Chapter 12
Toward the Border Area (2)
[Level increased.]
[Current level is 10.]
The orc collapsed onto the ground.
Its muscles, which had been swollen like a balloon, shrank back down.
‘As expected, orcs have a huge amount of life force.’
Far more than goblins.
The life force he absorbed was immediately used to strengthen his body.
He had gained a large amount of experience from hours of nonstop hunting.
‘The border area has a higher monster spawn rate than Gates.’
There were many theories about how monsters appear.
The most widely accepted one was mana distribution.
“Since it’s almost evening, we’ll set up camp.”
Kang Minho, without being told, began preparing camp with the rest of the team.
〔You’ve picked up a good subordinate.〕
‘Right?’
Of course.
It was like winning a guaranteed lottery ticket.
He was also useful for chores, which made him even better.
“Hyung, how long are we staying here?”
“Not long. About three days.”
“I thought you’d head straight to the orc settlement.”
“That would just make us food for them.”
With Yujin’s current level, a direct confrontation with the orc settlement was impossible.
He already knew its location.
But they needed to hunt orcs around the settlement repeatedly to weaken their forces before a proper assault was possible.
There was another reason too.
〔Will you not tell even me?〕
‘You’ll understand when you see it.’
Yujin cut off the thought.
The Baby-faced Team finished setting up camp and suddenly drew lots.
Curiosity was rising.
Yujin approached and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re assigning night watch duty.”
So that’s what it was.
Yujin clicked his tongue.
“I was wondering what you were doing.”
“I served near the border area before, so I know it well. We’ll take watch. Hyung should rest.”
“Forget it. I’ll leave it to my summons.”
Twenty zombies surrounded the camp.
No one could enter without Yujin’s permission.
Kang Minho let out a short sigh.
“Seems like there’s nothing for us to do.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“Don’t worry. You’re doing better than I expected.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Yujin patted his shoulder lightly and sat on a folding chair.
‘Status window.’
The moment he thought it—
Name: Cheon Yujin
Gender: Male
Level: 10 (1-star)
◎ Stats
- Strength: 7 → 37.3
- Agility: 6 → 30.5
- Stamina: 7 → 32.4
- Toughness: 5 → 25.9
- Divine Power: 10 → 70.2
◎ Traits
▷ Clear Mind
▷ White Night
◎ Skills
▷ Bone Control
▷ Raise Undead
The results of two days of hunting were clearly visible.
“…Hah.”
A natural sound of admiration escaped him.
‘No one would believe this is a second-day awakened hunter.’
He had gained a total of 116 stat points from absorbing life force.
Considering the level-up bonus was only 45, it was more than double that amount.
Normally, hunters only grow by leveling up through monster hunting.
Even Yujin in his previous life had never strengthened his body like this.
He laughed quietly.
‘The only downside is that I can’t freely choose stat distribution.’
His physical abilities had risen dramatically.
On the other hand, divine power increased very little.
Only slightly, except for when he absorbed the goblin shaman’s life force in the first hunt.
It seemed the increase depended on the type of monster.
‘I’ll need to find ways to use my physical stats properly.’
He had learned some minor techniques in his previous life, but nothing suitable as a main fighting method.
He would have to test everything available.
Yujin smiled in satisfaction.
‘Still, I reached level 10 just before nightfall.’
He took a deep breath and poured mana into the Black Abyss Ring.
[Using Library of Knowledge.]
[You may access the knowledge left by the former Death Lords.]
[Accessing necromancy knowledge.]
Now that he had reached level 10, more knowledge could be engraved into his mind.
‘Right now, only necromancy is available.’
At 2-star, he would unlock other schools as well.
Higher ranks meant broader access.
[Knowledge of necromancy is being engraved into your soul.]
[Your soul rank is too low. Only part of the spells are inherited.]
“Damn…”
Just as he expected.
He covered his mouth with both hands to stop himself from screaming.
〔So that’s why I felt strong power from the ring.〕
Chronos muttered with interest.
Meanwhile, Yujin was barely holding back the pain.
[Partial necromancy knowledge has been transferred.]
[Remaining knowledge will become accessible as your rank increases.]
Thanks for reminding me, you bastard.
‘I know that.’
▷ Bone Armor
Type: Magic
Rank: C
Forms armor using bones as a medium.
▷ Flesh Control
Type: Magic
Rank: C
Controls the flesh attached to corpses at will.
His head throbbed from the side effects of knowledge transfer.
Still, it was worth it.
‘Once morning comes, I’ll upgrade the strength of my summons.’
He smirked.
Next Day
The Baby-faced Team quickly cleaned up their camping gear.
“You seem experienced with camping.”
