Nano Machine Chapter 1: The Machine(?) Has Descended on My Body (A)

Translated by CarsonLee

Edited by Tiercel

Following an assault by masked men which left him with a sword thrust in the belly, gong ja Cheon breathed his last…

… sigh of relief after a mysterious being killed off all his enemies.

When Master Jang heard that the boy was probably already done for, he set out to find gong ja Cheon in a speedy frenzy as he air-traveled from tree to tree.

When he finally found the boy, he witnessed the bloody scene of the halved bodies of anonymous masked-men strewn everywhere.

There was only one masked man whose torso hadn't been ripped off, the one who'd had a sword jabbed into his skull.

"It's the short sword I gave to gong ja Cheon."

The sword was a gift Master Jang gave to gong ja Cheon the day he turned ten.

Master Jang was pleased that gong ja Cheon was able to at least kill one of them. After all, he hadn't taught the boy a single move because of the pledge he had made to refrain from training the boy until he entered the Ma Fighting Academy.

"Ah, ah! Sir gong ja!"

Master Jang finally discovered Cheon lying on the floor.

Judging from the amount of blood that spilled out of him, his injury looked quite severe.

"Please!"

If gong ja Cheon were to lose his life here, how would he ever face the grief of the boy's late mother?

But, something was off.

-Ehh, phew. Ehh, phew."Huh?"

The world-class Master Jang's ear began to pick up gong ja Cheon's breathing.

From the looks of his shirt where the sword pierced through, it was definite that he suffered a mortal wound, but his breathing sounded so strong and easy.

Master Jang looked underneath his shirt.

"Wait, there is no wound on him!"

To his surprise, there weren't any wounds on gong ja Cheon's belly like he had expected.

Based on the pool of blood where gong ja Cheon's body lay, he should've at least had a major sword wound on his body, even if such a wound had not killed him.

But, to see him without a scratch? He was more bewildered than relieved by the scene.

"What? What is this?"

The boy, who should've sustained major injuries from the masked men lying dead on the ground, seemed completely unharmed.

"Perhaps the Grand Master… no, no. The Priest would never intervene in a war of succession. Who, then, killed all these men and saved gong ja Cheon?

Although he wanted very badly to uncover the truth, he didn't have enough evidence to do so.

After looking around for some time for any substantial evidence and burying the corpses of the masked men, he threw gong ja Cheon on his shoulder and swiftly began to air travel to Ma's fortress.

"Thud!"

The moment Master Jang's hand touched gong ja Cheon's body, there was a small static burst in his head which terminated the forced unconsciousness mode.

[Auto-recovery mode suspended at 80%.

Wake up, master]

The boy opened his eyes after the ringing voice woke him from his unconsciousness.

"What?"

"I should've died from the hemorrhaging of my internal organs after being thrust through, but instead I am being carried alive on someone's shoulder."

He had a very familiar musk to him. The man who was hauling him on his shoulder was none other than his protector, Master Jang Ga Gyeong.

"Master Jang!"

Far from being dead, the boy's face lit up in delight upon seeing Master Jang.

But, again in his head, he abruptly heard a mechanical clank ring.

[Target has been identified as a non-threat entity to the user.

Auto-defense mode has been deactivated.

The remaining 20% of auto-pilot recovery will re-initiate]

"Argh!"

The unknown voice that rang loudly in his head gave the boy a sharp headache as he held his head down with his two hands.

"Sir gong ja! You're awake. Are you okay?"

As the boy on his shoulder recovered his consciousness, Master Jang stopped running and greeted him with a smile.

"Sir gong ja?"

But the boy's migraine got the best of him as he passed out again.

After unsuccessfully trying to wake him up by calling out his name, Master Jang once again headed for the fortress.

Then time ran its usual course.

It was about morning the next day when the boy began to regain his consciousness again.

"Whoa!"

As though he had dreamt a nightmare, he woke up in a cold sweat. But, in reality, he hadn't dreamt anything.

Thinking that he was drenched in sweat, he swiped his hands on his forehead to wipe it off, but it wasn't sweat that was on him, but rather some strange sticky black substance.

"What is this? Eww."

He couldn't hide his confusion after seeing a slick of sticky, black goo on the back of his hand.

Also, it had a real pungent smell.

"Awww. Nasty!"

The stench was so severe that he began to feel queasy.

The black goo wasn't just on his head, instead, as though it came out of his own body, he was fully covered in its sticky substance.

"What the hell is this?"

A voice was heard in his head at that moment.

[Are you awake, master?]

"What?"

The voice repeated itself.

[Are you awake, master?]

'Who, who are you?"

Out of fear, the boy quickly sat up on his bed and looked about him with great alertness in his eyes.

However, after a moment he realized that the voice wasn't coming from the outside.

[Relax, master]

Is the voice actually coming from my head?

[That's correct, master]

"What?!"

Gong ja Cheon hadn't spoken those words verbally. No, they were merely words he mentally spoke to himself, but the voice in his head answered as though she had heard him.

The terrified boy began to sweat profusely down his back.

His body was extremely on edge.

Jeon eum? No, it can't be jeon eum.

Jeon eum was a special skill that only top-level masters could use to be able to whisper quiet messages to their opponent's psyche.

There was only one time that he had ever experienced jeon eum.

And, since jeon eum can only be heard through the inner person, it was closer to being a frequency.

[I don't know what jeon eum is, but like you reasoned you are not hearing me audibly through your ears, master]

"What! Who are you, really?"

The boy was so perplexed that he shouted into the air.

He thought to himself that if this master's voice can ring that loudly in his head, his skill was at no ordinary level.

[I am a 7th generation nano machine manufactured by Sky Corporation. I am hooked up to your brain and am now acting as its nucleus]

"What? What in the world are you talking about?"

The boy's face turned pale as he experienced a phenomenon that transcended all reason.

The nano machine that was connected to the boy's brain recognized that the user was completely oblivious to what she was saying.

"Who are you and why are you doing this me?"

[I am a 7th generation nano machine]

"Nano Ma Shin?"

[That is correct. A nano machine]

The boy's face became stiff.

Along with Seong Hwa, Ma Shin was one of the gods that the Ma faction served.

The Grand Master was the one responsible for communicating with this Ma Shin entity.

"Really? Are you rea…really Ma Shin?"

All of a sudden, the boy's posture changed as he respectfully got on his knees and began to speak with a shaky voice. The nano machine hardwired to his brain realized that the boy was seriously misunderstanding the situation.