episode_0114

After Amy set down the ten goblin carcasses and walked away, I continued to focus on making the wraith.

Even though it was made the same way, there were slight differences in the process, so I focused on that part. For several days, except for eating or sleeping, I spent most of my time confined to the store’s studio, conducting research.

What I found out in the process was that when summoning a soul from a corpse, the longer it has been dead, the more difficult it is to make it into lace. Aside from summoning the soul, it was difficult to turn a long-dead object into a race even if the soul was summoned.

The reason was not a big deal, but I was inferring that it was because many of my attachments to this world disappeared as I was unable to stay in this world longer than the recently deceased individual.

“… … It would be a big problem if Amy died when she wasn’t ready.”

Since there is no law that says a living thing must die a natural death, I couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if Amy were to leave me before I was ready. Since I had already accepted Amy, I had no intention of letting her go first. Amy, if she wanted to, she wouldn’t know.

Anyway, for that reason, I had no choice but to dig a little deeper into the soul. I stopped making it out of lace and started looking for ways to protect the soul itself.

In particular, since I was not the only warlock in the world, I could not rule out the possibility that other warlocks’ wraiths could possess people around me. So, I thought about that part as well.

“Even if you die in an unexpected accident, there is a way to completely turn it into a race, and a way to prevent possession by other races, etc… … .”

To be honest, it was absolutely necessary, but I couldn’t think of what to do with it. Still, I thought it wouldn’t be impossible, so I repeated all kinds of experiments to find a way.

I tried making lace using special materials that have properties that protect the soul, and I also tried slightly changing the method of summoning the soul.

However, because it was not a living entity, the results that could be achieved were limited. This is because there could be a difference between a living soul and a soul called from the underworld after death.

In the end, the only way to obtain proper results was to conduct research using living monsters. To do so, I immediately hired a mercenary who was familiar with the surrounding geography and was good at finding monsters, including goblins. I took him with me for the first time in a long time, beyond the outside of the studio and out of the ironwood fence.

“Well, it’s been a while since I came out of the ironwood book… … . No, is this your first time?”

It occurred to me that I had never been outside the city since the iron fence was completely placed. Maybe that’s why I started looking around.

First of all, a very strong road had been laid only inside the iron-wood fence, but there was also quite a bit of road outside the iron-wood fence. Rather than being created artificially, it was created like a road by being naturally paved as a regular route for buses and trucks moving to other territories. Since heavy things were frequently carried around, it was not unusual for roads to be built naturally.

Anyway, accompanied by a mercenary and several skeletons who guided the way, we quickly moved towards a place a little further away from the city. After running quickly for about two hours, following the mercenary leading the way, we arrived at a place where we could see the iron fence in the distance.

And, there, several goblins could be seen concentrating on gathering activities. They were collecting small animals and fruits that could be hunted, as well as bugs and other things.

It would be a pity for them, but I had no intention of feeling sorry for the monster. After all, it was almost impossible for humans and monsters to coexist.

He immediately cursed at the goblins who were gathering. Since he didn’t want to die right away, a paralyzing curse was placed on him to limit his movements. However, you don’t want your heart to become paralyzed, so just do it to the extent that you don’t resist.

After capturing the surviving goblins, I took them with me and returned to the city. The work of dealing with spirits was not so simple that it could be done outdoors. I returned immediately and continued my research using the goblins I had captured alive.

By spending time, money, and even going through the hassle, I was able to achieve some results. No, to be exact, it wasn’t at the level I wanted, but it could be called a good method in its own way.

“Just connect the souls from when they weren’t dead and that’s it… … .”

The method was very simple; all you had to do was connect your soul to me before you died in the first place. Additionally, it was a method of connecting souls and planting a curse in advance that could seal the soul.

By connecting their souls while they were alive and planting a sealing curse that envelops their souls, other races could not invade them. Since it was the same effect as sealing the soul in the body, it could be said that there was no space for the Wraith to invade.

Moreover, if you use that method, even if you die in an unexpected accident, your soul will not immediately go to the afterlife, so it was clear that you would be able to buy enough time to respond in case of an emergency. Moreover, although it deals with the soul, it is simply sealed in the body, so there is no need to worry about causing any major problems.

However, there was one thing that was a bit ambiguous to call a side effect: if I connected the soul while alive, the target would be able to give commands to my skeleton.

This happened in the process of connecting the soul of a living goblin, and I don’t know if it was because the goblin wanted to survive, but it had a strong desire to protect itself. Since it was an ordinary entity, we could not communicate, but we could feel its will as our souls were connected. And then, something happened.

