Translator: Nox
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Small Mechanical Creature
Small Mechanical Creature
There was no hostility detected—only curiosity.
‘It doesn’t look like it’s planning to approach… but I should still give a warning.’
Cheon Do-yoon drew upon the monster aura he usually kept suppressed.
With a sudden rush of power, birds scattered in every direction.
Over 500 types of monster auras erupted simultaneously, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Even the mechanical creature flinched and retreated, hiding behind a tree.
‘This should be enough to keep it from entering my home uninvited.’
Unless it wanted a fight, it would keep its distance. Cheon Do-yoon glanced in its direction once more, then turned away.
* * *
At the waterfall, he pulled out the vacuum-sealed clothes.
Five shirts and five pairs of pants. If he could wash these properly, he wouldn’t have to walk around looking like a caveman wrapped in rawhide.
‘The powder's hardened too much. I don’t think it’ll wash off easily… maybe I should soak it first.’
He submerged the stiffened clothes in water, weighing them down with stones so they wouldn’t drift. That was done.
‘While I’m here, might as well grab something for dinner.’
Cheon Do-yoon stepped into the pool. No bait necessary.
The moment he entered, several fish-like creatures approached, trying to nibble at his legs.
He grabbed one barehanded.
“Come to think of it, I still have ramen at home.”
He stared at the fish in his hand. Would it work if he cooked it with ramen? He pondered the idea seriously.
Fish in ramen—especially a notoriously pungent aquatic monster—would’ve made any sane person stop him.
But Cheon Do-yoon hadn’t eaten human food in over seventy years. The idea didn’t feel strange to him.
‘Yeah. I have utensils and ramen now. I should cook something.’
He eyed the fish with growing curiosity.
“I’ll need to remove the guts because of the toxins… guess I’ll start with that.”
His fingernails extended like blades. With precision, he sliced open the fish’s belly, scooped out the guts, and tossed them into the water.
Splash. As soon as they hit the surface, a swarm of fish devoured them.
‘The bones’ll be annoying too. Better get rid of those.’
He yanked the bones out and discarded them. Those, too, were quickly eaten.
‘Now, how do I scale this thing? Should I use a rock?’
The fish’s scales were spiky and rigid.
Cheon Do-yoon pulled a thread from his fingertip. He pressed it against the fish and tested the angle.
‘Let’s try it.’
He dragged the thread backward along the grain of the scales.
“Wow, that works better than expected.”
The silk from an S+ grade monster, the Silkworm Caterpillar—normally used for hunting—now doubled as a scaling knife.
With the scales gone, pale flesh was revealed. He rinsed it in the stream until the blood was cleared.
“Not sure if I’m doing this right, but… it’s done.”
Whether the process was correct or not, he now had fish for the ramen.
‘Anyway… why is that mechanical creature still following me?’
He glanced past the bushes.
When he’d flared his aura earlier, it had fled. But now it was back, hovering nearby again.
Still keeping its distance—about 300 meters. Not close, but not far either.
‘Did it realize I’m a chimera? Or is there another reason?’
Whatever the case, since it wasn’t approaching, he had no intention of making the first move.
With the cleaned fish in hand, he headed home.
* * *
Cheon Do-yoon laid out the ramen and utensils, then sat in front of them. He had the ingredients. Time to cook.
‘I remember eating ramen at the orphanage...’
He was about seven or eight years old then. He couldn’t recall the taste, but the memory was strong: it was delicious.
“I’ll figure it out once I try it.”
He poured clean water into a pot. While waiting for it to boil, he read the cooking instructions on the packet.
‘No mention of how to add fish. Should I put the noodles in first, or the fish?’
It was his first time cooking ramen. Technically, his first time cooking human food at all.
After pondering for a while, he tossed the fish in first.
As the water started boiling, a powerful fishy stench filled the air.
And not just any fish—this was a water-dwelling monster. The smell was noxious and pungent enough to make a normal person gag.
But Cheon Do-yoon stayed calm.
‘That’s a pretty unique smell. Is this normal when cooking fish?’
He looked intrigued. As the flesh turned white, he added the noodles.
“Oh right, the soup base. I almost forgot.”
He tore the seasoning packet and dumped it in. Stirring with chopsticks, the soup released a spicy aroma that blended oddly with the fish stench.
Any other person would’ve overturned the pot and run—but to Cheon Do-yoon, it triggered a memory.
“This smell… yeah. I remember. This is what ramen smelled like.”
Anyone else would’ve screamed that he was mistaken. But after seventy years of nostalgia, his memory had warped the scent into something fond.
“Chopsticks… you hold them like this, right?”
He awkwardly picked up the noodles and placed them on the pot lid to cool.
Just as he was about to take a bite—rustling.
A large brown poodle emerged from the bushes.
A standard poodle—about the size of a human. Not fully grown, but clearly bigger than any regular dog.
Cheon Do-yoon paused, watching it.
‘There’s no way a dog could survive in the demonic realm.’
