[Trantor - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 60: Undead Modification Surgery
Metal imbued with the obsession of evil spirits, making it highlypatible with the undead.
In other words...
"It''s perfect for modification surgery."
"Surgery?"
"It''s a term that epasses both modification and strengthening."
He infused spirit power into the [Ring of Darkness], and the Skeleton Mage, who had been in a separate space, popped out.
- Heh heh heh. Master. Greetings.
"Greetings to you too."
Jo Seungchul.
In his previous life, he was a powerful mage who had reached the 7 Star realm.
Now, he was a 2 Star Skeleton Mage, his jawbone rattling.
〔What use do you have for that weakling?〕
''Since we''ve achieved unity, I need to modify him.''
Jo Seungchul was a variant who, thanks to the fusion of his soul and his living body, had learned 3 Star magic.
He possessed firepower several times greater than an ordinary Skeleton Mage, but...
His weakness was hisck of stamina due to high mana consumption.
''He''ll be a bit more useful now.''
Therge amount of [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession] obtained from the Gate raid...
It acted as a kind of mana path, smoothing the flow of spirit power.
Depending on how it was processed, it could also provide strengthening and support.
"Alchemist, what''s the maximum temperature of the Witch''s Cauldron?"
"It can reach 500 degrees."
"3 liters of mana stone molten solution. Adjust the concentration to 27% and boil it with this for 30 minutes."
"You''ll pay for the materials, right?"
"Why are you so suspicious?"
I even paid back all the money I owed you.
You''re making me feel hurt.
"I''m only saying this because you''re forcing me."
"If you don''t want to, don''t do it."
"Ugh, fine. I''ll do it."
Shin Joonseok, taking the [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession], grumbled as he went into the workshop.
Then shall we start the work here as well?
"Come here."
- Heh heh.
Yoojin''s hand slowly traced over Jo Seungchul''s bones.
From head to toe.
He touched him meticulously with slow movements, asionally tapping with his fingers.
〔Contractor, your tastes are quite peculiar.〕
''I''m concentrating, so would you please stop talking nonsense?''
〔Do you have a bone fetish or something? Your touch is too lingering.〕
''I''m checking the flow of spirit power.''
Tsk tsk.
This is why ipetent constetions are useless.
Their thoughts are impure.
〔How dare you! A mere human dares to insult me!〕
''If you''re unhappy, then send down divine punishment or something.''
〔Y-you!!!〕
Ignoring the indignant Kronos, he kneaded Jo Seungchul''s entire body.
''With this much, it''s a waste to modify him into a Dark Hood. He could be a Dark Minion.''
Perhaps it was because he possessed the talent of a 7 Star in his previous life.
The flow of spirit power was quite smooth.
Even though he had lost all of his original magic pathways when he became a Skeleton Mage...
When he channeled spirit power, the speed at which it circted throughout his body was quite fast.
"It''s done."
The scrap metal, boiled together with the mana stone molten solution, was ready.
Shin Joonseok tilted his head in confusion.
"There''s no difference in appearance or properties."
"You''ll see. And lend me your gloves."
Alchemy gloves with high heat resistance.
Yoojin picked up the [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession] that had been boiled with the mana stone molten solution and slowly pulled it apart.
Riiip—
"H-He tore the metal apart with his bare hands!"
"It bes malleable when boiled with the mana stone molten solution."
"But it was hard when I brought it!"
"You have to apply force gently."
The harder the force applied, the harder it became, but if you pushed or pulled slowly, it was easy to change its shape.
It was a simr principle to mixing starch powder with water.
He took a handful of scrap metal and kneaded it with his hands, shaping it to resemble a bone.
"Seungchul, remove your third rib."
- Heh heh.
Snap.
The Skeleton Mage removed his rib without hesitation.
Yoojin fitted the piece of [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession] he had just kneaded into the empty space.
Sssst—
Just as he had interfered with the modification values of a zombie in the past to transform its body structure and turn it into a gue Zombie...
This time, he used spirit power to attach the [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession] to Jo Seungchul''s bones.
[A foreign substance has been mixed into the body structure of Skeleton Mage (Jo Seungchul).]
Combining with a substance that wasn''t part of an undead''sposition.
