Different (2)
Several days later.
As Du-ho stepped out of the design port, a satisfied smile spread across his face.
After spending every night analyzing the product data Isto had gathered and revising the design again and again, he had finally finished the auxiliary device.
It was both his competition entry and equipment for his father.
Even the simulation results had come out well.
Now all that’s left is building it.
Lately, Du-ho hadn’t been resting even after work. He usually spent the night in the Garage, juggling the design and Isto’s repairs at the same time.
Of course, with Isto inside the Garage, time was effectively endless.
Even so, it had still been hard to wrap everything up in one go.
Doing it all at once would’ve been too much.
So he had broken the work into several days.
If there was one saving grace, it was this:
As my level went up, my understanding of the Mana Circuit deepened a lot.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even been able to touch this project.
In any case, that was why Isto was lying on the workbench.
“Today it’s your shoulder repair?”
“That’s right~.”
As Isto lifted an arm, the damaged mana circuit beneath the armpit was revealed.
Du-ho extended his fingertips.
Silver nanobots poured from his hand and slipped into the joints.
Crack, crack—
As tiny sparks flared, the damaged circuit began to mend.
Du-ho, focused on the work, suddenly seemed to remember something and let out a snort of laughter.
“By the way, Assistant Manager Park’s changed a bit lately.”
“Oh! In what way?”
Du-ho examined Isto’s recovering mana circuit as he spoke.
“You heard about it too, right? When I said I was going to use discarded parts for the competition, he told me to take something better instead.”
“Ah! Ah!”
“That damn idiot’s words shocked me too.”
“Assistant Manager Park, I mean.”
Isto’s LED eyes narrowed into a straight line.
“Still, never let your guard down. People can’t be fixed and reused, after all. Ehehe.”
“Sigh… enough. Just lift your arm.”
“Oh! Yes.”
While lightly scolding him, Du-ho continued manipulating the nanobots.
The repair was nearing completion.
[Proficiency has increased.]
A smile deepened at the corners of his mouth.
“Du-ho nim, are you in a good mood?”
“If my skills are improving, why wouldn’t I be?”
“A sense of accomplishment!”
“Exactly.”
Hahaha. Ehehehe.
Their laughter filled the Garage.
Then Du-ho spoke again.
“I should sell part of the magic stone stock.”
“Going to Yeouido?”
“Yeah.”
Du-ho withdrew the nanobots.
“It’s done, so try moving it once.”
Whirr.
Isto slowly moved the arm.
It was smooth at a glance.
Ooh—
“Feels good!”
Du-ho leaned his head back and rolled his neck loose.
I’ve been focusing for days. I’m worn out.
Then his eye caught a transparent bottle on the wall shelf.
A bottle filled with a shimmering golden liquid.
That’s…
It was the gift the Black Dragon had given him.
I wonder how the dragon’s doing.
As Du-ho stepped over to the shelf and picked up the bottle, Isto hurried over.
“Oh! You’ve still just left that sitting there?!”
“Huh? What is this?”
“It’s Elixir.”
From the corner, Hawk—no, Hoguai—cut in.
“A mana-boosting tonic made from dragon blood.”
“So it’s like a legendary potion.”
When Du-ho turned his gaze, he saw Hoguai crouched in the corner, his targeting scope fixed on the floor.
As though the whole world were unfair.
Still…
He’s pouting because of his name.
The truth was, no matter how often Du-ho called him Hawk-eye, the summon never reacted.
Due to the mechanics of the Soulbot, he only responded to the first name that had been input: Hoguai.
That only bruised his pride more.
Du-ho let out a sigh.
If I ever want to change his name, I’ll have to become S-rank first.
Though whether that would ever happen was another question.
Anyway.
The moment he was about to set the bottle down, Isto grabbed his collar.
“No way! You have to drink it right now!”
“Huh? Why?”
Shouldn’t something like this be saved for when he really needed it?
“If you drink the Elixir, your mana will increase explosively, and the quality of your mana will change too!”
Isto kept going.
“More than that, you need to get used to the increased mana and lay a proper foundation if you want to grow stronger.”
In that case…
“Then I’ll drink it.”
“Ohhh!”
“Good. I’ll inject the knowledge you need to master the Elixir right now! Adadadadada!”
Along with the summon’s goofy antics, a flood of knowledge poured into Du-ho’s head.
Ugh.
The headache felt like his skull might split open.
Which meant the knowledge was substantial.
“…Isto.”
“Yes?”
“Warn me before you dump knowledge into my head.”
