went up, the chat exploded with heat.
『Are you people out of your minds?』
『Were they trying to take over our territory?』
『It’s not even on the continental news.』
『This is the continent’s mistake!』
『Mistake my ass.』
All manner of conspiracy theories and angry posts flooded in at an accelerating pace.
Eventually, the smart glasses of the woman who had been streaming live overheated and shut down.
* * *
I shaped the combat robot’s armor into gold bars and loaded them into the Garage along with the Androids.
‘Doing this feels like I’m harvesting mana stones from magical beasts. Anyway….’
Bom-i.
“This time, not a single Android was damaged.”
-They’re supposed to be AIs, so shouldn’t they learn at least that much, ribbit?
“Sigh, you can’t compare them to you Super Intelligence types.”
Bom-i changed the subject.
Master.
-It looks like some of the people hiding over there are filming you. Is that okay, ribbit?
Hmm….
“I’m wearing a mask, so it should be fine.”
Of course.
The people around me will notice.
But here’s the thing.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
-But why do you wear a mask anyway, ribbit?
“Too much attention on anything is just… not ideal.”
-Iron Guy has an algorithm that’s naturally attention-seeking. You have it rough, master, ribbit.
I scratched my cheek.
Well….
‘He doesn’t cause any harm, so it’s fine.’
Then he activates a hologram window hidden in his smartwatch, and a conversation between a man and woman flows out.
-Is that person really a Production-class awakener?
-That’s what I’m told.
-From what I can see, they seem to be a psychic like the American Hunter Andre Roel.
-You mean the one who collapsed a building with telekinesis?
He’s eavesdropping on Hyun Se-hee’s conversation without meaning to.
Ahem.
Lim Doo-ho let out a fake cough.
-…!
Startled, Hyun Se-hee quickly asked.
-Are you hurt anywhere?
“Oh, no.”
-My employee was just startled, so please understand….
“It’s fine, really.”
As Lim Doo-ho answered quickly, Hyun Se-hee looked apologetic instead.
Then she relayed news to him.
-The Government is assembling a special team to enter Chiko Island within an hour!
“Oh, that’s fortunate!”
Having answered that way, Lim Doo-ho tilted his head.
‘It took eight hours by boat, but one hour?’
Hyun Se-hee answered.
-They’re coming by Wigdrone.
A Wigdrone was a transport aircraft that combined the propulsive force of drone propellers with the water-skimming technology of a Wigship.
Anyway.
“So I just need to hold out for an hour.”
-Yes, that’s right.
She added something as if it had just occurred to her.
-And those two mysterious Hunters? They’re apparently dealing with the combat robots.
“Mysterious Hunters?”
-They’re clearly strong, but it seems they deliberately didn’t register as Awakeners.
Lim Doo-ho retrieved a potion from the Garage and drank it, feeling oddly about this.
‘Everyone’s desperate to awaken, yet there are people like that.’
She revealed unexpected names.
-This is just between us, but those people are named Isto and the other one is Hawkeye.
Pfft—.
Cough, cough….
He sprayed out the potion he was drinking.
Puff—.
Bom-i puffed out her cheeks.
-I’m truly ashamed to be the same Super Intelligence, ribbit!
Lim Doo-ho exhaled sharply.
‘Sometimes I really wish I could peer into what’s going on in their heads.’
As Lim Doo-ho closed Hyun Se-hee’s channel with a laugh, his smart watch chimed again.
The moment he saw the caller’s name, he connected the channel immediately.
-Lim, you’re safe, right?!
“Yes, Manager.”
-Good, thank goodness.
Na Manager’s outfit, as he wiped his chest, was different from before.
“Manager, are you coming here?”
-Of course.
“But you said you were on a family trip….”
-Don’t talk nonsense like that.
Na Manager’s expression, as he answered, turned serious.
-Lim Doo-ho, listen carefully. I’ll ask Hyun Se-hee to help, so stay right beside her and hold on for just fifty minutes.
Lim Doo-ho scratched his head as he spoke.
“Manager, actually I came out here because I have a plan.”
A moment of silence.
Na Manager erupted in anger.
-Get back here right now! How dare you treat my employee like this!
Lim Doo-ho quickly cleared up the misunderstanding with Na Manager, who was blazing with fury.
He explained that he had orchestrated the plan himself, about the green stone, and even the Android modification.
“So currently, I have all the green stones.”
Beyond the hologram, Na Manager fell into thought for a moment.
From his expression, his mental calculations appeared complex.
“Manager, I understand if this seems unreliable to you….”
-Wait, hold on.
-Yes, sir.
Na Manager received a report from someone and shared a video with Lim Doo-ho.
When he opened it, it was a video of Lim Doo-ho himself.
‘Huh? This is from when I first disassembled the combat robot?’
When was this filmed?
Na Manager asked.
-We’ll get the details later, but you’re saying that if we have that green stone, suppression becomes easier, right?
It seemed he was asking based on the combat robot’s behavior visible in the video.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
-Hmm….
Just as Na Manager’s deliberation deepened.
“Manager, I’ll do what I can to reduce the opponent’s efficiency until the special team arrives. And since our military will deploy robots as well, I’ll recover the green stone accordingly.”