It was like white blood cells resisting when germs entered the body.
''Don''t reject it, ept it.''
Yoojin matched the wavelength of his spirit power to Jo Seungchul''s soul dwelling in the skeleton.
The energy that flowed through his palm passed through the scrap metal and circted through the Skeleton Mage''s entire body, that is, his bones.
[Spirit power conductivity increases.]
The [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession], having undergone assimtion, was no longer recognized as a foreign substance embedded in the Skeleton Mage''s body.
[Strength increases by 5.]
[Mana increases by 21.]
- Heh heh heh heh!
Jo Seungchul''s jawbone rattled loudly.
"Why is he doing that?"
"His stats increased because I imnted the Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession."
"Just from changing one bone...?"
"Do you know how much effort I put into giving him a new rib?"
Spirit power control that a 2 Star wouldn''t even be able to imitate.
It was an undead modification surgery that only Yoojin, who had reached the pinnacle of necromancy, could perform.
''There are six ces in total that need to be reced.''
It would take about an hour for the mana of the molten solution in the metal to disappear.
He had to finish within that time.
Yoojin removed the bones he had checked beforehand one by one and reced them with the Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Whew, it''s been a while, so I''m a bit rusty."
Yoojin muttered, catching his breath.
47 minutes.
That''s how long it took to rece the bones of the Skeleton Mage (Jo Seungchul).
''It can''t be helped since my senses aren''t what they used to be.''
At 9 Stars, he could read everything as if it were within reach just by spreading his spirit power.
Not to mention the precision of his spirit power control.
He modified Jo Seungchul while recalling his senses from that time as much as possible, but it was far from his prime.
"Partner. About the way you moved your mana just now..."
"Was it a bit clumsy?"
"...Huh?"
Why are you answering a question with another question?
Despite Yoojin''s sharp re, Shin Joonseok persisted.
"You forcibly linked them by matching the wavelengths with mana."
"This scrap metal has a good wavelength match with the undead."
"If you can rece body parts just because the wavelengths match, can you transfuse blood without checking blood types?"
Shin Joonseok''s eyes widened.
Yoojin unconsciously took a step back at the madman''s gaze.
"Teach me how to do that."
"Hmm. It''s not something I can exin in words."
"Just do it. Exin it verbally or demonstrate it after you''re done."
This guy. He''s gone crazy again.
Whenever it might be rted to alchemy, he loses his mind.
''Come to think of it, it''s not entirely unrted.''
A technique not recorded even in the knowledge of past necromancers.
It was something he developed after being inspired while digging into alchemy to strengthen the undead.
He was also the one who named it ''surgery.''
"Alright. I''ll teach youter."
"I''ll be looking forward to it."
He wasn''t sure if strengthening surgery could be applied to alchemy, but...
He had no choice but to do it since he wanted it so badly.
"So, is the work done?"
"Phase one is."
If he ended the surgery here, it would only result in an amazing Skeleton Mage A.
To bring out Jo Seungchul''s talent from his previous life, he had to break the mold of a low-grade undead and lead him to a higher level.
''To strengthen him, I need to learn higher-level spells like Dead Rise.''
But how many times had he used unconventional methods since his return?
He had even created an Eldritch Dragon, a powerful undead that a 1 Star wouldn''t even dream of.
Even the system had epted Yoojin''s feat as a miracle, despite its iplete state.
Jo Seungchul''s strengthening surgery was much easier than Fafnir''s.
''To increase the sess rate of the surgery to 100%...''
Yoojin turned his head.
"Is there anything else you want me to do?"
"Engrave a Convergence Circuit on the area where you reced the bone with scrap metal."
"You sure know how to give difficult tasks."
Convergence Circuits artificially gathered mana.
Among modern alchemists, only a handful could perfectly engrave a circuit in a single attempt.
Shin Joonseok was one of those few alchemists.
"But if you engrave six circuits, it might cause mana reflux."
"That''s what I''m aiming for."
An instruction that made no sense.
Instead of asking again, Shin Joonseok engraved Convergence Circuits on the scrap metal that reced the bones as instructed.
''It''s not like this guy is doing this for the first time.''
He had been doing whatever he pleased since they first met.
He barged into the workshop and figured out the potion manufacturing ratio, didn''t he?
