The Otherworldly Soul
The Enras Continent.
It was a place name I had never heard before.
Perhaps that was why certainty settled over me.
This had to be the otherworldly soul I had spent five long years searching for.
You have encountered an otherworldly soul.
You may settle the soul into an undead you have crafted.
The system messages only deepened my conviction.
"Miss Isra."
【It is Sir.】
"Pardon?"
【Sir Isra.】
Ah. I see.
This soul seemed to possess a rather strong sense of self. She had claimed something about being the strongest on the continent, but I did not take it at face value. The modest grave hardly matched such a grandiose title. It was not merely that the kobolds had dug it up and left it looking shabby. Even imagining its original state from the remaining traces, it did not strike me as particularly impressive.
【Sir. It seems this is not the first time you have conversed with a soul.】
"Well, I've got a bit of a knack for that sort of thing."
Souls existed on Earth as well. Humans. Animals too—all of them possessed spirits. Only humans, however, carried spiritual power strong enough to be called a true "soul."
We had already exchanged names. No point circling around the topic any longer. Time to get to the heart of the matter.
"Sir Isra. Become my comrade."
【Comrade?】
"For the record, you don't get a say in refusing."
The first otherworldly soul I had laid eyes on in five years! Refusal was not an option. If embedding the soul raised my undead control ability, I might finally achieve the D-class promotion I had dreamed of for so long.
【If I cannot refuse, can it truly be called comradeship?】
"Sounds better than servant or subordinate, doesn't it?"
I snatched the blue orb flickering above the coffin—a soul that looked for all the world like a will-o'-the-wisp.
【Mmph! Mmmph!】
Complaining was useless. As I had said, I had not been asking for consent.
I jammed the captured soul into the orc zombie.
You have infused an otherworldly soul into the crafted undead (Orc Zombie ‘Mk. 42’).
Match rate with the soul’s living form: 72%.
Orc Zombie ‘Mk. 42’ has been renamed ‘Isra’.
Skill: Imperial Sword Style - Modified Isra Form has been added.
A ceaseless cascade of messages. Content I had never once seen in five years.
Good heavens.
Clutching my pounding chest, I checked the orc zombie's status.
Skills
― Imperial Sword Style - Modified Isra Form[SSS]
― Immortal [D]
― Corpse Poison [E]
"I'm not dreaming right now, am I?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them. The shock from moments ago had been that intense.
Why was an SSS-grade skill showing up here? Hunters who possessed skills of that rank numbered fewer than ten across the entire world. It was far too extravagant an ability for a mere zombie.
Really now.
"This is just too..."
【What a trash-like body this is.】
"Yeah, trash-like—wait, no! What kind of thing is that to say?!"
The sudden intrusion of thought made me misspeak. The culprit was obvious: the otherworldly soul now dwelling in the zombie. Sir Isra.
【Look at these muscles. They are so stiff I cannot properly exert force.】
"What do you expect from a corpse that's gone into rigor mortis?"
【And the balance between muscle groups? The body's equilibrium is all wrong.】
Center of gravity. Misaligned bones. Every manner of harsh critique poured out like a rapid-fire rap.
Unbelievable. The body I had poured my soul into crafting was receiving this kind of roasting. I began to suspect she was holding a grudge over being stuffed into a zombie.
【Surely you do not think I am merely finding fault.】
"Eek."
I didn't have a mind-reading skill, as far as I knew.
【A true knight speaks only the truth and does not force flaws where none exist.】
"The system itself certified this zombie's completion rate as perfect, you know?"
There was a reason the orc zombie was named Mk. 42. I had combined countless materials of D-class and below from the byproduct sales shop, refining the strongest combination possible within my abilities to create the orc zombie standing before me. I would have to call her Sir Isra from now on, of course.
【Hmm. I see.】
"You don't sound convinced."
【If the standard is that of a zombie, then I understand. For a low-grade undead, charging blindly and biting is the best one can hope for.】
Sir Isra slowly shook her head.
【But it lacks dignity.】
Saying that with a face half-rotted and crushed did not exactly lend persuasive power, you know. I was starting to get confused about whether I was conversing with an undead I had crafted or serving a master.
【A sword. I require a sword.】
"I didn't prepare anything separate."
What use would a zombie have for a blade? When I told her I would get one once we left the gate, Sir Isra's cheek twisted.
【This has become troublesome. Bare-handed, I fear it will be difficult to protect you, Sir.】
Huh? Why would she protect me?
"S-save me!"
"Kobolds came out in a pack!"
Academy trainees abandoned their gear and fled for their lives. Behind them, kobolds swarmed in a horde. More than thirty of them. The Academy students were all warrior types; they shot past me at high speed.
Excellent. They had learned how to run away properly, at least. If I just stood here, I would be torn into seventeen pieces in under ten seconds.
【I shall protect you, Sir.】
"There are thirty kobolds!"
【Believe in me.】
That single weighty sentence calmed my heart.
"Sir. You said even a stick would do, didn't you?"
【Indeed.】
"Take this, then."
I handed over a thigh bone I had brought for zombie repairs.
Whoosh!
Sir Isra swung the bone twice, murmuring, 【Is this sufficient?】
"Kerkeng, kyaaaak!"
She crushed a kobold's skull in a single blow.
The bone slammed into the side of a kobold that had been charging with a rusted sword. Just from the sound—crack—the fracture was certain. The kobold coughed blood and tumbled away.
"What am I even looking at right now?"
