My Catastrophic‑Level Summon Devours Gates - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 4

Creak— Creak—

I walked up the slope, dragging the squeaky Cargo Transport Bag that had been used for a long time.

After climbing for about 3 minutes, my Studio Apartment came into view.

“Mister. You’re late again today?”

The landlord’s daughter.

Kim Yeon-du waved her hand from the second floor.

“Call me oppa.”

“No way, you smell like an old man.”

The distinctive corpse smell of necromancers.

Even though I spray perfume and air freshener as much as possible.

That girl could smell the faint odor mixed in with the fragrances.

She’s attending high school, but she awakened as a Hunter.

Grade D.

Yeah.

Higher than mine.

“Um, what’s it called. Come eat meat. Mister. I grilled pork belly.”

“I have work to do. Please tell your mother I’m grateful.”

“Going to the Workshop again?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious since you go there every day.”

The landlord’s daughter spun around sharply.

“Ah. I guess I’ll have to eat all the leftover meat myself.”

The landlord family are good people, so they show me various considerations.

Pork belly, huh.

I felt regretful but held back.

There’s an enormous amount of work to handle in the remaining day.

I headed to the basement of my Studio Apartment, which had now become my ‘Workshop’.

A space that used to be a Boiler Room in the old days.

My head almost touched the ceiling.

Since it wasn’t made for living and was even awkward to use as storage, I could rent it cheaply.

Click—

A soft white light brightly illuminated the Basement.

The moment I reassembled the arms, legs, and torso that I had stored in the Carrier.

【Hwaaaaaa!】

A pathetic scream struck my mind.

Oh ho.

It became a zombie automatically without even using Corpse Crafting.

It seemed to be an additional effect of settling a spirit from another world.

It’s good that I don’t need to use magic power separately.

【If you’re going to dismember my limbs, at least give me a heads up, ack.】

Thunk―

The excited Sir Isra jerked his head up then hunched over.

The basement ceiling was barely high enough for my head to clear.

When the orc corpse, whose head was one size bigger, raised his head stiffly, the result was obvious.

Rather than that.

A different aspect piqued my curiosity.

“You feel pain even as an undead?”

【That’s right. I can ignore it, but there’s no reason to.】

“Doesn’t pain just interfere with fighting?”

【That’s true for novices.】

Yes.

Sorry for being a novice.

【That aside. This is truly a dreary place.】

“What do you expect from a necromancer’s workshop.”

Five completed zombies stood waiting in hunched postures.

Body parts of monsters like kobolds and goblins hung from hooks.

Skin and bones from various creatures were scattered here and there.

【I was referring to the lack of organization.】

“….”

You try doing some research.

There’s no time to organize.

“But this has become a bit troublesome.”

【Is there a problem?】

“I need to modify your body.”

【Sir.】

Using the knight title feels a bit cringeworthy.

Can’t you understand?

【That’s something I cannot compromise on.】

Ah.

Right.

“If Sir Isra’s sense of pain is intact, it’ll be awkward to modify you.”

I need to tear through muscles.

Grind bones or replace them entirely.

Guan Yu, the representative figure in this field, cut off his arm while fully conscious.

But modification work requires handling the entire body.

You wouldn’t be able to handle it with a sane mind, would you?

【A knight’s spirit does not break from mere pain.】

“Oh.”

【…is what I’d like to say boldly, but I can control my sensations.】

“What a shame. It would have been a chance to see just how remarkable Sir Isra’s mental fortitude is.”

【One must know how to distinguish between courage and recklessness.】

His words flow like water. Quite smoothly.

Now then.

Before I start the modification.

Let me first understand our customer’s needs.

【Can you perhaps read my thoughts as well?】

“I never learned the Mind Reading Technique.”

How else would I know what kind of body style you want?

There are ways for everything.

I showed Sir Isra a photo I had saved on my phone.

【Hmm. Those bulging muscles look just like my current body.】

“I made it using this guy as a model.”

Necrosmith is a profession that requires directly crafting undead.

To properly utilize my crafting abilities, I studied anatomy charts extensively.

