Zombie Strengthened Soldier
The C-rank corpse fabrication process had been upgraded, unlocking two additional undead crafting methods.
“Zombie Strengthened Soldier.”
“Dark Hood.”
Today’s project was the Zombie Strengthened Soldier.
【Improved Combat Strength】
“Though it may seem presumptuous, could I ask one question?”
“Of course.”
“I was wondering if you haven’t practiced corpse sewing at all.”
The four skills obtained upon promotion were:
Corpse Sewing [C]
Sage Structure Fabrication [C]
Master’s Breath [C]
Blacksmith’s Soul [S]
The Blacksmith’s Soul granted bonus effects when wielding weapons, while Master’s Breath aided in stamina recovery. Sage Structure Fabrication remained inactive. Setting aside the three skills, testing Corpse Sewing was the logical first step.
【It Makes Sense…… It Does!】
Isra accepted the suggestion without hesitation.
Zaug, who had been left out of the conversation, scratched his head vigorously.
“I did it to strengthen you all.”
“Us?”
“Resurrected beings have no fixed templates.”
“Crafting Ingrid in her living form wasn’t proper technique.”
“There were no existing undead crafting methods to follow.”
“Drawing on five years of experience, I created appearances close to human and secured them against collapse.”
【In any case, you succeeded, my lord.】
“They won’t be recognized as a new species like Draco or Armed Zombie Warrior.”
The ultimate aspiration of Necromancers—the method to restore the deceased in perfect form—was “Resurrected.”
“By stripping the strengths of undead and grafting them together, I believe we can achieve it.”
Once I master Zombie Strengthened Soldier fabrication, I should be able to apply the same procedure to Isra and reinforce her muscles.
【Oh, oh, oh! The Great Lord has everything planned out!】
“As expected of the owner!”
【I don’t understand a word, but the Great Lord is truly magnificent!】
Perfect. Let’s begin.
I placed the base corpse for the Zombie Strengthened Soldier and carefully injected the pre-purchased reagents in the exact sequence.
Boiling.
Muscles swelled dramatically.
“Shield.”
Kaboom!
The impact wasn’t as severe as when creating an Armed Zombie Warrior. Back then, the Solar Eclipse reinforced barriers had been quite shaken.
“The third reagent quantity was 0.1 ml more, and the fourth was 0.05 ml less.”
Exc.
Just a tiny difference in a chick’s eye?
“Alchemy requires only minuscule errors to produce vastly different results.”
“Do you know alchemy among Solar Eclipse’s knowledge?”
“Hohoho. Simply inscribing all knowledge of elemental magic is already an incredibly great feat.”
“Turn the lack of it into praise—you do it very well.”
Isra’s advice hadn’t been decisive, but it had served as a sufficient landmark to point the way.
On the fourth attempt:
Muscles expanded to about 1.5 times and stabilized.
“This is meant to be done to each part.”
No choice.
If it’s to be done, then it’s to be done.
◈ Strength: 648
◈ Agility: 201
◈ Stamina: 577
◈ Toughness: 450
◈ Mana: 209
Corpse Fabrication
Zombie Strengthened Soldier has been successfully crafted.
Zombie Strengthened Soldier
*Race: Undead
*Classification: Zombie
*Grade: C
Strength: 648
Agility: 201
Stamina: 577
Toughness: 450
Mana: 209
*Skills
―Great Strength [C]
―Dead Doping [C]
―Immortal Army [C]
―Weak Intellect [D]
Handicraft has increased.
Its specs were stronger than an Armed Zombie Warrior, except for one flaw. Removing the Toughness stat, it was nearly a perfect superior counterpart.
【The bodyguard should probably be an Armed Zombie Warrior.】
“Your judgment is as sharp as a blade.”
“【The Great Lord’s safety comes first.】
C-rank undead falling short of expectations wasn’t something to worry about. The reinforcement points lay in reagent timing and quantity adjustment. Maintaining the Armed Zombie Warrior’s frame and reinforcing only the muscles with reagents would produce a heavily armored soldier enjoying the doping effect of a mid-tier infantry unit.
【Have you already foreseen this far?】
“I thought it would work.”
I had originally intended to reinforce Isra. But the muscle swelling from doping felt excessive. Adjusting quantities might allow controlled reinforcement effects at an appropriate level. I would verify by creating a reinforced version of the Armed Zombie Warrior.
Where is the owner like me?
【Huuuum. Too much muscle and agility suffers.】
Look at that. Just the words of a glutton.
“Shh. Concentrate.”
I retrieved the Armed Zombie Warrior I had stored in the Death Space and began the work.
【Undead Fabrication Method Revision Confirmed.】
【Undead created with the revised method now exhibits significantly different grades and stats from the original.】
“Would you like to name this one?”
Modifying the third Armed Zombie Warrior, the swollen muscles no longer shrank or exploded suddenly.
“I never expected to be classified as a separate species.”
Adding to the undead fabrication list didn’t cause any major crisis. It would have been better if one more feat had been added, but it was fine. How many free rides had I taken so far?
“You’ll reinforce Isra next.”
【Haha! The entire Knight Order has been upgraded—there’s no regret at all!】
Three units were destroyed during the reinforcement. All five Knight Order members succeeded in upgrading to Strengthened Soldiers.
“I’ll have to buy a lot more reagents.”
I’d purchased them in bulk, but after the experiments, they were all gone.
“It’s fine. Money is abundant.”
Estimating about ten million won per reinforcement, the remaining business was still profitable.
