CREEEAK— CREEEAK—
Dragging the long-used, squeaking cargo carrier, I walked uphill.
After climbing for around three minutes, my rented studio came into view.
“Uncle, you are late again today?”
The landlord’s daughter.
Kim Yeondu waved at me from the second floor.
“Call me big brother.”
“No. You smell too much like an old man.”
The stench of death unique to Necromancers.
Even though I used as much perfume and air freshener as possible.
That girl could still detect the faint smell mixed in among the fragrances.
She was in high school, but she had Awakened as a Hunter.
Her rank was D.
Yes.
Higher than mine.
“Um, come eat some meat, Uncle. I grilled pork belly.”
“I have work to do. Tell Mrs. Kim I said thank you.”
“Are you going to your workshop again?”
“How did you know?”
“You go there every day. It was obvious.”
The landlord’s daughter abruptly turned around.
“Ah. Then I will eat all the leftover meat myself.”
The landlord’s family was kind and showed me consideration in many ways.
Grilled pork belly.
I regretted turning it down, but I endured.
There was an enormous amount of work to take care of during the rest of the day.
I headed to the basement of my rented studio, which had now become my “workshop.”
It was apparently once used as a boiler room.
The ceiling was barely high enough to keep from hitting my head.
It had not been built for people to live in, and it was too awkward to use as storage, so I had been able to rent it cheaply.
CLICK—
A soft white light brightly illuminated the basement.
The moment I put together the arms, legs, and torso I had placed in the carrier.
【Hwaaaaaah!】
A dispirited cry struck my mind.
Oh.
It had automatically become a zombie even though I had not used Corpse Crafting.
It seemed to be a side effect of settling an Otherworldly Soul within it.
It was nice that I did not have to use Mana separately.
【If you intended to separate my limbs, you could have told me, ah—】
THUD—
An excited Sir Isra raised its head, only to shrink back.
The basement ceiling was barely tall enough for me.
An Orc corpse that was a head taller than me had raised its head straight up, so the result was obvious.
More than that.
Something else piqued my curiosity.
“Can an Undead feel pain?”
【Yes. I can ignore it, but there is no reason to do so.】
“Does pain not only interfere with fighting?”
【That is true of the fights waged by lesser beings.】
Yes.
I am sorry for being a lesser being.
【More importantly, this is a truly desolate place.】
“What did you expect from a Necromancer’s workshop?”
Five completed zombie bodies waited in hunched positions.
Monster body parts from Kobolds and Goblins hung from hooks.
The skins and bones of various monsters lay scattered throughout the room.
【I was referring to the fact that it is not organized.】
“...”
Try conducting research yourself.
I do not have time to organize everything.
“Still, we have a problem.”
【Is something wrong?】
“I need to modify your body.”
【Sir.】
Calling it by a knightly title felt rather embarrassing.
Could it not understand that?
【That is the one thing upon which I cannot compromise.】
Ah.
Right.
“If Sir Isra can feel pain, modifying you will be somewhat difficult.”
I would need to cut through muscle.
Grind down bones or replace them entirely.
Guan Yu, the foremost example in this field, had his arm cut open while fully conscious.
But body modification required handling the entire body.
No one could endure it while fully conscious, could they?
【A knight’s spirit is not broken by something as insignificant as pain.】
“Oh.”
【...I would like to say that boldly, but I can adjust my senses.】
“What a shame. It would have been a chance to see how incredible Sir Isra’s willpower truly is.”
【One must know the difference between courage and recklessness.】
You certainly were eloquent.
Now.
Before beginning the modification.
Let us first identify the customer’s needs.
【Can you read my thoughts as well?】
“I have not learned any mind-reading techniques.”
How could I know what kind of body it wanted?
There was a way.
I held out a photo I had saved on my phone.
【Hmm. Those bulging muscles look very much like my current body.】
“I made your body using this middle-aged man as a model.”
Necrosmiths were a profession that had to create Undead directly.
To use my crafting ability properly, I had studied anatomy charts diligently.
How should I modify a body to achieve a desired effect?