“Understood. Ehehe.”
The LED eyes curved into cheerful crescents.
So bright. Too bright.
Still…
In a way, that was part of his charm.
Pop!
Du-ho opened the bottle cap.
He had expected a bloody smell, but surprisingly, a sweet fragrance tickled his nose instead.
Glug, glug.
The golden liquid slid down his throat.
It was smoother than honey and cooler than water.
Then, almost immediately—
Wuuuuung—
Mana surged from the deepest part of his body as though it were exploding. A hot current spread along his blood vessels, and every cell in his body seemed to awaken at once.
Thud.
Du-ho sat down and crossed his legs.
When the Elixir circulates through my whole body, I need to realign the mana circuit.
The Elixir raced through him at speed, gathering in his chest before spreading back out through his mana circuit.
A faint light leaked from his body.
Wuuuuuuung—
The vibration kept growing.
Remembering the knowledge Isto had sent him, Du-ho gathered the flow of mana at the center.
Deep inside his heart.
In the silence, as though even time had stopped, he did nothing but absorb, learn, and control.
How long had passed?
Swish—
Silver dust spilled from his fingertips.
There was far more of it than before, and it flowed more smoothly too.
[Nanobot level has increased.]
[Nanobot level has increased.]
[Nanobot level has increased.]
[Nanobot lev…]
…What?
“What kind of ridiculous level-up is this?”
Du-ho’s eyes widened.
He hurriedly pulled up his status window.
[Main]
Name: Im Du-ho
Class: Mechromancer
F-rank Lv.62
EXP: 2292/2362
Traits: Super-Intelligence Summon / Dismissal, Garage
Collection: Isto, Hoguai
Skills: Metal Manipulation, Part Detection
Dimensional Passage, Nanobot Lv.6
Mana Affinity 97, Machine Knowledge 104
Crafting Power 100, Mana Circuit 85
Available Stat Points: 48
Everything else was exactly the same.
But…
Only the Nanobot skill went up to level 6?
It was good, but something about it felt strange.
Isto’s LED eyes flashed as he cried out.
“Oh! Ohhh! Du-ho nim, your total mana has definitely increased!”
“Then why hasn’t my level changed?”
At Du-ho’s question, Isto explained.
“This time, it wasn’t System EXP. Your body was strengthened by the dragon’s blessing.”
“Then the nanobots?”
“I told you before, didn’t I? When your mana becomes stronger, not just your stats but these guys grow stronger too.”
“…Ah. Right.”
“On top of that, the density of your mana has gone up!”
“Density?”
“Yep. Quality matters more than quantity. One elephant beats a hundred ants!”
When Du-ho spread his palm, silver nanobots scattered into the air and danced.
Their movement was smooth and precise, as if tracing lines of light.
It really is different.
Then a thought struck him.
When he touched the Nanobot entry in the status window, a new panel opened.
├─ Tier 1:Base ability ✓
├─ Tier 2:Enhanced ability ✓
└─ Tier 3:New ability — UNLOCKED ★
Of course.
“I thought this window might open too.”
Du-ho narrowed his eyes and examined the Nanobot panel.
The defense and attack modes Isto had mentioned before had indeed been unlocked.
He gave his fingertips a light flick.
In an instant, the nanobots formed a sharp shape in midair.
When he pictured defense, the nanobots wrapped around him in a flash.
Wow…
Admiration escaped him before he could stop it.
Next time, I’ll be able to help too.
* * *
Several days later, at lunchtime.
Yeouido Sector 2 commercial district.
Beyond the café’s broad glass window, a woman sat as if she’d stepped out of a painting.
Her silver hair spilled over her shoulders, and her chiseled features were so unreal they seemed capable of swallowing even the surrounding noise.
She set down her espresso and fixed her gaze on the augmented display of her smart glasses.
Her amber eyes scanned the documents like a machine.
Then one file caught her attention.
Bundang Expressway Rift
Occurrence: XX month XX day, 16:42
Disappearance: XX month XX day, 17:02
“Until it vanished… twenty minutes?”
For the first time, something meaningful slipped from her lips.
Even for an upper-layer Rift, it usually took at least two hours to disappear, and on a bad day, an entire day could pass before it closed.
And this one had gone in twenty minutes?
What kind of one-sided slaughter was that?
She connected a call at once.
A man with a scruffy beard appeared on her smart glasses.
“Oh, Susan.”
“Jacob. Send me every document related to the Bundang Expressway Rift.”
“Not even an Abyss, and you want every little Rift like that?”
