Mechromancer (3)
All the hunters’ eyes fixed on Kings Ratkin.
The leader drew in a sharp breath and asked, “Did you… take care of this by yourself?”
Im Du-ho realized immediately that he’d stepped into a bad situation.
What do I do?
He couldn’t bring up the humanoid. If he mentioned the thing that had made the impossible possible after seventy years, he might end up rubbing the hunters the wrong way.
Most hunters had a strong aversion to cyborgs and androids that threatened their place in the world.
A young hunter stood in front of the Kings Ratkin, which was now nothing more than a pair of severed hind legs, and tilted his head.
“Wow! Looks like it got blasted in one shot.”
Cold sweat ran down Du-ho’s back.
Just as he was trying to think of a way out, a driverless taxi came into view.
Ah!
“I didn’t do it.”
“Pardon?”
Du-ho pointed straight at the taxi.
“I think the taxi got sucked in and hit the Kings Ratkin. When I opened my eyes, it was already like that….”
The hunters looked at the taxi. Not a scratch on it.
It was hard to believe, but thinking about it another way, there was no reason for an Awakened to hide his abilities unless he had to.
The stronger he appeared, the better he would be treated.
Ah!
The leader slapped his hands together with a sharp clap.
“I see! That taxi must have weighed at least a ton, and it got dragged hard into the Rift….”
Taking the leader’s cue, the rest of the hunters built the story for themselves.
“Oh, so the Kings Ratkin just got crushed by it.”
“Well, damn. So the rumors are true—machines really are stronger than monsters, as long as mana interference isn’t involved!”
“Hey, without mana interference, aren’t we all out of work?”
“Hahaha!”
At someone’s joke, everyone burst out laughing.
Then one of them suddenly turned serious.
“I’m not joking. Why are scientists so desperate to steal our jobs?”
“Same with androids! A few clueless Awakened caused a stir, and now they want to lump everybody together and crack down on them like that’s some kind of solution!”
“So what if they do? The moment a Rift opens, they’re dropping like flies.”
“We’re irreplaceable, that’s what.”
“Don’t be too sure, kid.”
“Oh, come on! If there really were robots like that in the world, I’d eat my own words.”
At the last hunter’s remark, Du-ho clamped his lips shut.
Then why don’t you eat a handful of dirt on my behalf?
Just be quiet.
…
Anyway, judging by the mood, the Kings Ratkin seemed to have been brushed off without incident.
But it still wasn’t over.
“What happened to the sixty Ratkins?”
The hunters’ attention turned back to Du-ho.
Du-ho glanced at the Ratkin corpses scattered across the floor.
The scene was brutal.
Crushed heads were the least of it; many of their limbs had been twisted into grotesque shapes.
Some had been torn apart like sheets of paper, and their furry tails lay limp and pitiful.
In the end, Du-ho’s only option was pure nonsense.
No one had seen anything anyway!
“…Are you interrogating me right now?”
He shoved back hard, even though he couldn’t think of a proper excuse.
And then, in an instant, a powerful wave of mana seeped out from him.
Everyone flinched.
That made sense. The density of mana spilling from Du-ho’s body was unusually strong.
Meanwhile, unable to make sense of any of it, Du-ho blinked, while a voice echoed in his head.
-I let a little of my mana circuit’s energy leak out, just to match what Mechromancer-nim said.
You’re freelancing now, are you?
-Heh. Looking at their faces, it seems to have worked, doesn’t it?
Once he listened more carefully, it was obvious that the hunters’ expressions had changed.
They looked like beasts that had just spotted a predator.
“Y-You’re strong.”
The leader, finally finding his voice, went on.
“…That wasn’t the intention behind the question, so I hope you’ll understand.”
Since things had already come this far, Du-ho decided to play along.
He’d learned from social life that if he let people look down on him, he was the only one who suffered for it.
“I was on edge too. That’s all.”
“I understand. Of course.”
The young hunter jumped in with obvious admiration.
“To be this strong at your first awakening… that’s incredible!”
“It’s nothing.”
“Ha! And modest too.”
“It’s not modesty. I really just got lucky.”
Watching Du-ho wave the praise away, the leader murmured to himself.
Luck, huh…. That’s good in its own way.
No matter how skilled a hunter was, nothing was more troublesome than one with rotten luck.