How should I modify them to achieve the desired effect?

Orc Zombie MK. 42 was created with a photo of a recently famous bodybuilder placed beside me.

“How about this look?”

Next, I showed him a photo of a weightlifter.

Sir Isra shook his head.

I continued showing him photos of other athletes and hunters I had referenced for undead creation.

【Next.】

That was all I heard.

By the time I had forgotten to count how many times this happened.

【This kind of feeling would be good.】

For the first time, he showed positive interest.

A photo of a marathon runner.

Something I had saved for reference.

Naturally.

I had only used it as reference when creating undead, never made it the main model.

“Really? Are you serious?”

【Yes.】

“A thin body won’t be able to exert proper strength.”

Zombies are different from humans.

Muscles that have hardened from rigor mortis cannot exert strength like they did in life.

There’s a reason I made zombies from orc corpses.

Among corpses below D-rank, orcs were easy to obtain and good for muscle enhancement.

【Don’t worry.】

Sir Isra placed both hands on his hips.

【You absolutely won’t regret it.】

* * *

Necrosmith and Necromancer.

The names are similar, but there’s a crucial difference in the ‘method’ of creating undead.

Necromancers raise corpses with a single spell.

Scrape— Scrape—

But necrosmiths like me have to process corpses one by one.

【It would be difficult to receive additional support on an urgent battlefield.】

Damn it.

Don’t hit me with facts.

【Your strength seems a bit excessive.】

“It’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding.”

Looking at this alone, you’d think it’s a lower profession than necromancer.

That’s not necessarily the case.

Though it’s not my place to say this after being stuck at E-rank for 5 years.

Necrosmiths have strengths that the mainstream doesn’t possess.

【What would that strength be?】

“The ability to customize undead.”

[Swift Goblin’s Shin Bone]

Grade: E

Category: Miscellaneous

[Dexterous Kobold’s Wrist Bone]

Grade: E

Category: Miscellaneous

[Small Gogon’s Pelvis]

Grade: E

Category: Miscellaneous

….

Body parts I obtained by rummaging through the Byproduct Shop.

Goblin and kobold bones boost agility.

The gogon’s pelvis has a center of gravity control option.

All options that facilitate smooth movement.

【How do you know something that’s not even in the description?】

“Experience.”

For 5 years, I researched undead creation with every penny I saved.

While raising zombies and skeletons.

What abilities monster corpse parts could demonstrate.

Though mostly lower-grade ones, that information was well organized in my head.

I’ll make full use of these to modify Sir Isra.

【Why didn’t you use them when making this body?】

“What use is agility to a zombie.”

It’s a zombie with movement penalties due to rigor mortis.

Adding a bit more agility wouldn’t make sluggish movements faster anyway.

Considering a zombie’s combat style from the start, investing in strength and durability was correct.

“If the modification target is you, Sir, that’s a different story.”

Sir Isra had shown exquisite swordsmanship even with the body of Orc Zombie MK. 42, which had everything invested in strength and durability.

Adding agility-boosting parts would make it even better.

“I’ll replace everything except the head.”

【W-wait!】

“You’d better turn off pain sensation on your own.”

After separating the limbs once more with [Corpse Crafting].

I kept the orc bones as the base but inserted bone fragments from various monsters with agility-boosting effects.

Weaving together bones of different species resulted in varying lengths.

But I carved them down with the Enhancement Formula-engraved Carving Knife to balance them out.

【Huh. You work on such detailed tasks quite quickly.】

“Thanks to the dexterity stat bonus.”

[Dexterity: 197]

Dexterity is an ability that doesn’t fall under the basic stats of Strength / Agility / Stamina / Durability / Magic Power.

It was generated while researching to improve undead performance.

Now it’s become the highest value among my stats.

Not from investing level-up bonuses.

Abilities like dexterity can’t be grown through bonus distribution in the first place.

The ability increased from handling materials so much.

“I guess the framework is set with this much.”

A height of just over 160 centimeters.

Using an orc corpse as the main base.

With bones from other races inserted here and there.

“Next is body processing.”

