Sleeping Forest Witch -7- "What the Hell?"
The corpse before my eyes was undoubtedly that of the witch who built this underground labyrinth, and I could tell she was a beauty who wouldn't pale in comparison to Kangjang and Dena flanking me. But for some reason, even though it was the same memory scene, contradictory images would flash by, or emotions opposite to what I originally felt would surge simultaneously, with noise glitches or sudden memory cuts—various anomalies like that.
And roughly, I figured out what was going on.
'The aftermath of the villagers all dying midway broke her mind.'
In my previous life as a mercenary, it wasn't uncommon for guys I'd shared a meal with yesterday to end up as chunks of meat the next day for one reason or another. Our mercenary band was full of rough lowlifes from the dregs of society or battle-crazed maniacs, so most of us, myself included, brushed it off without a second thought. But occasionally, the soft-hearted newbies who joined for money or whatever would show these symptoms when comrades or friends they'd come in with died. The so-called PTSD and the resulting mental illness.
There were various symptoms, but the witch's seemed to include dissociative identity disorder, Capgras syndrome, and delusions—quite severe ones at that.
"Mm, truly tragic."
"Uu?"
"Ee?"
Kangjang and Dena tilted their heads at my words.
-Rub rub, knead knead-
-Boing boing-
"Auu~♥"
"Uue~♥"
I pulled the two into my arms, one on each side, and groped their breasts with both hands. I savored the soft texture, twisting the stiff, protruding nipples poking through.
"It's sad that such a cutie who's about to join our family was left here all alone like this."
"Aua~"
"Uue~"
They chimed in agreement. The woman lying there so forlornly would be saved from now on—thanks to me. Just like them.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. She won't be lonely anymore."
Because I've got her now.
Withdrawing one corpse from Corpse Vault.
A piping-hot corpse that had just died moments ago—the boss-level eyeball collector I'd killed right before.
'Honestly, not the most appealing material...'
Compared to the stuff I'd used in the game for elite undead, the quality was way lower. But among the materials I could use right now, this magic-type corpse had the best synergy with her.
'If it were the game, I'd have used at least demigod-level monsters like Master Over Brain, Magic Ascended, or Ancient Being, or some holy magic-type...'
And the same went for the three corpses I'd implanted directly into my body.
'Of course, they weren't in my inventory—they were attached to me, so they all got blown away...'
I usually swapped out spare corpses depending on the situation and kept them in inventory, but the last time I played, I'd cleared out most items to the base right before logging off, so nothing was left. I had a habit of keeping my inventory tidy anyway, storing anything not needed that day at the base—and that day, it was especially empty. At best, I had some junk drops from the World Forest field I'd hunted in before quitting, but they were useless here.
Anyway.
"Alright, materials ready. Kangjang, Dena—time to welcome a new comrade."
They'd better greet her properly.
With that, I flashed a faint smile.
"Uu"
"Ee"
-Nod nod-
They instantly grasped my intent through our mental link and moved to their assigned positions to do their part.
"Here we go..."
Living Death + Masterpiece Undead + Corpse Sculpting
"Raise Immortal"
What I aimed to create was an advanced undead. Supreme undead—the usual user limit—were still out of reach for now.
"Astral Lich"
The resulting undead would be an astral lich—a being that, after eons, reached the pinnacle of magic, attained enlightenment, and transcended half its flesh into an immaterial astral spirit. True to her lifetime moniker of "witch," I considered making her a Baba Smertzi—an advanced undead and upper variant of Death Witch—instead. But it had poor synergy with her magic, so I went with the more versatile astral lich.
With the undead type decided—
-Wuuung!!
Like before, black energy surged from my hand toward the corpse. It seeped into the pure white skeleton,
-Krrrk!!
-Shrrrrk!!
and the nearby eyeball collector's corpse decomposed into a thick, red liquid, morphing like tentacles to absorb into the black-aura-wrapped bones.
Then—
-Krrrk!!
-Kakdk!!