“Haha, I was discharged recently. This is nothing.”
Even so, this was impressive.
“Camping is my hobby.”
So that’s his hobby.
No wonder his setup skills were so good.
“Today will be busier. Be prepared.”
“Yes, sir!”
The team became energized.
Led by orc zombies, they moved around the border area.
Their destination was the place where the soul of the “Forgotten Hero” resided.
They were also weakening the orc settlement there.
And Yujin needed time to strengthen his summons with newly acquired spells.
“Kurrrk?”
They encountered an orc patrol group.
“Grrraaaah!”
The orc zombies rushed forward at their kin.
Orc warriors swung their glaives, cutting into zombie arms and torsos.
“Grrr…”
“This thing… it’s tough.”
Because of post-mortem rigidity, the muscles were hardened like steel.
If they didn’t kill them in one blow, they would get stuck.
Some orcs managed to pull their weapons back.
But—
“Grrk… it eats…”
Those who were too close were grabbed and killed miserably.
The zombies didn’t stop there.
They blocked movement with their stiff bodies, then surrounded the orcs.
Kang Minho’s eyes widened in admiration.
‘Hyung reads the battlefield perfectly.’
Orc zombies were slower than goblin undead but had more muscle power.
However, they lacked weapon skill and mobility.
Yujin compensated for that weakness through efficient creation techniques.
‘He used the early clash to pin them down and complete a surround.’
Perfect battlefield control.
Kang Minho swallowed his admiration.
“Kurrr…”
Yujin used Life Drain on the orc corpses.
The team collected mana stones from the drained bodies.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
“Hyung, we’re done.”
“Good work.”
“Shall we move?”
“Rest for a bit. I have something to do.”
Yujin walked toward the scattered orc corpses.
He could control up to 20 summons.
He couldn’t create more undead.
‘Then I just upgrade each one.’
[Using Flesh Control.]
KRRRKK!
Five orc corpses trembled violently.
Flesh separated from bone.
Normally used to immobilize enemies in chaotic battles, but Yujin used it differently.
‘I need bones for Bone Armor.’
No need to manually separate flesh and bone.
Flesh Control did it instantly.
Muscle and skin peeled off, forming a single mass like slime.
Only skeletons remained.
‘Even the flesh has use.’
He moved his hand.
Part of the dark-red flesh clung to zombies.
The orc bodies, already large, became 1.3 times bigger.
[Using Bone Armor.]
White bones attached over them.
‘Using flesh to bind bones and zombies together.’
Click. Clack.
The flesh became a magical circuit linking bone and undead body.
All gaps were filled.
The white bones turned black as they synchronized.
Wooong—
The undead core reacted, triggering a chain reaction.
“GRAAAAAH!!”
The armored zombie roared.
[Unit fully fused with Bone Armor. New undead created: Armored Zombie.]
[Sub-skill of Raise Undead added: Armored Zombie creation.]
Blue glow flickered over gray eyes.
Flesh had once been just glue.
Now it resonated with the zombie, amplifying its power.
‘Yes. This is more like it.’
Yujin looked satisfied.
Armored Zombie
Species: Undead
Grade: ★★
◎ Stats
Strength: 127 (+50) / Agility: 85 (-15) / Stamina: 120 (+35) / Toughness: 132 (+100) / Mana: 50 (+22)
◎ Traits
▷ Undying Being [C+] / Dragon Strength [C+]
◎ Skills
▷ Furious Charge [D] / Iron Wall [D] / Bash [D]
About three times stronger than a normal orc zombie.
The flesh expansion and bone synchronization had greatly improved physical ability and even intelligence.
The bone armor removed its poison ability, but the massive stat boost made up for it completely.
‘So one upgraded zombie needs three orc corpses.’
He could apply this across all 20 units.
Orcs were abundant in the settlement.
He could upgrade all summons within the planned timeframe.
“Hyung, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Do you only use zombies?”
“Oh, you’re asking why I don’t make skeletons?”
Skeletons.
Another major type of undead.
“Who’s stronger? A bodybuilder or a skinny guy?”
“Obviously the bodybuilder.”
“Same logic. Skeletons are faster and resistant to arrows, but weak.”
Strength = mass.
With mana involved, the equation gets more complex, but for low-tier undead it doesn’t matter.
“Skeletons are fine for long-term use, but not necessary right now.”
Skeleton creation is simple.
Just use Raise Undead on a fully stripped skeleton.
“If you make skeletons, there’s no benefit.”
“Skeletons are better for long-term maintenance.”
“Why?”
“Flesh rots. We don’t even have proper preservation here.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kang Minho nodded.
Yujin smirked and led the armored zombie forward.