“I’m checking whether there were any meaningful variables in the year before the upper floors of the Abyss disappeared.”
“You’re ruthless. Absolutely ruthless. Fine, hold on.”
Susan waited while sipping her espresso.
After a moment, Jacob’s voice came through again.
Hm?
“There’s one civilian who was rescued at the time.”
“A civilian? How did they end up there?”
“The report says a driverless taxi got sucked into the Rift, and then a natural awakened.”
She cut a piece of tiramisu with her fork and ate it.
“So what’s the civilian’s identity?”
“Let’s see… huh?”
Jacob’s voice was suddenly laced with confusion.
“They declined personal-information consent when registering as an awakened? What kind of case is this?”
Susan tilted her head.
They hid their existence of their own accord. Why…?
That was when Jacob perked up.
“Oh-ho?”
“What now?”
“Could one person solo-sixty-two Ratkins and one Kings Ratkin?”
“…Jacob, I’m not a hunter.”
“You’re still an awakened, though.”
After a brief thought, Susan answered.
“I’ve trained in even tougher conditions in simulation, so… yes.”
“Tch! Must be a natural talent monster.”
Ping—
Jacob sent the document over.
It was a report bearing the seal of the Hansan Guild master.
Rift Suppression Notes
Rescue status: 1 survivor (awakened confirmed)
Suppression record: 62 Ratkin corpses, 1 Kings Ratkin corpse
Rift status: Cleared
Notable point: The rescue target single-handedly completed the monster suppression.
Susan’s brow furrowed.
“…What is this?”
“If someone killed that many on their first awakening alone, then it explains why the Rift closed in twenty minutes.”
In the silence, only Susan’s heartbeat seemed to throb low in her ears.
“...Susan?”
“Find out who this person is. Immediately.”
“That’s hard without the person’s consent. And I can’t exactly say for certain this is the ‘Ghost’ we’re looking for…”
“I’ll decide that.”
“So you want me to hack the Republic of Korea Hunter Administration’s servers right now? Is the Cheoncheon Clan shielding me or what?”
“Who said anything about that? Trace the route of the driverless taxi that entered the Bundang Expressway that day and hour, then scrape every nearby CCTV feed and cross-check them. That should do it.”
Damn it!
“That’s still government-system hacking!”
“The weather’s nice. Want me to take your head off and see how you like it?”
“Aigoo~ our Susan is still as tart and savage as ever. Fine, I’ll get to work right away!”
After ending the call, Susan stared at the report.
A cold smile formed on her lips.
“Interesting.”
Just then—
“Excuse me, are you alone?”
A greasy English accent brushed her ear.
Without permission, a man had taken the seat across from her, wearing a shameless smile.
“I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but you’re really my type. Mind if I talk to you for a minute…”
Susan didn’t answer.
She merely kept reading the report through her smart glasses.
The man maintained his grin with effort.
“Ah, you’re working. Nice. So what do you do?”
Even though she continued ignoring him, he kept talking to her.
In the end, he muttered under his breath in Korean, “What a stuck-up bitch.”
His gaze landed on the wallet beside Susan’s coffee cup.
…Hmm.
That’ll do.
He deliberately nudged the saucer so the wallet fell.
Clink—
At the sound of the wallet hitting the floor, Susan turned her head slightly.
Oops.
“My apologies.”
At that moment, his other hand shifted subtly inside his sleeve.
A white capsule pinched between his fingers.
The instant his fingertips brushed past the espresso cup—
Crack!
The man’s wrist twisted backward.
“Ghk—!”
At the same time, the pill slipped from his hand, rolled across the table, and dropped to the floor.
Susan’s fork, which had been spearing tiramisu, now hovered in front of his Adam’s apple.
Scrape.
The sound of metal brushing skin.
Looking down at the tiny pill on the floor, Susan whispered in low, cold Korean,
“You damn druggie.”
“Run as far as you can. I’ll find you in a little while and kill you.”
The café was still noisy.
Amid the laughter and conversation, no one noticed the killing intent that had just brushed over this table.
Tap.
When she let go, the man fled in a panic.
Susan rested her chin on her hand as if nothing had happened.
On her smart glasses, a map of Yeouido appeared.
She enlarged the map with her fingers, and a tiny dot raced away somewhere in the city.
She hummed to herself, sounding almost amused.
“Hide-and-seek, hide-and-seek, don’t let me see your hair.”
After checking the time, she stood and walked out.
A moment later, a café employee came to clear the table and frowned in confusion.
…Weird.
“Where did the fork go?”