The Bones and Magic of Isra's Transformation

Stacks of delivery boxes piled in front of the workshop.

These were the items I had ordered from the Hunter Market last time.

“Put everything inside.”

The armored zombie warriors easily carried the burdens inside.

“Aren’t you just going to watch?”

“Hmph. The head of a steel giant is clever enough to plot behind it.”

Whoa. That came out so boldly I almost believed it was real.

I carried the materials into the workshop and started the first task right away.

I worked the flesh off the bones once more with a bone saw.

Just like the name, it’s a plant that feels like vines. I wrapped it around the bones and wove it through every spot.

“It should work as a catalyst for circuit engraving.”

Even a small boost like +3 mana was fine, but it seemed possible to raise the performance of the mana circuits.

Like how Ingrid used a spirit’s wand as a blood vessel, leaving it untouched would tangle things up. But once resurrected as an undead, the body would maintain it perfectly.

“And that’s where this guy comes in for the finish.”

I used a split soul stone from an orc mage. Since there was no place for the flesh, I carefully trimmed it at the forehead with a knife.

“Open your eyes.”

“There you go, my lord. My loyalty is yours.”

The skeleton mage stood up straight and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.

Lady Isra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“It must match the nature of the soul stone.”

The Twin Living Armor and the orc mage’s soul stone had different natures. It wasn’t even shown in the status window. Even the Spirit Eye couldn’t read it precisely.

“Intuition.”

A vague answer, but nothing else came to mind. When I touched it, the soul stone felt different. What if the Twin Living Armor’s heavy armor property matched the armored zombies and helped stabilize mana? And if the orc mage’s soul stone didn’t suit the skeleton mage… my guess hit perfectly.

“You’re amazing, my lord. Your intuition and creativity are blinding.”

“You steel-headed fool. Don’t you know euphemisms?”

The wording was different, but both were genuinely congratulating me.

“Thank you.”

Since I had tested it on the skeleton mage, it was Lady Isra’s turn.

“Yeah. It looks worth it.”

I rubbed my hands together.

Hoo. Tense.

“Anytime.”

“That’s the general theory.”

I thought the same and had planned to increase weight.

Without breaking balance, grow the body as much as possible and strengthen strength and stamina.

That was how I had made the orc zombie Mk. 42 that was the basis of Lady Isra.

Lady Isra refused it cleanly, just like before. The agile, suppressing sword style that used the opponent’s strength or slipped through tiny gaps. That was why I had asked to remodel the body like an athlete.

“So I thought about it a lot.”

F = mass

Strength is mass times speed. To get stronger strength, the easiest way is to increase body mass, but that didn’t fit Lady Isra. Then where could I make up for the lack of strength?

“I found the answer in the mana circuits.”

When I first met Lady Isra, she had jumped several meters on the body of the orc zombie Mk. 42.

Mana application — instant leap. It was probably a kind of mana release that warriors above a certain level did.

“If I give her more mana, she’ll figure out how to use it herself, won’t she?”

Skills are not everything. I learned that from Lady Isra and Ingrid. Ordinary undead made that way would be useless. High-mana close-range undead? What could they do? But Lady Isra was different. She would turn both bones and muscles toward improving mana efficiency.

“Just lie down already.”

“Gently” — such words.

I stripped all the flesh and muscle from her body and planned to replace some bones. How could I be gentle? At this stage, it would be better to make her new. The body housing her soul was a pity for having to swap parts.

“Relax.”

I skillfully separated the bones and flesh. When only the skull, neck bone, and a few ribs remained, Lady Isra’s eyes flashed.

She was oddly picky about clothing.

“Just hold on.”

“Intact corpses aren’t that plentiful anyway.”

There was one more reason. The body of a deceased from another world carried a soul. I didn’t know how to extract that soul and place it in another corpse. I could only leave the head where the soul stayed and swap the rest as much as possible.

I attached two to make the length, connected the neck bone, and let them hang down.

“Thunder lizards are monsters sensitive to mana.”

I let out a bit of mana.

Burrr—

Reaction perfect.

I shaped the arms and legs by knocking out the thigh bones appropriately. Lady Isra would suit agile movements.

The next process was weaving the strengthening moss, the core of the modification. I finished it quickly since I had already practiced on the skeleton mage.

I wove the strengthening moss as a medium and opened mana circuits throughout the body.

I filled it mostly with muscles that don’t lose their elasticity even in death, then added mana circuits once more and connected everything carefully.

“How is it?”

Lady Isra, with her living senses, was quite relaxed as she asked questions during the modification.

Then.

Let’s do the final work.

I placed a monster’s heart between the ribs and connected all the strengthening moss.

“That’s how it was?”

I drew Ingrid’s mana compression spell.

It wasn’t anything special, but she praised it.

I chuckled lightly, tied up the chest with rope, and closed it.

“Open your eyes.”

“How do you feel?”

Lady Isra stood up in excitement.

She struck her clenched fist forward.

Whoosh!

I felt an indescribable momentum compared to before.

“Hey, you two. Nice warm atmosphere, but explain it to me too.”

Over the pale skin, a flickering, indistinct stream flowed.

Mana.

With my experience, I had raised it to an abnormal level of mana release.

“That’s something B-class hunters use, isn’t it?”

Being able to use abilities not shown in the status window casually — the hunter world is casually turning upside down.

Hahahaha! Lady Isra laughed heartily.

Hey.

The fact that her specs were lower than an armored zombie warrior bothered me.

Her simple specs still lagged behind Lady Isra’s. But —

The body matched the soul’s pre-death form. 92% alignment. Very high reincarnation completion rate. Lady Isra’s stats had risen 50%.

With a body-soul match correction, Lady Isra swung her fist.

Body Reinforcement — Mana Release!

Boom! Boom!

Whoa. The shockwave was terrifying.

The air displaced by the fist created a strong gale that shook the workshop door.

“I’ll modify you one day too.”

That will take some effort.

The enhanced version of the skeleton mage. Or developing or acquiring a creation method for other magic-type undead within the D-grade category.

On the way back from the workshop, my stomach was empty but my steps were light. The results of the modification exceeded my expectations! Every time one of my subordinates grew stronger, my shoulders felt tight.

Lady Isra was still in that otherworldly tension.

“Aye, so it shall be.”

I smiled warmly as we passed through the alley.

“Kyaaaaaaa!!”

A scream erupted from nearby.

What happened?

I reflexively ran toward the source.

When I rounded the corner, I saw a fallen student and in front of her a monster reeking of rot.

Indeed.

Why was a ghoul outside the gate?

“Residents, please evacuate quickly.”

Evacuation shelter guide: …….

Telling us that early was strange.

Just as I clicked my tongue, chik.

The student stepped back.

“Gueueueueue!”

The ghoul, triggered by the sound, drooled and lunged.