The Wind Cutter Is Registered

“Whoa.”

Insane.

I was so shocked the words wouldn’t even come out.

I just had her meditate for about an hour and she creates a magic skill?

Special abilities at least come with the hassle of me having to modify them by hand. Skills registered as research results, though, applied immediately to the undead I’d crafted.

【Oh my! Through magic research, I can now implement the knowledge I’ve inherited!】

【Wasn’t that Solar Eclipse thing supposed to let you handle all sorts of situations?】

【Who said I wasn’t a blockhead? You’re spouting nonsense.】

【What?!】

【The more spells you can handle with Solar Eclipse, the more endless the applications become.】

Mix Wind Cutter into a Fireball to expand the explosion range, or spread the cold of an Ice Bolt farther. Solar Eclipse was the power to rewrite magic’s “framework” and twist it however the user pleased.

“For the time being, put up with some hard work whenever I use the workshop.”

【Leave it to me, Master!】

【Does swordsmanship not require research as well?】

“The Tempest Knight Order is fine without research, so we’ll do that later.”

The Armed Zombie Warriors assigned to the knight order could freely add skills thanks to Sir Isra’s guidance. She was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠type who could invent sub-techniques on the spot from nothing but the essence of Imperial Sword Style. Swordsmanship or martial arts research wasn’t urgent.

Ingrid, however, couldn’t freely relearn the skills from her past life the way Sir Isra could. And right now the workshop could only research one category at a time. For the foreseeable future, whenever I used the workshop I’d have to keep her on magic research day and night.

【As expected of Master! Such excellent judgment.】

【Grrr…】

Sir Isra let out a frustrated groan. It was her own excellence that had caused this, so she shouldn’t hold a grudge.

Still, someday I planned to research martial techniques too. For now I only commanded the undead assigned to the knight order, but once my level rose and I gained more storage options—death spaces, subspace items, and the like—the number of minions I could field would grow. Dozens, then over a hundred undead crafted and commanded… how much power would research abilities unleash then? Just thinking about it got me excited.

“Ehehehehe!”

Ah. Honestly. Necrosmith really was the best.

The next day.

A message arrived the moment the sun came up. Come to think of it, I still hadn’t changed the saved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠name. He might take offense, so I should switch it to “Boss Baek.”

Songpa-dong wasn’t far from my place. Man, he really had a knack for this. Somehow he always managed to find gates near my house.

【What does “securing a contract” mean?】

“It means he’s reserved that gate for us.”

Guilds or agencies could apply to clear a specific gate solo. Of course, applying didn’t guarantee approval. There were standards, and the process was supposedly very complicated. Yet our boss somehow picked out suitable gates for me every single day and locked them down. His work speed was truly something else.

【The imperial court ministers gave off a similar air.】

【I’ve only met him a few times, but he certainly seems like a capable operator.】

So it wasn’t just me who felt that way.

I headed to the gate at the appointed time and went straight into the clear.

“Uh, hyung-nim. Would you like to hear the points to watch out for?”

“Don’t tell me you studied again today.”

“I came out a bit early and got a briefing from the boss.”

Hah. He really was diligent.

“Tell me while we walk.”

“The main monsters in Beast Barracks are Dire Wolves.”

Dire Wolves. Apparently upper-tier combatants among C-rank monsters. High strength and agility, skilled at coordinated attacks, so teamwork was important when hunting them.

Just as the explanation finished, five Dire Wolves appeared right in front of us. They didn’t charge immediately; instead they glared and slowly circled us.

“Be careful. The slightest opening and they’ll pounce.”

【Interesting.】

Sir Isra’s arm twitched slightly.

“Grr! Grr!”

Two Dire Wolves drooled as they lunged.

“Hyung-nim! They’re coming!”

No need to panic.

A Dire Wolf’s jaws gaped wide—and right in its path waited the sword once used by the Magic Soldier squad leader, the Serimis Magic Sword. It looked for all the world like the beast was hurling itself onto the blade.

“Grr?”

【Too slow.】

Shhhk—

Its mouth was ripped cleanly in half, and the cut continued upward, shearing off the top of its head.

Damn. She’d deliberately shown an opening to lure the Dire Wolf’s attack? Without the enhanced senses from Heavenly Martial Body I never would have grasped the meaning of that motion just now.

One went down. A sword stroke then crashed toward the Dire Wolf following behind.

“Kyaaang!”

The wolf sprang up like a coil, flexible and light. Sir Isra kicked off the ground and leapt as well. She reinforced her body with mana, making up for any shortfall in specs and matching its speed. The two met in midair. There was nowhere to dodge.

The Dire Wolf’s desperately swinging foreleg was sliced clean off—shhk—and the blade plunged straight through its throat.