Revenant.

An undead of a different category, not skeleton or zombie.

However.

The crafting itself didn’t require a different approach.

Let’s approach it like making zombies as I always do.

[Fat Orc’s Thigh Meat]

Grade: D

Category: Miscellaneous

[Brave Lizardman’s Muscle]

Grade: D

Category: Miscellaneous

….

Muscles come with strength options.

Orc thigh meat increases strength by about 10%.

Using lizardman corpses increases both strength and agility evenly by 5% with about ±2% margin of error.

“I need to transplant these while maintaining balance too.”

If you just patch them together haphazardly to make undead, the balance gets ruined and you lose stat benefits.

【Using corpse parts from stronger monsters would provide greater stat bonuses.】

“That’s not how it works.”

Using corpses rated D-grade or higher comes with penalties.

The higher the grade, the steeper the decline, so you end up using monsters between E and D grade anyway.

Therefore.

Rather than raw specs, you need to carefully consider the combinations between parts.

【What a labor-intensive ability.】

“Don’t you think I’m suffering more because of your spell?”

【It can’t be helped if I’m to assist you properly.】

His words flow so smoothly.

After finishing the detailed adjustments.

Just as I was about to activate [Corpse Crafting].

A flickering light leaked from Sir Isra’s pupils.

【Are you finished?】

“Well, yes.”

【I trust you’re not planning to leave the face as is.】

“Wouldn’t enemies be scared if they saw that face?”

【Hmph! My martial prowess should frighten enemies, not this wretched appearance that only makes me a laughingstock!】

Geez.

So picky.

Just don’t look in mirrors.

Since Sir Isra’s attitude was so stubborn, I also refined his facial skin.

“It’s not like it improves performance though.”

【It’s a bit better than before.】

No more requests now, right?

I’ve fulfilled everything you asked for.

Then.

Shall I put the finishing touch on it?

“Open your eyes.”

Targeting Sir Isra.

I used [Corpse Crafting] once more.

【Uoooh!】

With a battle cry, Sir Isra raised his body.

This time, even with his back straight, he didn’t hit his head on the ceiling.

[Sir Isra]

*Race: Undead

*Classification: Revenant

*Grade: D

Strength: 172 → 121

Agility: 35 → 98

Stamina: 124 → 103

Durability: 203 → 120

Magic Power: 35 → 51

*Skills

―Imperial Swordsmanship (Modified)_Isra Form[SSS]

―Undead[D]

―Corpse Reading[E]

His strength and durability were almost cut in half.

Since his size decreased, his stats had no choice but to drop accordingly.

Should I say it’s compensation?

His agility stat increased by nearly three times.

【Magnificent. My reaction speed has become much faster.】

“I am pretty amazing.”

This is the best way to make use of Sir Isra’s strengths.

As I smiled bitterly looking at the dropped specs.

【Power is overflowing.】

Sir Isra clenched his fist tightly.

An eerie blue light leaked over his cloudy pupils.

Soon it spread throughout his entire body.

[85% match with the soul’s living form.]

[Possession completion rate is high.]

[The Revenant’s effect increases all stats by 50%.]

Huh?

All stats increased?

My jaw dropped at the consecutive system messages.

When synchronization rate is high, stat bonuses are applied.

This was the Revenant’s ability.

【You didn’t know either?】

“Sir Isra is the first soul from another world I’ve met.”

【Hahaha! Though it’s still a trash body, this should be enough for me to teach you.】

Ah.

Come to think of it, I had asked him to teach me swordsmanship.

Sir Isra looked around.

【The workshop is too cramped for practicing swordsmanship.】

“We’ll have to go outside.”

【Hmm. Then please prepare some clothes for me.】

“What does an undead need clothes for?”

【A knight must never lose dignity anywhere. Being naked is rather unseemly.】

“Don’t worry. You won’t be wandering around outside with that appearance.”

【Don’t tell me you’re going to disassemble me again…】

“Good, you catch on quickly.”

【You, you!!】

Before Sir Isra could protest further, I disassembled his entire body.

I put him in the carrier and went outside.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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