Even humans struggled here. A dog wouldn’t stand a chance.
The poodle limped forward, staggering… and collapsed, whimpering.
Cheon Do-yoon had to stifle a laugh.
‘What the hell is that thing doing?’
That was obviously the mechanical creature. The same chimera that had been following him.
‘Taking the form of a dog… it must not know much about the demonic realm.’
Approaching suddenly like this—was it because of the ramen?
He glanced at the bubbling pot.
“You want some too?”
At his words, the poodle’s nose twitched. Cheon Do-yoon dished out some noodles into a bowl.
He even halved the fish and shared it. The poodle’s tail wagged rapidly.
“Here. Eat.”
The moment he set the bowl down, the poodle buried its face in it.
Ramen soaked in fish stink. Any normal person would’ve tossed it, but the mechanical creature slurped it up happily.
Like Cheon Do-yoon, it had never eaten proper food. Having starved, the fishy ramen was a divine feast.
‘So much for the injured act.’
Now fully engrossed in eating, the poodle stood tall on all fours.
It devoured the meal, then hesitated, watching Cheon Do-yoon, and began limping away.
“Wasn’t it limping on the left leg earlier?”
He muttered.
The poodle froze. Its eyes flicked nervously toward him.
Then it subtly switched legs.
Cheon Do-yoon nearly laughed.
‘What a clumsy act. Must be either really young or… mentally damaged from experimentation.’
He’d seen many like that at the lab. Which one was this chimera?
‘It’ll probably come back. In human form next time.’
The ramen had softened its guard. With curiosity and some trust growing, it would want to talk soon.
‘I wonder what form it’ll take?’
He smiled, watching the direction it left, then finally took a bite of ramen.
The pungent stink filled his mouth—and he beamed.
“Yeah. This is what ramen was supposed to taste like.”
The orphanage ramen, distorted by nostalgia, had turned fishy noodles into heavenly cuisine.
“It’s good. So this is ramen.”
For the first time in ages, he ate human food. Cheon Do-yoon smiled in satisfaction as he chewed the foul-smelling noodles.
* * *
After his meal, he crushed the ramen wrapper in his hand.
Flames burst from his palm, reducing the trash to nothing.
It was the power of a volcanic region monster from the demonic realm—a fire toad that converted magma into fire.
Having disposed of the trash, he grabbed his utensils and returned to the waterfall.
He washed the dishes and pulled out the soaked clothes. They’d softened considerably.
“A few more rinses should do it.”
He laid them out on a large rock. Gripping a stick in each hand, he began pounding the clothes.
Whap, whap. Thwap, thwap-thwap.
A rhythmic drumming filled the air. The sticks moved so fast they were almost invisible.
‘Gotta be gentle or I’ll rip them. Light taps… ugh, hard to control the strength. I think people used to wash like this before washing machines… right?’
Even people from the age of washing machines would’ve been shocked. Cheon Do-yoon had become a high-speed human washing machine.
After a few cycles of pounding and rinsing, the clothes were spotless.
“Phew… that’s hard work. This really works your whole body.”
If he wasn’t careful, the clothes could shred. He had to manage his strength with surgical precision.
Even his core muscles and fingertips had to be perfectly balanced.
Though his standards of “tiring” differed from most, Cheon Do-yoon wiped sweat from his brow.
“That’s good. Now to dry them…”
He shot thread toward nearby trees.
Strung between trunks, it became a sturdy clothesline.
An S+ class monster silk—feared by hunters—now used as kitchen string and laundry line.
“Now that I look… these clothes are kind of small.”
When caked with powder, he hadn’t noticed. But now, they were clearly undersized.
He could force them on, but they’d be uncomfortable. The thought alone killed any desire to wear them.
‘Shame. Since I already washed them, I’ll keep them for now.’
Even if unwearable, the fabric could be reused.
As he hung the clothes, he glanced past the bushes.
‘It’s gotten closer.’
The creature, which had kept a 300-meter distance, was now within about 100 meters.
‘Judging by the footsteps… it’s in human form now. I bet it’ll try to talk today.’
He chuckled and walked off.
Ten minutes later, from the bushes, a silver android emerged.
Its metal frame gleamed under the sun. Red light glowed from its eyes like LEDs.
The android tugged at one of the shirts Cheon Do-yoon had hung.
Clutching it, it raised its body temperature—steam rose, drying the fabric instantly.
A quick rub smoothed out every wrinkle.
“There. This shirt is mine now.”
The small mechanical creature smiled with pride as it put it on. Like a child borrowing their dad’s clothes, it looked oddly satisfied.
It was the first time it had worn human clothing.
“Now, time to pretend we met by accident… Ah! Human form.”
It touched its face. A metallic clink rang out.
That part began to shift—smooth metal transformed into human-like skin. From its head, brown curly hair burst forth.
Hair like a poodle’s. It checked the long locks and smiled again.
“Perfect. Now I look human.”
No one would suspect its identity now. Taking the form of a young girl, the android happily began to trail after Cheon Do-yoon.