Nearby, the skeletons I used as assistants crowded around the goblin and appeared to be guarding it. Of course, that didn’t mean they ignored my commands or showed any signs of attacking me. They literally just crowded around the goblin.

To put it simply, as the souls connected, my dark magic remained in the soul, and the dark magic made the skeletons think it was me. Since it was literally nothing more than an illusion, when I was around, it would give more priority to my orders.

“Would you like me to do this for Jiena too? It would be convenient to use a skeleton when working at the store.”

Thanks to this, I thought that connecting souls could be used not only for Amy’s lifespan, but also useful in other ways. It seemed useful enough to protect those who could be called my women.

However, just because it seemed useful, I had no intention of immediately connecting the souls of the two women with me. It was only natural that the experiment had only been conducted on a few goblins.

In addition to goblins, it is not too late to use other monsters such as orcs or gnolls after you have achieved sufficient results.

“You don’t want to forget anything before that, so you have to record it properly first.”

To avoid the unfortunate event of forgetting what I had researched so far, I began to record the parts of my research carefully. I wrote it in a very detailed and meticulous manner because I could have made new discoveries later by looking back on what I had recorded.

After diligently writing down my research journal, I immediately left the studio in the store.

The original purpose was to create a Death Knight for the first time. There was an Orc warrior entity in the mansion’s workshop that was perfect for use as material for a Death Knight, so it was necessary to go there.

“President, are you finished with your research?”

When I saw that I came out of the studio, even though it wasn’t the usual time to eat or go home, Jiena immediately came up to me. Even though we were in the same space, I rarely came out of the studio, so it seemed like he was happy to see me.

“Well, to a certain extent. So I’m going to try one more thing. Since it had some success, I should give it a try.”

“Were there any results? Good for you! I hope you succeed in what you do.”

I smiled and nodded at the sight of Jiena smiling softly and cheering me on, and headed towards the mansion, leaving a message to send any nobles looking for me to the mansion. I had no choice because the nobles who were supposed to be supported by the royal family wanted to find me when they came. In fact, while I was working, I had to spend time with people who were looking for me a few times.

When I returned to the mansion, I was almost tempted to take a break, but I held back and headed to the studio.

The studio was a little messy because I came there every evening to do research. However, after cleaning it up with a skeleton, I brought the body of an Orc warrior that had been stored well.

Since I had decided to make a death knight from the moment I heard from Amy that there was an orc warrior’s body, the orc warrior’s body went straight onto the workbench. The workbench was not that small, but it was so large that it took up more than half of the workbench.

“Actually, the Skeleton Knight resonates more than the Death Knight… … .”

Looking at the orc warrior on the workbench, I felt a little disappointed. This is because it was actually more profitable to make Orc warriors into Skeleton Knights rather than Death Knights.

In the first place, being a Death Knight was about using the bodies and souls of highly skilled knights, so it was a waste of materials and effort to make a Death Knight out of Orc warriors. It was judged that it was suitable to be made into a Death Knight because it had a body that was more developed than that of a human. In my current situation, there was no better material.

Anyway, trying to suppress the regret I felt, I immediately summoned the spirit of the orc warrior.

“Kaaa!”

I summoned the spirit of an Orc warrior who let out a roar that was close to a roar and immediately turned that spirit into a wraith. Since I’ve already made goblin lace more than a dozen times, making the lace wasn’t difficult. There wasn’t much of a difference just because they were orcs.

As it is a warrior entity, the soul has slightly more powerful power, so the only difference is that it requires more materials or dark magic.

“… … .”

Leaving behind the orc’s soul that had become lace and calm, he began to remodel the orc’s body. The level of perfection of a Death Knight was both soul and soul, but it also varied depending on how much the body was strengthened during life.

“Make your muscles stronger… … . Oh, I also need to increase my flexibility. Because all orcs are stiff. and… … .”

The corpse, which was in a state of rigor mortis, was freed using black magic and then various medicinal herbs were added. I used the mandrake and some expensive ingredients that I had in storage without any hesitation. The muscles became stronger, and like a skeleton, the bones and joints also became stronger.

Additionally, the internal organs that a living being would have had were also transformed. Although it was preserved in some way through the petrification curse, there were quite a few parts that became useless as time passed. Those parts were removed and new types of internal organs were installed.

To be precise, it was to engrave a circuit through which black magic, which can be said to be an alternative power source that makes a dead body move again, can flow. This is to make the dead body move again and prevent it from rotting any further.

After going through all of these processes, the Death Knight was completed by inserting the Orc Warrior Wraith into the completed Death Knight’s body.