Na Manager’s voice became more composed than ever.
-Lim, promise me first—if things look bad, you run without hesitation.
Lim Doo-ho stared intently at Na Manager’s hologram.
Manager.
‘I’m… not that reckless. We’ve only just started to live comfortably.’
He wanted to say that, but instead masked it with a laugh. Na Manager then smiled faintly in return and spoke in a calm voice.
-Chief Lim.
“Yes, sir.”
-Before the sun rises, I’ll make sure you see the sunrise, Chief Lim. So you have to stay alive no matter what.
With those words, the channel cut off.
‘Thank you for those words alone, Manager.’
Lost in thought for a moment, Lim Doo-ho decided to change the plan.
Specifically.
“Bom-i, I think it would be better to join up with the others.”
-I was thinking the same thing, ribbit.
Besides, if Isto and Hawkeye get the green stone added to their arsenal, subjugation will become much easier.
And I can leave the retrieval to Hawkeye, who has the fastest legs.
Lim Doo-ho retrieved ten Androids from the Garage and stationed them to protect the people hiding in the Night Market.
‘I can just repair any broken ones I find along the way.’
Then, suppressing his presence with assassination techniques, he began to run.
Any Android he discovered while running, he immediately repaired and stockpiled in the Garage.
As he climbed the first-floor stairs, cold air brushed against him.
Is the dome still open?
He called out to Isto.
‘Isto, everything okay?’
-Oh! Doo-ho! Acho!
“…Isto?”
Then, instead of Isto, Hawkeye’s calm voice came through.
-There has been a development, Mechromancer.
Lim Doo-ho’s footsteps halted on the stairs.
‘What happened?’
-A terrorist is aiming a guided missile at the hostages.
‘What?!’
In other words, unable to stop Isto and Hawkeye by any means, the terrorist had bound their legs by targeting the hostages instead.
‘What are you two doing about it?’
-….
‘Hawkeye?’
This time, Isto spoke in his stead.
-We’re just taking the hits as he wants. Hehehehe.
Lim Doo-ho’s anger surged.
“Why are you only telling me this now!”
-It’s fine. If I twist slightly before the hits land, the damage decreases!
Lim Doo-ho pressed his forehead.
Regardless, the damage was accumulating.
‘Isto, I’m coming now, so wait for me!’
-Huh?! You’re really coming?!
‘Don’t call that talking!’
With those words, he kicked off the end of the staircase and burst into the ground floor corridor.
The air was crisp, confirming the dome was indeed open.
He began running through the corridor.
Fortunately, his biological assimilation level had risen considerably, so it wasn’t terribly cold.
Even though he was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt.
That’s when it happened.
Master.
-A panda’s chasing you from behind, ribbit?
‘A panda?’
He reflexively glanced back.
A woman wearing a panda mask was rushing toward him with ferocious momentum down the corridor.
“Kyaaaah!”
He accelerated even faster, as if he’d spotted a monster from a horror film.
Glance.
Looking back again, the panda was gaining speed and closing in.
Damn it!
‘What the hell is this…!’
My, my.
“You’ve grown quite a bit?”
The woman in the panda mask had caught up to Lim Doo-ho’s side.
Only then did he realize who she was.
‘What is this woman doing here?!’
Bom-i’s eyes had grown as wide as a bun.
-Master, do you know Panda Woman, ribbit?
‘Yeah. My assassination technique is from Blood Soo’s family martial arts!’
-So you were that family’s son-in-law, ribbit?
‘No! Isto gave me this woman’s assassination technique, I’m telling you!’
Blood Soo spoke again.
Copycat, dear~.
“Want to work under me?”
Oh geez!
‘Why would I become an assassin when I have a perfectly good job!’
Lim Doo-ho internally exploded and ran for his life.
She asked again.
“But Copycat, your telekinesis has gotten better. How did you manage that~?”
“….”
As Lim Doo-ho ran silently forward, the fork slipped from her grasp.
Great, as if I wasn’t anxious enough!
“Why are you….”
Just as he was about to shout in protest.
Whoosh, splat.
Bom-i’s long tongue shot through the air and slipped directly into the holographic mask of the panda-faced woman. In an instant, Bom-i’s belly pressed firmly against the smart glass lens.
Blood Soo was momentarily startled.
“What, what is that?”
She, who could dodge even stones falling by chance, had never experienced anything like this before.
Just as she was trying to peel the unidentified object from the lens.
-Croak.
“Croak??”
Looking closer, Bom-i—far larger than an ordinary tree frog—was stuck flat against the lens.
Puff—.
In an instant, the frog’s throat ballooned outward.
“Kyaaaah!”
Blood Soo shrieked and jerked her head back, but Bom-i simply flicked her tongue again, this time latching onto Lim Doo-ho’s back.
-Master, run, croak!
Lim Doo-ho glanced to the side.
She stood frozen in the distance, frantically shaking her head.
Unbelievable.
‘An assassin afraid of a frog?’
As Lim Doo-ho pushed forward, his vision suddenly opened wide.
At last—the Plaza where Isto and Hawkeye were waiting.
Became a Mech Romancer
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+A277-20260210015.0088
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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
—————