The Bloodsteed Rises

From afternoon into evening.

Clang! Clank!

I swung the hammer.

Crackle-crackle!

I opened spirit circuits.

Bubble-bubble—

I injected the reagent mixed to the precise ratio.

I had restored a total of three Armed Zombie Warrior Strengthened Soldiers.

"Have a drink, Master."

"Thanks."

I gulped down the bottled water Ingrid handed me. I must have drunk too fast—some of it spilled down my chin.

"Oh my."

I'd shown a clumsy side of myself. Pretending not to notice her reaction, I changed the subject.

"Is the research done?"

"I just finished."

The first C-grade spell she had ever developed. The options themselves were surprisingly simple.

"I chose this spell in case Master ever finds himself in danger."

It dealt no physical or elemental damage. Instead, once designated, the banishment was unavoidable. If the target failed to resist, the skill would fling them anywhere from fifty to two hundred meters away.

Not bad for a magic user. You've shown some real ingenuity.

"Unlike a certain iron-headed someone, I actually use my brain."

Just this once, I'll overlook it in light of your loyalty to my lord.

A spell that launched anyone who failed to resist. You could use it on enemies who had broken through the allied tank line—or reverse it and banish an enemy dealer or tank to shatter their formation.

Excellent. Skills that created variables were always welcome.

"Then let's try the second experiment."

"You mean those fragments from earlier?"

"Yeah."

The Split Soulstones I had bought in bulk. Looking only at the item descriptions, they all seemed identical. Through Spirit Eye, however, each one was subtly different. The wavelengths they emitted varied by the slightest degree.

"I just don't know what properties they're carrying."

Why not analyze the wavelengths similar to the fragment we secured last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time?

I wanted to ask how I was supposed to remember that wavelength—yet for some reason, the moment I looked over the bulk-purchased Split Soulstones, the memory came back to me roughly enough.

What the hell? How was that even possible?

"Hohoho. A girl does have her talents, you know."

"That's for magic. It doesn't make your head any sharper."

"Instinctively remembering wavelengths is still within the realm of talent."

Huh. Well then. Long live talent.

The Soulstones all held faintly different wavelengths. I took the one closest to the wavelength I had obtained from the Living Armor and slotted it into an Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier.

Fwoooosh!

The Split Soulstone dropped by the Living Armor had granted a 16% boost. A mere 1% difference might have seemed negligible to anyone else. To me, it looked completely different.

Even without using the exact same Soulstone, similar types still produced a boost!

The only way to confirm the hypothesis was more experimentation.

"This time let's try one similar to the Orc Mage Soulstone fragment."

"Wouldn't that mismatch with a magic-type undead?"

"Exactly. That's why we're doing it."

When I explained my intention, Ingrid looked impressed.

"I dared to judge Master's grand design by my own limited understanding."

A crime worthy of a hundred deaths.

It was far too trivial a matter to die over.

"Hoho. At least I can still die. That iron head of yours is already dead, so you can't even die again."

Gaaaaah!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching that one-sided exchange of barbs.

I slotted a Split Soulstone into the second Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier.

"Perfect."

Just as expected. By reading the mana wavelengths the fragments emitted, I could distinguish which type of undead each one suited.

You will be able to strengthen your subordinates even further.

As expected, you are magnificent, Great Lord!

Using higher-grade materials than I had at D-rank had already elevated these Armed Zombie Warriors. Slotting Split Soulstones into all of them would raise their specs by roughly 70% over my previous minions.

Stack the achievement effects on top of that… and they might approach the level of a maxed-out B-rank Hunter.

"Heh. Heheh."

A hollow, breathless laugh escaped me. How much did it cost to hire a maxed-out B-rank Hunter as a mercenary for a single day? A quick search on HunterNet showed the starting rate was a hundred million won.

Materials and reagents for crafting one of these came to about forty million. Truly—Necrosmith was the best class of all!

"You've worked hard today. Shall we go for some soup?"

"There's still one more thing I want to try."

It was dinner time, but the momentum felt too good to break. The flow was perfect right now.

"Zaug. Bring me the raptor corpse from storage."

Understood, Great Lord!

The raptor corpse, vacuum-packed tight. A byproduct obtained while clearing the gate Primal Wave, the one that had given Phoenix Guild so much trouble.

It appears to have been stored for quite some time.

"You said you had a special use for it, didn't you?"

"Yeah. There's something I want to test."

Whether it would go the way I hoped was still uncertain. Success would be ideal. Even failure wouldn't cost me anything. So why did I have the strange feeling that failure simply wasn't going to happen?