Then the leader’s voice and the super-intelligence’s overlapped in Du-ho’s head.
-To be shocked by something like this? They really are nothing special. You should subdue them at once and—
“Would you perhaps be interested in joining our guild after your Awakened test…?”
“Ah, shut up!”
Du-ho snapped at the super-intelligence, and the hunters all jolted in sympathy.
A brief silence fell.
Du-ho pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Sorry. I’m still not in perfect condition… it’s taking me a while to adjust.”
He put on an exhausted act.
It was awkward to be caught up in a weird misunderstanding, but—
Isn’t the timing actually pretty good?
He had just cleared sixty Ratkins the moment he awakened, and on top of being a late-blooming Awakened, he even had the makings of a headline.
So of course they would try to scout him.
Of course, all of this had only happened because of the super-intelligence’s misunderstanding.
And that meant what he needed now was simple.
Draw a line.
He had to keep the humanoid hidden, after all.
“I… get stressed to the brink when people pay too much attention to me. I just want to escape the spotlight, honestly.”
“Ah, I see.”
The leader signaled his companions with a glance, telling them not to rush the recruitment offer.
Even so, if they wanted to leave a favorable impression for the future, they needed at least one memorable gesture.
The leader’s gaze settled on the Ratkin corpses. Soon he drew a dagger and walked over to them.
“I’ll help you extract the mana stones.”
“…Mana stones?”
“Yes. When you take down a monster, you’re supposed to remove the mana stone. They’re worth a fair bit, and it’s the Awakened’s rightful share.”
With practiced hands, the leader split open the Ratkins’ chests and pulled out the tiny jewel-like mana stones inside.
His fellow hunters quickly joined in, and before long they had gathered more than sixty mana stones, plus the one from the Kings Ratkin that had lost its upper body entirely.
“Here you go.”
The leader handed Du-ho the pouch of mana stones.
“If you just register as an Awakened, you can cash these out right away.”
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it. And if the Administration Bureau ever asks about the source, just say the Guild Master of Hansan Guild, Han San-ho, vouched for you. Once we’re out of the Rift, I’ll record it in the remarks section immediately.”
With that, Guild Master Han San-ho placed his business card in Du-ho’s hand.
Du-ho glanced at the card, puzzled.
He’s a guild master? For what is basically just a party?
Something felt off, but he decided not to think too hard about it.
More importantly—
This level of kindness should be safe to accept, right?
Right then, Han San-ho asked, “What are you going to do after you get out of here, Im Du-ho?”
“I think I should head home first. I’m still shaken, and I need time to sort out my thoughts.”
“Of course. You’ve been through something sudden, so it’s only natural that you’d be in shock.”
Han San-ho added, “And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.”
It was already more than a little burdensome, but Du-ho tucked the card into his pocket and let out a breath of relief.
Thank goodness. This stayed within a reasonable range.
-It would be simpler if you just subdued them. I don’t see why you insist on taking the long way around….
Shut up!
-I’m only saying this so Mechromancer-nim’s plan for world conquest doesn’t run into trouble.
Du-ho shook his head.
Then the door of the hunter-only shuttle van opened, and Du-ho stepped out.
“Thank you so much for today!”
“Think nothing of it. I’ll be in touch again.”
Han San-ho had driven him all the way home.
The reason was simple.
With the sudden Rift outbreak, Du-ho’s digital devices had broken, and he had no way to call for transport.
He watched the hunter vehicle recede into the distance.
Step. Step.
Then he started walking through the neighborhood.
By some twist of fate, it was earlier than quitting time.
Is Assistant Manager Park pissed off, I wonder?
Or maybe—
Maybe he even wanted me dead.
-How dare he! Which bastard would dream of laying a hand on Mechromancer-nim—
“…….”
Du-ho said nothing.
The more he reacted, the more he had to keep talking with the super-intelligence.
Step. Step.
He walked down an alley lined tightly with multi-family homes converted from old industrial buildings.
Small shops occupied the first floors, while studios and half-basement apartments had become housing for ordinary people on the upper floors.
Every rooftop had a landing pad for delivery drones.
With delivery drones now part of everyday life, the job of delivery driver had disappeared.
How did Du-ho know that so well?
Because my father was a delivery driver.
