Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Episode 30
That being said.
Could she actually use her arts in spirit form?
And on top of that.
This was a completely different world. Even I couldn't properly use martial arts here, only managing external arts through workarounds, so how would it go for her?
Thinking that, I crossed my legs and leaned back deep into the throne.
Just as expected.
The mist scattered.
The necromantic mana she possessed as one of the dead was overflowing around her, but the art itself had apparently failed.
I knew it would turn out like that.
"What's wrong? Not working?"
-This is... I see. This really is a different world.
"Oh? You know about different worlds?"
This one really knows all sorts of things.
-If you know of me, then you would know of my family as well.
"I know. I know them well. How could I not know the Heavenly Secrets Jegal Clan? I suffered terribly because of their damn formations, so why wouldn't I know them? I got trapped and spent a year creating a new martial art just to escape, nearly dying in the process. There's no way I could ever forget."
Ah.
What an old memory.
While I was reminiscing about that time, Jegal Yu-yeon's expression changed.
-You... Could it be!
"Oh. You figured it out?"
-Mad Martial Sovereign! You died long ago, so how... Could it be! Did you use the Soul-Separation Great Art?
"Hey now. The Soul-Separation Great Art? I never even learned that kind of heretical art. And Mad Martial Sovereign? Call me the Martial God."
Mad Martial Sovereign, huh.
Well, those who wanted to drag me down did call me that.
And I had personally corrected that habit of theirs.
I miss it. I miss the satisfaction of putting people like that in their place with my own hands.
-If it wasn't the Soul-Separation Great Art, then how on earth...
"It's a simple reason. I reincarnated."
At my words, her eyes flew wide open.
Seeing the great Jegal Yu-yeon so startled like that was quite enjoyable.
-You're saying it was possible to cross the Samdo River and still retain your memories... How could such a...
"How would I know? Maybe it's because I failed while attempting to ascend as an immortal. Anyway. It's been a while. Seeing as you say I died long ago, you must have lived quite a long life, huh? You're practically an old granny now, aren't you?"
-Your rude manner of speech remains unchanged, I see.
Her expression had softened a little.
-That being said. How did you summon my soul? As you said, you would never have touched the sorcerous arts. So how could you perform such a high-level... Ah. Ahh...
She had been about to press me for answers.
But then she paused for a moment, her form itself blurring before returning to its proper shape.
What was this about now?
-I see. So that's how it happened.
"What's the reason you're suddenly acting like you understand everything?"
-I simply received information from the Dimensional Tower.
It even provides a service like that?
-Hah. To think I would be traded like an object... How dreadful.
As if it truly was dreadful.
She shuddered.
Well. If you realized that you were dead and that only your soul had been dragged out, I suppose it would feel dreadful.
"Still, isn't it better than being forgotten after death? I do have memories from before my reincarnation, but I don't have any memories of the afterlife, so I can't say for sure."
I didn't know what the afterlife was like either. I had no memory of it. After all, I had lost consciousness after failing to ascend as an immortal, and when I woke up, I was already a baby.
"Now that I think about it, I'm curious. Does King Yama really exist in the afterlife?"
-I, too, had my memories of the afterlife sealed the moment I was summoned here, so nothing remains.
As expected. There seemed to be some kind of seal in place.
-But there was a sensation that I had to go back. And just now, even that sensation disappeared. It must be the Dimensional Tower's doing.
"Hoh..."
Well, that's another fascinating thing.
-So. From now on, I have become yours.
"That's an odd tone."
-Is it not so? Mad Martial Sovereign. You have now become the master who wholly possesses my soul.
"That's not wrong, but... Hmm. This is really..."
I had been hoping for a soul that could manage my subdimensional territory in my place, or at least be useful in battle... If someone like this suddenly showed up, it would be troublesome.
While I was thinking that, I noticed Jegal Yu-yeon looking at me with an odd expression.
-Very well. I shall become your strategist.
She slowly lowered her head.
That dignified and refined gesture.
It was exactly the same as the figure I had seen in the Martial Alliance in my previous life.
-However, I have one condition.
"A condition, is it? Go ahead and say it."
-Do not order me about recklessly. I am your strategist, not your tool.
Seeing her secure her own standing even after becoming a soul, I let out a chuckle.
She really hadn't changed even after death... Truly impressive.
"Understood. I'll respect your standing as a strategist."
-Then I shall accept.
She lowered her head once more.
[The hero soul 'Jegal Yu-yeon' has been bound to the user.]
[Jegal Yu-yeon's ego and knowledge are preserved as they were.]
[Classification as Intelligent Undead is possible.]
[Jegal Yu-yeon's current species is Wraith.]
A Wraith, huh.
Wait. Wasn't that the lowest-tier undead in the spirit category?
After Walking Corpse came zombies and skeletons, and Wraiths were on the same level as those.
So it summons a soul, but it doesn't give you a higher undead.
