My Catastrophic-Level Summon Devours Gates
The wheel of the old, creaking delivery bag squeaked as I dragged it up the slope.
After about three minutes, I spotted my rented room up ahead.
“Sir, you’re late again today?”
Kim Yeondo waved from the second floor of the owner’s house.
“Call me oppa.”
“I can’t stand the smell of you, sir.”
That’s the special signature of a Necromancer. No matter how much perfume and air freshener I sprayed on, she still picked up the microscopic trace I couldn’t wash away.
I was a high school student, but I’d awakened as a hunter. My grade was D. Yep. Higher than me.
“What—come eat some meat. Sir. I grilled pork belly.”
“Got some work to do. Please tell your mother I said thank you.”
“Off to the workshop again?”
“How did you know?”
“You go there every single day. It’s obvious.”
Kim Yeondo spun her body. “Ah, I have to eat the leftover meat.”
The owner’s daughter of my rented room was kind, so she looked after me a lot. Pork belly, in particular. It tugged at my heart, but I held back. I had a mountain of things to handle today.
Now I headed down to the basement of my rented room, which had become my “workshop.”
It had once been called the boiler room. My head nearly brushed the ceiling. It wasn’t made for living, and it was too inconvenient to store stuff in, so the rent was cheap.
Clank—
A faint white light filled the basement.
As I reassembled the arms, legs, and torso from the carrier.
【Huuuuuuuuuaah!】
A lethargic groan slammed into my skull.
Oh.
I hadn’t even used the Body Craft skill, yet it turned into a zombie on its own. It seemed like the side effect of settling an otherworldly soul.
It was nice that I didn’t need to expend mana separately either.
【If you’re going to separate the limbs, at least give some warning, you bastard.】
Thud—
Isra the knight stood up abruptly in excitement, then shrank back.
In this basement where my head barely reached the ceiling, a larger-than-head Orc corpse stood ramrod straight. The result was obvious.
Besides that.
Other parts caught my eye.
“It’s undead, but it feels pain?”
【That’s right. It can’t be ignored, but there’s no reason to.】
“Pain only interferes with fighting, right?”
【That’s true for underlings’ fights.】
Yeah.
Sorry for calling it that, subordinate.
【On another note, this really is a bleak place.】
“What do you expect from a Necromancer workshop?”
Five finished zombies stood in bent postures.
Monster body parts of Kobolds or Goblins hung on hooks.
Parts of various monsters’ skin and bones were scattered everywhere.
【I only mentioned the mess.】
“……”
You should do some research too.
I don’t have time to tidy up.
“But it’s a bit of a problem.”
【Is there a problem?】
“I need to modify your body.”
【Sir.】
p>Attaching a knight title felt a bit cringy. Can you understand?
【I can’t compromise on that.】
Ah.
Yeah.
“If Isra’s pain sense is still alive, modifying it would be awkward.”
I’d have to tear through muscles, grind bones, or swap them entirely.
Even the representative of this field, Guan Yu, had done it with a bare hand.
But for this modification work, I’d have to touch every inch of the body.
Can you even take it with a clear head?
【A knight’s spirit doesn’t bend to pain.】
“Oh.”
【I’d like to say that proudly, but I can control the sensations.】
“Wow. Now I see how incredibly strong Isra’s spirit is.”
【You must distinguish between courage and reckless bravery.】
p>Her words were flowing like water. Very.
All right.
Before starting the modification, let’s gauge the customer’s needs first.
【Can you even read my thoughts?】
“I wasn’t taught mind-reading techniques.”
How could I know what body style you want?
There are ways.
I held out a single photo from my phone to Isra.
【Hm. Those bulky muscles really suit me right now.】
“I made it based on this sir as a model.”
The Necrosmith job requires me to personally craft undead.
To make proper use of my crafting ability, I’d studied body diagrams.
How to modify to achieve the desired effect.
The Orc Zombie MK. 42 was made next to a famous bodybuilder photo that was currently popular.
“What about this look?”
p>The next photo I showed was of a powerlifter.
Isra shook her head.
I kept showing photos of athletes or hunters who’d been references for undead crafting, but she just kept saying “Next.”
Before I could count how many times, something caught her eye.
【This kind of feel would be good.】
It was the first positive sign.
A marathon runner’s photo.
It was just for reference.
Obviously, I only used it as reference when making the undead—I didn’t make the main body from it.
“Really? Sincerely?”
【That’s right.】
“With a slim body, you won’t be able to put out real strength.”
Zombies are different from humans.
Muscles that have stiffened after death can’t exert their full power like before.
It wasn’t for nothing that I turned an Orc corpse into a zombie.
Among D-rank and lower corpses, the easy-to-obtain and muscle-enhancing ones were Ores.
【Don’t worry.】
Isra placed both hands on her waist.
【I won’t regret it.】
* * *
Necrosmith and Necromancer.
Similar names, but the critical difference is in the “means” of making undead.
Necromancers summon corpses with a single order, but I—
Clack—clack—
A Necrosmith like me has to process corpses one by one.
【In an urgent battlefield, additional support would be difficult.】
Damn it.
Don’t count facts.
【It seems a bit excessive.】
“It’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding.”
If you only looked at this, you’d think it’s a sub-class of Necromancer.
But that’s not true.
Even from my five years of switching between E-rank, I wouldn’t say that.
But for a Necrosmith, there’s a strength the mainstream doesn’t have.
【What is that strength?】
“The ability to customize undead.”
[Swift Goblin Shinbone]
Grade: E
Category: Misc
[Handy Kobold Wrist Bone]
Grade: E
Category: Misc
[Small-bodied Goblin Pelvis]
Grade: E
Category: Misc
……
Parts of corpses I obtained by rummaging through junk shops.
