The Black Lotus and White Marigold -4-
Next, I pressed Flamma's right arm—the one matching my severed limb—against my stump and activated the Corpse Crafter skill I'd unlocked at level 5.
Flesh Graft
-Crunch!!! The cross-sections of the two severed limbs snapped together perfectly, bonding like glue.
My original arm had been larger than Flamma's, but the moment it fused to my body, his arm expanded to match my original size, fitting seamlessly.
Smooth... smooth... Flamma's arm fully integrated with my body. I tested it by clenching my fist. It moved just like my old arm—perfectly.
And then—
-Whoosh!! Black flames, the same ones Flamma had wielded, erupted from the grafted arm.
This was one of the Corpse Crafter's other abilities. When you graft another being's flesh onto your own, you could wield that being's abilities up to the level of your Corpse Crafter class—or whatever higher job shared its lineage.
Right now, at level 5, I could acquire up to five abilities from a graft. Black Flame seemed like a solid pick, so I absorbed it.
'Alright, with that done, time for the real evolution and job change.'
Race unlocked at user's will.
Job unlocked at user's will.
I unlocked Ghoul (Mage) level 3 and Spirit Evoker level 5.
-Crunch!!! Just like before, wicked knowledge flooded my mind—but this time, as my race evolved, I heard my muscles and bones shifting and reassembling inside me, like my body was being rebuilt from scratch.
All my wounds vanished during the process, and soon enough, the evolution wrapped up.
"Grrrraaah!! Finally!! I can talk properly!!"
Words flowed smoothly at last. My voice now carried a beastly growl that sent chills down the spine, but damn, it felt like a dam had burst.
I glanced at the ice pillar still standing, unmelting.
"Oh, fuck."
My zombie form was mostly gone. Reflected back was a ghoul straight out of a game—bigger and fiercer thanks to my muscle mass and build. Evolution had amplified my already towering size and height even further.
'I can probably fix the size issue later with Undead Meister, the advanced Corpse Crafter job.'
For now, I shrugged it off. More importantly than speech—
-Whoosh whoosh!!
"My body's moving great too."
But something felt off. I'd evolved into a ghoul, shedding the physical debuffs, but Ghoul (Mage) didn't boost physical stats.
Yet the power surging through me now surpassed my pre-awakening strength.
As I pondered that—
Body normalized. Perk unlocked.
Acquired skill Reverse Reconstruction.
Reverse Reconstruction: +2 HP, Strength, Agility per level.
"Oh, fuck."
What an insane ability. Now, as a pure magic class, my physical stats rivaled a pure warrior or assassin who'd dumped everything into body stats.
The mage's classic weakness—frail body—was fixed. And best of all, my original physique had returned from that rotten zombie husk.
'No idea who granted me this power, but thanks.'
With this, by max level, revenge would be a breeze, and I could crush the Demon King too.
'Still, no slacking. Flamma was strong. Probably an Archfiend—those guys who lead demon armies. There've gotta be dozens like him. Gotta prepare thoroughly.'
With that in mind, I decided to wrap up the pending business. I reached out toward Borshijin Langfang's corpse.
Activating skills.
Living Death
The Spirit Evoker's skill let undead—who normally couldn't grow—level up like players. At certain levels, they could evolve, learn skills or magic through training, and shatter the usual summon limit of 85.
Plus, the corpse's pre-death abilities transferred directly to the undead. Normally, undead didn't inherit source abilities (barring exceptions). One Living Death per level.
Masterpiece Undead
Corpse Crafter skill. One Masterpiece Undead per level. They started higher level than standard undead, with superior base stats relative to level. Also granted Corpse Crafter's Masterpiece, boosting undead skill power.
With both active, I chanted:
"Raise Dead."
The strongest undead spell I could cast now produced mid-tier undead. But with skills, growth potential trumped rank.
As the magic triggered—
-Whoooong!!! Black mist-like energy poured from my hand, drawn into Langfang's corpse like it had a mind of its own.
Info flooded my head. Corpse Crafter suggested the optimal undead type for the material.
-Whoooong!!
JIANGSHI
Optimal undead for Borshijin Langfang's corpse in current conditions.
'Perfect.' No hesitation—I selected Jiangshi.
I'd half-expected it. She was an elite martial artist.
More info followed: on the undead's appearance.
'Normally, barring a few exceptions, undead have fixed forms regardless of source material.'
Yeah. Even a beauty's corpse yielded the standard texture—blue-skinned, talisman-headed, Qing dynasty-robed male jiangshi. What a waste of prime material. Like drawing eyebrows on Mona Lisa or straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Appearance mattered as much as performance to me. Unacceptable.
'But Corpse Crafter's Corpse Sculpting changes that.'
Corpse Sculpting
Corpse Sculpting allowed undead customization. Not full overhaul yet—that needed Undead Meister.
-Whoooong!! A character creator screen popped up in my mind, like a game's starter editor.
'Appearance: original unaltered.' No tweaks needed. Locked in Langfang's exact look.
'And...'
I triggered Corpse Sculpting's true killer feature—over appearance customization.
'Consume extra corpses to empower the undead. Boosts stats and transfers some pre-death abilities.'
I immediately picked the Gluttonous Ogre from my Corpse Repository as reinforcement material—
-Crunch!! The preview shifted with the material's influence, but I blocked it, reverting to pure Langfang.
'Finally...'Corpse Sculpting even customized initial clothing.
'Tailor-made to my tastes.'
No original to copy, so I sculpted meticulously, like carving stone.
'Talismans on head, chest, and pussy. As slutty, horny, lewd, and trashy as possible.'
Auroray Fantasia was 15+, so no lewd outfits in-game. But reality had no limits. I designed to my exact pervy specs.
Past life, I'd been a total degenerate—banging whoever, whenever. This life, I'd played straight, building frustration. Maybe it exploded here.
'Oh, perfect.' First time in ages I'd gotten fired up. Solid work.
Prep complete. Just hit create.
'But my first undead creation deserves fanfare. Milestone moment.'
Slogans raced through my head.
'Rise? Too cliché. Awaken? Nah.'
"Hmm..."
After a beat, staring at the finished preview—that walking hentai vibe—a killer line hit me.
"Hey."
I said it aloud.
"Get horny."