I had created Orc Zombie Mk. 42 with a photo of a recently famous bodybuilder beside me.
“How about this kind of build?”
The next photo I showed was of a weightlifter.
Sir Isra shook its head.
I continued showing it photos of athletes and Hunters that I had referenced while creating Undead.
【Next.】
That was all I heard.
By the time I had forgotten how many photos I had shown.
【Something like this would be suitable.】
It finally showed a positive response.
It was a photo of a marathon runner.
I had saved it as a reference.
Naturally.
I had only used it as a reference when creating Undead, never as the main model.
“Really? Are you serious?”
【I am.】
“A thin body will not be able to exert proper strength.”
Zombies differed from humans.
Muscles stiffened by rigor mortis could not exert strength as they had in life.
There was a reason I had made a zombie from an Orc corpse.
Among corpses below D-rank, Orcs were easy to obtain and their muscles were easy to enhance.
【Do not worry.】
Sir Isra placed both hands on its waist.
【I will never regret it.】
***
Necrosmiths and Necromancers.
Their names were similar, but there was a decisive difference in the method they used to create Undead.
A Necromancer could raise a corpse with a single spell.
SCRAPE— SCRAPE—
A Necrosmith like me had to process corpses one by one.
【It would be difficult to provide additional support in an urgent battle.】
Damn it.
Stop hitting me with facts.
【You seem to be applying too much force.】
“It is your imagination. Your imagination.”
From this alone, you might think Necrosmith was a lower-tier profession than Necromancer.
That was not necessarily true.
Although I was hardly in a position to say so after remaining E-rank for five years.
Necrosmiths had an advantage their main branch did not possess.
【And that advantage is?】
“Undead customization.”
[Shinbone of a Swift Goblin]
Rank: E
Category: Miscellaneous
[Wrist Bone of a Nimble Kobold]
Rank: E
Category: Miscellaneous
[Pelvis of a Small Gorgon]
Rank: E
Category: Miscellaneous
...
These were corpse parts I had obtained by searching through byproduct shops.
Goblin and Kobold bones increased Agility.
A Gorgon’s pelvis came with an option that improved center-of-gravity control.
They were all options that made movement smoother.
【How do you know that when it is not even written in the descriptions?】
“Experience.”
For five years, whenever I had money, I researched Undead creation.
While raising zombies and Skeletons.
I learned what abilities different monster corpse parts displayed.
The information mainly concerned lower-rank monsters, but it was all well organized in my mind.
I would make full use of it to modify Sir Isra.
【Then why did you not use them when you made this body?】
“What use is Agility to a zombie?”
Zombies suffered movement penalties from rigor mortis.
Increasing Agility would not make their sluggish movements faster.
Besides, considering a zombie’s combat style, investing in Strength and Toughness was the correct approach.
“If the target is Sir Isra, it is a different story.”
Sir Isra had displayed wondrous swordsmanship even with the body of Orc Zombie Mk. 42, which had everything invested in Strength and Toughness.
Adding parts that increased Agility would make it even better.
“I will change everything except your head.”
【W-Wait!】
“You should turn off your sense of pain yourself.”
After separating its limbs once more with [Corpse Crafting].
I used Orc bones as the foundation, inserting bone fragments from various monsters that increased Agility.
The bones from different species varied in length.
I carved them down with a knife engraved with reinforcement formulas, balancing them out.
【You perform such delicate work remarkably quickly.】
“It is thanks to the Craftsmanship stat bonus.”
[Craftsmanship: 197]
Craftsmanship was an attribute that did not correspond to the basic stats of Strength, Agility, Vitality, Toughness, and Mana.
It had developed as I researched ways to improve Undead performance.
Now, it had become my highest stat.
It was not because I had invested level-up bonuses into it.
To begin with, attributes like Craftsmanship could not be raised through bonus-point distribution.
The stat had increased because I had handled materials so often.
“This should establish the frame.”
It stood just over 160 centimeters tall.
I used an Orc corpse as the base.
Then I inserted bones from other species throughout it.
“Next is body processing.”
A Revived One.
It was an Undead of a category distinct from Skeletons and Zombies.