It wasn’t exactly something he felt good or bad about.
Even the eight o’clock news had once aired a segment on him.
Under the headline: The Last Delivery Driver.
He kept walking slowly.
When was the last time I walked around this carefreely?
-What kind of bastard worked Mechromancer-nim half to death like that!
“Money, that’s what.”
-Hmm. Right now, world conquest….
“Hey. You keep saying world conquest, but can you actually conquer the world right now?”
-First, Mechromancer-nim needs to grow stronger.
Again?
-And we’ll need to build up our forces as well.
And then?
-If you’d like, I can brief you on the—
Du-ho came to a halt.
“That’s complete bullshit.”
-Eh?!
A silence stretched between them.
Du-ho spoke first.
“Listen. Unless world conquest is possible by tomorrow morning, could you just shut up?”
…
“My family’s poor. That means I need to make money. And you want me to worry about world conquest? I can tell exactly what kind of idiot built you.”
…
“Why so quiet? For all that, are you even a super-intelligence?”
…What should I do?
At that, Du-ho snorted.
Then he went on, “A strong foundation comes first. Only then can I build strength without worrying, or ruin the whole world if I feel like it.”
Oh! Oh! So first we need to solve Mechromancer-nim’s financial hardship!
“If you get it, then help with that first. Got it?”
-Then once that’s solved, world conquest…
“Don’t get ahead of yourself!”
-Understood!
He started walking again.
Then he stopped and looked at a driverless butcher shop.
Yun Family Butcher Shop - 70 Years of Tradition
The holographic sign displayed sizzling beef.
Beyond the smart glass storefront were neat refrigerated display cases and an automated packing system.
But to Du-ho’s eyes, something else overlapped the scene.
From when he was little.
The butcher grandfather slicing samgyeopsal by hand with a machine.
“Meat~ meat!”
The day his younger siblings had tugged at his clothes.
Du-ho had looked up at his father.
His father had smiled more generously than usual, because it was payday.
His mother had scolded the children even while picking out an extra bundle of lettuce.
Thinking back on those days, Du-ho looked at the driverless butcher shop.
Yeah. Since I’ve awakened and all, today….
He pulled out his wallet and took out a card.
“Let’s eat until we burst.”
What’s that?
“A card.”
A card?
Du-ho let out a long breath and asked, “You do know this world pretty well, right?”
…!
“You don’t even know what a card is, and you’re talking about world conquest?”
Gathering information isn’t my field.
No, you lunatic.
“How does it make sense for a super-intelligence to be clueless about information?”
I’m not allowed to connect directly to the communication systems used by humans.
“Why not?”
Because that’s how it’s set up. Ah! Of course, I can read books and use communication devices through the humanoid.
What suddenly crossed Du-ho’s mind was this:
What, are they afraid I’d fire nukes if I connected directly?
If the conditions are right, I could! But it was blocked from connecting in the first place.
Only then did Du-ho understand.
In other words, there were safeguards to keep the super-intelligence from running wild.
Well…
I really do have awful gacha luck.
-Huh? I’m the one who came out, and you say your luck is awful?!
Ignoring it, he stood in front of the butcher shop.
The automatic door opened, and cool air spilled out.
-Welcome. Yun Family Butcher Shop, seventy years of tradition~
The AI voice greeted him softly.
In front of the refrigerated display case, Du-ho scanned the samgyeopsal section.
Samgyeopsal, 3 kg.
“Let’s eat until we burst!”
Normally, he never would have had the nerve.
But—
I’m not living like that anymore!
Exactly! You’ve got me on your side, Mechromancer-nim! I’ll support you properly from here on out!
Du-ho smiled faintly and selected the meat from the hologram with a tap.
-That will be 80,000 coins. Please choose your payment method.
He paid by card and gave a small laugh.
His mother would scold him for it when he got home.
But even so—
If I sell the mana stones, I’ll have around 3 million coins coming in.
“Guild Master Han told me that the Rift-clearance cost was 5 million coins.”
He carried the bag of meat out of the butcher shop.
On the way, he bought some lettuce too.
The alley was bathed in sunset.
Warm light gently wrapped around his shoulders.
Maybe that was why a smile naturally spread across his lips.
My little brothers….
Tonight, I’m going to feed you meat until you’re begging for mercy.
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