Goblin and Kobold bones raised Agility.
The Goblin pelvis had a Weight Center Control option.
All were options that helped movement flow smoothly.
【How do you know things not listed in the explanation?】
“Experience.”
Over the five years, whenever money piled up, I researched making undead.
While raising zombies or skeletons, I memorized which body parts of monsters produced what abilities.
Even though it was mostly lower ranks, those details were well organized in my head.
I’d use these to the fullest to modify Isra.
【Why didn’t you use these when making me?】
“What use is Agility for a zombie?”
It’s a zombie with a post-death stiffness penalty on movement.
Even if Agility increased, it wouldn’t speed up those sluggish actions.
From the start, it was clear that I should invest in power and toughness for a zombie’s fighting style.
“If the modification target was Sir, the story would be different.”
Isra demonstrated an elegant swordsmanship with the body of the Orc Zombie MK. 42, which had been invested entirely in power and toughness.
If I attached Agility-increase parts, it would be even better.
“I’ll swap everything except the head.”
【Wait!】
“Pain sense should be turned off on its own.”
After separating the limbs again with Body Craft,
I set the base to Orc bones, but inserted bone pieces of various monsters that had Agility-increase effects.
I connected different bones, and each one had a different length, but I sanded them even with a reinforced blade to balance them.
【Hah. You do careful work quickly.】
“Thanks to my Handiness stat correction.”
Handiness: 197
Handiness is a stat that doesn’t correspond to the basic stats of Strength / Agility / Stamina / Toughness / Mana.
It was created through research to improve undead performance, and now it’s become my highest stat.
It wasn’t from level-up bonuses.
Originally, stats like Handiness couldn’t be grown through bonus distribution.
Just by constantly fiddling with the materials, the stat rose.
“At this rate, I’ve got the frame in place.”
Over 160 centimeters in height.
I kept the main body as the Orc corpse, and inserted bones of other races in various places.
“Next is body processing.”
Resurrected.
Undead in a category other than Skeleton or Zombie.
But.
The crafting itself didn’t require a different method.
Just approach it like I always did, with the feeling of making a zombie.
[Fattened Orc Thigh Meat]
Grade: D
Category: Misc
[Brave Lizardman Muscle]
Grade: D
Category: Misc
……
Muscles have a Strength option.
Orc thigh meat increased Strength by about 10%.
When using Lizardman corpse, Strength and Agility had a small error of +2% to -2%, but it rose evenly.
“I also need to balance and transplant this.”
If I just stuck it on like glue and made it undead, the balance would break and I’d suffer stat loss.
【If I used body parts of stronger monsters, there’d be a lot of spec correction too.】
“That’s not true.”
Using corpses rated D-rank and above came with a penalty.
p>As the grade rose, the downward trend grew bigger, and eventually I’d be using monsters in the E to D range.
So.
It wasn’t just simple specs—I had to carefully consider combinations between body parts.
【This really is a labor-intensive ability.】
“Aren’t you suffering extra because of Sir’s order?”
【I have no choice but to support you.】
Her words were flowing like water.
After finishing the fine adjustments.
Just as I activated Body Craft,
A flickering light shone from Isra’s pupils.
【It’s finished?】
“Well, yeah.”
【I didn’t plan to keep the face as is.】
“Won’t the enemy be afraid when they see that face?”
【Hah! My valor should make enemies afraid, not something like this! This face is just a laughingstock!】
Really.
She’s so prickly.
You can just live without seeing your own face in the mirror.
Because Isra’s stubborn attitude, I also shaped the facial skin.
“It’s not even improving performance.”
【It’s a bit better than before.】
Do you have any more requests now?
I’d fulfilled everything you asked for.
Then.
Let’s round it off.
“Open your eyes.”
I used Body Craft on Isra again.
【Uoooooo!】
With a shout, Isra’s body rose.
This time, even with her spine straightened, her head didn’t hit the ceiling.
[Isra the knight]
*Race: Undead
*Category: Resurrected
*Grade: D
Strength: 172 → 121
Agility: 35 → 98
Stamina: 124 → 103
Toughness: 203 → 120
Mana: 35 → 51
*Skills
—Imperial Sword Style (Modified) Isra Form [SSS]
—Immortal Flame [D]
—Withering Disease [E]
Strength and toughness had almost halved.
Since her size had shrunk, the stats had to drop accordingly.
In exchange.
Her Agility stat had nearly tripled.
【Impressive. Her reaction speed has become much faster.】
“I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I?”
This was the best way to preserve Isra’s strengths.
When I saw her fallen stats and smiled.
【Power is overflowing.】
Isra clenched her fist.
Over her cloudy pupils, a eerie blue light leaked out, then spread throughout her body.
[92% match with the Resurrected’s original form.]
[Resurrection completion rate is high.]
[Resurrected effect raises stats by 50%.]
Eh?
All stats increased?
My mouth fell open at the string of system messages.
When sync rate was high, it attached stat corrections.
That was the effect of being a Resurrected.
【Did you not know, Sir?】
“The first time I met a soul from another world was Isra.”
【Hahah! Still a trashy body, but this is enough to teach you, Sir.】
Ah.
Now that I think about it, I did ask her to teach me swordsmanship.
Isra looked around.
【The workshop is too narrow for practicing swordsmanship.】
“I need to go outside.”
【Hm. Then at least bring some clothes.】
“Undead don’t wear clothes.”
【A knight never loses dignity anywhere. Being naked is a bit much.】
“Don’t worry. I won’t be walking around outside in this state.”
【You’re not planning to disassemble again, are you…】
“It’s nice the story’s moving fast.”
【Sir—Sir!!】
Before Isra could keep talking, I disassembled her whole body.
I put her in the carrier and stepped outside.