I laid the raptor corpse on the workbench.

I projected mana through the interior, analyzing the raptor's bones, muscles, and cells. A second layer of analysis through Spirit Eye let me grasp the structure in even finer detail. I burned every visible form into my mind as thoroughly as possible.

This was my first time processing a four-legged beast, so I proceeded with more caution than usual.

"That should be enough."

I muttered to myself and lifted a whole pile of Owlbeast bones.

You intend to forge armor?

"That's right."

"Attaching bone armor to a ghoul would reduce its mobility, wouldn't it?"

A fair point. However—

"I never said I was making a ghoul with this."

If I used the raptor corpse as a base, a ghoul would have been the best match. A ghoul's signature three-dimensional mobility paired perfectly with the raptors I had seen in Primal Wave. But the undead I planned to create this time was no ghoul.

The crafting recipe I had obtained when Corpse Crafting ranked up to C-grade.

"I'm making a Bloodsteed."

A raptor base should turn out decent enough.

"Wouldn't it be a bit shabby for Master to ride?"

I never said I would be the one riding it.

"I'm going to mount an Armed Zombie Warrior on it, so it's fine."

I had already built undead clad head to toe in bone armor. Why shouldn't heavy cavalry work just as well?

As expected of my lord! You seek to forge an entirely new undead!

"Have you ever faced anything similar, Iron Head?"

I have not.

If this succeeded, I might even rack up another achievement. My motivation surged even higher.

When the flames in the small forge roared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to life, I activated the skill.

At the same moment the skill activated, I sprinkled mana stone powder over the Owlbeast bones and fed them into the fire. Once the whole pile of bones had taken on a deep crimson hue—

Clang! Clank!

I folded the heated Owlbeast bone once, shaped it, and finished with a sharp hiss of quenching.

Options that stuck faithfully to the basics. Apart from the chronic durability problem unique to bone, it was excellent. When I set it on the raptor corpse, the size fit perfectly.

That is why you examined it beforehand with Spirit Eye and Corpse Processing.

"Master always has a plan!"

It was just the knack you pick up after endless repetition day and night. Did they have any idea how furious it made a man to do the same job twice?

After the armor came the turn of the raptor corpse that would serve as the core. While I put it through rapid maturation with a D-grade mana stone, I prepared the byproducts I would use for modification.

Byproducts I had purchased specifically for modifying the raptor. Every single one carried a weight-increase option. Having Spirit Eye made buying byproducts so much more convenient. Back at E-rank I had been forced to taste-test every last scrap. Thanks to that convenience, the trial-and-error in undead crafting had plummeted.

I trimmed everything to fit the raptor corpse, careful not to forget the blended reagents. A few byproducts exploded with sharp pops—first time using them, so dosage control was tricky.

"Master, add just 0.01 ml more right there."

Without Ingrid's advice I would have floundered a while longer. Once processing and reagent strengthening were finished, I carved out sections of the rapidly matured corpse and fused them in an instant.

I carved circuits into the flesh, muscle, and bone stiffened by rigor mortis, then fitted the pre-made magic armor. With a satisfying click, the armor locked into the grooves I had prepared in advance.

Wheeeeng—!

The spirit circuits engraved earlier resonated where they met, binding the magic armor and raptor corpse even more tightly together.

"Eheheheh."

The experience I had accumulated crafting Armed Zombie Warriors was shining through at last.

Is it enough simply to chant the spell?

"Yeah. Preparations are complete."

"You're not using a Split ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Soulstone?"

"My guess is it would more likely backfire."

I had simply been lucky with the Armed Zombie Warriors. The Split Soulstone dropped by the Living Armor had matched a heavy infantry nature perfectly. I had no idea what wavelength would match a heavily armored Bloodsteed. Trying the same method as with the Warriors might cause the whole thing to collapse instead.

"Zaug. Hold that raptor corpse steady."

I called over one of the freshly crafted Armed Zombie Warriors.

"Guuuuh."

"Sit here."

"Guu."

The Armed Zombie Warrior settled its rear onto the magic armor.

Great Lord! I-It's heavy, sir!

"Hang on just a little longer."

I attached two more Armed Zombie Warriors for support, then engraved additional spirit circuits along the contact surfaces between the raptor corpse and the Warriors. Everything was ready.

"Open your eyes."

Swaaaaaah—!

Mana drained out of me like an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ebbing tide. The closed eyes of the raptor corpse snapped open.