Even so.
The act of creating one did not require a different method.
Let me approach it as though I were making a zombie, as usual.
[Flesh from a Fat Orc’s Thigh]
Rank: D
Category: Miscellaneous
[Muscle of a Valiant Lizardman]
Rank: D
Category: Miscellaneous
...
Muscles came with Strength options.
Orc thigh flesh increased Strength by roughly 10%.
Using a Lizardman corpse increased both Strength and Agility evenly by around 5%, with a variation of roughly plus or minus 2%.
“I need to balance and implant these as well.”
If I simply attached them haphazardly and created an Undead, its balance would be ruined and it would lose attributes.
【If you used corpse parts from stronger monsters, the stat bonuses would be larger.】
“That is not necessarily true.”
Using corpses evaluated at D-rank or above came with penalties.
The penalty increased as the rank rose, so I eventually ended up using monsters between E- and D-rank.
Therefore.
More than simple attributes, I had to carefully consider the combinations between each part.
【It is a truly labor-intensive ability.】
“Do you not think I am suffering more because of your demands?”
【If I am to attend to you, it cannot be helped.】
You certainly knew how to talk.
After completing even the fine adjustments.
Just as I was about to activate [Corpse Crafting].
A flickering light leaked from Sir Isra’s pupils.
【Is it finished?】
“More or less.”
【I trust you do not intend to leave my face as it is.】
“Would enemies not be frightened when they saw that face?”
【Hmph! My martial prowess should strike fear into my enemies. With this appearance, I would only become a laughingstock!】
Good grief.
It really was prickly.
It could simply live without looking in a mirror.
Sir Isra’s attitude was so firm that I refined its facial skin as well.
“This will not even improve your performance.”
【It is a little better than before.】
There were no further demands now, right?
I had accommodated everything it had asked for.
Then.
Shall we put the final touch on it?
“Open your eyes.”
I used [Corpse Crafting] on Sir Isra once more.
【Grrraaaah!】
With a battle cry, Sir Isra rose to its feet.
This time, even when it stood upright, its head did not hit the ceiling.
[Sir Isra]
*Race: Undead
*Classification: Revived One
*Rank: D
Strength: 172 → 121
Agility: 35 → 98
Vitality: 124 → 103
Toughness: 203 → 120
Mana: 35 → 51
*Skills
—Imperial Swordsmanship (Revised)_Isra Form [SSS]
—Undying [D]
—Corpse Poison [E]
Its Strength and Toughness had nearly been cut in half.
Since its body had become smaller, its attributes were bound to decline accordingly.
In exchange.
Its Agility had nearly tripled.
【Remarkable. My reaction speed has become much faster.】
“I am rather remarkable.”
This was the best way to make use of Sir Isra’s strengths.
As I looked at the reduced attributes with a bitter smile.
【Power is overflowing within me.】
Sir Isra clenched its hand tightly.
An eerie blue light emerged from its cloudy pupils.
Before long, it spread across its entire body.
[It now matches the soul’s form in life by 85%.]
[Possession Completion is high.]
[Due to the Revived One effect, all attributes increase by 50%.]
What?
All attributes were increasing?
My mouth fell open at the stream of system messages.
When the synchronization rate was high, attributes received a bonus.
That was the ability of a Revived One.
【You did not know that?】
“Sir Isra is the first Otherworldly Soul I have encountered.”
【Hahaha! It is still a worthless body, but this should be enough to teach you.】
Ah.
Come to think of it, I had asked to be taught swordsmanship.
Sir Isra looked around.
【The workshop is too small to practice swordsmanship.】
“We have to go outside.”
【Hmm. Then at least prepare some clothes for me.】
“Why would an Undead need clothes?”
【A knight must never lose dignity, wherever they may be. Going about naked is rather inappropriate.】
“Do not worry. You will not be walking around outside in that form.”
【Surely you are not planning to dismantle me again...】
“You understand quickly. That is good.”
【Y-You!】
Before Sir Isra could protest any further, I dismantled its entire body.
Then I placed it in the carrier and headed outside.