This damn Dimensional Tower. It said it was a Legendary Grade reward, but it scammed me.
I couldn't help cursing.
Hah. Fine. What good would getting angry about this do?
After all, empty-handed we come, empty-handed we go.
Life is about arriving empty-handed and leaving empty-handed.
If I think of it as something I got for free, my mind does feel a bit more at ease.
"Then wait a moment. This lord still has work to finish."
-What sort of work would that be?
Jegal Yu-yeon asked in a calm tone.
"I have one more reward to receive."
-Ah. A reward from the Dimensional Tower, then. Understood. I shall wait.
As expected of a strategist, she grasped the situation immediately.
This was why competent subordinates were so useful.
I took out the Hero Corpse Summoning Stone still in my hand.
There was no telling what kind of hero's corpse would pop out this time.
If possible, I'd want a human hero to come out so it would be easy to engrave martial arts into them.
"Using Hero Corpse Summoning Stone."
Whoooosh!
This time, instead of blue light, a red light close to the color of blood burst forth.
A massive magic circle was drawn beneath my feet once again.
A sinister energy, quite different from the soul summoning, flowed out.
[The Hero Corpse Summoning Stone has been used.]
[The Necron Emperor class effect activates.]
[Summoning the corpse of the hero with the deepest karmic connection who will provide the greatest help.]
"Oh. The class bonus is activating this time too."
It really did seem like the Dimensional Tower was deliberately handing out freebies.
It had done so with the soul, and now with the corpse, it was choosing the one that would help the most.
At this level, you could practically call it a customized service.
In the center of the red magic circle, something slowly began to condense.
This time, it wasn't mist, but flesh and bone being shaped directly.
And it was being formed very intricately into the shape of a single person.
"...Huh?"
What was condensing before me was a woman.
Luxurious black hair hanging neatly down, an elegant bearing.
Even the scholar's robe draping gracefully over her was exactly as it had been.
Didn't this look like something I'd seen a lot before?
Of course it did.
The owner of the soul that had just descended.
It was Jegal Yu-yeon herself.
"This... I get that the karmic connection is deep, but this is too deep!"
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
The soul was Jegal Yu-yeon, and the corpse was Jegal Yu-yeon too.
This damn Dimensional Tower.
It said set menu, and it really did throw it at me as a set menu.
But as I examined the corpse closely, I paused once again.
"...Huh? Why is she so young?"
The question slipped out of my mouth on its own.
The face of the condensing corpse was too young.
The Jegal Yu-yeon I remembered from my previous life had definitely been a beauty.
But that had been her appearance from the time when she was active as the Martial Alliance's chief strategist.
The corpse before my eyes now looked much younger than that.
By my estimate, early to mid twenties.
It was her appearance from before she had reached her peak in her previous life—no, from an even younger time than that.
"Did they give me her corpse from her prime?"
I tilted my head and muttered.
Jegal Yu-yeon's soul, floating beside me, was also quietly looking down at her own corpse.
I could see that she, too, had brought a hand to her lips as if surprised.
-This is... my appearance from my younger days.
"Your younger days, you say?"
-Twenty-two. This is how I looked just before I became a strategist of the Martial Alliance.
"Twenty-two, huh."
-This place called the Dimensional Tower is truly extraordinary.
Jegal Yu-yeon let out a small sigh and continued.
-To be able to freely recreate even the corpse of the dead like this. And in the form from just before my prime, no less.
She seemed to be marveling anew at the Dimensional Tower's power.
That she didn't stop analyzing even after becoming a soul was indeed befitting of a strategist.
It was at that moment, with the corpse lying completed atop the magic circle.
[Hero Corpse Summoning complete.]
[An additional special authority of the Necron Emperor activates.]
"Oh? What's activating now?"
[The conditions for reuniting the soul with its original body have been satisfied.]
[The soul 'Jegal Yu-yeon' merges with the corpse 'Jegal Yu-yeon'.]
"Huh?"
While I blinked.
The magic circle began to emit an even more intense light.
Blue light and red light surged over the magic circle, mixing together.
I could see the soul being slowly drawn toward its own corpse.
-Ah.
Jegal Yu-yeon's soul let out a small exclamation.
-It's my body. It's coming back.
Her soul slowly seeped into the corpse's chest.
Whoooosh!
The entire magic circle blazed white as if exploding.
The light was so intense that I instinctively raised a hand to cover my eyes.
[A special event has occurred.]
[The soul has merged with its original body.]
[Species is changing.]
[Under the influence of the Necron Emperor, Jegal Yu-yeon's species changes from 'Wraith' to 'True Ancestor'.]
"...What?"
I blankly reread the system message.
True Ancestor?
By True Ancestor, did it mean that original vampire?
The pinnacle of the vampire line.
The progenitor of the vampire race, the being regarded as the source of all vampires.
That thing... just popped out like this?
"No, seriously. What's going on here?"