“Nice.”

No matter how many times I watched, it was pure art. Not a single wasted motion. She read the enemy’s movements and psychology and already had the next step planned, as if she were seeing the future.

“They’re diving straight into death.”

“What kind of skill is that?”

“Hyung-nim’s summons being like that isn’t new.”

【Sir Isra.】

“Ah. Yes.”

【There is no need to call my name. Do not forget the title of ‘Sir.’】

I understood why those guys were surprised. Without Heavenly Martial Body I wouldn’t have understood why the Dire Wolf was throwing itself onto the sword either.

A blade glowing red-hot like heated iron tore through the air. The Dire Wolf that saw the magic a beat too late tried to leap away, but—

Shhk!

The flame-condensed blade carved through its nape.

“You even factored in Sir Isra’s and the Dire Wolves’ movements, didn’t you?”

【As expected of Master. You saw through it immediately.】

The reason the Dire Wolf missed its dodge timing was simple. While the first two Dire Wolves clashed with Sir Isra, a blind spot had been created. The sword that trapped flame with wind and amplified its power shot forward without a sound, completely silent.

Two left.

“Fireball.”

I wasn’t just standing around either. Just as Ingrid had taught me, I manifested the magic at the perfect moment and hurled it toward the Dire Wolves.

KWAANG!

The two Dire Wolves that burst through the smoke glared and charged.

Wind blades compressed beyond their limits tore through the singed fur and flesh of the beasts caught in the explosion. A long gash opened along one Dire Wolf’s flank as it collapsed.

【You’re mine!】

Sir Isra accelerated by blasting mana and brought down the last one.

“I don’t think we needed the briefing.”

“Come on. Thanks to it, Sir Isra could lure openings and take them down easily.”

“R-really?”

“The Dire Wolves didn’t just charge in randomly.”

“Studying until my head nearly exploded was worth it.”

We probably could have hunted them easily even without the briefing, but I decided to keep that secret for the sake of the friends who had volunteered for the support team.

【Witch. You produce optimal results with basic spells.】

Even Sir Isra, who usually growled at her, seemed impressed by that exquisite magical timing just now.

【Master, hurry with the vitality!】

Ah. I’d almost forgotten.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dire Wolf’s corpse grew steadily thinner. By the time vitality reached 86%, it looked like nothing but skin left, completely desiccated.

【It seems it can absorb the energy from corpses that haven’t been dead long!】

“Looks that way.”

【Just like a vampire’s bloodsucking mechanism. Worth researching!】

Uh, I’d prefer she didn’t get that close while saying it. A skull with nothing but bone left twitching in excitement was a bit much.

Anyway, after devouring two more Dire Wolf corpses, the Ring of Life finally filled completely.

Right. One more experiment to try.

“Call out the knight order members.”

【Understood.】

“Eat.”

I’d transplanted the Predation ability, so let’s see how it manifests.

Crunch— crunch—

“Uh, hyung-nim. Do undead normally just chow down on corpses like that?”

“It’s because of a new ability, but yeah, it doesn’t look great.”

The Dire Wolf mukbang ended in an instant.

One stack per corpse, huh. Hmm. I didn’t know how high the stacks could go, but the stat boosts would grow as they accumulated.

【I absolutely refuse!】

Yeah, yeah. I wasn’t going to tell Sir Isra to bury her face in a corpse.

C-rank gate. The Beast Barracks clear went smoothly.

【Witch!】

【Stay still!】

Blades and magic bisecting Dire Wolves. With the Wind Cutter spell added, the variables Solar Eclipse could create grew even more diverse. Enhanced cutting power. Combined with fire magic to raise destructive force. Most of all, precision rose noticeably. Colliding Flame Beat and Ice Bolt was powerful but hard to control. Flame and wind, however, had good affinity and allowed fine control.

No matter how many Dire Wolves appeared, none broke through the two of them to reach the party. The Armed Zombie Warriors assigned as escorts just stood around watching the whole time.

“As expected of hyung-nim.”

“Hyung, I think I’m falling for you.”

“Mijeong, that’s a bit much.”

We charged without a single rest all the way to the boss monster, the Elder Dire Wolf.

“Awooooo!”

A debuff greeted us the moment we encountered it. Didn’t matter. Was I the one fighting? With undead that knew no fear, what was there to worry about?

【You stink, filthy beast!】

【How dare you raise your voice in front of Master!】

KWAANG!

Shhhk!

Thud!

The price for that confident howl was gruesome. In just a few minutes the Elder Dire Wolf’s body was tattered and torn.

“Awoo…”

It let out a weak sound and collapsed.

Whew. Only now did I feel at ease.