I had not held high expectations. Orc Zombie Mk. 42 was my masterpiece. Even so, it was only early D-class specs. The maximum it could handle at once was five kobolds. That had been certain.
And yet—
Thud! Thud-thud!
Spears and blades stabbed into Sir Isra's body.
【This one thing is convenient.】
Crack!
One strike, one kill. The kobolds were already small. Closing the distance to land effective hits left them unable to dodge the dancing bone, and they went flying.
【For this body, wounds can be disregarded.】
In an instant, ten kobolds lay combat-incapable or dead on the ground.
"Keng! Keng!"
Arrows flew in from dozens of meters away. Most targeted Sir Isra, but a few arced toward me, the secondary target behind her. My body locked up in panic. Even in this moment, my cursed motor skills refused to respond.
The word "death" flashed through my mind—
Ting!
Several arrows bounced off the bone Sir Isra swung. Whether arrows embedded in her own body or not, she had deflected only the attacks aimed at me with a single stroke.
【Protecting a deficient lord is quite the bothersome task.】
Thud. Thud.
Sir Isra advanced with slow steps.
"Keng! Keng!"
The kobold pack began to spread out. This was dangerous. The zombie's specs surpassed a kobold's, but not overwhelmingly so. If they surrounded and crushed her, it would be over.
"Sir Isra!"
【It would be troublesome if you mistook my eyes for knotholes.】
Thoom!
Sir Isra kicked off the ground and leaped high—like a frog jumping. The posture was ungainly, but she still soared several meters and dropped into the midst of the scattering kobolds.
Crunch!
As a bonus, she crushed one kobold's head with the bone on the way down.
【Come at me! I am the greatest sword of the continent!!】
The majestic thought slammed into the kobolds' minds—and mine.
"H-how is one zombie doing this..."
"Amazing. Is this what a necromancer is?"
"But why is someone this incredible doing this kind of part-time work?"
The fleeing Academy trainees sensed something amiss and turned back. Those brats. If they were trying to get under my skin, they had succeeded.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Huh?"
Don't answer a question with a question.
"Does the Military Academy teach you to show your backs the moment you see a monster?"
"Ah, uh..."
"While my zombie is drawing their attention is your chance."
If they couldn't eat even when I spoon-fed them, what was I supposed to do?
"Stop spacing out and charge!"
I roared, and only then did they come sprinting back the way they had come as if their rear ends were on fire.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Bring it on, you kobold bastards!"
Caught from behind by the Academy trainees, the kobolds showed clear signs of panic.
【Excellent.】
It was Sir Isra who was fired up. She did not miss the opening as the kobolds' gazes wavered and felled two more. Even while being mobbed, she avoided hits to her major joints.
So fighting could look this cool.
Crack!
Her leg broke under the accumulated impacts. One arm tore free. Still, Sir Isra stubbornly swung the bone. If this had still been Orc Zombie Mk. 42, her limbs would have come apart long ago. With the exact same specs, she minimized the hit zones and slaughtered the enemies.
"Incredible."
I was still voicing my admiration when hurried footsteps approached and the Academy instructor came running.
"Th-the trainees were ambushed!"
"As you can see."
"...A zombie?"
Unconcealable surprise colored the Academy instructor's voice.
"Um, that Park Minho fellow."
"Yes."
"Are you really an E-class hunter?"
"I am."
"Why does your zombie fight so well?"
"Mine's a special make."
Strictly speaking, she was a friend called a Resurrected.
By the time the Academy instructor arrived, most of the battlefield had already been cleaned up. Sir Isra had taken down twenty-three kobolds. The remaining seven had been felled by the Academy trainees.
You have successfully cleared the gate.
Rank — E
Reward: 1 E-class Magic Crystal has been granted.
A small magic stone plopped down from midair. The clear time had been long, so I could not expect a large reward. I had been hired help to begin with; a high-rank clear had never even crossed my mind.
【Hmm. I am ashamed.】
"What's with the shame talk?"
【I have ruined the body you bestowed upon me.】
Her left arm was bent the wrong way, her right leg likewise. The skin had become rags. There were forty-four places where bone showed through clearly. Add the decorations from the kobolds' weapons, and she looked like pure scrap-heap equipment.
"It's fine. This much is nothing."
As long as she was not completely destroyed. Repairing undead was my specialty. For five years I had repeated crafting, repairing, and breaking. In fact, I felt relieved. If the undead had been destroyed mid-battle, the otherworldly soul dwelling inside would have vanished. That was a fact I had instinctively understood the moment Sir Isra's soul settled in.
Ah. Before that, though.
One thing needed to be addressed.
"Excuse me, Instructor."
"Y-yes."
"We nearly had a major incident just now."
"Aigoo. Of course I'll make sure you get the hazard pay."
This guy. Earlier he had been casually using informal speech, so why the sudden politeness? From the way he asked about my rank, he seemed to have mistaken me for a high-ranking necromancer. Well, it did not matter.
"About the corpse-looting rights."
"Naturally they belong to Hunter Park. Of course."
"I'll be using two of the kobolds separately."
I took out the work scalpel and hammer I always carried. Kobolds were the corpses I had handled most while making zombies. I quickly separated bones and muscle of suitable size and grafted them onto various parts of Sir Isra's sprawled body.
Corpse Crafting
When I infused mana, the pieces wove together as if they had always been one body, and the damaged areas restored.
【Oh? Ooooh!】
"You all right?"
【Flawless. I can scarcely believe this is the work of a low-ranking necromancer such as yourself, Sir.】
Yes, yes. Sorry for being a low-ranking necromancer.