The Name of the Craftsman
"I'll go first."
The one to step up for the interview first was Fitzgerald. The undead he pulled out of his subspace was a kind of monster Simon had never seen before.
Where legs should have been, living wheels spun instead; a rectangular body like a carriage supported what was unmistakably a human upper half from the chest up. Its huge eyes drifted erratically, unable to hold focus, and its six arms each held a strange, disconnected gesture.
…And this is supposed to be an undead?
It was an intensely baffling appearance, hard to define in a single word. At a glance, it looked like one of those ancient statues you'd only find deep in ruined ruins.
Simon was left bewildered, but the second-years' reactions were quite different. Dio leaned forward with naked curiosity, while Benya shouted, her face lit up with excitement.
"It's a Chimera, isn't it! Am I right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The Chimera was hailed as the masterpiece of undead research.
When a living creature undergoes even the slightest alteration or mutation from its original form at birth, its physiological balance collapses and its lifespan shortens—conjoined twins and mutant specimens were classic examples of this.
But undead, existing far beyond the common sense of living things, allowed for radical biological experimentation. The result of that freedom was the Chimera: a monster meticulously crafted by necromancers blending the cells of different undead types.
"So what's the main component?"
Dio asked. By 'main,' he meant the core creature at the heart of the Chimera. Fitzgerald answered without a moment's hesitation.
"A Seiren."
Benya and Dio let out a small gasp at the same time. A Seiren was a rare monster, half human and half seabird.
"A magic-type undead already, and only a first year?"
"I heard a Seiren's thoughts are so extremely complex that a person who links with one goes insane!"
"Yes. Five minutes is my limit."
Fitzgerald said, adjusting his glasses. "Though going mad is the least of my concerns."
Despite themselves, everyone found themselves nodding along.
Benya's eyes gleamed as she observed the Chimera from every angle, and finally she looked at Fitzgerald and asked, "Everyone! Could you give us a demonstration? Ah—of course, if it's too much…"
"I can."
Fitzgerald quietly closed his eyes. The Chimera, which had kept its eyes shut until now, snapped them open.
The six arms bent in different directions, each settling into a distinct stance—a sight that bordered on the uncanny.
Woom! Woom! Woom!
Woom! Woom! Woom!
Magic circles bloomed, one for every arm. From within them, flames and ice wrought of jet-black poured out in a torrent, slamming into the walls.
Incredible. A summon capable of casting six dark spells simultaneously!
Even Simon couldn't help but be astonished this time. If he could handle that Chimera well, he'd have no trouble staying in Kizen's top ranks.
"…That will be all."
Fitzgerald swayed on his feet as he severed the link with the Chimera.
"Amazing!"
Benya, who had been prancing around with both arms raised, thrust a finger at Fitzgerald. "You pass! Absolutely, unconditionally pass!"
"Thank you."
"What do you think?"
Benya glanced at Dio. He nodded readily. "…He's exactly our club's style. He's in."
"Then one spot is confirmed! Next up."
It was Toto's turn.
Toto's special undead, huh…
Simon was genuinely curious what Toto would bring out. He'd been using nothing but skeletons until now—what kind of special undead could he have gotten his hands on in such a short time?
"I-I'll begin!"
Bearing the full weight of Benya's expectant gaze, a visibly nervous Toto opened his subspace. What emerged was not—
"…Dogs?"
Three shaggy, fluff-covered medium-sized dogs with luxurious coats. They were large, with sharp teeth—almost wolf-like.
Simon scratched the side of his head. But no matter how I look at it, these aren't undead, are they?
As far as Simon could tell, this wasn't so much a Summoning undead as a technique closer to 'Taming'—using dark magic to tame monsters into familiars.
"Interesting, little one."
But Benya's thinking was different. "These dogs are all dead, aren't they?"
"Yes."
"…!"
They really are undead?
For corpses, they were glossy-furred and lively, the picture of health.
"…Oh, I see."
Dio seemed to catch on too, crouching down for a closer look. Benya nodded and finished the thought for him.
"Parasite undead—Parasites."
The Parasite was one of the strangest undead in existence. It entered the body of a specific animal and lived as a parasite, subjecting its host to hypnosis, paralysis, hallucinations, and a long series of other processes—until at last it devoured the heart, dissolved its own body in its place, and formed a Core.
The host animal never knew it had died, never knew it had become undead—while the Parasite slowly devoured even its mind.
Because of these unique traits, Parasites were a subject of vigorous research among necromancers interested in immortality.
"Impressive. Handling Parasites is no small feat."
Benya rested her hands on her hips and smiled. At her praise, Toto wore an expression of embarrassed, soaring delight.
"Could we see what they can do?"
"Y-yes, of course!"
"…Have them fight my skeletons."
Dio pulled skeletons from his subspace and set them upon the dogs. Toto immediately sent an attack order to his parasite-infected hounds.
Tadadadat!
The dogs closed the distance at speeds the skeletons couldn't even hope to match, then took them down in a single leap, tearing at their neck vertebrae and slamming them to the floor. Their paws and fangs were stained black—undead through and through, properly channeling jet-black power.
Within a few minutes, the skeletons had been torn limb from limb, their pieces scattered and rolling across the ground.