“The upgrade cost for the Armed Zombie Warrior—now the Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier—was C+ grade.”
The total stat sum exceeded that of a veteran C-rank Hunter by a small margin. Including initial fabrication and reinforcement costs, it came to around thirty million won. Hiring a C-rank veteran Hunter for a month would cost at least ten times that much.
“Thanks to sharing the owner’s abilities, our skill is also guaranteed!”
Heavenly Martial Body.
The Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers sharing the SSS-grade combat sense were no ordinary undead. The lack of skills was a minor flaw, but their superior physical abilities made it hardly noticeable as a drawback. With more familiarity in reagent compounding, I’d have to strengthen the Dracos too. The dragon essence in the byproduct wasn’t abundant, so caution was required.
【With the reagents all used up, it’s time to head to training.】
“There’s a mountain of chores, what are you talking about.”
While drumming on the Green Drake bone, I was hungry. Before forgetting the remaining sensations in my hands, I should try mana reinforcing with monster bones.
Kaboom!
The alchemical forge began heating up.
🏛 Type: Monster Bone
⚔ Difficulty: High
The ruby-red Aluvist bone.
Krraang!
After striking once to flatten it, I applied force to fold it in half. Originally it should have shattered with a snap, but the bone alchemy’s efficiency and the mana stone powder sprinkled beforehand allowed it to bend at a right angle.
Krraang!
“Good. It worked once.”
The sweat from Meister Han Yohan’s forge was worth it. Further folding was impossible; the added mana would shatter the bone.
“It’s different from the Green Drake bone.”
I finally understood why Meister Han had been so excited when he saw me. Bone handling was far more difficult than metal. The difficulty was too high and the results weaker than metal, so without bone alchemy, there was no reason to bother. That was right. Only a Necrosmith like me could do it.
【Corpse Processing】
【Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier’s performance has improved.】
【Toughness: 701 → 873】
【Heavy Armor Defense: C → B】
【Great Strength: C → C+】
“Wow. The strengthening effect is visible.”
C-rank grants fifteen bonus stats per level up. Mana reinforcing was effectively the same as gaining eleven levels. What about the upgraded skills? Heavy Armor significantly boosts armor defense, while Great Strength adds abilities proportional to strength. Upgraded to B and C+ respectively, and considering the stat gains from the upgrade, how powerful would they really be?
【It’s worth aiming for B-rank Hunter, isn’t it?】
“The Great Lord’s strength has no limits!”
【I don’t quite understand, but congratulations, Great Lord!】
Each individual was now at B-rank Hunter level. In actual combat it would differ. Even with the Heavenly Martial Body buff, their judgment wasn’t sharp enough. The Knight Order members should be fine, though.
Isra’s command was truly exceptional. While swinging the sword at the front lines, she made her subordinates look as if they had eyes behind their heads.
This is what it is. Am I getting too strong?
Kaboom! Bang!
Unlike reagents, the remaining bones had plenty of surplus. The armor of the Armed Zombie Warrior that burst during reinforcement, plus the extras bought from the Hunter Market.
Corpse Processing
One by one, I reinforced the armor until the sun had already set.
“Ugh. Time passed so quickly.”
“You worked hard, Owner!”
I wiped myself with the towel Isra handed me. Why did I sweat so much?
【I didn’t know you were so absorbed in the work that you were sweating.】
“I thought a little sweat would come.”
【Your focused appearance made you look like a Meister-grade artisan, Great Lord.】
“I’m hungry. Shall we go eat our traditional Korean stew?”
【Let’s go! You think only you can eat?】
“Then eat with me.”
【Grrrrr! You’re insulting me!】
“Oh. Sorry. We can’t eat iron heads, can we?”
Korean stew. It did sound good, but.
“Let’s eat later.”
My body burned with moderate tension, fatigue, and satisfaction. I wanted one more thing—to swing the hammer.
“I’ll have to strengthen the Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers’ weapons too.”
If I used mana reinforcing to fabricate them, I could produce even stronger power with the same materials.
Kaboom!
Krraang!
[Rare Grade]
[Weapon Category: Warrior-Only]
[Durability: 200/200]
[Effect: Impact resistance enhanced]
Bone Alchemy
I’ve crafted a Wavy Bone Axe.
Wavy Bone Axe
Grade: Rare
Classification: Weapon
Restriction: Warrior Class
Durability: 200/200
Refined bone strengthened by mana reinforcing and shaped into an axe. Focused on enhancing the axe’s original nature. The bone material makes it vulnerable to impact and rapid durability consumption.
*Slash Lv 41
“Hah.”
Finally. The item I made received a “Rare” judgment.
【Rare Grade Item Crafted.】
Handicraft has increased.
It was a weapon true to the nature of axes. Even the subpar options were intentional. If I applied mana reinforcing more actively, additional effects could be granted, but there was no need. The Armed Zombie Warrior’s advantages were enormous strength and toughness. The best usage was to absorb enemy attacks and swing the axe one more time.
In that sense.
【The Wavy Bone Axe is the most suitable weapon.】
Isra also acknowledged my judgment as correct. When Meister Han said the continent’s greatest sword was right, her lips twitched.
While I was absorbed in the work, Isra also made some small progress.
[Lightning Magic Research]
📍 Location: Workshop
🎁 Reward: Lightning Magic Skill [D]
Magic Research
Lightning [D] has been added as an undead magic skill.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Great!”
It was past midnight. My stomach growled and my limbs felt like rubber, yet my mood was exceptionally good.