He even recited recipes unknown to this era and casually threw out brilliant ideas.
''Let''s observe what happens.''
Shin Joonseok, reminding himself that he would believe anything Yoojin said, even if it was nonsense, finished his work.
"Shall we begin then?"
When he circted the spirit power he had infused into Jo Seungchul''s bones, the Convergence Circuits emitted a blue light.
Bzzt—
The purpose of engraving the Convergence Circuits was to concentrate and supply mana, like the core of a golem.
The Skeleton Mage (Jo Seungchul)''s body had insufficient output, yet it was equipped with six cores.
The spirit power that had circted without problems when the Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession was inserted in ce of the bones...
After the six Convergence Circuits were engraved, it lost its way and moved about erratically.
-He, heh heh heh.
"It doesn''t even hurt. Just bear with it a little."
If he were alive, he would have felt the pain of blood flowing backward and muscles being torn apart.
But Jo Seungchul was an undead.
He wasn''t a high-ranking undead like Fafnir who had regained some of his senses; he was just a Skeleton Mage.
Pain?
How could he know that?
''Just because he achieved unity doesn''t mean his senses have returned.''
The skeleton trembled like an aspen leaf.
Yoojin, unfazed, poured his spirit power into him as much as possible.
Thump!
When he ran out of spirit power, he drank a potion and converted it with Life Drain.
He was doing the same thing he did during the spar.
The moment the spirit power permeating Jo Seungchul''s bones reached its limit...
[The six cores have absorbed enough spirit power.]
[The Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession strengthens the bones of Skeleton Mage (Jo Seungchul).]
The bones turned jet ck.
Blue mes surged from the empty sockets.
The spirit power that had been wandering through the bones, unable to find its way, permeated every joint.
His entire body turned jet ck.
Even after permeating the bones, the remaining energy was released into the surroundings, materializing into a ck robe that draped over his body.
[Skeleton Mage (Jo Seungchul) has surpassed his limits.]
[He is promoted to Dark Minion.]
p—
The ck robe fluttered in the wind.
And the fierce mes burning within his eyes caught their attention.
＊ ＊ ＊
"H-How did this happen?"
"It was a sess."
"So, what exactly was a sess?"
His face was a mixture of surprise, shock, and joy.
It was fascinating to see so many different emotions on one person''s face.
"The undead enhancement procedure."
"Ha. Seriously, where do you keep getting this unheard-of knowledge, partner?"
"I had a lucky break."
It wasn''t a lie.
If he hadn''t unlocked the secrets of the [Ring of Darkness], he wouldn''t have reached the pinnacle of necromancy.
"Seungchul, can you hear me?"
【Yes, Master.】
The thought was conveyed clearly.
It waspletely different from the Skeleton Mage who used to rattle his jawbone loudly.
"Do you remember the moment you died?"
【Yes, I do.】n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You''ll probably resent me."
【You brought me back to life when I was already dead. It''s meaningless now.】
The spirit power flowing through his bones originally came from Yoojin.
As Seungchul gained self-consciousness after bing a Dark Minion, Yoojin gainedplete control over him.
[Dark Minion (Jo Seungchul)]
Race: Undead
Rank: ★★★
◎ Stats
Strength: 74 / Agility: 180 / Health: 40 / Endurance: 45 / Mana: 1500 (+150)
◎ Traits
? Quick Reload [Unique] / Immortal Being [B] / Mana Cirction [B] / Cold Calction [C+] / Undead Commander [C]
◎ Skills
? Fireball [C] / Red Bind [D+] / me Beat [D] / Fire Arrow [E]
〔Hmm. He''s grown and developed some new traits I haven''t seen before.〕
''You were angry a while ago, but now you''re silent.''
〔I am magnanimous. I will forgive my contractor''s slip of the tongue with a generous heart.〕
''Aren''t you curious about the undead transformed by the procedure?''
〔Ahem, ahem.〕
I was just testing the waters, but was it true?
Yoojin''s eyes turned cold.
〔To be honest, I don''t know how strong that unholy being has be.〕
''That''s why you''re a ipetent constetion.''
〔What?〕
''Listen carefully. The most important thing among the newly added traits is...''
Yoojin’s lips moved.
[Trantor - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]