"Return!"
The dogs, who had been gnawing on the skeletons like chew toys, trotted back to Toto. When he knelt on one knee and stroked their heads, they wagged their tails and licked his face.
"Very good! You pass too, little one!"
"Thank you, Senior!"
Toto bowed deeply.
"And finally…"
Benya swept back her cream-colored hair and looked at Simon. "What undead will you show us?"
Now it was Simon's turn. He thought for a moment, then turned to Dio. "Senior, could you raise those skeletons again?"
"…Huh? Oh, sure."
At Dio's gesture, the skeletons were restored to their original state. Simon squared his stance and drew in a deep breath.
What was he planning to show them? A taut tension suddenly filled the clubroom.
As everyone watched with wide eyes, Simon opened his subspace as though pulling an invisible lever.
Attack.
Even at Simon's command, it remained still. Not that he'd expected it to work on the first try.
Simon repeated the order, over and over—
SHRAAAANG!
A sharp blade-tentacle of metal and bone burst from the subspace, obliterating a skeleton in a single stroke as it swept past.
"Whooooa!"
"What—what was that?!"
Exclamations erupted from every direction. At Simon's next gesture, the tentacle slid back into the subspace.
"…That startled me."
"That's an undead?"
As everyone murmured, Benya stared blankly, saying nothing at all.
"…I've never seen an undead like that before."
Shock was written across her face. She came barreling over, seized Simon by the shoulders, and shook him back and forth in a frenzy. "You! What was that thing! Don't keep a girl in suspense—show me right now!"
"…Ah, yes. Of course."
Simon opened his subspace and carefully drew out the Overlord. Everyone let out another gasp of surprise.
"What on earth is this thing?"
"An undead of a soft-bodied creature? I didn't even know something like this existed."
Everyone fixed Simon with eyes demanding an explanation, and he told the story slowly, from beginning to end—how he'd attended the undead exhibition at Blue Harbor and received it as a reward for completing a mission, and that it was an undead built around a kraken.
"The Blue Harbor undead exhibition!"
Benya clapped her hands with a sharp smack. "I wanted to go there so badly! I kept waiting, hoping a related request might come in!"
"You were lucky. I only went because it was a Designated Request."
"So it was exhibited there? That actually explains a lot now."
Benya clearly wanted to get close and touch it herself, but the Overlord kept warily waving its long tentacle in warning, and she could only lick her lips in frustration. Watching her, Simon linked into the Overlord's consciousness, guided one tentacle forward in front of himself, and stroked it flat with his palm.
"Would you like to touch it?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Benya covered the distance to Simon's side at astonishing speed.
"It's sharp, so please be careful not to cut your fingers."
With a far more serious expression now, she ran her hands over the Overlord's blade.
"You mixed mithril into the bone, didn't you? Am I right?"
"Exactly right, Senior."
"This balance is simply fantastic."
TING.
When she flicked the Overlord's leg lightly with her finger, a clear, ringing note resounded through the room.
"The craftsman's skill is superb, of course, but bone and mithril achieving a golden ratio like this is a miracle born of chance piled upon chance! A kraken undead this exquisitely made—I doubt another will ever come along."
"…Ah."
"So what I mean is—take good care of it from now on."
She pulled her hands away from the Overlord and slapped Simon heartily on the back, grinning from ear to ear. "Welcome aboard! Congratulations on joining, my friend!"
Even mid-wince, Simon didn't forget his manners.
And so all three of them became members of the club known as Mutant.
"This is great! Ask me anything—about the club, Kizen life, undead, whatever you want!"
They settled onto the sofa, piled up snacks and tea, and dove into conversation in earnest. Simon hadn't realized what a joy it was to have people who could share the same passions so earnestly. He lost himself in the talk, completely losing track of time.
Then, when the conversation circled back to the Overlord, Benya said, "The Overlord's raw specs are certainly excellent, but honestly, running the body outside the subspace is going to be difficult."
Her assessment was accurate—the same thing Pier had told him.
"Getting your summons destroyed is the fate of every Summoning major, but the Overlord is just too fragile on its own."
"Yes. That's why I've been practicing keeping the Overlord inside my subspace and attacking using its long limbs."
"But it's not easy, is it?"
"No. The problem is the link between consciousness and body…"
She pondered for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "My friend! Have you ever thought about meeting a subspace craftsman?"
"Sorry?"
"The solution lies in the subspace. The way I see it, subspace operation isn't optional for the Overlord—it's essential. Which means what you need is a subspace built exclusively for the Overlord!"
Simon's eyes went round. "Is… is that even possible? We can't leave Roc Island during the semester."
"That's exactly why I'm mentioning it—the man is on Roc Island right now. Have you ever heard the name Gallen Eclipse? He's under contract with our Vanilla."
Where have I heard that name before?
Simon racked his brain, tracing back through his memories.
—A product not yet even released to the public! The latest masterpiece of Gallen Eclipse, hailed as the brilliant young master craftsman of the next generation!
Simon looked down at the ring on his finger.
That was it. Gallen Eclipse was the creator of the very subspace he was using right now!
Simon shot to his feet in excitement.
"Please tell me, Senior! How can I meet him?"
At last, the path was beginning to show itself.