The fleshless bones began rebuilding muscle like a rewind, followed by tendons, veins, organs, skin, and hair in sequence. The woman's vanished body reconstructed itself.
It was a surreal, blasphemous, horrifying, grotesque sight—but also mysteriously awe-inspiring, like the dead rising.
"Hmm..."
A customization window popped up in my mind. Astral liches were just rotted-bone spirits, and the eyeball collector wasn't much for looks. The initial form was downright bizarre, so I overhauled it entirely, restoring her pure original appearance.
To fully use the eyeball monster's abilities, it'd need eyes all over its body—but that would ruin her beauty. So I crammed all the eyeballs except the two on her face into her equipment, which counted as part of the undead: the staff astral liches wield. I designed it cool and demonic, fitting a corrupted mage, studded with countless eyes.
Her initial undead outfit matched my tastes, just like Kangjang and Dena's.
"Alright..."
Everything prepared...
"Come alive."
"..."
The newly born being opened her eyes.
She wasn't a child, despite being "newborn." Her mind filled with knowledge, a completed body surging with vast mana and power—but filled with death energy, not life force. Her dead flesh pulsed with bizarre, incomprehensible undeath vitality, rejecting her fate.
"..."
In an instant—dividing one second into infinite fractions—she sorted all memories in her head, perfectly defining and understanding her existence.
She was someone's subordinate, familiar, tool, slave.
"Perfect."
The being smiling satisfied before her eyes owned everything of hers—the one deserving absolute loyalty, love, awe, and faith.
And her mind raced.
Her psyche's foundation: three memory sets.
One: Essential knowledge injected upon becoming an astral lich, for wielding undead power.
Two: Memories of her origin, the base material.
Three: Her one and only absolute master's memories.
Undead inherently inherit their creator's memories upon creation, enabling instant obedience. Normal undead would use them just enough to follow orders faithfully.
But she was a masterpiece among masterpieces, alive-like. Taking merits of the living and dead, she could exploit them more actively.
'...'
Her master's tastes—even unknown to him—shone clearly in her mind.
'He...'
Likes pure, innocent types with a touch of airheaded charm.
With that grasped, she knew exactly how to act.
'We're mentally linked anyway. Words don't matter.'
Their bond transcended petty speech.
"..."
As she opened her mouth to speak mentally—
Aah... My prince...
'This...'
Something nonexistent stirred her mind. And the words that emerged—
"Hua...♥ (My prince...♥)"
Completely unlike the "Master" she'd intended.
'...?'
Even she didn't understand why she'd said that, trying to correct it—but
"You're just like them, huh. 'Prince,' though? Kangjang and Dena call me Master... I like the variety."
"Hua..♥"
His praise sent pure joy from her core—not emotion or soul, but essence—shaking her body.
"Hua...♥ (Prince....♥)"
"Yeah, yeah... Welcome to the world."
Your name is Witch Lich... Or short for
"'Mari.'"
"Ahuu~♥"
Her absolute master named her, filling Mari with boundless joy.
"Hua~ Aah~ Ahu~♥ (Aah~ Prince~ Prince~♥)"
Familiar yet not, a melody spilled from her lips like habit.
"Ooh~ Nice tune. Good, good. Time for the inauguration ritual?"
"Hua~?"
At her master's words—
"Auu~"
"Uue~"
Kangjang and Dena, her kin or sisters, closed in from both sides.
"Uuu~"
"Ee~"
True to Seokgil's tastes, save for thigh-high stockings, elbow gloves, shoulder cape, and witch hat, their nude bodies pressed against Mari's.
-Boing boing-
-Jiggle jiggle-
They targeted her soft, elastic, gaze-magnetizing bosom—heavy yet cozy, intimidating in weight. Bigger than Dena's, rivaling Kangjang's.
"Ah~"
"Aang~"
Toward the perky nipples on those voluptuous curves, Kangjang and Dena opened wide.
And
"Awup~♥"
"Chomp♥"
They latched onto Mari's nipples.
